The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 47
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 47 Demon Slayer
The Death Knights... The Queen's Royal Guards felt the
changes brought about by the so-called flames of war.
Their vision grew crystal clear,
And their hands clasped around their weapons, unyielding
to be separated.
The soles of their feet felt surprisingly light against
the ground.
How could they possibly exude such clear, clean energy
when they had been reduced to undead?
"Follow me."
The leading Lionheart King pointed his lance.
As if it was a given that he would be the leader.
"Then we shall win."
The chariot revved up.
The flame-spitting bulls stampede forward, their imposing
four legs pounding the ground.
Ghost horses followed, but none could outrun the bulls
and the Lion King.
"It's dangerous to take the front alone!"
The entire royal castle of Spero was filled with hordes
of black demons.
The bulls were certainly imposing, but even so, the
moment they crashed into those black waves, it would be the end.
Light would eventually be swallowed up.
That was what the Death Knight, Ricardo Byrnes, and the
Queen's Knights thought, but──
Light cut through the darkness.
The sea of inky blackness was melted and burned by the
flames.
The bulls' fierce gaze and steadfastness drove the
demons' blades to stand at a distance, and the flames they breathed flared out
before them, reducing the blackness to black powder.
This was like an excavator running full speed into a pack
of rabbits.
The sight of the creatures trampled, burned, crushed, and
torn to shreds almost induced pity.
The trailing Death Knights realized something.
They realized that the mere minions milling about in
front of the war chariot were nothing more than targets for one-sided
slaughter.
Even the cacophony of carnage and demonic screams was
reduced to nothing more than an unpleasant accompaniment...
"You insolent wretch!"
Androzin shouted in anger, his hands flailed and his
crown glowing.
The Crown of Cravings. The treasure of the Lord of
Pleasure. It granted the power to turn Androzin's subjects into death-defying
fanatics.
There were those who received this power and rushed forth
with bloodshot eyes and foaming mouths.
The slaves of pleasure.
Riding monstrous reptilian beasts with sharp claws and lashing
whips, they lunged at Leon and the Death Knight horsemen. There were, in fact,
two hundred of them.
"Ha...!"
The creatures imitate cavalrymen, waving their whips
ferociously. Leon laughed in disbelief.
"Don't you even know what a cavalry is, you lowly
things? A cavalry charge should be carried out with a lance in hand!!”
Not a lance, not a sword, but a whip. Even if it were a
venomous sonic weapon, how could it hold off a horde of galloping knights?
[【
Strongest Assaulter 】
applied.]
The moment of the clash.
Needless to say, the demons of pleasure were the ones who
got torn apart.
-Dak! Boom boom boom!
Flesh ripped and blasted, dismembered bodies splattered
in all directions.
Androzin didn't expect them to be able to hold off such a
ferocious charge. But.......
"What the hell, is that?"
They were more than five times their number.
How could they be so easily breached, not even stopping
them for a split second?
'I know
what the Death Knights are capable of. They are brilliant knights, but in the
end, they cannot overcome the limitations of numbers.'
'If
anyone could have made a difference, it would be those bulls. No, it's the man
at the front, driving the war chariot and holding the reins.'
"Shoot! Sweep them away!"
The demons of pleasure brought forth cannon-like energy
weapons. These were the energy cannons they had acquired earlier from the Demon
of Wisdom and Inquiry.
A barrage of blasts rained down on them. An unreasonable
amount of firepower.
[【
Long Distance Attack Detester 】 is
applied to this army.]
Army resistance: Applies the Holy Law <Shots
Nullification> to the army under your command.
{Death Knights (38) are subject to <Shots
Nullification>.}
The barrage of energy cannons failed to wound the Death
Knights. Leon's, the Grail Knight's extreme detest against ranged attacks
renders long-range attacks null not only for himself, but also for his army.
The flip side of this was that the entire army lost the
ability to long-range ranged weapons, but that was not necessary for a charging
army.
Only a knight's valor can shake the battlefield. There is
no honor in cowardly ranged weapons!
"Glory to the Lionheart...!"
[【
Strongest Assaulter 】 is
applied to the army. 【 War
Knight's Blessing 】 and
【 Terror of the Demonic Race 】 are combined].
Army Enhancement: Increase the bonus of the charge by
400%.
Army Enhancement: Increase the bonus of the charge by
120%.
Army Enhancement: Increase the bonus of the charge by
100%.
Army Enhancement:: Increase the physical resistance of
your charging army by 35%.
Enemy Debility: Decreases the defense of demon races
against charges by 80%.
[ Warbulls of Pethos grant attribute enhancement:
<Flaming Sword> to friendly troops.]
