Chapter 295 155. In the Name of the King -2
Chapter 295: 155. In the Name of the King -2
Translated by a Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
**
Duke Duran hurriedly changed location. Only after climbing to the top of the tallest tower in the royal palace did he finally get to see the army that had arrived himself.
That army had now completely surrounded Aslan’s royal capital.
Paladins kitted out in white armour and troops numbering past twenty thousand were currently setting up camp beyond the city’s outer walls.
Duke Duran’s trembling eyes scanned his surroundings.
Where was the army of blood?
Where was His Majesty, the Vampire King?
Duran looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set beyond the horizon. The night was creeping closer, ready to blanket the world in darkness.
But, he had definitely received a report from Marquis Kirum, hadn’t he? The latter said that the Vampire King was personally leading the army of blood to invade Aslan!
“…What about the army of blood?” Duke Duran turned his head and asked a blood-creation nearby. But the latter was instead soaked in cold sweat.
It bowed its head deeply while shuddering away. “We… we sent out scouts, sir. But we couldn’t find the army of blood led by His Majesty the Vampire King! They are nowhere to be found in the territory of Aslan!”
“…!” Duke Duran’s brows shot up.
Could it be…?!
His expression distorted hideously from pure rage. “You… You deceived me, Marquis Kirum!”
**
(TL: In 1st person POV.)
Under Damon’s guidance, I headed to an unnamed temple located some distance away from Aslan’s capital. Charlotte was dragging along the bound Jeram.
I enhanced my eyesight with divine power in order to see through the darkness and walk safely ahead. The entire structure was built out of brick, and lush vegetation of various types was growing everywhere.
All sorts of traps were also installed in the passageways, but Damon easily found and disabled them all.
“Hang on. We aren’t going to fight a dragon or something similar in here, now are we?” When I asked that, Charlotte flinched in surprise and quickly reached for the hilt of her sword.
‘Huh. Does she want to have a go at a dragon that badly?’
While I was thinking that, Damon, who was walking ahead of us, shook his head. “Of course not, sire. Although I would’ve loved to keep one here, not only was there no spare dragon lying around, we also couldn’t raise one, sire.”
“…”
Look at this dude, saying something pretty horrifying so casually like that.
I raised my head and looked ahead after sensing a bunch of presences. Some individuals covering their faces with steel masks at the end of the corridor stopped us.
They were hashashins. They all bowed to Damon.
He asked them, “How many survivors?”
“Fifty-seven, sir.”
“More than half lost their lives…” Damon rubbed his temples angrily. “…What about Her Majesty, Queen Tina?”
“She’s currently confined to a prison cell. According to our intel, they are preparing for some kind of a ceremony. Citizens and the feudal lords are being summoned to the royal palace.”
“Is the preparation to raid them complete?”
“We have finished gathering, sir.”
Damon nodded at that. “Please, let us continue on.” He pointed at the end of the passageway.
Opening the door there led us into a brightly-illuminated space, which turned out to be a wide hallway.
Streams of water gently trickled by on the floor, while countless flowers blooming practically everywhere bathed the surroundings in a visual symphony of bright colours.
The ceiling was wide open, letting the bright moonlight in to illuminate the interior.
When I stepped inside, an unexpected sight greeted me. Five hundred or so priests wearing monk’s attire were bowing their heads in my direction while standing in the fields of flowers.
I simply had to ask. “…And who are these people?”
Damon replied calmly, “They are the ones Your Majesty saved in the past, sire.”
In other words, they were the five hundred slaves imprisoned by the Black Order. They now possessed divinity, and were undergoing various types of training within this temple as some kind of priests.
“To our Lord Angel, who has gifted the ones without light with the rays of salvation…”
“We shall devote our bodies and souls to you…”
I could hear their soft whisperings. They were praying right now.
“You bastard! Have you been raising this kind of combat force in secret?! Damon! You really were planning to rebel, weren’t you?!” Jeram roared out loudly.
Damon simply glanced at him dismissively. “This is His Majesty’s personal troop. I might have trained them, yes, but I’m unable to command them as I wish.”
