Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Roland’s reasoning was clear and direct, tinged with the decisiveness of a final gamble.

Despite the limited intelligence, he was certain beyond a doubt that the source of the land’s bizarre transformation was the Witch Demon controlling the Negative Energy.

Thus, if they could just kill or drive it away, their current predicament would be resolved.

Previously, he had chosen to retreat from the Land of Mist instead of following Graham to fight in Broken Stone Canyon. While the disparity in their power was one factor, a deeper reason was his own deeply ingrained caution.

As his understanding of this world gradually deepened, that sense of vigilance grew ever stronger.

He had always resisted acting rashly on insufficient information.

But now, he had no other choice.

Roland’s gaze swept over his surroundings.

The Magic City Jiles had reappeared, and the very ground was slowly twisting and warping in its wake, taking on a deeply unsettling quality.

Although the fog had dissipated slightly, the roars of the Demons in the mist grew more frequent and piercing, a truly bone-chilling sound.

More than taking a risk, he detested the idea of passively waiting to die.

He took a deep breath and said to Reggie in a low voice.

"Master Reggie, there must be someone pulling the strings, and that person has to be the enemy fighting Dean Graham right now."

"If we join the Dean and help him defeat this powerful enemy, the corruption around us will cease, and we’ll have a chance to survive. Conversely, if we stand by and do nothing..."

He paused, then added with emphasis.

"If Dean Graham falls, all we can do is pray that another, greater disaster doesn’t strike before Lord Derek can organize reinforcements and arrive."

As his voice fell, Reggie fell into silence.

But after just a moment, the academy master stretched out a hand and clapped Roland firmly on the shoulder.

"You’re right, kid. Compared to you..."

Reggie’s furrowed brow relaxed, and his mouth broke into a gruff smile.

"I guess this old-timer was being a little too hesitant."

Before his voice had even faded, Reggie had already turned and stepped onto a nearby protruding rock, his powerful voice echoing through the woods.

"All troops, listen up! Check your gear! After a brief rest, we... are going to support Lord Graham!"

"Yes!"

Seeing that Reggie had agreed to his plan, Roland breathed a small sigh of relief.

He had just made a quick observation: among the thousand or so soldiers, a fair number had broken through the limits of ordinary mortals.

Although they would be hard-pressed to contend with a true Transcendent, if they could just tie down that Witch Demon for a moment, or create an opportunity for Graham, Jia Xiu, or Reggie to face it in a duel...

Then, the scales of victory might tip in their favor.

Of course, the process was fraught with uncertainty, and the possibility of other bizarre occurrences couldn’t be ruled out.

But...

Around the forest, the soldiers on guard duty had already engaged the attacking Demons, and the sounds of clashing weapons and roars could be heard.

Roland took a deep breath, turned, and walked resolutely towards his companions.

He had no retreat left.

「Broken Stone Canyon.」

The name now seemed so out of place.

The Magic City Jiles had risen from the dust of history, violently tearing apart the canyon’s landscape.

What now lay before them was the decaying and sinister core of the ancient Magic City.

The once-rugged cliff faces had been replaced by towering, twisted black spires. The bodies of the towers were covered in huge, pulsating cracks, as if they were alive, with an eerie purple energy flowing within them.

Underfoot was no longer sand and gravel, but a wide street paved with cracked black flagstones, stretching all the way to a central spire in the distance that pulsed like a giant heart, radiating terrifying waves of Magic Power.

On both sides of the street were scattered the ruins of magnificent buildings, severely eroded by time.

Broken, colossal pillars jutted from the ground at odd angles. Dilapidated walls covered in bizarre Runes still stood defiantly, their empty window frames like the eye sockets of skulls, silently gazing at the intruders.

The air was thick with heavy dust, the smell of rusted metal, and a pungent, scorched odor.

But what was more unnerving were the active "residents" filling the area.

In addition to the giant Magical Guide Structures that resembled mobile fortresses, there were also smaller Mechanical Bodies, closer to human size and far more numerous.

They had various forms. Some were like twisted metal spiders crawling at high speed among the ruins; others resembled skeleton frames in tattered cloaks, holding blades that glinted with a cold light, their joints emitting the harsh grinding of gears.

