No one had ever imagined that the peaceful and harmonious city of Sumeru would suffer such a direct and terrifying attack.
As the main city of the Nation of Wisdom, it was guarded by the formidable Graded Mercenaries, and order was maintained by the matra led by Cyno, who were revered by all scholars.
The days of peace had lasted so long that everyone had almost forgotten the true meaning of the words "war" and "invasion."
But now, that peace was utterly shattered.
"Monster! It's a monster!!!"
"Hold them! Hold them back! Form a defensive line!"
"Dead men! The dead are rising! Help—!!"
Terrified screams, the clash of weapons, and desperate roars replaced the usual academic discussions and market clamor, resounding at the entrance of Sumeru City.
The three-meter-tall Death Knight, like a nightmare crawled out of a rift in hell, was advancing with an unstoppable momentum.
Each swing of its door-sized greatsword carried a terrifying shriek that tore through the air, easily cleaving through the Graded Mercenaries' finely crafted shields along with their flesh and blood!
Even more despair-inducing was that the bodies, and even severed limbs, of the mercenaries killed by the Death Knight would twitch and contort, under a power that desecrated the laws of life, to "stand" up again, transforming into slow-moving yet bloodthirsty and frenzied undead, pouncing on their former comrades!
"Ugh ah ah ah—!"
A mercenary watched in horror as his recently fallen comrade, a "thing" with only half a torso remaining, clawed at the ground, dragging a trail of blood, and suddenly latched onto another mercenary's thigh, opening its rotten mouth and biting down hard!
The bitten mercenary let out a piercing scream, fell to the ground, and was instantly swarmed by more pouncing undead. Soon, his screams turned into inhuman roars, his eyes became vacant, and he struggled to his feet, joining the ranks of the undead, pouncing on other living people.
The Death Knight seemed completely indifferent to these low-level undead; it was more like a cold, efficient killing machine.
With a mighty forward ram from its heavy greatshield, a mercenary attempting to charge was sent flying back, spitting blood, as if struck by a catapult, collapsing a stall, his life unknown.
Another young mercenary, having witnessed too many horrors, completely broke down, screaming as he dropped his weapon and turned to run.
Yet, the Death Knight's heavy body erupted with a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its size, catching up in two steps, its greatsword sweeping horizontally with a foul wind—
Rip!
The mercenary didn't even have time to let out a final wail before he was cut in half at the waist, his internal organs and blood splattering across the ground.
"It... it's not fighting... it's enjoying the slaughter! What kind of monster is this?!"
A squad leader of the Graded Mercenaries cried out in despair, watching his team rapidly dwindling.
The next second, a black shadow streaked past, and he felt the world spin. The last thing he saw was his headless body slowly falling.
Just as the defensive line was about to completely collapse and the number of undead was growing—
"In the name of the matra! Evil spirit, be purged!"
A chilling roar exploded like thunder! A figure swift as the wind abruptly cut into the battlefield, the staff of the scarlet sands entwined with dazzling lightning, piercing with pinpoint accuracy towards the gap between the Death Knight's helmet and breastplate!
Clang—!!!
The Death Knight reacted extremely quickly, its massive tower shield suddenly retreating, the shield face, thick as a city wall, steadily blocking this lightning-fast strike!
The lightning exploded on the shield, but only left faint scorch marks.
The Death Knight then swung its greatsword, aiming to cleave the attacker at the waist with a momentum that could crush everything!
Cyno's pupils contracted. He stomped his foot, his body rapidly retreating backward, narrowly avoiding this fatal blow, the sword wind stinging his cheek.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as the Death Knight was in pursuit, several arrows imbued with powerful dendro element shot through the air, accurately striking the joints of the Death Knight's back armor!
Although they failed to break through its defense, the accompanying impact and elemental force caused the massive monster to stagger, its movements momentarily delayed.
The Death Knight abruptly turned its head, its hollow eye sockets locking onto two figures on a distant high ground—the upright-eared Forest Watchers Tighnari and his disciple Collei.
Collei was clearly still a bit nervous, but her bow-holding hand was exceptionally steady.
Tighnari's brows were tightly furrowed, his tone grave: "Is this the monster Rana mentioned in her report? It's even more terrifying than described... It seems to naturally emit a Aura of fear, subtly corroding the will of surrounding living beings."
He could even feel his heart racing, his palms sweating, and this wasn't entirely due to the tension of facing a powerful enemy.
"Roar!!!"
The Death Knight let out an inhuman roar, full of anger and savagery. It seemed to be enraged by the harassment from these "bugs."
It gave up pursuing Tighnari and Collei, raising its greatsword high, about to cleave down towards Cyno, who was entangled by a few newly risen undead!
"Lord Cyno, be careful!"
Collei cried out in alarm.
Cyno remained calm in the face of danger, shattering the head of an undead clinging to his leg with a sharp side kick. He then gripped the staff of the scarlet sands with both hands, holding it horizontally above his head!
Boom!!!
The greatsword and the staff of the scarlet sands collided violently, unleashing a deafening roar!
The stone slabs beneath Cyno's feet instantly cracked. He grunted, his entire body sent flying backward by the overwhelming force, rolling several times on the ground before steadying himself on one knee.
He felt his arms numb, the skin between his thumb and forefinger already split, blood flowing down the staff, but he still gritted his teeth, forced himself to stand, his gaze sharp as an eagle's.
Just as the Death Knight prepared to continue its pursuit, another figure, like a phantom, silently burst out from beside Cyno!
It was Alhaitham!
The peculiar twin-bladed sword in his hand gleamed with cold light. He calmly dodged the Death Knight's slightly sluggish horizontal slash, which was fueled by anger. Seizing a tiny opening, his body spun like a top, concentrating all his strength at the sword tip, and thrust it fiercely towards the armor joint beneath the Death Knight's armpit!
Clink—!
A crisp, sharp sound! The sword tip sparked against the black armor but still failed to pierce through!
Alhaitham had no intention of prolonged combat. Seeing his attack was ineffective, he immediately used the momentum to leap backward, nimbly dodging the Death Knight's subsequent shield bash. His movements were fluid and natural, filled with rational calculation.
At this moment, the subsequent Graded Mercenaries reinforcements and the matra finally joined forces to eliminate all those troublesome low-level undead.
In the center of the battlefield, only the Death Knight, like a God descended, remained for the time being.
Tighnari and Collei continued to provide suppression from the distant high ground; Cyno slightly calmed his breath, once again gripped the staff of the scarlet sands, and Electro elemental power began to gather anew; Alhaitham moved along the flank, searching for the next opportunity; dozens of elite Graded Mercenaries had also reorganized a siege formation around them.
A fierce battle, where Sumeru's top fighting forces jointly encircled an otherworldly Death Knight, officially began!
However, facing this monster that was impervious to weapons, incredibly strong, and capable of creating undead, everyone's hearts were clouded with a shadow of dread.
Was this truly just the beginning of an attack?