The Monster King's Legacy

The leaders of the coalition stood tall, undaunted by the overwhelming power before them.

Throrin tightened his grip on his hammer, stepping forward to face one of the generals. "I'll take this one. Let's see what these so-called vanguard are made of."

The Demon Lord and Ithil exchanged a brief glance before nodding. "We'll handle them," the Demon Lord said, his voice cold. "Focus on the King."

Lance, Aldric, Aelyndra, and the Wyvern King moved toward the castle gates, their path leading directly to the Immortal King.

"You four against me," the Immortal King said, his tone almost playful. "An interesting choice. Very well. Let us see if you can entertain me."

…

The battlefield erupted into motion as the Twelve Generals clashed with the coalition lords. Each confrontation was a battle of titans, the ground quaking beneath their feet and the air crackling with energy.

Throrin no longer had on a simple robust looking armour set, instead, what he had on looked like armour made by a combination of godly techniques and skills, and alien technology, radiating a faint blue light that occasionally shone red. He roared as he swung his hammer, the impact creating a shockwave that sent his opponent skidding backward and smashing through several walls.

The Demon Lord made no physical attack, overwhelming his opponents with devastating magical power, soon locking one of his foes in place before delivering a devastating blow by crushing him using gravity magic. As for Ithil, he had a far less robust repertoire of spells, but each one was at an unspeakable level of mastery, the power he alone showed bringing an overwhelming force.

While all that went down, some of the generals proving more troublesome than others, Lance, Aldric, Aelyndra, and the Wyvern King advanced on the Immortal King, moving closer to the castle by at least a kilometer from where the others were fighting, their combined presence a force of nature. The tension in the air grew thicker with every step, the weight of the confrontation pressing down. Even then, the immortal king did not appear as worried as he should.

The Immortal King raised a hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Come then," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "Show me what you're capable of.

Lance observed the Immortal King carefully, his sharp mind analyzing every movement. He darted forward with incredible speed, his sword glowing faintly as he struck at the King's defenses.

Each strike was precise and ferocious, but the dark energy repelled every blow. The Immortal King retaliated with a wave of necrotic energy that Lance narrowly dodged, the attack reducing a section of the castle to dust, perhaps a tenth of the enormous castle that took the space of a medium sized estate itself.

"You're different, from these, weaklings," the Immortal King said, his gaze lingering on Lance.

Lance's eyes narrowed. "And yet you can't touch me."

The Immortal King chuckled softly. "Perhaps…. But I don't need to."

The battle intensified, with each side unleashing attacks of unimaginable power. Aelyndra, in her dragon form, slammed into the Immortal King with all her might, her claws and tail tearing through the air, even then, most of her job was spent on support and attack, using all sorts of spells. Aldric's sword strikes carried the force of a ten hurricanes, each blow shaking the enormous castle.

Despite their combined efforts, the Immortal King's defenses held firm. The dark barrier surrounding him absorbed or deflected every attack, its energy pulsating with an ancient, unyielding power.

At the same time, the Immortal King's attacks, while destructive, failed to land significant blows on his opponents. Lance's and Aldric's agility proved a bu problematic, especially Lance, and Aelyndra, much like himself, was untouchable due to her magic which she also cast on the others some times. As for the wyvern king, he was like an impenetrable living armour, he didn't need any defence magic or even bother to defend.

As the fight continued, the immense energy being unleashed by all parties caused the castle to crumble further. By now, with all the attacks and spells going in all directions, one tenth of the structure had already collapsed.

"We're wasting time," Aelyndra growled, her golden eyes narrowing. This thing is certainly a pain to deal with."

Lance nodded in agreement, he immortal king was mostly well rounded, attack and defence.

…

Some distance away, the battlefield raged on as the Lords clashed with the Immortal King's generals. Each moment was a brutal display of power, skill, and endurance. The generals, each a master of their own craft, pushed the lords to their limits, their attacks devastating, but the Lords, refused to falter.

They had soon realized why these were generals of a self-proclaimed immortal king, as they just refused to die even when killed. It was like they were already dead to begin with, even though they looked mostly like regular living beings. Then again, no one was surprised.

.

Inside the castle where the fight had brought them, the Immortal King raised his hand, dark energy coalescing into a massive orb of destruction as big as two football fields. "You've entertained me," he said, his tone devoid of emotion. "But now it ends."

The orb expanded rapidly, glowing with an ominous light. The generals fighting against the lords some distance away suddenly writhing abnormally, disintegrated into ashes and faded away, seven of them at once. Everyone appeared confused and some surprised, including the other generals. That was when the lords followed the generals' gazes back towards the castle to see a massive ball of darkened solidified energy consuming everything as it grew.

With a flick of his wrist, the Immortal King hurled the spell directly at Lance who was closest to him, a few metres away, while the others, Aldric, Aelyndra, and the wyvern king, were a few hundred metres away.

