Chapter 305 161. The Return of the King (Part One)
Chapter 305: 161. The Return of the King (Part One)
Translated by A Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
Vampires were doubting their own eyes.
The spectacle unfolding before their eyes was like their worst nightmare imaginable brought to life.
The thick crimson fog summoned by the Vampire King was dissipating, and bright sunlight was pouring down from the heavens above.
The rain of blood also disappeared, replaced by white feathers of divinity falling from the sky.
“W-what should we do?! Tell us, what should we do!?” the Progenitor Vampires urgently shouted at their commander. This commander, a Count-class Vampire, couldn’t say anything, however.
Why was he charged with making a decision here, anyway? No one had anticipated a situation like this!
The holy water produced by the Holy King had already risen up to the ankles of the vampires standing on the top of this mountain. There was a giant at least twenty metres high floating in the air, while below it was an army of holy undead clad in heavy armour.
No matter how the commanding vampire analysed this situation, it looked like he and his kin would never win here.
In front of them was the camp of the Theocratic Empire’s army, while the Holy King had attacked them from the rear.
That meant there was no place for them to escape to!
The Vampire Count hurriedly turned his head and stared at the distant outer walls of the city.
That place was also mired in a pit of confusion. The sudden entrance of the Holy King left the vampires extremely anxious. Even the summoned undead were moving around lost and listlessly, as they were synchronised with the emotions of their masters.
On the other hand, the soldiers of the empire were roaring out in elation.
“Yes, His Majesty the Holy King has come home-!”
“He has returned after conquering Aslan-!”
“Prepare to welcome His Majesty back home-!”
The tide of the battle was turned in an instant. The living soldiers, fatigued and dying before now, began pushing the undead back with renewed momentum.
In the midst of this chaos, the gigantic monster, Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus, continued to dig into the ground.
The goddess statue finally got back up to its feet and pounced on the three-headed creature, interrupting its attempt to dig at the ground. The horde of gargoyles that had been dominating the skies also came down to continue digging away.
They were specialists in excavating, so these creatures should be able to create an escape path without a problem. The odds of the vampires’ survival would improve drastically with more time.
At the very least, as long as the Vampire King managed to survive, then…
‘…The kingdom of blood can be re-established later!’
Even if that took hundreds, or thousands of years into the future!
“Stop him!” The vampires flinched in shock and stared at the Count. He wiped his cold sweat away and clenched his teeth. “Buy enough time until His Majesty can escape from here!”
The Count immediately shed his human facade. His right arm transformed into a snake, while his whole body swelled to well over three times that of his original size.
Now looking like a hulking mass of muscles, the vampire extended his snake arm and roared out. “We must kill him! Our target is the Holy King, Allen Olfolse! Stop him at any…!”
The Count’s upper torso exploded into bits. The Progenitors all froze in place.
A spear made out of divinity had flown in and killed the Count in a single strike.
The Progenitors, their faces stiffened in shock, slowly shifted their gazes over to the floating giant.
The way this mechanical giant levitated off the ground made it look at least thirty metres in height. Scattered around it were several cogwheels viciously spinning away.
Spears, swords, and arrows made out of divinity suddenly poured out from those spinning cogwheels.
“E-everyone, run-!”
The rain of blades, spear shafts and arrows landed on the ground, causing a series of loud explosions. Even if the vampires managed to dodge the weapons made of light, the shock waves from the explosions alone tossed them around like helpless rag dolls. They lost their arms and legs, and as tears of blood flooded down their eyes, they screamed in despair.
“T-those things are moving!”
The army of the armoured holy undead began marching forward just then. These beings standing proud in their white armour formed the tortoise formation with their sturdy shields. Meanwhile, skeleton mages stood behind them and rested their musket barrels on the shoulders of the undead standing before them.
BANG-!
They commenced firing, and the holy bullets bore straight through the bodies of the vampires.
“Shields! Create some shields!”
The vampires hastily summoned their own undead to deploy them as shields.
At the same time, behind the holy undead army, Banshees raised their nocked arrows in the air, while Bone Golems manoeuvred large cannons into position. Skeleton mages chanted their spells and injected divine power into the cannons.
One of the Bone Golems aimed the cannon high up in the air. With a loud report, a shooting star was launched in the sky.
It joined dozens of shooting stars launched from the other cannons, all of them landing in the middle of the undead horde.
Everything within the five-metre radius of the explosion was instantly killed off, while those caught in the eight-metre radius were blown haplessly away.
The explosions caused wild flames to rage on, and the stench of burning corpses filled the air.
Just as the surviving vampires staggered back to their feet, they felt the ground beneath rumble ominously.
Their vision had been obscured by the blood trickling past their eyes, but even then, they still could make out the silhouettes of some creatures breaking through the curtains of dust to charge towards them.
