Chapter 196

EPISODE 196 – ROYAL CAPITAL (1)

Koros’ chest split . The long diagonal slash broke his collarbone as black blood gushed out .

His muscles were as hard as armor, but this was the sword of Seryu, the Seven-Killings Sword .

Her silver sword that resembled the subtle moonlight was sharp enough to cut Koros’ body .

But when his black blood spurted, Seryu also coughed blood . She was pushed back and staggered .

“Kaaahk . ”

It was not an illusion that Seryu’s sword cut Koros’ body .

It was definitely real .

But it was also true that Koros’ fist hit Seryu .

“Kuuhhk . ”

As soon as the silver sword slashed his chest, Koros moved forward instead of stepping back .

Seryu’s sword cut through his clavicle and he stretched out his fist at that time .

He didn’t do it with thought . Koros’ instinct, which could be called a reckless move in itself, reacted to it .

And its effect was enough .

He struck his opponent in the same way with his powerful strength, but the power of their attacks differed . After all, their physique, weight, and race differed .

Koros was a giant over 3 meters, so his fist was almost as big as Seryu’s upper body .

Despite the fact that she reduced the strength of the attack by moving her body backwards at the moment of the attack, the blow she received was enormous .

“Kaakh…kuuhk…”

Seryu threw up again and stumbled while Koros gritted his teeth and glared at her .

It seemed like he could crush the small and slender Seryu if he hit her with more blows, but he couldn’t do it anymore .

It was also impossible for him to pull out here and head for Saluzia .

Because of the distance .

Seryu staggered and threw up blood, and she looked to be in danger of collapsing at any moment, but she was still able to wield her sword .

Koros himself was within Seryu’s striking distance .

‘As expected of a great swordmaster . ’

One of the Ten Great Swordmasters that the Sälen Kingdom was proud of .

Koros himself had been weakened by his chest injury . It was clear to him that if he charged here, his speed and power in dealing blows would be less than before .

He had suffered that much .

His barrage of attacks that blocked Seryu’s attacks was no longer possible .

‘I don’t have to hurry . ’

Seryu was desperately adjusting her breathing, but her recovery was slow . After all, she was a human . Her vomiting blood could only mean that her gut was damaged, so it was natural that she wouldn’t be able to easily recover .

On the other hand, the injury on Koros’ chest was healing, albeit slow .

Because he was demonic human who united with a demon .

Koros had a strong regenerative ability that could not even be compared to a human’s natural healing ability .

So he just needed to take his time .

Until he had fully recovered .

Until Koros himself recovered, he just had to idle away and endure Seryu’s attack for the time being .

But Koros didn’t do that .

No, he couldn’t do that . ’

‘Sannie . ’

Saluzia .

The northwest sky was turning green .

The terrifying mana of death had been released .

He had to hurry . He shouldn’t drag this fight any longer .

“Come . ”

Koros spoke in declaration, but Seryu said nothing . Because she was only focused on fighting Koros from the very beginning of their fight .

“Haa . ”

Seryu let out her breath . She adjusted her breathing and controlled her body with her strong will . Lowering her body a bit, she strengthened the grip on her sword .

And at some point .

Bang!

Koros kicked the ground . Confronting such a charging giant seemed to be reckless .

But Seryu did not back down . She saw Koros pull his fist, so she held her breath and kicked the ground at the same time .

A fist and a sword .

A demonic human and a great swordmaster clashed .

***

Saluzia knew the five heroes of the Paragon Kingdom .

They were truly like mythical beings .

‘The ones who defeated the Demon Prince . ’

Even among the demons that possessed a title, the great demons were one of the best and ranked just below the overlords of hell .

The gap between a demon prince and a human was truly enormous .

It was no exaggeration to say that humans were just squirming bugs when compared to them .

But Paragon’s heroes defeated the Demon Prince with their human bodies .

They were not disheartened .

They fought in the realm of the Demon Prince .

They fought not only the Demon Prince but also the Demon Prince’s army, and they eventually defeated the Demon Prince .

Iron Man Landius .

Ghostblade Kamael .

Holy Angel Lena .

These three defeated the Demon Prince .

It was the result of miracle after miracle, but they defeated the Demon Prince who had used up all his power in just fighting the three .

