Chapter 108

The King of Specters sighed and moved his firmly rooted feet to relocate.

It was a place he loved, yet also the site of all his hatred.

While the thought of spilling the cursed blood of the Empire’s nobles brought him joy bordering on ecstasy,

the idea of staining this beloved land with their pig-like blood was deeply displeasing.

“……Truly despicable.”

The King of Specters surpassed even heroes, the Demon King, and the Dragon Queen in physical prowess.

With his monstrous physical abilities, he could see and hear everything happening in the forest.

“Quick, become my shield and protect me, you maggots!!!”

Some tried to use powerless servants as human shields, beating them with clubs.

“What are you doing! You shameless beast!”

Amid the chaos, there were also trashy noble sons who threatened with weapons and harassed women.

“How dare you insult me…”

Taking advantage of the confusion, a noble aimed to shoot Rizel, who had once rejected and humiliated him.

“Nothing has changed.”

The bow drawn by the King of Specters sounded like an Eastern zither. Each time the string was pulled, a clear, resonant sound echoed, and with each sound, the dishonorable nobles lost their upper bodies.

“Draw your weapons. Reveal your ugly desires. Struggle like insects. So I can shoot you dead.”

He was a merciless monster but also a warrior who strictly adhered to his own code.

He did not shoot those who dropped their weapons.

He did not shoot the protected weak until their guardian warrior fell.

He did not engage in cowardly ambushes.

He would never resort to threats or schemes.

Such was his nature. A king who, despite desiring the Empire’s destruction, held the farthest law from it. Yet, he was strong.

He had the power to shatter the walls protecting the Empire from ruin. Even if he didn’t destroy it, there were plenty of others willing to take on that cowardly, dirty role.

“Now… let us continue this delightful hunt. My beloved prey.”

The clear, resonant sound echoed again.

An arrow, tearing through the air, pierced a noble who was fleeing while wielding a weapon.

“Rot more. Decay more. Become uglier. Add new flavors to this hunt.”

As he prepared to draw the bowstring again, a blue lightning spear grazed his shoulder.

“…It seems moving hastily has backfired. I didn’t expect them to follow that sound.”

Though not a minor injury, the wound cauterized instantly, preventing any blood from flowing.

“Have you come as a noble to protect the weak? Or to unleash the anger of a lost lover? Is it protection born of good? Or revenge born of evil?”

Camilla adjusted the spear in her hand and replied.

“Do I look like I’m here to protect those pig bastards…? I don’t care if you kill every last one of those… Imperial humans.”

She was that kind of person. No, she had become that kind of person.

Once, she had something resembling heroism, a desire to protect the powerless. Once, she felt pride in protecting them.

But not anymore.

She loathed the Empire, manipulated by the damned Emperor and the Second Prince, insulting her and her comrades.

She could find no value in those who belittled her comrades with provocative words.

Any lingering pride and heroism in her heart had dried up.

Now, there was only one reason she faced the King of Specters. A primal, intense reason.

“You shot Raul. I need to teach you what it means to lay a hand on him. You disgusting corpse bastard.”

“Oh? And what do you plan to do?”

The spear in Camilla’s hand began to glow more intensely.

“I’ll give you death.”

And in that moment, multiple lightning bolts struck the King of Specters.

Each bolt had the power to incinerate a demon, and dozens of them converged on a single target.

“Truly threatening.”

“Shut up and die.”

The King of Specters rarely appeared on the battlefield. This implied he was vulnerable in close combat.

No matter how skilled an archer, in direct combat, he wasn’t someone to be overly feared.

“…That’s what they all thought.”

An arrow from behind grazed Camilla’s side.

Had she not instinctively dodged, her vital organs would have been pierced.

But even her efforts to dodge were futile against his silent, swift arrows. Blood gushed from the graze…

Camilla cauterized the wound with electricity to stop the bleeding.

“Not just the Demon King’s second-in-command for show.”

“You’re not the first warrior to face me directly and try to kill me.”

Camilla kept an eye on the King of Specters’ bow. As an archer, there would be a fatal moment when he nocked an arrow. By watching the direction of the bowstring and dodging the arrow, she could exploit the opening after he shot.

“And you won’t be the last.”

Focusing on the bow turned out to be a mistake.

Instead of nocking an arrow, the King of Specters charged and kicked Camilla. He broke through her electric barrier and struck her directly.

“Ugh…!”

Camilla couldn’t withstand the impact, and her electric barrier collapsed. Her defensive stance crumbled, and her limbs began to numb.

The King of Specters was a warrior who strictly adhered to his code, but he wasn’t merciful enough to let such an opening pass.

A spinning arrow tore through the air and pierced Camilla’s abdomen, forcing her to vomit blood.

She cauterized the wound instantly to stop the bleeding, but the damage was significant, and she began to stagger.

“Damn corpse bastard…”

Wiping the blood from her mouth, Camilla realized.

