Sensing the onrushing champion, the knights raised their shields in unison and lifted their lances, ready to skewer him.
Tap tap—
Just as they were about to strike, everything changed.
It was as if their hands had suddenly lost all strength. Their grips went slack, and their lances slipped free.
In the same instant, two spears hit the ground together with a crisp clatter.
A heartbeat later, their bodies began to sway uncontrollably, as if they were drunk.
Fortunately, the night wind picked up and swept the lingering smoke aside.
They'd been prepared for the earlier fighting and hadn't inhaled much. Gritting their teeth against the drowsiness, they forced their shields back up in front of them.
Then the knight on the left felt an icy chill brush the back of his neck.
He jolted, his body shuddering. The shock cleared some of the fog from his mind, and he instinctively turned his head.
Against the chaos of the melee, silver flashed beneath the moon, cold metal gleaming with a dread that tightened the throat.
A warrior in silver armor stood there like a steel beast, head lowered. Blue-green eyes glinted with frost, and the greatsword in his hand shone with blinding radiance.
Sacred Blade!
Nolan swung the golden greatsword one-handed. He didn't even look back as he turned away and walked off without hesitation.
A brilliant arc of light flared, and two dull thuds sounded behind him as two bodies collapsed.
The sudden strike from behind tore through their throats in an instant. Even the knight beside them was caught as well, dropping into the spreading blood.
A Cuckoo Knight's helm extended down to the collarbone, with sturdy chainmail beneath, yet even that double layer of protection couldn't stop a blade that sharp.
The moment the bodies hit the ground, Nolan rose onto his toes and exploded forward, charging like a runaway battering ram.
His greatsword moved in a blur. In the blink of an eye, the ground became a mess of blood and fallen bodies.
Soldiers who tried to block him scattered in panic, utterly unable to halt his advance.
It wasn't that Nolan was so fast they couldn't even see him. It was that if that moving slab of heavy armor slammed into you, you were getting crippled. If you were unlucky, you weren't seeing daylight again.
They could only glance back now and then, watching this seemingly ordinary, deeply dangerous knight carve his way straight toward the front of the formation.
A hero on the same level as the Carian Knights, yet dressed in such plain armor. Despicable.
Up ahead, Raziel was locked in combat with three Cuckoo Knights.
A hero was a hero. The Cuckoo Knights fought together with shield thrusts, and Raziel didn't have Bloodhound's Step, yet two of the three were already down.
A Cuckoo Knight's senses might not match a hero's, but he wasn't deaf.
The last knight heard the terrified shouts rising around him and immediately realized danger was closing in.
With his greatshield braced, he couldn't help turning his head, shock flickering in his eyes.
Because the one charging straight at him was the same man who had just killed his two companions.
But their side had five knights. How had none of them managed to stop him?
The knight sprinted toward him, raising his greatsword even as he ran. A moment later, a dazzling golden blade of light shot out from several meters away.
Along its path, soldiers were cut down before they could even react.
With a thunderous crash, he raised his shield almost on instinct to intercept it.
The power behind the strike was beyond anything he'd expected. The impact numbed his wrists, and the blade forced him back several steps before finally bursting apart into golden motes.
It hadn't actually injured him, but as Nolan continued to close the distance, the knight didn't dodge or retreat. Instead, he stepped forward and slammed his shield out with brutal force.
Shield Bash!
Nolan kept charging, the wind screaming past his face. Then he sprang into a high leap, both hands locking tightly around the hilt.
I can block it…
The Cuckoo Knight had absolute faith in the quality of his shield.
Then, in the next instant, a searing pain exploded through his back.
Nolan saw it clearly: a longsword wreathed in blue light stabbed in from behind the Cuckoo Knight, then burst through his chest.
Raziel was still very much alive.
On the battlefield, who ever bothered talking about fairness or justice?
If the Cuckoo Knights were willing to gang up on their enemies, then there was nothing wrong with Nolan joining Raziel for a "righteous" two-on-one.
Zzzzt—!!
The Cuckoo Knight's counterattack came to an abrupt halt. Steel screeched violently as his blade scraped across his helmet, sparks bursting forth and briefly flashing before Nolan's eyes.
The greatsword came down without mercy from above. There was no need to look twice. This Cuckoo Knight was already dead.
In this world, the head was still the most fragile vital point for most creatures.
Before he could even scream, the knight's skull burst apart like an overripe melon. His body split cleanly down the middle and collapsed to either side.
Blood sprayed everywhere as it always did. The scene was gruesome, but this place was already a slaughterhouse, and most people had long since grown numb to such sights.
With every last knight slain, the soldiers completely lost the will to fight and turned to flee in panic.
"Not a bad haul."
Nolan straightened up and quickly judged the gains he'd made from this battle.
When he lifted his head again, his eyes met Raziel's.
The Carian Knight was cutting down a soldier who was nearly split in half, a shield dropping to the ground. It seemed the man had tried to imitate a Cuckoo Knight's tricks.
Reality was merciless. Three Cuckoo Knights with greatshields could barely last a few exchanges. Ordinary soldiers who tried the same thing were simply throwing their lives away.
Raziel blinked, hesitation flickering across his face, as if he wanted to say something.
The Cuckoo camp wasn't far away. Just as the Carian Knight was about to speak, the sound of galloping hooves reached his ears. Instantly weighing the situation, he closed his mouth and looked toward the heavily armored knight running over.
His gaze shifted to the raging flames in the distance. Then he nodded to the two beside him.
"You've done well. We're pulling out."
Raziel had been entrusted with command of a fortress in a crisis. As a decision-maker, he showed no hesitation, issuing the order to retreat without delay.
As his words fell, the ground began to tremble faintly. The thunder of hooves rolled in from afar, signaling that a large force of cavalry was rushing toward them.
The moment he finished speaking, Nolan saw Raziel turn and leave without slowing down.
Nolan and the two heavily armored knights followed in long strides, cutting through the enemy like chopping vegetables, killing without pause as they advanced step by step toward the small boat.
At that moment, the vast gulf between heroes and ordinary soldiers was laid bare. The enemy couldn't withstand even a single blow. With every swing of a sword, several soldiers fell.