"Death to Lloyd Frontera!"
"Destruction to Frontera Estate!"
"Demise to Kim Suho!"
The hell's knights let out battle cries robustly in the fiery hell on the other side of the hell's gate, while riding on the back of hell's steeds that were more ferocious than ogres. They were overrun with the excitement of showering themselves in the blood of humans and creatures in the humanly realm. It was likewise for the commander, Sir Kalidus of the Second Corp of hell's army.
Today is the day we welcome a new commander-in-chief.
He recalled the plan by his liege, king of hell, to bring the human Kim Suho in under his wings to have him work as commander in chief overseeing the day-to-day operation of the entire underworld. He had initially dared to oppose the idea in the beginning, as he couldn't imagine serving a human as a higher-ranking officer.
But so be it.
If that was what his liege, the supreme ruler of the underworld, wished, he could only accept the decision graciously as he was only a sword to be swung in the hands of his master.
Shring. Clink!
Hell's knight Sir Kalidus drew both of his darkened swords crafted with demon bones and released sinister energy in the dead of night. He strengthened his resolve to take the enemy's life himself, if he was going to serve a human as a higher-ranking officer. He was determined to behead the human with his own sword and place his head on the pike. That was going to be his way of welcoming the new commander-in-chief. With this resolute mindset embedded in his bones, Sir Kalidus followed the steps of the first unit of hell's knights and into the portal of hell's gate.
Whoosh!
The air immediately changed as soon as he passed through the portal. The refreshingly disturbing scent of the fiery hell was no more, and the detestably clear air surrounded him.
Tsk, tsk. What a horrid place.
Sir Kalidus jumped down from hell's gate, allowing the gravity of a strange realm to pull him down to the ground approximately 300 feet down. He took a quick glance at the surroundings as he fell.
I don't see anybody, as expected. They must be clueless.
That had to be, since all this was planned in the underworld; there was no way mere humans in this terrible realm could have found out about it.
Although our liege hasn't had a chance to monitor what was going on in the human realm because he had to incarnate himself in the lich's body.
But that wasn't going to cause any change and all humans in this estate were going to die tonight.
"By my hands!"
Sir Kalidus landed on the ground with a heinous shout, or so he thought. He fell straight into the deep, cold water awaiting him.
Splash!
"What?!"
Caught off guard by the unexpected presence of water underneath, Sir Kalidus expressed his displeasure.
Ugh. The hell's gate must have opened above the river or something.
It appeared that way, but it did not matter to the hell's knight because all he had to do was swim out of the river. Hell's knights weren't going to drown anyway.
It's inconvenient, but whatever.
Sizzle!
That was when extreme heat overwhelmed his body, simultaneously as he shivered from the mysterious sensation that felt as if he had just been struck by lightning or crushed by a huge boulder. The excruciating pain mercilessly tortured him.
"Ugh... Argh!"
Sir Kalidus inadvertently twitched in agony as each of his bones felt extreme discomfort. Sir Kalidus finally realized he hadn't fallen into an ordinary body of water.
I-is this holy water?!
Sizzle!
Holy water wreaked absolute havoc on Sir Kalidus's body, giving him a painful seizure. It wasn't an unremarkable holy water either; it was a high-grade one, made from the tears of the high-ranking angel of thrones. Other hell's knights had fallen and fell in the pool of holy water and suffered the same agony as they struggled like fish out of water.
And the number of victims grew exponentially. Sir Kalidus barely managed to contain the pain and shouted out. "There's a pool of holy water right here! Aaaaack!"
The cry filled the skies and reached the hell's gate, warning the hell's knight that was just passing through the portal. He barely stopped and checked the ground saw the holy water, and passed the message onto his comrades-in-arms.
"There's a pond of holy water beneath the gate, so jump across when you leave the gate!"
The hell's knights began to perform long jumps as they left through the portal, drawing a high arch in the air before landing. However, another pool of holy water awaited them there as well.
Splash! Splash!
"Aaaahhhh!"
Hell's knights cried out in pain and agony as they were showered with holy water. That wasn't the end of the torture, however, as a melody even more terrifying and peculiar than the holy water itself banged their eardrums while the hell's knights suffered.
"Row! Row! Row your boat! Gently down the stream!"
"...Urgh."
"Merrily! Merrily! Merrily! Merrily! Life is but a dream!"
Splash! Splash!
The abysmal melody felt like a genuine attempt at a song by a naturally horrid singer, and that was what made it worse for the listeners of the jam. Strange off-beat recitations accompanied by egregious vibration.
"Row! Row! Row your boat! Gently down the stream! Merrily! Merrily! Merrily! Merrily! Life is but a dream! Da-dun!"
