Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Before he could get a good look at the battlefield, a dull thud exploded by his ear.

Roland whipped his head around to see a rickety wooden ladder propped against the edge of the wall.

A tattered rioter was scrambling up it. Under the moonlight, his rust-spotted Hand Axe glinted with a cold, sinister light.

Seeing this, a burly Guard immediately drew his sword to engage.

Watching the rioter’s clumsy swings, the Guard smirked contemptuously, his Iron Sword held steady in a defensive stance.

’In my experience,’ he thought, ’a brute-force chop like this can be easily parried, creating a perfect opportunity for a counter-kill.’

"CLANG!"

The jarring sound of metal striking metal pierced the night sky.

The confidence on the Guard’s face instantly froze.

The force from the axe blade was far greater than he had imagined.

The webbing of his thumb went numb and a sharp pain shot through his wrist. The force had knocked his Iron Sword aside, leaving his chest wide open.

Before he could recover, the rioter’s second chop was already upon him.

The moonlight glinted off the axe blade, reflecting in the Guard’s wide, terrified eyes.

Just as the Guard thought he was about to die, a cold glint of light suddenly cut in.

"CLANG!"

An Iron Sword precisely parried the axe blade, followed by a swift backhanded flick.

"SQUELCH!"

The rioter’s head flew from his shoulders as blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain.

But then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The headless corpse was still swinging its Hand Axe, wildly hacking at the air!

Once, twice, three times...

Only after the fourth swing did its movements begin to stiffen. Finally, it collapsed to the ground with a thud, completely still.

This horrifying sight left the surrounding Guards stunned. A chill ran up their spines to the napes of their necks.

"Don’t just stand there gawking!"

Roland shouted, then darted forward and kicked the wooden ladder off the wall.

"They’re not immortal! Remember! Back away immediately after a kill! Watch out for their final death throes!"

His roar snapped everyone back to their senses.

The Guards stared at the corpse, which had finally stopped moving, and tightened their grips on their weapons.

But their faintly trembling arms betrayed the unease in their hearts.

Just then, John’s calm commands rang out, quickly stabilizing their morale.

The commotion soon subsided, and the defensive line once again held firm.

After confirming the situation was temporarily under control, Roland flicked the blood from his sword and reached out to pull up the shaken Guard.

"Are you all right?"

He recognized this man.

He had sparred frequently with the Manor Guards on the training grounds while practicing his skills.

And this burly, battle-hardened veteran had been one of the opponents he considered his toughest.

Before becoming a Warrior, Roland hadn’t been certain of victory without using Flowing Slash.

Yet just now, this experienced Guard couldn’t even block a single blow from a rioter.

"Where the hell did these bastards come from? Their strength is unnatural!"

The Guard used Roland’s hand to pull himself up, spat fiercely on the ground, and the fear in his eyes gradually gave way to a renewed will to fight.

He clapped Roland firmly on the shoulder.

"Thanks, brother! I owe you one for this!"

With that, the Guard gripped his Iron Sword and returned to the defensive line.

A series of dull thuds echoed as more and more wooden ladders slammed against the wall.

More rioters swarmed over the top of the wall like a tide, instantly plunging the entire manor into a vortex of bloody battle.

The clang of metal, shouts, and screams mingled, echoing in the night.

Although the Guards were all battle-hardened veterans, their defensive line was constantly being breached by the rioters’ human wave tactics.

Roland’s figure darted between the firelight and moonlight like a black bolt of lightning.

Whenever a Guard was in danger, his Iron Sword would always appear just in time.

Wherever the glint of his sword flashed, a head would fly high, followed by a spray of crimson blood.

Gradually, the soldiers discovered that these seemingly terrifying rioters were not invincible.

Whenever Roland’s figure appeared on a section of the wall, the Guards there would erupt in cheers.

And the once-faltering defensive line began to miraculously stabilize.

The scales of victory were silently tipping.

"SQUELCH!"

The moment his Iron Sword pierced the rioter’s heart, Roland followed up with a powerful front kick.

"CRACK!"

With the distinct sound of breaking bone, the rioter flew backward off the wall like a broken sack, smashing into the ladder below and shattering both it and the person climbing it.

"Haaa..."

Standing on the easternmost section of the wall, Roland let out a soft breath as he watched the attack gradually thin out.

The continuous fighting hadn’t drained much of his stamina, but the high tension had left him feeling somewhat exhausted.

Just as he kicked over another ladder, he suddenly felt a tremor beneath his feet.

Looking up, Roland’s pupils constricted.

