Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Harvest Festival (4)
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Summon swaps are only possible between summons.
That meant Kang Hyun-soo couldn't move using the summon swap skill.
On the other hand, Viscount Lemonshitz could.
‘Swap positions with himself and his summon.’
Taak!
Kang Hyun-soo poured all his power into heading toward the imperial palace where Charles XIII was.
But the distance was too far.
-Protect the emperor no matter what it takes.
Kang Hyun-soo issued the command to Doppelganger King Taliman.
-Yes.
Doppelganger King Taliman gave a short reply and summoned his subordinate legionaries.
However.
Kwaaaang!
They were swept away like fallen leaves in an instant.
‘Summon swap, summon swap, summon swap.’
Kang Hyun-soo repeatedly used the summon swap skill to send his elite summons, including Orc Lord Kashku, to the imperial palace.
But.
‘Damn it.’
His stacks ran out.
Doppelganger King Taliman and the summons tried to block Viscount Lemonshitz, along with Duke Richard the Loyal, the imperial guards, and the undead monsters.
Kwaang!
“Keuk!”
Zuak!
Puuung!
The gap in power was too great.
‘Just a little more, just a tiny bit more.’
If only Kang Hyun-soo could reach the imperial palace?
He could summon a legion to muster the force needed to deal with Viscount Lemonshitz.
However.
-Die!
Faster than Kang Hyun-soo could arrive.
Viscount Lemonshitz broke through the encirclement of summons and imperial guards and reached Charles XIII first.
Hwaruruk!
A blade of dark blue flames condensed with demonic energy flew toward Charles XIII.
“Your Majesty! You bastards! Get out of the way!”
Duke Richard the Loyal spat blood with his shout as he tried to protect Charles XIII by breaking through the undead monsters in front.
Kwaaaaang!
But he was just a little too late.
The imperial guards' faces, including Duke Richard the Loyal's, were dyed in despair at the massive explosion.
Even if they were wrapped in defensive items.
It was nearly impossible for a normal human like Charles XIII to survive such a powerful demonic explosion.
“Your Majesty!”
Duke Richard the Loyal, who had broken through the encirclement late, pierced through the flames and arrived at where Charles XIII had been.
His eyes caught sight of Charles XIII, unharmed.
“Oooo! You're safe!”
Duke Richard the Loyal's eyes lit up with joy upon confirming the safety of Charles XIII, his emperor and lord.
“Sir Ri...”
Charles XIII muttered in a dazed expression.
‘Sir Ri?’
Hearing Charles XIII's mutter, Duke Richard the Loyal scanned the surroundings.
His eyes fell on a familiar helmet and armor.
It was what Sir Ri, a member of the Dark Knights, had been wearing.
‘Did he sacrifice his life to save His Majesty?’
The helmet and armor Sir Ri had worn were torn to shreds, barely recognizable.
“Did Sir Ri save Your Majesty's life?”
“Yes. Sir Ri tried to save me and—”
Tears streamed from Charles XIII's eyes.
Seeing that, Duke Richard the Loyal's heart ached too.
‘We owe the Dark Knights a great debt.’
If the Dark Knights hadn't sent Sir Ri?
Duke Richard the Loyal would have lost his lord today.
‘I thought he was deployed just for some scheme.’
He never imagined that Sir Ri, an obvious foreigner, would give his life to protect Emperor Charles XIII.
‘His Majesty must be heartbroken.’
Dark Knight Sir Ri was Charles XIII's first love.
For such a person to die saving his life.
The shock to Charles XIII must be immense.
In fact, Charles XIII was completely out of it.
It was love at first sight.
Just hearing her voice made his heart race wildly.
Meeting her eyes felt like his heart would stop.
And that person.
Was engulfed in dark blue flames right before Charles XIII's eyes.
First, her golden hair, woven like fine silk threads, burned up.
Then, her face with deer-like eyes and cherry lips burned away.
In an instant, the dark blue flames enveloped Sir Ri's entire body.
Sir Ri's body, resisting the dark blue flames, slowly faded.
As Sir Ri's body disappeared, the dark blue flames weakened too, allowing Charles XIII to survive.
But while his life was saved, his heart was not.
With Sir Ri, swept away and vanished in the dark blue flames, Charles XIII's heart died as well.
‘This is bad.’
Duke Richard the Loyal's expression grew urgent as he saw Emperor Charles XIII's eyes slowly dying.
Before becoming an imperial guard, he had seen such eyes on the battlefield occasionally.
Those whose hearts had died were not truly alive even if breathing.
They were no different from walking corpses.
‘I have to save him.’
If left like this?
Emperor Charles XIII would become a cripple.
He needed to breathe life into the dying heart.
“Your Majesty, pull yourself together! You must rise for the sake of the empire!”
No matter how much Duke Richard the Loyal raised his voice, Charles XIII, with ears closed, remained silent.
‘No choice.’
It wasn't the best.
But it would be the next best thing.
“Your Majesty, you must avenge Sir Ri!”
What Duke Richard the Loyal chose was the flame called vengeance.
The most intense flame that could revive those with dead eyes on the battlefield.
“Vengeance?”
“Yes, you must take revenge on the demon army that drove Sir Ri to death. Only then can Sir Ri rest in peace, right?”
“Yes, I must avenge her. Only then can I soothe her vengeful spirit.”
The dying light in Charles XIII's eyes revived.
“Duke Richard, bring me that demon's head right now!”
Killing intent filled Charles XIII's bloodshot eyes.
“Yes!”
Duke Richard the Loyal turned with a resounding reply.
With the leader of the Dark Knights, the Demon-Slaying Blood God, returned, the battle had reached a stalemate again.
