Chapter 5: The King of the Sun

It was as if they had fallen into the palm of the man’s hand—or more accurately, into the belly of the enemy.

Manifesting the regal will of the Pharaoh, thousands of light beams formed a powerful barrier like a cage of light, as if to sweep away the heavens and the earth.

The Sphinxes attacking in swarms all possessed immortal bodies with infinite regeneration.

Whether their heads were crushed by immense force or their wings were stripped away by the sharp scythe, they completed their regeneration the instant they were heavily wounded.

It was like watching a film being played in reverse.

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Glimmer-dweller, if you slacken for even a moment, everyone behind you will be torn to shreds along with you!”

The man simply stood in the distance, a look of pure pleasure on his face.

“As long as I live, I am immortal; none can harm a single hair on my head. Ahh—experience it for yourself: the radiance of the Pharaoh.”

A Human King, who could almost be described as a myth reborn, was an existence that transcended all living things on earth—an ultimate weapon.

Even against a powerful modern armed force, such a being could demonstrate a one-sided slaughter.

However, against this gathering of divine beasts, each possessing a level of mystery and strength nearly equal to his own, the concept of being invincible no longer applied.

These were the imperial divine beasts, incarnations of ancient Egyptian flame and storm, innate destroyers.

Though their bodies were much smaller than the Kraken’s, their strength and magic power far surpassed it.

If he slacked for even a tenth of a second, those flaming fangs and storm-carrying claws would tear Li Ruoyi’s small frame to pieces.

Half an hour had passed since the battle atop the bridge began.

Simply handling the evasive maneuvers and offensive actions required to deal with the divine beasts took every ounce of his effort.

No matter how strong a Human King’s ability to convert magic power was, he ultimately relied on the magician’s crest to connect to the Great Source.

He had to be mindful of the burden he was placing on Rhein.

After dodging once more and slicing through the body of the beast before him, Li Ruoyi found a fleeting moment of respite.

Screams reached his ears.

Just two Sphinxes were enough to tear through the Combat Mage Regiment’s defense line like a hot knife through butter.

The defensive spells were like thin sheets of paper, ruthlessly shredded and painted with their blood.

Immortal, undefeated, powerful, invincible.

These were the only words that came to Li Ruoyi’s mind to describe the man.

To think there was such a powerful opponent in this world, one who truly deserved praise.

Such unstoppable majesty reminded him of the elder who had stood before him when his mother was forcibly taken away during his previous life—an elder whose presence had shaken the heavens and the earth.

But he could not submit.

It was still a bit too early to talk about giving up.

To an observer, his defeat might seem like only a matter of time.

Evading the Sphinx’s claws that carried a staggering amount of heat, Li Ruoyi kicked off its back and leaped into the air.

The Eyes of Life and Death were active; as his gaze swept over the divine beasts on the ground, the gathered creatures showed signs of cowardice.

Ozymandias was also somewhat surprised.

He could feel that, for just an instant, the magic channel connecting him to his divine beasts had been forcibly severed.

Li Ruoyi landed back on the ground, moving with rapid speed.

Like a dancing reaper, he easily dodged the beasts’ fangs and claws, climbing onto one of the powerful, lion-like bodies.

With his right hand, he gripped a spear woven from magic power and drove it with precision and speed directly into the center of the massive human-like face.

In an instant, the divine beast’s body began to collapse, turning into golden clods of earth that scattered at the King in Black’s feet.

The other beasts realized something was wrong and swarmed him together, attempting to tear the tiny human apart from all sides.

With a bang that cracked the air, the giant scythe swept out in a fierce horizontal arc with Li Ruoyi at the center.

The previously ferocious beasts all dissolved into a cloud of golden sand.

“Though it was only for a few seconds, you actually managed to break through my divine majesty like that! It seems your light is not quite as dim as I thought.”

King Ozymandias, who had been leisurely observing the battle, clenched his left hand into a fist.

“Haha! Hahahahahahaha!”

The corners of the man’s mouth twitched slightly as he laughed.

It was a laugh that both praised a strong opponent and held the absolute certainty of his own victory.

Precisely because he was the absolute ruler of this world, he could laugh like that.

“Then, let me show you my true strength.”

In the next instant, Li Ruoyi felt everything around him begin to compress, making it difficult even to breathe.

“I will give the people behind you five minutes to flee.”

The man made his proclamation, raising his sword and walking forward slowly.

The divine majesty saturating his body began to overflow—it was a curse akin to that of the ancient Egyptian gods, eroding Li Ruoyi’s limbs while simultaneously torturing his spirit.

