The Lion King 7

Fwaaaaaahhhhh-

An utterly titanic consecrated blaze erupted engulfing that sable hand completely within aureate holy flames.

As Doyun swung his sword downwards, potent retaliatory forces reverberated across his gripping palms.

‘Formidable indeed.’

This magic bore the full might of an empowered Vanguard Commander’s offensive prowess. Completely shattering it remained beyond Doyun’s current limitations outright.

Doyun compressed his mana further bolstering that strike’s sheer trenchant force alongside the infernal flames’ searing intensities.

Shurahk-

Eventually succeeding in bisecting that shadowy appendage’s wrist through sheer relentless onslaught.

“That insane bastard…!”

“Those flames are…?”

Satan and Lancelot reacted with contrasting bewilderment while the Alliance forces gaped in simultaneous dismay yet beamed with heartfelt pride alike.

However, the severed hand’s remaining portion continued sinking ravenously into the sun itself undeterred.

“Hngh!!”

If his prospective son-in-law could achieve such prodigious feats, no way could the sovereign himself underperform whatsoever.

The Lion King’s incandescent irises flared ever more brilliantly as multiple solar flares erupted across the sun’s surface – blasting forth like scorching tentacles impaling that sable hand while incinerating its remnants completely.

Like witnessing a sun’s surface activity intensifying during the peak of its sunspot cycle violently.

Fwaaaaaahhhh-

Thanks to Doyun’s decisive intervention, those shadowy tendrils attempting to devour the celestial radiance disappeared amidst the raging conflagrations altogether.

Rather, inspired by Doyun’s actions, the Lion King could bolster that manifested sun’s overwhelming might even further in tandem.

“Quite the impressive prospective son-in-law indeed!”

Grinning toothily while straining every fiber bulging outwards from exertion, the Lion King remarked approvingly:

“For I am the Alliance itself…”

Yet his scarlet bloodshot visage radiated sheer unflinching martial valor at its quintessence despite every trembling nerve threatening outright disintegration at any moment with veins jutting forth while his gums bled profusely around clenched teeth.

Though delivering those words with folded arms in seemingly casual nonchalance, he had clearly reached his absolute utmost limitations already.

Of course, no dereliction of royal dignity ever manifested – standing tall resolutely upon both feet while surveying their battlefield ahead.

Doyun marveled inwardly in sheer admiration:

‘Someone like him… He shall prove utterly indispensable even during our climactic final clashes.’

Effectively on par against Enoch’s two former comrades in terms of martial might overall.

Yet that sheer combat prowess specializing towards overwhelming widespread area offensives alone represented an utterly peerless specialty maximizing his unique advantages compared to all prior encounters whatsoever.

Generals hurriedly assessed their tactical situation:

The overwhelming majority of enemy forces had been utterly annihilated bordering on absolute extermination virtually.

Yet around 5% of those imp legions remained alongside numerous officers and the core demonic army itself.

More ominously, all four Vanguard Commanders still stood steadfastly unvanquished despite sustaining visible collateral damage and exertion themselves.

By contrast, the Lion King had already depleted virtually all available reserves leaving the prevailing strategic outlook overwhelmingly unfavorable to say the least.

Yet while others frantically pondered countermeasures containing such dire circumstances, Doyun gazed further ahead with transcendent foresight in mind.

For him, even this war potentially deciding the Alliance’s entire survival merely represented a preliminary stepping stone towards the Demon Lord himself in the larger overarching context instead.

‘An opportunity.’

Doyun contemplated inwardly.

‘I must minimize overall Vanguard Commander numbers as much as possible today.’

Oz rattled his bones while raising his staff skywards once more.

Another magic circle manifested firing frigid beams across the battlefield transmuting those blazing magma fields into rapidly cooling landmasses – hardening lava flows across limited regions spanning the outermost rampart approaches while leaving those solidified areas narrow yet traversable overall compared to earlier desolate wastelands.

Waaaaaahhh-

The Demon Lord’s armies soon marched across those reformed terrains steadily encroaching inwards.

Demonic infantry combined alongside remaining imp legions intermixed with elite monstrous combatants – without deploying warriors next, those Alliance ranks would quickly crumble before such overwhelming numbers alone.

“Ahem.”

At that preliminary signal, the Vagabond alongside Brudhild rose shakily upwards one by one.

“Doyun.”

The Lion King cast bloodshot eyes towards Doyun while dripping crimson tears steadily from the corners:

“What is your assessment regarding our battlefield conditions presently?”

Despite not being an official warrior himself, Doyun’s recent miraculous feats inspired immense Alliance hopes inspiring the sovereign and his strategists alike to solicit the warrior’s objective analysis.

After surveying that battlefield panorama briefly, Doyun spoke up concisely:

“Among those remaining four, only that armored knight silhouette represents an exclusively specialized one-on-one combatant.”

“And you ascertained this how? That one is a new face altogether.”

“No.”

Doyun stated with firm conviction:

“He is the Death Knight Lancelot – a former Vanguard Commander vanquished by Enoch Razvolnic himself over a century ago.”

“…Ah, the Vanguard Commander Revival Project.”

The Lion King nodded, having gleaned those details from the Vagabond earlier concerning that resurrection initiative.

Mercifully, no further inquiries were made regarding Doyun’s information sources – now remained hardly the appropriate venue to interrogate such particulars in any case.

