Chapter 175: Weakness

Chapter 175: Weakness

Since Light-Slayer Milgongen’s long life did not come from a Beyonder characteristic, Klein could only consider external factors.

“The effect of a mystical item? No. There are no mystical items on him, nor are there any in the surrounding area, aside from the Giant King’s residence. But that is where Dark Angel Sasrir sleeps, and the key is with me. Milgongen should neither dare nor be able to enter it…

“Who took away the key to the Giant King’s residence after Sasrir fell asleep? Isn’t that a little too wicked? Of course, a palace without the reinforcement of a deity’s power probably cannot trap a King of Angels… Or perhaps this key had already been lost to the Northern Continent when the giant tribes migrated, and Sasrir chose that palace to sleep in precisely because, aside from a small number of existences, no one could open the doors and disturb His rest?

“Could Vice Admiral Iceberg’s key have been given indirectly by the God of Knowledge and Wisdom? Does He want to see what state Sasrir is in now?

“If it isn’t the effect of a mystical item, what else could it be? Time bestowed by an angel of the Marauder pathway? Setting aside whether an illusory thing that has been stolen could be given to someone else, there would first need to be an angel or Grade 0 sealed artifact of the Marauder pathway. And there is no similar existence nearby… Could someone have given Milgongen several thousand years’ worth of time all at once back then? That… is probably something only Amon could do. Clearly, He would not help Dark Angel Sasrir…

“Besides, the true body of that Blasphemer seems to be wandering the Forsaken Land of the Gods. If there really were an angel or Grade 0 sealed artifact of the Marauder pathway here, it might have become His food long ago…

“A cycle of fate? After Light-Slayer Milgongen dies of old age, everything begins again from the moment he started guarding Sasrir? Mm, that’s possible. If the current Milgongen is already in an aged state, then saying that long years have passed is entirely understandable… And because the time sealed by this cycle spans hundreds of years and the current node has not yet arrived, it would be normal for me to fail to discover any signs in a hurry from above the gray fog…”

At that thought, Klein quickly examined his surroundings, searching for traces left behind by the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros.

However, no similar power remained.

Klein hurriedly withdrew his gaze and continued observing Light-Slayer Milgongen, who was engaged in fierce battle with Colin Iliad and the silver-armored knight evil spirit.

“His Spirit Body Threads are normal, ruling out the possibility that he has already become a marionette… Under True Vision, his state shows no abnormalities, which means he is not a summoned historical projection…

“Does the Giant King’s Court, as a divine kingdom, slow the passage of time or the aging of life? The former can be ruled out, because my spirituality is almost unable to sustain this observation, and that matches the total time accumulated by the City of Silver exploration team in this area… The latter is somewhat possible. Life is at twilight, yet also frozen at twilight?

“But the problem is that the ancient god Giant King has already fallen, and Badheil, who controls the powers of dawn and twilight, moved His divine kingdom into the astral world. It is unlikely that this King’s Court still retains such a strong residual influence…”

Klein went through every method he could think of that might extend life, but none matched the circumstances of the King’s Court Hunter leader.

He had no choice but to consider another possibility.

“Some kind of secret art with enormous defects?

“It should rely on some power within the Giant King’s Court. Otherwise, Milgongen’s range of movement wouldn’t be so small, and he wouldn’t have waited until the City of Silver exploration team reached the Giant King’s residence before taking action…

“The one within the Giant King’s Court who was obviously connected to life was the former Goddess of Harvest—the current Earth Mother—Giant Queen Omebella.”

As thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind, Klein’s heart stirred, and his gaze shifted toward the enormous statues outside the Giant King’s palace.

They were not too different from the animated giant statues the City of Silver exploration team had encountered along the way, though they were taller.

However, as Klein examined them carefully, a small amount of abnormality revealed itself. These giant statues possessed the aura of life and a certain spirituality, but behind their masks there was only darkness. No deep-red light flickered there.

This… Light-Slayer Milgongen used some secret art of the life domain to bind his spirit to the animated statues, borrowing them to obtain a long life. But because of that, he is also restricted to this region and unable to leave… This is rather similar to the way evil spirits exist… In that case, Milgongen may not be able to display a normal mythical creature form… Klein conjured a gold coin and tossed it into the air to confirm.

Seeing that the answer was affirmative, he raised the Sea God Scepter, preparing to remind Little Sun through the prayer light spot.

Just then, Demon Hunter Colin, who had dodged one of Milgongen’s attacks, suddenly rolled several times in succession, bypassing his opponent and sprinting from the side toward the Giant King’s residence.

His eyes were locked precisely on those giant statues.

In the fierce battle just now, although the Chief of the City of Silver had remained at a disadvantage, he had not given up observing the surrounding environment, nor had he stopped thinking.

