Episode 570
Castro felt the cold steel of a dagger against his neck, snapping him back to reality.
“If I’m not careful, I’ll die here.”
In a typical battlefield scenario, commanders weren’t killed indiscriminately. They were usually captured and ransomed. But this wasn’t a typical situation. With Prince Leo claiming the throne and the Rom Empire crumbling, Castro’s family, the Pollock House, had lost much of its influence. Moreover, Castro’s alliance with dark sorcerers to summon monsters had been exposed, giving the allied forces every reason to kill him.
If this attacker slit his throat, it would effectively end the war.
Desperate, Castro turned to Boris. “Are you with the Draker unit? The Black Stage? Let’s talk. I don’t know what the Black Stage’s terms are, but if you spare me, I promise you twice the wealth and honor.”
His words were desperate, but Boris remained unmoved. He pressed the dagger closer and spoke, “Where is the enemy king? We all know you’re just a puppet.”
Castro’s face twisted with anger. “I’m the commander of this fortress!”
“Sure, but where are the enemy king and the Dracul Knights, Commander?”
The intelligence team had been searching for the Dracul Knights within Jupiter Fortress, but they had already vanished.
Castro gritted his teeth. “They fled Jupiter Fortress long ago. Those country bumpkins know nothing of honor! They’re not even worthy of being called knights!”
Boris could tell Castro wasn’t lying. “So the enemy king and the Dracul Knights are elsewhere. Could they be planning to attack the allied forces from behind?”
Boris stopped speculating. The important thing was that the enemy king wasn’t in Jupiter Fortress. He decided to open the main gate.
Once the allied forces occupied Jupiter Fortress, the enemy king and the Dracul Knights would be isolated. Whatever they were planning, Boris believed this was the best course of action.
Holding Castro, Boris took out a crystal orb and issued orders to his subordinates. “We’ve secured Castro Pollock. Proceed with assassinating key personnel and securing the gates.”
Hearing this, Castro trembled with rage. “You damned bastards…”
Then, suddenly, “Gah!”
Castro, held by Boris, began to convulse violently.
“What the…?”
At first, Boris thought Castro was faking it. But he quickly sensed something was wrong.
Boris released Castro and stepped back, raising his aura to strike Castro’s neck.
Slash!
Castro’s head fell to the ground, but it wasn’t over. Tentacle-like appendages began to emerge from the severed neck.
Sssss—
The tentacles extended and reattached to the severed head.
A ghastly wail emanated from Castro’s decapitated head.
Boris was taken aback by the sudden transformation but quickly regained his composure and shouted to his team, “A dark sorcerer is controlling Castro! Find the hidden one!”
Hearing Boris, Zion turned and spread his telekinesis wide.
A dark sorcerer, who had been playing dead on the ground, rose and drew a dagger inscribed with strange runes. The dagger’s malevolent energy was controlling the monstrous Castro.
Grrrr—
Castro, now a tentacled creature, opened his mouth wide and grew larger.
Boris drew his sword and sliced through the tentacles with an aura blade, shouting, “Adol! We’re pulling out!”
They hadn’t captured Castro, but their primary objective was complete, so retreating seemed wise.
Adol created an escape route by opening a hole in the chamber floor.
The dark sorcerer tried to use Castro to capture the retreating team. “Catch them!”
In response, Castro’s arms extended toward Boris, attempting to ensnare him.
Luther, who was fighting the dark sorcerers, leaped in and severed Castro’s arms with his sword.
Slash!
Simultaneously, Luther unleashed a fiery spell, engulfing the area in flames.
Fwoosh!
The sudden blaze obscured the dark sorcerers’ vision, allowing the team to escape through the tunnel.
Luther, aiding the team’s retreat, called out to Boris, who was still covering their rear. “Captain Boris! Hurry!”
But Boris was staring at something in shock.
“What is that?”
The severed tentacles of Castro were writhing toward a black chest that had fallen to the ground. The ominous power emanating from the chest, a legacy of Emperor Nero, was drawing the tentacles in.
The tentacles slithered into the chest’s crevice.
Rumble—
Moments later, the chest began to shake violently.
Then, something inside exploded outward, and Boris, delaying his escape, focused on assessing the situation.
Rumble—
The dark sorcerer controlling Castro was also taken aback as the entity within the chest broke free without any intervention.
As both the dark sorcerer and Boris watched tensely, the entity inside the chest formed a cocoon, extending tentacles in all directions.
Boris’s face hardened. “It looks like the flesh I saw in Siemens’ Labyrinth.”
It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was equally ominous.
The tentacles from the black cocoon ensnared both the monstrous Castro and the dark sorcerers.
“Damn it!”
The dark sorcerer, not expecting such a thing inside the chest, panicked and tried to control it with magic.
But the black cocoon ignored him, pulling the corpses of the dead sorcerers into itself.
Then it swallowed the tentacled Castro whole.
Gurgle!
An unusual reaction occurred within the black cocoon after consuming Castro.
Rumble!
The cocoon began to pulse like a giant heart.
