Chapter 21 The Sleeping Lion
This desolate, barren land...
It is far more vast than Bira imagined.
For three whole days and three nights.
Until all their food reserves were almost exhausted.
Yara and his party had only just reached the edge of that desolate land.
But it wasn't what Yara had imagined.
They traversed the mist-shrouded forest of the undead, they crossed the vast wasteland...
What we ultimately arrive at is not a darker, deeper abyss...
—It is not a lake, but a tranquil and beautiful one.
The surroundings are full of life.
Fireflies take flight from the bushes, like stars twinkling in the sky.
On the shore of that lake lived a magnificent and handsome lion.
It was resting by the lake, its golden mane undulating slightly with the breeze blowing across the lake.
The fireflies and even the fallen leaves around dared not disturb the sleeping lion...
It seemed as if it belonged to this place—
The uncrowned king.
The scene was very harmonious.
Even Dick wondered if he had stumbled into a fairy tale.
"That's the Demon Lion of Nemea?"
"How can he look so handsome, yet possess a kind of sacred quality?"
Dick expressed his confusion.
In those terrifying legends, the Nemean Lion is usually depicted as a colossal monster, its body impervious to blades and spears, its claws capable of slicing through any divine weapon, its body larger than an elephant, and its gaping maw large enough to swallow any creature whole...
However, the magnificent lion before them did not resemble the malevolent monster of legend, but rather an auspicious and sacred object. If any king were to see this beautiful lion with his own eyes, he would surely be overjoyed and compare himself to that lion king...
"The more beautiful something is, the more deadly it is..."
"This is an eternal truth."
Old Tyr slowly drew his longsword from his waist, preparing for battle.
He pointed his longsword at the sleeping lion in case it suddenly attacked.
Yara and Pan thought so too.
In this dark land inhabited by undead and dream monsters.
Anything beautiful exists.
Any of these could become a deadly trap!
The most typical example is the beautiful dream created by the dream demon, which makes people deeply immersed in it and unable to extricate themselves.
"Let's sneak over together... and kill it while it's asleep!"
Old Tyr proposed.
However, Pan then asked a crucial question: "Legend has it that this lion is invulnerable to swords and spears..."
"The standard bronze sword couldn't even pierce its fur..."
"Can this really work?"
Old Tyr shook his head.
He looked at the longsword in his hand and said, "Yes, according to those records, the bronze sword couldn't pierce his skin..."
"However, mine is a much sharper and more durable iron sword..."
"It is a weapon given to me by the King of Argos."
"Perhaps, it can't be hurt..."
But we have to give it a try!
"This monster's slumber might be a rare opportunity for us..."
So the group formed a formation, with Old Tyr and Yara leading the charge, Pan bringing up the rear, and Dick in the center.
The group carefully stepped onto the soft riverbank and arrived at the sleeping lion.
The lion remained undisturbed, which pleased the group.
Old Tyr raised his knife and brought it down; then—
when--
A sound like metal clashing against stone.
Upon closer inspection, the group realized that the sword had not touched the lion's fur, but had been blocked by a rusty sword.
Old Tyr was startled, and the group took a few steps back together.
I looked up.
There it was, beside the lion.
Standing there was a decaying corpse clad in verdigris armor and wielding a rusty bronze sword...
Calling it a rotting corpse might not be accurate.
Because the flesh on the corpse's face had almost completely disappeared, leaving only an empty, stark white skeleton...
The skeleton's lower jaw opened and closed, emitting a decaying, hoarse, and indistinct sound from somewhere—
"don't want..."
"Disturbing..."
"The King's Slumber..."
At the same time, nine horrifying skeletons, similar to those from before, crawled out of the calm lake!
The river water, like fresh blood, slowly flowed down their already decaying bodies.
Each of them wore armor so rusted it was barely recognizable, and their white, bony fingers gripped all sorts of weapons—spears, knives, short swords…
These skeletons stood side by side with the one that had just blocked Old Tyr's blade.
Like a wall of bones, it stood blocking the way before the sleeping lion...
Old Tyr and Pan were both horrified.
They already knew their true identity the moment they emerged from the water.
"During the first campaign against the lion, the ten golden warriors who led the expedition..."
"By the gods!"
"They actually became that monster's servants!!"
Pan cried out in shock, an overwhelming sense of grief welling up from the depths of his heart...
Pan, as a pure warrior, did not have any particularly deep faith... but this behavior of not being able to rest in peace after death and tormenting the dead and the spirits of the dead made Pan feel a kind of primal desecration.
"They still retain some of their strength from when they were alive..."
"That sword strike I just delivered was not something an ordinary person could withstand."
Old Tyr revealed even worse news...
If we exclude Yara, Tyr and Pan only have two Gold Warriors. Although Dick is growing rapidly, he can only handle one skeleton at most. The remaining nine skeletons, each possessing the strength of a Gold Warrior, will be incredibly troublesome even for Tyr and Pan...
So, everyone turned their attention to Yara.
"Use your divine power now, Yara."
Without any hesitation, Yara pulled out a dagger and slashed open his arm, tearing off large patches of skin from his forearm!
Fresh blood and red flesh were completely exposed to the air.
And the instant that flesh and blood come into contact with the damp, putrid air.
A burning pain, like fire, immediately shot through Yara's forearm...
The intense pain contorted Yara's face and made him tremble all over.
Dick and Pan, standing behind them, were both horrified by what they saw...
The next moment.
The golden rune—ᚾ.
From the depths of his soul emanated a brilliant golden light invisible to mortals.
[Resurrection of Misery]!
The pain, upon reaching this point, transformed into a powerful force.
It arose from the depths of Yara's soul.
The feedback traveled through his body, and he felt his power expanding infinitely!
Until it completely overwhelms the burning pain!
One punch—
Yara unleashed a powerful strike, instantly compressing the airflow in the air!
Bang!
The ten skeletons, each possessing the strength of a gold-level expert, were suddenly struck by the surging airflow!
They were sent flying backwards, their bones scattering in the air like petals, before crashing into the lake with a series of thuds.
Seeing this, the group was delighted.
Dick completely relaxed, put down his bow and arrows, and exhaled.
"It's nothing special."
"...Ara possesses the divine power of God."
"These monsters are even weaker than ordinary Golden Warriors..."
"They can't stop us at all!"
"But don't tell anyone."
"That lion can really sleep; it's still not awake!"
However, this joy did not last long.
Old Tyr keenly noticed that the skeletons floating on the lake were trembling slightly.
He gripped his longsword tightly again and loudly reminded everyone:
"No, it's not over yet!"
"The bones are reassembling..."
"They've come back to life!"
Before Old Tyr could finish speaking—
The ten skeletons were then pieced back together by an invisible force.
The ten dead golden warriors crawled out of the lake, raising their weapons once more.
It stood in front of the sleeping lion—
"don't want..."
"Disturbing..."
"The King's Slumber..."
...