I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 113: The Lion King (4)

The Lizardmen attacked the fortress.

With Count Bisten and Crown Princess Elizabeth absent, the Galatein Fortress was no longer the Wall of Wailing.

“Bring it down! Slaughter the humans!”

“Kharapa! Kharapa!”

The Lizardmen set ladders against the walls and began climbing.

The curses of shamans struck the ramparts, and Lizardmen, fortified with potions, moved almost as if they were flying, scaling the walls.

“Hold them back! We must hold them!”

Knights on the ramparts desperately encouraged their soldiers, but the troops were more disorganized and sluggish than usual.

It was because the fear and terror of the Lion King gripped their bodies.

“Hah…hah….”

Though René had just entered the battlefield, her breathing was already ragged.

Her body was drenched in sweat as if she had been caught in a downpour.

It was because of the Lion King.

Just the fact that she stood against his presence made her feel as though she would suffocate and die.

The ashen world stretched out before her eyes—a world projected by the Lion King’s very thoughts.

She couldn’t even begin to guess the abilities he might possess.

What should she do?

How could she fight the monster before her?

The Lion King took a step forward.

With each step he advanced, the ashen world crept closer.

As René involuntarily stepped back, Yoo Seong moved forward, placing himself between her and the Lion King. He spoke over his shoulder.

“Once more.”

What did he mean?

René instinctively understood.

She had to land another Rising Impact on the Lion King’s chest.

The Lion King was not invincible.

If she could strike his chest—or perhaps his flank—again with a Rising Impact, there was still a chance for victory.

René swallowed dryly.

Kate stood beside Yoo Seong, glaring at the Lion King.

Far in the distance, Morgan gripped her sword tightly and steadied her breathing.

The Lion King advanced while Kate pushed off the ground and charged.

“For the glory of Camelot!”

Golden light spread across the entire area.

No—it didn’t.

The golden light, which had begun to extend outward, suddenly dissipated.

As if the light, along with the very space it illuminated, had been devoured, faint marks resembling a beast’s teeth scarred the void.

It was a primal deployment of his domain by the Lion King.

Kate, who had attempted to distract the Lion King with light, was momentarily stunned but continued her charge.

Morgan also kicked off the ground, and Yoo Seong unleashed his lightning-fast footwork.

“Waterfall!”

René cast her spell.

A massive column of water poured down on the Lion King’s head like a waterfall.

But once again, it was devoured.

René could feel the very structure of her magic being obliterated.

Kate’s sword aimed for the Lion King.

Morgan’s blade targeted his back.

Yoo Seong, attacking from the flank, was a beat slower but lunged at the Lion King as well.

The Lion King perceived them all and made his decision.

-Thwack!

Kate’s sword struck the Lion King’s side but without the reinforcement of aura and ideology, the blade couldn’t penetrate his muscular body.

Morgan’s sword slashed at the Lion King’s back, but the result was the same—only a superficial cut formed, failing to inflict any critical damage.

The Lion King turned his gaze to Yoo Seong.

Even in the ashen world, Yoo Seong’s sword radiated a dazzling brilliance. The Lion King swung his massive greatsword in response.

The blade came down diagonally.

“No!”

René hastily began preparing her second spell as Guardian General let out a scream-like shout.

Yoo Seong seemed to charge directly into the Lion King’s descending greatsword as though being drawn to it.

-Crash!

The Lion King’s sword sliced through empty air.

It didn’t hit Yoo Seong.

Yoo Seong vanished like a phantom.

How?

Both the Lion King and the Guardian General widened their eyes in shock as René suddenly understood and completed her spell.

“Paralyze!”

A spell of paralysis.

As expected, the formless curse was not devoured.

The Lion King’s body was momentarily restrained and Yoo Seong reappeared.

He returned to the exact spot from which he had vanished.

The training chamber for swordsmen—a place he could visit only once a day.

Kate and Morgan understood as well.

Just before being struck by the greatsword, Yoo Seong had transported himself to the training chamber and then returned.

It was a technique that could only be used once a day, but it was an absolute evasion.

Once again, the power of chivalry gathered at the tip of Yoo Seong’s sword.

