Chapter 255: King’s Blood
Chapter 255: King’s Blood
“For the King!”
“For the King!”
King Harold’s personal royal guards were clearly his most elite defenders!
More and more soldiers from the Norman army arrived to lay siege to their position and the circular defensive formation had begun to crumble. Even so, these soldiers continued fighting to their deaths!
King William led his mounted soldiers away from the central battlefield. His mounted soldiers rode around in a circle to put some distance between them and the formation.
The infantry soldiers rushed up the hill. All infantry soldiers to arrive atop the hill would be blessed by the ‘King’s Courage’!
The swarm of soldiers kept moving forward like a tidal wave. One wave followed the other as they rushed the final personal guards under King Harold.
Finally, the formation was broken apart!
After the numerous shouts were let out, King Harold’s personal guards were slashed down. Falling to the ground, they were then stabbed to their deaths. Even in the face of death, they kept shouting in fervour, “For the King!”
Chen Xiaolian followed suit. He hacked his way through, paving out a way and pointed at the royal flag that was hoisted up high.
“It’s right there!”
…
A makeshift wooden platform was constructed beneath the royal flag. Placed upon that platform was a throne.
A man wearing a long velvet cloak was seated upon the throne.
He had a crown on his head and wore a gold coloured armour. In his hand was a very conspicuous looking long sword.
The blade of the sword was thrust into the floor.
Similar to many men of this era, his cold looking face sported a moustache and beard. However, his pair of eyes seemed like blades! Both of them glinted in a crimson red colour!
He watched as his loyal defenders, his personal royal guards die one after another, the formation falling down. Yet, all he did was sit there quietly without making a single move.
Below the throne, the Duke of York threw himself on the ground. His body was covered with blood and he shouted out, “My King! You need to leave this place at once! We have lost!”
Shua!
King Harold stood up!
He stood straight on the wooden platform. At that moment, his figure seemed unusually tall.
“If so… then let me see your final drop of loyalty!”
King Harold’s voice seemed to carry with it a strange power, tough and radiant like that of iron and gold.
The eyes of the Duke of York flared out. He abruptly roared out; he got up and turned around while shouting, “For the King!” Then, he charged into the chaos of the battle.
This aristocratic general hacked down two Norman soldiers before a spear pierced him in his abdomen. He fell to his knees, roared out and cut the spear. Then, he decapitated the spear-wielding soldier!
Another two swords slashed at him from behind and the Duke of York fell to the ground. His pair of eyes was opened wide and blood flowed out from his mouth. With his dying breath, he said in a low voice, “For… for the Ki…”
Before he could complete his final word, a Norman soldier stepped forward and hacked his neck.
More of the royal guards were killed and soon, the battlefield fell into a state of silence.
Harold continued sitting on the wooden platform.
His last few personal royal guards retreated back to the wooden platform as they fought. In the heat of battle, they were stabbed and hacked down.
Harold’s 300 personal royal guards all fought to the death! Not a single one chose to escape!
Upon the battlefield, the only ones standing were the soldiers bearing the Norman colours.
Those soldiers shouted out fervently as they raised the weapons in their hands, cheering in jubilation.
Next, some of them raised their weapons and charged their way up to the wooden platform!
“False King! Hurry up and surrender!”
The soldiers shouted at the platform.
At that moment, the sound of horse hooves interrupted them.
The soldiers stepped aside to create a path.
King William rode until he was before the wooden platform. Then, he turned to look at the figure who remained seated there.
“Harold! You have lost this war! Get down here and surrender! Considering your identity as an aristocrat, I promise to give you a decent trial and a death worthy of your dignity!”
King William’s frank words resounded through everyone there and the soldiers began shouting out in a frenzy.
“Get down!”
“Get down!”
“Accept the trial!”
“Surrender your crown!”
“Get down!”
…
“Humph! He he… ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”
Atop the wooden platform, Harold suddenly moved to the edge of the platform.
His cloak billowed behind him.
His loud laughter rang out and had a suppressing effect on the shouts thrown out by the surrounding soldiers!
Harold’s laughter seemed to contain some form of magic, which caused everyone to fall silent.
Chen Xiaolian who was standing among the crowd of soldiers suddenly furrowed his brows together. A sense of unease sprouted out within his heart.
His attention suddenly fell upon the corpses on the ground…
Those were the corpses belonging to Harold’s personal royal guards…
A thought suddenly struck Chen Xiaolian!
This is the medieval period!
Forget the medieval period, just look at the armies of the present era! Even with their strict level of discipline… how many soldiers could fight to the very last moment without surrendering or escaping?!
This type of army should not have appeared in this medieval period!
And yet, these fellows seemingly went berserk and were willing to fight to their last breath for the sake of this Harold!
If so… this Harold…
Chen Xiaolian abruptly raised his head up to look at the man standing atop the wooden platform!
…
“Do you desire this throne so much, William?”
Harold seemed to be speaking in a low voice. Yet, his voice managed to reach everyone’s ears clearly.
King William sat on his warhorse and raised his sword up high. He said, “The throne belongs to me!”
“You liar!”
Harold sneered and slowly said, “God bestowed me this right! These lands belongs to me! They are mine! If you want to snatch my lands away from me… William! If you wish to do that, if you wish to become a true King… then, you will have to personally take this crown off my corpse!
“Personally!”
After saying that, Harold slowly raised the sword in his hand and pointed the tip of the sword at King William. He shouted, “William! Do you have the guts to accept my challenge? A duel between Kings! To the victor goes the crown! And to the loser… death!”
