Chapter 191: Chapter 32: The Final Puzzle Piece Slots Into Place
In Lancelot's head, the act of war must have been glorified as he rushed through this dirty battlefield where rotten blood, putrid flesh and guts were flying around, his blades tearing enemies into cloudy black paste while chasing down the Wraith Lord in the sky.
While protecting the wall was easy enough, and defending the western walls was easy.
As soon as the battle turned towards offence, everything changed drastically.
The troops were locked in a brutal and unforgiving melee where, despite crushing the undead, they would slowly amass wounds that increased with every few battles as the seemingly infinite undead assaulted them.
"Damn coward!" Lancelot's body spiralled through the sky, his body like a spinning top, with both blades tearing the necks of more than a dozen zombies as, once again, the Wraith Lord's body turned ethereal and flew away from combat.
"Is this all you have, Lancelot of Camelot? Do you know the benefits of being undead?" The Wrath Lord chuckled before his body vanished; the next moment, a huge black scythe sliced through the area before Lancelot, forcing him to block with both blades of Caladbolg in a cross, sparks and black corruption spraying over his body.
Then, a voice from behind him, despite blocking the scythe, the lord was invisible, "We have limitless stamina, but the living tire!"
'He's toying with me!'
"SHIELDS!!!! FOR THE ASSAULT ON YOUR RIGHT!"
Lancelot's thought process was disturbed the moment an elder Frost Hare sounded, a wall of shields and frost hares fighting back, struggling as a unit was being pushed hard by a large regiment of Skeleton Knights with higher weapons and battle skills.
'How long has it been?' Lancelot watched from the corner of his eye as two Frost Hares were cut across their chests before being kicked off the wall... his heart thumping as the Scythe sliced through him in the same location... dropping his guard as if to punish himself.
"Ah... I see, but you aren't the only one with stamina close to endless..."
Like in the past, he didn't want to use this form. Rather, he knew if he used this form here and now, that was it forever... he would never be able to return... the balance in his bloodlines would be broken, and a change would happen.
'A little change, or lose more of those lovely girls who do everything for me? Haha....'
"Hahahaha! Kara, let's have some fun."
His human bloodline was surging with the desire to fight.
His demon bloodline was brimming with anger and chaotic urges.
His dragon bloodline was filled with pride and the desire to crush these foul monsters.
His final bloodline... Finally accepted the others to crush these unholy monsters.
"What is this nonsense!? Why is your power... and essence changing like an unstable bomb!" The Wraith Lord began a reckless attack, as the four bloodlines in Lancelot's body began to rage inside him as if vying for domination.
"Me? I am just your average Demon King, you know?"
The moment Lancelot answered with his lighthearted and gentle tone... the entire western battlefield exploded, covered in his enveloping and heavy aura... for a moment, it covered the entire region, causing a certain existence to stir in the depths.
****
⁜ Ikumi POV
Meanwhile, in the eastern battlefield, a huge dome of ice protected the entire army on the walls, with more than fifty frost hares all casting the defensive spell Ice Wall to protect both Ikumi and their army as more than two thousand arrows hit the ice, piercing, chipping and slowly destroying it.
Although their morale was high, she worried that soon the casualties would increase, before piling high... Ikumi still stood firm.
She thrust between the ice gaps with her spears, launching them like javelins and catching any archer skeletons within her striking range...
"GRAAHGEEAAA!" A roar sounded as two skeleton knights held ladders and burst through the wall, several archers shooting the elves before they swung their swords at Marimo and the Oni soldiers.
"Stand your ground, sister Marimo!" Ikumi roared with strength as, from behind the walls, five frost hares rushed up.
Three swung their longswords down, one girl on the left chopping a knight's leg while another slammed an axe into its other, removing it before shoving a spear through its skull as another jumped and pierced her right leg through the spine, destroying its body.
As for the fifth Frost Hare... she tossed three icebolts towards the enemy, causing havoc as her ice shards began to break their brittle bones.
"My Squad, with me!" Ikumi's voice was deep, empowering, nothing like her soft and gentle voice with Lancelot as she stood up tall; the ice wall would soon break as the knight she kicked now walked back with a twisted right arm, seeming to not care about pain...
After all, she was undead!
"Attack!!!!"
