Hollow Knight / Article
Vengefly King
Content updated 2026-05-27 · Sources & license
Overview
Source details: HK Infobox Boss
{{HK Infobox Boss
|drops = {{G|65|78}}<br>
None ([[Trial of the Warrior]])
|image1 = <gallery> B Vengefly King.png|Hunter's Journal
Vengefly King Zote.png|Attacking Zote
</gallery>
|theme = [https://youtu.be/s8uYwWz6JJ8 Greenpath (Action)]<hr/>
[https://youtu.be/oufGdlsl-xo Colosseum Intensity 4]<br/>
{{HK CP Icon Mini|Godmaster}} [https://youtu.be/DtD_v0plYgc Decisive Battle]<br/>
{{HK CP Icon Mini|Godmaster}} [https://youtu.be/eBQOc2AhZT4 Gods And Glory (Part A)]
|health = 55<br>
100 (Trial of the Warrior)
|gender = Male
|numbers_required = 2
}}Source details: Quote
{{Quote
|Patriarch of a vengefly colony. Swoops at intruders and cries out for reinforcements if threatened.<hr/>
A filthy creature that is happy to chew on any old thing it finds discarded on the cavern floor. When it notices a threat it will annoyingly scream and shriek, so kill it swiftly.
|Hr = Bestiary
}}The Vengefly King is a mini-boss in Hollow Knight as well as a Colosseum of Fools mini-boss. Unlocking its Journal entry requires defeating 2 Vengefly Kings.
Source details: raw HTML/media
<b> </b> <i> </i>
In-game Events
Vengefly Kings are the territorial patriarchs of Vengeflies and are native to Greenpath.
Source details: Footnote
<ref>[[Hollow Knight: Wanderer's Journal|Wanderer's Journal]], p.30</ref>
One can be encountered above the roads of Greenpath, hanging on the ceiling and chewing on Zote. Harming it prompts it to release Zote and fight the Knight. Upon defeat, the Infection bursts out of it and makes it explode. If Zote is not released before either acquiring the Mantis Claw, entering either of the rooms between Relic Seeker Lemm and Cornifer in the City of Tears, or entering the Deepnest Hot Spring room, the Vengefly King eats him and disappears.
One more Vengefly King can be fought during the Trial of the Warrior.
Behaviour and Tactics
Source details: AttackDisclaimer
{{AttackDisclaimer}}The Vengefly King has two attacks:
* Swipe: The Vengefly King opens its jaw and swoops at the Knight in a wide 'U' shape. * Summoning Scream: The Vengefly King emits a screech, summoning between 0 and 2 Vengeflies. A maximum of 4 Vengeflies can be alive at once. Vengefly King never uses this attack during its fight in the Colosseum of Fools.
Source details: raw HTML/media
<b> </b> <b> </b>
/
Source details: raw HTML/media
<hr />
Source details: #ev:youtube
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfsk4soKoGc&t=417s|200|right}}If it opens its mouth to Swipe, wait until it starts moving and jump over it as it approaches. Either perform a downward slash to get in some damage or simply avoid it.
When it summons normal Vengeflies, it is best to kill them as quickly as possible. The longer they are around, the more difficult dodging the Vengefly King becomes, especially when it summons more Vengeflies. The Vengeflies provide an easy way to get SOUL.
There is enough time to heal immediately after dodging a Swipe attack.
Source details: HK CP Header
{{HK CP Header|Godmaster}}Source details: Disclaimer
{{Disclaimer
|Vengefly King is always unlocked in the [[Hall of Gods]] and the [[Pantheon of the Master]], even if it was never encountered or fought anywhere outside of Godhome.
}}| Godhome difficulty | Health |
|---|---|
| Attuned | 450 |
| Ascended / Radiant | 735 (left) / 430 (right) |
Source details: HK GM Boss
{{HK GM Boss
|image = Statue Vengefly King.png
|name = Vengefly King
|epithet = "I keep guard above a verdant land"<br/>"Vicious god of territories"
|pantheon = [[Pantheon of the Master]], 1st boss
|At_Health = 450
|AsRa_Health = 735 (left) / 430 (right)
|arena = One more Vengefly King spawns opposite to the side of the other Vengefly King on Ascended difficulty or above. No arena changes from the base fight.
