37. The Black Blade's Defeat
Black and white clashed endlessly in the skies above the Leyndell Royal Capital, each collision producing a deafening explosion. The stage Xiling had prepared for the visitor's arrival had already been shattered. Shattered stones should have rained down upon the city below, but instead, they strangely hovered in mid-air, as if bound by some invisible will, refusing to fall.
Maliketh's figure was like black lightning, his every thrust carrying the cold feeling of death. His black sword shrieked as it sliced through the air, devouring even the light wherever its edge passed. Despite this assault, Xiling remained undefeated. The swift exchange between the two unleashed a hurricane-like storm.
"What... are you...?" Maliketh's voice was low and hoarse, a growl straining from the abyss. His attacks remained ferocious, but his sword struggled increasingly to penetrate Xiling's defenses. Even more unsettling was the enemy's continued rise in strength—as if this battle itself were a catalyst for Xiling's power.
In the distance, countless spies held their breath, watching in disbelief as this battle had transcended common sense. Black Blade Maliketh, the legendary figure symbolizing death itself, had been forced into such a predicament. Even more shocking was the being confronting him. They didn't know who it was, but they all knew its identity: the King.
It was the King of the New Rule.
Silver-white magic flowed around Xiling, initially as mere pinpricks of light like fireflies. As the battle dragged on, it gradually condensed, transforming into sharp silver-white swords one after another, hovering at his side.
Black Blade Maliketh, like a beast following orders, exerted all his might, holding nothing back, attempting to deliver his foe a destined death. However, as the battle wore on, and the strange silver-white energy surrounding him transformed into sharp swords, Maliketh sensed that his opponent's strength was steadily increasing. In an instant, a cold, unfamiliar thought crossed Maliketh's mind—he would lose.
Losing was normal; everyone would lose, but Maliketh could not! The Golden Rule had fallen, but it might still rise again. The Eternal Queen had vanished, and Godwyn, the eldest demigod revered as "The Golden," had been murdered. The remaining descendants, each possessing divine blood, now held sway over their own territories, each driven by their own ambitions. At this moment, only he could defeat the Silver King. Only he—Maliketh, bearing the name "Black Blade"—could bear it!
Therefore, he could not lose! He must not lose! He had no right to lose!
He must win, just as he had wielded the Black Blade countless times before, ruthlessly severing every thorn that threatened the Queen and the Rule!
"Roar!"
With a roar that ripped the heavens, Maliketh's massive, scarred body erupted with a final burst of power, transcending all limits! The power of death burned furiously on its blade. It crushed the earth with its footsteps, soaring into the sky with a will to destroy everything!
The next moment, the sky drastically shifted!
An endless black fog of death erupted from Maliketh's body, instantly engulfing the stars and swallowing the cold moonlight. Even the purifying light emanating from the silver-white Erdtree that supported the world was completely suppressed and blocked by this despairing darkness! The entire sky became a surging, suffocating quagmire of death!
The terrifying pressure, mixed with the aura of death of all things withering, like a massive mountain, crashed down from the dome of death! The air groaned under the weight, and space seemed to warp slightly.
Maliketh's murderous nature did not mean it was without reason. On the contrary, its battle instincts were terrifying. If time dragged on, it would surely lose!
There was no time to delay! Victory or defeat depended on this single, all-consuming blow!
The omen of death descended equally upon every living being. People involuntarily raised their heads, their gazes meeting the deathly dome that swallowed the stars and moon, blocking out the radiance of the Erdtree. A single glance sent a pure, suffocating knowledge like venom piercing their souls: Death has arrived!
Fear, panic, numbness, and countless other thoughts of relief surged through their hearts.
Maliketh's gaze, imbued with the will of death, fixed its sharp gaze on the silver-white king below. It would wield the sword of death—the force of death embodied in that sword would completely obliterate the Leyndell Royal Capital and all that surrounded it, even imprinting the curse of death upon the land forever. However, Maliketh no longer needed to worry about these things. Its goal was clear and had only one purpose: to slay the king! And the god he swore to protect with his life!
