Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Phoenix Awakening
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Valtre's neck snapped, and his body went limp.
Arthur tossed him aside like trash and shook his head.
“You're not fit to be king.”
Then he glanced toward the door and said,
“Come in.”
The door opened with someone clearing their throat awkwardly.
Millerph led the way, followed by Natarshian, Heric, Damian, and Hoan of the Tomoya Kingdom.
They glanced at Valtre collapsed beside Arthur, their expressions calm as if they had half-expected it.
Only Hoan's face darkened sharply.
“Your Majesty!”
He rushed over, cast a heal on Valtre, and checked his condition.
Upon seeing the completely broken neck, he let out a wail.
“Your Majesty, no!”
Everyone watched him in silence.
After a moment,
Hoan glared at Arthur with murderous eyes.
“I'll never forgive you!”
Mana surged into his hands as he leaped to his feet.
He thrust his glowing blue mana hands toward Arthur with all his might.
Powerful ice daggers shot forward like arrows.
Arthur swept his arm with an icy expression.
A golden aura arced in a crescent shape, shattering every ice dagger.
As Hoan prepared another attack, Arthur appeared before him as if teleporting.
He seized Hoan's throat.
“Gah!”
In an instant, Hoan choked, his strength draining away.
The mana in his palms dissipated.
Arthur looked at him and said,
“I have no intention of killing all the knights or soldiers affiliated with Tomoya Kingdom just because you betrayed me. I'll hold only the decision-makers responsible.”
“Urgh...”
Arthur flung Hoan to the floor like a rag and observed his reaction.
Hoan clutched his throat, coughing and gasping for air.
Then he glared at Arthur and shouted,
“I devised the plan and reported it to His Majesty myself, so kill only me!”
“Only you?”
“Yes! They merely followed my orders.”
“Then it's simple.”
Arthur stepped forward and gathered mana.
Golden mana converged in his right hand, summoning the Sig Sauer.
He aimed at Hoan and said,
“He kept a subordinate who overstepped his bounds.”
“Don't insult my liege!”
“Pity. In your next life, serve a master worth looking up to.”
Bang-.
“...!”
Arthur frowned for a split second.
Just before the aura bullet struck Hoan's forehead, it was blocked by a barrier of wind.
Hoan still reeled from the impact transmitted through the barrier and collapsed backward.
“What is this?”
Parsia appeared there.
She bowed politely to Arthur and said,
*-My apologies. I had no choice but to intervene because of the Spear of Skana.*
“Why the Spear of Skana?”
*-He insisted on speaking himself.*
Parsia opened her palm skyward, and a vortex formed above it, summoning the Spear of Skana.
A transparent light flashed, and his voice rang out.
*-Heir of Teheran's lineage, if he dies, no one will know how to awaken my power.*
“What are you talking about?”
*-As the heirloom of the Tomoya family, awakening my power requires an assistant. The only one who knows about me must be kept alive.*
“Hmm...”
The Spear of Skana was one of the five divine weapons that suppressed dark energy.
An indispensable weapon.
He didn't want to spare the man, but awakening the Spear of Skana was essential against the Demon King.
Arthur glanced at the fallen Hoan.
He deserved death, but he was loyal to his lord in his own way.
That was admirable, but leaving him alive risked vengeful schemes.
That's why Arthur had planned to end it cleanly here...
“With things as they are...”
Arthur turned to Damian and continued,
“Restrict his mana use and throw him in prison.”
“Shall I destroy his mana hole?”
At Damian's question, Arthur eyed Hoan briefly before asking Skana,
“Does his power matter for the awakening?”
*-No. He'll just serve as a guide.*
“Hm.”
Arthur pondered, then shifted his gaze to Millerph.
“You can seal his mana, right?”
“Yes.”
Millerph smiled faintly, as if reading his thoughts, and pointed his staff at Hoan.
The head glowed brightly, and a beam shot into Hoan's abdomen before vanishing.
“Sealed.”
“Good. Lock him up.”
With Arthur's approval, Damian hoisted Hoan over his shoulder and left.
Arthur sat on the throne and asked,
“Why were you all gathered?”
Natarshian and Heric looked to Millerph, who spoke for them.
“We didn't think you'd forgive Marquis Valtre. That's why we waited, including Sir Hoan.”
“I intended to at first. That's why I gave him a chance.”
“We heard Your Majesty's words from outside. It was truly regrettable.”
“As you heard, he's not fit to be king.”
Millerph quietly turned to Natarshian and Heric.
They nodded silently in agreement.
Then Heric cautiously spoke up.
“Your Majesty.”
Arthur looked at him.
“Regarding Sir Hoan, I have something to say. We haven't been together long, but from what I've seen, he's a man of loyalty.”
“He seemed too good for Valtre.”
“So, why not win him over and keep him by your side? He'd be useful in many ways.”
“I'll consider it.”
Arthur nodded and continued,
“Now that we're all here, shall we plan how to deal with the Namschar Empire?”
Natarshian asked,
“When will the Julius Kingdom's knight orders move?”
“They won't move first.”
“What do you mean...?”
“We'll wait until they attack.”
“Is that necessary?”
Natarshian voiced his opinion without hesitation.
“From my experience, it's better to strike first before they regroup.”