The Lords outside froze in horror as the spell tore through the battlefield haven eroded half of the castle to nothing, annihilating everything in its path. The demon king shouted for Aldric, Aelyndra, Lance, and the wyvern king to come close so he could cast a protective barrier to save them from the eroding necrotic energy.

Acting swiftly, the demon lord cast a powerful barrier around all of them as soon as they were in close proximity to each other of a couple metres, "Hold together!" he shouted, his voice strained as the immortal king's spell collided with their defenses. The Wyvern King roared, fearing that the demon king's defence would not be enough, adding his own energy to bolster the shield, while Ithil created a second layer of defence around them using thick roots to cover all round, leaving no opening.

The remaining generals, caught in the spell's wide trajectory, were obliterated instantly, their bodies disintegrating without a trace, eroding away not even leaving ashes behind.

While everyone protected themselves, Lance, unable to use magic or react in time, stood directly in the path of the attack. The spell engulfed him, its erosive property eating away at everything, even dust that had spread across the air in some areas.

When the chaos subsided and the mass of energy had gone past them, the demon lord eased a bit, his protective spell fading away as Ithil brought down his roots, everyone eager to see Lance, as they were aware he hadn't made it in time. All eyes looked toward the path the spell passed through, completely astonished to see Lance standing unharmed or bruised, though… his clothes were nowhere to be seen.

"What...?" Aldric muttered, his grip loosening on his sword.

Aelyndra's golden eyes widened in disbelief. "He's... completely fine?" She said, before a smile appeared on her lips. 'Of course he is.' She thought to herself.

It looked as though Lance had actually tried to flee, as he was now at least 200 metres away from the immortal king, while they were a kilometer away. They were both happy and unsure of how to approach him in such a state with his clothes nonexistent, so they hesitated.

But, even then, Lance's expression, though calm at that moment, his eyes burned with barely restrained fury.

The Immortal King raised an eyebrow, his tone still calm. "Interesting. You're more durable than I expected."

Lance's voice was low, steady, and chilling, a dark shadow over his eyes as he stared at the enemy before him. "You've wasted enough of my time."

A sharp knowing feeling struck the immortal king as he met with Lance's gaze for a second after Lance raised his head, a feeling he hadn't felt for a long time creeping up his cold spine.

The Immortal King's energy surged as he absorbed the power of his fallen generals, his aura growing darker and more oppressive. "You think you've seen my strength?" he said, his voice echoing ominously. "You've only scratched the surface."

With a wave of his hand, he cast three high-level defensive spells, their layers shimmering around him like a fortress. "Not even the breath of a dragon can penetrate my defenses," he taunted. "Let me see if you can even scratch this."

Even with all that, Lance didn't respond.

Instead, he began walking forward, his steps slow and deliberate. The ground cracked beneath his feet with each measured stride, and a palpable pressure radiated from him.

Those who were about to charge in to continue the fight with the immortal king hesitated and stopped, sensing that they were not needed for the job.

Just then, as they watched with keen eyes, in a single heartbeat, Lance disappeared.

It was as though time itself had frozen. Even the sound from Lance's movement was delayed, the battlefield momentarily silent.

The next instant, Lance was behind the immortal king, striking him with a single punch that shattered all three barriers surrounding him, contacting his body directly as it body exploded violently. His head and upper torso disintegrated before the force of the punch could even fully connect. It was at that moment that the sound of Lance's movement reached the immortal king.

The shockwave of Lance's attack sent the Immortal King's remaining body bursting through the barrier, flying forward, but before it could travel far, the residual shockwave from Lance's initial movement reversed its trajectory, ragdolling the body backward, bursting through a portion of the remaining castle and traveling several kilometers.

The sonic boom that followed moments later, rippling through the battlefield and shaking the remains of the castle forced the others to erect a few barriers to protect themselves, though, they weren't swift enough in the end, and were mostly protected by the wyvern king who still had them mostly shielded with his wings.

The ground where Lance had stood resembled the sight where a bomb had landed, also forming cracks deeply, fissures spreading outward.

For a long moment, no one moved.

The Lords stared at the scene, their expressions a mixture of shock and disbelief. Aelyndra, still in her dragon form, blinked slowly, her golden eyes fixated on Lance.

"What... just happened?" Throrin muttered, his voice barely audible.

Ithil's mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out.

The Wyvern King, his massive wings shifting uneasily, let out a low growl. "I didn't see it... I couldn't even perceive it. Thankfully, my wings were already spread, if not…"

Lance, glanced at his feet, his voice calm but sharp. "Of course it would be like this, I still haven't perfected the movement technique. Too much collateral damage." He said to himself, looking around. "Perhaps, being a one man army won't be bad."

As the Immortal King's body lay shattered and motionless far in the distance, Lance turned back toward the Lords. His gaze was steady, his tone unshaken. "We're not done yet. Stay focused." But even as he spoke, the overwhelming silence of the battlefield lingered. His actions, though brief, had left an indelible mark on all who witnessed them.

For the first time to some, others the first after centuries, they had seen a force beyond comprehension.