He too had been puzzled as to how the leader of the King’s Court Hunters could have lived for several thousand years. After discovering that those animated giant statues merely stood outside the palace and did not join the battle, he had already formed a certain judgment.

He did not know exactly what was going on, what principle it relied upon, or which domain it came from. But his rich exploration experience and Demon Hunter intuition made him believe that the statues were the key to the problem.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Colin Iliad charged forward with two straight swords in hand. Yet he did not run in a straight line; sometimes he swerved left, sometimes circled right.

Seeing this, Light-Slayer Milgongen let out a furious roar, gripping his broadsword with both hands and chopping fiercely ahead.

His reaction proved Colin Iliad’s judgment correct.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Demon Hunter Colin abruptly leaped aside and continued rolling. Along the original path of his charge, silver radiance appeared out of nowhere and exploded one after another, linking together like a long serpent. It tore up the hard, solid ground of the King’s Court, ripping open deep cracks.

With a thud, Light-Slayer Milgongen took one step in pursuit. His nearly five-meter-tall body bent as he brought the silver-white broadsword in his hands down heavily against the ground.

Clang!

The entire area shook violently. The stone railing snapped and fell into the bottomless orange-red clouds below. Between the two buildings, the ground exploded layer by layer, sending countless fragments of stone flying.

Demon Hunter Colin had already leaped in advance, suspended in midair, crossing his two swords before himself and creating an invisible barrier that blocked the arrow-like shards of rock.

At that moment, Milgongen’s bent knees sprang straight. His enormous body shot out like a meteor, instantly closing the distance with Demon Hunter Colin.

In the same motion, the silver-white broadsword gripped in both hands swept upward from below.

Just as Demon Hunter Colin seemed unable to evade, a clear, brilliant arrow of light shot over and accurately struck Milgongen’s broadsword.

Amid a ringing clang, Colin Iliad landed and rolled in one smooth movement, finally approaching the giant statues.

At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the silver-armored knight phantom before Shepherd Lovia had already drawn its greatsword, transforming the dawn gathered within it into a massive bow and firing arrow after arrow of light.

The single eye behind Light-Slayer Milgongen’s faceplate had already been stained with a layer of dark red. He ignored the long arrows of light altogether, allowing them to strike his body with ringing metallic impacts.

He continuously charged forward and swung his broadsword, causing silver-white radiance to erupt from different places in the void, pursuing the giantified Demon Hunter Colin and denying him any chance to attack the enormous statues.

Suddenly, an arrow formed from gathering shards of pure light leaped over Milgongen and silently struck the gap in the mask of one statue.

It came from the evil spirit Shepherded by Lovia.

Demon Hunter Colin was the bait. It was the true siege breaker.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Arrow after arrow of light flew through the air, but this time they were all intercepted by Milgongen.

By then, however, the Demon Hunter had already found a position. Aiming at the remaining giant statues, he swung the two straight swords covered in dawn light.

Radiance blossomed, and a storm engulfed the area.

Amid continuous cracking sounds, the statues split, collapsed, and crashed to the ground. Light-Slayer Milgongen’s aura swiftly declined.

The leader of the King’s Court Hunters immediately let out a furious roar.

“Then die with me!”

The silver-white broadsword in his hand exploded, splitting into countless shards of light. They connected into a terrifying storm that swept toward everything in the surrounding area.

The silver-armored knight evil spirit and Demon Hunter Colin drove their swords into the ground at the same time, creating invisible barriers.

Blazing white light ravaged the space between the two buildings, destroying the gray-blue door behind Derrick and the others along with the rows of stone pillars. Yet when that light “scraped” against the Giant King’s residence, it failed to shake it in the slightest.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Derrick felt the invisible barrier was about to be torn apart by the Storm of Light, those sheets of dawn finally dimmed.

Within the ruined area, Light-Slayer Milgongen’s silver armor faded inch by inch, revealing his gray-blue body dressed in linen.

Not far across from him, Demon Hunter Colin was covered in blood. He was reverting from giant form to his usual state, but his aura remained relatively stable. It was merely a little more withered than before.

With a clang, Milgongen dropped to one knee. His flesh swiftly aged, rotted, and “evaporated.”

Within the orange-red light, before his eyes, the vibrant King’s Court seemed to appear once more. In the frozen twilight, giant after giant came and went, playing seven-stringed harps, blowing bone flutes, engaging in gladiatorial contests, enjoying delicacies available at any time. Life flowed away with extreme slowness, while their king sat upon a high throne, watching everything with majesty.

After that event, it had all ceased to exist. And so, he chose to follow Dark Angel Sasrir.

A smile appeared on Milgongen’s face. His mouth opened, and he called softly, “King…”

The King’s Court Hunter lowered his head. The flesh on his body “evaporated” completely, leaving only an enormous white skeleton and specks of silver-white light that separated out and condensed anew.