Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

A single woman stood at the gates of the citadel, her sword sheathed.

Yet all the monsters ten metres around her body were sliced in half before they could blink, as though an invisible blade of her own had cut them down.

The very earth itself responded to her presence, as dirt and dust around her bounced and the debris crushed the invaders.

"The silver is coming, Asura. Is this what you meant?"

"This is the sword saintess, Sigurd?" Garrett's dry voice echoed as he dragged his bloody body to the battle.

However, a voice like bells gently ringing entered his ears. "Father-in-Law, please stand back. I cannot ensure your life if you approach any closer."

'So the letter wasn't a lie. My stupid son seduced both the scarlet knight and the silver Saintess!?'

A flash of silver covered Garrett's eyes. In an instant, Sigurd's body vanished. The moment her hand unsheathed her sword, the entire city trembled from the pressure.

"You have come far, monsters, cultists. However, you made the mistake of attacking my husband's lands."

Sigurd stood in front of the gates, her form reminiscent of a war goddess. Silver light flared in front of her, enveloping her in the mythical divine armour of the Saintess.

The winds surrounding Lyndwrym began swirling in a vortex along with Sigurd's magic. No longer the world's thing but hers.

"Ohohoho? Does the Saintess come to fight us herself, husband? The old man there! Hahaha, strange tastes like such a luminous woman!"

A cultist bearing the robes of an archpriest, with long black hair and a jagged blade, accosted her with an eerie smile, his tongue dangling from his lips. Behind him were dozens of crusaders, those crazy members of the cult. These men would fight to their last breath.

Even if fighting enemies several stages above them, they would use any sinister tactics to gain an advantage.

"No, no. My husband is his son."

Sigurd's answer caused the archpriest to stumble, his pupils dilating before she lifted her sword, a movement so effortless and slow.

Her arm dropped the blade, slicing through the world itself.

"Leave this land."

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The sound of her blade cutting through the air was the only warning the monsters and cultists had. The one on the rightmost side of the army, the cultist that insulted her, lost his head cleanly before his body slipped apart, a silver vibrance dissipating before another dozen monsters dropped.

Yet the Crusaders didn't falter.

They rushed forward, along with the terrified orcs, with metal-covered faces and sewn-together lips.

"My daughter-in-law is this woman... How did my bastard son win this woman's heart!?" Garrett almost vomited blood, watching her simple movements decimate the monsters that brought him to the very limit.

While he knelt and considered this, suddenly, fifty women in beautiful armour, their bodies radiant with a silver light like Sigurd; they were the queen's most trusted force.

Her Valkyrie knights flooded the citadel, their hands touching the wounded knights, healing them and gifting them food and water, while more and more appeared from a tiny portal from the capital.

"Lord Garrett Fenix? I am Vetra, the seventh commander of the Valkyrie reserve forces sent from the capital to support Lyndwrym. Forgive us, but we cannot fly like Lady Sigurd."

One of the Valkyrie, her face relatively young, her silver hair short, and her face freckled, bowed her head politely in apology while Garrett's mind blanked, his face twitching.

'This damn son of mine, did he even seduce the queen!!!!!'

Lyndwrym, now safe, became the stage for Sigurd's crushing victory.

With the aid of the Valkyrie knights, she forced the enemy into a complete and crushing defeat. The Orcish and Cultist invasion failed with her using all her powers, maybe a mistake which would leave her weaker than usual, but she rushed because of the desperate plea from Asura.

The northern battlefield, however, had not even started. Yet Sigurd seemed to plan to help defend the Phoenix Glade until she could confidently tell Asura it was fine and he could focus on his battle.

Three hours after she arrived at Lyndwrym, the entire valley became silent. Countless corpses lay in the fields, and a gentle breeze blew her hair as she gazed towards the north.

"My father-in-law and mother-in-law are safe; I will keep fighting to ensure they don't suffer. Yet my husband will fight by himself. Please be safe. I cannot help you."

She closed her eyes, and her silver light gathered across her body before she turned around with a pleasant clang of her armour, heading towards the citadel with beautiful blue eyes like ice, searching for Garrett.

"It seems the queen already sent forces to each danger zone in advance, which led to delays supporting Lyndwrym. No wonder. Such an intelligent woman." Sigurd's gentle voice echoed in Garrett's ears, causing him to curse once more, thinking of his idiot son's luck.

"A brilliant woman."

Garrett smiled despite himself, unable to control his jealousy at the difference between his and his son's luck with women, but then, remembering how hard dealing with Ophelia's wrath was, his lips curled into a smirk, knowing the fate of Asura with all these strong women following him would be his demise in the end.

'Stupid Son, you are going to be so henpecked or killed by these women!'

"How are the casualties and civilians?" Sigurd asked Vetra, who seemed to guide the knights, to restore the citadel and city of debris and bodies.

