Chapter 221: Rakshar, Lord of Chaos (3)
"Large monsters ahead! Save your stamina in advance!"
"Shouldn't the large species be handled by someone with more firepower?!"
"Aye! Traitor Lee Wan-yong! Isn't an S-class hunter not even that good?"
"Oh man, are you talking to me? And it's not Lee Wan-yong, it's Lee Yong-wan!"
A building window across the battlefield. Yong-wan sniped at monsters from there and scolded Ha-ri.
"Mr. Yong-wan, aren't you a knight of the TTG Temple now?"
"How long has it been since you were commissioned?"
"I'm a senior knight, and a priestess of Poma and Petos."
And you?
"Uh, uh-huh! To the lowest level representative of an association!"
"If I resign, that's it! I have a manor and a lot of money!"
"The pantheon abandoned all the kids------."
"Is it time to be mean?"
Just then, a shadow suddenly appeared between the two of them. It was Ha Yu-ri, the Vice Guild Leader of the Firebird Guild.
Ha-ri stumbled in anger, nearly falling down the building. She grabbed him by the waist, pulled him back up, and patted his head.
"You have to be careful."
"Thank you."
"Miss Ha-ri, isn't there a big temperature difference in the way you treat me and Yu-ri?"
Yong-wan asked, and Ha Yu-ri retorted with the attitude of someone asking for the obvious.
"She'd rather have a pretty sister than a penny-pinching old man who doesn't even pay taxes."
"Ugh---!"
"You don't pay taxes?!"
Yong-wan retorted at Ha-ri's shocked gaze.
"No, I don't pay taxes, but I pay enough in offerings."
After all, taxes are not yet enforced on outsiders who are not under the direct control of the TTG Temple.
"That, Miss Yuri, why did you come up here?"
"There were monsters pushing in this way, I just got back from dealing with them."
Ha Yuri quickly wiped her bloodied dagger.
"Miss Ha-ri, you're the one controlling the flames on the battlefield right now, right?"
"Yes? Yes. Although it's thanks to the sun."
Ha-ri was projecting overwhelming firepower onto the battlefield, fueled by the giant sun Leon had left behind.
The reason she's here with Yong-wan, the sniper, is to get a wide view of the battlefield and find a place to project firepower.
"Come with me to the building over there. Large monsters are pouring in from the eastern district, and there are some high level demons mixed in."
"Yikes!"
"Be careful not to get stabbed in the back here."
"Oh, come back quickly."
Ha Yuri chuckled and jumped down the building and Ha-ri jumped after her. As they headed to the building on the other side, they saw a familiar face.
"Sister?!"
"It's Soo-ho!"
Han Soo-ho and Kim Jae-hyuk stood with their knights, spears crossed and ready to charge again.
"How's the situation?"
"Don't talk. Everyone seems to be struggling."
Soo-ho looked exhausted and Jae-hyuk whined, too.
"The consumption of holy power is no joke. It's exploding all over the place, so I guess even the gods are screaming. In particular, the gods with Holy Knights must have been very upset."
Jae-hyuk's words were meant to lighten the mood of the grueling battlefield, but his expression was too exhausted to be funny.
That's how dense this battlefield is.
"Still, it's not like everyone's energy is being squeezed out."
Jae-hyuk looked up at the sun, which still loomed over the Hunters like a protective presence.
Summoned by the power of Tatar, the God of the Sun and Judgment, it melted demons and monsters with its mere presence, inspiring allies with an unknown strength and will.
The Lionheart King and the Holy Knights, who can conjure such things in the blink of an eye, represent the power of the gods. With them, victory is inevitable, and everyone stands firm in their belief.
"Here comes the big one! Chun So-yeon, prepare to charge!"
"Get ready!"
Jae-hyuk focused his thunderbolts with the power of Ultima, the God of Sky and Thunder. With the Thunder Holy Knight's Spear he inherited from the Lionheart Kingdom, it's not hard to control lightning.
-Crack!
-Crack!
A thunderbolt blasted the monsters in the lead with a single blow.
"Wow, that's a lot."
"Huh?"
Jae-hyuk turned away from the admiring crowd and questioned his performance.
"This is weird---was my Holy Law originally this---strong?"
Apart from the power, the range and the number of lightning bolts were different from before. It was as if a giant faucet had been turned off and the water rushed toward me.
"Miss Ha-ri, quickly send fire support over there."
Ha Yuri urged.
"What? The sun!"
"The sun is disappearing!"
The sun, which had been shining its powerful presence and protecting the Hunters a moment ago, had gradually dispersed and disappeared.
-What? What's going on?
-The sun is gone?