Above the sky, the shadow of death enveloped the world. Facing this final force, Xiling's face remained calm and focused. The silver swords, condensed from silver-white magic, surrounding him began to disintegrate silently, transforming back into tiny particles of pure silver-white light.
"The final blow..." Xiling whispered, gripping the hilts of the holy swords with both hands and slowly preparing to strike.
"Then come!"
At that moment, the silver-white magic surrounding him frantically gathered and merged with the holy sword in his hands! The holy sword's radiance was no longer restrained, but began to burst forth and spread like the sun!
This light formed a stark contrast to the shadow of death that was pressing down from the sky. It dispelled the haze of death and forcibly pulled those trapped within it back. Their gazes meet each other, followed by silver-white light that pierces the darkness.
A radiance blossomed in the eyes of the group of people who watched it, making them numb, and those longing for death were momentarily frozen.
Hope!
The feeling was so strange, yet so intense. In their numb eyes, a long-lost glow reignited; those longing for death froze in terror.
What was that? Everyone who witnessed this light felt an indescribable tranquility and peace well up within their hearts. Almost out of pure, transcendental instinct, they reached out toward the light—for those whose minds were consumed by madness and numbness, they instinctively and greedily yearned for it.
This was born from the resonance between the "Hero" Xiling and the "Silver Rule"—the Silver Light!
At the same time, within Lemuen's mind, like a calm lake to which a stone had been dropped, countless voices, carrying the deepest wishes, roared across the barriers of space and soul:
"I want to live!"
"Pray for eternal peace..."
"Witness the future..."
"When will the order return..."
At that moment, Lemuen heard it, heard the wishes, prayers, and longings from every corner of Leyndell, from every struggling heart! At that moment, the Silver Rule responded! It never rejects any seeker; it grants blessings to all who long for it!
At that moment, countless people who yearned for the Silver Rule shone with pure silvery light! The Leyndell Royal Capital and its vast surrounding area were instantly illuminated by thousands of silver beams bursting forth from the earth! These beams were not isolated; like resonating stars, they echoed and connected, ultimately converging into a vast ocean of light, piercing the heavy darkness and tearing through the haze of death!
These beams enveloped each other, illuminating both the night and death.
At the center of this silvery sea of light, woven together by the prayers of all beings, the most dazzling "Silver King" Xiling and Maliketh, the "Beast" that controlled death above the heavens, seemed to reach a final tacit understanding—they moved!
The shadow of death, the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all beings, crashed down with the unwavering might of ending all things!
The rising silver pillar of light below seemed to transform into a sacred pillar supporting heaven and earth, resolutely meeting the sword of death!
Holy Sword—Strike!
Boom—!!!
Heaven and earth eclipsed! The boundary between night and day crumbled at this moment! Death and silver, the two collided with a thunderous impact above Leyndell! The instantaneous burst of light and impact shook the entire Lands Between! Countless creatures gazed at this marvel in horror, each holding their breath, their souls shaken by this unimaginable power!
Maliketh, Lord of the Black Blade, completely enveloped in brilliant silver light, let out a roar that shook the heavens! The sound was no longer pure tyranny, but more like the piercing wail of a trapped beast on the verge of death! He clearly sensed the terrifying will of the Silver King within the pillar of light, like a raging flood, and he was the beast standing in the way of it.
The torrent surged forward, relentlessly washing away the barrier of his will. Resistance? Futile! He couldn't even steady himself against this torrent of will! The ferocious claws gripping the black sword—the symbol of the power of death—began to tremble violently under the onslaught of the silver will, their strength fading from their fingers... The hilt, bit by bit, irrevocably slipped from his grasp.
It was losing.
The pure, gentle silver-white light wasn't blinding, but it carried an undeniable power that completely engulfed the shadow beast.
It... had lost.