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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 39: Lion Hunt (3)
If Sharon and Zarha were involved, they could defeat Hadem without issue.
The problem was—that very fact made it less likely Hadem would even choose to fight.
Even a sloppy ambush could be exposed, given the immense mana the two possessed.
So how could they be used most effectively?
The answer was simple—Keep them far away.
If they stayed at a distance far enough that Hadem would never suspect their involvement, he’d likely assume Sharon hadn’t brought them at all and drop his guard.
And so, the two of them waited back at the Cron territory until the battle began.
If Hadem didn’t attack, they would simply remain there.
But if he ‘did’…
FWOOOOOOSH—!
“The signal’s been sent!”
A soldier who’d been watching through a telescope shouted the alert.
Sharon turned to Zarha, who was standing on standby inside the teleportation circle.
“Zarha, I’m about to cast the teleportation spell. It might cause a little motion sickness, so brace yourself.”
“Yes, understood — thank you, Mage.”
Teleportation was a high-level spell with the power to leap across dimensions.
But it came with a heavy cost—it drained both mana and mental focus.
Because of that, Sharon wouldn’t be able to participate in the battle herself after casting it.
But that was fine.
From Hadem’s point of view, Zarha—a warrior with power equal to his own, someone he had completely dismissed from the equation suddenly dropping into the battlefield could be enough to turn the entire tide.
Sharon gathered her mana and cast the spell.
"Teleport!"
Fweeeeeee—VWOOM—!
A black vortex burst open, swallowing Zarha whole.
Nothing was left on the summoning circle.
Sharon’s strength drained from her body in an instant, and she nearly collapsed.
Lana, who had been waiting nearby, rushed to support her.
“Are you all right, Lady Sharon?”
“I’m fine… just a little dizzy, that’s all.”
Her role was complete. Sharon looked back at the magic circle.
She wanted to help more—to fly there herself.
But by the time she restored her mana and arrived, it would all be over.
“Everyone… Please hang in there.”
With a heart full of hope, Sharon prayed for her comrades' victory.
That none of them would be hurt… that it would all end without tragedy.
＊ ＊ ＊
Hadem’s fury flared as he locked eyes with Zarha.
He respected Zarha as a warrior.
That was why he longed to settle things properly with him someday—not through schemes and backstabbing on the battlefield, but in a fair and honorable fight.
“Have you become the salt bug’s dog, warrior Zarha?”
Hadem spat.
“I’m the warrior sworn to the King of Liberation, foolish lion.”
Zarha replied calmly, unfazed.
Since Calyx’s reign, Dreihart has flourished and become a better place to live.
To repay that kindness, Zarha was willing to fight any battle.
Now, a fight had come to liberate the territory oppressed by a lord who tried to suppress him, and his strength was needed.
So Zarha came straight to Cron.
“Come. I dedicate this battle to the King of Liberation.”
There was no need for more words between two warriors who understood each other’s power.
They unleashed their strength.
“Grrrrr!!!”
“Uwwwoooaaarrr!!”
As Hadem and Zarha transformed into beasts, the surrounding knights scattered.
Following Dreihart, the fight between the Red Lion and the Blue Dragon had begun again.
Meanwhile, a surprising change was unfolding within the Raion Knights, who were surrounded and relentlessly attacked by Rikan’s shield unit and rear archers.
The Raion Knights, completely cornered, turned to their commander Lagos.
“Lagos, what do we do!?”
They hoped for a way to turn the tide.
But Lagos’s answer shocked them.
“We retreat.”
“What!?”
“Retreat?”
Retreating while their lord was still fighting was unthinkable to the Raion Knights.
Terrified, they asked—
“Are you betraying our lord?”
“I’m keeping the promise I made to him. Though he is the lord of the future...”
“What?”
Before arriving here, Lagos had received a large offer from Bara.
If this were the usual Hadem, Lagos would have kept watching.
But the Raion territory under the Hadem’s reign was running at a loss.
If things continued like this, his salary was going to be cut—just a matter of time.
That’s when Bara approached Lagos, promising to pay him 20% more than his father if he worked for him.
Of course, Lagos wasn’t foolish enough to betray immediately just for money.
But he was smart enough to understand the situation.
Knowing Cron stood behind Bara, Lagos believed Hadem was finished, and that he had earned his pay.
So changing masters wasn’t a bad idea.
“Everyone, fall back!”
“Retreat! Retreat!!”
With Lagos at the center, the Raion Knights began to withdraw.
The Cron Knights focused their attacks on Hadem instead of chasing after the retreating knights.
