MTLNOVEL Chapter 1523
“Soul Bonding!” King Roth roared. “Cheating! You’re cheating!”
“You’re one to talk!” I shot back, rushing at him with my spear.
He pulled a blade from nowhere, and our weapons struck. I could feel his enormous speed and power. I did not doubt that King Roth was strong. In fact, in my current situation, if judging just by our strength, I wasn’t confident I’d be able to beat him on my own. Even with him being in my seat of power and at the greatest disadvantage, we still came out about even. At least, that was the feeling I got after a few exchanges.
However, two things seemed to change the entire course of the battle. The first was that he was shaken upon seeing the tiger’s tail and ears. It had caused him to start to panic, while I was completely controlled. The second reason was far more surprising, but started to make sense the more I fought. He considered his harem his power. In some ways, his harem was his power, especially after feeding them to his dungeon.
That philosophy of his had led him to send women to always do the work. He might have grown powerful, and perhaps once he had been a powerful warrior in his youth, but he was much older now. He hadn’t done any fighting on his own, and even if he had the power, the levels, and the experience, he had grown rusty! While Lydia and I had spent the last six months fighting for our lives, living every day like it might be our last, King Roth had sat on a comfy throne and allowed his women to do everything for him.
This resulted in his movements being sluggish, which was exemplified by his apparent panic. I made sure to take advantage of such things immediately. I made sure to wound him, striking him in his legs, his arms, and his body. I wanted to weaken him immediately. Even though our connection was strong, I didn’t know how long my Soul Bond would last, so I worked as efficiently as possible.
Of course, giving him damage required me to receive damage too. I wasn’t just a mere spearman though, gained from my lore temporarily merging with Lydia. I was also a White Mage. I was able to heal nearly as fast as he damaged me, but he was unable to say the same. His damage accumulated, and I used skill after skill until he was backed up to nearly where Lydia and I had first transformed. He was spitting up blood, and his expression was looking uglier and uglier.
As for me, the feeling of being one with Lydia was strange. My thoughts and her thoughts were the same. There was no distinction. It was like Lydia’s soul had become an open book, and every instinct, ability, and skill she had and knew was just as much mine as it was hers.
“Y-you… wish to call yourself a beastkin?” He asked unsteadily as he jumped back, only taking a small cut across the chest.
“I am what I am,” I responded.
He snorted and then threw his sword to the ground. I raised an eyebrow as he slowly raised his fists.
“If you think you can take me, why don’t you give up the soul weapon?”
“Master, don’t let him bait you!” Alysia warned.
“Don’t worry.” I smiled, sticking the spear form of Alysia into the ground. “Just watch Master for a bit.”
Was this decision to fight this way my decision, or Lydia’s? It was both, and it was neither. We had decided on one. We were one. We were confident, and we knew we absolutely wouldn’t mess up because the pair of us were together.
Once he saw me step away from the spear, King Roth’s body began to change. His entire body became covered in fur, and his face morphed too. Unlike what I had seen from Lydia and First, his transformation was far more complete. He looked more like a lion on two legs rather than a human anymore. He fell to all fours, and with an earth-shattering roar, he charged me.