How to Live as a Genius Knight in a Fantasy World

39.

“Finally, the time has come.”

Gathered in the dark and damp sewer, figures cloaked in black robes, tainted with a foul stench, stood together.

Thirty years ago, despite raising an army of numerous demons and undead, the dark sorcerers suffered a devastating defeat and were subjected to thorough oppression and persecution.

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Due to their past actions, except for those well-versed in dark magic, no one could be trusted in such dire circumstances.

Naturally, they sought out places to hide their bodies.

Deep in rural villages, not far from the mainland or even deserted islands, and in desperate cases, the foul-smelling sewers filled with filth and stench became their new refuge.

As time passed, establishing their influence in their respective locations, they gained a new realization.

Growing in power in desolate areas untouched by human hands was not a bad strategy, but lurking in the underground of cities where many people resided could offer better opportunities.

With time, as the surveillance on them diminished and their weakened forces slightly recovered,

Instead of leaving the sewers, they planned to use this dismal place to overthrow the capital.

Crafting vessels from demon bones to secretly store dark magic, they steadily siphoned off the life force of victims using the influence spread in sparsely populated areas and infused it into beads.

Importing beads into Arden was not difficult.

The beads mixed among decorations made of glass and ivory were too intricate for a mere guard to distinguish.

The resilience of the dark sorcerers who survived centuries of persecution surpassed mere words of admiration long ago.

Over more than twenty years, countless beads had made their way into Arden among jewelry and vessels.

No one paid attention to the foul-smelling sewers.

Occasionally, when the sewage got clogged with solid waste, they went as far as to clear it out, and even those registered as administrators saw no reason to venture into the repugnant sewers for inspection.

Even regular checks only went as far as poking around the entrance.

Moreover, successfully recruiting numerous collaborators, their plan could progress with utmost stability.

Occasionally, someone would get drunk or stumble into the sewers, but they unknowingly became the material for beads and vanished.

Accumulated over a long time, every space except the drainage system was filled with bags brimming with beads.

A considerable amount of dark magic, fitting of the name “grand sorcery,” had accumulated beneath the capital.

And now, the time had finally come to reap the fruits of their long-suffering.

Awakening the remains of a dragon accidentally found in the Talon Mountains, they drew the forces of the capital, leaving gaps in the ranks of knights and mages—a natural consequence.

Thinking of the unfolding events in the Talon Mountains, Harcan, the dark sorcerer specially called for this task, smirked ominously.

“Well, let’s begin.”

As Harcan’s command fell, the dark sorcerers stationed at predetermined locations throughout the sewers began chanting sinister spells.

Individuals skilled enough to face knights one-on-one, specially summoned for this task.

The more they chanted, the dark magic emanating from their bodies filled the sewers, causing the beads touched by it to crack one by one, releasing a dark energy.

As time passed, the speed of bead cracking increased, and when the beads inside the yet unopened bags began to emit the dark magic they harbored.

In the area with the highest concentration of dark magic.

Below the royal house, in the heart of the sewer system, Harken pulled out a stone glowing with a dark red light from the embrace of his cloak.

The remnant of a demon imperfectly summoned and then banished thirty years ago.

It was time to awaken the being that would be the core of the ritual.

As Harken pushed the stone brimming with dark magic that filled his body into his hand, he began reciting the sinister prophecy.

For a while, the stone absorbed magic without a twitch, but then, as if crossing a threshold, it greedily sucked in the surrounding mana.

The sewer, filled with dark magic, surged into the gem held by Harken, and the runic symbols carved densely on the sewer walls emitted black light, accelerating the flow of magic.

The grand mansion exuding elegance, the royal house, began to resonate heavily as the dark magic swirled roughly underground.

For over ten years, he had been placing runes and beads throughout the mansion while traversing secret passages.

The core, trapped in the narrow sewer, finally shattered the mansion floor and rose to the surface.

Although all the dark magic that had filled the underground was sucked into tiny stone fragments, it seemed insufficient as it began to draw mana from all over Arden.

“What, what is this?”

“Gah! Rune! Ru…”

Those who awakened the aura or wielded magic were astonished by the phenomenon they had never experienced before, while ordinary citizens staggered and collapsed as their mana was drained from their bodies.

