I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 112: The Lion King (3)

Ten thousand lizardmen and seven thousand human soldiers faced off across the walls, yet no direct battle had broken out.

This was due to the transcendent battle taking place nearby.

The knights and mages of the Kingdom of Silatein dared not intervene in the fierce duel between Count Bisten and the Lion King.

The lizardmen were no different.

However, not everyone was the same.

There were those bold enough to charge into the midst of a battle resembling a clash between gods.

The Lion King was not distracted by the dazzling golden light.

Even amidst the swirling aura, he locked his gaze firmly on the source of the light.

Black hair and golden eyes.

An unfamiliar human.

Yet, the moment they faced each other, the Lion King instinctively recognized that this human was extraordinary—more so than the two Master Knights he had encountered before.

Boom!

The golden aura shattered into fragments.

The Lion King, raising his sword to block the attack, instantly assessed Yoo Seong’s strength.

He was no match for a Master Knight.

Though strong, his level barely exceeded that of a second-tier chivalry user, as humans defined it.

Yet, the Lion King remained on guard.

His primal instincts screamed that this being before him must be killed.

Yoo Seong brushed past the Lion King.

Instead of turning or swinging his sword, the Lion King stayed in place and swung his left arm, which still bore Vanadain’s arrow.

Clang!

As Yoo Seong diverted the Lion King’s attention, Hector’s axe struck the Lion King’s arm, only to bounce off.

The red aura swirling around the Lion King’s forearm was as unyielding as a dragon’s scales, easily deflecting even the strongest ideology attacks.

The force of the Lion King’s swing sent Hector flying backward.

As Hector was thrown aside, the Lion King turned his gaze to the open space created in the scuffle.

It was as if someone had been waiting for that very moment.

Morgan darted in, flashing a fierce smile as she swung her sword at the Lion King.

Her sword was beautiful but the Lion King’s sword, swung belatedly, was faster.

No matter how refined one’s technique, overwhelming power rendered all else meaningless.

The Lion King’s sword crushed Morgan’s but Morgan was not easily subdued.

Before her sword shattered under the power that could destroy even its magic, she unleashed her magic once more.

Clang!

Morgan’s sword broke, and the Lion King’s sword struck the ground but the Lion King did not stop.

Ignoring the inevitable pause, he delivered a thunderous kick to Morgan.

Boom!

With a loud crash, Morgan was sent flying.

She tumbled dozens of meters before rising again.

She was not in a normal state.

Her left arm was broken, and blood trickled from her lips, likely from internal injuries.

Yet the Lion King admired her resilience.

‘She deflected it.’

An ordinary person would have been torn apart by that blow, yet Morgan had managed to deflect part of the attack but that was not all she had done.

Blood dripped from the Lion King’s chest.

A shallow wound inflicted by Morgan’s counterattack.

Her swordsmanship was nothing short of magical.

If it were purely a matter of technique, she might surpass even the Lion King himself but the difference in scale was too vast.

Though impressive, Morgan had suffered significant damage in the exchange.

The Lion King, observing Morgan, expanded his sensory perception.

In an instant, his aura enveloped the entire battlefield.

The Lion King discerned everything.

An elven man drawing his bowstring atop the wall.

A golden-haired human woman running toward him.

A black-haired, golden-eyed human man concentrating his aura behind him.

An elderly man with an axe positioned to his left.

And directly in front of him, Count Bisten, panting heavily as he gathered the power of thunder.

Among the energies of Manius and his subordinates, only two remained discernible, and even they were waning.

“The human crown princess.”

Though gravely injured, she was not dead.

The Lion King raised his sword.

From the Kingdom of Cabal to here, he had seen countless humans.

Simultaneously despicable and beautiful, contemptible and awe-inspiring, they had stirred many thoughts within him.

‘I like them.’

Those who surrounded him.

Those whose eyes shone brightly, like the protector’s.

Thus, the Lion King knew how to fight them.

He swung his sword.

Not at those nearby, but toward the wall.

A massive, red blade aura surged from the tip of his sword.

Though slow, it was immensely powerful, an attack capable of not only destroying the wall but also killing all the humans nearby.

The Lion King glanced at Count Bisten.

Instead of reacting to the overwhelming aura directed elsewhere, Count Bisten launched himself at it.

The Lion King laughed.

He liked Count Bisten as much as he had when they first met.

Boom!

Count Bisten, transformed into pure thunder, caught up with the Lion King’s aura.

The lightning he unleashed collided with the aura, causing a massive explosion but fragments of the shattered aura still advanced toward the wall.

Vanadain loosed an arrow at the remnants.

The arrow infused with ideology further weakened the aura, and Kate unleashed her own aura-filled strike against the incoming attack.

-Sizzle!

Among the knights of Yoo Seong Castle, Kate wielded the greatest amount of aura.

Her golden aura clashed head-on with the Lion King’s energy.

Boom!

The aura scattered.

The wall remained standing, and though the soldiers atop it were startled into falling or sitting down, none had died but no cheers erupted among the soldiers.

