chapter_0038

38 – Lion Hunting (2)

38 – Lion Hunting (2)

There are two things that should never be said in front of Hadem.

The first is to insult a lion, and the second is to call oneself ‘bald.’

In the past, there was an incident where a bandit, who was ordered to be captured by the prince, was beheaded on the spot for calling Hadem bald.

For Hadem, the insult of ‘bald lion’ was enough to make his blood pressure explode, and he lost all rationality.

“You little vermin!!!!”

Hadem truly intended to swing his axe, ignoring the knights guarding Calix around him.

Fortunately, before he could lift the axe, Ragos managed to cling to Hadem’s hand holding the axe, preventing a disaster.

“My lord! Please calm down. We cannot let this go!”

“This! …This bastard!!!”

For a moment, Hadem regained his composure at Ragos’s words, but he was still too furious.

He felt an overwhelming rage that he couldn’t contain unless he at least severed Calix’s limbs when Calix scoffed and said,

“Hmph! You still have excellent subordinates, I see. I will withdraw for today, considering the faces of your men.”

With those words, Calix turned his horse around and left with his escort knights.

Watching their retreat, Hadem’s anger continued to boil over.

To calm Hadem down, Ragos spoke again.

“My lord, let it go for today. We can take our revenge anytime.”

“How can I let this go! A lion must repay the humiliation he has suffered!!!”

As Hadem expressed his unrelenting fury, a knight from the Lion Knights spoke to him.

“My lord! Please take a look at this!”

“I’m so annoyed! What now!?”

Irritated, Hadem was ready to behead anyone who spoke nonsense, even if they were allies.

However, when he saw what the knight presented, Hadem’s expression hardened.

It was a compass capable of detecting magical power.

“This is…”

“It’s a magical compass purchased because of that Crimson Sorcerer. But the needle… is pointing towards the Crones territory.”

Having witnessed the magic of Red Mage Sharen, Hadem had bought a special compass that could detect the sorcerer’s magical power.

Yet, no matter how much he shook the compass, the needle pointed not towards Calix but far away towards the Crones territory.

“So… does this mean that the sorcerer is not here?”

“Yes, that’s certain.”

“Hmm…”

The reason Hadem had not swung his axe was also due to the presence of that sorcerer.

If he killed Calix and Sharen, the magician, began attacking him under the pretext of avenging her lord, even Hadem would find himself in a very troublesome situation.

But now, it was said that the sorcerer was not here.

Hadem began to calculate as he observed the number of Calix’s Crones Knights visible to him.

It seemed that the Crones Knights had hastily mobilized, as their numbers were only around 700, not that many.

He could not sense the presence of the magician or the warrior Jarha.

And that green-haired female knight who had blocked arrows beside Calix,

Though she seemed strong based on the magical power he sensed, she did not appear to be as strong as he was.

Hadem felt that this situation was an opportunity.

“Ragos… what do you think?”

“If those troops are all they have and the magician and that warrior are absent… I believe we can win.”

Ragos understood Hadem’s words immediately and provided the answer he wanted.

If Hadem were to attack Calix and the Crones Knights now, it would be a serious violation of imperial law.

‘Illegal invasion of territorial boundaries,’ ‘surprise attack without declaration of war,’ and if he were to kill Calix, it would amount to ‘noble illegal murder,’ which even a prince could not cover up.

But the world was also on the side of the victor.

If he could annihilate the Crones Knights here and kidnap Calix, then begin negotiations with Calix’s life as a hostage, many things could change.

The Crones Family, who could not afford to lose Calix’s life, would make many concessions.

If things went well, he might even gain the right to rule Dreyhart.

He might face moral attacks from surrounding territories.

But such things had been endured for a long time, and a little bribery always solved the problem.

Rather, if he missed the chance to capture Calix here, he might never have another opportunity in his lifetime.

In a short span of time, Hadem, who had lost his rational judgment due to the overwhelming reputation of the Crones Family and Calix’s insults, ultimately made his decision.

Hadem shouted to the waiting Lion Knights.

“Everyone listen!!! My son has betrayed our family under the schemes of that salt bug!! As a father, how can I just stand by and watch this!!!”

Hadem pointed at Calix, who was returning with the deserters.

And raising his axe, he shouted.

“Thus! I will have no choice but to strike them down to save my son from that wicked salt bug! Follow me!!!”

“Yes!!!!!!”

With that, Hadem and the Lion Knights began their charge towards Calix and the Crones Knights.

As they crossed the territorial boundary, a thousand knights and Hadem on horseback began to charge, causing the earth to tremble.

Naturally, Calix’s side noticed their attack.

Normally, one would panic and be terrified upon seeing a thousand knights led by a powerful figure like Hadem charging at them unprepared.

Yes… normally, that would be the case.

“Ricain!!”

“Yes! Signal the flare!!”

Pshuuuuuuuu-!