“Brudhild, Heineken and myself shall lead the charge busting through – Heineken seizes Lancelot directly. Brudhild and I shall engage the remaining Vanguard Commanders simultaneously towards the rear flanks.”

“You jest with such levities now?”

The notion of three warriors contending against a quartet of Vanguard Commanders sounded utterly preposterous and childlike – a laughable notion altogether overall.

Yet Doyun remained convinced regarding the feasibility of such audacious tactics:

“Your Majesty.”

He proceeded delineating meticulous insider knowledge concerning each individual Vanguard Commander in intimate detail far beyond any strategic briefings:

“Satan’s paramount might prioritizes overwhelming horde tactics optimally. Lilith represents the overall weakest among Vanguard duelists. Oz has expended considerable mana consecutively towards major offensives already.”

“I acknowledge your contributions vanquishing Berthe, yet that engagement involved Heineken and Lei alongside yourself directly. Do not underestimate Vanguard Commanders lightly.”

“I can engage an individual Vanguard Commander directly at full capacity.”

The Lion King’s eyes widened momentarily, clearly recalling Doyun’s previous radiant holy flames manifesting before them all personally.

Not some frivolous boast to dismiss lightly after witnessing that sacred inferno firsthand.

“Furthermore, Brudhild has achieved considerable growth breaching Saint King tiers in terms of overall might.”

“Brudhild has…?”

All eyes turned towards the veteran sword maiden at those unprecedented implications.

Based on his own firsthand experiences against the actual Saint King himself, Doyun deemed this evaluation quite accurate – like Lei, Brudhild had absorbed sufficient [Manifest Blade] insights incorporating that enlightenment into her sword arts with Doyun’s direct tutelage advancing beyond the Lion King’s previous prime levels before assimilating the Solar Radiance itself.

Even Heineken voiced disbelieving surprise:

“Is this truly accurate?”

Brudhild nodded demurely as if slightly embarrassed herself.

“I received much guidance from Apostle Doyun during that interim.”

“Apostle Doyun’s doing…?”

The Lion King reacted with outright bewilderment while Heineken marveled proudly at such revolutionary developments originally fostered under Enoch’s direct mentorship now blossoming into unprecedented martial ascensions.

The Vagabond chimed in supportively:

“Your Majesty. Lei too has grown nearly as mighty as this old man himself now.”

“…Ah! Doyun did help train me too!”

The warriors voiced their own endorsements consecutively backing Doyun’s unprecedented claims to the hilt.

“Your Majesty. I am intimately versed regarding their true capabilities – my confidence remains justifiable indeed.”

“Hmm!!”

The Lion King grunted approvingly while smiling with clear satisfaction – such timely revelations concerning fresh divine revelations alongside his two warriors’ immense growth represented paramount boons regarding their strategic prospects.

Nodding solemnly, he thundered his royal decree resoundingly across the battlefield:

“Denied (Permission Not Granted)!”

“…”

“Warfare remains no mere game of chances nor child’s play, and you are not Commander Enoch himself. Proposing concluding entire wars through one-on-one duels alone represented his exclusive privilege throughout history – a right intrinsic to him alone!”

In stark contrast to his earlier courtesies displayed towards Doyun, the sovereign now spoke with absolute steely finality instead:

“Therefore denied! Our paramount objective focuses on repulsing the enemy armies directly – not prioritizing Vanguard Commander eliminations whatsoever!”

This pivotal war directly decided the Alliance’s very survival – no way would the Lion King ever stake every citizen’s life upon such long-odds gambits against a vastly numerically superior foe.

The Lion King remained their supreme sovereign first before any elite warrior himself. Just like the Saint King’s devotion towards Labyrinthe’s security, this king’s convictions also prioritized the Alliance’s collective well-being above all else without compromise.

Doyun nodded compliantly, for without that supreme commander’s authorization, any unilateral operations proved impossible to implement whatsoever.

Yet he remained undeterred from pursuing his own objectives regardless:

‘I must minimize overall Vanguard numbers today no matter what.’

This battlefield pitting them against four Vanguard Commanders simultaneously within those holy barrier grounds would never arise again under any circumstances whatsoever.

Even sacrificing these rampart fortifications outright represented an acceptable opportunity cost – provided sufficient Vanguard casualties could be inflicted to justify such desperate contingencies altogether.

Doyun and the Lion King surveyed that same battlefield panorama through vastly divergent lenses altogether.

‘The Vanguard Commanders shall not take the frontlines directly. Satan, Lilith and Oz shall prioritize neutralizing our rampart defenses first while Lancelot the one-on-one specialist prepares contingencies against any Alliance elites potentially attempting surprise flanking maneuvers picking off vulnerabilities.’

Remaining passive ensured their inability countering such preparations whatsoever. Which meant:

‘I must bait Lancelot onto the frontlines preemptively first.’

Shling- Doyun drew his blade audibly in a single fluid motion.

All four including Lancelot had clashed against Enoch countless times over a century ago across numerous prior campaigns.

If a new Apostle manifested before them showcasing the Razvolnic Style’s quintessential techniques, how might they react to such revelations surpassing even Lancelot’s own bewilderment from his unexpected resurrection earlier?

Shhk.

The very thought of tormenting those damnable adversaries once more while settling scores fueled Doyun’s audacious smirk twitching across his features mischievously.