He'd had slight hopes for Duke Terry, but the monsters' movements suggested the Demon King's minion had retaken control.
Given his history with Artisan, he probably couldn't turn away without direct proof despite suspicions.
“Conventionally, yes. But he has more than just Namschar's troops—monsters as a wildcard.”
“Why does that...”
“When monsters suddenly swarmed in, it means the Demon King's minion likely has monster control. If our forces move first, he could watch and exploit it.”
“What does that matter?”
Not just Natarshian—even Heric tilted his head.
Millerph, who had seen such situations often, simply watched Arthur silently.
He always had reasons for his actions, and his plans had never failed.
Their trust in him was absolute.
Arthur alternated glances between Natarshian and Heric.
“If the Julius Kingdom's knight orders attack Namschar Empire, and the Demon King's minion strikes our rear with monsters, what happens?”
“It'd be an ambush, risky at first, but would we just watch? Hit their rear, and it's the same situation.”
“On the surface, yes. But it's not just the minion—they have a darkness spirit too.”
“Ah-.”
They had forgotten.
The darkness spirit that had pushed him alongside the Demon King's minion.
It vanished the moment Arthur appeared, so they overlooked it.
Its return could shift the tide.
And if there were more spirits...
Now they grasped Arthur's concern.
“Because of the spirit?”
Arthur nodded.
“I've found one so far, but more would put us in peril. Waiting for them to reveal all their cards is the safest way to prepare countermeasures.”
“I was hasty. I'll follow Your Majesty's will.”
“And so...”
As Arthur began to speak,
Millerph's staff head flashed repeatedly.
The memothive planted in the Death Knight lines had activated.
“Your Majesty, they're moving.”
“Hm.”
Arthur's expression grew serious.
Namschar troops? Monsters? Or the darkness spirit?
First, check with Nigras.
“Nigras, is it the darkness spirit?”
His voice responded immediately in Arthur's mind.
*-Not him. If he shows, I'll handle it—no need to worry.*
“Got it. Parsia.”
Parsia replied at once, as if waiting.
*-Monsters. Seems like the ones that fled the battlefield.*
“Situation?”
*-Clashing fiercely with the Death Knights, but the monsters are gradually being pushed back.*
“Drakan and Blizan?”
*-On standby at the second line.*
“No worries then.”
Arthur stood and looked at Natarshian.
“Prepare the full army for deployment.”
***
Kraaang-.
Monsters' roars echoed endlessly across the sky as they surged forward.
Skevin rode Storm, charging fearlessly into the horde and swinging his sword.
A heavy trajectory unleashed an aura blade.
Boom!
Onrushing monsters split in half and crumbled.
The brutal attacks instilled pure terror.
But unlike before, they were fully brainwashed by Kollepton and didn't retreat.
They pressed on relentlessly.
Kraaaang-!
A massive bellow erupted from the forest.
The monsters roared in unison.
Kuaaaang-!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Huge trees snapped like twigs as three enormous ogres emerged.
Near-adult specimens!
They roared again.
Kraaaang!
The ground shook as hordes of orcs appeared behind them.
Eyes wild with madness, they charged the Death Knight Order.
“Die, all of you!”
Skevin swung his sword with full force.
Boom-!
With an explosion, a deep blue aura blade formed a long scythe and streaked like lightning.
It sliced through the orc horde in an instant.
The orcs staggered, limbs and torsos severed, collapsing in heaps.
“Attack!”
The Death Knight Order charged ferociously, trampling them.
They unleashed merciless strikes on the advancing foes ahead.
Skevin spurred Storm toward the ogre overseeing the battlefield.
He was no longer the man who once trembled at ogres.
‘Ogres are nothing!’
He gripped Excalibur tight and gathered mana.
Deep blue aura enveloped the blade.
“No one passes me.”
He swung from his hip, gripping the hilt with his left hand for added power.
As acceleration built, the aura on the blade blazed like flames.
Intense energy erupted, and something deep blue manifested from the blade.
A single bird!
Not perfect, but unmistakable.
The Phoenix Knight Order's symbol: the ‘phoenix.’
It took form and shot toward the ogre like a bolt of lightning.
Piercing its belly.
“...!”
Skevin was stunned, and the struck ogre's eyes bulged.
Kraaa-!
It screamed in agony and toppled backward.
‘One strike on an ogre...’
Skevin trembled uncontrollably.
Staring at his white-knuckled hands on the sword, profound realization dawned.
‘This is... my ultimate technique...’
The pinnacle skill for advanced sword masters and above.
For some reason, it had emerged naturally.
Skevin pulled his sword back with a resolute expression.
“Alright, once more.”
Crunch-.
He crushed the hilt in his grip and swung with everything.
The blade hummed, and a phoenix burst from the tip.
Man-sized, it flapped its massive wings once and streaked away like light.
Perfect form.
The ogre's legs severed; it screamed and fell sideways.
‘As expected!’
Eyes gleaming, Skevin assumed position to swing again.
Having mastered the ultimate technique, he glared fiercely at the remaining ogre.
He exhaled deeply and murmured low.
Maximuss Style First Form.
Phoenix!
The phoenix emerged from his swing once more.
Eyes sharp as blades, it hunted its prey and flashed forward.