Ch.84Sacred War (5)

“Hurry with the installation! We need to finish setting up the lotus rods before we can activate Lord Uldur’s sacred relic!”

Aquis urged the installation team from the rear while occasionally monitoring Wrath’s movements.

Five Knights of God were holding their ground against Wrath. However, Aquis himself, being a fellow Knight of God, knew better than anyone that they could at most restrain Wrath’s movements but never kill him.

He knew best that they were barely maintaining a stalemate even with the Saintess’s sacred domain and the Army of Light activated. One mistake could tip the balance in Wrath’s favor—something Aquis understood well from his experience training countless Knights of God.

When they had captured the Death Knight, simply declaring the sacred domain had significantly weakened it, and holy power was the perfect counter against the undead.

But Wrath suffered no damage from the sacred domain, and holy spells and divine power had little effect on him.

On top of that, he wielded various abilities and handled weapons skillfully—it seemed he had learned weapon techniques from the elves.

His abilities alone were troublesome enough, but his weapon proficiency was another problem. Even without weapon skills, his raw strength was overwhelming the Knights of God despite their various enhancement buffs.

Everything was going poorly.

His movement skill—Thunder Move—where he moved wrapped in lightning.

That movement skill was superior to the Knights of God who moved with blink-like abilities under El Rio’s blessing. And then there was the teleportation from earlier and his ability to move underground.

Everything was on a completely different level compared to fighting the Death Knight.

“First team, installation complete!”

“Second team, installation complete as well!”

“Third team, installation complete!”

“Fourth team, installation will be complete in one minute!”

But even in this dire situation, as Lord Uldur had said, “Light approaches us and gives hope even in unfortunate circumstances.” The preparations for the weapon to capture Wrath were steadily being completed.

Once the fourth team finished their installation, Lord Uldur’s sacred relic would shine, weakening Wrath’s power and binding him to end this.

With that thought, Aquis looked back at the battlefield where the Knights of God were fighting—but Wrath was nowhere to be seen.

“Damn it! Wrath has disappeared! Everyone be careful—!”

BOOM—!!

“AAAAARGH!!!”

“AAAAHH!!!”

Before Bell the Holy Knight could finish his warning, screams erupted. They came from where the third and fourth teams were handling the installation.

* * * * *

Khan, emerging from underground, stomped his foot and turned the ground into a wasteland.

As he stomped, his Earth power penetrated the ground, causing an earthquake that devastated the area.

This caused the installation equipment of the third and fourth teams to disappear into the ground. The third team was completely swallowed by the earth, wiping them out entirely.

The last thing the third team’s leader left behind was the final backup of the equipment they had been installing.

Then they vanished into the ground.

“Personnel from the completed second team will take over the third team’s installation! Holy Knights! Follow me and bind Wrath’s feet!”

Since Wrath had moved to the rear area, far from the original battlefield, it would take time for the Knights of God to arrive.

Aquis, along with the Holy Knight Order members, charged toward where Khan was rampaging, wielding his beloved gauntlet named “El Zeria’s Red Trajectory.”

-Holy Knight Order! Left flank follow Commander Arail’s orders, right flank follow Vice Commander Jaizen’s! I’ll engage Wrath directly and draw his attention!

“Yes, sir!”

Whether Khan understood their conversation or not, Aquis knew from experience that he would target the commander first upon hearing voices. Just in case, Aquis used a spell to communicate directly into their minds.

Commander Arail and Vice Commander Jaizen were known to be nearly at Master level. Aquis believed that with the Saintess’s buff, the Holy Knight Order’s assault would buy enough time.

But that belief was shattered the moment Aquis directly clashed weapons with Khan.

BOOM——!!

CRACKLE—

“Nnnggh———!!!”

Khan’s bare hand collided with Aquis’s gauntlet. The impact made Aquis feel as though his body was being shattered.

Of course, facing a fist larger than his own height was absurd to begin with, but in his current state, Aquis should have been able to win a strength contest against an ogre.

Yet one punch from Khan sent him flying backward. Commander Arail, seeing this, stopped the Holy Knight Order’s charge and retreated.

Though Aquis took command and might appear weak, the Knights of God weren’t a position one entered for good leadership.

Seeing someone stronger than himself being pushed back so pathetically, Arail decided to abandon the direct assault and attack from range instead.

Vice Commander Jaizen seemed to have made the same decision, turning to circle around. Khan didn’t even glance at them and simply stomped his foot once more.

BOOM—

“Damn it! Everyone, watch the ground!”

Aquis warned the Holy Knight Order members to be careful. He told them to be cautious of what happened when Khan stomped, but mere caution wouldn’t be enough.

RUMBLE…

“AAAAARGH!!”

“Form ranks!!”

“Establish defensive formations!”

The ground roared, and stone monsters—golems—emerged from within. Commander Arail and Vice Commander Jaizen tried to block them with their shields, but there were too many.

With dozens of golems rampaging, the Holy Knight Order members grouped together to fight back, but their numbers were steadily decreasing.

“UOOOOHHH!!!”

Seeing this, Aquis charged at Khan. Since Khan had stopped moving while controlling the golems, Aquis thought this was his chance.

He climbed up Khan’s thigh and jumped straight for his head. His target was the eyes—the weakest exposed part of Khan’s body and the quickest to attack.

Even as Aquis climbed up, Khan remained still like a statue, making no response.

Aquis made no sound, no battle cry—he simply extended his pure white gauntlet forward, aiming for Khan’s eye. But…

SWISH—!!

“Guh!?”

