King of Swords 10-154
Chapter: 10
Heed this well: the princes of the world are no strangers to iron. You may wish it bite them but it will merely kiss their skin. It is an old friend of theirs, and they pull it from the blood of their enemies. Your own sword will leap from your hand and spitefully impale you. You shield will break at the slightest brush of their fingers. Your armor will crumple and fall away as they approach. They are the kings of iron, and it swears fealty to none but them.
– Red Swallow, Tithe of the Cliffs
Magnificent indeed.
When your opponent’s neck could double as a tractor-trailer hitch, you may be in trouble.
Goddamn those Teeth
The bottom set does look weird, or Abbadon accidentally colored them wrong.
Nah they’re just shadowed by the upper teeth.
Next-gen graphics by UE5
GOD CHAD
Salami Dave has the smile of someone who’s hard right now.
My thought exactly
This thought is now canon for me and I hate you for it. Imma get sum bleach, I’ll pass it round if ya’ll wants to share.
…imma keep the thought… for reasons….
…
…
… HE IS HANDSOME, OK?
Cal-
May I call you Cal?
Cal.
He’d break you like an eggshell.
Some people like their eggs broken.
Yeah, well, they don’t tend to ask the eggs about the whole breaking deal.
By the time they get around to replying they’re generally not eggs anymore. 🏳️🌈
Two days of reading this comment and I still can’t figure what the pride flag has to do with egg breaking and/or rearing. This metaphor got away from me, big time.
An egg is someone who is trans and is either unaware or incapable of accepting it.
Sorry, I was drunk.
I’d comment on the breaking, but better not.
@Tranquil Ooooooo, did NOT know that. That’s an awesome lexicon expansion right there, thank you! ❤
@Calavera Don’t worry, I get it. The drunkenness, I mean. At least once a week. Parties, man.
I really wanted to reply with just a picture of his face in the last panel, it would
have been the perfect reply. Alas, I cannot post picture comments, so you’ll just have to remember every time you look at his face.
“Rapeface: on”
ew. why would you take it there?
I go where the ominous quotes are.
Well, you’re definitely meeting your ominous quota.
Solomon: Well girls, I can’t say it hasn’t been fun. In fact, if I still had a penis, it would be quite auspicious that I’m wearing baggy pants. But enough about hypothetical erections…
So if Solomon David is Android 20/Doctor Gero, who is Android 19 in this scenario? Gog Agog?
Sandman, you have totally nailed it (heh).
Salami Dave is experiencing a giant full body boner right now.
I am glad i am not the only one that thought he popped a boner from that.
This is the face of a man who finally found a worthy opponent.
He’s enjoying this *far* too much
Indeed. That is not a smile you want to see on your enemy.
That is not a smile you want to see. Period.
It is a rather ‘I like you! You’re FUN’ sort of smile, the kind a mouse might get from a particularly amused cat.
“No animal in all the kingdom will ever strike me down”
-White Chain, a long time ago
The idiot is observant.
This smile reminds me of the smile we’ve seen on Preem Pramam Nand’s face, back when he heard a mouse and a law (wo)man.
I have a strong suspicion that something is going to happen, and not a small something either.
My money is on the worm to win.
The miraculous scene at the summit of the great mountain peak, before you peer over the cliff and realize you need to climb down.
Spoken like someone who hasn’t been challenged this hard in a long/very long time.
*smacks recaptcha for being particularly obtuse*
Aye, he’s relishing being made to do a bit of work for a change. The “tournament” has undoubtedly been boring for him for eons.
*kicks recaptcha, just because it always deserves it anyway*
If you wish to prevent a demiurge going to war, make them pass recaptcha first. The universe will die of heat death before they get to kill anything.
Saying he’s being challenged is a pretty big exaggeration
Maybe not challenged, but… this is a technique White Chain just invented, this is something *new*, that Solomon has never encountered before.
When was the last time Solomon faced an opponent whose possible moves and counters he wasn’t already totally familiar with ?
