Chapter 486: Legendary Battle (2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A newly renovated road branching off the King's Lane lay between Orida Fortress and Gladstone City
During this time, resources were transported through this path to Orida Fortress due to the war in the North. Having undergone repair work, the road was now smooth and approximately 20 feet wide.
Small wooden huts were built along the road, at intervals of 50 miles, for travelers to rest their weary feet. These huts were known by the people of Firuman as rest shacks.
Link and his party were recuperating in one of these rest shacks a hundred miles away from Gladstone City, as they waited patiently for the arrival of the Orida Fortress army.
On the second day, around three in the afternoon, a clear ting sounded in the hut. It was not loud, and still, it carried itself through the air in the rest shack. Everyone turned to where the sound had come from.
The sound had come from Link's sword in his hand. Aside from the sound, there seemed to be nothing odd going on with his sword. Everyone around him assumed that Link had simply flicked a finger at the blade, and so returned to whatever they were doing before.
Only Link knew then that it was the sound of the Dragon King's Fury sword leveling up. He looked at the sword and noticed that its in-game information had changed.
Dragon King's Fury—Flaming Sky—Silent World
Lower Order Legendary
State: Half-sealed.
First effect: Activate the Dragon King's Fury blade by spending 1400 Flawless Dragon Power points. When activated, the caster's power will be magnified by 15 times, and their speed will be increased eightfold. This state will last for three seconds.
Second effect: All magical power will be increased by 870 percent.
Third effect: The sword will be able to cut through anything with its Boundless Sharpness. (Perfect State)
Fourth effect: All attacks will automatically activate an area-of-effect attack. The range of this secondary attack is 400 feet, and its attack power is equal to 15 percent of the player's attack.
(Note: Only the strongest is worthy of holding me!)
The sword's stats had all been upgraded as it leveled up. It had already surpassed the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand in terms of magical amplification. However, one of the more significant changes to the sword was its Boundless Sharpness. Before, its in-game message was cluttered with explanations of how it could slice through both physical objects and magic. Now, it simply stated that it could cut through anything. There was no telling which was stronger at this point, the Dragon King's Fury sword or the Breakpoint dagger.
Upon the sword's upgrade, Link let go of all concern he had about the final battle.
Half a day went by. At five in the evening, just as the sky began to darken, there was a rush of wind from outside. Felina had returned from her reconnaissance.
Felina entered the hut and reported to Link, "My lord, the army is now setting up camp on the main road ten miles away from here."
Link thought for a while, then said to King Leon who sat beside him, "Your Highness, it is time to act."
King Leon was somewhat startled by this. There was no turning back for any of them at this point. He stood up and said, "Then let's go."
The marksmen and priests had been resting in the shack for two days, and they were all in excellent physical condition. Upon hearing this, they stood up immediately, ready for deployment.
Link began laying out his plan. "Celine, hide in ambush a few thousand feet away from our point of convergence with the enemy."
Saying this, he gave a red rune stone to her. "This is an Escape Rune. If there's trouble, just break it, and it will teleport you a thousand feet away."
"Understood."
Link then said to the marksmen, "All of you keep your distance from the vanguard at more than 500 feet. Open fire when a confrontation happens. Do not worry about hitting your own in front."
"Yes, my lord."
Next were the priests. Their levels were not as high. However, what they lacked in combat skill, they made up for with their healing prowess. Link said to them, "You are to wait two miles away in the woods. Should we lose our edge, just retreat from there. If we manage to push back at the enemy, you have my permission to come out from the woods and start taking care of the injured."
"Understood," said the archbishop, nodding.
Finally, Link said to King Leon and the other three Red Dragon Warriors, "You four are with me."
King Leon's presence there was essential to Link's plan. On the other hand, the three Red Dragon Warriors were Level-8 Warriors. Their powers should come in handy later.
Once everyone was assigned their roles, Link and his men exited the rest shack and headed off for the enemy camp.
Half an hour later, they finally reached the vicinity of the army. Link gestured at his men, and everyone began marching on.
The sun had sunk completely behind the mountains, and the sky was now a dark canvas dotted with stars. Campfires were lit one after another throughout the enemy camp. From afar, the light was almost imperceptible.
As Link's intention was to revoke Duke Abel's authority, he would be knocking on the front door of the enemy with as much fanfare as possible. He raised the Dragon King's Fury wand in the air, and then cast a large-scale magic light spell.
A ball of white light with a diameter of around two feet shot forth from the sword's tip into the air. When it reached a few thousand feet in the sky, the ball of light exploded, lighting up the whole place for miles till it was almost as bright as day, as if a second sun was shining down now from the sky.
The whole army was taken aback by the sudden explosion of light.
"Who did that?" shouted some of the military Magicians. Though the magic light spell did not present a serious threat to any one of them, it was a Level-5 spell, and it was even capable of illuminating the area to such an extent. A feat like this was simply incredible.
"Is it an enemy attack?"
"Look, someone's approaching from there!"
"Wow, I've never seen such power!"
Link had appeared before the enemy. He began releasing a bit of his Dragon Power around him, and an almost dazzling crimson aura billowed around him as a result.
One of the Warriors recognized Link as soon as he came up close to the camp. "It's Master Link."
"The Lord of Ferde is here."
"Who's the guy with the crown beside him?"
"Isn't that King Leon? What's going on?"
The unexpected visit by two such important personages had caught everyone off guard, but none of them dared stop either of them in their tracks and simply allowed them to walk on through the camp.