As citizens lost all their mana, they seemed to lose their vitality as well, gradually losing energy and withering away.

In an unprecedented disaster, the vicinity of the mansion turned into chaos in an instant.

As it occurred right next to the royal palace, the knights who had not participated in the suppression quickly ran to what was suspected to be the source.

“Ah…”

“Demon, it’s a demon…!”

The knights who approached the front of the royal house halted their steps at the sight of the grotesque monster before them.

The elegant roofs and walls, once dignified, were covered in flesh filled with vein-like things, and tentacles with a dark red glow emerged between the walls, sweeping up the fallen people around.

On the black spire that seemed to pierce through the mansion, there were red eyes exuding a sinister aura, moving erratically in all directions as if surveying the surroundings.

Even the so-called veterans among the knights hesitated, unable to make a clear judgment on the grotesque figure.

“What in the world! People are collapsing!”

Jade, the commander of the royal knights who rushed in from the palace in a frenzy, shouted as he lifted his aura up to Ora.

“Draw your swords, everyone! Have you forgotten the oath you took when becoming a knight!”

At Jade’s words, the confused knights regained their composure.

As always, the commander’s figure leading the charge felt even more imposing today.

The aura entwined around the commander’s sword, reaching the pinnacle of a senior knight, ignited like flames, and fell like lightning towards the giant tentacle.

Swoosh –

The commander’s sword plunged through the extended tentacle, instantly shattering it into dozens of pieces that fell heavily.

“Oh!”

“We got it!”

Contrary to the gruesome appearance, the knights’ faces brightened as they saw the tentacles, which seemed no more powerful than ordinary pieces of meat, being easily cut into pieces.

But the joy was short-lived.

The severed tentacle pieces began to bubble and soon transformed into the shape of a giant monster, rising to its feet.

“Look over there.”

Moreover, their expressions froze instantly as they witnessed even the severed tentacles regenerating in the blink of an eye, returning to their original size.

It was clear that a challenging battle lay ahead.

After enjoying peace for a long time, the capital of Arden was facing a colossal crisis after thirty long years.

When the flames of war were just beginning to ignite in the capital of Arden, the battles in the Talun Mountains were escalating fiercely.

Intermittent corpse explosions left significant injuries on many knights, and the ceaseless pouring of magical blessings plunged the seemingly invincible corpse giants into eternal silence.

Numerous knights fell, and many wizards, drained of magic, lost consciousness and bowed their heads.

But it was never a meaningless fight.

In no time, the number of demons had decreased by more than half, and sensing the crisis, the dark sorcerers lurking in the shadows began to reveal themselves, unleashing all sorts of magic.

“Grrr…”

The resurrected demons stepped once again on the ground, and crimson hands suddenly rising from the earth grabbed the knights, throwing them off balance.

Exhausted knights, failing to protect their sanity, swung their swords at their comrades, and a wizard, collapsing from exhaustion, met death after spitting blood once.

Yet, the elite gathered here were the epitome of the kingdom’s might, without any inadequacy.

Their mental strength was incomparable to ordinary soldiers.

Despite comrades falling beside them and enduring relentless pain, they never lost their resolve.

Already feeling their physical limits, they did not cease wielding their weapons against the enemies before them.

“Huff, huff.”

How much longer could they endure?

The knights of Isel Castle, led by the Viscount, had also depleted much of their stamina after the prolonged battle.

Every muscle in their bodies screamed, and the tiny scars etched during combat stung endlessly.

Of course, no one among them harbored any discontent about that fact.

All three knew well that the absence of serious injuries was a stroke of luck.

With every swing of the sword, a temptation to invoke the blessing of breath seized Rohan.

‘No, I can hold on a little longer.’

His near-superhuman self-control barely held back Rohan’s impulse.

With eyes wide, Rohan, struggling fiercely, surveyed the battlefield.

Many allies lay dead, turned into mere pieces by the demons.

Yet, the end of the battle was nowhere in sight.

Behind the demons, the dark sorcerers stood unscathed, unleashing numerous spells, and the flesh of fallen comrades swelled into the grotesque forms of their minions.

The magical support for the allies was dwindling, and soldiers in the rear, affected by dark magic, sat depleted of their fighting strength.