The combination of the three knights—Kate, Morgan, and Diana—culminated in Rising Impact.

Though the Lion King struggled against the paralysis spell, it was too late.

Yoo Seong’s strike plunged into the Lion King’s side.

A massive explosion of light erupted once more.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening roar and shockwave enveloped the area.

René, who had reflexively closed her eyes and crouched down, raised her head with hopeful anticipation but her smile lasted only a moment.

Despair flickered across the face of the Guardian General once again.

The Lion King had not fallen.

Even as Rising Impact erupted with power, the ashen world unleashed by the Lion King diminished its impact.

The unimaginable durability of the Lion King’s body endured the strike.

Still, he wasn’t unharmed.

The wound on his side widened significantly, and his energy weakened noticeably. He even dropped the greatsword he had been holding.

But the Lion King did not collapse.

He swung his right hand and struck Yoo Seong.

Yoo Seong was sent flying backward.

Though he had jumped back to minimize the force, the Lion King’s overwhelming strength was evident.

Yoo Seong didn’t fall unconscious but staggered, his breathing labored.

The cost of using Rising Impact twice was enormous.

His vision blurred, and he could barely see ahead.

The Lion King picked up his sword.

He swung it toward Kate, who had drawn a spare sword but she couldn’t block his attack.

Her weapon was struck from her hand, and she tumbled to the ground under the force.

The ashen world surged.

Beast-like fangs tore into Morgan, devouring what little aura and vitality she had left.

Morgan fell to her knees, and Kate couldn’t rise.

Neither Count Bisten nor the Guardian General could escape the grip of the aura-devouring ashen world.

The Lion King advanced toward Yoo Seong.

René fired magic in rapid succession, stepping in front of Yoo Seong.

Though the ashen world devoured all her magic, she continued casting spells, trying to slow the Lion King’s advance even slightly but there were limits.

René’s breath hitched at her throat.

Though her mana wasn’t depleted, her mental strength was exhausted, and she stumbled.

The Lion King reached René and raised his greatsword.

René, her golden eyes brimming with tears, looked at him as if at the brink of breaking.

The Lion King swung his greatsword.

Crown Princess Elizabeth climbed onto the wall.

Despite suffering critical injuries, she didn’t collapse. Instead, she used magic to block her pain and took a stimulant to regain her focus.

The battlefield was in chaos.

No, the humans were losing.

The Lizardmen’s morale soared sky-high, while the humans’ spirit was utterly crushed.

The Crown Princess gritted her teeth as she drew her sword.

She couldn’t determine the exact situation.

Perhaps Count Bisten and Lothian’s Black Knight had already fallen to the Lion King but even if that were the case, even if this battle ultimately ended in defeat, the Crown Princess tightened her grip on her sword as she charged toward the Lizardmen.

René felt fear.

The presence of the seemingly invincible Lion King filled her with absolute terror.

Facing him alone made her entire body tremble.

Her legs wobbled, and she felt as though she might collapse at any moment but René did not run away.

Standing before Yoo Seong, she continued casting spells.

She knew the ashen world would devour her magic but it wasn’t completely futile.

For the ashen world to consume magic, even for a brief moment, it required time.

If she kept casting, if those moments piled up and slightly delayed the Lion King’s advance—

Perhaps it would make a difference.

It might be a futile act, a mere gesture to buy a fraction of a second, but René didn’t stop.

For those fleeting moments, for that sliver of time, she cast magic again and again.

The Lion King raised his greatsword.

René was terrified.

Tears began to well up in her golden eyes, threatening to spill but she didn’t avert her gaze.

She looked at the Lion King and her vision was filled with crimson light as his blade came down.

King Arthur knew.

He knew that the walls would inevitably fall.

He knew that the light would eventually be exposed.

And yet, he did not stop fighting.

For a delay—whether it be one year, two years, or even a hundred years—to extend humanity’s era even slightly, he burned his own life.

Yoo Seong raised his head.

His vision was still blurred.

His body was powerless.

Whether it was because of the Lion King’s ashen world or the price of consecutively using the King’s Time, he couldn’t even muster a fragment of aura but Yoo Seong did not stop thinking.

What should be done?