Splash!
Hell's knights helplessly continued to jump into the pool of holy water like lemmings jumping off the cliff, realizing something in the process.
"It's Kim Suho!"
"That bastard must be near!"
"He has to be here somewhere!"
The eyes of hell's knights glowed as they suffered immense torment inside the holy water. They finally strengthened their resolve to get up.
"Our target... must be near."
"I will kill him myself!"
The first target to be eliminated during this war was Kim Suho, who was presumably in the vicinity. Each of the hell's knights burned with the passion to make the greatest contribution to tonight's inevitable victory by beheading the detestable human being, before being acknowledged as the legendary hell's knight honored by the king of hell himself, to cause the entire underworld to bow before it. They weren't willing to share the glory with their comrades-in-arms.
"Ugh...!"
Commander Sir Kalidus of the Second Corps of hell's army stopped struggling and fell to the bottom of the water, stomped on the ground, and rapidly resurfaced. He finally got himself out of the water and rolled on the soil.
"Huff, huff... Ugh..."
The pain from bathing in holy water was only temporary.
I will not give in!
Only his outer bones had been soaked, and the hell's knight was convinced he could endure the pain and still put up a fight.
"Aaaaargh!!"
Sir Kalidus let out a sharp cry as he leaned on the two swords he had placed on the ground, looking around viciously with the intent to spot the human that was singing a horrid song somewhere in the vicinity.
"Kim Suho!"
A part of his armor turned into the hell's steed as soon as he shouted. Sir Kalidus got on the horse and charged toward Lloyd, followed by other hell's knights that had managed to escape the body of holy water, with strong animosity against the man who was going to offer the most valuable spoil of war. Lloyd saw the fearsome knights fiercely charging towards him and grinned satisfactorily.
"Perfect."
He successfully drew their attention, just as he had planned and expected.
"Isn't that right, Your Majesty?"
“...”
"Your Majesty?"
Queen Alicia finally removed her fingers that had been plugging her ears only after confirming Lloyd had stopped singing.
"...Are you done singing?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What a relief. I was seriously contemplating if I had to get rid of my eardrums entirely."
“...”
"Are we to move according to the tactic now?" The queen asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The start was certainly good. Lloyd had the workers construct a few large-scale pools of holy water underneath the spot where the hell's gate was going to open, with the intent to deliver some damage to the first unit of hell's knights. It had gone according to plan.
And it definitely made them upset.
Hell's knights were too strong to drown in holy water, nor would they sustain severe injuries. The only way to effectively wear them down was to break their bones first.
So the holy water soaks their bone marrows and cartilage as well.
Otherwise, hell's knights had to be bathed within for an hour or two in order for human fighters to slay them.
But I can't do that with just pools of holy water.
These ponds weren't intended to drown them, but to give them a taste of it. Lloyd knew he had to lure them into a more carefully laid trap.
"Alright, we gotta run now. Okay?"
"Ppodong!"
Ppodong robustly lifted its thumb up in response. Lloyd gently petted the beast in the back of its neck.
"Good. You'll run as much as you want today."
Lloyd then turned his head towards the queen and spoke again.
"Your Majesty?"
"I am ready. Begin."
The queen, who was riding on the cushiony back of Ppodong alongside Lloyd, had already drawn her sword and been letting out a fearsome vibe. She was basically making a statement that she was prepared for battle, with her entire body. Lloyd saw that and lightly slapped the back of Ppodong's neck.
"Let's go, Ppodong!"
"Ppodong!"
The colossal hamster's plump feet stomped on the ground, as the beast accelerated like a missile.
Whooooosh! Its zero-back was certainly within three seconds. Lloyd saw the scenery appear blurry in an instant, as the wind slammed him in his forehead, cheeks, and then his entire body. But Lloyd encouraged Ppodong even further.
"Faster! Quicker!"
Hell's knights on the back of hell's steeds were chasing after him at full speed, with the vicious-looking one wielding two swords glaring at Lloyd in the front.
"Your Majesty!" Lloyd shouted out, and Queen Alicia moved towards Ppodong's plump buttocks.
Zing.
As soon as the queen pointed her sword towards the back, her weapon was shrouded in the vividly blue aura that stretched nearly twenty feet in length.
"Hraah!"
Queen Alicia swung her sword horizontally with a shout, causing the twenty-foot aura to slash across the trail. Commander Sir Kalidus of the Second Corp of hell's army leading the other demonic knights saw the attack and responded.
Boom! Thump! Thwoosh!