I just had a thought, a parallel. God-Emperor Leto II of Dune. gets surprised by the latest incarnation of Duncan Idaho, while daydreaminig about conversations with previous incarnations of Duncans. Leto is daydreaming about how the Duncans always do this, do that, and how they inevitably do things the same way, when blammo, the latest one nearly catches him totally unaware.
> *smacks recaptcha for being particularly obtuse*
…Spoken like someone who hasn’t been challenged this hard in a long/very long time.
Lol!
Magnificent
Well, he looks impressed, but largely uninjured. That’s a problem for White Chain, because I’m pretty sure she was actually landing blows that entire time, they just didn’t have enough power to pierce his skin. At this point, I’m not sure if it would even matter if she managed to get another good opening.
At the same time, Solomon seems impressed, or at least as impressed as a Demiurge can get. So, does that mean he’s happy that he gets to showboat *extra* hard this time, because his opponent isn’t a total pushover, or does it mean he’s going to acknowledge White Chain has some potential.
Then again, even if he did acknowlege her, would that result in him actually changing his course, or just killing her harder?
Either way, I think the next few panels will tell us the course of everything to follow.
Also, interesting observation I missed the first time: There is a very clear umbilical connecting White Chain’s two forms. That could prove to be a problem.
To be fair, they were blunt force blows. Though obviously with enough force, a blunt force blow will pierce skin, or maybe it’s traveling so face that it becomes piercing damage rather than blunt force.
Indeed, I’m wondering most of these same things. Although I have been thinking “this next page—!” for quite a few pages, now. (If only it were some point in the future, and I could spend the appropriate five minutes gawking over each page before immediately moving on to the next. if only.)
However, I was thinking about the /previous/ page’s comments, and how it might be.. unsatisfying, after our lead-up, for White Chain to defeat Solomon because of a distraction? Would undercut some of the ideas previous. But, I can see White Chain finally losing this fight, making Solomon spend a huge amount of energy and focus to finish her off- and in so doing /providing/ that distraction, that split second window, and time enough for a Twenty Cubit Spear to meet his face. Perhaps he ends up with enough time to begin to react, and it just scratches him? A single drop of blood, after all. And Allison demands Zaid, passage, and a new body for White Chain.
…or, perhaps, White Chain will spill a drop of blood, and Solomon will change the rules. Which could destroy his kingdom just as if he had lost his head. perhaps.
I seem to recall something a hotel manager said about this..
> and in so doing /providing/ that distraction, that split second window, and time enough for a Twenty Cubit Spear to meet his face. Perhaps he ends up with enough time to begin to react, and it just scratches him? A single drop of blood, after all
There’s precedent with the dream sequence with Incubus; definitely seems plausible.
The spear would definitely scratch Solomon if it landed – Incubus is a master of the Head of John, his face was supposed to be invulnerable. But Allison acting on Zoss’ advice is unlikely to interfere in the fight.
He might have done the Head of John stuff after he got the scars though, but it was definitely before he got his key.
That’s true, which is why I figured they wouldn’t actually assist with the fight. But the moment after the fight, perhaps upon White Chain’s armor exploding (and Solomon focusing on not letting that harm him)? As a sort of retribution? I think it’s possible.
Also, a good insight regarding Incubus’s invulnerability! I hadn’t realized the full significance of that scratch at the time.
Ah! Indeed, that’s what I was picturing, though I didn’t realize it. Well recalled.
Of course, Allison coming to White Chain’s aid would be a violation of the rules, and Slami Dave is all about the rules. Even if Alison got more than a drop of blood, it’s unlikely Dave would accept it, since only White Chain is a legal competitor by now.
~~~~~Goodbye old friend.~~~~~
~~~ye will be missed~~~
Oh fuck he’s HAPPY
I couldn’t help but read this in 24’s voice.
you mean you read it
in the GLORIOUSA voice
of BRIAN BLESSED
that is the smile of a dude who is either about to monologue or kill somebody.
Or possibly both.
