Chapter 120: Monster Army (4) |
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: none
Illustrations: none
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"What the hell is that..."
A stunned voice tainted with horror leaked from the mouth of the 7th Legion Commander, Yornan.
His gaze was fixed behind the Monster Legion.
No, to be precise, it was fixed on the blood-red door opened by the woman with red eyes at the back, and the endless swarm of monsters pouring out of it.
Has hell itself opened up in our world?
A battlefield filled with nothing but instinct and the desire to kill, devoid of reason or restraint.
The sight of the battlefield was so overwhelming it could turn the onlooker's face pale.
'...Is this the legion His Highness Zion mentioned, made up of these monsters?'
Honestly, I was half-doubting there was another legion, but I never imagined it would be composed of monsters.
The soldiers around me seemed to share this thought, all staring blankly at the collision.
However,
"Regroup immediately!!"
Yornan quickly regained his senses and shouted loudly.
Now was the chance to reorganize the formation while the Monster Legion's attention was diverted.
Furthermore,
"Shield bearers, rearrange the formation and let the knights fill in the gaps! All mages, prepare your chants, and artillery, load your weapons!"
It was also a chance to turn the tide of the war.
Thanks to the monsters' weakened momentum, Yornan's legion could easily reorganize.
As soon as the formation was ready, the commander looked at the Monster Legion and shouted.
"Counterattack!"
Supporting Liushina's monster legion while dispersing the power of the Monster Legion was the best strategy.
It was also the last order Zion had given to Yornan.
"What's that?"
From atop a giant elephant-sized monster, Horrible furrowed his brows as he observed everything.
The sudden appearance of a monster legion from the back was an unexpected variable.
Despite scouting the area multiple times and being confident there was no hidden force, he could never have dreamed of summoning an entire legion like this.
And he certainly didn't expect it to be composed of monsters.
'Humans and monsters joining forces.'
It was a scene he had never seen before, but he couldn't just stand by in shock.
His Monster Legion was gradually being pushed back.♥
'First, take care of the monsters at the back.'
Just as he thought this, the monster he was on started to turn.
"Hm?"
Something else caught Horrible's eye.
Thudding!
A group of knights on horseback, charging towards the flank of the legion with insane speed along the side of the basin.
The intensity emanating from these knights was so formidable that it could be felt even from a distance.
"What now..."
A low voice leaked from Horrible as his eyes met with one of the men leading the knights.
At that moment,
"That is..."
A strange emotion flickered in the eyes of the Monster King.
In the Chronicles of Monster King Horrible, Horrible is defined not as an artificially created being but as a chimera born naturally.
Horrible inherently possessed the ability to command other monsters and could use the abilities of all monsters, dragons excluded.
And in the not-too-distant future, he would shatter the steel fortress and advance into the empire, causing unimaginable destruction and ascending as a great calamity.
'So it's right to deal with it now.'
Recalling the contents of the chronicles, Zion charged towards the side of the Monster Legion with the elite knights of the 7th Legion, the Balt Knight Order.
The period when Horrible becomes an unstoppable monster is after its invasion of the empire.
Therefore, now, when it was barely born and lacked experience, was the best opportunity to deal with it.
Of course, it was 'dealing with' it, not killing it.
'To do that, I'll have to break through these first.'
Roar!
With that thought completed, Zion's eyes caught the monsters that noticed him and were charging.
Viewing the monsters coldly, Zion increased the speed of his horse even more.
Thudding!
Could it be because they were the elite knights of the 7th Legion?
Without saying anything special, the knights followed Zion's movements.
Along with this, Zion and the knights' formation naturally shaped into a sharp spearhead.
Growling!
Suddenly, the Dragon Lance Agdvar, grasped in Zion's right hand, emitted a cry, amplifying the darkness.
The expanding darkness began to envelop all the knights behind him.
As every knight was covered in darkness, transforming into a perfect black spear, there was a massive explosion!
They finally clashed with the monsters.♥
Dozens of explosions sounded at once as a minotaur as big as a house in the front was obliterated without leaving a trace.
And then, crunch!
The monsters behind it, too, started to be crushed in a row without even managing a proper response.
Zion and the knights' assault moved in a straight line without any hesitation.
A lance charge by knights, known for its destructive power in a straight-line breakthrough, was already formidable.
With the addition of Zion's dark energy and the amplification from the Dragon Lance, its power was beyond imagination.
Thudding!
Only after piercing through about a third of the Monster Legion's flank did Zion and the knights' charge begin to slow down. But this "slowdown" was only relative to their initial speed; from the perspective of the monsters they faced, it was still incredibly fast.
Screech!
Before a Frost Lamia, recognizing the approaching Zion and knights from afar, could fully prepare itself, Zion, already close, thrust out his lance, Agdvar.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion followed by the vanishing head of the Frost Lamia.
