Chapter 176: The Shattered King's Sword

It is about to end!

If Vortigern’s power was the negative side of this island, then the fairy power Artoria possessed, representing the Red Dragon, was its positive side.

The two were not merged into a single will, but were split apart, a dual power that stood in opposition to each other.

When Vortigern saw the golden light rising in the distance.

Could he still not understand what had happened?

The fury of being fooled by someone gradually took hold of his reason.

Vortigern did not care who Mia was, or why she resembled the person in the prophecy so much. He was more concerned with the fact that he had been toyed with.

He had wasted a great deal of time on some inexplicable person, squandering his energy for nothing.

Even for Vortigern, it was impossible to continuously unleash attacks capable of destroying cities.

The Low King flew toward the direction where the golden light had appeared.

As for Mia?

Vortigern no longer cared.

But this did not mean that Mia would let Vortigern leave so brazenly.

“You want to leave?” Mia reacted quickly and shouted loudly.

Although there was no lightning whirlwind slash.

A wall of glintstone rose up in front of Vortigern.

However, this could not stop him.

The glintstone blocking The Low King shattered with a bang, and amidst the scattering crystals, a giant dragon as pale as a skeleton revealed itself; it towered over the burning treetops, parting the thick, rolling smoke of the forest fire.

Cursed black mist coiled around its pale white scales, and the giant dragon’s graceful form was juxtaposed with the violent expression on its massive dragon head.

Vortigern lowered his body slightly, his limbs—graceful in line yet full of power—accumulating strength, while his sky-obscuring dragon wings flapped, whipping up gusts of scorching wind pressure.

The surrounding flames leaped high under the wind pressure, and then the giant dragon suddenly soared into the sky.

Vortigern climbed at an almost vertical angle, flapping his wings again in mid-air, the downdraft pressing everything beneath him tightly against the ground like a hand.

Mia’s right arm—or rather, what had been her right arm—was already wrapped in a layer of golden light from a healing Prayer, and she then used Teleportation Magic to transport herself to the high sky, parallel to the giant dragon.

As she descended, she jammed the golden sword into the protruding ridges on Vortigern’s back.

The giant dragon did not pay much attention to her.

Vortigern flapped his wings and flew toward the city.

The forest fire was blocked on the plains outside the city; a river flowed through the center of the city, and the forest fire was also halted by that river.

That city was like a fortress standing before the gates of hell.

But that ‘fortress’ was clearly no longer capable of fulfilling its function of blocking the enemy.

After the Stone Giant rampaged through the city, the golden starlight pierced through its body.

When its mountain-like body fell, it first tilted backward slowly, emitting a teeth-grinding friction sound; when it could no longer balance itself and smashed rapidly toward the ground, it emitted a thunderous roar.

The Stone Giant became a pile of lifeless, non-threatening rocks once again.

Artoria stood up from the wind pressure kicked up when the Stone Giant fell.

She breathed in the dust-filled air, gazing at the pile of stones; several breaths passed, and the stone pile did not stand up again.

She had succeeded.

Artoria could not suppress the joy in her heart, raising the sword in her hand before her eyes; this longsword radiating golden light was so dazzling.

The girl felt reborn.

Immediately after.

A dragon’s roar reached her ears.

A giant dragon with pale, bone-like scales flew in from the distance; within his line of sight, Artoria’s figure was as dazzling as a lighthouse.

Despite being a ‘Mystery,’ it fought for humanity; the so-called ‘Red Dragon’ was truly a traitor to Britain.

After experiencing such despicable mockery, Vortigern had finally found her.

Vortigern lowered his ferocious dragon head, and his pitch-black dragon breath instantly engulfed everything in its path.

Artoria ran toward the street, leaped, slid off a roof, and hid in an alleyway.

The giant dragon flew over Artoria’s head; when the pitch-black dragon breath touched the ground, it immediately spread out, and everything the dragon breath swept over turned into pitch-black scorched earth.

The dragon breath naturally vaporized the walls as well, surging toward Artoria.

Artoria held her sword before her, and the light of the sword in the stone broke open a gap in the black tide; using the blade as a dividing line, all the black flames that touched the sword in the stone spread to both sides.

As the dragon breath passed, the petite girl used the power of the sword in the stone to hold up a sheltered harbor.

“Artoria!”

A familiar voice came from above; Mia descended against the wind, her robe, already somewhat damaged from the previous battle, flapping loudly.

The stars caught the rapidly descending Mia, and she landed lightly beside Artoria; the golden light on her right hand had dissipated, and her arm had returned to normal.

It was as smooth and white as a freshly washed tender lotus root.

“Miss Mia!” Artoria appeared very happy.

When she saw Vortigern appear before her eyes, she couldn’t help but worry about Mia, who had previously lured Vortigern away.

But now it seemed she didn’t need to worry about that.

“Mhm,” Mia nodded; the current situation did not allow the two to exchange pleasantries.

“Artoria, find a way to blast the hell out of him again!”

After passing over Artoria’s head, Vortigern climbed into the sky again, flapping his wings just a few times before flying out of the city’s airspace.

However, judging by his posture as he turned and circled, he would be back.

Artoria had only just become able to use the sword in the stone, and Vortigern would absolutely not give up this opportunity to nip Artoria in the bud.

“Yes!” Artoria gripped the sword in the stone and nodded vigorously.

Vortigern had completed one circle and was diving toward Artoria again.

The girl took a breath.

Golden light appeared around her.

However, this did not appear according to her will.

Artoria turned her head in surprise.

The crest of the Erdtree appeared behind Mia, and Artoria herself felt a power like a gushing spring appear within her body.

“Focus.” Mia, who had cast the Erdtree Prayer, reminded her.

“Mhm.”

Artoria held the sword with both hands, staring intently at the approaching white dragon.

The Red Dragon’s heart beat powerfully, and her blood was filled with the grace of the Erdtree.

Under the fusion of powers, Artoria believed she could break through the limits of her magical power once again.

“Ha—” She gave a light shout, and magical power burst forth instantly; the surrounding ground felt the rotating wind pressure once again.

The sword in the stone in her hand was filled with power, its radiance even greater than the last time.

Specks of fluorescence rising from the earth coiled around the sword.

This sword in the stone also possessed the power of the land of Britain.

The girl raised the longsword high, gripping the hilt with both hands so tightly that she was trembling slightly.

She could feel the temperature of the longsword in her hand.

It was becoming increasingly scorching.

And opposite Artoria, Vortigern narrowed his eyes wickedly, flying straight toward the light.

The giant dragon opened its mouth, and shadows gathered within it.

However, there was still some distance.

Artoria breathed steadily, continuously increasing the magical power infused into the sword in the stone.

Could she destroy Vortigern with this all-out strike?

If not, she would be completely drained.

This question was not in Artoria’s considerations; this was a battle between the King of Britain and The Low King, a duel between Artoria and Vortigern, a confrontation between kings.

Fighting for the right of humanity to survive, fighting for the survival of this land, there was no room for even the slightest hesitation.

The longsword hummed and trembled.

It was time.

The girl suddenly brought the raised longsword down.

“Caliburn!”

Crack—

At a moment no one expected, the sword in Artoria’s hand shattered.

The light originally condensed on the sword lost its restraint the moment before it was released, turning into countless beams of light stretching forward.

The overwhelming golden light lost its cohesion and was swallowed by Vortigern’s black breath.