That's not all. The change and the instantaneous disappearance of the protective traits from the system window caused a stir.
"What the hell is going on?!"
They were puzzled to say the least.
* * * * *
-Kwak!
Everyone cried out at the spot where Rakshar's attack had struck, at the crumbling Lionheart King.
""Your Majesty!!!"
The Holy Knights gasped. Even the Yakt Spinner was caught off guard by the suddenness of the situation.
"Hold your ground, it's only a penetrating shot!"
Leon calms everyone down, even as he was pierced in the chest. He swerved just in time and the shot narrowly missed his heart.
"I didn't think this king protective holy law could be pierced------"
Ranged defense. The holy law that blocks attacks from all ranged weapons is not omnipotent.
For example, they do not protect against things that knights do not recognize as ranged weapons, such as magic.
Magic, in too many instances, is beyond the comprehension of knights.
The absoluteness of Conceptual Defense is conditional on such a loophole.
Leon was the pinnacle of such holy law users, that's why he let his guard down. To be precise, it should be said that it was due to his unwavering faith.
"Father---!"
Karina rushed to Leon's aid as Yappy, Vulcanus, and Beatrice charged toward Rakshar.
"You damned bastard!"
Divine Punishment <Battlefield Flame>
-Bam!
A 680mm Stardust Artillery shell divinely enhanced.
"How dare you---!"
Holy Law <Death Mist>
The three Holy Knights unleashed their greatest Holy Arts almost simultaneously.
Petos' flame, Heto's divinely polished top-of-the-line shells, and Fle's death fog.
The Holy Knights' greatest attacks are so powerful that even an Archdemon cannot escape annihilation. That is, of course, if it is triggered.
"Mm---?!"
The fire doesn't advance. Instead, when Vulcanus realized that the flames that had overflowed from his body had been extinguished, a giant tentacle swung at him.
-Bang!
"Lord Vulcanus!"
Beatrice reached for Vulcanus, but he bounced off, smashing into the building.
-Shells set. Fired.
Yappy's 680 millimeter stellar iron cannon fired at Rakshar but almost simultaneously, Rakshar's maw shoots out a concentrated black light of doom.
Transcendent <Light of Extinction>
The bombardment that shakes the very fabric of space and doom's energy is met with the strongest physical energy ever seen.
-Quaguaquaguaquagua!!!
The windows of the surrounding buildings shatter and the asphalt cracks.
The transcendence that Leon had managed to break through earlier--- this time was different.
-------!
The next moment, Yappy's marquis class is penetrated. The 680mm special stellar iron cannonballs have lost their iron shields and are now merely massive shells.
It was not enough to stop the Demon Lord Rakshar's Transcendence.
-Lost armament. 65% of fuselage lost. emergency combat mode──
The surviving weapons were summoned, but they could not be fired. Rakshar's tentacles shattered even the behemoth Marquis-class battlecruiser.
"Divine------"
Karina and Beatrice understood what had just happened.
The dark mist from the exploding bodies of the Archdemons had filled this space, and since then, the connection to the gods had been severed.
"This mist--it seems to be blocking our connection to the gods, Archduchess Karina."
"I am aware."
They needed to get out of here so the two of them put Leon on Stallion and tried to escape through the sky.
-Kiyaaaaahhhh!
But thousands, tens of thousands, of flying beasts descended from the sky. The great army, which included demons, completely blocked their escape.
"The Burning Sword Knights?!"
Karina's gaze fell on the Knights, who had been holding back the waves of monsters until just now, but were now being swept away by the waves of monsters, their powers lost in the aftermath of the mist.
"It's dangerous here!"
"We'll stop them, so come on, Your Majesty---!"
[You can't escape from here.]
The cries of the Knights of the Burning Sword were helpless as Rakshar declared with a sneer. He is the only one who has not lost the slightest bit of power in this mist.
[Mortal, after all, whose connection to the divine has been severed, only to return to a weak human body.]
Rakshar, Lord of Chaos, unleashed a Great Magic at the expense of the five Archdemons and a Demon Archduke.
[Here you die as helpless humans.]
Do you feel the slightest regret?
An overwhelmingly dominant lord brings great despair.
[Lionheart, where are your gods now? Your gods will not hear your voice now. Your soul will not find its way to their paradise.]
"------"
Leon pushed himself to his feet, away from the queen, the archduke, and his old ally who supported him.
His wound, though not his heart, is mortal. A wound that would have been healed by Demera's power if he hadn't died, but not since his connection to the divine was severed.
He felt awkward in his purely human body after centuries.
"Ugh."
But he stood up. His flesh pierced, he didn't care that the blood was flowing freely.
"Father---!"