Smart tyrants kill first and monologue over the corpse.
Awesome tyrants do both at once. Multi-tasking!
Oh he’ll monologue first. He wants White Chain to hear everything he has to say, be it complimentary or condescending. Or both.
Efficient tyrants will monologue with condescending compliments while killing, while also proving a point and acting as a symbol of the power of their regime.
Optimally they also network and double check tax documents while doing all of the above, but nobody’s perfect.
“I mean, this dude has me in the palm of his hand and he won’t shut up!”
A smiling tyrant is a sign to worry. …Well, if there wasn’t already a reason to worry.
Tell me, is this one of the ways of smiling known to the old gods?
All smiles are known to the old gods, except for the genuine smiles.
This smile strikes me as terrifyingly genuine. This is the smile of the new gods.
Aye, the Ninth. Or, at least, a variation of it.
If I remember correctly, it is an expression hewn entirely from satisfaction. It’s not ~necessarily~ a smile of Royalty, though plenty o’ fools mistake it as such, especially when it’s worn by fuckers like Salami Dave over there.
A fair portion of how my master trained me involved her physically chucking me headlong at a wide variety of brutish, sadistic assholes who smiled in similar fashion.
The Diamond stops and smiles
His might can flatten miles
Be wary when deities grin,
Majestic sight though it may be.
For now true contest doth begin,
Blood is split eventually.
Abandon all hope!
An angel: soul and body
Against mortal god!
This guy is no dope!
Though arrogant and haughty
He’ll leave you slack-jawed!
“Hehe, you’ve made me use exactly 5% of my full power.” – Salami Dave
“And that’s more than I’ve used in 500 years!”
-SD
AND she tore his shirt! She’s gonna pay for that bigtime.
thanos solomon
thanos solomon
Big Purple Overlord Gets Excited When Persistent Enemy Barely Fazes Him
“All of that… for a drop of SHIT A DROP OF BLOOD SHEEIIIT”
Don’t be intimidated White Chain, try to imagine him on his underwear
OH NO HE’S HOT!
(and maybe hard too)
There is no maybe about it. Smile like that, I’m amazed its only the top half of his clothes that have been ripped apart
素晴らしい！
“Yes. YES!”
Bison, not your ‘verse! Go away!
This is delicious!
*shitty synth plays*
But for Solomon, it was Tuesday.
*smiles in the ghost of Raul Julia*
Aye, I miss him too.
Of course now I’ve got a little Gomez Addams mixed in. Which seems appropriate.
…And then Jagganoth swoops in for the kill and reignites universal war, yes? There couldn’t be a better opening.
…That, could happen. Huh.
This has been my expectation for a long time now – that this tournament will end with Jagganoth’s fleet darkening the skies above Rayuba.
Well, the sky has darkened already.
Alternatively, Big Daddy Dave may be having a taste of what war used to feel like and is feeling partial to join the bout despite himself.
Or Gog-Agog decides she’s sick of Solomon’s shit and decides to make her move.
And *then* Jagganoth shows up and the party really gets going.
There’s always a bigger fish.
Quickly Alison, cast Summon Bigger Fish!
Solomon x White Chain???
But what would the ship name be? 82 White Chain Born in Emptiness Returns to Subdue Dat Ass?
Significantly more amazing than something generic like ‘Diamond Angel’.
We may need to address that Solomon seems particularly aroused by his, ahem, partner being able to turn their encounters into a threesome. One pair of fists alone cannot satisfy this meaty boi.
Magnificent! *Honk*
* series of loud approving honks *
Also , anyone remember GogAgog plan of winning tournament by influencing who fights who ? Yeah. Sad that rules changed , otherwise Allison would totally been beating Salami ass now. GogAgog plan was so perfect ! We all believe in GogAgog wisdom , right ?
The game is not over yet. A good plan must adapt to circumstances and who could be more adaptable than the marvelous, multitudinous god of vermin?
*internal screaming that rapidly becomes external screaming*
Oh dear. He’s got a bad case of Kenshiro-shirt.