Before the Lamia's body could hit the ground, Zion retrieved his lance, swung it overhead, and released the power of the frost spirit embedded in the lance tip. This action started to freeze all the monsters nearby.
Crackling!
As if on cue, the knights following Zion smashed into the now ice-statue monsters, shattering them completely.
There wasn't a single superfluous movement in their entire coordination.
-"Humans... stop them! Stop them!!"
Feeling the crisis, some of the more intelligent monsters screamed, pointing at Zion and the Balt Knight Order.
More monsters nearby began to rush towards Zion.
Despite this, Zion did not slow down his horse.
In fact, he sped up even more.
'I can't stop, not even for a moment.'
Stopping would mean being surrounded, and that would render the plan to break through to the Monster King useless.
Boom!
Charging forward, Zion put all his momentum into the lance tip, shattering the upper body of a Lizard Warrior blocking the way.
Although Zion's primary weapon was originally a sword, that didn't mean he wasn't skilled with a lance.
There were times on the battlefield when he had to wield a lance, making his lance skills second only to his swordsmanship.♥
Whoosh!
Feeling at a disadvantage in close quarters, reptilian monsters with cannon-like snouts shot their fangs at Zion like arrows.
Each fang had the power to easily shatter a rock.
However, none of these attacks reached Zion.
Before they could, they were all shattered in mid-air by the oddly curving movements of Agdvar.
"……!"
Admiration flashed in the eyes of the knights following behind, but Zion, unbothered, sped up even more.
Huff, huff!
The black horse Zion rode snorted with heightened excitement, perhaps in tune with its rider's strength.
Then, aooo!
A white wolf, as big as a three-story building, blocked Zion's path, exhaling a chilling breath.
The breath, cold enough to freeze the surrounding air, shot straight towards Zion.
Despite noticing the breath coming straight for him, Zion didn't change his direction and continued forward.
Keening!
A new surge of dark energy began to gather and rotate around Zion's lance, Agdvar, creating another blade edge.
In the meantime, the wolf's breath had already reached right in front of him.
Just as the breath was about to engulf Zion completely, Black Tip.
Zion's lance was lifted and thrust straight forward.
Thwack!
In that moment, the white wolf's breath seemed to be sucked into the tip of Zion's lance and disappeared from the world.
It was a baffling sight, but Zion's attack was not over yet.
Crash!
The darkness, following the trajectory of the breath, decapitated the wolf, which was looking on with bewildered eyes.
Boom!
The wolf monster's body, now headless, fell to the ground.
As Zion and the knights leaped over the body and continued their charge,
-"Come any closer, and I'll kill you, human!"
Monsters that seemed to be high-ranking officials within the Monster Legion started to move towards Zion.
"Your Highness, you must be careful. They are Horrible's guard!"
Vindel, the leader of the Balt Knight Order behind Zion, shouted urgently.
They knew well the strength of these creatures, having faced them several times on the battlefield, unlike the Monster King.
Therefore, they needed to slow down and prepare before moving.
However,
"Keep going."
Zion, watching the rapidly approaching guard with a calm gaze, said.
Along with that, Zion's right arm holding Agdvar started to pull back as if drawing a bowstring.♥
'Pierce through them in one go and reach Horrible.'
Dark energy, gathering at the tip of Zion's lance, amplified endlessly.
Thudding!
The surrounding air began to scream, unable to withstand the density of the dark energy.
The space tightened slightly.
The knights, feeling a chill down their spines at the sight, had their eyes wavering.
-"What is he doing...!"
The guard, having increased their speed too late, reached Zion and swung their weapons desperately.
A force far different from the monsters faced before.
It was already too late.
Zion's arm, drawn to its limit, stretched forward, and Agdvar, amplified to its extreme, disappeared from the spot.
And then,
-----------------!
A streak of black lightning traced from Zion's hand to right in front of where Monster King Horrible was.
Immediately, the bodies of all monsters caught in the trajectory of the lightning, including the guard, begin to tear apart.
Zion, having witnessed that strike, reinterpreted it in his own style and unleashed it upon the world once again.
Crackling!
A second shockwave erupts from the torn path, shattering the surrounding land.
In an instant, the area ahead is emptied, and silence follows.
Within this silence, only Zion speeds toward the Monster King, following the path he created.
Whoosh!
Zion, reaching the elephantine monster that the Monster King rode in a single bound, leaps up without hesitation.
Now in his hand, instead of Agdvar, is Eclaxia.
"You are...!"
Horrible's eyes waver as they meet Zion's, who has charged right up to him.
Zion, without hesitation, swings Eclaxia, which he had drawn back in preparation, at the king of monsters.
Horrible transforms his entire right hand into a massive claw to block it.
And finally, Crash!
The moment Eclaxia and Horrible's claw collide, unleashing a massive shockwave, Zion's dark energy enters the fourth stage.