Raising her right hand, she clutched a mana stone in her hand, pressing her lips, kissing the beautiful pea-sized purple and icy orb, causing it to implode into a hail of black acidic spikes that destroyed the ice wall.
In retaliation, Marimo's wave of elven archers nocked their bows and sent their pure ice arrows crashing through the eyes of all skeletons around her position.
The battle was chaotic as the fifty Frost Hares fought the Skeleton knights to keep them away from their Captain. Ikumi faced the strangely beautiful female knight, who took off her helmet, and heavier armour, now wearing only leather and cloth garments with two blades attached to her forearms.
"Tsk!" Ikumi clicked her tongue as the woman vanished, but this time Ikumi didn't panic; she stepped back with her right leg, slowly in an arc before shooting forward with a powerful snapping roundhouse kick that slammed into the abdomen of the Knight Lady.
Who had attacked with two short blades, slicing the cheeks of Ikumi slightly before her fists began to smash forward like meteors, impacting the unarmoured knight Lady's chest?
Followed by Ikumi leaping and, with her right palm, her tight muscles clenching, pushing the skeleton back... Her icy blue fist struck like a frozen mountain before following up and throwing a barrage of heavy kicks, similar to Lancelot's Blade dance. Instead, Ikumi used her legs like beautiful blunt longswords, which she called Frost Hare mixed martial arts.
Her blows were relentless, hitting the opponent squarely in the legs and torso and finally crushing the Undead sword arms.
"Haa.... Ha.a....." Ikumi was tired... each time she landed a blow, the damn knight retaliated, biting, slashing, gnawing at her before she performed one last leap, rolling forwards like a rapidly spinning saw blade...
Then, with a powerful spike kick with her left foot smashed the face of the lady Knight into bits before performing a magnificent and twirling backwards axel kick... destroying the upper torso and finally sending her defeated opponent to rest.
'I'm exhausted, my Ether is drained, and my muscles are too tired... how does my husband... deal with all that magic so easily?...' Ikumi began to stagger, picking up her weakened or injured troops and retreating through teleportation magic that completely emptied her body, as she fell against the wall, looking pale.
"Captain, the east has dealt the final blow!!" Marimo shouted with triumph, her arm soaked in black blood with something that seemed to be a shield now bent into a deadly spike...
"Marimo, you are in command here now. Let me rest; the enemy's leader is down. Hehe..."
The next moment... it was like the entire city-sized town exploded... something heavy from the west enveloped and pushed everyone down with its density and weight...
The Ether of the person was so dense it felt like it existed as a solid object...
"Lancelot?" Ikumi and Marimo muttered as the zombies on the wall were devoured... bones, rotten organs... all of it was devoured by the black... heavy Ether.
****
Milvar stood at the north wall and watched as her troops crushed the makeshift warriors and knights. Her weapon was dirty with black mess as she led the assault directly.
"Hmmm? It seems... That Another Demon King will be born today."
Milvar was filled with nostalgia for this aura... reminded her of a hopeless battle with Rena in the distant past, where a huge desire to fight suddenly filled her and the Oni troops.
In fact... the same happened...
Those who fought on that fateful day when Rena surpassed her fate. Evolving into a Demon Queen while fighting a neighbouring Demon King, letting her survive and crush the Male Oni Demon King like a bug.
"Our Lord has evolved!"
"Our Queen's Husband is Superior!"
"Fight! Fight Fight!"
On all fronts, the Oni females become enraged and filled with vigour; no longer winded and ignoring wounds, they began to crush and destroy the enemy, all fuelled by the heavy, dark Ether that surpassed even their Queen's awakening!
"Crush the enemy!"
"Devour their Ether!"
So many women felt a sense of power and bloodthirst never felt before; they wanted to show their skills, power and beauty to their new King!
From then until night, no skeletons reached the walls ever again as Lancelot devoured everything but not his allies...
His Ether washed over the Succubi, Frost Hares, Snow Elves, Fairies and Oni, all creatures, healing those that had fallen and feeding their bodies enough energy and Ether to revive and continue battling with tremendous prowess...
Unlike normal, where only a single type would be empowered... Lancelot's power affected everyone who was his ally.
A power that would surely make him a target as the war intensified.
However, the Western wall... was shrouded in darkness that even Milvar could not see through.