Sir Kalidus used both of his swords to block the aura attack by the queen. The impact from the clashes sent out forceful shockwaves to the surroundings, causing Sir Kalidus's steed to stagger while Ppodong sped up from the momentum. Queen Alicia retained her stance like a superhuman creature, astounding Lloyd in the process.
Holy. The queen actually managed it.
It was a head-on clash against a mighty hell's knight while standing on the cushiony, unstable surface in Ppodong's plump butt cheeks. She did not even lose balance, let alone get pushed back or sustain damage, indicating one thing.
She's improved since she mastered the Asrahan Core Technique. Sure, the hell's knight probably is in a weakened state because of the holy water, but she's almost equally as strong.
The queen had certainly surpassed the swordmaster level. Although she wasn't a grandmaster yet, Lloyd suspected she was somewhere in between.
Amazing.
It was reassuring, but concerning at the same time. Lloyd shouted out with both thoughts in his mind.
"Your Majesty! We are almost there, so please do not overstretch yourself!"
He was genuinely worried that she might lose her composure in the heat of the moment and more actively engage the enemy.
"Ha! Says a weakling!" The queen responded ferociously.
“...”
"Think about it! How can I ever leave you alone among the enemies when you're so weak?! I am doing you a favor by stepping into the danger with you! Don't you dare worry about me!"
"Th-that's-"
"I am worried myself, because I'm not sure if it's okay to put my trust in a weakling such as yourself!"
"Weakling? But I'm a swordmaster myself, Your Majesty!"
"Except you're a feeble, fragile little boy that can't defeat a hell's knight alone."
“...”
"So shut up and be protected."
"Answer."
"I-I am honored...?!"
Lloyd questioned if the inability to defeat a hell's knight in one-on-one combat made a man fragile because Javier was the only man in the entire world that wasn't feeble by that logic.
Ugh. Hmph.
Lloyd internally grumbled and encouraged Ppodong to run faster. As soon as they got away from the central village, he looked up towards Ggoming and signaled.
Ggoming! Now! Go to Javier and deliver the message you're supposed to!
Ggoming flew in circle once, before speeding towards the eastern mountain range. Lloyd maintained the speed towards the south, past another village and Frona River that was showing its bottom, towards Maritz Farmlands. Ppodong's began to breathe hard.
"Ppodong... Ppodong... Huff. Huff."
The gigantic hamster slowed down as its legs started to give up on the beast. On the other hand, the hell's knights were still chasing after Lloyd even more tenaciously. Sir Kalidus, who had been fending off Queen Alicia's attacks all along the ride, was burning with the greatest passion.
"How much longer do you think you can keep running away?!"
Dash!
The commander had gotten so close to Ppodong's butt. Kalidus swung his two swords toward the hamster's hind legs, but Queen Alicia unleashed her aura attacks to parry off the swing. Sir Kalidus did not rush things, however. Instead, he composedly put pressure on his prey and gradually increased the fierceness of the attack. "Kim Suho! You've been acting so smart and clever all this time, yet you made a terrible mistake today!" Sir Kalidus shouted out with a smirk on its face.
"Mistake? What are you talking about?" Lloyd responded immediately, triggering an even more condescending reply from the hell's knight.
"Did you honestly believe you could lose us like this? And you ran away to an open field instead of going into narrower places! You've dug your own grave with this idiotic move!"
Sir Kalidus was convinced that Lloyd had screwed up by fleeing towards open plains, at which the steeds carrying the 500 hell's knights on their back were the most destructive. It was a suicide mission from the start, and Suho had made it worse. The hell's knight was disappointed and even felt pity.
"If you truly wish to make this your graveyard, stop running and get on the ground so you can die honorably as a knight! I will kill you with my own hands!"
Sir Kalidus made a proposition for the enemy to die an honorable death instead of being slashed in the back. It was out of genuine respect, but Lloyd replied with a snort.
"What? Ha. Why should I?"
"What?"
"I wasn't running away, nor do I have the intention to make this place my grave."
"What are you talking about?"
"I only ran here so I can obliterate you."
"...What?"
Sir Kalidus was confused, but he took a clean look at Lloyd's face.
He's... grinning.
It was certain. That bastard was beaming ever so brightly, with the most satisfactory smile on his face ever. The facial expression was definitely not that of someone who was determined to embrace his death.
"Hell, yeah. It's as if I've cornered a huge cockroach with a bottle of loaded Raid in my hand. Best feeling ever."
Lloyd felt smug as he mumbled in a condescending manner.
Rumble.
And that was when a heavy rumbling of the ground accompanied by two billion liters of something began rattling the entire mountain range, inching closer by the minute.