He wanted to stay by Emperor Charles XIII's side for protection.
But right now, that wouldn't fly.
‘Your Majesty, you must steady your heart.’
Those revived by the flame of vengeance.
‘Must not be consumed by the madness of vengeance.’
There was a high chance they would become lunatics obsessed with revenge.
* * *
Kang Hyun-soo, arriving late, used his legion summon skill to call in his summons and blocked Viscount Lemonshitz's path.
Kwaaaang!
As the battle erupted, the ornate historic buildings of the imperial palace crumbled.
But there was no time to worry about buildings now.
‘At least Charles XIII is safe.’
If Charles XIII had died?
The high noble title, surveillance rights, and military authority Kang Hyun-soo had obtained would likely be revoked.
‘Doppelganger King Taliman was destroyed, though.’
He could revive him anytime by consuming stats.
One concern was.
‘What happens to the invested mana?’
Kang Hyun-soo didn't know if that recovered too.
‘I’ll find out by checking.’
Kang Hyun-soo used his legion composition skill to revive Doppelganger King Taliman.
The result.
‘The invested mana recovers too.’
One drawback was.
‘The amount of stats consumed has increased.’
Especially in a battle like now, it was a significant downside.
Consuming stats meant Kang Hyun-soo's combat power dropped.
Still.
‘Reviving Doppelganger King Taliman is the bigger gain.’
The revived Doppelganger King Taliman immediately joined the battle.
Naturally, he changed his appearance.
“Your Majesty, pull yourself together! You must rise for the sake of the empire!”
Amid the fierce battle, Kang Hyun-soo heard Duke Richard the Loyal's voice.
‘What?’
Kang Hyun-soo checked Charles XIII's condition.
‘He's completely lost it.’
However.
“Your Majesty, you must avenge Sir Ri.”
“Vengeance?”
At the word vengeance, the emperor snapped out of it.
But not fully.
‘His eyes are crazed.’
It was understandable, with his first love dying before his eyes.
‘What to do?’
Kang Hyun-soo's mind raced.
‘Reinserting Doppelganger King Taliman is amateurish.’
Explaining the resurrection would be awkward.
‘No need to extinguish Charles XIII's flame of vengeance.’
It was more important to keep that flame of vengeance in Charles XIII burning.
‘It feels a bit sorry, but.’
Charles XIII, entrusting himself to rage after losing his first love.
But that first love wasn't human to begin with.
‘And not even a woman.’
Plus, though he'd think her dead.
Revived by Kang Hyun-soo's skill.
‘She's perfectly fine and alive.’
He felt very sorry for Charles XIII.
‘But this is better.’
If Charles XIII fell hard for Doppelganger King Taliman?
The pros were big, but so were the cons.
Moreover.
‘If Charles XIII thinks of making Doppelganger King Taliman a concubine, that’d be the worst.’
There was also the risk of identity exposure.
No matter how perfectly disguised.
As a being made of mana, not a living creature, there was a chance of unexpected accidents revealing the truth.
‘Besides, an unfulfilled first love is beautified and even more beautiful.’
An unrealized first love grows lushly on the fodder of memory bias.
In reality, meeting a childhood first love decades later?
‘The chance of disappointment is huge.’
So Kang Hyun-soo planned to separate Doppelganger King Taliman from Charles XIII later with some excuse.
But this incident happened.
‘It’s a bit early, but.’
Doppelganger King Taliman could now exit naturally.
Leaving behind the flame of vengeance in Charles XIII too.
Meanwhile, the battle raged fiercely.
Both Kang Hyun-soo and Viscount Lemonshitz strove to seize the advantage.
But the momentum didn't tilt easily to one side.
‘Can't deploy Demon Dragon Karaas either.’
Kang Hyun-soo gritted his teeth.
The sure way to victory was deploying Demon Dragon Karaas, one of his strongest forces.
But.
‘That's impossible.’
A demon dragon was a demonkin.
He couldn't show himself commanding a demonkin.
Of course, if the worst happened?
He'd deploy Demon Dragon Karaas disguised as demonkin infighting.
‘But no need to take that risk now.’
Even in the stalemate, damage accumulated bit by bit.
Plus, the negative emotions from citizens witnessing the battle from afar piled up steadily in the mana orb.
‘Not much left until it's full.’
Once the mana orb filled?
Kang Hyun-soo could gain another powerful summon after Doppelganger King Taliman and Doppelganger No. 1.
Hiding mana weakened power, sure.
‘But even accounting for that, it can break the current balance.’
Kang Hyun-soo's eyes flashed as he pressed the battle.
Then, finally, the mana orb filled.
Kang Hyun-soo chose Doppelganger No. 2 to inject the mana into.
If he had leeway?
He'd have used it on other demonkin-origin summons.
Like Orc Lord Kashku, a demon realm viscount, or Death Knight Bernard, a demon realm baron—plenty of strong ones.
However.
‘Can't be sure they can hide mana.’
With even Demon Dragon Karaas sidelined due to appearance, he couldn't deploy summons like the Tiger King that reeked of mana.
‘Wish I had more Doppelganger Kings.’
Unfortunately, no.
‘Investing mana in top-tier doppelgangers like Doppelganger No. 1 is inefficient.’
But right now.
‘No choice.’
Kang Hyun-soo passed the mana orb to Doppelganger No. 2.
Upgrade happened in an instant.
And fortunately, the result was.
‘Not bad.’
Like Doppelganger No. 1, Doppelganger No. 2 broke its limits and gained greater power.
It had the drawback of lower combat power due to intelligence limits and no new skills.
But the advantage of hiding mana more than offset all that.