Translator: CinderTL
"It seems..."
Roland narrowed his eyes, his body tensing instantly.
"This... undead? It must be the one Graham mentioned, the one he fought earlier."
There were three sources converging magic elements and channeling them into the towering spire.
Reggie needed to command the army and continue fighting the magitech constructs.
The assassin Jashu had temporarily lost contact.
To prevent further complications and quickly quell the anomalies in the area, Roland volunteered to clear one of the magic convergence points himself.
But this wasn't a rash decision.
According to Graham's intelligence, the enemy only had one transcendent professional: the Lich.
Moreover, upon arriving, Roland had exercised extreme caution, refraining from immediately advancing.
He patiently waited until the distant clash between Graham and the Lich erupted into a thunderous battle before leading his companions to quietly infiltrate.
The grotesque undead before them, however, radiated a pressure far below that of a transcendent professional.
Yet...
"Something's off."
Roland took a deep breath and slowly drew the Mithril Longsword from his waist.
The psionic enhancement of perception was fundamentally different from other abilities.
It delved deeper, reaching the very essence of the soul.
For example, he could clearly "see" Avril's soul energy, which burned like a blazing torch in the darkness.
Witch Vanessa's soul strength was comparable, but her energy was exceptionally chaotic, far less pure than Avril's.
And this Undead before him...
Under the influence of Material Empathy, Roland could "hear" the materials composing its body groaning under an unbearable weight.
Yet...
The Undead's soul energy was overwhelmingly vast and boundless.
If Avril's soul was a torch in the darkness, this Undead's soul was like an immeasurable ocean.
This surpassed even Graham's capabilities.
"Well?" the Undead's voice carried a hint of mockery. "To show your respect for this 'ancient relic,' which of you will accept the honor of a duel?"
"Oh, by the way, my name is Holland. And yours?"
The oppressive atmosphere didn't last long.
Because in the next moment...
"Oh! He's challenged us to a duel, Roland!"
Bard Galvis strummed his lute, his voice soaring.
"An epic of heroes! Here and now! The destined foe has revealed himself!"
"A symphony of fate! Light clashes with darkness! Oh! What a magnificent prologue to this grand poem!"
Roland ignored his companions' clamor.
He took a deep breath and barked out orders.
"Theresa! Freddy!"
No further words were needed.
Before his command had fully left his lips, Theresa's rapier was already drawn.
Her figure blurred as she darted forward, moving so swiftly she left a faint afterimage in the air.
Orc Freddy, though a fraction slower, roared in fury, his heavy weapon whistling through the air as he charged forward to meet the enemy.
Yet, surprisingly, despite facing a two-pronged assault, the seemingly decaying figure displayed extraordinary agility and resilience.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed.
Holland twisted aside to evade Orc Freddy's thunderous strike, simultaneously raising his silver round shield to firmly block Theresa's rapier thrust.
Tsk!
The resurrected cleric clicked his tongue, his arm suddenly surging with power.
In the next instant, Theresa's expression shifted slightly as a tremendous force surged through her blade.
Her slender frame was flung backward with irresistible force, her leather boots scraping a long white mark across the hard black stone floor before she managed to halt her retreat.
"You little brat!" Holland roared, repeating his earlier tactic to repel Orc Freddy once more, his voice brimming with fury. "Didn't I say this was a duel? A one-on-one honorable duel! Do you have no Knightly Spirit whatsoever?"
Roland's mind remained as still as a frozen lake, unmoved by Holland's accusations.
A duel?
The situation was critical, with danger lurking at every turn. They held the numerical advantage. Why would he waste time engaging in a one-on-one fight at such a moment? Only a fool would do that!
"Avril! Cover me!"
Before the words had even left his lips, Roland had already hurled the remaining enchanted arrows from his quiver like javelins.
Fueled by his mental power, the spell patterns etched along the arrow shafts instantly glowed with a menacing crimson light.