"We have accounted for all two hundred civilians. The remaining Glade knights are roughly sixty-two." Vetra's gentle voice replied as though unfazed by the gruesome sight, yet a polite smile filled her face. "However, your future husband seems to be lucky this time."

"Asura?"

Sigurd's eyes narrowed before she peered at Garrett, who hugged the surviving knights in the distance.

"Yes, although he has deep wounds and may never hold his sword again. I can sense his will still burns strong."

Gashes and wounds covered Garrett's body, with his magic core shattered in half from overusing its abilities. Deep within, his heart shuddered while his magic would protect his life, but it was a painful wound to bear.

"Will you head north, as per the queen's orders?" Sigurd asked while watching the distance. As if she could see Asura's sleeping face in the capital.

"I will wait a few days; there is a regular detachment of knights that will serve as a temporary defence force coming with hundreds of craftsmen, villagers and merchants seeking to take part in the chance to rebuild the famous Lyndwrym fortress city."

Vetra sat on a broken slab of stone, leaning against the ruined walls with a bitter face, her eyes closing.

"This is just the beginning; those weren't even the true elites from the monster kingdoms."

"I believe the cult rushed them. Soon, we might have to attack them to avoid further damage." Vetra tapped her finger on the stone slab, her forehead creased with furrowed brows.

"While my husband's territory is weak, it would be the perfect opportunity." Sigurd nodded in agreement. "We should prepare for the future and avoid being too hasty. Their forces were only weak crusaders and a mere archpriest. There wasn't any of the clergy or forsworn crusaders either."

The two women seemed to be frustrated as the civilians could finally leave the dusty, dark tunnels and see the light for the first time in a day.

"Mommy, it's the lord!" A child shouted with excitement, rushing forward, ignoring the warnings of her mother.

Sigurd turned her head, finding a beautiful woman carrying a small boy and a girl. The boy's eyes were wide, gazing at her and Vetra. "Lord Phoenix is the best! Momma said he'll take care of us."

A gentle smile curled her lips at his innocent words. "And he will."

Sigurd smiled, turning around, her form lifting into the air, drifting over the ruined and desecrated city. The image of the woman carrying two children appealed to her; if she could have children, she imagined she was that mother while gliding across the ruined city.

Vetra stared at Sigurd's form with a complex gaze.

All people knew about the Saintess's situation, but as a fellow woman, Vetra could only feel pity for her. "In the end, she is still human."

"You all did well! Thank you for enduring my people!"

Garrett's sudden words surprised Vetra. As she turned around, her face pale, she watched Garrett throw the children in the air and hug them tightly. She realised he wasn't as bad as the queen's rumours depicted him.

"I wonder what kind of man his son might be."

Meanwhile, in the capital, two people were training in a mansion basement.

Verana's body lunged forward, her fists aiming for the opening in Asura's defence with all her power. In response, he swiftly avoided it, his bare knuckles slamming into her undefended torso, causing her to fly back and crash into the wall with a grunt.

"Are you still holding back, Verana?"

"Shut up! Damn, gorilla!"

Verana roared in anger, her hair a mess, glaring at Asura, who still wore only a pair of black baggy pants to his knees with his torso and upper arms exposed. He didn't break a sweat and suddenly dashed towards her with heavy steps.

"Again, you're not thinking; your movements are too slow."

His fist landed on her stomach, causing her to tumble forward with a growl. "Urgh! Bastard! Take this!"

She twisted her body, the damage from his punch fading before her hand grasped for his throat; the next moment, a phoenix claw made of bone appeared from the void and grabbed his throat before tossing his body across the training room with a bang.

"Oh? This is new. It kinda hurt." Asura shrugged with a smirk, his eyes squinting at her figure. "Verana, have you improved your magic abilities?"

"Idiot! This isn't magic!"

Verana spread her arms to her waist as several bone talons hovered around her body, swirling like a protective barrier. Her skin became almost grey, with black veins throbbing across her body and two white phoenix plumes appearing on her head.

"Oh?" Asura's eyes widened as he suddenly smiled. "You're a vampire, so why did you become a chicken?"

Verana's body stiffened with her red eyes blazing with determination. "Who is a chicken?!"

She pounced forward, her talons attacking Asura.

Suddenly, Asura felt a peculiar power burst from Verana's body, like a pulse, a mysterious wave of magic that entered his flesh. So nostalgic, his body didn't determine it a threat until his organs and muscles began to spasm from the intense pain of five fists slamming into his stomach and chest.

'I see. So that is where your strength lies.'

Verana was indeed a vampire, yet it seemed something inside her was deeply related to him.

He had felt this way in the past and realised she really was a phoenix, but he couldn't feel her vibrancy.

Her bloodline felt like a corpse.