The One King

The halt that had occurred on the western front of the Western Continent was no ordinary event.

Ever since the Council Army had emerged from the spatial portal, it had never known retreat. No kingdom, city, or army had been capable of slowing its advance.

Hundreds of thousands of sacred knights had swept across plains and valleys, bringing fortress after fortress to ruin.

The banners of the Council fluttered above them, sacred steeds pounding the earth in a steady rhythm, while the powerful auras of the generals drove even the beasts of the wilderness into hiding deep within the forests.

Everything had proceeded according to a single will.

The will of the ruler.

But now...

For the first time since the beginning of the war...

The army had stopped.

There was no fortress before them.

No massive army.

No fortified city.

Only a single person.

He stood in the middle of the plain, several hundred meters from the front ranks of the Council Army.

A mysterious man.

He wore no recognizable armor and carried no banner belonging to any kingdom or clan.

His body was covered by a long, dark robe, while his face was partially concealed beneath a hood.

He did not move.

He did not retreat.

Nor did he display the slightest trace of fear.

Behind him stretched the lands of the Western Continent.

Before him stood an army large enough to drown entire kingdoms.

And yet...

He stood alone.

As though hundreds of thousands before him were nothing more than a group of travelers.

The horses stopped.

The banners fell still.

And a strange silence descended.

Even the wind seemed to have lost the courage to pass between the army and the man.

One of the sacred generals stepped forward.

He possessed the cultivation of the Divine Ascension Realm, and his aura caused the earth beneath his feet to crack with fine lines.

He spoke in a solemn voice:

"You there."

The man did not answer.

The general continued:

"You stand in the path of the Council Army."

The man remained silent.

"The last person who stood before us possessed an entire kingdom."

The general raised his hand.

"And now, nothing remains of that kingdom but ruins."

At that, the mysterious man slowly raised his head.

His eyes appeared beneath the shadow of his hood.

Then he spoke calmly:

"I do not care what you did to others."

The breathing of some of the knights stopped.

He continued:

"But you will not pass through this land."

The soldiers exchanged glances.

The mysterious man continued:

"Return from where you came."

Then he raised his eyes toward the banners of the Council.

"Or I will force you to."

Another silence descended.

But this time, it was not the silence of astonishment.

It was something different.

Something that had begun to form within the ranks of the army.

Anger.

The knights raised their heads.

Their grips tightened around their weapons.

Power began leaking from their bodies.

They were not enraged merely because they had been insulted.

They were enraged because the mysterious man had not merely refused to submit.

He had stood before the banner of the Council...

And challenged its ruler.

One of the knights shouted:

"He has insulted the ruler!"

His voice echoed through the ranks.

"He dared to challenge the Supreme Entity!"

Then another voice erupted:

"How dare he?!"

Within moments, hundreds of thousands of calm faces had transformed into expressions of fury.

Weapons were raised.

Auras surged.

Even the sky began to tremble.

Then the mysterious man said coldly:

"The Supreme Entity?"

He paused.

Then a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Are you talking about Azrael Netherval?"

The army froze.

The problem was not that he had spoken the name.

It was the way he had spoken it.

There was no respect.

No fear.

Not even caution.

Only blatant defiance.

Suddenly—

BOOOOOM!

Massive waves of energy erupted from the ranks of the Council Army, forcing the clouds across the sky to retreat.

The sacred steeds neighed.

Dozens of powerful auras shot into the heavens.

One of the knights shouted:

"Silence!"

Then he roared:

"You have no right to speak the ruler's name in such a tone!"

Tens of thousands followed:

"Glory to the Supreme Entity!"

"Glory to the Council!"

"Glory to Azrael Netherval!"

Their cries reverberated across the plains.

The distant mountains trembled.

Flocks of birds fled the forests in terror.

But the mysterious man did not move.

He merely looked at the army and said:

"It seems you cannot distinguish between your ruler and a god."

Then he added:

"That makes you even more pitiful than I expected."

At that moment...

The army fell silent.

Then—

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Heavy footsteps echoed across the battlefield.

The sacred general turned around.

For the first time, his expression changed.

Someone was approaching from behind the ranks.

He was not moving quickly.

He had no need to.

With every step he took, the knights instinctively parted to make way for him.

Spears lowered.

Heads bowed.

Even the other generals stepped aside.

A tall man emerged, wearing dark black armor streaked with silver lines. A cloak bearing the emblem of the Council rested upon his shoulders.

His aura was not merely power.

It was pressure.

Something that made the very air feel heavier.

The earth cracked beneath his feet.

Nearby rocks crumbled into dust.

One of the generals unconsciously took a step backward.

A knight whispered:

"He's..."

He swallowed.

"The Heavenly General."

That title was well known within the ranks of the Council.

He was not merely a commander.

He was one of the most powerful generals the Council had dispatched to the mortal world.

Even the general who had originally commanded the army bowed before him.

"Sir."

The Heavenly General raised a hand.

