Chapter 54: Demont’s “Welcome Ceremony”
At daybreak, Vivi, riding the same horse as Nolan, suddenly twitched her fluffy tiger ears. They picked up a faint disturbance from somewhere in the distance.
“There’s fighting up ahead!” Her voice cut sharply through the otherwise steady rhythm of hooves. “And… it doesn’t sound like bandits. It’s more like an organized battle,” she added, her tone certain.
Little Donnie, riding beside them, craned his neck and cupped a hand to his ear. He listened for a long moment before scratching his head in confusion. “Really? I don’t hear anything at all.”
Hank reined in his horse, his battle-hardened eyes sweeping across the forest, which looked as calm as ever. “We’ve been in Demont Province for two days now. With the archduke’s tyranny, plenty of people have turned to banditry. How can you be sure it’s not them?”
Vivi turned her head, her amber eyes bright with confidence. “Bandits fight chaotically. There’s no structure to it, and there’s always shouting and cursing everywhere. But the fighting ahead… I can faintly hear commands from one side. They’re urgent, but highly organized. The most important thing is that the other side is too quiet. Aside from the clash of weapons, there’s almost no sound. That’s nothing like a robbery.”
Nolan understood at once.
A silent attacking force. Methodical slaughter. Within the borders of the Elfin Kingdom, there was only one answer.
“Undead.”
So, in this life as well, the archduke of Demont had made the same choice.
Hank’s expression darkened. “There have long been rumors that the archduke is colluding with the Shiva Empire, planning rebellion and secession. Could it be true?”
“Good news travels slowly, bad news spreads far,” Nolan said with a cold snort. “Rumors often grow from truths that someone is trying to hide. We should consider ourselves lucky to have run into this so soon.” He made a swift decision, pulling on the reins and calling back toward the carriage behind them, “Anna, slow down and keep your distance! Kayan, stay behind and protect the carriage! The rest of you, with me. We’re going to take a look!”
No further explanation was needed. Nolan urged the horse forward with Vivi, and together with Hank and Little Donnie, the four of them on three mounts galloped toward the sound of battle.
Within minutes, the scene came into view.
A mass of pale skeletons, numbering over three hundred, was coldly surrounding a mercenary group of fewer than fifty.
The mercenaries had formed a circular defensive line, backs to four cargo wagons in the forest. But their formation was already on the verge of collapse. Every face was etched with exhaustion and despair.
The air reeked of blood. The ground beneath their feet was soaked a dark red, littered with scattered bones and the broken bodies of fallen mercenaries. Even though she had braced herself, the sight still made Vivi’s stomach churn. It was her first time witnessing such a battlefield.
At the front of the line, a woman with long, flame-red hair fought desperately, her sword flashing as she held her ground.
Her opponents were three knights clad in pitch-black armor, mounted on skeletal warhorses. They stood taller than the surrounding skeleton soldiers, radiating a dense aura of death. From the slits of their helmets, crimson soul-fire glowed ominously.
“Black Knights!” Little Donnie sucked in a sharp breath.
The red-haired warrior was already at her limit. Though she too was at the Silver tier, facing three tireless high-level undead working in perfect coordination was draining her strength at a terrifying rate.
The Black Knights’ strikes were devoid of flourish. Each blow carried only raw power and ruthless efficiency, every impact numbing her arms and splitting the skin at her palms.
Her left arm hung limp at her side. A deep wound, cut to the bone, continued to bleed steadily. It was clear she had already suffered a grievous injury earlier in the fight.
Near the wagons, a portly merchant heard the thunder of hooves. His face lit up with wild joy as he shouted for help, but the moment he saw that only four riders had arrived, that joy collapsed into a deeper despair.
“It’s over… we’re finished…”
On the battlefield, the three Black Knights shifted their stances again. From three directions, they formed a triangular formation and launched their final charge toward Rehanna.
The shadow of death swallowed her completely.
A bitter smile touched her lips, and the last glimmer of light faded from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Renee… your big sister broke her promise…”
The blades of the Black Knights grew larger and larger in her vision. For the first time in her life, she offered a prayer to the Mother Goddess.
“Mother above… please take my misfortune… and grant my sister peace.”
The goddess had yet to answer, but someone else refused to allow the Black Knights to continue their slaughter on the soil of Elfin.
“I’ll handle them!” Nolan pointed straight at the Black Knights. “Hank! Take Donnie and Vivi, break through their flank, and take out the corpse mages in the rear!”
Before his words had even finished, he had already launched himself from the galloping horse. Midair, two faint golden ripples spread outward from him—his Aura of Piety and Aura of Conviction flaring to life.
“Move!” Hank roared and charged without hesitation toward the hunched figures in the rear of the skeletal horde, each clutching a bone staff.
Little Donnie drew his sword and followed close behind, while Vivi, the moment Nolan left the saddle, seized the reins firmly and drew her crossbow in one smooth motion.
The instant Nolan hit the ground, he became a streak of golden-red destruction, ignoring all obstacles as he charged straight toward the Black Knights.
Boom!
The skeleton soldiers in his path had no time to react. The overwhelming force of his charge smashed them apart, scattering bones in every direction.
Vivi’s heart pounded violently. That was no ordinary charge. It was like a meteor, hurtling with unyielding resolve into the darkness blanketing the land.
Nolan tore through the dense sea of skeletons like a maddened beast, carving out a blazing path of golden fire. Everywhere he passed, only shattered bones and twisted scraps of armor were left behind.
The sheer spectacle stunned everyone on the battlefield.
The dying mercenaries, the despairing merchants—all stared, mouths agape, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Rehanna watched blankly as Nolan closed in, radiant, unstoppable, like a force of divine judgment.
On the far right, one of the Black Knights had already raised its runed blade toward her throat. Suddenly, the crimson soul-fire in its eye sockets flickered violently. The undead knew no fear, yet some instinct buried deep within its being sensed a threat capable of ending its existence forever. It abandoned the killing strike and swung its sword back across its body, attempting to defend.
Too late.
In its eternal silence, it registered only a rapidly enlarging human figure—and a thunderous roar that shook the sky.
“Release!”
It was the last sound it would ever hear.
At the final moment of his charge, Nolan lowered his stance, channeling every ounce of strength into the massive greatsword now transformed in his hands. The broad blade became a streak of fused gold and crimson light, cleaving downward with the force to tear through anything.
Boom!
The impact defied description. The fifth-tier Black Knight of the Shiva Empire, along with its skeletal warhorse, was obliterated on the spot, blasted into fragments beneath a blow that carried the weight of a mountain. Shattered bone and twisted metal armor exploded outward like arrows, striking its former allies.
The momentum of Nolan’s greatsword did not stop there. It slammed into the ground with crushing force. Cracks spread outward like a web from the point of impact, and the shockwave sent nearby skeletons flying.
Rehanna collapsed to her knees, dazed. The sword slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a dull clang.