Now, it was difficult for him to even lift his arms.

“Run!” Li Ruoyi shouted with all his might.

The next second, the golden sword was already slashing toward his face.

Li Ruoyi’s giant scythe transformed into a spear to parry the blow.

“Go! Rhein, that God-King is getting serious!”

Brand grabbed Rhein and began to retreat.

“But!”

“At this point, we can only trust that young Human King.” Brand sighed helplessly.

“Hoh? Now that I’ve let them go, can you fight me seriously?”

Ozymandias gripped his sword hilt tightly, the immense force making it difficult for Li Ruoyi to hold his ground.

“Or have you lost even the strength to speak?”

“Don’t look down on me!”

Li Ruoyi fiercely shoved the man back.

Though his words remained sharp, his lungs felt like they were on fire, and blood continued to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

“Heh! Then I shall come even closer.”

—The spear tore through the atmosphere, roaring and howling, appearing and disappearing like a phantom out of thin air.

—The sword swept through the wind and clouds, shrieking as it pierced the sky, fast as a bolt of rolling thunder.

It was a violent collision, a life-and-death clash.

Like fading lives, the intersection of their magical armaments sent sparks flying.

In terms of close-quarters combat alone, the two immense forces were evenly matched.

Regarding range, the spear held a slight advantage; its sharp, bizarre tip alone was over half a meter long.

However, closing the distance would inevitably result in longer intervals between attacks.

After performing a thrust, the act of retracting the spear would result in a fatal loss of time.

Ozymandias swung his sword, receiving the rapid-fire spear strikes that felt as relentless as a collapsing stone wall.

His swordsmanship had reached an incredibly high level; he was slowly utilizing those tiny time losses to gradually close the gap.

Rhein, who had fled to a high-rise building five kilometers away, turned her gaze back to the battlefield.

A flash of black light was followed by the expansion of brilliant solar radiance.

A violent explosion followed, causing the already precarious bridge to collapse entirely.

The God-King stood at the edge of the bridge, looking down at the fallen Li Ruoyi.

The one standing here was the Pharaoh who would eventually rule over vast territories once again—for the sake of conquering and saving the world, and to fulfill the duties of his ancestors and himself.

Even if tens of millions of innocent humans or Kings of Men had to die, the god who modified the world had to be slain.

In the process of acquiring the necessary power, anyone who dared to stand in his way was guilty of an unpardonable sin and should undoubtedly be vaporized.

“Fine! I permit it!”

“Entrust yourselves to my hand, Osiris! Grant the peace after battle to this land, Geb!”

“Kingship—Amun’s Love!”

Ozymandias rose into the sky as a massive blue eye opened in the heavens.

The moment it opened, the man’s divine majesty reached its peak.

Accompanied by lightning that split the sky, the eyeball rotated, and a vast amount of magic power formed a giant vortex in front of it.

The entire sky turned a deep, ghostly blue.

“That is…!!! My God.”

Brand trembled, and Rhein found it difficult to stand.

That was a power capable of destroying a city in a single strike—a true piece of myth!

It was a blinding radiance that seemed to swallow the world, a heat like the midday sun.

It was a solar flare storm that no species in this world could resist, the divine thunder of majesty sent down by the ruler.

Merciless yet filled with a strange compassion, it blanketed the earth.

Li Ruoyi faced the cannon of the heavens head-on, the light in his eyes shifting.

In that single instant, even Ozymandias, who met his gaze, felt a moment of trance.

In the youth’s eyes, he saw mountains of blades and seas of swords, and the cycle of life and death.

It was a world even more real and penetrating than the one he saw using the Eye of Amun.

The power capable of turning all of Hannover into scorched earth poured onto the ground.

At that moment, the world went silent.

After an unknown amount of time, the God-King descended from the sky.

The power of the heavenly cannon had left a crater dozens of meters deep within a one-kilometer radius of the bridge.

The entire ground had been turned to charcoal.

The light and heat had been too intense; the power was beyond all reason!

“Uncrowned King, you truly know how to surprise me.”

The God-King spoke as he looked at Li Ruoyi, whose body was severely burned.

The look he gave Li Ruoyi was no longer one of contempt, but the downward gaze given to an equal.

“I shall let you go this time. Be grateful.”

The God-King sheathed his long sword.

“I want to see to what extent the light in your eyes can grow—if you can survive until then.”

Li Ruoyi did not answer.

He simply lowered his head as two streaks of liquid—it was impossible to tell if they were tears or blood—ran down his face.

His breathing became faint as he sat there on his knees, falling into a deep slumber.