I fear that White Chain may… already… be…
Right to the meme folder with that last panel
Rules are for little people, the cinders, not brilliant flames. The Book of Law will be melted and smelted over and over and over and over and over again to satisfy their whims.
Solomon David is evidently not a fan of Fleetwood Mac – he looks very ready to break the Chain.
Hrmm… Perhaps he prefers a touch of metal. Maybe Dokken?
I admit, I wasn’t expecting White Chain/Solomon David to be a hot commodity, but judging from the other comments, the thirst is real…
I think I prefer White Chain/Delicious though…
I miss Delicious so much ;w;
Delicious was great. I loved her design.
Hot! Pink! Merkin!
…is the name of my next band.
I volunteer for the position of Mouth Organist.
I mean, we’ve got a guy greatly enjoying his shirt getting ripped off by the opposing combatant. That’s pretty hot for some people.
WC/D though had a kiss so that’s even hotter.
That’s the smile of somebody who just found a real opponent for the first time in a very long time
I am amazed at every new page that Salami Dave allows White Chain to live through.
I… kind of wonder if she has ALREADY drawn a drop of blood, and the crazy bastard just hasn’t noticed yet.
I was thinking similarly: the next panel is a closeup of Solomon’s elbow and behold there is the sparkle of the tiniest drop of god blood…
Abbadon warned us about the amount of smug in this book way back at the beginning. We may have just achieved smug overflow
I do not like this Godking Abaddon, his smug aura mocks me – White Chain, probably
Peak smug? Not yet, I fear.
“Peak Smug” Ha! – Epic comment, Amoeboid F-of-G.
I agree, we haven’t seen it yet. The Smug is strong with this one.
Who doesn’t like a steaming hot mug of smug?
Oh I don’t know, there might be a small flickr of disagreement from some quarters.
You made him use 1% of his power.
I hope White Chain has another trick hidden in that ashen vessel of hers, because the self-pincer-attack did not pan out quite so well.
Not to go full meme on everyone but.
Swolomon Dave – At last a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!
“S U B A R A S H I I!”
Some intrepid and especially foolish demon once asked Solomon David to pose for his line of toothpaste products. He was never heard from again but David´s own brand of toothpaste tasted kind of weird for the next couple of years.
Did you notice? Salami proceeds to demonstrate that he can perform every single move better. Now he is outdoing White Chain’s superior smile several pages ago! Smug overconfident magnificent bastard he is indeed.
I still like White Chain’s smile better. It sent shivers down my spine.
When you strike at a king, you must kill him.
Hey, a lesson here, Bey… you come at the king? You best not miss.
“CRACK !”
Two samurai appear to strike each other simultaneously with their bamboo staves in a friendly, non-lethal contest.
Ronin : “AH ! Too bad ! A Tie !”
Kyuzo : “No. You Lost.”
Ronin : “WHAAAT ? !”
~ The Seven Samurai ~
Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1954.
A victory is what we consider a victory ?
Nah, Kyuzo was actually faster, his competitor just didn’t realize that he wouldn’t really get to complete his swing if Kyuzo was using a real sword.
The nameless Ronin challenged Kyuzo to prove his claim by going another round with real swords. Kyuzo accepted, then killed the man.
A masterpiece. He could’ve left it at that but, alas… Hubris.
Of course he’s happy, WC invented this technique on the spot, using an angel-specific martial art. This has never been done before, and it’s been a long time since Solomon has seen anything new.
Puce curses, Duffy’s bride
dressed for lying open wide
crackling under broken pride.
Garment torn and thrown aside,
Ruling god doth take in stride,
These efforts he does not deride.
The Emperor Has No Clothes.
Upon the tyrant’s blazing mug,
A smile overbrimming with smug,
At last – a CHALLENGER! – his favorite drug.
For H A V I S H A M the house is bleak
Blood passes, months (years) reek.
No drops beading on the cheek.
…pop, goes the weasel?