In the moonlight, a behemoth as tall as the manor walls was charging toward them at an astonishing speed.

Rioters who couldn’t get out of the way were crushed underfoot like ants. The crisp sound of shattering bones mixed with the wet thud of splattering flesh, leaving a trail of crimson footprints in its wake.

The effects of the Sharp Eye Potion allowed Roland to see the monster’s terrifying appearance clearly.

Its face was twisted and ferocious, its skin an unnatural bluish-gray. Its murky, bloodshot eyes stared out from above a mouth that split open to its ears, revealing jagged fangs. Its hunched back was covered in pale blue Crystals, making it look like an upright hedgehog.

The ground trembled with every step it took.

But what startled and puzzled Roland was the faint sight of a black-robed figure in the direction the giant had come from.

The moonlight outlined a slender silhouette, a pale chin barely visible beneath the hood.

But Roland had no time for a closer look.

Because in the blink of an eye, the giant was already upon them.

"Watch out!"

The warning had barely left his lips when the giant slammed into the main gate like a Siege Hammer.

"BOOM!"

Amidst an earth-shattering crash, the heavy oak gate, already on the verge of collapse, was blown to smithereens. Splinters swept across the entire front courtyard like a torrential downpour.

"Dammit!"

Seeing this, Roland hurriedly ran along the wall toward the manor gate.

......

......

"Cough, cough, cough..."

John shook his ringing head and struggled to push away the oaken debris weighing him down.

He gasped for breath as the scene before him slowly came into focus.

The next second, he froze.

Through the swirling dust, a behemoth as tall as the wall was wreaking havoc.

The experienced and well-trained Manor Guards were utterly defenseless against this giant.

One Guard had just raised his Shield when he was sent flying by a swat from its massive, fan-like palm.

His iron Shield crumpled like a piece of tin, and the Guard was flung backward, spraying a mist of blood.

"H-help me!"

Another Guard was pinned to the ground by a foot overgrown with Crystals. The crisp crack of his spine was drowned out by the monster’s guttural growl.

It suddenly bent down and grabbed the dying soldier, its barbed fingers easily digging into the gaps of his Armor.

With a horrifying tearing sound, the Guard was ripped in two. His entrails splattered like rain onto the faces of the other Guards.

The few remaining Guards gritted their teeth and tried to surround it with their Long Spears.

But the monster let out a laugh like grinding sandpaper and allowed the spear tips to pierce its body.

It deliberately turned slowly, skewering the soldiers holding the spears like a shish kebab, then swung the screaming chain of bodies and smashed them against an archery tower.

Amid the roar of the collapsing wooden structure, it wasn’t just splinters that flew through the air, but also a viscous mixture of blood and flesh.

It pooled on the ground into a small stream that slowly flowed over John’s boots.

Despair and Fear spread among the men.

’What in the world is this monster...’

John, who had served for many years on the border, had seen countless Alien Races.

Elves swift as the wind, Dwarfs of immense strength, and savage, violent Beastmen...

But he had never seen such a pure and savage killing machine.

That twisted body, that frenzied method of killing... it was like a Demon crawled straight out of a nightmare.

"You damn beast!"

John spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, drew his sword, and charged with a roar at the giant that was slaughtering his men.

But he couldn’t even get close before the shockwave of the battle sent him flying like a kite with its string cut. He crashed into a wooden hut, and shattered planks rained down on him.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. A look of despair appeared in his eyes, and his consciousness began to fade.

In his daze, the old soldier seemed to see a handsome, blond young man waving at him.

"Hah..."

John coughed up a fleck of bloody foam, panting weakly.

"Fosling... Now... I don’t owe you anymore..."

Just as his vision was about to fade to Darkness, a figure suddenly superimposed itself over the Illusion.

"Roland... Roland? Roland!"

The Illusion vanished abruptly.

John’s eyes shot wide open.

Atop the wall, the blood-soaked young man held his sword with both hands and leaped down.

Moonlight flowed along the blade, and the piercing whistle of it cutting through the air signaled the terrifying power contained in the strike.

"SWISH! SQUELCH!"

The muffled sound of a blade sinking into flesh and the spray of blood erupted at the same time.

John’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

The killing machine that had been unstoppable just moments ago was now pierced by an ordinary Iron Sword, right from the top of its head down to its abdomen.

With a twist of Roland’s wrist, the blade sliced out diagonally through its ribs, sending a shower of blood into the air.

"THUD!"

Accompanied by a piercing, raspy wail, the giant’s body crashed to the ground like a felled oak tree, splashing up a wave of crimson-stained earth.