“Cavalry…?!”
The cavalry on skeletal horses raised their lances and slammed straight into the vampires.
——
On the opposite side of the battle, the soldiers of the Theocratic Empire were also driving the undead back.
“Yes, His Majesty the Holy King has come…!”
From both the front and back, the armies of light gradually devoured the army of dark crimson.
“Fuu-wu-huk…!”
The Vampire King, still hidden under his ragged cloak and wrapped in bandages, was vomiting a mouthful of blood out. He glanced down at his torso.
A large warhammer permeating with divinity had slammed into his side. Arcs of lightning energy were coursing through his entire body, making him feel like his internal organs were about to melt.
He had already lost count how many times he had ‘lost’ his life due from this attack.
However…
‘I also succeeded in my attack!’
The Vampire King confirmed that his Spear of Blood had stabbed straight into Kelt’s chest. As a matter of fact, the shaft had punctured the thick armour and accurately penetrated the old man’s heart.
With this, the Holy Emperor was…!
“You think I’ll die just because my heart was destroyed?!”
Right at that moment, Kelt suddenly raised his head. Despite blood pouring out of his mouth, he still sneered at his foe.
“…!”
The Vampire King’s brows shot up and he tried to retreat, but Kelt was a step faster; he let go of his warhammer, grabbed the spear with his left hand, and pushed the weapon even deeper into him.
He went forward and reached out with his right hand to tightly grab the top of the Vampire King’s head. “Ahaha! I shall add your skull to my collection!”
Kelt’s eyes burned with sheer madness. Despite his heart being pierced by a spear, despite his whole body being in tatters, he still had the face of a man completely unfazed by it all.
A deathly chill ran down the Vampire King’s spine. For the first time in thousands of years, he felt a strand of fear take root in his heart.
“You insane old bastard!” The Vampire King roared and extended his claws. He grabbed Kelt’s arm and tried to break or sever it, but rather than the old man’s skin tearing off, the vampire’s own claws began cracking apart, instead.
“Let me boast to my grandson for once, vampire-!”
“You’re an old bastard, so die quietly already, you stinking Priest-!”
Both Kelt and the Vampire King tried to inject divinity and demonic energy into the bodies of their opponent. The two opposing energies naturally reacted negatively to their attempts and exploded, yet the two didn’t let go of one another.
“Oh, our King! Sire-!”
The Vampire King shifted his gaze at the call. His fellow vampires were looking back at him in expressions filled with despair.
The eyes of the Vampire King gradually widened.
He finally realised how many of his brethren were dying on this battlefield. They were burning down to ashes, being wiped out of existence, only leaving behind their tragic cries.
His gaze shifted over to the distant mountain range. The floating mechanical giant was descending from there, beating its twelve wings and accompanied by an army in white armour.
The cogwheels surrounding it spun rapidly; flames arced and danced in the air as numerous sparks spread everywhere around it.
The archangel’s body suddenly took on a crimson hue. The giant brought its large hands together and joined them. It even bowed its head as if it was praying.
-In the name of my new master.-
The Vampire King clamped his mouth shut when he heard the mechanical giant speak.
-As the Sword of the Heavens…-
The mechanical hands clutching each other seemed to convulse violently and slowly parted open. And in between the parting hands was a large lump of heavily condensed divinity.
-I shall judge the demons.-
“Ah…”
The lump of divinity in Metatron’s hands spread out like ripples. The terrain beneath it cracked and split apart, burning with fierce flames.
The undead couldn’t even scream before they were wiped out of existence. Even the vampires, looking and desperately reaching out towards the Vampire King, were touched by the light and instantly evaporated from view.
It was just one attack. Yet over one thousand undead, and fifty vampires alongside them, were destroyed in an instant!
“…You stinking bastards-!”
This was no longer a war. No, it had morphed into a wanton slaughter, instead!
The king of all vampires, Vlandmir, glared murderously at the Holy King over yonder.
That Holy King, riding on a skeletal horse and commanding the divine undead army while making his way down the mountain…
“I… I swear that one day you…!”
It was right at that moment that the sounds of bones being crushed came from the Vampire King’s skull. Vlandmir urgently shifted his gaze.
“Time to die, oh dear Vampire King.” A cruel grin spread on Kelt’s face.
At the same time, the Words of God began shining brightly on his body.
It was the Aztal Rune. All the wounds inflicted on his body were rapidly healing.
The Vampire King witnessed this sight and sighed softly under his breath, ‘…What a monster.’
This old man. Even though he was getting old, his strength didn’t seem to have waned, only getting stronger with time.
The skin around Vlandmir’s neck began ripping apart as if his skull was about to be torn off. He even sensed his neck bones were twisting away now.
Death. It was swiftly coming for him.