SUBARASHII – すばらしい
Always fun, K6BD. Keep it up, White Chain. Maybe he actually HAS been challenged more than usual today.
Failure: when your best isn’t good enough.
That might be the first genuine smile we’ve seen on him all this time.
I’m so turning that smiling face into a WhatsApp sticker, you have no idea xD
Solomon David is heterosexual, but he is heterosexual for a challenge most of all.
Solomon David is a God King. He is transcendent-sexual. In fact, I would not be surprised in the least if some of those sons of his we saw earlier were the children of men he impregnated.
Glad to see at least someone is having a good time.
That’s the kind of smile that precedes someone asking you on the doll where the bad man touched you.
I’m calling it right here. This fight is going to end in mutual destruction, with White Chain delivering a surprise killing blow right before she bites it.
Slight adjustment – I think she’ll manage to draw blood, but things still shake out with her (bodily) destruction. Thus destroying his pride as he loses to someone but can’t actually honor the agreement. Only being who could scratch him, and he still “wins” while losing and looking like an asshole at the same time.
I bet we will see that Salamimon’s nipples got hard from that on the next page.
Hmm…
Seems Solomon Dave really likes getting pounded.
And double-teamed, no less!
Yowie! Who woulda thought it? Those “all muscle” guys…you just never know.
But perhaps White Chain has learned something special.
(Cue treacly Disney movie trailer voice)
“White Chain was an angel with an agenda, and finally found herself face-to-face with the man she loved to hate. She thought she found the key to defeating him. but one crazy mixed up tournament later, she may have discovered something special…the key…to his heart.”
(Cue music: “Because looooove is a many splendored thiiiing…”)
We come closer to those two kissing with every single page.
Magnificent! It is quite auspicious that I am wearing baggy pants!
Next Panel, We See Solomon David From The Front.
His Ribcage Is Open, His Heart Missing. He Declares White Chain Winner.
As a wise rogue once said…. Beware the smiling dungeon master.
“Magnificent.”
“You are still standing! How can you enjoy this?”
“No, White Chain, you do not understand. This is the closest that I’ve ever come to defeat in millennia. Whatever else happens, from this moment on, I swear that you will be remembered for this moment in glory. However it ends, you will never be forgotten and never be set aside as long the tale is told, the legends spread.
“You have made every step to turn this little fight into a legend that will reverberate through this age and the next. And, I am honored to be a part of your legend.
“Now, face me again! If this battle is to become legendary, then let us end it as legends!”
Is it remotely possible the Solomon might be so impressed that he will offer White Chain his empire? We keep expecting him to beat her to a pulp, but this might be another moment of inversion?
Offering her the empire at this moment would put all of White Chain’s statements about what a cage Solomon has built for himself to the test and could be intended to make her second guess her new perspective in light of how the other demiurges might treat the empire with her instead of Solomon to protect it.
I’m probably overthinking this.
if the end of the story were not neigh, it would be feasible as a turn of events… otherwise White chain is stuck decolonizing 1/8 of the known universe
on second thought, that would give Alison enough people to start the anti-jihad to end all jihads… odd to imagine Soloman just standing by to watch his former empire crumble. Unless he could be convinced to fight… and thus far he doesn’t appear to give women roles of authority
Decolonize Six Billion Worlds.
SUBARASHII.
YOUR RESISTANCE ONLY MAKES MY PENIS HARDER!
That last panel is me when I have a really good muffin.
I wonder… is it actually possible to make a sword or any other usable object out of the iron drawn from blood? How would you attempt to do that? By boiling it?
Do not worry, I have no intention of creating such evil weaponry. I am just interested in technical aspects.
There is lots of methods by which you could do this, but they all would quite frankly be a huge pain in the ass and the ammount of iron you’d get would be next to nothing.
But, if I were to take a stab at it, I’d guess I’d start with burning the body to ash. Maybe use a filter to seperate some of the organic material from the metals Afterwards use sulfides to precipitate the metals from the ash. Maybe use electrolytic refining to get a solid metal mixture and then use difference in melting points to slag away the different metals until I got pure iron.
