https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-158-Oath-of-the-Dragon-Holy-Knight/13676318/
Chapter 157: Knight's Submission
“Aaargh——”
A blood-curdling wail tore through the air as the majestic lion was consumed utterly within the inferno.
That lion was not merely a weapon of offense and defense—it was the Embodiment of Will for the Lionheart Knights.
The moment its Spiritual Body shattered, the knights’ minds were ravaged by trauma. Severe headaches gripped them, and several even trembled as they gripped their shields, their hands betraying their resolve.
Kai Xiusu hadn’t even unleashed his Extreme Breath.
He merely amplified the Elemental Reactivity of the fire with his overwhelming mastery over the Fire Element—a feat so effortless it cost him nothing.
“Boom—”
The breath began as a concentrated cone, then rapidly coalesced into a towering Flame Column.
The fire shifted through hues—first deep crimson, then orange, then golden, before blazing into a blinding, searing white.
The silver shields turned red-hot, radiating unbearable heat. Even the handles behind them burned through the gloves, scorching flesh.
“Damn it!”
One knight dropped his shield in agony.
He was instantly reduced to charcoal by the surrounding flames.
Beneath the scorching Blinding White Radiance of the Flame Column, the dozens of silver shields forming the Great Shield crumbled. Their surfaces melted into liquid, oozing like molten silver, flowing like a river of fire.
“Aaaah!”
“I’m going to be burned alive!”
“Damn it— it’s melting!”
“Fire! Everywhere!”
Piercing wails echoed through the Lionheart Knights’ Military Formation.
Some were incinerated alive by the heat. Others choked to death in the thick, acrid smoke. One was swallowed by the molten silver, encased in a twisted, writhing statue of silver—his final, silent scream frozen in the metal.
Fried clung desperately to his Guardian Aura, barely holding back the frenzied assault of Fire Element intrusion.
“No wonder they call it the ‘Purgatory Cataclysm’— it lives up to the name.”
He gazed upward at the Blinding White Radiance descending from the sky like divine punishment.
He watched his comrades die in agony—faces twisted in horror, bodies burning, their screams echoing in a chorus of despair.
Yet on the face of the so-called “Black Lion Knight”, there was an eerie calm.
Perhaps this was the last serenity of one facing death.
“How could we possibly win?”
“Even Tariq— the strongest among us— is dead.”
“If it were Tariq… what would he do?”
Fried lowered his head, lost in memory.
And then he realized—
He had never been like Tariq.
Loyalty. Courage. Justice.
These were not his.
To a man as cold and withdrawn as he, they were foreign concepts—words that never touched his soul.
Yes… he was not the legendary “White Lion Knight.”
He was not the one who had single-handedly defeated hundreds of enemy heroes.
Even now, as a Knight Captain of the Lionheart Knights, he could never walk in Tariq’s footsteps.
He had only ever been a clumsy imitation.
“Hmph.”
A deep, rumbling voice echoed from above.
The Red Dragon hovered in the sky, his fiery breath momentarily stilled, surveying the scorched earth below.
“You’ve lasted longer than most beneath my Dragon Flame. Impressive.”
His voice boomed across the wasteland, commanding and merciless.
“Submit to me. Serve the Kingdom of Ashen. I shall grant you strength beyond mortal limits, and eternal life.”
“Refuse… and you shall face utter annihilation.”
The surviving Lionheart Knights lifted their heads, glaring at the Red Dragon above.
They were the elite of the Bosk Duchy—nobles raised in privilege, trained from childhood in the noblest traditions of knighthood, sworn to sacred oaths of Allegiance.
They did not fight for themselves alone.
Their honor was tied to their families—every blow they faced was a blow to their bloodline.
To become a Dragon’s Follower?
To them, it was not just personal disgrace—it was the ultimate Humiliation for their lineage.
“Evil Dragon! You dream in vain!”
Adjutant Jaden, eyes blazing red, forced himself to his feet, sword trembling in his hand.
With a final, defiant gesture, he loosed a Luminous Beam Arrow toward the sky.
He knew it would do nothing.
But it was the last act of a knight—his final charge against an unbeatable foe.
The beam vanished before it even reached the dragon’s shadow.
Then—
A Fireball descended.
Jaden was reduced to ash in an instant.
“A brave spirit,” Kai Xiusu said coldly, “but your power does not match your courage.”
The other knights saw Jaden fall.
But instead of fear, their hearts burned with fury.
“The tyranny of the Evil Dragon will end!”
“My death is not the end—resistance will never die!”
“For the Bosk Duchy! For Duke Leo!”
True to their bloodline, the Lionheart Knights saw death not as defeat—but as honor.
In this absolute Deadlock, they chose not to flee.
They chose to become Heroic Martyrs, charging blindly toward the sky like Don Quixote charging the windmills.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Fireballs rained from the Red Dragon’s maw, striking down the knights one by one.
Bodies burned.
Faint flames danced across the wasteland.
Wails filled the air.
One by one, the Lionheart Knights fell.
Soon, only one remained.
The “Black Lion Knight”, Fried.
Unlike the others—bound by family honor and noble pride—Fried had no kin.
Raised in the monastery from childhood, he had no family, no bloodline to protect.
The only man he had ever considered a brother was Tariq.
Just moments ago, he had tried—like his comrades—to charge forward, to die with honor, to fulfill his Loyalty as a Lionheart Knight.
But no matter how hard he tried, his body refused.
His soul resisted.
He was simply not built for such sacrifice.
He had spent his life chasing Tariq’s shadow—
But never once had he lived his own life.
Not even as a Follower of the Evil Dragon.
“I am not Tariq.”
“I am not even truly a Lionheart Knight.”
“I am only… myself.”
“A petty man, driven by self-interest.”
Fried whispered to himself, as if confessing to a ghost.
Then—
The Red Dragon descended with a thunderous crash, shaking the ground, splitting the earth like a crack across the world.
Kai Xiusu stood above the last knight, golden eyes gleaming with amusement.
He saw the turmoil in Fried’s soul—the doubt, the confusion, the quiet surrender.
It was fascinating.
But he said nothing.
He did not need to.
He simply stated, calm and final:
“Submission… or death.”
Fried clenched his teeth.
His head bowed low.
Like fate itself had spoken, the former “Black Lion Knight” submitted to the Evil Dragon—yielding to the very enemy he had once sworn to destroy.
The Pocket Watch, engraved with the seal of God of Heroes Hainonis, fell to the ground, coated in a thin layer of dust.
It had never truly belonged to Fried.
Not for a single moment.
(End of Chapter)
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