Khan, who had shown no movement, suddenly moved his tail and bound Aquis tightly. This caused Aquis’s fist, which had been right in front of Khan’s eye, to gradually move away as the tail constricted his body.

“Nnnggh—!! Holy… Spear—!!”

Even as his body was being crushed, Aquis extended his arm forward and launched a pure white spear toward Khan’s eye. He believed that if he could destroy that eye, his death would not be in vain.

But his resistance was blocked by Khan’s thick hand. The spear did pierce through the hand, but such a wound was insignificant compared to Khan’s size.

Moreover, seeing Khan’s wound rapidly regenerating, Aquis realized Khan’s regenerative ability.

‘I… need to… tell them… about this…’

But there were no cult members around him. The Holy Knight Order members were busy fighting the charging golems, while the others were far away, supporting them and installing the lotus rods.

Everyone was beyond the range of his communication spell. As Aquis was losing consciousness from the tail’s constriction, he desperately cast communication spells in all directions, hoping someone would receive his information.

Someone who received his communication spell rushed toward him.

“Lord Aquis! Now—!”

CRUNCH— GULP—

The one who received Aquis’s last communication was Iris. With her bow, the fastest feet, and the keenest eyes, she was the first to arrive.

But what she saw was Aquis’s lower body dangling as Khan devoured his upper body. If a limb had been broken or severed, there might have been hope, but with his upper body consumed, there was no saving him.

She knew the Jess brothers had died in the labyrinth, and she had personally witnessed the Bior brothers being torn apart. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a Knight of God die.

Three Knights of God had sacrificed themselves to kill the Death Knight.

But… the death of their implicit leader who had worked as a Knight of God for the longest time—her childhood mentor and father figure—shattered her reason.

“DIE———!!! El Zeria’s Judgment!!!”

El Zeria’s Judgment—the most powerful attack technique that consumed one’s lifespan to use, a technique only a few could employ because it used life force.

SWISH—!!

A blood-red arrow carrying Iris’s lifespan flew toward Khan. The arrow, as red as if it contained blood, flew at an almost instantaneous speed, aiming to pierce Khan’s head.

TWITCH—

Khan avoided the attack by simply tilting his head. But…

THUNK—!!

GROOOWL!!!

The arrow somehow embedded itself in the back of Khan’s head. Due to his thick hide and solid skull, it didn’t penetrate to his brain, but the impact was enough to crack his skull and wake Khan from his golem-controlling trance.

With the back of his head deeply gouged and bleeding profusely, Khan stared directly at Iris with bloodshot eyes.

Despite his Life Drain continuously replenishing his vitality from those dying around him, the wound that had pierced his hide and cracked his skull wasn’t healing.

His bloodshot eyes revealed his desire to tear Iris apart immediately, but what mattered now was whatever they were installing. As Khan tried to sink into the ground again to deal with the installation team…

“El Rio’s Sacred Binding!”

FLASH———!!!

Ropes of light from the sky bound Khan’s arms, preventing him from entering the ground. His body was forced back out of the earth, and the light binding his arms wrapped around his entire body, immobilizing him.

The binding spell cast by 350 members of the Holy Spell Corps working together was powerful enough to prevent Khan from breaking free immediately. This binding completely blocked the target’s abilities, forcing them to escape using only their physical strength.

For an ordinary person, being caught in this binding would make escape impossible, but…

CREAK…

The ropes of light were struggling to withstand Khan’s strength and gradually loosening. They seemed about to break at any moment, and Khan’s muscles were bulging to their limit trying to break free from the light’s restraint.

“He recovers by killing people! Holy Spell Corps! Spread this to the others!”

Iris, who had transmitted Aquis’s final message to the Holy Spell Corps, aimed her bow as the Knights of God approached.

“Die, monster! El Zeria’s Mighty Power!”

SWISH—!!

The Knights of God didn’t miss the brief moment when Khan was bound. Bell swung his sword at Khan’s head, while Jackal and Floss swung their weapons with all their might to shatter Khan’s legs.

CLANG…!!!

Bell’s blade was blocked by Khan’s horn, and the hammer and flail aimed at his legs were stopped by his hooves, unable to advance further.

“El Zeria’s Strike!”

SWISH—!!

But there were four Knights of God present. An arrow imbued with mighty energy flew toward Khan. Thinking he couldn’t avoid this one, Khan jumped with one leg, turning his body to present his back.

THUNK—!

GROOOWL…

The arrow pierced through Khan’s ribs. The arrow seemed to have a spinning effect, as it left a large hole in Khan’s abdomen. Though the binding was broken by the arrow’s penetration, the wound in his stomach was large enough for an adult to crawl through.

Khan tried to use a stone as a lid to stop the bleeding from this substantial wound, but… the flowing blood gradually stained the earth red.

GROWL…

Thinking it dangerous to lose more blood, Khan decided he needed to deal with these opponents, stomping his foot again. He believed they would continue to interfere as long as they were present.

BOOM—!!

“It’s coming in a straight line!! Dodge!”

They all moved from their positions, having witnessed the Thunder Move several times before, but…

THUD!

“Huh…?”

“IRIS!!!”

Iris’s confused exclamation. When she turned around, the ground had suddenly risen and pushed her toward Khan. Her barrier prevented serious damage, but ironically, it made her fly faster.

CRACK—!

Khan caught her as she flew toward him and clenched his fist.

The barrier was still protecting her, but it couldn’t withstand his grip strength. Eventually, the barrier shattered, and her body burst apart, leaving only the greaves that had covered her legs falling to the ground.

GROOOWL…