Granted, this is a very obtuse, innefficient and expensive method and you’d be better of just mining for the stuff. But hey! You’d get some serious cool points if you made a sword out of like 500 dudes. Since you have about 4 to 3,5 grams of iron in your body.
Thank you.
Don’t forget she must need only wound him once, those are the terms of the tournament.
It may sound reasonable, yet her opponent is functionally invincible.
I imagine the King’s grin comes partly from knowing that said divine invincibility is the only reason he’s still alive right now.
Prediction: Leg weight moment in 4 pages.
Of note that previously Dave of Salamése fame was fighting purely technically. Now however, he’s slowly coming aflame. It’s clear that White Chain is starting to push him, but who will falter first is the real question.
Dare I ask what exactly Solomon is standing on there? Because it’d be a shame if he were pummeled so far into the ground that his feet technically touched the ground outside the ring…
I imagine the rule only counts horizontally. Looks like the same material that the ring itself and the arena floor are made of. Based on the color, it could be limestone, though that would make cratering that area and smashing up the Battle Royale floor somewhat less impressive than if it were say, marble.
Think not to trip up a demiurge with technicalities in his own house. The rules are what the king says they are. This too is axiomatic.
This needs to be turned into an animation. The character designs and world building are amazing. I wish adultswim would pick this up and give the creator total creative controll.
If you hard. Then you hard.
It would have been so easy if this was an anime: all Allison would have had to do was pulling up her shirt and flash him her boobs and voilá: blood would spout out of his nostrils!
This has never happened in any anime I’ve ever watched. And I’ve watched like, five, so I’d know~
Oh gods, no! Solomon isn’t grinning over the fight or admiring White Chain’s effort or technique, it’s because she’s left herself open!
He sees her thread! She has to move, _now!_
Mentos: The Freshmaker
It makes me happy that we’ve collectively decided to call him Salami Dave. Makes him seem far less threatening.
Emphasis on *seem*. To paraphrase Morpheus: jeer all you want. But at the end of the day, a king is still a king, and a clown only a clown.
Our fiction is reality. To argue otherwise is simply to attempt to force your reality upon us, but we won’t listen! We believe he is a weak fool, and so he is.
If the world is a lie, it may as well be my lie.
How tough is that umbilicus? Perhaps it’s metaphysically unbreakable while the armour survives? Perhaps they can strangle him with it?
I’m thinking it’s ethereal more than anything.
For anyone who doesn’t check Abbadon’s Twitter: the next update is coming on 14/7.
This isn’t anything new but I am loving the color symbolism between White Chain and Solomon David in them both having purple blue aesthetics, but where Solomon David is purple with touches of blue, White Chain is blue with a touch of purple, like how they’re similar but have diverged paths in irreconcilable ways
How do I get a “MAGNIFICENT” T-shirt with that grin?
A screenshot of that panel is now my phone’s wallpaper for the foreseeable future.
I have this feeling that he’s not smiling because White Chain is giving him a proper challenge, or even that she’s made some mistake and he’s going to crush her.
I think he’s smiling because her attack looked very impressive, and the fact that he endured it without a scratch makes him look even more impressive.
He’s just happy that his ego is being stroked.
Yeah, he even still has his rings on.
Nanomartial arts, daughter! They harden in response to physical trauma.
Underrated comment
Lets be honest here. This is how to woo the king of swords.
Now that is a precious smile.
I wonder what the delay is, Abbadon said on twitter that they were going to update today.
On Patreon he has put the preview up and apologised saying theres a further delay as the page is *alot*.
So the next page is a big spread? That’d certainly explain it, and ok.
Now I’m wondering: is that an Infinity Stone on his forehead?
The Master raised her fist and threatened violence for it gave her the power to destroy. She then covered it with the other hand, tempering the act that could be. This was her heart, and it knew when healing was needed instead. This she shared with others, and they thought her wise.
However, it was her fists that made her feel most alive.