The dark sorcerer, wrapped in tentacles, reached out to Boris. “Save me!”
Boris snapped back to reality and shouted at the sorcerer, “What is that monster? Why did Castro suddenly change?”
The sorcerer, shivering from the tentacles’ chilling touch, screamed, “The Seed of Chaos! We planted the Seed of Chaos in Castro! But this monster… it’s Nero’s legacy… I never expected this…!”
The sorcerer’s face shriveled like a mummy as the tentacles absorbed his essence.
Rumble—
The cocoon extended its tentacles toward Boris.
Boris gritted his teeth, pulled a magic bomb from his pocket, and hurled it at the cocoon. “Damn monster!”
He threw the bomb and dove into the escape tunnel.
As Adol sealed the tunnel entrance, a massive explosion echoed above.
Boom!
Boris, the last to descend, urgently spoke into his crystal orb, addressing his subordinates. “Alert all units! Evacuate the fortress immediately! Hurry!”
Zeke faced the enemy king. “Why do I sense the aura of a dragon from you?”
The enemy king, holding an axe, remained silent, merely glaring at Zeke. Zeke took a step closer. “You won’t speak?”
Zeke’s eyes transformed into dragon eyes, and a dragon’s aura emanated from him. As the dragon’s power surged, the canyon known as the Dragon’s Tomb reacted.
Rumble!
A whirlwind arose from the canyon, enveloping Zeke and the enemy king in mist.
The Dracul Knights rushed to protect the enemy king, but the mist separated them.
Rumble!
In the swirling mist, Zeke and the enemy king faced each other.
Zeke observed the enemy king. “Your armor… it’s all made from dragon bones.”
Even a single piece of Hershion was valuable enough to buy a small castle. Armor made from dragon bones was priceless.
Hearing Zeke’s words, the enemy king raised his axe again.
Buzz!
A red aura gathered around the enemy king’s axe.
Crackle!
The threatening red energy crackled outward, but Zeke shook his head. “No matter how I look at it, you don’t have the stature of a Black Knight.”
As the Red King unleashed a crimson bolt of lightning, Zeke continued speaking.
“If I’m right… you’re not the real Red King.”
In defiance of Zeke’s words, the Red King launched himself into the air, striking the ground with force.
Crackle!
The red lightning pierced through the swirling mist, hurtling toward Zeke. With a swift swing of his sword, Levatein, Zeke neutralized the incoming attack.
Boom!
The force of Zeke’s counterattack not only dissipated the lightning but also sent the Red King flying backward. The Red King attempted to launch another fierce assault with his axe, but Zeke had already vanished from sight.
“Looking for me?”
Zeke’s voice came from behind, and he swung his sword at the Red King.
Crash!
The powerful strike landed squarely on the Red King’s back.
Thud!
Unable to withstand the impact, the Red King crashed to the ground. Struggling to rise amidst the swirling mist, he reached out for his distant axe, which flew back into his grasp.
With renewed strength, the Red King gripped his weapon, and a red glow began to emanate from his armor, the Hershion.
Buzzing with energy, geometric patterns surfaced on the armor, channeling power into the axe.
The Red King swung his axe, sending a formidable strike toward Zeke, who was airborne.
Roar!
The red energy transformed into a dragon-like form, lunging at Zeke as if to devour him. Zeke, seeing this, assumed a dragon-slaying stance with Levatein.
With a resonant hum, he unleashed the Black Dragon Strike, summoning a black dragon from his sword to meet the Red King’s creation.
The two dragons clashed in mid-air, tearing into each other. But the confrontation was brief; the black dragon swiftly coiled around the red dragon, consuming it effortlessly.
With a triumphant roar, the black dragon, now even larger, charged at the Red King. The red energy from the Hershion flared up, forming a protective barrier.
As the black dragon collided with the barrier, a powerful shockwave rippled outward, overwhelming even the canyon’s natural forces.
Crack!
The immense power began to fracture the red barrier. Despite the Red King’s desperate attempts to hold his ground with the axe, the barrier shattered.
The black dragon wrapped around the Red King, tearing into him with ferocity.
In the aftermath, the area where the Red King stood was left in ruins, engulfed by a swirling black tempest. Zeke hovered above, watching the scene unfold.
As the storm subsided, Zeke descended to the ground. The mist that had surrounded them dissipated, revealing the Dracula Knights.
They raised their shields, ready to charge at Zeke. But Zeke, unfazed, uttered a single word of power.
“Bind.”
The force of his command rooted the knights to the spot, unable to move as if their feet were glued to the earth.
With the storm fully calmed, Zeke approached the fallen Red King, who clung to his axe, barely standing. The Hershion armor lay in tatters around him.
As the Red King attempted to rise, his helmet shattered, revealing a cascade of red hair. Beneath it, a woman with an intelligent gaze glared at Zeke.
Zeke nodded, confirming his suspicions.
“As I thought. You’re not the Red King.”
He addressed the imposter with deliberate calm.
“Why did you involve yourself in this war, Vlad II, Bathory Basarab?”