Realm Lord
Chapter 119: The King (3)

Chapter 119: The King (3)

The momentary pause shattered like glass against stone as the Ancient King shifted his stance, the sun mask’s hollow eyes seeming to burn brighter with malevolent amusement. Arthur’s shadow armor rippled across his form like living darkness, tendrils of black energy coiling around his limbs as he raised his blade. The weapon itself seemed to drink in the light around it, creating a void of pure darkness that made the air shimmer with otherworldly power.

"Stay together!" Arthur barked as sweat beaded on his forehead. "We can’t let him isolate us again!"

The king’s response was swift and merciless. Without warning, he launched himself forward, his ancient blade carving through the air with a whistle that spoke of countless deaths. This time, his target was Kay.

Kay’s war hammer came up in a defensive arc, the weapon’s head easily the size of a man’s torso. When the king’s blade met the hammer’s reinforced handle, the impact created a thunderclap that rattled the room. Kay’s superhuman strength allowed him to hold his ground for a precious moment, his feet sliding only inches across the polished marble despite the tremendous force behind the king’s strike.

"My turn!" Kay roared, pivoting on his heel and swinging his massive war hammer in a brutal horizontal arc. The weapon moved with deceptive speed for something so large, the air displacement creating a visible distortion around its path. The king was forced to leap backward, his reflexes saving him from a blow that would have shattered stone and bone alike.

But Kay’s attack had created an opening, and Aziel was ready to exploit it. Lightning crackled around the spear-wielder’s form as he channeled his power, electricity dancing across his skin like living tattoos. His speed increased exponentially, each movement blurring as he closed the distance between himself and the king in the blink of an eye.

Aziel’s spear thrust forward in a lightning-fast combination, each strike aimed at vital points with surgical precision. The king parried the first three attacks, but the fourth caught him across the ribs, tearing through clothing and skin alike and drawing a thin line of dark ichor. The King’s response was immediate—a backhanded strike that caught Aziel across the jaw, sending him spinning away with blood streaming from his split lip.

"Aziel!" Lara’s voice cut through the chaos as she pressed her attack, her twin blades weaving an intricate pattern of death around the king.

The king found himself momentarily pressed as Lara’s assault intensified. Her twin blades moved in perfect harmony, creating a defensive web that was difficult to penetrate while constantly probing for weaknesses. When one of her strikes finally connected—a shallow cut across the king’s forearm—Lara gasped as warmth flooded through her body. The healing magic inherent in her weapons activated instantly, and she felt her earlier bruises fade as the king’s dark blood fed her restoration.

The kings free hand shot out like a striking serpent, fingers wrapping around Lara’s throat. For a terrifying moment, her feet left the ground as the king’s supernatural strength lifted her effortlessly. Her twin blades flashed in desperate arcs, but the king leaned back just enough to avoid the worst of her strikes, though one blade managed to trace a line across his wrist.

Arthur’s shadow-enhanced speed saved Lara’s life. His dark blade swept in from the side, forcing the king to release his grip and defend against the new threat. Arthur’s shadow armor pulsed with energy, each movement leaving trails of darkness in the air as he pressed his advantage.

The king parried Arthur’s assault with contemptuous ease, but the distraction allowed Lara to drop and roll away, gasping as she clutched her bruised throat. The healing from her earlier wound had already begun to work on the damaged tissue, but the king’s grip had been like iron bands around her neck.

"Together!" Arthur yelled, his shadow armor flaring as he channeled more power into his defenses. "All at once!"

What followed was a coordinated assault that would have overwhelmed most opponents. Kay’s war hammer came down from above like a falling mountain, forcing the king to dodge to his left—directly into Aziel’s lightning-enhanced spear thrust. The king twisted with inhuman flexibility, the spear point barely missing his heart but scoring a deep gash along his side that wept dark ichor onto the marble floor.

As the king spun away from Aziel’s attack, he found Lara waiting with her twin blades positioned in a perfect scissor strike aimed at his neck.

But the king was far from defenseless. His ancient sword swept in a wide arc that forced all four warriors to leap backward, the blade’s edge passing close enough to Arthur’s face that it severed several strands of hair. Before they could recover their formation, the king was moving again, his speed creating afterimages in the light.

This time his target was Arthur, their blades met in a shower of sparks, shadow meeting ancient steel in a clash that sent ripples through the very air. Arthur’s enhanced speed and strength allowed him to match the king blow for blow, but each impact sent shockwaves up his arms that left his bones aching.

The king’s free hand lashed out in a brutal palm strike that caught Arthur in the center of his chest, the shadow armor absorbing most of the impact but still sending him sliding backward across the smooth floor. Arthur tasted blood in his mouth as he fought to maintain his footing, his vision swimming slightly from the tremendous force.

Kay seized the moment, his war hammer sweeping in from the king’s blind spot. The massive weapon connected with the ancient ruler’s shoulder, and for the first time since the battle began, the king staggered. Dark ichor sprayed across the marble as the hammer’s impact tore through whatever supernatural resilience protected the ancient being.

But even wounded, the king was deadly. His sword came around in a vicious backhand that caught Kay across the ribs, the ancient blade slicing through the warrior’s reinforced leather like parchment. Kay grunted in pain as blood began to seep through his clothes.

Aziel struck again, lightning crackling around his spear as he infused the weapon with electrical energy. The enhanced spear point punched through the king’s defenses, scoring a deep wound along his thigh that sent more dark ichor pooling on the floor. The king’s retaliation was swift—an elbow that connected with Aziel’s temple, sending the lightning-wielder stumbling with stars exploding across his vision.

Lara capitalized on the opening, both her blades finding purchase as she carved twin lines across the king’s back. The healing magic activated immediately, cleansing the wound on her throat and restoring some of her strength. But the king spun with impossible speed, his blade whistling through the air in an arc that would have taken her head if she hadn’t thrown herself backward at the last second.

The four warriors regrouped, breathing heavily as they faced their ancient adversary. Blood and ichor stained the pristine marble floor, testament to the fierce battle that raged within the throne room’s hallowed halls. The king stood before them, wounded but far from defeated, his sun mask reflecting their bloodied forms like a mirror of impending doom.

The battle was far from over.

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