At the very moment Count Bisten intercepted the Lion King’s aura…

The Lion King’s sword turned toward Hector.

Hector was no ordinary warrior.

Using the axe of King Pellinore, he successfully deflected the Lion King’s sword strike.

But the Lion King’s true intent had never been the sword strike.

With Hector’s chest exposed after blocking the sword, the Lion King drove his fist forward.

Thud!

Hector took the Lion King’s attack head-on.

Thanks to Yoo Seong’s activation of the Round Table’s blessing, Hector was imbued with Pellinore’s strength. The knight with the greatest durability at the Round Table endured the Lion King’s attack head-on.

Crash!

Hector’s axe struck the Lion King’s side but it failed to pierce him.

The Lion King, with his robust aura and physical strength, withstood Hector’s attack.

He struck Hector again with his clenched fist.

Boom!

Hector was sent flying backward.

As the power of the Round Table’s blessing faded, his knees buckled, and blood dripped from his mouth.

The Lion King turned and extended his hand.

He caught Yoo Seong’s blazing sword aura and crushed it into nothingness.

“Lion King!”

Count Bisten charged at the Lion King.

Vanadain loosed another arrow, while Kate raised her golden banner, transferring her power to Count Bisten.

Simultaneously, Yoo Seong struck the ground and advanced.

The Lion King perceived all of this and he swung his sword savagely.

It was the sword of primal instinct.

Around the Lion King, all things were torn apart by the aura resembling a beast’s fangs.

Count Botstein’s chest was brutally torn open, spilling blood.

His conceptual domain, though diminished, crumbled as if it had never existed.

Vanadain’s arrow dissipated in the aura.

Yoo Seong narrowly dodged the Lion King’s aura by the slimmest of margins, but that was all.

He could not approach the Lion King.

Of course, the Lion King did not remain unscathed.

The thunderbolt unleashed by Count Bisten as his chest was torn struck the Lion King directly but he endured.

Braving the pain, the Lion King launched himself toward Count Bisten.

He would deliver a decisive blow.

Even if it didn’t kill him, it would render him unable to rise again.

Vanadain nocked another arrow.

Kate rushed toward Count Bisten, and Yoo Seong activated his lightning stride.

Count Bisten, lying prone, looked at the Lion King.

Just as he had thought from the start—allowing a single strike would mean the end.

Yet, Count Bisten did not despair.

Instead, he allowed himself the faintest of smiles because he could feel the contraction of his own conceptual domain and the expansion of a new conceptual domain enveloping the surroundings.

The Lion King sensed it too and Yoo Seong could see it.

It was not the Stormy Night nor the Bloody Battlefield.

It was a breathtakingly beautiful vision of a royal capital.

Boom!

A single sword intercepted the Lion King’s blade.

To the Lion King, both the scene before him and the sword were all too familiar.

“Guardian General.”

At the Lion King’s call, the Guardian General smiled bitterly.

With a sword specialized in defense, he pushed back the Lion King’s blade.

The Guardian General mental domain, “Oath of the Protector,” was specialized in defense.

It blocked all kinds of attacks and returned them.

Whether it was magic or divine power, it made no distinction.

As long as the attack carried hostility, it would block it and counterattack.

It was a space where ultimate counterattacks were possible.

The Guardian General returned the Lion King’s attack.

Having already experienced the Oath of the Protector once, the Lion King caught his returned attack and retreated a great distance to create space.

“Was it here?”

“I came here,” the Guardian General said with a bitter smile as he looked at the Lion King.

It was the same as in the royal capital of the Cabal Kingdom.

Returning the attack itself was possible, but the Lion King’s defenses were too solid.

To be precise, the Lion King’s stamina and defense were so high that counterattacks alone could not inflict effective damage.

In truth, this was not a normal situation.

Depending on the opponent, the Guardian General could normally return even the attacks of other Master Knights within the Oath of the Protector without significant loss.

But it was impossible against the Lion King.

Perhaps because of the unknown mental domain of the Lion King, even executing counterattacks against his attacks caused accumulating damage to the Guardian General. Additionally, the returned attacks suffered significant loss of power.

‘His attacks are stronger than those in the capital.’

Even after returning just one attack, the hand gripping his sword was numb.

The Guardian General, while keeping a close watch on the Lion King, assessed the surroundings.

Not far away, Count Bisten was rising with labored breaths but was severely injured.

At best, he might be able to provide supportive attacks in line with the code of chivalry.

‘Your Majesty, the Holy King.’

Yoo Seong was still standing strong.

Moreover, he was much stronger than the last time they met.

‘Sir Morgan is severely injured.’

Though standing, her left arm was broken, and her body was so battered she could barely keep herself upright.

Kate, like Yoo Seong, was still intact, but Hector was in worse condition than Morgan.

And the Lion King?

Despite the large wounds on his chest and side, it did not appear to hinder him from exerting his power.

‘Am I too late?’

