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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 38: Lion Hunt (2)
There were two things you absolutely must never say in front of Hadem.
First, never insult a lion.
Second, never call him ‘bald.’
Once, a thief who called the prince ‘bald’ was beheaded on the spot by order of the prince himself.
For Hadem, being called the ‘Bald Lion’ was an insult so severe it could literally make his blood pressure explode—and that’s exactly what happened.
“You filthy bastard!!!”
Hadem was about to swing his axe, completely ignoring Calyx’s bodyguards around him.
Fortunately, before he could lift the axe, Lagos grabbed Hadem’s hand and stopped the disaster.
“My lord! Calm down! You must not lose control!”
“Y-You bastard…!”
Lagos’ words brought a brief flicker of clarity to Hadem, but his fury still simmered just beneath the surface.
He was so furious he felt like he had to at least chop off one of Calyx’s limbs right then and there.
Calyx sneered and said,
“Hmph! You’ve got some fine subordinates, I’ll give you that. For their sake, I’ll withdraw for today.”
With that, Calyx turned his horse around and left with his guards.
Watching them leave, Hadem’s anger only grew.
Trying to calm him down, Lagos spoke—
“My lord, let it go today. Revenge can wait.”
“How can I just let this go?! A lion must always repay an insult!!!”
As Hadem raged on without stopping, one of the Raion Knights stepped forward.
“My lord! Please, take a look at this!”
“Ugh, what now?!”
Hadem was so annoyed he’d have beheaded anyone who said anything weird, even if they were on his side.
But when the knight showed him, Hadem’s expression hardened.
It was a magic-detecting compass.
“This is…”
“It’s a magic compass we bought because of that enemy mage. But the needle… it’s pointing toward the Cron territory.”
After seeing the magic of the enemy mage Sharon, Hadem had bought this special compass to detect that mage’s mana.
No matter how much they shook it, the needle never pointed toward Calyx’s side but always toward the distant Cron territory.
“So… that means the mage isn’t here?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Hmm…”
One reason Hadem hadn’t swung his axe was because of that mage’s presence.
If he killed Calyx and the mage Sharon started attacking him under the pretext of avenging their lord, even Hadem would be in deep trouble.
But now they say the mage isn’t here.
Hadem looked at the number of Cron knights around Calyx and began calculating.
They had rushed out quickly, so the Cron knights were only about 700 strong—not a large force.
He could sense no magic or warrior like Zarha.
And the armored female knight who blocked the arrows next to Calyx seemed strong from her mana, but not as strong as him.
Hadem felt this was an opportunity.
“Lagos… what do you think?”
“If those are all their forces and the mage and warrior are gone… we should be able to win.”
Lagos immediately understood and gave the answer Hadem wanted.
If Hadem attacked Calyx and the Raion Knights now, it would be a huge violation of imperial law—illegal border crossing of a territory, surprise attack without a declaration of war, and if they killed Calyx, it’d be noble murder, something even a prince couldn’t excuse.
But the world sides with the winners.
If they annihilated the Cron knights here, captured Calyx, and used his life as a hostage for negotiation, many things could change.
The Cron family, unwilling to lose Calyx, would have to make many concessions.
Maybe they could even get the ruling rights over Dreihart.
Sure, they might get attacked morally by neighboring territories.
But they’d faced that before, and bribery always solved it.
If they let Calyx go now, they might never get another chance to catch him.
Hadem, blinded by the growing reputation of the Cron family and Calyx’s insults, lost his calm judgment and made his decision.
Facing the Raion Knights waiting for him, Hadem shouted,
“Everyone listen!!! My son has betrayed our family, tricked by that sneaky little bastard!!! How can I stand by as a father and watch this happen?!”
He pointed at the fleeing escapees and Calyx returning with them.
Raising his axe, he shouted—
“Enough! To save my son from that wicked bastard, I have no choice but to strike them down! Follow me!!!”
[ “YES!!!!” ]
And so, Hadem and the Raion Knights charged toward Calyx and the Cron knights.
＊ ＊ ＊
As Hadem and a thousand knights of the Raion crossed the territorial boundary on horseback, their charge thundered forward with such force that the very earth seemed to shake.
Naturally, Calyx and his side noticed the incoming attack.
Under normal circumstances, witnessing a full-frontal charge led by a powerhouse like Hadem—especially with a thousand knights behind him—would’ve sent any force into a panic.
Yes… under ’normal’ circumstances.
“Rikain!!”
“Yes! Fire the signal!!”
Pssshooo—!
Calyx and the Cron knights didn’t flinch.
At Rikain’s command, a signal flare shot up into the sky, trailing a pillar of red smoke.
The Raion knights, already at full speed, had no way to react in time. They could only watch helplessly as the flare burst overhead.
And within seconds of that flare, ‘they’ emerged—from both forests flanking the charge route.
“What the—?!”
“It’s Cron’s mounted archers!!”
They had appeared from the woods on both sides, latching onto the rear of the charging Raion knights.