I was utterly flabbergasted by the crap coming out of Damon’s mouth. ‘Bloody hell, I was not responsible for raising this kind of army, you know?!’
Besides all that, the ones gathered here all looked far stronger than the recruits I had been training recently.
Was it because of the effect of all that dragon meat and blood they had consumed? Also, Damon had trained them for a few years, so this might be an obvious end result, too. Well, he used to be the instructor of the hashashins, after all.
I shifted my gaze over to a coffin located in the centre of this hall. The moonlight flooding in from the hole in the ceiling brightly illuminated this coffin.
I’m guessing that thing is…
“…Where King Rahamma’s remains rest.”
I began walking towards it.
“You bastard, are you really going to defile our king’s grave?!” Jeram roared out and tried to rush forward, only for Charlotte to block his path. He began shouting at Damon instead, “Damon, think about this again! You don’t know what that devil will do once you hand over the king’s remains! Because of that bastard, our Aslan will…!”
“Yes, our Aslan will end up being destroyed,” Damon muttered almost absentmindedly, causing Jeram to flinch nastily and lock his gaze on him. “However, perhaps that is the best course of action for the sake of Lady Tina.”
“You, you bastard-!”
Jeram began struggling again, so Charlotte brought him down and used her shield to press him to the floor, preventing him from moving entirely.
I ignored Jeram’s struggles and shifted my attention back to the lid atop the coffin.
A single white lily had been placed on top of the coffin, which was resting on top of an altar. Judging from how withered it was, I figured that the flower had been left up there for a while.
Damon walked up and told me,”Her Majesty paid a visit to this place late at night, every single day, sire.”
I could only smile wryly at that revelation. The meaning behind the white lily… Wasn’t it pure love? A love that doesn’t change?
“Even though he was an idiot father who discarded his own daughter… Yeah, she’s a good kid, alright.” While saying that, I slowly rubbed the surface of the coffin, and then carefully brushed off the flower petals piled up on the lid. “Oh, you foolish king who didn’t realise it until your death…” I stopped brushing the coffin, opened my hand wide, then slammed it down on the lid. I began driving divinity deep into it. “It’s now time for you to right all the wrongs you’ve committed.”
Divine power rapidly spread out everywhere. The petals that had scattered in every direction were pulled up into the air by the strong gusts of wind.
The believers raised their heads and stared at the coffin. Even Jeram, a member of the twelve feudal lords, stared at it with a hardened face.
The ground rumbled for a short while, but then, everything suddenly became quiet.
Staring at the coffin, I slowly cocked my head to the side.
As the still silence continued on, a pure-white hand suddenly broke through the coffin. This hand, trembling ever so faintly, grasped the withered white lily.
Divinity began oozing from the tips of the bony hand. The withered flower slowly regained its vigour and white colour as the sacred power filled it up.
The white lily had been brought back to life.
As if that was a signal, the coffin suddenly exploded into countless pieces. The thick dust cloud danced in the air as I continued looking on.
A being kitted out in steel armour, its white skull wrapped in ragged fabric, emerged from within.
“A Death Knight…?!” Damon gasped out in shock.
At the same time, Jeram’s jaw was dropping to the floor. His whole body began spasming as he gradually entered a freaked-out state.
“R-release me this instant!” He shoved Charlotte aside, but only because she didn’t try to stop him.
Jeram hurriedly rushed up to the Death Knight before kneeling in front of it. His adoring gaze looked up at his king, now revived before his eyes. “M-my king, King Rahamma!”
Even though he cried out, Rahamma didn’t pay him any attention. No, he simply held that single white lily while tilting his head this way and that.
-Even after death, I remained in my flesh.-
Jeram jolted nastily at Rahamma’s voice.
-Despite inheriting my blood, she was a useless tool. As such, I turned her into a slave and threw her away. Yet such a slave looked after my flesh.-
Rahamma carefully inserted the lily inside his armour.
