395
Chapter 395
GRRRR!
Taotie watched Zeke's group from atop the cliff, commanding numerous demon beasts around him.
When his eyes met Zeke's looking up at him, Taotie's eyes burned red.
Simultaneously, a red energy filled the eyes of the monsters waiting nearby.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The weapon-wielding monsters began approaching Zeke's group with murderous intent.
Zeke pulled on the chain and spoke to Icarus.
"Stop the monsters right now."
Icarus hesitated briefly, then trembling, gave the order for the monsters to stop, but it didn't work.
"I-I can't ! T-They are not responding to my orders!"
After closing some distance, the monsters charged forward with horrific screams.
GRAAAAAAH!
A demon realm orc wielding a massive battle axe led the charge.
Alicia countered by kicking the orc's chest.
CRACK!
The orc's chest caved in as it flew backward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Other orcs hit by the flying orc had their limbs broken and were smashed into the cliff. Seeing this, Alicia spat on the ground and drew her Wolf fang Sword.
"You bastard monster scum. You act up just because we were being nice. You're all dead today."
Alicia charged toward the monster army.
The Himonas knights followed Alicia and joined the battle.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The Himonas knights clashed with the monsters like beasts, wielding their claymores.
Zeke spoke to the Barbarian unit and Tourn knights.
"Go help the Himonas knights. Black Specter Squad, guard against the Nightmare’s interference while defending against incoming enemies."
After giving orders, Zeke flew toward the cliff using Dragon Wing skill.
In mid-air, he equipped Herscion then immediately struck Taotie with Roland's Light Mace.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Powerful lightning of light fell toward Taotie and its demon beasts.
But surprisingly, a translucent barrier appeared around the demon beasts.
'Magic?'
As he wondered, Dark Abyss mages and knights in red armor revealed themselves from behind.
Zeke sensed aura technique energy from the red-armored knights.
'Their power reverses aura. It's dangerous to go down the cliff.'
He decided to change direction and attack the enemy red knights first.
Just as he was about to charge at them, Zeke sensed something faster than sound flying toward his temple.
PING!
Barely blocking the attack with Roland, Zeke realized it was a Knight Killer's magic bullet.
'It was a trap.'
From the start, even Icarus was just bait to lure Zeke here.
Zeke thought of who could devise such a scheme.
'Azmund Varios. In the empire now, he's the only one who would use such an insidious plan.'
Knight Killer's magic bullets flew at Zeke from all directions.
Simultaneously, Dark Abyss mages deployed barriers, and enemy knights approached Zeke with aura-imbued swords.
Taotie's demon beasts were blocking the escape route to prevent Zeke from fleeing.
If Zeke was an ordinary black knight, no matter how skilled, he would have struggled significantly due to the barrier preventing aura use.
'Azmund. You'll regret in hell that you couldn't catch me here.'
Zeke put Roland in his inventory and took out his hammer.
The Giant Hunter, Battle God Tyr's unique weapon.
It was the most suitable weapon for using spirit power.
CRACKLE!
Zeke applied Holy Light technique to his hammer and rushed forward using Wind Storm technique.
His speed was so fast that even the Knight Killers couldn't track his movements.
Zeke wielded his hammer armed with the soul technique 'River's Will' toward the closest enemy knight.
WHOOSH!
The hammer imbued with soul technique split the air, broke the enemy knight's sword, and struck his breastplate.
CRACK!
With a loud shattering sound, the enemy knight flew backward.
Just as he was about to advance toward other enemy knights with his hammer.
Surprisingly, the enemy knight whose chest had been caved in stood up and walked toward Zeke.
The sword and armor that were thought broken had returned to their original state.
'Is it magic? No. This goes beyond that level.'
Zeke realized the enemy knights had an ominous power cast on them.
'This must be one of the secret weapons the Jiemens family has carefully developed.'
The Jiemens family, who had long prepared for war with both Draker and the continent, had considerable undisclosed secret weapons and forces.
Unlike the black knight from before who infinitely recovered by absorbing the demon energy summoned by Nightgaunt, these red knights seemed to regenerate on their own.
Watching the enemy knights, Zeke felt like he was looking at himself with the Healing Factor skill.
'This must be how enemies feel when they face me.'
That's when it happened.
The one emanating the most powerful aura among the enemy knights stepped forward.
An emotionless, rigid voice flowed from within the helmet that completely concealed his face.
『Stop this meaningless resistance. If you surrender, we will spare your life.』
Zeke looked at the enemy knight and said,
"You'll spare my life when killing me wouldn't be enough? Whose orders are these?"
Instead of answering his question, the enemy knight leader spoke nonsense.
『If you do not surrender, pain will only follow.』
TSTSTSTS!
A powerful fighting energy rose from the enemy knights' swords.
Zeke realized their goal wasn't to kill him but to capture him alive.
'Why aren't they trying to kill me? Does Azmund need me alive for something?'
After thinking that far, Zeke shook his head. Perhaps the ones who sent these enemy knights weren't from Azmund Varios.
Zeke recalled how the Empire was currently entangled in very complicated interests.
'Taotie being here also concerns me. What exactly is it doing here?'
As Zeke's mind was racing, the enemy knight leader charged at him with his sword.
WHOOSH!
A powerful sword strike fell toward his crown.
CRASH!
As Zeke blocked the sword strike with his hammer while observing him, the way the enemy knight leader wielded his sword seemed somehow familiar.
'I feel like I've seen this swordsmanship before...'
A strange swordsmanship that made almost no sound despite using a strong sword.
As Zeke recalled these characteristics, he realized the identity of the enemy knight captain.
'Knight of Silence Castic!'
It was clearly Bishop Castic's unique swordsmanship, one of the Five-Star Knights from his past life.
CLANG!
