The Indomitable Martial King

[ Chapter 17 ]

A streak of light pierced the darkness, flying forth.

“Argh!”

A scream echoed down the narrow stone chamber corridor. Red blood splattered across the stone walls, sticky and trailing down. The source of the flash was a sharp, red scythe. The knight who had spilled blood now clutched his shoulder, staggering backward.

“Sir Thomas!”

The other knights erupted in an impassioned cry at their companion’s injury. Yet, none dared to bravely shield their colleague with a shield. The enemy before them was too terrifying, too fearsome.

The knights looked forward in despair. A wicked laughter echoed as a monster from another realm approached from the end of the corridor.

“Kekekeke..”

With a towering height of 2 meters, covered in twisted muscles and a red body, its vile mouth was surrounded by yellow flames. Its empty eyes were as dark as abysses, showing endless darkness. This demon, known as Beiter, was rumored to possess twenty times the strength and power of a human. It was now pressing towards them with four arms, each wielding a sword, scythe, or axe.

One of the knights screamed out in desperation.

“Ah! How can a human ever stand against such a demon!”

‘Wow, that tone really stuck to him deep.’

Sillan couldn’t help but stick out his tongue at the sight of the Altion knight, whose ancient way of speaking naturally slipped out even in a state of utter fear.

‘Eek, now’s not the time to be having such random thoughts.’

Sillan shook her head and moved towards the fallen Sir Thomas. She placed her hand on his shoulder and prayed.

“Philanence, may your healing light dwell within.”

True to the goddess of love, a pink(!) holy light surged, beginning to mend the wounds. Bones and muscles knitted together at an astonishing rate. Such rapid healing was rare even within the Philanence clergy. Despite his young age, he was a high-ranking cleric. Sir Thomas, now relieved of pain, expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you, cleric.”

‘There’s no need to thank me. If you died, I’d be next, wouldn’t I?’

Despite his inner thoughts, Sillan smiled benevolently. His demeanor was linked to the church’s reputation, so in any case, he could not afford to lose the image of a priest. This seemingly pretty and kind young cleric actually had quite a cunning side.

“Argh!”

Sir Thomas, now back on his feet, wielding his sword and shield, let out a wild scream. He forcibly shouts to muster courage from nowhere. Yet, his feet remained frozen, still seized by fear. Sillan bit her nails secretly.

‘Damn, it seemed easy at the beginning…’

In the beginning, it wasn’t too difficult. True to the dungeon’s reputation, various monsters and mutated beasts appeared, but they were within manageable levels. The monsters were low-tier demons like Kavi Beach or Grellin, and the mutated beasts were nothing more than giant rats or bugs, with a few skeletons creaking as they attacked. He wondered why Sir Claude, who could handle this level of ruin, had died.

The situation changed when they passed through about three passages and entered a round chamber.

-Kel Hain Speratachcana!

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With a strange voice, the doors on either side of the chamber closed, and suddenly the floor collapsed. More accurately, it opened up, but for those experiencing it, the difference was negligible.

Screaming, Stefan and his party free-fell about ten meters down. If Todd hadn’t quickly cast a spell to form a soft layer of air on the ground, the lightweight elf and knights might have been fine, but Sillan and the orc slaves would have certainly fallen to their deaths.

That’s when the real hell began. Monsters of a completely different caliber appeared, and Stefan’s party desperately fled to the opposite passage, only to be forced to keep fleeing. After about ten minutes, they were eventually surrounded by demons approaching from both sides of the passage.

“Growl…”

“Grroar…”

The chilling breaths of demons could be heard from both sides.

“Heltro!”

Suddenly, a Beiter screamed, and dozens of ghouls burst out from the ground around him. The hideous ghouls with their sharp claws made the knights scream in terror as they charged.

Mixed groans escaped.

“Monsters!”

“Oh! My God!”

Sillan clenched her teeth and prayed again.

“Philanence, strike down this misguided being with your hammer of light!”