-She came to seek out this foolish king every single day, late at night. She offered flowers, and brought her hands together to pray for me. She…-
Rahamma then slowly shifted his gaze towards me.
-…is my daughter.-
His glowing eye sockets suddenly burned even more fiercely than before within the skull under the hood.
-My daughter… Tina Aslan. Where is she now? Tell me, oh my master.-
**
(In 3rd person POV.)
Many Aslan citizens had been summoned to the royal palace. They numbered roughly around a thousand.
The reason for the summons was fairly simple.
{Queen Tina has an announcement to make to all of you!}
The citizens were curious; curious to find out whether their queen was still safe, and they also wanted to find out what fate had in store for their country.
It was now time for them to see their queen for themselves, and listen to her words.
But when they arrived in the expansive royal audience chamber…
“What… what is the meaning of this?!”
“Our, our sacred palace has become…?”
“Aslan’s royal palace, it…!”
Normally, a pristine river should’ve been flowing here, along with lush, verdant vegetation growing abundantly in every nook and cranny.
But now, look at it!
The entire palace was stained in the colour of blood. Corpses of the soldiers who had resisted were still strewn about everywhere, while Queen Tina could be seen on her throne, bound and tied up.
“Your Majesty!”
“Oh my goodness, just how could this be…!”
“Who, who dares to do this to someone so young…!”
All these people, the residents of Aslan’s royal capital, ached in their hearts for the current pitiful state of their dear queen. But they also shuddered in fear at the orc soldiers currently surrounding the perimeter of the royal audience chamber.
“That thing… that’s a vampire, isn’t it?!”
“Could it be that the feudal lords and the vampires have conspired together…?!”
“You bunch of human scum!”
The citizens began gritting and gnashing their teeth while staring at the crimson-eyed vampires, their sharp claws and fangs standing out among the orc soldiers.
“Just what happened here?”
“Could it be that you bastards were the traitors, instead?!”
The citizens then began shouting at the Necromancers accompanying them. The latter group urgently shook their heads, denying that notion.
“N-no, wait! We also didn’t know such a thing would happen…”
“It’s nothing much, oh you bunch of livestock,” Duke Duran suddenly spoke up, then reached down to stroke the chin of Queen Tina, sitting there on the throne with her arms bound. “I’ve merely invited you all here for the sake of your queen. You should all be honoured, instead.”
Duran then shifted his gaze over to Rehton.
The latter waved his hand, and the orcs began bringing in and installing a large guillotine.
Watching this scene unfold, Duran silently clicked his tongue. ‘Although I didn’t want to resort to doing this…’
He wanted to manipulate the powers of the World Tree. He believed that when the Dark Elf was turned into a vampire and became his subordinate, he’d be able to freely control the power of the World Tree and defile this entire world as he saw fit.
But now, he no longer had enough leeway to pull that off.
‘Marquis Kirum. To think that he managed to deceive me.’
What could be the reason for that insane clown to send Duran to Aslan, while even daring to bring up the name of His Majesty, the Vampire King?
Marquis Kirum told Duran to seduce the feudal lords of Aslan and create a sure footing for the eventual establishment of their kingdom of blood, but never mind the Vampire King, not even that jester’s shadow could be seen anywhere nearby!
That also applied to the Army of Blood, as well!
Without a doubt, something somewhere had gone wrong.
Now that the Holy King’s army had laid siege to the royal capital, Duke Duran needed to resort to a method that could delay their advance. That method was to turn Queen Tina into an undead creature, and enhance her demonic energy through the blood of the gathered subjects of Aslan. Duran then planned to use the necrofied Queen Tina as his puppet to command the rest of Aslan’s army. While the army confronted and bought time against the Holy King’s legion, he’d take Tina and flee from here.
‘Marquis Kirum, I shall tear you into thousands of pieces the moment I see you. I shall drink all of your blood and make sure you can’t revive anymore!’
Just as Duke Duran gritted his teeth in humiliation, Rehton loudly declared for all to hear, “From this moment on, we shall commence with the marriage ceremony between Duke Duran of the Blood Kingdom and the Queen of Aslan, Tina Aslan!”