Before the arrows could explode, a blindingly white fireball, its core temperature high enough to melt gold and vaporize steel, materialized at Roland's fingertips, distorting the surrounding air with its searing heat.
Whoosh!
The Fire Arrow shot from his bow with a piercing whistle, streaking across the sky like a falling white comet, intercepting the ominous red-glowing enchanted arrows with pinpoint accuracy.
The two projectiles converged just a few feet in front of Holland.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the air, unleashing a violent shockwave that radiated outward in a circular blast.
The weathered stone hut bore the brunt of the impact. Its sturdy walls shattered instantly, giant stones pulverized into dust, and splinters of wood and debris were hurled skyward, creating a thick, choking cloud of smoke and dust that blotted out the sun.
The hard black stone slabs beneath their feet cracked and buckled, leaving a shallow, scorched crater at the epicenter of the blast, its edges still hissing with residual heat.
As for the Dimlight Formation behind Holland, it shattered like fragile glass, leaving only a few crimson remnants flickering in the air.
A searing wave of heat followed, the air scorching hot. Distant ruins trembled violently, dust raining down in sheets.
But Roland didn't wait for the aftermath.
His keen senses, sharp as a blade, pierced through the swirling, acrid smoke reeking of sulfur and burning flesh, clearly discerning the enemy's condition.
The decaying body had been torn to pieces at the heart of the explosion, its fragments scattered in all directions.
Yet, within moments, those charred fragments began to twitch unnaturally, as if drawn by invisible threads. They rapidly converged, reassembling themselves, and stubbornly rose again from the scorched earth.
"Resurrected... Hmph!"
Roland snorted coldly and stomped his feet into the ground.
BANG!
The stone slabs beneath his boots shattered, leaving two distinct, foot-shaped craters.
Almost simultaneously, the ear-splitting clang of violently clashing metal erupted.
Clang! Sizzle!
Within mere breaths, the din of clashing steel echoed through the thick smoke.
This brief exchange had allowed Roland to gauge his opponent's capabilities.
Formidable strength, lightning-fast reflexes, seasoned experience, and combat techniques honed to perfection.
Even with the A Knight Never Dies Empty-Handed buff, Roland knew he was slightly outmatched.
As the two clashed, Theresa and Freddy rushed forward to join the fray.
The harp's ethereal melody resonated, imbuing their weapons with a faint, luminous glow while simultaneously piercing deep into Holland's mind.
Yet even under this coordinated assault, Holland remained composed, holding his ground against the onslaught.
Bang!
Another deafening metallic impact reverberated.
Though his undead body felt no pain, the overwhelming force surging through his sword threatened to shatter his very bones.
Still, no trace of panic flickered across his face.
"Intriguing... truly intriguing..."
Sensing the scorching Battle Qi coursing through Roland's veins, the priest's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Little one..."
Shield and longsword locked together, the two forces locked in a tug-of-war, their blades firmly locked.
"What's your connection to Rudolph? Your mastery of this breathing technique surpasses even that knight I encountered before."
Rudolph?
The familiar name made Roland's brow furrow slightly, but his attacks remained relentless.
"Such insolence!"
Holland's soulfire flickered violently as he was ignored once more.
Forcing back the crowd with a surge of power, his free left hand shot up, and strands of ominous gray energy coalesced between his fingers.
But as if anticipating this moment, three razor-sharp arrows tore through the air, precisely striking and disrupting his spellcasting.
"Damn it!" Holland cursed under his breath.
Sensing the overwhelming elemental energy surging through the arrows, he was forced to dodge, but the price was...
Swish!
A blade shimmering with a faint golden light sliced effortlessly through his shield-bearing right arm.
Thud!
A dull thud echoed as Holland's severed arm, still clutching the shield, crashed heavily onto the scorched ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Unlike the bizarre reassembly after the earlier explosion, this severed limb lay motionless, utterly still.
In the next instant, wisps of gray-black smoke began to rise from its surface, accompanied by faint hissing sounds, until...
It crumbled into a lifeless pile of ashes.
(End of the Chapter)
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