Episode 316
Clonne staggered from the barbarian’s attack but quickly regained her balance and shouted, “Damn it! Felix, cover me!”
With a ferocity that rivaled the barbarian’s, Clonne charged forward, swinging her mace. Felix followed her lead, rushing at the barbarian from the side.
Whoosh!
As Clonne swung her mace, Felix struck from the blind spot with his sword. The barbarian, overwhelmed by attacks from both sides, couldn’t defend himself and was finally hit.
“Argh!”
The barbarian let out a battle cry, but it was futile. Clonne’s battle frenzy was unmatched, her eyes wild with intensity.
“Die! Die! Die!” she screamed, relentlessly bashing the barbarian’s head with her mace.
“Ugh…”
Even the barbarian’s tough physique couldn’t withstand Clonne’s onslaught. Eventually, he collapsed, eyes rolling back.
Clonne planted her foot on the fallen barbarian’s chest, raising her mace triumphantly. “I got one!”
Thud!
Suddenly, something pierced Clonne’s shoulder.
“Commander!”
She twisted just in time to avoid a fatal shot to the heart.
“Damn it… what the hell…”
Her shoulder, where the bullet had struck, was turning black. Felix tried to stop the bleeding, but the blood wouldn’t clot. Clonne’s face grew paler by the second.
Crash!
To make matters worse, monsters broke through the stone wall. With the elite knights occupied with the barbarians, Jorge from the Delphi Knights led his men to charge at the monsters.
“Raise your shields!”
They braced themselves, using their sturdy shields to block the monsters’ advance. Meanwhile, Arin unleashed a barrage of fire magic at the creatures.
Boom!
Thanks to her training with Arina, Arin’s magic circle had grown stronger, allowing her to cast more spells than before.
Rumble!
Jason’s earth magic buried the charging monsters under a mound of dirt. While Arin and Jason cast their spells, Xeroth summoned a fire giant with his magic.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The fire giant, with its massive form, spewed flames at the approaching monsters.
Fwoosh!
The monsters were engulfed in the giant’s fiery breath. But then, something was aimed at the mages.
Crack!
A magical bullet pierced through the triple-layered barrier, heading straight for Xeroth.
Thud!
Fortunately, the barrier deflected it just enough to graze his cheek and hit the ground, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. Xeroth’s concentration wavered, and the summoned fire giant began to fade.
“Damn it…”
As the fire giant vanished, Xeroth, flustered, scrambled to attack the oncoming monsters with renewed focus.
Richmond and Vane were outside the autonomous district, erecting a wall of bones to keep the beasts at bay, but there were too many to hold back completely. Vane cast ice magic tirelessly, while Richmond summoned undead, yet the monsters and beasts kept coming.
The magical bullets from the distant Night Killers were also a constant threat. A single hit could be fatal, as the wounds were impossible to heal.
Decker, battling the barbarians, saw the tide turning against them and shouted to his knights, “Retreat! Fall back!”
He carefully pulled his knights back, intending to defend from within the western gate. But then, beasts that had melted through the iron fence with acid appeared.
Screech!
The beasts charged at the knights from the flank. Diego swung his dual swords to fend them off.
Just then, something intervened, slamming into the beasts with its body.
Screech!
The beast let out a wail as it was crushed and rolled across the ground. Diego looked up at the massive figure before him.
“A… barbarian?”
These were new barbarians, not the ones that had breached the gate.
Roar!
But these barbarians charged at the beasts, not the knights, grabbing their sharp jaws with bare hands and snapping their necks.
Diego watched in awe as three barbarians turned the beasts into pulp.
“Unbelievable…”
With the unexpected help of the barbarians, they managed to hold the flank, but the front line was still under pressure.
The barbarian Clonne had defeated regained consciousness, and five barbarians charged at the black knights.
Decker, leading the knights, felt the absence of the elite red knights keenly.
‘Now’s not the time to lament. I must protect the order Sir Zeke built, even if it costs me my life.’
With a determined expression, Decker threw off his cloak and charged at the barbarians, sword in hand.
Vroom!
A vivid aura blade flared from his sword. He assumed the stance for the “Dragon’s Fury Blade,” a technique that burned his life force for immense power.
“Haaah!”
Just as Decker was about to strike the barbarians, something descended from the sky.
Boom!
A massive bolt of light struck the monsters and beasts in front of the gate.
Crackle!
The powerful light even halted the charging barbarians. Decker was stunned by the display of power.
‘Could it be Lady Arina?’
But Arina was at Agamemnon Castle; she couldn’t have come here. Decker looked up in confusion.
A knight clad in armor radiating divine energy, wielding a shining sword, sat astride a horned horse, hovering in the sky. The light from the knight’s sword spread outwards.
Decker couldn’t believe his eyes as he recognized the knight.
“Could it be… Master Zeke?”
It was Zeke, whom Decker had practically raised since childhood. Seeing Zeke radiating holy light, Decker couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.
Vroom!
A veil of light descended upon those at the gate, enveloping them in warmth. The light also touched Clonne, who had been struck by the Night Killer’s bullet.
The black blood flowing from her wound gradually turned red, and the injury began to heal.
