Chapter 180: Chapter 21: Horn Of The Dead!
Lancelot didn't have the chance to linger on his thought as a putrid fog spread through the forest. The stench was like rotten eggs and garbage left undisposed for months on the side of the road.
"Ugh... what the hell..."
All the fairies on the walls and frost hares began to look pale as the formerly beautiful trees withered and curled into decaying lumps of twisted mush.
'The enemy is already here? What is causing this?'
With a loud crash, the entire wall began to shudder as lightning began to strike from the sky as if filled with fury towards them.
"Marimo, have your girls recover and help cover the noses of the hares that seem pale."
"Tyr, Tiamat, can you do anything about that black mist?"
"Melodica, can we not do something?" Maria asked concernedly as she looked to the western wall where Lancelot stood. She had moved to the eastern wall as most of the snow elves were here and would empower them just standing close, but she wanted to be closer to him.
When all seemed to be getting worse, and the enemy was somewhere in the dark fog...
A horn began to sound in the distance...
An eerie tune... one that sent shivers down Lancelot's spine. It sounded almost like a flute or harmonica playing a sweet tune that could enter a person, but when listened to closely, it was filled with a dissonant tone... The tone caused the dark mist to become violent, spreading further and devouring the forest faster.
The beautiful frozen forest trembled for the first time since its creation as if the leaves whispered in terror, the darkness seeping from the distant east.
"They're coming," Lancelot muttered under his breath, gripping his sword as his eyes began to glow, his divine vision piercing through the darkness, seeing many creatures rushing through the forest with the speed of a horse.
The monsters...
We were not human... This horn was a foul weapon... it seemed to summon the dead from their graves and any creatures that were not burned or properly disposed of—a dreadful weapon of death and destruction.
Many skeletons with rusty weapons covered in dried blood began to rush from the forest... others were former beasts now reanimated and controlled, their bodies rotting and foul to the point Lancelot knew from a glance that a single scratch would cause the victim to die a painful death from the violent curse.
"Ready for combat! Maria! Nuriel! They are coming!" Lancelot shouted as his hands pushed out, a huge flame forming on the tip of his blade, swirling and growing as he focused more and more ether into the magical blast.
"Maria, fire magic!" Lancelot commanded as he thrust his palm forward, the flames exploding and crashing into the incoming horde of monsters.
Maria nodded without hesitation as she raised her staff and began to recite an incantation, her large breasts bouncing up and down, drawing the attention of Lancelot momentarily.
BOOM!!!
The flame crashed into the undead horde, incinerating everything in its path... however, the army continued to advance, stepping over the burning remains of their comrades as they rushed straight for the walls.
'Is it useless?' After that, all the fairies, although weaker in fire magic, began to let it rain down, the snow elves and frost hares shooting their bows with rapid and damaging barbed arrows.
Lancelot and his army fought in complete silence, the tense situation worsening as the once beautiful forest of snow spirits and ice fairies turned into a decaying swamp of putrid death as they neared the walls... it was not a simple attack...
"They want to exterminate us..."
He counted more than ten thousand undead.... fairy, human, giant, orc, elf, all manner of disgusting and deformed corpses slowly swaying with eerie eyes, watching the blue fortress walls and the citadel of Frost finally under attack.
'Ah... this isn't even their true force...!' A sense of frustration filled Lancelot's heart as he believed this was the work of the god that had just cursed him to live in misery. 'Just who is attacking us?!'
"Master... those undead are moving in an organised formation." Marimo's voice entered Lancelot's ears as he narrowed his eyes, noticing she was right... He smashed the wall, taking a deep breath and looking at Marimo and Nuriel.... he felt a wave of warmth helping him calm down.
"Nuriel, take over command. Marimo, please support her like you would me." Lancelot took a deep breath before leaping from the wall, his figure appearing before the incoming hoard as he drew his sword and held it before him.
"Everyone retreat! Maria, use all the snow elves to cast ice magic to delay them!" Marimo's lovely voice sounded as he landed in the disgusting fog with a loud thud and squelch, the rotting mud now melting the ice.
'Caladbolg....'
—My lovely but troubled master. How can I help you?
'I will give you everything I have, all the ether, all the magic... so go wild.'
—Then Kiss me
On the guard of Caladbolg was a beautiful red gemstone that looked like a heart... or lips.