Rising Impact was not without effect.

The Lion King had accumulated no small amount of damage.

He had to fight.

He had to protect René.

He had to save the princess, defend the fortress, and stop the Lion King’s army.

Why?

For what reason?

Why must he risk his life for a world that had simply fallen upon him?

Because of the three rewards promised by the Lady of the Lake?

Because he was chosen as the heir of the Holy King?

No.

There was a much simpler reason.

A monster was killing people and as a human, he wanted to save people.

Why should he save the princess?

What benefit would come from saving her?

Would it not actually be more advantageous if the princess were to die?

If she died, the kingdom would fall into chaos due to a power vacuum, but wouldn’t that make it easier for Yoo Seong himself to claim the Kingdom of Silatein?

It was plausible.

It wasn’t an entirely unreasonable notion.

But he didn’t think about it.

He didn’t even consider it.

The princess was a good person and a good ruler.

Though their time together was brief, he could tell.

Save people.

Save humans.

Humans like himself.

The wind blew and light appeared.

In a world at its darkest just before dawn, a man stood in the midst of it.

He looked at Yoo Seong.

Yoo Seong knew who he was.

Arthur Pendragon.

The King of Humanity.

The man who fought and defeated all evil gods threatening mankind to usher in the age of humanity.

Yoo Seong suddenly recalled seeing him during the pioneering journey and naturally, he understood what Arthur saw in him when they met.

The age of humanity that King Arthur had established was not eternal.

The walls would eventually fall, the era of calamity would arrive, and the heir of the Holy King would also appear.

The very existence of Yoo Seong was no different from a symbol of Arthur’s failure but King Arthur accepted it calmly.

He did not view his future as a failure.

Even if only a little longer.

Even if it were merely one minute or one second, as long as the age of humanity could be extended.

Yoo Seong was not a symbol of failure.

He was proof of a success that had bought 500 years of reprieve.

King Arthur looked at Yoo Seong.

Yoo Seong looked back at King Arthur.

It was not the young king he had seen during the pioneering.

The sun was rising in the distance.

The glory of morning shone brilliantly behind King Arthur, radiating dazzling light.

The thoughts Arthur had made him feel during the pioneering journey.

Now, he could understand them.

His wishes and ideals were not much different from Yoo Seong’s own.

Save people.

As a person, save people.

René’s face came to mind.

The faces of the soldiers cheering atop the walls of Lothian.

The tear-streaked faces of the people at Baron Volano’s estate.

The smiles of the children in Lushen.

The many lives in Count Artois’ domain, each painting their own stories.

“My successor.”

The one who will carry on humanity’s era.

King Arthur extended a sword.

It was not a physical sword.

It was a sword forged of ideology.

A blade imbued with Arthur’s wishes and will, an embodiment of chivalry.

The sun fully rose.

Yoo Seong received the ideal blade.

He raised the golden, radiant sword high into the sky.

The Lion King’s sword could no longer advance.

The golden sword had blocked the Lion King’s greatsword.

René burst into tears.

Morgan, watching from afar, let out a fierce laugh and placed a fist over her chest.

“For the glory of Camelot.”

Kate spoke through her tears.

She wept in the light of Camelot, radiating from the golden sword.

The Guardian General starred in a daze.

Though it was his first time seeing this light, he was human, and thus he understood.

That this was the light of the Holy King, safeguarding humanity’s world.

Count Bisten trembled.

Those fighting atop the walls stopped their battles as if by magic.

Humans and monsters alike—all gazed upon a single light.

Crown Princess Elizabeth understood.

The conversations she had shared with Count Bisten were true.

No, it was beyond what they had imagined.

The Lion King let out a ragged breath.

He felt fear toward the sword shining before him, toward the golden eyes of Yoo Seong, who held the golden sword.

It was fear etched into the very flesh and soul of the beastman race.

“The King of Humans…”

The human monster Arthur Pendragon and his Knights of the Round Table.

The Lion King instinctively took a step back.

Yoo Seong raised the golden sword—the Sword of Selection, Excalibur.

He unleashed the power of humanity contained within it.

Ideology Projection – The Age of Humanity.

The ashen world collapsed.