Karina ran up to Leon. The cold Northern Archduke was restless.
"Your Majesty---"
Beatrice stepped in front of him.
"I'll buy you some time. You and Archduchess Karina should leave this place."
With her divine power cut off, the only thing left intact is the Archmage herself.
Beatrice is willing to risk her life to help the Lionheart King retreat.
She could die. She will probably die. But it must be done.
"This king has no intention of retreating."
"Your Majesty?"
"Father---!"
"Against the impossible!"
"I will challenge the invincible!"
"I will walk toward the stars!"
He stumbled forward but even at this moment, the Lionheart King's gaze remains absurdly straight.
"If you have dropped your spear, fight with your sword, if you have lost your sword, fight with your fists, if you have lost your arm, fight through clenched teeth! Do not wander away from the grace of the gods for a moment. The gods are always at your side."
The knight turned around and mounted the fallen Stallion, holding the sword that did not let go even though it was pierced through his torso
Some might call it a strategic failure.
Others might scoff at the rationality of fleeing now and planning for later.
You may think it is right to seize the next opportunity through the sacrifices of your knights and soldiers.
But knights are not supposed to be rational.
A knight is someone who shows courage.
They are unbreakable and unyielding,
An unquenchable flame,
A pole of light that dispels darkness.
A being who must serve as an example for all those who must lead.
The Lionheart King is a symbol of all indomitability, immortality, and invincibility.
There should be no escape in the name of rationality.
Just like the Holy Grail Knight Georgic did,
Just as the Holy Grail Knight Jerea did,
Just as countless saints did not give up in the face of hopeless reality.
The Lionheart King maintains an upright attitude in the face of the despair he faced more than 200 years ago.
"To Lionheart──"
Overcoming adversity and reaching for the stars.
"Glory be."
He is a captain who sails endlessly toward the stars.
* * * * *
"Stop it, stop it, it's going through!"
"Archers, get a good shot from the building, the medium classes are just coming in!"
"Stop them from entering the building! We can't stop the wave if we lose sniper points!"
It's a mess.
With the Holy Knights' spells gone, the Hunters began to crumble.
Especially without the overwhelming support of Legion Traits, the debuffs of Rakshar the Chaos Lord hit them hard.
Weakness, chaos, dread, confusion, chaos, screams, terror, confusion, despair.
Countless products of chaos crush them.
The only thing keeping them sane amidst the overwhelming chaos is an Epic item, a holy relic, and the few knights who wield it.
The Goddess Han Ha-ri, vessel of two gods.
Chun So-yeon, Knight of Darkness and Vengeance.
Han Soo-ho, the Shield of Light and Justice, and Kim Jae-hyuk, the Knight of Sky and Thunder.
And other S-class knights who received their knighthoods late in life and who are able to make their presence felt around.
"Ha, Ha-ri, we're going to fall apart! I can't hold on anymore!"
Chief Kim Jin-soo shouted urgently, but Han Ha-ri couldn't do much.
The divinity of Leon and the Holy Knights had been blocked, and their immense holy power had flowed into them, but they were no substitutes for the gods.
There are limits to their individual powers, and Ha-ri is only able to hold back the tidal wave of monsters because she is maximizing the potential of her Heart of Fire.
"Lord Petos, Lord Poma, what should we do---!"
[G──Guha──]
[hurry──_-]
The voice that always answers the shrine maiden's voice fails to reach her.
It's not just the knights of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods who are panicking. Hunters from all over the world are also unable to fulfill their potential.
No matter how powerful they were, they were helpless in the face of the chaos unleashed by the Chaos Lord.
"Uh, we have to do something------"
The monsters kept coming endlessly.
Even the giant monsters that were disguised as buildings came from all directions as the sun disappeared.
When the formation collapsed and even the knights who were supposed to maintain it fell into chaos──
"Go, let's go! Charge!"
A knight shouted out a charge, unable to hide his trembling voice.
But the storm that followed that voice was anything but tame.
<Ikkidangcheonmanbubudong>
<Demonic Sword>
A giant sword slashes at the demons that fill the city.
Hundreds and thousands of swords swept through the monsters in the sky like a gust of wind.
"Berserker Master?!"
"Infinite Sword Kang Jin-sung!"
The hunters representing Korea appeared. And unexpectedly, it was the North Korean army that charged alongside them.
"Wipe out the monsters!"
Hundreds of North Korean Hunters flanked the monsters. Despite the sudden appearance of the North Korean army, Ha-ri saw a familiar face.
"Uncle Koo Dae-sung?!"
It was Koo Dae-sung and his companions, running into the middle of the battlefield, stabbing at the monsters with their twisted spears.
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