Calix and the Crones Knights did not panic, and a signal flare was fired at Ricain’s command.

Red smoke rose into the sky, and the already accelerating Lion Knights could do nothing upon seeing it.

Within seconds of the flare being fired, they appeared from both sides of the forest.

“What is that!?”

“That’s the Crones Knights’ archers!!”

They emerged from the left and right forests, attacking from behind the charging Lion Knights.

And they began to do what they did best.

“Fire!!! Turn those bastards into skewers!!!”

Shoo-! Shush-! Shoo-!

At the command of the Crones Knights’ lieutenant, Brock, arrows began to pierce the unprepared backs of the Lion Knights.

The rear of the charging cavalry was extremely vulnerable.

Especially since the Lion Knights had already used their prepared arrows against the deserters, they were even more defenseless.

“Cough!!”

“Kraaaak!!”

Thud-thud-thud-!!

As people began to fall from being hit by arrows, Hadem could not stop.

If he halted now, he would be attacked from both sides and suffer even greater damage.

The best option was to collide and then massacre the Crones Knights and the deserters, dragging the battle into chaos.

Naturally, it seemed the Crones Knights were prepared, knowing Hadem’s intentions.

Ricain dismounted and formed a shield wall with the shield-bearers.

“Shield formation! Prepare!!”

“Yes!!!”

After ensuring the deserters did not get caught up, they created a shield formation centered around Ricain, preparing for the collision.

However, even though Ricain was skilled, if they collided head-on with Hadem and the Lion Knights, they might be thrown back.

It was necessary to reduce the impact of the charge, and for that, Calix decided to unleash ‘that’ onto the battlefield.

“Go! Azel! It’s time to execute justice!!”

“Yes!!”

Azel responded to Calix’s command.

At this moment, Azel was filled with joy.

The time for the execution of justice she had long awaited had finally come.

It would be strange if she were not happy.

Azel charged alone towards the Lion Knights.

At first, the Lion Knights thought a suicidal hopeful had come charging at them.

But their thoughts changed shortly thereafter.

“You may have no feelings, but die for my lord and justice!!”

Azel’s body began to emit a green light and gather.

Her blessing, , utilized the power of the moon, so it was not very strong during the day.

But just because it wasn’t very strong didn’t mean it was weak.

Especially when Azel was intoxicated with a sense of justice, her power temporarily surged to be as strong as when used at night.

Seeing her charging with green light emanating from her, people referred to her as ‘Justice Psychopath – Hulk Mode.’

“Justice execution!!”

Thud-!

With a battle cry, enveloped in the power of moonlight, Azel jumped and landed right in the midst of the Lion Knights.

Kwaaaang-!

A powerful shockwave exploded where Azel landed, and the Lion Knights were split apart front and back.

Hadem could not hide his astonishment at the unexpected damage and the sight of the mad green knight he had never seen before.

“What the hell is that!?”

“That seems to be a secret weapon of the Crones Family that we are unaware of!”

Azel, who had intervened and split the Lion Knights, began to rampage in the center.

Despite her mad actions, she showcased elegant mounted swordsmanship, proving her background as a member of the Golden Knights, and single-handedly hindered the rear knights.

“Die for justice!!”

Slash-!

The charge of the Lion Knights, struck by Azel in the midst of the rear archers, noticeably weakened, and they ultimately collided with Ricain without being able to exert their full strength.

“Hold on!!”

“Yes!!!”

Kuuuuuuung-!!

The Lion Knights collided with Ricain’s shield formation and were either bounced back or fell from their horses.

Leading the charge, Hadem saw Ricain deflecting upward at an angle, causing a direct collision to be avoided and dispersing their power.

All of Hadem’s plans had gone awry.

“You useless fools! Get out of the way! I will handle this! You deal with the rabble!!”

As nothing went as he had thought, Hadem resolved to use his blessing to annihilate everyone.

Just as he was about to remove his helmet and use his blessing, someone pointed upwards.

“That’s…”

In an instant, Hadem looked up at the sky, where a magic circle was present.

As he recalled the familiar appearance of the magic circle, other knights spoke.

“It’s a summoning magic circle!!!”

A summoning magic circle! Yes, it was a summoning magic circle!!

Recalling his memories of traveling through a summoning magic circle in the past, a question flashed through Hadem’s mind.

Summoning magic circles consume immense magical power and cannot be used easily.

Who is expending that much magical power to summon someone?

Hadem’s question did not last long.

Light began to emanate from the magic circle, and someone was summoned right in front of Hadem.

Thud-!

“You are!?”

Hadem was astonished at the figure that fell before him.

It was none other than Jarha, the warrior of Dreyhart, who had fought fiercely against him.

“It’s been a while, Hadem… I have come to crush your neck as promised.”

The hunt for the lion was approaching its end.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

All-stars have gathered to hunt the lion.

Thank you for reading today as well!!!

Have a great day!!