The Abyssal Hounds were incredibly fast. These terrifying creatures, which resembled wolf-dogs but had bodies covered in scales and forms as massive as drakes, tore through the wall's defenses and surged in like a tide.
The very ground trembled unceasingly.
The soldiers stationed inside the fortress were as fragile as paper. They were scattered in the first clash, suffering horrific casualties!
The single squad of Knights was nowhere near enough to defend the two-hundred-meter-long stretch of wall.
Reinhardt grabbed Carl and Pachy as they were about to flee. "If we run now," he said in a low voice, "we'll just die on the way."
After a brief moment of fear, the two boys exchanged a look. They understood what Reinhardt meant; the wall was at least three hundred meters from the underground bunkers.
'How could we possibly escape on just our own two feet?'
'Watching each other's backs and holding their ground for reinforcements was the wisest choice.'
There was no thrilling music.
No magnificent, dazzling battles.
On this blizzard-swept night, the vast fortress was filled with nothing but the roars of soldiers and the screams of the dying.
The defenses on the fortress wall grew increasingly thin as countless Abyssal Hounds poured into the fortress. The defending forces were already stretched to their breaking point.
The second squad, where Knight Elias was stationed, had yet to return.
The remaining four Knight squads and the Vanguard Brigade, facing the tidal wave of attackers, had their hands full and couldn't spare any attention for anything else.
If the fortress fell, only death awaited them!
When the first Abyssal Hound lunged for Reinhardt, he, having learned his lesson, said in a low voice, "Spread out."
The creature was about the size of a male lion. The three of them combined, even with Carl holding up a shield, wouldn't necessarily be able to withstand the sheer impact of its charge.
In their first life-or-death struggle, Pachy and Carl were clearly inexperienced. Reinhardt's expression remained unchanged as he shouted, "Don't expose your backs! Get over here!"
From his years of scraping by with the Dark Scale Raiders, he was very experienced in dealing with these four-legged beasts.
The first rule was to absolutely never show your back.
Hearing Reinhardt's voice, Pachy and Carl hurried over. The three of them stood with weapons in hand, facing off against four Abyssal Hounds that were slowly encircling them.
Pachy was a shy boy with a face full of freckles who often blushed when he spoke, a trait completely at odds with his six-foot-three frame and powerful physique.
Carl was an outgoing guy whose most distinct feature was a lisp. Back at the training camp, it seemed he could strike up a conversation with just about anyone, so he and Reinhardt weren't exactly strangers.
"What do we do now?"
"Wait."
Reinhardt took one deep breath after another, trying to find a way out of this deathtrap. His initial plan had been to stall for time here, waiting for a free Knight to come to their aid.
But the fortress wall was falling far faster than he had imagined.
Of the three vice commanders, Reinhardt had only seen Friedrich on the walls. As for that bastard Sedon, there was still no sign of him.
Now, surrounded by four Abyssal Hounds, attacking first would be suicide.
Reinhardt had willingly come near the wall, hoping to use this opportunity to stack Steel of the Heart and awaken his Knight Power. However, in a region that required a Knight Order to defend, the enemies he faced were a little too powerful.
Although a single Abyssal Hound could contribute 2.5% to his progress, and he only needed two to awaken his Knight Power and turn the situation around!
But that progress had to be bought with his life!
Just then, a ripple of pale golden light, like a dawn banishing the darkness, began to slowly spread outward from the heart of the fortress!
As the pale golden light washed over Reinhardt and the others, it formed an extremely faint, spectral Mecha around each of their bodies.
At that same moment, his body filled with unprecedented strength and stamina.
Carl asked, bewildered, "What is this? How come you two have it too...?"
The chasm between a Transcendent and a Mortal was even wider than that between a noble and a commoner. For the three of them, all common-born, this was their first encounter with an Extraordinary Power far beyond their comprehension.
But Reinhardt had seen Vice Commander Erich's Knight Power back in the underground bunkers, and the spectral Mecha now covering their bodies was remarkably similar to what he had witnessed then.
Knight Elias had once said that Earth Knights needed to awaken an Extraordinary Power called the 'Ring'.
