Future Knight

Chapter 104

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The high-ranking priest who attended the High Priestess welcomed the Supreme Commander.

“I heard that the High Priestess is here. Where is she now?”

“Oh! You have come to greet the High Priestess. She is over there.”

“Ah! Then, I shall greet her first… Ugh!”

The expression of Duke Sachsen twisted severely as he looked where the priest pointed.

Standing there was the woman he absolutely did not want to meet.

‘D-d-dragon!’

He lost his words and froze like a statue on the spot.

Zikyon approached Sachsen with a bright and kind voice that contrasted sharply with her threatening gaze.

“Hello, Supreme Commander. It is an honor to meet you.”

“…”

When Sachsen failed to respond, Zikyon pinched his side lightly.

“Oh! Yes! N-nice to meet you!”

The scene reeked of awkwardness. Everyone watched them with puzzled expressions, and Zikyon tried to lead Duke Sachsen away.

“Shall we go over there for a chat?”

“What? No, just speak here.”

“No, I have something important to tell you.”

“Can’t we just stay here?”

Even for the Sword Master and Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, she, the Dragon Lord, was too terrifying. He showed no sign of following her.

Then Zikyon frowned more deeply and threatened Sachsen.

“There is a revelation from the gods just for you, Supreme Commander.”

Though Zikyon referred to herself as the god, everyone believed it was a divine revelation and cheered.

“A revelation has descended!”

“The god’s message has come!”

Taking advantage of the commotion, Zikyon whispered into Sachsen’s ear.

“Come with me quietly.”

“…”

Under Zikyon’s sweet threat, Duke Sachsen was dragged by her hand to a dark, empty place like a cow to the slaughterhouse.

Then, suddenly changing her demeanor, Zikyon crossed her arms and commanded.

“Attention!”

Startled!

At the word ‘attention,’ Duke Sachsen, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, assumed a stiff, military posture he wouldn’t even show the emperor.

“You should have followed me quietly. What’s with the fuss?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Who am I?”

“You are Lady Zikyon.”

“If you know, you should follow orders immediately! Or else I’ll…!”

Startled!

“Hey! Who told you to move? Attention!”

Who would have imagined that the mighty Duke Sachsen would be dragged to the hillside and scolded by a woman like this?

No matter how powerful he was as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, in front of the ill-tempered Ancient-grade Dragon, he was nothing more than a day-old puppy.

Moreover, she wasn’t just any Ancient-grade Dragon.

She was the Dragon Lord.

She had the power and authority to end the race war they were fighting in a single day.

“I won’t say much. Behave yourself while I am having a little fun here. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then I will ask again. Who am I?”

“You are Lady Zikyon.”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

A non-human-like powerful fist struck Sachsen’s abdomen.

“Oh! You idiot… who am I?”

“Kugh, y-you are the High Priestess.”

“Yes, yes. From now on, remember that. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good, that’s right. Oh? Wait a minute…”

At that moment, Zikyon emitted a terrifying murderous aura that a human couldn’t possibly imagine. Sachsen instinctively almost drew his sword. However, Zikyon ignored Sachsen, turned her back to him, and glared at the opposite side of the forest.

“Where do you think you are eavesdropping, you rat-like scum!”

“Damn! We’ve been caught!”

“Run!”

However, those were their last words.

The moment Zikyon’s hand descended, the forest 100 meters ahead was crushed under immense pressure.

It was the ultimate gravity magic of the 9th Circle, Reverse Gravity.

Creeeak! Crack!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

A flat land with a diameter of 100 meters appeared where the forest had been crushed as if a giant had stepped on it. On it, thirty unrecognizable black chunks of flesh lay scattered.

Duke Sachsen, who had been watching Zikyon’s divine act from behind, couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

‘I didn’t even know they were hiding…’

She had easily found and wiped out the Dark Elves, who had even deceived his keen eyes as a Sword Master, with a terrifying spell. She was truly an Ancient-grade Dragon.

Now, there was only one thought in Sachsen’s mind.

‘If I defy her, I’ll die…’

### 32. Reunion with Keremion

While Keremion and his subordinates were desperately chasing the intruders, suddenly, the screams of their comrades echoed from both sides.

“Argh!”

“Stop!”

When Keremion spread his arms to halt his subordinates, they skidded several meters in their tracks.

Keremion picked up a shiny object from the ground and spoke in an angry voice.

“Caltrops. Damn bastards! They noticed we were tracking them…”

To detect the pursuit of the Dark Elves, known for their stealth, the enemy had to be exceptionally perceptive.

“Casualties?”

“Two Ark Shadows, one Dark Blade, a total of three.”

Fortunately, only three had stepped on the caltrops.

However, those who stepped on the caltrops soon showed signs of poisoning and collapsed.

“They used poison, the cowards!”