[ 【
Most Accomplished Demon Slayer 】applies
physical resistance reduction, holy power resistance reduction, melee defense
reduction, and automatic soul exchange to all demons within a 1km radius.]
In the blink of an eye, over a thousand demons of
pleasure and corruption were blasted away.
The demons dropped like falling leaves in the face of the
crushing force.
Androzin was stupefied by the horrific reality before
him.
Only one person. Only one person joined in, and those
Death Knights are that much stronger?
Even the Death Knights themselves couldn't believe it, so
what about Androzin?
"You!"
Eight arms swung their weapons at Leon, who had gotten
too close. The blows slammed onto the war chariot.
-Ooooooooooo...!
The two bulls roared. The rampaging bulls break
themselves free from the chariot, and one of them directly rammed into
Androzin's shinbone.
“Ugh…!”
The Divine Beast's charge brought even the Archdemon to
his knees.
The over five-meter tall Androzin was instantly
prostrating.
'This
is not good. Where did the Lionheart King go?'
Just then, a shadow fell over Androzin. The holy lance,
wrapped in flames, struck down at him as he instinctively lifted his head.
"Gh...!"
Androzin narrowly avoided it. Backing away, he yelled,
"Slaves! Kill him!"
There were still thousands of demons around. If they come
in waves, even the Lionhearted King won't be able to withstand them.
“Hold on for 1 minute!!”
The Lionheart shouted out. The Death Knights swept away
the demons, swinging their flaming swords.
In the circle they formed, Androzin and Leon stood face
to face.
"You, Lionheart King. Are you the one who killed
Dothraddon!"
"Dothraddon?"
Leon chuckled as he summoned his holy sword.
“Are you talking about the creature with abnormal sexual
desires who walked around with that bloated lump of fat?”
The flaming holy sword and lance were pointed at
Androzin. Leon declared,
"Yes. That lowly lecher was torn limb from limb. You
will be no different, except... you have more limbs to tear off."
"You...!"
Androzin flung his halberds. More precisely, they were
flying halberds that had the ability to chase down enemies.
Powered by potent magic, they whirled. In response... Leon
raised his lance.
“You didn’t throw it with your own strength, but you
relied on magic power! That’s why you guys are weak!”
In the midst of eight flying halberds, Leon only hurled
his single holy lance.
While he detested ranged weapons, he would not dismiss
long-range attacks.
The weak, the serfs, and the conscripts could use bows
and cannons.
But knights should not. A knight would be considered
unfit if his sword blow was weaker than that of an arrow.
Overwhelming strength, beyond the limits of long-ranged
weapons!
-Boom!
The thrown holy spear deflected the flying halberds.
After deflecting three of the eight in all directions, the unabated momentum
blew off one of Androzin's arms.
"Keuag…!"
One of his arms was gone, but Androzin didn't even have
time to lash out in pain. A chill ran through his body, making him shiver.
The Knight broke through the remaining five dancing
halberds, his indestructible holy sword blazing.
Layers upon layers of brilliant light glowed, ready to cut
Androzin's neck.
"Crave!"
Then, the crown Androzin wore glowed.
The Crown of Craving.
The artifact manifests the primal desires of all
creatures alive, including Leon.
"Oh, no-danger--!"
"King Lionheart!"
Only the non-living, the Death Knights, were not consumed
by that craving However, the Lionheart King, a living being, was another
matter.
The Crown of Craving had lulled even their greatest queen
into sleep.
No matter how powerful the Lionheart King may be, one
moment was enough. One moment of succumbing to that temptation, and he would be
slain by the Archdemon in the real world.
As the devastated Death Knights hastily tried to pull on
their mount's reins, they witnessed it.
Without pausing, the Lionheart King swung his fiery holy
sword.
“Kaaaaaaaaaaaaah…!”
He leaped forward and slashed down, cutting Androzin from
his shoulder blade to his chest. It was a fatal wound.
"How, how...! How did you escape the illusion of
craving?!"
Androzin staggered backward, clutching his shoulder from the
pain. Leon gave him a look of incredulity at the question.
"Even the Lord of Pleasure could not fool me, so how
can you possibly do so?"
Nonsense.
Every living being has a desire that they crave. How can
anyone not be swayed in the least?
Only unfathomable comprehension welled up in Androzin's
eyes as he looked at Leon.
"No-- stop him! STOP HIM!"
Androzin began to flounder backward. The Queen had
fallen, and now he had to flee.
Dying by the sword of a practitioner of holy power would
mean true death.
Androzin immediately opened the Daemon Gate, hoping to
use it to escape, but──
""Ooooooo!!!""
With thunderous roaring, two fiery bulls charged at
Androzin.
"Keoheug...!"