Had he arrived when Count Bisten was still in good condition, they might have had a chance. But in the current state, victory seemed unlikely.

Even so—

The Guardian General steadied his grip on his sword and caught his breath.

Seeing this, the Lion King pulled out King Pellinore’s axe, staunching his wounds with the power of his aura, and adjusted his greatsword.

Yoo Seong and Kate positioned themselves around the Lion King from different directions as if to encircle him.

Roland, summoned in place of Vanadain, took up the last remaining position, while Morgan and Hector tended to their injuries, waiting for an opportunity to intervene.

Human knights.

He liked them.

They shone like stars in the night sky but the Lion King also had a reason he could not back down.

He had to save the people struggling in an ashen world.

He had to gift them the warmth and brightness of civilization’s fire, even if it meant taking it by force.

“Here I come.”

The Lion King swung his sword once more.

Arriving late, a priest confirmed that the crown princess was being treated and hurried to the castle wall.

Though the sounds of battle could be heard even beyond the walls, an eerie silence hung among the soldiers.

Why was that?

The reason came to mind, but Rene ignored it and climbed the wall, looking in the same direction as the soldiers.

Yoo Seong and the knights were fighting the Lion King but the Lion King’s strength was overwhelming.

Morgan, bloodied, was barely standing, using her sword as a crutch.

Roland, gripping a broken spear, was holding on, but just barely.

Count Bisten had fallen.

The Guardian General was soaked in blood, and only Kate and Yoo Seong were relatively unscathed. However, it was clear from one glance that they were utterly exhausted.

Rene looked down beyond the castle walls.

Ten thousand Lizardmen were cheering.

They couldn’t interfere with the Lion King’s battle, but they seemed poised to overwhelm the group at any moment.

Swallowing dryly, Rene resolved herself.

Even a small contribution mattered, so she leapt off the wall, casting a flight spell.

And at that moment—

Diana and Enika descended from the high sky—Dragoon Dive.

A massive shockwave split in half above the Lion King’s head.

The Lion King crushed the shockwave with a swing of his sword, and the sheer aftermath sent Diana and Enika flying.

But it was enough.

As Diana was flung away, Kate unleashed a blade aura at the Lion King.

At the same time, Hector, who had been holding back, charged in.

Kate’s blade aura scattered.

Hector’s giant blow struck the Lion King’s back.

Boom!

The shockwave shattered the air.

Though the Lion King twisted his body to deflect the giant blow, the shockwave tore into his back, leaving him bloodied. But the damage wasn’t as severe as the external wound suggested.

The Lion King elegantly turned, his elbow striking Hector’s chest. Hector vanished in a burst of light.

Then Yoo Seong appeared at the Lion King’s flank.

Though relentless, the Lion King read every move.

As if he had anticipated Yoo Seong’s approach, the Lion King swung his greatsword but Yoo Seong didn’t look at the sword.

Fixing his gaze on the Lion King, he drew back his sword, and suddenly the Guardian General blade intercepted the Lion King’s sword.

It returned the attack.

The Lion King’s stance faltered slightly.

Accumulated damage caused the Guardian General’s knees to buckle, but Yoo Seong was still there.

It was a combination of chivalry crafted through the King’s Time and Rising Impact exploded against the Lion King’s chest.

Boom!

A deafening roar accompanied by shockwaves engulfed the surroundings, sending everyone flying backward.

“Haa…Haa…”

Yoo Seong, panting heavily, looked ahead.

His hands trembled from gripping his sword too long in a state of chivalry concentration.

As the dust settled, the Lion King emerged.

He was still standing.

Though Rising Impact had blasted his chest, leaving his upper body soaked in blood, his side wound reopened, and his left arm hung limp, he was still capable of fighting.

Sweat dripped from Yoo Seong’s jaw.

Kate joined him, but the aura that once shone like the sun had faded significantly.

Rene landed beside Yoo Seong, drawing up her mana.

The Lion King glanced at Rene, then back at Yoo Seong.

“The Black Knight of Lothian.”

Now, he understood.

The man before him was the Black Knight of Lothian, the human knight who had worked miracles in the western part of the kingdom.

But that wasn’t all.

The man before him could not simply be classified as a strong knight.

Something more.

The Lion King stopped thinking further.

Too many of his subordinates had already died.

He would kill everyone here, lead the Lizardmen to conquer the fortress, and march the army to the capital after killing the crown princess.

That was enough.

Thus, the Lion King spared no strength.

The stars in the night sky disappeared.

Not only the deep blue sky but also the earth began to take on a singular color.

A world of ash.

“So, this is how it ends.”

A primal mental expansion.

Something he had not been able to achieve before but had found clarity on through this battle.

Despair spread through the eyes of the Guardian General, who had held on until now.

Kate bit her lip, and Morgan gritted her teeth.

“Attack the fortress,” the Lion King commanded.

Though his voice was soft, the surrounding area was already his domain.

The morale of the Lizardmen, already high, soared as they let out battle cries and began their assault.

The Lion King looked at Yoo Seong and took a step forward.