King William was silent – logically speaking… he do not wish to engage in a duel with Harold.
He now held an absolute advantage! They were currently surrounded by his army!
As long as he gave the order, someone will charge up to kill off that fellow.
Why would he risk his life here?
The sword has no eyes. What if he ended up suffering from some wounds? Not only would it be a loss for him, it would even become a detriment to his prestige.
However…
At present, all eyes were watching…
King William had been utilizing his reputation as a valiant military warrior to command this army and have them wage wars for him!
If he were to refuse this duel… then when news of this spread out, he would be viewed as a coward!
This could become a blemish in his existence!
Not only that, he was a King and a warrior. His self-esteem would not allow him to retreat at this moment.
Even that Tayloff fellow had his Knight’s glory. He dared to charge the enemy formation alone, a self-sacrificial act that was viewed as a noble act.
In this era… if a King with a reputation of being a warrior, when faced against an opponent of the same status, choose to turn down that opponent’s challenge… then, he would likely be despised by the soldiers of that era!
While King William was brooding in silence, his brother Odo, who was beside him rushed out and shouted.
“Harold! What qualifications do you have to claim to be King? You are but a false King! The only thing you can claim to be is an aristocrat! I, Odo Norman will challenge you as a Duke on behalf of King William! You have no right to challenge my King! You are but an aristocrat. As such, I will use my status as an aristocrat to take your sinful life!”
After saying that, Odo did not wait for either Harold or King William to reply. He jumped down from his horse and stepped up the wooden platform!
King William noted the look in Odo’s eyes.
He knew that this brother of his was doing so for his sake.
With victory in sight, there was no need to take any risks.
Odo was a Duke. Thus, he had the qualifications to fight against Harold.
King William was silent.
…
Odo was renowned as a valiant within the military and was one of the mighty generals in the Norman army. At that moment, he stepped up the wooden platform alone with his sword in hand. He roared out loudly, raised the sword in his hand and rushed Harold, hacking down!
Harold remained standing still with a cold smile on his face. He watched as the sword slashed down before him…
Boom!
A loud sound could be heard!
A figure was thrown out of the wooden platform to come crashing down. The heavy iron armour on his body was like an iron barrel and he fell heavily on the ground!
Odo coughed out a mouthful of blood!
The sword in his hand had been cut in half!
The mighty Odo was defeated in one strike!
Everyone there became silent!
King William jumped down from his horse and rushed to his brother’s side. His personal guards also rushed forward behind him. Together, they propped up the iron barrel who was Odo into a seating position.
They saw how both of Odo’s hands were covered in blood and that his armour had been shattered!
Odo coughed out blood and gasped. His face was pale, yet he clutched onto King William’s wrist tightly. He was unable to say anything. However, his eyes were filled with terror.
King William understood the look in Odo’s eyes.
However, he suddenly stood up!
At that moment, the eyes of all the surrounding soldiers fell upon him!
…
Harold abruptly grabbed his cloak and ripped it out before throwing it into the blowing winds.
The bright red cloak fell down.
At the same time, Harold howled out loudly. His hands reached out to pull off the golden armour off his body. He ripped them out!
Kacha!
The golden armour was directly ripped out with his bare hands! It was as if he was ripping out a piece of paper!
In Chen Xiaolian’s eyes, it appeared as though a faint light was glowing off Harold’s body!
This Harold…
Very strong!
He defeated Odo in one move!
Although Chen Xiaolian did not know how powerful King William was, he was likely around the same as Odo. Even if he was stronger than Odo, it won’t be by a large margin!
If so… Chen Xiaolian would have to step forward!
Sure enough…
This Harold was the true final BOSS of this instance dungeon?
Chen Xiaolian gripped the weapon in his hand and was about to step forward when…
[System prompt: The final act of the war for the throne had begun! King William VS King Harold! Except for these two parties, others are not allowed to directly interfere in the war for the throne. Any such act would be considered a violation!]
Chen Xiaolian was flabbergasted.
Cannot directly interfere?!
Watching Harold’s move of tearing out his body armour had undoubtedly shocked all the soldiers present.
Harold took one step after another as he descended down from the wooden platform.
The soldiers standing under the wooden platform subconsciously moved back, creating an open space there.
Harold stood beneath the wooden platform and looked coldly at King William.
“How about it? William! To snatch away the crown… do you have the true courage of a King?!”
…
“Kill him… everyone, go kill him… he, he’s the Devil!”
Odo spat out blood from his mouth as he tightly clutched King William’s arm.
King William straightened himself. He had his chest postured out and he silently regarded Harold.
“Take my brother away and have Merlin care for him.”
King William then turned around to face Harold. The surrounding soldiers sensed the direction of the atmosphere and they stepped back to allow those two to face each other.
King William raised the Sword in the Stone in his hand. He slowly stepped forward as he chanted something.
“I, William Norman swear upon my honour, I will accept Harold’s challenge for a duel! The victor of our duel will win the right over the lands that we are standing on! The Heavens will be my witness! If I am to be killed, then my subordinates will leave this lands, never to return!”
As he spoke, the corners of King William’s lips seemed to curl into a peculiar smile!
His body seemingly began to shine!
Ca!
King William’s left hand gently grasped onto the blade of the sword and he pressed hard, cutting his palm!
“With my blood, I seal this oath of mine!”
Chen Xiaolian, “… … …”
[System prompt: Special equipment Sword in the Stone has been blessed by the King’s blood. 60 % activated. One skill activated: Killing Blow!]