These smaller Mechanical Bodies moved like phantoms through the broken walls and ruins, their eyes flashing with a cold and hostile red light, posing a ubiquitous and deadly threat.

And upon these Magic City ruins, where silence and clamor intertwined...

"BOOM!"

A deafening crash of metal against metal suddenly erupted.

Just as a Magical Guide Structure so large it nearly blotted out the sky raised a filth-covered arm to deliver a devastating Heavy Strike, a figure shot into its blind spot like a silver Thunderbolt tearing through the gloom.

It was Graham.

The Extraordinary Knight moved so fast he almost left a Residual Shadow.

There was no earth-shattering war cry, only a single, impeccably precise thrust that concentrated all his power and the essence of his skill.

The sword flashed, like a sacred flame scorching filth.

The seemingly ordinary Longsword effortlessly pierced the Mechanical Body’s supposedly indestructible rock armor, sinking with absolute precision into its core.

It was a violently flashing Energy node, protected by the heavy armor and pulsing with unstable purple magic.

"BZZZT... KRRRACKLE..."

The Mechanical Body’s enormous form suddenly stiffened, its rampaging movements instantly freezing.

The surging Energy within its body let out a death wail.

Then the piercing purple light flickered violently once before being completely extinguished, like a snuffed-out candle flame.

Deprived of its power source, the massive body of metal and rock crashed down, smashing onto the ancient flagstones. It became a heavy pile of twisted wreckage, emitting a pungent blue smoke as dust billowed out.

With a low grunt, Graham’s figure had already shot out again.

The Longsword in his hand became a silver light of death, precisely extinguishing the red lights in the eyes of the small Mechanical Bodies pouncing at him one by one.

He didn’t get bogged down, his sharp gaze sweeping across the hellish battlefield.

The sudden "revival" of the Magic City Jiles was a catastrophe.

The ground had split open, the canyon’s landscape instantly replaced by twisted spires and ruins.

Most of the soldiers he had brought were now buried beneath the rubble, victims of the sudden collapse.

The survivors were trapped in a desperate, bitter struggle.

They used the broken walls as cover to form a rough formation. Their Shields were covered in cracks, and their Long Spears could hardly pierce the Mechanical Bodies’ tough shells.

But the small Mechanical Bodies were like a cold tide, tireless and endless, pouring out from the shadows of the ruins.

The soldiers’ movements began to slow, their war cries mixed with shouts of pain and Fear.

The formation was repeatedly battered until it was on the verge of collapse, and casualties were constantly mounting.

Facing this inexhaustible metal torrent, the human soldiers’ stamina and willpower were rapidly being depleted. The signs of defeat were already showing.

"Jia Xiu!"

As another giant Magical Guide Structure collapsed under Graham’s sword, turning into a pile of scrap metal emitting blue smoke, he shouted sharply.

Before the words had left his mouth, the Longsword in his hand had already transformed into a silver curtain of light, too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The small Mechanical Bodies pouncing from all directions were like they’d crashed into an invisible wall of Destruction.

Their metal bodies bizarrely twisted and disintegrated in mid-air, parts scattering to the ground with a CLATTER, instantly clearing a large area around Graham.

Dust filled the air, but Graham’s voice was clear and cold, completely unaffected.

"Haven’t you locked onto the Caster’s position yet?"

"Apologies, Dean Graham."

The reply came from behind Graham, where a Shadow silently coalesced, as if from Stripping it from the sunlight itself.

Under the dazzling light, the figure of the Assassin, Jia Xiu, clearly emerged.

His movements were almost simultaneous with his appearance.

He just flicked his wrist with extreme casualness, as if brushing away dust.

"SSSHHHK! CRUNCH!"

The small Mechanical Bodies that had just re-emerged from the ruins’ shadows to fill the gap were suddenly crushed as if by an invisible giant hand. Without any warning, they disintegrated and exploded in mid-air several meters away, dissolving into a shower of metallic fragments.

"The target seems to be deliberately concealing their presence. Their purpose..."

The Assassin’s voice was low and steady, his gaze piercing through the Chaos of the ruins to fall upon the pulsing central spire deep within the city.

"I fear they intend to use this endless stream of steel cannon fodder to trap us here to die, or perhaps... to block our advance."