Though they had been the first to use poison in the war, being hit by it themselves made him unconsciously call them cowards. Poison was indeed despicable.

Seeing the assassins, who were Sword Experts, quickly showing signs of poisoning, it was evident that it was a potent toxin.

But Keremion had no time to tend to them.

The enemy was distancing themselves as they spoke.

“We’ll take care of the wounded when we return! Everyone, move to the trees and get out of the caltrop area.”

“Yes, sir!”

Like the Elves, the Dark Elves climbed the trees effortlessly and began their pursuit, escaping the caltrop zone.

However, they no longer needed to climb the trees.

The enemies revealed themselves.

The intruders appeared in a line on a low hill. They numbered only ten.

To think that only ten of them had set up booby traps and waited for thirty of us… it was absurd to Keremion.

“They’ve got guts.”

The Black Wyvern members stood with their backs to the moon, causing the Dark Elves to squint in the glare. No matter how much they tried to adjust, the moonlight was as bright as the midday sun to them.

“Keremion, shall we surround them and wipe them out?”

“Good, let’s sweep them away in one go! Charge!”

At Keremion’s command, thirty Dark Elves scattered in all directions.

They used Blind Hide to conceal themselves and attempted to encircle the enemies.

Night ambushes utilizing the power of darkness, Blind Hide, were their most feared tactics.

However, the Black Wyvern was not an easy target. They were a special unit meticulously prepared for combat against the Dark Elves.

『Stealth Mode!』

When the enemies suddenly vanished just like them, the Dark Elves were taken aback.

That was clearly their specialty.

“D-damn it, what are these things?”

The Dark Elves, who had been charging, fell into confusion.

They couldn’t attack an invisible enemy.

However, the stealth cloaks were not as perfect as their Blind Hide.

Since they were only cloaks, the black armor became slightly visible whenever they moved.

The Dark Elves didn’t miss this.

‘Hmph! Their Blind Hide is not as perfect as ours.’

Believing the enemies couldn’t see them, the Dark Elves confidently rushed at them.

But it was a grave mistake.

The strange goggles the intruders wore caught sight of them, and as they charged, the Dark Elf’s vision turned red and darkened.

“Ugh… H-how did they see me?”

Thud!

The Dark Elf, unaware that the Black Wyvern members’ night vision goggles could detect invisibility magic, bravely charged, only to become a cold corpse at Zaid’s Aura Sword.

Realizing that Blind Hide was useless against them, the Dark Elves revealed themselves. They abandoned their ambush strategy and opted for a direct attack.

Using their numerical superiority, they quickly surrounded the area. As the encirclement tightened, the Black Wyvern members stood back-to-back, ready for the assault. One Dark Elf, curious, spoke up.

“How could you see us?”

Zaid replied to the Dark Elf’s question.

“Your butts are too big, making you easy to spot.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“Heh heh.”

The Black Wyvern members couldn’t suppress their laughter at Zaid’s taunting joke, making the Dark Elf even more murderous as he coldly replied.

“You little brat, all talk. I’ll personally cut that mouth of yours.”

As the Dark Elf drew a strangely shaped dagger and was about to attack, a voice from the side, like that of a grim reaper, intervened.

“You won’t lay a finger on my subordinate.”

“Wha-!”

Before he could finish his sentence, the Dark Elf’s head was smashed.

Kang Chan had struck him with the back of his hand.

Thud!

As blood spurted like a fountain from the neck of the Dark Elf whose head was smashed, Kang Chan, drenched in blood, appeared before the enemies.

“There’s still someone hiding…”

The enemies tensed at Kang Chan’s sudden appearance, fearing other ambushers might be lurking.

But their worries were dispelled by Kang Chan’s next performance.

He was a Sword Master.

Disabling stealth mode, Kang Chan emitted Aura Blades from the high-frequency blades in both hands and declared,

“None of you will leave here alive.”

With his words, a fierce storm of blood swept through the forest.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Slash!

“Screeee!”

“Mon, monster!”

As nearly ten Dark Elves fell in an instant to Kang Chan’s Aura Blades, the Dark Elves began to panic.

They couldn’t match the Sword Master before them.

If he had been alone, they might have tried to overwhelm him with numbers, but behind him, his subordinates, each stronger than the Dark Elves, were advancing with their blue Aura Swords, leaving them helpless.

In such a situation, their leader should have ordered a retreat, but Keremion was in no state to do so.

“This is impossible. This is impossible…”

He repeated the same words like a madman, staring at the unidentified enemy Sword Master before him.

“How could it be… This is impossible.”

The enemy Sword Master slaughtering his subordinates before his eyes was undoubtedly that man.

He couldn’t forget it. The strange armor and the twin daggers that seemed to grow from his hands… There couldn’t be another like it. It wasn’t of this world.