That monster wasn’t just skilled with a bow; his physical abilities were monstrous too. Strength, speed, reflexes, and durability—all far surpassed hers, even exceeding the Demon King’s.

“Now, warrior. Descendant of Argos. I surpass you not only in weapon skill but also in physical ability. What will you do?”

It was a blunt, undeniable fact.

Physical ability, weapon skill, combat experience—the King of Specters held a decisive advantage.

“Simple. I’ll just kill you. Once you’re dead, what use are skill and ability?”

“…Foolish. You don’t even consider the possibility of dying first.”

“Dying is!”

Camilla gritted her teeth and threw her spear.

“Something to do later!”

The King of Specters, thinking her foolish, twisted his body to dodge the spear.

But as he moved, the spear emitted a fierce lightning bolt, exposing him to the electricity.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, but he didn’t die.

Instead, a satisfied smile peeked through the gaps in his helmet. He showed no panic or anger.

“Good. This is how revenge should be. Only after hardship and pain does revenge hold value.”

The lingering blue electricity tormented his body, but he accepted the pain with a smile.

He decided to use this as a lesson to punish his own arrogance and underestimation of his opponent.

“Shine brighter. Struggle harder. Flail more. Add a stimulating flavor to this bland revenge. Become the crisis in this tedious revenge play. So I can achieve perfect revenge.”

For the first time, the King of Specters felt the thrill of battle and smiled.

He sensed that he was stepping closer to a greater strength, approaching the realm of the Demon King.

The wall blocking his path to transcending all forms was cracking.

Just a little more fighting, and he felt he could reach that horizon.

If he could, he believed he could achieve a more perfect revenge, drowning in anticipation beyond mere pleasure.

“Empire! Try to kill me! Behold this incompetent, foolish king who has lost everything to you! This foolish king has come to kill you! Draw your weapons and face this tyrant! Assassinate me! Or my arrows will take all your lives!”

The King of Specters’ roar echoed through the forest and across the continent.

“Great king, now rest.”

But the response came from very close,

with a sword strike.

“…!”

A pure white sword strike severed his left arm.

Yet, the King of Specters raised the corner of his mouth even higher.

“Another has arrived. Though somewhat lacking, the struggle to overcome that lack is entertaining. Even without flames and resonance, lightning and foresight are sufficient prey.”

Losing an arm would be fatal to anyone, but for an archer, it was a death sentence.

For those who needed both arms to draw a bow, losing one was irreparable. Unlike swords or spears, which could still be wielded with one arm.

Yet, the king laughed.

“But. You don’t seem to know that even pigs don’t die from losing one arm.”

From the severed stump, a grotesque new arm sprouted.

And from beneath his shoulders, a new pair of arms grew, turning him into a monster with four arms.

The additional arms also held ivory bows and arrows from who knows where.

“Come. I’ll face you.”

“Penelope. Raul…”

Camilla tried to calmly inform the Empress of his condition.

“I know.”

But the Empress cut her off.

“But Raul won’t die. I can say with certainty, he won’t die today.”

“But…”

“Believe me, Camilla. Raul… my friend isn’t someone who dies so easily.”

The Empress then glared at the King of Specters and said.

“Thank you for coming to the festival I prepared, King.”

“…It’s only natural I would come to this blasphemous festival held on this land. There’s no need to say more.”

“Yes. I too will fall to hell for holding this festival. Sin cannot be hidden under the name of justice.”

Seeing Camilla’s confused expression, the Empress kindly explained.

The King of Specters wasn’t cowardly enough to take advantage of such a moment.

“Camilla. The history of the hunting festival is quite long. The nation where this festival originated has long since perished.”

“Wait, is that…”

“Yes. What you’re thinking, ‘Surely it can’t be,’ is exactly the answer.”

The Empress calmly recited the Empire’s sins.

“The origin of the hunting festival… is the massacre of this nation’s people by Imperial soldiers, hunted like beasts… a festival rooted in the history of killing indiscriminately, from adults to children, and receiving rewards for the number killed.”

The King of Specters tightly closed his mouth, which had been raised in a tail-like smile.

“And the king of that nation at the time… is the King of Specters before you.”

He was the King of Specters.

The living proof of the Empire’s heinous crimes, the embodiment of all that hatred.

The king of those who lost their lives to the Empire’s cruel hands, the foolish king who lost them all.

“Yes.”

The King of Specters steadied his trembling hand for the first time and gripped his bow.

“This nation was burned and destroyed by your Empire’s hands. For unjust, trivial reasons, with unjust, cowardly means, in an unjust, cruel manner. Now, only death, sorrow, and hatred remain in this land.”

Red blood began to drip from beneath his helmet.

“And the king is the nation itself.”

A pair of ivory arrows grazed the Empress and Camilla’s arms and cheeks. Had they not instinctively dodged, they would have died instantly.

“Thus, I am death, sorrow, and hatred itself.”

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