And then they did what they were best at.
“Fire!!! Turn those bastards’ balls into shish kebabs!!”
Thwip—! Thwick—! Twang—!
At the order of Brock, Cron’s second-in-command, a hail of arrows rained down onto the unguarded backs of the Raion knights.
In the midst of a cavalry charge, the rear is wide open—and utterly defenseless.
The bows they had specially prepared had already been used earlier against the escapees, which left the Raion Knights even more vulnerable and exposed.
“Gahk!!”
“Kraaaaagh!!”
Crash! Bang! Thud!
Arrows struck their mark, sending riders crashing down, yet Hadem had no choice but to push forward.
If he hesitated now, they’d be surrounded and crushed from both front and rear. The best course of action was to smash through, annihilate the Cron Knights and the escapees, and plunge the battlefield into chaos.
As if they had anticipated his intent, the Cron Knights were ready.
Rikain dismounted and moved to the front lines, forming up with the shield bearers into a tight defensive formation.
“Shield phalanx! Ready!!”
[ “Yes, sir!!” ]
To keep the escapees out of the crossfire, they had retreated to the rear, while Rikain and his unit set up a wall of shields in front, bracing for the inevitable clash.
Still, even with Rikain at the center, meeting the full-force charge of Hadem and the Raion Knights head-on was dangerous—they risked being shattered.
They had to kill the momentum of that charge. And to do that, Calyx unleashed ‘it’ onto the battlefield.
“Go, Azelle! It’s time to carry out justice!”
“Yes, sir!!”
Azelle didn’t hesitate. She answered the command without a flicker of doubt.
This—this was the moment she’d been waiting for. The time for justice had finally come. And if she wasn’t thrilled? That would’ve been the real shock.
Alone, she charged—her mount thundering forward, eyes locked on the Raion Knights.
At first, they thought she was a lone suicide hopeful. A zealot. An easy kill.
But that thought didn’t last long.
“I have no emotions for you. But for my lord and for justice—Die!!”
A vivid green light burst from Azelle’s body and gathered around her like an aura.
Her blessing,〈Sword of the Moonlight〉, draws power from the moon—which means it’s not at full power during the day.
But that didn’t mean it was weak.
Especially when Azelle’s passion for justice hit its peak—a brief moment where her strength matched that of nightfall. When that happened, she became something else.
People called her…
Justice Freak — Hulk Mode.
“Justice... EXECUTION!!”
Thwack—!!
With a battle cry, Azelle wreathed herself in lunar energy, leapt into the air, soared over Hadem and crashed straight into the heart of the Raion Knights’ formation.
BOOOOOM!!
“GRAAAAGH!!”
A shockwave exploded in green light where she landed, violently splitting the Raion Knights into two halves—front and back.
Faced with the unthinkable devastation and the first-time sight of this crazed green knight, Hadem couldn’t hide his shock.
“What the hell is that!?”
“Looks like... some kind of secret weapon from the Cron family, sir!”
Having cleaved the knights in half, Azelle tore into their ranks from the middle like a whirlwind.
Despite the madness in her movements, her technique screamed ‘elite’—she moved with the refined grace of a golden knight, unleashing masterful cavalry swordplay as she held down the entire rear guard on her own.
“DIE for JUSTICE!!”
Swoosh—!!
The Raion Knights’ rear flank faltered under Azelle’s onslaught, her attacks slicing through the archers and cavalry, breaking their charge momentum.
In the end, their full strength never reached Rikain.
Instead, they slammed into the shield wall with diminished force.
“Hold the line!!”
[ “Yes, sir!!” ]
BOOOOOOM—!!
The Raion Knights crashed into Rikain’s shield phalanx—only to be bounced back or thrown from their horses.
Rikain himself had struck upward at an angle, redirecting the impact to disperse their power.
Hadem’s entire plan was now in shambles.
“Useless vermin! Out of my way!! I’ll handle this myself! You take care of the rabble!”
With nothing going according to plan, Hadem decided—
“Fine. I’ll just use my blessing and wipe them all out myself.”
He tore off his helmet, preparing to unleash his power but just then, someone pointed upward.
“Look…!”
Hadem instinctively looked up.
Floating above was a magic circle.
It looked oddly familiar. Hadem’s memory stirred. While he was trying to recall it—
“That’s… a summoning magic circle!!!”
Yes. That’s what it was. A summoning magic circle.
He remembered he had once been transported via one. But they consumed enormous amounts of mana… impossible to use lightly.
Who had the mana reserves to cast something that powerful? And ‘who’ were they summoning?
He didn’t have long to wonder.
The circle flared with light and a figure dropped from the sky, landing hard before him.
BOOM—!!
“You—!!”
Hadem gasped at the sight.
It was Zarha, the warrior of Dreihart, with whom he had once fought a fierce battle.
“It’s been a while, Hadem… I’ve come, just like I promised, to crush your skull.”
The lion hunt was moving toward its conclusion.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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