Rehton finished shouting, and forcibly dragged Tina down from the throne before placing her on the guillotine.
“Oh, no! Your Majesty!”
“Oh my gods!”
The citizens tried to get closer, but the orc soldiers stopped them in their tracks. The monsters yanked their swords out and swung them around angrily, threatening the citizens.
“Please stop!” Tina shouted out.
The orc soldiers snickered and stepped back at her order.
“If only you had quietly become a blood-creation like we told you, you would’ve avoided your fate and not suffered this humiliation, oh dear queen,” Duke Duran spoke from where he stood next to the guillotine.
Tina’s neck was secured to the frame.
The vampires confirmed she was secure, and drew several Runes all over the place before rousing their demonic energy.
With that, the corruption ceremony meant to defile this place was underway. Once Tina’s head was cut off and the citizens were murdered, their tormented souls would rush into Tina’s severed head, turning her into a powerful undead.
“A lowly slave should start as a slave, indeed. Oh, Queen of Aslan, become my slave,” Duran smirked at her.
Tina clenched her teeth. But right at that moment, her gaze suddenly shifted over to the window of the royal palace.
She noticed an unidentifiable object flying around in the air.
‘…Is that a wyvern?’
It was indeed a wyvern, a Bone Wyvern. And someone was riding on top of it, as well.
The strange pair flew up rapidly and disappeared from the view of the skies afforded through the window.
“And now, the marriage between these two noble beings will commence! The sacrificial offering for the ceremony will be… one thousand livestock!” Rehton roared out, clearly excited. “With this act, we now declare the eternal master-servant relationship between Duke Duran and Queen Tina, as well as the alliance between Aslan and the Blood Kingdom!”
He raised his extended claw towards the rope connected to the guillotine’s blade.
Duke Duran then muttered one word: “Execute!”
“Ahaha! I shall now become the king of Aslan!” Rehton guffawed, and swiped with his claw to sever the rope.
Duran smirked deeply and stared at Tina, who had both of her eyes closed tightly.
But just as the guillotine’s blade could slam down…
-Who said I would hand over my daughter to you?!-
The ceiling of the royal palace caved in with a spectacular boom, and someone slammed down powerfully to the floor.
“Wha…?!” Duke Duran hurriedly waved his hands around to dispel the choking dust, only to spot an object coming for him.
The thing flying in at him with such shocking speed was a mace. No, it looked more like a large lump of hardened steel, rather than a proper weapon.
Duran’s face was utterly smashed in. The force of impact spun his head 360 degrees, while his entire body bounced haplessly away on the floor.
“Keo-uhuhk…?!”
Duran crashed into the floor some distance away and grunted in pain. His trembling hands reached up towards his crushed face, and he touched it carefully.
His face was already regenerating. His eyeballs grew back, giving him his sight back, which also allowed him to see the individual who had struck him.
The silhouette of the guillotine was inside the cloud of dust, but the falling executioner’s blade had been stopped mid-way by a hand covered in a thick metal gauntlet.
Every single citizen inside the royal audience chamber sucked in their breath. Even the Necromancers could only look on in utter shock, their eyes threatening to pop out of their faces.
The creature possessed an imposing physique, over two metres tall. His entire figure was covered in heavy armour, while his pure-white skull was wrapped in fabric that now resembled a hood.
-Who dares to call himself a king in My Presence?-
The ‘king’ strengthened his grip and easily shattered the guillotine’s blade, then lightly waved his hand around to deflect the scattered shards from falling on Tina.
-Now, kneel!-
The ‘king’ picked up his daughter in an embrace.
-And worship.-
He swung the great mace, over two metres long, around with a powerful hand, and cleared out the dust cloud.
-I am the King of Aslan, Rahamma Aslan! And I shall bid you all farewell.-
The glowing eyeballs inside the skull were now locked on the vampires.
-Offer your souls to the God of Death, Yudai!-
King Rahamma.
This was the moment of Aslan’s once-absolute sovereign returning to his former royal palace.