Netori SSS-Emperor: All Queens Shall Be Mine!-Chapter 60: A Blight Paladin’s Might

Charged with adrenaline, Wolf whispered a spell while closing the distance between him and Kayla. A pair of extra arms, one made of fire and the other from ice, appeared under his armpits, but the moment he tried to swing at the general's shield, she yelled.

"Grimgor!" Following her words, her shield began to glow an emerald hue. And the very next moment, the bearded figure of the late king, Grimgor De' Didact, appeared from within the shield as a ghost.

"Physical Nullification!" Screamed the spirit of the old king, nufflying Wolf's blow and yet the magic conjured hands still managed to make the general skid on her feet a few steps back. However, even as the dust settled, the image of Grimgor–William's father persisted in front of Kayla's shield.

"How in the hell..." Confused about what was happening, Wolf stared blankly at Kayla as she stood back upright, smirking. Pointing a finger at the ghostly figure, Wolf looked her in the eye and asked. "An illusion?"

"Not quite, it's his spirit." Lifting her lance, this time it was her who got ready to charge at Wolf. "The dead of any land I stand on are my servants, the king's now one of them. I heard that you had quite a disappointing fight with William. Why don't you take on the king instead and see if you're better than him? As a general, it is my duty to command the spirits, even his, so unless you want to be a coward like him, I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself worthy!"

Ramming the shield's edge into the ground, Kayla charged forward, dragging mud as she went. The spirit of the king cast another basic spell of fire, but with Wolf's affinity for the element, it barely did him any damage. But the same wasn't the case when Kayla's shield rammed into him and knocked him to the ground.

"AGH!" Gritting his teeth, he looked up at the general. Her lance stretched forward, its handle ready to slam down into Wolf. Before it hit him, however, the barbarian kicked Kayla on her sides and sent her stumbling off balance.

Stepping a few steps away while trying to compose herself, the general looked back at Wolf while the spirit still looming out of her shield cast yet another spell.

"Hellmar Umbra!" And to his words, darkness took over. Unable to see a thing, Wolf quickly went from relying on his gaze to the rest of his senses. Listening to every movement, every brush and whistle, he followed with his body the direction in which Kayla stood. That is until the sound of hooves and the neigh of a horse could be heard around him.

Opening his eyes, bewildered as to what was happening again, he was met with the sight of a burning emerald horse standing in the distance. Sitting on top was Kayla, her land firm in hand and the shield loosely gripped on her side. The smoke from the dark magic had separated to both sides, almost as if it was trying to give way to the dead horse's spirit to charge at the new king.

"Defend yourself, O'king!" Pulling the reins of the horse, Kayla charged at Wolf.

The spirit of the king emerged from the shield again, ready to cast yet another spell. In that brief moment before contact between the two, Wolf tried to piece everything together to find out what needed to be done to take down Kayla. A blight paladin, a master of necromancy and spirit manipulation, not only that a cambion in the flesh–capable of resisting not just hellfire but the coldest tundras as well.

Force seemed like the only answer, and with her charging right at him, there was little room for escaping. Thus, planting himself firm on the ground, Wolf took quick deep breaths and amped his own adrenaline. And the moment it occurred, his passives activated in preparation for what was about to occur. A pair of elemental arms emerged yet again, and they stood prepared to grab the lance the moment it got close to Wolf's body.

For a moment, Wolf noticed Kayla's eyes wide, but that didn't stop the paladin from driving forth her lance while the king showered Wolf's body with stabbing elemental attacks. The hands managed to grab hold of the lance, and as the horse's body collided with Wolf, he gripped its neck tight.

"I'm sorry, horse, but you gotta go! AUGHHH!" With a visceral scream, Wolf lifted the horse off the ground and Kayla along with it. Slamming it behind him from over his shoulder, he lay in the mud while his body ached from the sudden exertion. The only other sound other than the sound of his breathing was Kayla's armor clattering about and the pained groans that she let out.

"Y-you've got balls, kid...hahaha~" Her body feeling crushed under her own armor, Kayla laid on the ground simply recovering from the unexpected tactic. She knew she was stronger when it came to pure strength and rank, but something as unusual as targeting the horse and not the ride would've completely slipped her mind in any case other than a war.

"Kid...? How old are you?" Wolf asked, not exactly sure how much older Kayla was.

"Don't remember actually, but your mother was already a queen when I was forced to make the pact with the old king."

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"I thought you were a kid when that happened." Slowly turning to look at her, Wolf noticed just a hint of regret before it was quickly washed away by a weak smile.

"That's why I called him a coward, but anyways..." Picking herself up, the general looked at Wolf, and as he got up as well, she added. "I'm just glad that my wound can finally heal and these stitches can probably come out in a year or two."

Holding her hand forward, she urged Wolf to shake it. The barbarian was about to do just that, but then he noticed a small sharp fragment of iron sticking out from one of her fingers. Glancing up, he noticed that her smile was gone, replaced by a focused look.

"You were trying to draw my blood for the ritual, weren't you?" He asked, and Kayla blinked in shock.

She hadn't expected the king to catch up to her ruse so easily; if anything, her casual tone was meant to match him, and from the looks of things, it was working.

"You're one sharp nail, huh?" Quickly trying to grab his hand, she reached forward, but Wolf managed to step away. Her eyebrows furrowed to his actions, but with a shake of her head, she decided to accept her fate. "If it's the king's wish, sure let it be. Countless years of tradition down the drain, but who cares, I guess."

Turning to Hestia, she nodded, and in turn, the maid undid the damage they'd done to the ground and even healed them both without moving a single inch. That interaction marked the end of the night, and from tomorrow, Wolf had to put everything that he'd learned about the king's duty into practice.