The moment she spoke, it began to glow... Lancelot lifted his head as his black armour and scales covered his body, the two thick horns growing longer as he stepped forward with his massive wings flapping.
The extreme force of his wings blew the disgusting fog and cleansed it instantly.
'Kiss... you perverted sword.' Lancelot placed his lips upon the gemstone as the ether within his body poured into Caladbolg... the veins in his arm began to burn like they were on fire, but he endured as he felt the power of Caladbolg increasing greatly, becoming more powerful than he ever wielded her.
—Thank you, master~
Her playful voice sounded as Lancelot lifted his sword, his eyes glowing a bright gold as the ether from the air and his surroundings began to gather... devoured into his body, his scales like vents sucking the ether into his body, a strange situation as he stepped forward, the decay and foul plague vaporising from the aura of him and Caladbolg.
—You just kissed my most private parts~ not my lips, hehe—lewd master.
'Shut up and focus! This feels weird!!' Lancelot roared in his mind as Caladbolg giggled playfully... his body finally transformed as the undead were being held still by the ice magic of the fairies, though it would not last long before their onslaught...
"Haa... How do I unleash your power?" Lancelot muttered under his breath... Caladbolg remained silent before whispering in his ear.
—Call out my name and swing me with all your strength; declare your love and need for me, and I will answer! My darling master~
"Caladbolg... No..." Lancelot shook his head; if she wanted to be loved, worshipped, and save the seven hundred women behind him, then it was fine.
Holding her blade upwards, the tip pointed to the moon, obscured by the dark, shrouding fog battling their combined aura. His eyes glowed brightly as he announced loudly, his voice reaching the citadel.
"Caladbolg! Your lonely master Lancelot loves you! So come, aid me in saving everyone here! I need you more than the blood in my veins! The Ether in my heart!" His voice was so loud it made the women on the wall confused... some blushed, and others pouted...
but Nuriel looked melancholy... gritting her teeth as she recognised the name.
—My beloved Lancelot! I LOVE YOU TOO!!!!
Caladbolg cried out as the ether gathered and condensed into the gemstone, shining brightly like a star before exploding in a massive shockwave... forming a huge blood-red aura that wrapped around the huge greatsword; like a burning flame, it followed the movement of his blade... the tighter he held the sword, the more it extended.
'We are against more than ten thousand.'
—You are my first true master; why are you scared? A demon King fears nothing but defeat!
'A king, huh? I am no king... just a lone knight.'
—Hmph... then call yourself a Demon Emperor! I accept no less! If you don't want to be a king, surpass it in one step!
'You are so picky, Caladbolg.'
However, her words and calm attitude helped him recover... the mist and these monsters were just numbers... nothing but food to make him stronger.
They were not powerful, nothing like a true giant or fairy. These undead were simply controlled puppets...
'Let's show them the difference between us!'
"COME!" Lancelot swung his sword with all his strength... his ether pouring into the gemstone, which exploded again, the aura expanding rapidly like a tidal wave, a raging inferno swallowing the hundreds of undead in an instant...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His body shot into the thick of their troops, their claws, blades and arms trying to kill him, but with his reflexes and beautiful footwork, Lancelot continued swinging as Caladbolg released another shockwave each time he called her name, the explosion of ether devouring the undead...
Ether began to flood the world... Lancelot devouring it like a beast, there was no humble knight here... but the monster king and his sword Caladbolg.
—My master~ forgive me... I am spent... you make me climax so many times~
Kara's voice was sleepy as if struggling to stay away, while Lancelot's left hand crushed the skull of a zombie gnome, smashing it against the body of a rock golem, blood and flesh staining his demonic form.
'Rest well! Take the ether you need from me to recover. I will fight on.'
The huge burst of magic she gave him only killed a third of the zombies, but the huge amount of ether began to temper his body, forcing Lancelot to grow stronger with each kill while his body, like a relentless beast, continued to swing his sword of elegant violence.
—You truly are the only man who could outlast Caladbolg... you handsome monster... you'll make me fall for you... fufu!
Woosh!
He grabbed her long grip and sliced across the sky, killing seven zombies, the ice lances from the walls shooting around his body, Marimo holding a special bow while staring at his face... With a smile, he leapt into the air and continued his gruelling battle...
"Then fall!"
Lancelot shouted as he sliced a huge giant zombie in half before crashing into the ground, a blade penetrating his abdomen as the wounds started to accumulate.