Chapter 268: Chapter 267: Too Late to Run
Anderson lunged again, aiming for his ribs, only for Lumberling to twist, spear striking with a counter so swift it forced the Knight back a step, blood spraying from a fresh cut.
Anderson’s eyes widened with something more than rage. It was doubt. His chest rose and fell in ragged bursts, his bloodied hand trembling around the broadsword.
’Am I... going to be defeated here?’ The thought slashed through his pride like a blade. He clenched his jaw. "No," he hissed under his breath. "I’m a talented Knight. I won’t die here!"
The battlefield shifted as shadows closed in. Around him, figures clad in Sengolio colors emerged.
"Knight Anderson, we’re here to assist you!" one shouted.
Eight Quasi-Knights and five Knight Apprentices surrounded Lumberling in a tightening ring, their auras pressing down to him.
Anderson’s lips split into a wild grin, laughter spilling out, half relief, half madness. "Hah! Do you see this?" he shouted, raising his sword high. "We have Knights, many Knights! This is the army of General Lafuente!"
He pointed at Lumberling, spit flying with his words. "Attack him now, kill him!"
At once, the circle closed. Anderson’s form blurred into the wind again, vanishing into stealth, his broadsword a phantom blade aiming straight for Lumberling’s heart.
The Sengolio Knights surged in, weapons gleaming, their numbers pressing down like an iron cage around Lumberling. For a moment, it seemed the ring would close, until shadows moved.
"Now!" a guttural roar tore across the battlefield.
From the flanks, Lumberling’s captains burst forward like unleashed beasts, their presence crashing into the Knights with raw ferocity.
Krivex loosed an arrow that split the air, striking the visor of a Quasi-Knight before he could even raise his shield. He pulled again, voice calm despite the chaos.
"Keep your eyes open. Drop one at a time, and they’ll fall like trees."
Gobo1 rushed in next, his sword flashing as he intercepted a Quasi-Knight’s blade aimed for a vice-captain. Sparks flew as steel clashed, his teeth bared.
"You want him? You’ll have to go through me first!"
Beside him, Gobo2 raised his shield just in time to block a hammer strike that would’ve caved in another soldier’s skull. The impact rang like a bell, but he grunted and shoved forward, his sword darting out from the cover of his shield.
"Gobo2 entering!" he laughed. "The hero’s here!"
Aren’s spear spun like a whirlwind, thrusting and sweeping, keeping two Quasi-Knights at bay. He snarled as he forced one back.
The ground shook as three figures crashed into the melee together, Takkar, Vakk, and Skarn. The brothers’ roars overlapped as they hacked their way forward, forcing Quasi-Knights onto the defensive with their sheer ferocity.
"Cut them down!" Takkar bellowed, his blades a blur.
Vakk laughed savagely, blood splattering across his chest. "Aye! Let’s drown them in their own blood!"
Skarn smashed an axe into a Knight’s shoulder, forcing him to his knees. "Another one for the pile!"
And then came the vice-captains, crashing in like thunder behind them.
Gorrak’s warhammer shattered a shield in a single swing, the force knocking its wielder sprawling. "Weaklings!" he spat. "You’re not fit to wear that armor!"
Vrak’s sword moved with precision, each strike aimed to kill.
Rogar’s spear pierced through a Knight Apprentice’s throat, his stance unshakable as he yanked the weapon free. "Form ranks!" he barked. "Don’t scatter, tighten and strike!"
Karnark and Zarn rushed in side by side, blades flashing in twin arcs. "Keep pushing!" Karnark growled.
Zarn grinned through the blood on his face. "Let’s compete, see who kills more!"
Tarnix and Izzek swung their hammers in brutal tandem, every strike shaking the ground. One crushed a helm, the other shattered a ribcage. Tarnix roared, "Break their bones!"
The air filled with sparks, screams, and steel.
For every Knight that pressed forward, one of Lumberling’s captains or vice-captains was there to meet them, blades and hammers crashing, arrows singing from above. Their faces were grim, their bodies already bloodied, but their eyes burned with the same resolve, none would reach their Lord.
And slowly, impossibly, the wall held.
Then...
Clang!
A dagger’s edge ripped across Anderson’s back. His body jolted, his eyes widening as he spun around. Behind him, a shadow stood grinning, a figure cloaked in light armor, twin blades dripping with his blood.
’Wha... another True Knight?’ Anderson’s thoughts screamed, disbelief shaking his bones. He could barely track the mosnter’s presence, his stealth was sharper, deadlier, and cleaner than his own.
Lumberling’s voice cut through the clash. "Skitz! Help the captains, take care of the Knights."
Skitz licked his dagger, teeth flashing in a cruel grin before he melted back into the darkness. One breath he was there, the next he was gone.
Anderson’s gut went cold. His eyes swept the battlefield, monsters clashing with his Knight subordinates, each one strong enough to hold them at bay or drive them back. And at the center of it all... a goblin wielding the power of a True Knight.
"No... no, this can’t be," he whispered. His chest tightened with the dawning realization. This battle... is already lost.
Panic finally struck him, stronger than any wound. He staggered back, aura flaring as he turned to run.
But Lumberling moved.
"Too late to run," he said, voice steady as steel.
Thunder cracked through his veins as he surged forward. Spearheart Thrust lit his eyes with piercing clarity, Thundering Lunge sent lightning coursing through his charge, and Triple Fang split his spear into a storm of three deadly fangs.
The ground shook as their final clash erupted, Anderson’s broadsword screaming against the spear’s fury. Sparks and lightning tore the air apart.
Then silence.
Anderson’s eyes went wide as blood sprayed from his chest and sides. His weapon slipped from his hands, crashing uselessly against the dirt.
(You have devoured the Knight’s essence. 1500 essence absorbed. Absorbing a portion of the Knight’s memories and experience.)
(Active skill, Beginner Executioner’s Gale has been learned Lv. 0 (1/1000))
(Active skill, Beginner Phantom Step has been learned Lv. 0 (1/1000))
Lumberling stood over him, spear dripping red, his breath heavy but unbroken.
The Knight of General Lafuente... had fallen.