Episode 245
The sky was torn asunder by tendrils of darkness, trampling the world beneath them.
Amidst the cacophony of screams and maniacal laughter, the Shadow Lord moved forward.
It was a night of massacre.
The tendrils lashed out at the imperial soldiers filling the field of vision, crushing armor and bursting flesh and bone, scattering blood and brains.
The end of the world was upon them.
The gods of another realm watched from above.
The Dark Young.
They were gods devoid of love for humanity, filled with a pure, childlike cruelty akin to a child annihilating an anthill.
Countless tendrils slithered down from the heavens.
The tendrils of the otherworldly beings trampled the earth, and the imperial soldiers clinging to them were sucked into the rift in the sky one by one.
Screams of soldiers echoed everywhere, mingling with the laughter of those driven mad by the chaos.
Even the hellfire-wielding sorcerers and heavily armored knights were no exception.
Armor crumpled, flesh burst, and bones and entrails twisted, collapsing like paper.
For some, being crushed to death was a mercy.
Some had thin tendrils pierce their skulls, burrowing into their brains, taking root. Black blood gushed from their orifices, their bodies swelling as if thousands of worms crawled beneath their skin.
From every hole in their bodies, a tar-like black ichor poured out.
The imperial army that stood in the path of the Shadow Lord parted like the Red Sea, leaving a barren expanse for him to traverse in silence.
Unfazed by the raging flames or the hymns of the White Tower, he moved forward with calm determination.
There was no grand strategy or tactic to break through the lines, only the resolve to face his adversary.
A few purifiers and templars from the Red Tower charged at the Shadow Lord, but they too became prey to the tendrils rising from the sky, ascending as puppets of the shadows.
Finally, no one stood in Dale’s way.
Beyond him, a man appeared.
A man clad in golden armor.
The one who stood at the pinnacle of the empire, the Lord of Gold and Deceit.
Emperor Arthur.
The imperial guard, who should have been protecting him, were nowhere to be seen. But in this hell of tendrils tearing the sky and crushing the earth, their fate was all too clear.
The otherworldly violence that crushed and shattered the entire imperial army.
In the midst of this violence, Dale raised his head.
“I’ve waited so long for this day, I can hardly remember.”
Facing the Golden Lord, the Shadow Lord spoke coldly.
Tendrils coiled around the Shadow Lord’s body, transforming into armor of black ichor.
He remembered the time when the Undying Duke Frederick faced the Golden Lord.
“Do you intend to repeat this foolish struggle?”
Emperor Arthur spoke, indifferent to the tendrils tearing the sky around him.
“Defeating you will end this tiresome battle.”
“Do you truly believe that, Shadow Lord?”
“Any last words?”
“Even if you kill me, the golden bloodline will not end. No, through my death, the Golden Empire will finally scatter its light upon this land.”
What was he trying to say? It didn’t matter.
“I have no time for your nonsense.”
“Do not underestimate the will of deceit that seeks to transcend truth.”
The Golden Emperor spoke, and the sword at his waist finally revealed itself. A sword of golden light.
“Are you still obsessed with such drivel about truth and lies?”
Dale sneered coldly.
“Let me tell you a truth, Golden Lord.”
With a mocking smile, he drew his sword. The hero’s beloved blade, Peacemaker.
“That day, the empire’s hound did not die. Miraculously, I survived and came this far. To defeat you, the empire, and the Golden Emperor. I dedicated everything to this day, and defeating you is my sole purpose. That is the truth.”
“And after you defeat me, what then? Warrior of the otherworld, and Lord of Shadows and Truth.”
The Golden Emperor asked.
“Will you, a loyal puppet of the malevolent gods watching over this world, laugh as you welcome the cosmic winter that will one day engulf this continent? Does the end of this world in ice mean nothing to you? Did you not hesitate to sell this world for your own goals?”
Dale burst into laughter. The Undying Duke Frederick had said the same. The Lords of Truth and Lies all justified their actions with the impending void and meaninglessness at the end of the world.
“So, can you justify your actions to prevent an end that may never come?”
“Yes.”
The Golden Lord answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“I gave everything to prevent the death this land will face in an uncertain future. I sought answers in the ‘World of Truth’ through the blood spilled in the war of unification. I failed, but it is not over.”