Even Zarha, the warrior, struggled under the relentless hail of arrows from the archers.
Shk—! Shushk—! Pook—!!
“Grahk!! You bastards!!”
Though Hadem had transformed into a lion through blessing, the arrows still pierced his vulnerable flesh.
The pain snapped him back to clarity, leaving a dangerous opening.
But Zarha and Azelle were ready—they didn’t let it slip by.
“Uoooooo!!!”
Kuuuuung—!
“Cough!!”
Zarha slammed into Hadem with everything he had.
Hadem crumpled under the impact, feeling a pain like never before—but the fight wasn’t finished.
“Justice! Forward!”
Kwaaang—!!!
Azelle’s sword, glowing with the power of moonlight, pierced straight through Hadem’s shoulder.
The force was enough to nearly shatter the shoulder joint, tearing through Hadem’s body and breaking the lion’s blessing that had transformed him.
In that instant, Hadem felt the sting of defeat.
“Cough…”
As the knights confirmed Hadem’s complete subjugation, they cleared a path.
Following that path, Calyx approached.
Hadem, furious at being looked down upon by Calyx, struggled to speak.
“Do you really think it’s over just because you won with a trap? The Crown Prince will never forgive you.”
“That won’t happen. Because this was all done under His Highness’s orders.”
“What!?”
Hadem was at a loss for words.
Though he had caused many problems, his loyalty to the Crown Prince was genuine.
He couldn’t believe the Prince had abandoned him.
“Nova.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Nova handed Calyx a letter, sealed with the royal crest.
“That is…”
“A decree sent by the Crown Prince.”
The Prince had ordered Hadem’s arrest.
How did it come to this?
This plan began when Hadem disguised some of his soldiers as bandits.
The bandit Garche, captured by Cron’s people, was officially declared dead but was actually imprisoned by Hart in Cron’s jail.
He was kept alive as a potential witness, just in case.
The raid disguised as bandits by the Raion family was not only obvious but a grave crime.
Attacking a rival house in such a dishonorable way was among the lowest tactics, and the attacked lord gained the right to openly criticize the rival family’s ancestors.
If this became public knowledge, it would severely damage the Crown Prince’s political image for tolerating Hadem.
But if the Prince abandoned Hadem, his control over the southern region would weaken.
At this moment, Calyx—more precisely, Nova—conveyed Calyx’s wishes.
“By the name of His Highness the Crown Prince, please bring justice upon that butcher Hadem.”
No matter how far Hadem had crossed the line, Calyx attacking him without orders would upset the Crown Prince.
But expelling Hadem under the Prince’s name made it a righteous act, showing the Prince himself stepping in—and sending a message to other factions that Cron supported the Prince’s faction, showcasing influence.
The raging rusty axe and the silver-white arrows flew.
The Crown Prince sided with Calyx.
“Therefore, by the name of the Empire’s First Crown Prince, Kyros Sword Novarens, I hereby strip Hadem Raion of his ruling rights.”
Hadem, holding the letter, understood everything.
He had lost completely—both in power and politics, Calyx had outmatched him.
So utterly defeated, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ha…hahaha! Impressive, Calyx. Fine… you’ve won.”
Hadem accepted his defeat.
He embraced the fate of the vanquished.
“Kill me. A lion does not beg for life from the victor.”
Calyx stood tall, sword ready, denying Hadem even a sliver of mercy.
“You’re no lion, you’re a lord. And I’m no victor, I’m just a man.”
“What do you mean…”
Though a disgrace, Hadem had been a warrior and had hoped for death in battle against a worthy opponent.
Calyx was exactly that—an acknowledged strong rival.
But Calyx calling himself human unnerved Hadem, and his fears were confirmed.
“From now on, you will be confined in the northern fortress of the Raion territory.”
“What!?”
The northern fortress was a prison built to hold even the ‘Blessed’—like Hadem himself.
There was no escaping it.
“You will be imprisoned there. Your son Bara will take over after you.”
“You dare steal my honorable death too!?”
Calyx wasn’t buying into the whole ‘honorable death’ thing—especially not for some butcher who treated lives like nothing.
“Watch closely from there, as your son builds a Raion family that denies you…”
“No! Kill me! Like a victor! Kill me!!”
Hadem was the lord of the Raion family, and killing him outright would be a political burden for Calyx.
Death would have been easy.
Instead, spending the rest of his days imprisoned by the very son he despised—the weak one—was a fitting end.
On that day, it was officially announced that Hadem Raion, lord of the Raion family, retired due to illness.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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