Androzin sprawled on the ground, while Leon stood in
front of him, holding a holy sword.
"Die...!"
"Wait...!"
The sword stopped at Androzin's cry. Androzin started to
babble,
"Cowards!"
"Cowards?"
"It was a battle between two, but a holy being
intervened! You knights are supposed to be upholding the principles of
fairness!"
"Surely... it would be dishonorable for a third
party to intervene in a one-on-one battle."
“Yes, yes!”
"But."
The holy sword radiated brilliantly. Leon's expression
was resolute.
"I have no honor to give to you bastards, for this
is not a battle of two, but the extermination of worms!"
“You f*cking racist——!”
The holy sword struck down unmercifully, decapitating
Androzin. At the same time, the spell of the Crown of Craving was broken, and
all the demons of pleasure could see the decapitated Archdemon Androzin.
As his soul was absorbed into the Holy Grail, their faces
twisted in horror.
-Ahhh, Androzin is dead!
-We have to run!
-W- where?
At that moment, the demons caught sight of the Daemon Gate
that Androzin had called upon to escape. And at the exact same moment, Leon saw
it too.
"Where?! Run away! GAAAAAAA──!!"
The demons instantly went ballistic. The demons of
pleasure racing toward the Daemon Gate to save themselves.
After the merciless massacre and slaughter, many demons
managed to survive and get away.
It was a swift response.
.........
......
...
"Great One. It looks like the plan has failed.”
[.............]
"Great One?"
[Ahh, this game really sucks.]
* * * *
Leon stopped his pursuit as he watched the demons hurl
themselves into the Daemon Gate. The knights and hunters who had been
slaughtering them gathered at the end.
"The hunt - why stopping?"
Leon said calmly at the words of Ricardo Byrnes, the
Death Knight,
"I had to leave an escape route open. If I destroyed
the Daemon Gate, it would have meant meaningless loss."
"Uh-why?"
At his question, Leon looked at his soldiers, the
hunters, including Gu Dae-sung and Chief Kim Jin-soo, who seemed to be able to
kill the thousands of remaining demons with ease.
"The soldier's fatigue is almost at its limit, so
it's inevitable that we'll stop making advances. Those who make too many
advances will be forced to sacrifice those below them."
"I see."
If Leon were alone, he would have prioritized the
destruction of the Daemon Gate and taken the initiative to attack the demons.
But he was a commander now. He had many soldiers to be
responsible for right now.
In this battle, the recruits had done their job, and he
couldn't force them to suffer any more damage.
"Each leader, report the damage!"
The leaders stepped forward one by one in response to
Leon’s shout. They looked somber despite having achieved an impossible victory.
"Most of us are injured, but we are recovering thanks
to the Holy Grail. However......."
Gu Daisheng looked at the motionless men on the ground
near their shields. Those faces had become familiar over the past month or so.
"Six have fallen."
"Mmm, so it seems."
Leon acted like it was no big deal. The response made Gu
Dae-sung and the others feel sad.
“I will pray for them.”
Just a prayer? While the hunters make sad expressions,
Leon held his sword vertically in front of the bodies of the fallen.
"O War and Flame. Here your warriors die an
honorable death."
Leon dropped to one knee. It was a stance he would never
take before the plebeians. But for this moment, he was merely a priest.
"May their souls return to Thou. If they have sinned
in life, may they be washed away, and may Thou judge upon their fiery deaths,
so that they too may feast with the divines."
Something transparent escaped the bodies of the deceased.
Just as the souls of dead demons were sucked in, the souls of dead hunters were
also sucked into the Holy Grail.
However, this was not done to crush and extinguish evil
spirits, but as a pious act of welcoming them back.
After the cataclysm, religions had lost their power.
Everyone felt helpless in the face of this inexplicable
catastrophe, turning to the gods and ending up blaming them for not answering.
The hunters themselves are atheists who have made death
and violence their lifelong companions. They don't seek any god, and they don't
rely on them.
But now.
There was a saint who performed miracles before their
eyes.
There was a priest of the gods who showed them the way to
salvation from the dreaded death.
"Gather the names and families of the fallen and
report them to me, for their service will be rewarded by the Pantheon."
After all the time they had spent in training period,
this still surprised them.
How could a voice so cold and distant be so warm?
It was so different from the politicians who emphasized
the loyalty and sacrifice of those who died only on the day of events.
...............
............
.........
......
...
[The gate to the paradise of the gods has opened.]
-The soul level is low. Entry to paradise is denied.
-The level of faith is low. Entry to paradise is denied.
-The honor given is too low. Entry to paradise is denied.
[Absolute effect: Blessing of the Lionheart King.]
-Granted entry into paradise.
***
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