Zeke deflected the sword with his hammer and stepped back.
'Why is Bishop Castic here? I heard he joined the Thebea Knights after graduating from Valhalla.'
While Zeke had connections with other Five-Star Knights including Reina, Bishop Castic was the only one he never met as their paths didn't cross at Valhalla.
And now that Bishop Castic had appeared as Jiemens' secret weapon, having lost his reason.
Zeke spoke to the enemy knight leader.
"Bishop Castic."
There was no response even when called by name.
It seemed his human consciousness had been completely removed.
'Those Jiemens bastards. Still up to their horrific tricks of playing with people.'
When the enemy knights failed to properly capture Draker, the Abyss mages waiting behind grew impatient and shouted.
"What are you doing?! Hurry and capture Zeke Draker! What are the snipers doing?!"
That's when strange sounds came from the communication crystal connected to the Knight Killers.
"Gh-ghosts! KUHEK!"
After their screams, no more signals came from the communication crystal.
'Ghosts? Wh-what's happening?'
The Abyss mages realized something was going wrong.
As they tried to cast magic again, Zeke immediately unleashed magic sealing techniques toward the mages.
SCREEEECH!
When the magic sealing technique spread, the surrounding magical energy became fixed and the mages couldn't use magic.
That's when the mages were in confusion.
SWOOSH!
Nikolai and the vampire assassins who were standing by leaped out from the shadows.
SLASH!
At Zeke's request, the vampires beheaded all the mages except for one.
The remaining mage trembled while captured by Nikolai.
Zeke showed a satisfied expression at the vampires' clean work.
In fact, the investigation team led by Nikolai had already analyzed the structure and terrain of this place and sent the coordinate positions to Zeke.
Following the coordinates Nikolai sent, Zeke had positioned ghost soldiers in advance to prepare for any possible ambush.
Though he didn't know they would be Night Killers, it wasn't a problem.
Zeke spoke to Nikolai.
"Good work. Stand by until I call again."
Nikolai nodded and disappeared along with the other vampires.
Watching the situation, Taotie tried to slip away cunningly with its beasts.
But that's when it happened.
RUMBLE!
Suddenly bone walls rose from the ground and the gaps between them were filled with ice walls.
In an instant, the view from the cliff was blocked by walls of ice and bone.
Richmond and Bane revealed themselves in the air.
Zeke had summoned them in advance before coming up here, and they revealed themselves at his command.
"Richmond, Bane. Clean up the beasts in the area."
Zeke, who already knew Taotie's cunning nature, blocked his escape route first by raising walls.
Trapped inside the walls, Taotie let out a harsh breath and screamed as if displeased with the current situation.
RAAAAAAH!
Suddenly, as if responding to Taotie's scream, hundreds of beasts appeared in the air.
CAAAAAAAW!
Beast creatures like giant crows rushed toward where the ice walls were.
When they rushed in and flapped their wings, black feathers flew like sharp arrows and struck the bone and ice walls.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
As the sharp feathers struck continuously, cracks began to form in the walls.
Taotie rammed the cracked walls with his solid horns, making the cracks grow larger.
CRASH!
Finally, the bone and ice walls that couldn't withstand Taotie's strength shattered to pieces.
But Taotie, who came out triumphantly, could only be surprised.
SWOOSH!
The Golem Knights with shields were waiting for him in defensive positions.
Sensing the Golem Knights' unusual strength, Taotie retreated cautiously without making hasty moves.
But behind him, Cayman and the Shadow Knights were engaging the enemy knights.
Zeke slowly approached where Taotie was.
"Things seem to be getting sorted now. Though your hideous appearance makes me want to vomit, Taotie."
Every aberrant beast is violent, cunning, and evil by nature.
The Four Fiends were at the pinnacle of these aberrants.
Among the Four Fiends, Taotie was even worse - it killed and tortured other creatures for fun.
While other beasts, no matter how intelligent, ultimately aimed to kill and eat living beings, it enjoyed the torment itself.
In his past life, Taotie would even deliberately let captured humans go after thoroughly tormenting them.
Humans who were unspeakably violated would lose their minds and go insane.
Taotie found this entertaining, so he would purposely let them go without killing them.
Then he would find them again, maximize their terror, and kill them.
It was an incredibly twisted hobby.
That's why Zeke despised Taotie.
In his past life, Zeke wasn't strong enough to face Taotie so his master Nigel dealt with him, but now things were different.
Swinging his hammer, Zeke said to Taotie.
"Since I don't know what evil you'll commit next, I'll completely annihilate you here today."
Taotie couldn't stand this human, his plaything, speaking so impudently.
GRRRRRR!
When his eyes glowed, the surrounding beasts charged at Zeke with killing intent like the previous monsters.
RAAAAAR!
They emanated killing intent stronger than ordinary beasts.
Zeke swung his hammer at the beasts without concern.
CRASH!
The Black Knight's strength wielding a spirit-infused hammer was beyond what the maddened beasts could handle.
Zeke approached Taotie through the pulverized beasts.
'It’s smaller than in my past life. Perhaps it couldn't build up its strength.'
Taotie who fought Nigel in his past life was twice as large and more threatening than now.
But then.
Taotie reached into his fur and pulled out a red dagger inscribed with runes.
'What’s that?'
Zeke noticed the dagger's blade was made of blood ruby stone.
It seemed to be an artificial blood ruby processed into a dagger with inscribed runes.
Sensing something strange, Zeke rushed quickly toward Taotie.
But at that moment, a storm of powerful demonic energy erupted from Taotie's body and blocked Zeke's path.
WHOOSH!
But Zeke swung his hammer violently and nullified all of Taotie's demonic energy.
As Zeke charged forward through the storm, an astonishing sight unfolded before his eyes.
Taotie had stabbed the dagger into his own heart.