Lines of text from the system panel flashed before Reinhardt's eyes.
[Morphic Armor's second Special Ability has been activated.]
[Morphic Armor Special Ability 2: Resilience of the Void Creature. While in combat, gain 2% Physical and Magic Resistance every second, stacking up to 8 times.
At maximum stacks, you instantly drain surrounding enemies, dealing Magic damage equal to 3% of your maximum health and restoring an equivalent amount of stamina. Your Physical and Magic Resistance is then increased by an additional 10% until combat ends.]
[Current Stacks: 8. Additional Physical and Magic Resistance: 26%.]
[Percentage Resistance: This additional damage resistance only depletes stamina at 50% efficiency.]
[Only those who are near death can grasp the true meaning of life.]
Before Reinhardt's body even hit the ground, the life force from the Convicted Demon began to nourish his body and spirit, both of which were pushed to their absolute limit.
The system's text description failed to capture the feeling.
This dark purple Energy flowing into his body felt like a cool, clear spring coursing through his veins, washing away his fatigue and soothing his wounds.
Even though the power restored a very limited amount of stamina, it was enough for Reinhardt to reform his Extraordinary Armament and block the Convicted Demon's fatal attack.
The instant he landed, the Morphic Armor reappeared. With its second Special Ability, Resilience of the Void Creature, at eight full stacks, a shimmering, phantom-like sheen covered the surface of the dark purple Full Coverage Armor. The Knightly Aura radiating from him was now indistinguishable from that of a Two-star Military Rank Knight!
At this moment, his propulsion system fired at full blast. The Steel of the Heart symbol on the Convicted Demon's head was also fully charged!
Reinhardt shot forward like a cannonball, so fast that the Convicted Demon's eyes couldn't even track his movement.
The Demon took a step back, cautiously guarding its body. Its heavy breaths reeked of sulfur, and it snarled curses in a Demon Language Reinhardt couldn't understand.
But the same trick would only work on Reinhardt once.
A battle of life and death was ever-changing; every decision was a trial of survival.
Most of the Convicted Demons who had scaled the walls had already witnessed Reinhardt's methods, especially his ghostly speed. Over several hours of siege, fourteen Convicted Demons had already fallen at his hands.
In a standoff that lasted less than a second, a psychological battle played out between Reinhardt and the Convicted Demon. He gambled that this Demon would sacrifice its life, attempting to use Abyssal Fire to take them both out.
His plan was to flash past the Convicted Demon at high speed, land a strike to gain a stack for Steel of the Heart, and immediately retreat, baiting it into sacrificing itself to unleash its Abyssal Fire.
Having been burned once, Reinhardt was extremely cautious when dealing with these Demons.
Abyssal Fire was like napalm—if it touched you, you were either dead or crippled. If the Convicted Demon that ambushed him hadn't already been killed, limiting the intensity of the flames it spat out, he would have been a corpse by now.
The moment he engaged the Convicted Demon.
He had won this game of life and death.
Reinhardt charged forward, feinting an attack at the Convicted Demon's neck with his longsword. The Demon's cunning instincts were laid bare in that same instant.
The huge creature didn't defend itself. Instead, it exposed its neck and chest, trying to grab him.
But Reinhardt was a step ahead in cunning. The moment he closed in on the Convicted Demon, he threw himself back and slid between its legs. For one terrifying second, liquid-like Abyssal Fire grazed his scalp before splattering on the ground.
For a brief instant as they passed, their gazes—man and Demon—locked.
Although Reinhardt didn't understand the Demon Language, he could clearly read the thoughts in this Convicted Demon's eyes.
It was the humiliation of a failed gamble turning into rage.
It was the exasperation of being completely seen through by an opponent.
And above all, it was the impotent fury of a failed, all-or-nothing gambit.
These three emotions converged into a single thought that Reinhardt could read, and it was simply one word: "Fuck."
It wasn't just a curse; it was also a sign of absolute awe at the strength Reinhardt had displayed.
A Tier Two Demon, an absolute mainstay of the Abyss Legion's third echelon, three of which could kill a One-star Military Rank Official Knight. Yet this one, when facing a newly minted Knight, not only treated him as a formidable foe but was also willing to burn its own life force to take him down with it.
To the Fortress Defenders on the passive side of the battle, they might only see Reinhardt's incredible speed, recognizing his presence as a huge asset to the wall's defense.
But in the eyes of these Convicted Demons, that diminutive, ghost-like Knight was not only terrifyingly fast and ruthless, but his Knight Power was also unafraid of the Abyssal Fire's flames.
His defense was high, his speed was incredible, he could both take a hit and dish one out, and his fighting style was even cunning.
The pressure this monstrous combatant exuded was every bit as terrifying as the pressure they themselves inflicted on ordinary soldiers.
He terrified the Demons.
However, a Tier Two Demon was, in the end, merely qualified to contend with a Knight. Their power was a far cry from that of a Knight at or above the Two-star Military Rank.
CLANG—!
[Giant Devouring Current Layer Number: 308]
[Current Physical Enhancement Coefficient: 0.308]
The power of Steel of the Heart increased Reinhardt's Physique in real-time based on its number of layers. In other words, just twenty Heart Steel Layers could restore a considerable amount of his stamina.
Combined with the second Special Ability of Morphic Armor, Reinhardt, though still exhausted, was no longer in the helpless state he'd been in moments ago, collapsed and unable to move at the foot of the wall.
Several hours of brutal fighting.
Corpses piled up like mountains on the fortress walls.
The Abyss Legion's offensive had lost its initial overwhelming pressure. That bastard Sedon hadn't let his men hold back this time, and the Abyss Legion's advance was stopped dead at the walls, unable to break through.
When the mournful sound of a horn echoed, the Convicted Demons still fighting the defenders began to retreat, attempting to get off the walls.
But the toppled siege ladders cut off all their avenues of retreat.
Pincer, then encircle. The thirty or so remaining Convicted Demons were quickly annihilated by the Knight Order.
The surviving soldiers couldn't seem to believe the Abyss Legion was retreating. They remained in their fighting stances, gripping their longswords and staring at one another.
Reinhardt took a step back, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. His right arm trembled uncontrollably as blood streamed from it. His pale face, drained of a Knight's typical vitality, looked no different from a corpse.
It was his first time fighting on the walls, and he had been certain Frostfire Fortress wouldn't survive this assault. He had even been prepared to die.
He never expected that the Abyss Legion would be the one to break, unable to sustain their heavy losses and initiating a retreat.
Adrian found Reinhardt in the crowd, rushed over, and knelt down to carefully check if he was still alive.
Reinhardt pushed away Adrian's right hand, which was waving insistently in front of his face.
"I'm not dead yet!"
Adrian sat down right where he was. He not only managed a smile but even had the energy to joke with Reinhardt.
"I know you're not dead. I just wanted to see if the Convicted Demons scared you witless, haha!"
Adrian, with his handsome blond features and the air of a noble scion from the Imperial City, acted so much like a reckless sixteen-year-old that anyone who didn't know better would think Reinhardt was the steady, thirty-something Knight.
Joking aside, he fell silent and stared at Reinhardt. That Knightly Aura that had burst forth when the young man was on the brink of death, fighting back…