Chapter 10 (the King's last words)

The two generals VS Zarok (third

brother)

Zarok, a hulking bandit with aggressive,

rotting flesh, gripped his short double-

bladed axes tightly. Their edges sparkle

in the cold weather.

Opposite him stand the two generals,

Orion and Darius, holding their spears

firmly.The long shafts of the weapons

gleam with precision, their tips deadly

sharp.

Zarok as well as the two generals lock

eyes, exploring each other's

weaknesses.

Zarok makes the first move, dashing

forward at incredible speed. The two

generals faintly lose track of him.

Zarok slicing through the air, aiming for

both generals necks. General Orion

leaps back while General Darius twists to

his left side, narrowly avoiding the

attack.

General Darius was aiming his spear at

Zarok's left leg, but Zarok gently lifted his

leg, avoiding it. Before he can regain his

balance, General Orion spins his spear,

cutting through Zarok's chest, but heals

instantly.

Both generals are shocked at the sight,

stepping back to create space. 

"How is that even possible? to heal in an

instant?" General Darius burst out.

Zarok swings the two axes

simultaneously.

"Ha, ha, ha. You must be shocked to see

this. We've overcome all human

weaknesses. Soon, we will transcend

into immortality, thanks to bloodbane."

He said, clenching his hands around his

axes.

"Transcend to immortality? my foot. 

You're more like a walking corpse, worse

than humans right now." General Orion

replied, giving him a disgusted gaze.

Close to the gate.

King Axel raises his spear to his chest

level, gazing intensively at his opponent.

Ravok (second brother) glaring back,

placing his double-blade axe on his

shoulder as his rotting skin peels down,

turning to dark dust.

"Long time no see, King Axel. You are

really stubborn to the core," he said,

cracking his neck. "Since you were

poisoned with 'bloodbane,' you should

have just given up on your mana rings

and be like us." He said, bouncing his

axe on his shoulder.

"Because of your greed," King Axel

replied, darting forward, 'You gave up

being human, just to be a living corpse."

His spear jabbed out, aiming for Ravok

midsection, but he bent backward,

narrowly avoiding the strike.

The spear whistles past his ribs as he

swings his axe brutally, aiming for King

Axel's head.

With incredible reflex, King Axel leaps

back as the axe slices through the air,

some inches away from him.

Meanwhile, Drake and Isabella just arrive

at the war scene, and Isabella leaps out

of the sleigh.

"Hey, Isabella, wait, you can't just jump

into the middle of the war." Drake

shouted, jumping down from the driver's

side. racing after her.

Isabella, searching for her way, is caught

off guard as one of the undead stirs; it's

decay hand reaching out and grabbing

her.

She let out a sharp "Yelp." as the undead

tried to bite her. Drake sprints to her

rescue.

"Aqua dragon roar, (3 circles). He

invoked materializing pressurized water

through a mana circle on his right hand.

the undead toss away.

"Hey, you need to listen to me from now."

He scolded her. Isabella nods in fear.

He holds her hands as they move and

dodge incoming attacks.

Back to King Axel and Ravok. A lot of

moves have been exchanged between

them. King Axel, back to the midst of the

fray, releases his spear, coating it with a

shimmering ice aura.

"Ice Aura: Cold Embrace. (3 circles). He

enchanted. A small mana circle

materializes behind the spear,

transforming the aura into a snowflake

encircled by icy tendrils.

He strikes at Ravok; the spear connects

with a resounding clang. Ravok stumbles

back, paralyzed by icy force.

King Axel, moving closer, falls on his

right knee, his expression hardening,

realizing that one of the four rings

encircling his heart is shattered.

The paralyzing effects fading from

Ravok's body, the Cold Embrace spell

though powerful paralyzing spell, having

lost much of its potency due to King

Axel's weak mana. 

"Ha, ha, ha. You're a fool. Let me tell you

about bloodbane's effect." Ravok said.

After coming into contact with the

bloodstream of a mage, it goes straight

to the heart, where its effect begins. It

gradually starts degrading the mana

rings around the heart until there is none

left. That's when the transformation into

an undead begins, just like what

happened to me and my brother. In

return, we become stronger, and all our

senses improve along with these

decaying bodies. Using mana when you

are poisoned with bloodbane is only

speeding up its effect. Ha,ha,ha,ha." He

said, laughing as he stepped forward.

He smiles, seeing King Axel kneeling.

Ravok, slinging his axe, aiming for King

Axel's throat. However, King Axel was

ready. Instead of dodging, he slings his

spear upward. deflecting the axe blade

with a loud clang.

Ravok instantly stepped back, creating

some gap between them. King stands on

his feet, swinging his spear.

"It seems I don't have a choice."

Forbidden spell: Heart-Rend spell (multi-

circle)." King Axel invoked.

Margining the three leftover rings around

his heart into a single explosive ring.

Heart-Rend spell is ranked forbidden

because it puts pressure on the heart,

which hardens it, resulting in the heart

cracking.

The maximum record of usage is 5

minutes, depending on the mage

condition.

King Axel knows he has less than 1

minute to do whatever he has to do. He

hears a loud voice calling to him.

"Fa...ther" the voice shouted. He turns

back, facing the direction of the sound,

and smiles towards it even though his

vision starts getting blurry, not seeing

who called him. He turns back to his

opponent. 

Clenching his hands on his spear.

"Ice Aura: Arctic Domain (5 circles)." He

evoked.

A midsize mana circle appears at the

bottom of the spear, materializing the

aura around it, creating a 20-meter

radius domain.

The domain is made of intricate

snowflakes within a circle of ice shards,

with cracks and ice blooms radiating

outward. Ravok starts suffering from

frostbite attacks.

King Axel leaps toward his opponent.

"In my domain of frost and ice, none shall

stand unfrozen." He declared. Jabbing

his spear through Ravok's chest.

Ravok falls dead on the cold floor while

King Axel is grabbed by Isabella, placing

his head on her knees.

Drake stood behind her, rubbing both

hands on her shoulders to calm her

down.

"Father, hu,hu,hu subs." She cried.

Rubbing tears from her face with her

hands. King Axel raises his hand, his

fingers trembling, placing it on his

daughter's head.

"Sweetheart, don't cry; this is my

responsibility to my kingdom." He said,

his heart cracking with pain.

"You are the only Kald bloodline left;

please grow to be a strong and reliable

woman." He said, his hand falling onto

the frozen ground.

Isabella, hugging her dead father, her

face wrecks of tears.

"Don't go, ho, ho, ho. Don't leave me."

She cried out, her voice filled with

despair.