Filled with indescribable madness.
“We still have time. And before that time comes, I will sweep away all the shadow’s remnants in this empire and offer the entire empire to find the answer. I will not hesitate to spill blood to reach the World of Truth. That is the purpose of our empire.”
“That’s why bookworms are so annoying.”
Dale muttered dismissively. Further conversation was meaningless.
He adjusted his grip on Peacemaker, and the Shadow Lord finally launched himself forward.
“Ah, the determination of a woman consumed by malice.”
Lady Scarlet mocked coldly, but Charlotte paid her no mind. The Plum Blossom Knight silently leaped forward, scattering petals of blades.
Amidst the storm of blades, Lady Scarlet snapped her fingers, igniting the blood that soaked the ground.
Even now, she smiled serenely amidst the tendrils tearing the sky and trampling the earth.
“Truly a hellish sight, isn’t it, Lady Charlotte?”
Charlotte remained silent. Thinking was not the role of a knight. Her duty was to wield her sword and face her enemies for Dale.
“The end the Shadow Lord will bring to this world is nothing more than selling it as entertainment for the malevolent gods.”
“Do you think I’ll listen to the empire’s nonsense?”
Charlotte retorted with a sneer.
“Do you remember what you did to my family, my country, and Duke Lancaster?”
“Can that justify the hell the Shadow Lord will bring to this world?”
“What Dale brings is merely the empire’s own karma.”
Charlotte spoke without a hint of doubt.
“No matter what my lord brings, I am the sword that stands by Dale’s side.”
“Ah, such beautiful loyalty.”
Lady Scarlet chuckled. Once more, the petals of blades whirled, and before the storm of blades, a blood-red armor enveloped Lady Scarlet.
“It seems our little diversion must end here.”
“Are you going to tuck your tail and run?”
“Oh, hardly.”
Lady Scarlet laughed, hiding within her blood-red armor. Her bat-like wings spread wide.
“The curtain has risen, and the extras’ playtime is over.”
With an exaggerated shrug, Lady Scarlet took to the sky. At that moment, a deafening roar tore through the heavens.
The golden dragon’s cry.
“The time has come.”
The Blood Duke smiled coldly, and Allen turned his head silently.
In a place where history and death clashed endlessly, two mages, each with their own world, faced each other.
“The Golden Lord is about to drench this continent in golden blood, offering everything he has.”
“What do you hope to achieve?”
Allen asked.
“I am merely a loyal knight of the golden order.”
“You don’t seem particularly loyal to the Golden Lord.”
“People often forget that a lord is merely a representative of what they bear.”
The Blood Duke smiled coldly.
“My loyalty lies solely with the gold our lord bears.”
“Is an end that may never come truly that important?”
“Do not presume to understand the mindset of an immortal, fleeting mayfly.”
The Blood Duke retorted coldly. Allen, too, fell silent.
“The Shadow Lord, my son, will not be defeated.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps not.”
“As a father, the only thing I can do is stand in your way.”
“Ah, on that point, I can speak with certainty.”
Once again, the blood-red letters began to dance across the body of the Blood Lord. History was unfolding.
The survivor of the Second Empire, an ancient chronicler recording the history of this continent through countless eons.
The leader of the Blood Elves, the Blood Lord, finally began to overlay his ‘memories.’
A golden dragon roared.
It tore through the sky, shredding the swirling mass of tentacles, and not even the scattered dark blood could tarnish its gold.
Dale lifted his head to gaze upon its presence.
“Shub.”
─ Yes.
Dale murmured softly, and Shub smiled as if he had been waiting.
The tentacles of the dark spirits that covered the sky began to coil, all aimed at Dale’s body.
The black tendrils wrapped and wrapped again, and finally, a 《Shadow Giant》 emerged, rivaling the golden dragon.
Possessing an indescribable madness and grandeur that could stand toe-to-toe with the golden dragon.
Two kings at the pinnacle of their realms, the Shadow and the Golden Lords, revealed their true forms and clashed.
Silence descended over the lands of Saxon.
In the face of the formidable battle between the Shadow and the Golden Lords, what meaning could the skirmishes of mere soldiers hold?
The end of the battle was approaching. And it was not the place of mere soldiers to bring it to a close.
Gold and shadow collided.