'Could this be it?'
Though they didn't fully understand it, the three boys' spirits soared. Carl gripped his longsword and yelled excitedly, "Do you guys feel this power? Reinhardt, Pachy, what are you waiting for? Let's get them!"
"Carl, wait—"
Pachy didn't get to finish his warning before Carl charged out on his own, raising his Sword and Shield.
Reinhardt's brow furrowed. 'This is bad,' he thought. Catching a pouncing Abyssal Hound in his peripheral vision, he sharply sidestepped the attack and resumed his defensive stance, sword pointed forward, trying to find an opening.
Experience told him that when dealing with these four-legged beasts, attacking proactively was the stupidest thing to do. Conserve stamina, find an opening, then go for a single, fatal strike!
Reinhardt had used the same method to kill plenty of wild wolves in the past.
Meanwhile, now that he was in a combat state, the Steel of the Heart icon that only he could see was highlighted next to the Abyssal Hound's head.
If he could just seize an opportunity, he could increase his progress toward awakening his Knight Power by 2.5%!
Finally, on the Abyssal Hound's third feint, Reinhardt saw his chance. He deliberately exposed an opening, baiting the Abyssal Hound into lunging for his pauldron. Using the momentum from the impact, Reinhardt spun in an instant, grabbed the hound's hind leg, and yanked with all his might!
The off-balance Abyssal Hound tried to struggle, but it was sent sprawling onto its back with a hard thud!
Seizing the opportunity and empowered by the Earth Knight Erich's Extraordinary Power, Reinhardt thrust his sword through its flank. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he viciously sliced its belly open!
CLANG—!
[Your Physique has increased slightly.]
[Awakening progress for 'Power': 98.75%.]
'Just one more!'
Reinhardt flicked his wrist, and the blood-soaked longsword carved an arc through the air, splattering crimson across the ground.
Pachy and Carl were now locked in a desperate struggle. If not for the protection of Vice Commander Erich's Knight Power, they would already be dead.
Just as he prepared to go and help them, the pale golden light covering their bodies suddenly dimmed before vanishing completely.
'Not good!'
The color drained from Pachy and Carl's faces!
They had only been able to hold their own against three Abyssal Hounds because of that mysterious power. Now that it had vanished, they could almost picture their own necks being snapped in the beasts' jaws.
Carl, now drenched in sweat, caught sight of Reinhardt sneaking closer out of the corner of his eye. "Reinhardt..." he whispered, "save me."
Reinhardt made a hushing gesture.
The fortress was now swarming with countless Abyssal Hounds. With the wall's defensive line completely shattered, Knights were falling one by one to the Bloodline Mages, and the defensive perimeter was continually being pushed further into the fortress.
Drawing on his past experience, Reinhardt hid behind a cluster of supply wagons after killing the first Abyssal Hound. Killing another with a sneak attack was unrealistic, but he could certainly lure one away to relieve the pressure on Carl and Pachy.
Perhaps it was his relatively short stature—under five-foot-eleven—that helped him under the cover of darkness. Reinhardt crept stealthily toward an Abyssal Hound, managing to get close without attracting any attention.
However, what surprised Reinhardt was that the dark red mark of Steel of the Heart had appeared on the head of the hound closest to him! It grew brighter and brighter, reaching a full charge in just six seconds!
'Is it because Pachy and Carl are in combat, so the system has registered me as being in combat, too?'
But that wasn't what mattered. The point was, Reinhardt only needed to land one blow to complete his progress for 'Power' and finally awaken his Knight Power!
Opportunity waits for no one.
Reinhardt shot to his feet, grabbed a rock, and hurled it at the nearest Abyssal Hound, roaring, "Pachy! Carl! Run for the wall!"
Then, he drew his longsword. His gaze was so fanatical it was as if he were the invader who had stormed the fortress for a wanton slaughter, and the Abyssal Hound marked by Steel of the Heart was the pitiful wretch just struggling to survive!
Six years of biding his time, of arduous training.
The goal he had striven for was now right before his eyes.
Knight Power!