“Huh? I’m okay now?”
As the bleeding stopped, Clonne sprang to her feet, rotating her shoulder with ease. She faced the barbarians with her mace in hand.
“You bastards! Come at me again!”
Just as Clonne, with her miraculous recovery, was about to charge the barbarians, Zeke appeared before them, wielding Roland.
Clonne was startled by Zeke’s sudden appearance.
“My lord!”
Zeke raised a hand, signaling Clonne to hold back for a moment. He sheathed Roland and drew the Giant Slayer.
As he focused his energy, the Giant Slayer emitted a powerful light. The barbarians sensed Zeke’s formidable aura and hesitated, stepping back.
But Zeke charged forward, striking the barbarians mercilessly with the Giant Slayer.
Thud!
The Giant Slayer, capable of felling even giant soldiers, was devastating. The barbarians’ bodies, resistant to aura and magic, crumbled under its blows.
Thud!
Zeke then drew Roland again and cast Recovery on the fallen barbarians.
Vroom!
The light of Recovery seeped into the barbarians. As the power of the mind control dissipated, Zeke immediately cast Healing.
The unconscious barbarians awoke with a start, jumping to their feet.
“Roar!”
Freed from their berserk state, the barbarians looked around in confusion.
“Where are we?”
Other barbarians approached them.
“Were you captured too?”
“You too?”
The three who had come with Zeke were from the Mohakin tribe, while the five who had just regained their senses were from the Rock tribe.
The five barbarians immediately recognized Zeke.
“Brother Zeke, the Slicer!”
It seemed Zeke was remembered among the barbarians as “Brother Zeke, the Slicer.”
Zeke nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, it’s me, Brother Zeke, the Slicer. I’ll explain later, but I need your help now.”
Though they didn’t fully understand the situation, the barbarians agreed, as Zeke was the only familiar face.
“Alright. We’ll help because it’s you, Brother Zeke.”
Even the proud Rock tribe barbarians were favorable towards Zeke, who had slain the dragon.
With Zeke’s arrival, the situation at the gate was swiftly brought under control.
Decker quickly assessed the situation, reorganizing the knights into formation and taking command once more.
“Everyone! Form a tight formation!”
At Decker’s command, the shield unit and the knights formed a dense line, bracing themselves against the oncoming wave of monsters.
Zeke, meanwhile, joined the barbarians who had regained their senses, tackling the beasts attacking from the rear.
“Raaaargh!”
The barbarians let out fierce battle cries, grabbing the beasts and hurling them aside with raw strength.
Zeke activated his Holy Light weapon, launching arrows of light to dispatch the creatures.
Just then, a message came through from Richmond and Bane.
“Master! Something strange is approaching!”
“Ugh! I couldn’t stop them with my power! Please forgive me, Master!”
Ignoring their frantic messages, Zeke focused his gaze beyond the wasteland with his dragon eyes.
In the distance, he saw a group kicking up dust as they charged toward the western gate.
Zeke sensed a powerful dark energy emanating from them.
What is that?
The immense dark energy resonated with the earth, creating a powerful vibration.
Within that aura, Zeke felt the presence of the Blood and Madness Rider’s power.
Could it be another demon’s mark like the one Adnan discovered?
If there was a demon’s mark capable of creating dimensional rifts, it could grant the beasts limitless power.
Zeke ascended into the sky once more, then descended to cast a Holy Light buff on the barbarians before striking the ground with his sword, creating a barrier of golden energy.
Boom!
In an instant, a massive earthen wall rose before Zeke and the barbarians, with a moat forming in front of it.
Zeke was gradually mastering the use of the Elemental Sword.
I can do this now.
Though he still struggled with precise control, he was satisfied with the results. As he stood atop the wall, watching the approaching enemies, something flew toward him.
Whoosh!
A black spear sliced through the air, aimed directly at Zeke.
Sensing it, Zeke raised his sword, Roland, to deflect the spear, which exploded upon impact.
Boom!
Shards from the exploding spear scattered in all directions.
Thanks to Hershion’s automatic shield and his dragon-scale armor, Zeke remained unharmed.
As the dust settled, a figure leaped onto the wall, swinging a sword at Zeke.
Clang!
A black bastard sword clashed with Roland.
Through the dust, a black knight clad in dark armor emerged.
Though similar in appearance to the empire’s demonic soldiers Zeke had encountered before, this knight exuded a completely different aura.
Zeke’s eyebrows twitched as he felt the power emanating from the black knight’s sword.
This strength rivals that of a Balrog.
Thud!
Zeke and the black knight pushed off each other, retreating a few steps.
Immediately, a crimson aura blade erupted from the black knight’s sword.
Seeing the dark energy concentrated in the aura blade, Zeke focused his power into Roland.
Whoooom!
A blade of light, infused with the power of the Holy Light, surged from Zeke’s sword.
But then, dozens of similar black knights appeared, leaping over the wall behind the first.
Thud!
All of them wielded bastard swords imbued with dark energy, charging forward.
Below, the waiting barbarians let out battle cries and rushed to meet them.
Raaaargh!
The barbarians charged, shoulders forward, to clash with the black knights.
Boom!