"Withdraw."

The other general raised his head.

"But—"

The Heavenly General repeated:

"I said withdraw."

He did not need to raise his voice.

His words carried an authority that compelled the other general to bow immediately.

The army retreated.

The Heavenly General then stood alone before the mysterious man.

He stared at him.

For a long moment.

Then he asked:

"Who are you?"

The man answered:

"Someone who does not want your army to pass through here."

The general said:

"You know who we are."

"I know."

"And you know whom we serve."

"I know."

"And you know who our ruler is."

A faint smile appeared on the man's face.

"Azrael Netherval."

The general's eyes changed.

"So you know."

The man replied:

"I know his name."

Then he added:

"But I do not acknowledge his authority."

At that moment...

Every sound ceased.

Even soldiers standing far away felt that something terrible had just happened.

The Heavenly General stared at the man for several moments.

Then he said:

"You are a fool."

The man laughed.

"Perhaps."

The general replied:

"You are not standing before an army."

He gestured toward the forces behind him.

"You are standing before the will of the Council."

Then he raised his eyes.

"And the Council does not retreat."

The man smiled.

"Neither do I."

A moment of silence followed.

Then the general said:

"You were given a chance to leave."

"I refuse."

"You were given a chance to submit."

"I refuse."

"Then..."

His aura began to erupt.

BOOOOOM!

A tremendous wave of pressure exploded in every direction.

The earth cracked.

The clouds scattered.

Even the soldiers were forced to shield their bodies from the overwhelming pressure.

The Heavenly General raised his hand.

"I will now show you the difference between someone standing alone..."

He clenched his fist.

"...and someone standing beneath the banner of the Supreme Entity."

His aura exploded into the sky.

His Divine Ascension Realm cultivation was unmistakable.

But this was no ordinary Divine Ascension aura.

It was so dense that it made the previous general appear weak by comparison.

The mysterious man's eyes narrowed.

For the first time...

His smile disappeared.

"So you are different."

The general answered:

"You have seen nothing yet."

Then he vanished.

BOOM!

The ground exploded where he had been standing.

In the next instant, he appeared before the mysterious man.

He threw a punch.

Most of the soldiers could not even see it.

The punch collided with the man's arm.

KRAAAACK!

A tremendous shockwave erupted.

The earth trembled.

The clouds were pushed back for dozens of kilometers.

The mysterious man's eyes widened.

Then he pushed the general away.

The general slammed into the ground, but stopped after only a few dozen meters.

He raised his head.

For the first time, a smile appeared on his face.

"Good."

He stood.

"At least..."

His aura surged.

"You are not merely a fool."

Behind them, the Council Army watched the confrontation in silence.

One knight whispered:

"He blocked his strike."

Another replied:

"No..."

He stared at the battlefield.

"The general hasn't even used his full strength yet."

Above them...

Energy began gathering.

The true battle was beginning.

But far away...

Inside a colossal palace surrounded by shattered voids, Azrael Netherval sat before a massive crystal displaying the various battlefields.

Dozens of images floated before him.

The southern front.

The Eastern Continent.

The Kingdom of Light.

The Guardians' Association.

Then one image stopped at the western front.

It displayed the Heavenly General and the mysterious man.

One of his followers spoke:

"My lord."

Azrael did not answer.

He merely stared.

Then he asked:

"Who is that?"

The follower answered:

"We do not know yet."

"Did he attack our army?"

"He stood in its path and challenged the Council."

Azrael fell silent.

Then he asked:

"Did he challenge me?"

The follower hesitated before answering:

"Yes."

Silence filled the chamber.

Azrael's eyes remained calm.

Calm in a terrifying way.

Then the crystal went dark.

He said:

"Do not kill him."

The follower raised his head in surprise.

"My lord?"

Azrael slowly stood.

"I want to know..."

A cold smile appeared on his face.

"Where he found the courage to raise his head before me."

The follower bowed.

"As you command."

Azrael turned away.

But before he left, he said:

"Send a message to the general."

The follower stopped.

"What should I tell him?"

Azrael replied:

"Do not lose."

Then, after a brief pause:

"But do not kill him."

The follower froze.

He did not understand the reason.

Azrael had already begun walking away.

"If this man possesses enough strength to obstruct the Council..."

His footsteps stopped.

"Then perhaps he is worthy of knowing his story."

On the western front...

Another collision thundered through the sky.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The Heavenly General raised his head.

The mysterious man stood before him, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped it away with his thumb.

Then he looked at the blood.

And smiled.

"For the first time in a long while..."

He raised his head toward the general.

"I feel this excited."

The general answered:

"Enjoy it."

His eyes burned with battle intent.

"Because it will be the last time you feel anything."

Then the two charged toward one another.

And the moment their powers collided...

The entire Western Continent trembled.

For the first time since the Council Armies began their advance...

There was someone standing before them.

And for the first time...

The Council had encountered genuine resistance.

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