}}Source details: HK DN
{{HK DN|
* ...Rage...
* ...Defend...Kill...
* ...Light...
}}Location
The Vengefly King is first encountered in the northern part of Greenpath. It can also be fought in the Trial of the Warrior at the Colosseum of Fools.
Source details: Gallery
{{Gallery
|Image1 = Mapshot HK Vengefly King 01.png!Location in Greenpath
|Image2 = Mapshot HK Zote 05.png!Location of the Colosseum of Fools
}}Source details: Gallery
{{Gallery
|Title = Gallery
|Image1 = Screenshot HK Vengefly King 01.png!Vengefly King and Vengeflies in Greenpath
|Image2 = Screenshot HK Vengefly King 02.png!Vengefly King in the Colosseum of Fools
|Image3 = Screenshot HK Vengefly King 03.png!Arena in Greenpath
|Image4 = Godhome Arena Vengefly King.png!Arena in Godhome
}}Source details: #ev:youtube
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkgtz36IU4Y|300|center}}Achievements
Source details: Achievement
{{Achievement|Neglect}}Trivia
* If Zote is not rescued, then the Vengefly King in Greenpath cannot be fought. However, the Hunter's Journal entry can still be completed when one is fought in the Trial of the Warrior or in
Source details: HK CP Icon Mini
{{HK CP Icon Mini|Godmaster}}Godhome. * Despite having an unlock text in the
Source details: HK CP Icon Mini
{{HK CP Icon Mini|Godmaster}}Hall of Gods, it is impossible to see it in-game as Vengefly King's statue is automatically unlocked. * The Vengefly King can be killed with the
Source details: HK CP Icon Mini
{{HK CP Icon Mini|The Grimm Troupe}}Grimmchild,
Source details: HK CP Icon Mini
{{HK CP Icon Mini|The Grimm Troupe}}Weaversong,
Source details: HK CP Icon Mini
{{HK CP Icon Mini|The Grimm Troupe}}Dreamshield, Flukenest, Defender's Crest, and Spore Shroom Charms while it is still holding Zote. This is due to a coding oversight and the unique ways in which they deal damage. If killed in this way, which does unlock the Journal entry, the Vengefly King dies, rewarding its Geo, and Zote disappears entirely. Returning to the arena, both the Vengefly King and Zote are still there, unprovoked, as if they had never been encountered. Defeating the Vengefly King this way does not progress Zote's quest in any way.
Source details: Localisation
{{Localisation
|DEname = König der Rachfliegen
|DEmeaning =
|ESname = Rey vengamosca
|ESmeaning = Vengefly King
|FRname = Mouche Vengeresse Royale
|FRmeaning = Royal Vengeful Fly
|ITname = Tormentottera Reale
|ITmeaning = Royal Vengefly, "Tormentottera" comes from "tormentare", "to torment", and "Heteroptera", another name for bedbugs.
|JAname = イカリバエの王
|JAromanised = Ikaribae no Ō
|JAkatakana = enemy
|JAmeaning = Vengefly King
|KOname = 왕복수파리
|KOromanised =
|KOmeaning =
|PTname = Rei Vengemosca
|PTmeaning = Vengefly King, "vengemosca" is a combination of "venge" from the original name and <i>mosca<i>(fly)
|RUname = Король мстекрылов
|RUromanised =
|RUmeaning =
|ZHname = 反击蝇之王
|ZHromanised =
|ZHmeaning = Retaliation Fly's King
|CODEname = BIGBUZZER
|CODEmeaning =
}}Source details: Refs
{{Refs}}Source details: HK Nav Enemies
{{HK Nav Enemies}}Крал Зломух König der Rachfliegen Rey vengamosca Mouche Vengeresse Royale Tormentottera Reale Król Vengefly Rei Vengemosca Король мстекрылов Владар мстижуків 复仇蝇之王
Source & attribution
- Source revision
- 192610
- Content updated
- 2026-05-27
- License
- CC BY-SA 3.0
Adapted from Hollow Knight Wiki. Original contributors retain attribution through the linked source revision and its page history.