And the other two .

Necromancer Velkian and Druid Fran .

They stopped the Demon Prince’s army .

They made time for the three people to defeat the Demon Prince .

How did they do it?

How did they make it possible?

Saluzia got to know . She came to witness firsthand the correct answers to some of the questions she had .

“Come forth, my legion . ”

Green mana covered the sky .

When Velkian on his Phantom Steed stretched out his hand towards the ground, ghostly wails reverberated and spread out .

“Kiaaaaaa-!”

Ghosts were summoned from the green sky . They cried and began to take shape, instantly covering the walls of the city .

And then it rained fire .

Meteors covered in green flames showered down from the green sky, attacking Saluzia’s troops .

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It wasn’t just an attack . The green meteors that struck the ground stood up and took the shape of giants .

Over ten giant golems stood up and roared .

And one more was added to this .

It clearly revealed Velkian’s personality, who did not hesitate to use his full strength .

“Come forth . ”

Velkian made a gesture . He recited the spell which twisted the world around it .

His strongest familiar descended on the ground .

Kuoooooooo-!

The space was torn .

Green flames greatly rose from the ground, and ‘that’ showed up during that time .

Death Knight .

No, something more than that .

The greatest masterpiece created by Necromancer Velkian .

As soon as it appeared, it shook the world .

The heavens and earth trembled .

The green flames scattered roughly, making the black existence stand out even more .

Knight Lord .

The ruler of knights .

Green eyes flashed from within its black armor . It stared at Saluzia as it rode on top of a huge Phantom Steed . And powerful beings appeared beside such a lord .

Spartoi .

Elite knights made from the teeth of the black dragon Tarasque .

Saluzia breathed heavily as an army was summoned right before her eyes .

She reflexively recalled Velkian’s other name .

One Man Army .

A person who always moved alone, but could summon thousands of troops anytime and anywhere .

“Go . ”

Velkian firmly ordered .

And the sky collapsed at that moment .

It could only be described as such as the sight of thousands of ghosts rushed down the capital’s walls .

The wail of ghosts filled the sky . The green golems swept the ground .

“Kiaaaaaaaaaa-!”

The ghostly wails erased all sound .

Thus, the harrowing screams of the demon followers were not heard . In the silence created by the overwhelming noise, the demon followers could not even leave their last death throes .

And at that moment, the Knight Lord dashed forward .

Death knights made up of Spartoi followed such a lord .

There was no sound again this time .

But their presence alone was enough to shake the world .

“Aaaaah!”

Saluzia frantically shouted . She roared and spread out all her four wings, and the Knight Lord’s green eyes flashed underneath its black armor . It swung its huge black sword .

Bang! Boom! Bang!

Thunder burst .

The Knight Lord’s sword and Saluzia’s wings collided several times, and the demonic humans and Spartoi clashed .

And Saluzia thought .

She had to run away .

She had to get out of here .

Necromancer Velkian was truly the worst opponent .

In a sense, he was worse than Landius or Kamael .

‘Konny!’

It was too much for her alone .

She could somehow deal with the Knight Lord, but if something else was added to this, Saluzia wouldn’t be able to hold her ground no matter how powerful she was .

She had to run away while the mid-ranking demonic humans under her command were blocking the Spartoi .

“Aaaaaah!”

Saluzia deliberately made her power runaway . She freed the demonic powers that she had held back ever since she became a demonic human .

Thus, she became one step closer to being a demon .

Naturally, she had to pay a price .

The pain of tearing up her soul was not a big deal for her .

‘Saluzia . ’

The devil’s voice .

It was an illusion .

The devil had long been united with Saluzia herself .

But Saluzia knew .

The closer she turn into a demon, the closer she would lose her own self .

She had already lost some of it when she became a demonic human, so she knew that she would lose more if she continued .

But now wasn’t the time to hesitate . She needed a stronger power in order to get out of her current situation .

“Aaaaaaah!”

New wings sprouted behind Saluzia’s back .

The two pairs of wings became four pairs now, and Saluzia attacked the Knight Lord by wielding her newly sprouted wings . Right after her opponent withdrew, she flapped her wings again to shake off the magic of death that had attacked her .