The camp was huge, occupying a total area of around one square mile. The marshall's tent was erected in the middle of the camp. When Link and his entourage arrived in front of the tent, a crowd of people had gathered around him, from Generals to military Magicians and Priests. Numbering at 300, most of them were high-ranking officers of the army.
This was what Link had wanted.
A small patch of ground lay before the marshall's tent. Duke Abel stood in the tent's entrance, accompanied by two Nagas and ten of their followers.
Upon seeing Link, Marshall Abel stood motionless, a cool smile playing on his face. "If it isn't the Lord of Ferde himself. To what do I owe the honor of such a visit?"
Marshall Abel simply shot a glance at King Leon, pretending not to see him standing beside Link.
Link knew that the marshall was trying to use to his advantage the fact that some of the Warriors in his service did not recognize the King himself. He took a step back and stood behind King Leon. "Actually, I'm only here as part of the royal escort of the king of the Norton Kingdom."
Link's volume was not high, but with the aid of his Dragon Power, he used a special magical technique to amplify his voice. All the Warriors in the camp were able to hear what he had said.
The Warriors of the Orida Fortress all knew in that instant King Leon was in their midst. Duke Abel's intention to keep silent on the king's identity had been foiled without even given a chance.
This sparked an uproar throughout the whole camp in an instant.
Abel's royal family had ruled the northern half of the continent for close to 300 years. Fear and reverence towards the king's authority had since been rooted deeply in the hearts of the people. Some of the generals around them had been exchanging their suspicions with each other. But upon hearing Link's confirmation of the king's identity, all of them fell to the ground in a half-kneel before the king.
Watching them kneel in acknowledgment of his royal authority, King Leon regained some of his confidence, and he began acting out his part as an actual king.
He spoke with a low voice, "The reason for my visit to the North tonight is because of the massacre in Garrason Town."
As he said those words, Link once again cast his spell, amplifying the king's voice all over the camp.
"Never in my life have I dreamt that my subjects would be culled so callously by my own soldiers, and that the one carrying out such bloodshed would be my own brother. Out of the 30,000 inhabitants in the city, more than 20,000 were slaughtered in cold blood, when in actual fact, only 10,000 were affected by the epidemic. Instead of looking for a way to cure the disease, my own brother, a marshall of Orida Fortress and a duke of the Norton Kingdom, had earned himself a reputation as a bloody butcher by killing for sport. Through his actions, he has brought great shame to the Abel family and the whole kingdom."
Finally, King Leon announced with firmness in his voice, "Jon Abel, from now on, you are no longer the marshall of the Norton Kingdom, nor are you a duke. I hereby find you guilty for the slaughter of 4589 people!"
When he finished, the whole place descended into pandemonium.
Out of the 40,000 people in the army, 30,000 of them had not participated in Garrason Town's massacre. When they had first heard about it, they too had thought that the marshall had gone too far. As soon as they heard King Leon's conviction of his own brother, many of them shouted in righteous vehemence, "He's a murderer! He's not fit to lead us!"
Still, some of them remained loyal to the marshall, as they shouted back, "You know nothing! Not even the King does! He's been enjoying himself in the South all this time, oblivious to the dangers we face every day in the North. He's not fit to be our king."
Though they seemed to be in the minority, they were all heated up in righteous anger, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
The discontent among the Warriors had begun bubbling up to the surface and was now on the verge of exploding!
"Silence!"
A low voice boomed throughout the camp. All excitement among the Warriors died down immediately, as a sudden cloud of lethargy fell on them. At that point, none of them could even muster the energy in them to start a fight among themselves.
It was Link who had cast the Koan of Kund spell on everyone.
With just one spell, the whole army had ceased its uproar!
King Leon, who had fidgeted apprehensively at the chaos around him, was now able to relax a little, and said to his brother, "Well, Jon, what have you to say for yourself?"
"Nothing," roared Duke Abel. Even without magic, his voice was loud enough that it could be heard by everyone in the camp.
"I have no need for words. Now's the time to act!"
Duke Abel let out a cruel laugh. "I will slay you now, brother. Lord of Ferde, you too will not escape me. You'll all die, here and now!"
The Generals were all startled upon hearing this. Watching Duke Abel laughing away maniacally, they all believed that the man had gone mad. Even those who had been speaking in favor of the duke's actions had now started to question his sanity.
Duke Abel had announced his intention to commit treason against the Norton Kingdom by executing both King Leon and Link in front of everyone. Since Duke Abel had chosen to oppose the king himself for having revoked his title as marshall, nothing else could be said to help the duke's case.
Though King Leon was never a remarkable military leader, he never acted out of order. During the great war in the North, he was the one who had funneled food and other resources to the army there. Even when Hot Spring City came under attack, King Leon chose not to ask for reinforcements from the North. Now, with Link the Legendary Magician and the Lord of Ferde himself on the king's side, almost no one was willing to stand on Duke Abel's side.
The generals all drew out their swords beside King Leon.
Duke Abel, on the other hand, had no more than 30 followers beside him, which paled in comparison to the number of Warriors on the king's side.
Ignoring the stark gap in power, Duke Abel stared straight at Link and said something that raised a few brows among the Generals. "Link, I have with me 40,000 people. Are you sure you're ready to face me?"
King Leon's speech before had been nothing more than a formality. The only thing that mattered now was the clash between two Legendary masters.
From the duke's point of view, absolute truth belonged only to the victorious!