“This is not the time.”

It was when Rohan momentarily lost focus and tried to move again.

The dark magic that had been tormenting the kingdom’s army abruptly ceased, and the corpses wandering the battlefield lost momentum and slumped.

Simultaneously, the dark energy that moved them converged in the center of the battlefield.

“Stop it! We must stop it at once!”

At the sight of the ominous phenomenon, Count Frederick, standing on the watchtower, startled and raised his voice.

Although the wizards immediately changed the target of their spells, the already formed dark magic easily withstood the wizards’ attacks.

Watching this, the Count drew his sword and leaped from the watchtower, but it was already too late.

The blood flowing on the battlefield gathered around a figure, and the skeleton covered the body formed by the clumped blood.

“Blood Golem…”

A knight with a bewildered expression murmured the creature’s name.

For most of the knights on the battlefield, it was a monster they had only read about in archives.

During the last great war, a monster that had devoured countless soldiers was revealing itself once again across eras.

The overwhelming presence even overshadowed the corpse giants, emanating a malevolent aura throughout its massive body.

‘Is this how it ends…?’

The moment when even Rohan and the knights, who had been emitting unwavering determination, began to envision defeat.

As if something had been sliced through, his body split in half in an instant, spilling a mix of bone fragments and blood.

Even the black orb at the center of his body dispersed into the air like dust, as nearby demons were pushed back by the blood he poured out, tumbling to the ground.

“What…”

An unexpected disappearance, not befitting the terrifying entrance.

Rohan, who had not sensed any signs of attack, murmured in confusion with a bewildered expression.

The battlefield fell silent as if by agreement, everyone freezing in motion.

In that fleeting silence, a middle-aged man, his eyebrows and hair turned white as snow, moved forward with a blank expression.

Even without anyone saying it, they all knew.

That man was the one whom all the kingdoms’ armies had been eagerly awaiting.

‘…That’s, the Master.’

It wasn’t about exuding a great power or wielding a formidable aura.

To the eye, he simply held the sword lightly.

Yet, Rohan felt as though whatever that sword could strike would surely fall.

No, it was a kind of conviction.

If that man in front of him were to swing the sword, he was convinced that nothing in the world could withstand it.

“It’s Duke Karl!”

“We’ve won! We’ve done it!”

The soldiers who recognized his identity erupted in cheers as if the battle had already ended.

Morale, which had been dwindling, soared in an instant, and the determination of the kingdom’s army blazed fiercely once more.

A generation raised on tales of the Duke’s valor since childhood.

Their faith in him was so unwavering, it could rival religious devotion.

Like taking a leisurely stroll, the Duke ambled through the battlefield.

But the outcome was anything but light.

With each swing of the Duke’s sword, dozens of demons lost their lives in an instant.

His swordsmanship, unmatched even by seasoned knights, swiftly gained control of the battlefield.

A level of authority that seemed unbelievable for a mere mortal.

Looking at that figure that resembled a demigod, Rohan let out a bitter laugh.

The image of Viscount Ezel, who had high hopes of encountering a knight defeated to such an extent, crossed his mind.

‘What could you possibly learn from witnessing that…’

In Rohan’s opinion, it was a realm close to the impossible.

A level so high that even if ordinary knights witnessed it hundreds or thousands of times, gaining enlightenment would be a distant dream.

The tide of the battle drastically shifted with the arrival of one man.

The demons faced deaths akin to slaughter, and the numerous spells cast by the apprehensive sorcerers were shattered in an instant.

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Led by Duke Karl, the knights’ fierce assault finally revealed the end of the demons’ formidable force, which had numbered in the thousands.

Now, guarding the path ahead of the sorcerers, who now seemed to number around forty, were only a few giant creatures.

In a situation where an immediate escape wouldn’t seem out of place, one of the foremost sorcerers among them shed his robe, then erupted into flames.

A face, ordinary enough to be found anywhere, emerged under the sunlight, a stark contrast to the infamous image of a sorcerer.

“It’s happening! It’s finally happening!”

Madness filled the air as an unpleasant sound, like scraping metal, echoed across the battlefield.

Simultaneously, the remaining dark wizards drew daggers from their robes and proceeded to cut open their own bellies.