“Keuaaa!”

Velkian clenched his teeth at the backlash of his mana . The Knight Lord rushed towards Saluzia again, but it was already after Saluzia had flapped her wings again .

“Kill the humans!”

Saluzia commanded .

And at that command, the demon followers lost their minds . Instead of fighting the ghosts in fear, they madly attacked the remaining Royal Guards and Royal Guard Magic Corps .

“You b*tch!”

Velkian angrily shouted .

But Saluzia smiled . Because she knew well what kind of people the five heroes of the Paragon Kingdom were .

“Hahahahaha!”

Saluzia’s flapping wings became huge blades of magic and struck the survivors . The Knight Lord protected them by swinging his black sword, and Saluzia escaped at that gap . She soared high into the skies of the royal capital .

Velkian saw her, but he couldn’t immediately chase after her .

Because he had to control the ghosts .

“Destroy the demon followers!”

Velkian suppressed his anger and shouted, and the ghosts protected the survivors by attacking the demon followers abandoned by Saluzia .

Velkian closed his eyes and felt the flow of magic .

A huge clash of power was taking place in the royal palace .

He could also feel the power of a strong demonic human in the south gate .

And all over the royal capital .

People were scared . The zombies that were neither dead nor alive were running wild and spreading death .

He had to hurry .

This wasn’t the time to chase after a demonic human who had run away .

Velkian slowly picked his breath . His drew closer his consciousness that had been focused on a far place .

The survivors .

There weren’t that many .

But he couldn’t abandon them .

“ . ”

He spoke and let out his power . As he released the Life magic, rain with the power of recovery poured down from the sky .

But it wasn’t absolute .

It only brought a peaceful death to those who were already on the verge of death, and a faster recovery for those who would survive .

It was just a little help . It was not a miracle .

So Velkian decided .

“Kuoo-”

His Phantom Steed cried low and headed to the ground .

Two people were lying down near where Saluzia stood .

They were very strong for their age .

The woman’s condition gradually improved because of the , but the man showed no response .

Because he was on the verge of death .

Velkian thought .

It was possible to save the man .

But he had to spend a considerable amount of time in order to help the man survive .

‘I don’t have time for that . ’

The time he could spare the man was only ten seconds or so .

He couldn’t save the man if it exceeded that time, and he couldn’t help it .

Because once his ghost legion killed the nearby demon followers, they had to move to the center of the royal capital and save as many people as possible .

‘So I’ll leave it to yourself . ’

Velkian opened the pocket on his waist and took out a pill the size of his finger .

He infused a bit of his mana into the silver pill reminiscent of the subtle moonlight, and opened the mouth of the man – Gaël .

‘The Essence of the Silver Moon . ’

It was an item he received from Druid Fran .

‘If you endure it, you’ll survive . ’

It would not just help him regain his past strength, but would also let him be reborn as a more powerful being .

But it wasn’t easy .

According to Fran, the chances were one in a hundred .

The man in front of Velkian seemed like someone who had considerable training, so he thought that the man’s chances to survive were higher .

‘I wouldn’t normally use it but…’

The probability of survival was so low that it was a drug he never thought of using . What he received from Fran was reserved for another purpose and not for first aid .

But right now, he couldn’t do anything else except this .

‘And…’

He somehow felt it .

Fran would have said that it was fate . The Essence of the Silver Moon was only available once a month, on the day when Selene and Helene’s powers were at its peak .

But today was that day, so perhaps it was really fate at work .

‘If, if you really survive…’

Velkian let go of his thoughts . He pushed the Essence of the Silver Moon into Gaël’s mouth and stood up right away .

“Let’s go . ”

He had used up the time he spared for Gaël .

Once he rode on the Phantom Steed again, Velkian headed for the center of the royal capital with his ghost legion .

And time passed .

The that poured down from the sky lessened, and the ghostly wails of the ghost legion faded away .

A low groan leaked out of Adelia’s mouth . Although she had yet to regain her consciousness, her breathing gradually stabilized .

And next to Adelia, Gaël still didn’t move .

His body was still cold .

But at some point .

It was the time when the barrier covering the royal capital suddenly weakened .

Ripples began deep inside Gaël’s soul .