Surprisingly, Sillan was quite composed. Indeed, it’s more than just composure when one can finish a prayer without blinking an eye as blade-like claws thrust before them.

Bang!

A pink-colored hammer of light appeared out of nowhere and smashed one of the ghouls. Although its color was peculiar, its divine power was undeniable. After dealing with one ghoul, Sillan quickly turned to the knights.

“Aaaah~”

The knights were clumsily fighting off other ghouls. Given their skills, they should have easily defeated these ghouls, but they were only defending with their shields, continuously retreating in panic.

‘Already lost your nerve? I’m still fine. What a waste of muscles.’

Despite their impressive stature, their spirits were notably frail. A sigh escaped internally, yet they were cherished shields that couldn’t be left to shatter. Sillan raised her hands high, praying to the goddess.

“Philanence, grant them the courage of the indomitable!”

A spiritual divine spell, imbuing strength and courage, was cast upon the knights. Nevertheless, they hesitated, overwhelmed by fear, rendering the spell ineffective.

Biting down, Sillan prayed once more with determination.

“Philanence, generously bestow upon them the courage of the indomitable!”

The prayer might have sounded odd, but the efficacy of divine spells depended on the cleric’s faith, not their eloquence.

Finally, the knights launched a fierce counterattack.

“Aaargh!”

They became berserkers, overly empowered by divine force, eyes bulging and drooling as they slaughtered ghouls – a sight reminiscent of severe hallucinogen overdose. It seemed the goddess had taken “generously” a bit too literally.

Thanks to this, the situation improved. Sir Edward, empowered, led the charge against the ghouls, shouting,

“Brave knights of Altion, show these vile beasts our courage!”

Wielding a massive bastard sword, Sir Edward charged at the demon.

The demon roared, flailing its four arms, but Edward, an experienced knight, either dodged or blocked with his shield, engaging the demon closely.

“Sephir Dei Crotel, Earth, extend thy hand and reclaim what originated from thee! Iron Steel!”

Todd swiftly cast the fourth-circle spell, Iron Steel, increasing the weight of metal to disarm opponents. The spell hit the demon’s weapon. Since Beiters are resistant to magic, targeting the weapon they held was strategic.

Bang! Bang!

The Beiters dropped their weapons, momentarily confused. Seizing the opportunity, Relsia, fighting from across the passage, moved behind the demon.

Whish!

Without a sound, her longsword deeply slashed the demon’s wing joint. The demon, enraged, swung back.

“Kyaaak!”

Relsia was hurled against the far wall. Even so, she smiled faintly, seeing her beloved master advancing into the demon’s grasp.

“Did I assist you, master…?”

“Well done, Relsia!”

Seizing the moment, Stefan delivered a sharp strike with his sword, shouting,

“Taat!”

The blade pierced through Beiter’s four forearms in a single breath, and then it swiftly changed its trajectory to execute a diagonal slashing in an X pattern from left to right. A deep X-shaped wound was carved into the demon’s chest, causing demonic blood to spurt out. This was the Shooting Cross, a technique designed to disrupt the opponent’s balance and deliver a fatal blow.

It was the secret sword technique of the Altion family that had earned Stefan the title of ‘Knight of Determination.’

The Beiter screamed and fell to the ground. That a human could defeat such a demon! The knights exclaimed in amazement.

“Wow!”

“Indeed, Lord Stefan!”

“Truly, the Knight of Determination!”

However, Stefan’s expression upon landing was anything but bright. In his eyes, he could clearly see another demon approaching from the dark corridor.

“These filthy demons!”

He shouted as he charged at the demon again. Blood and screams spread everywhere.

The nightmare was endless. Inspired by Stefan’s struggle, Sir Edward and the other knights managed to defeat another Beiter, but their courage was immediately shattered by the appearance of another, more formidable demon.

This time, it was a Tagrel, a higher-ranking and massive demon even larger than a Beiter, standing at 2.5 meters tall with the strength to crush rocks and a metallic flesh impervious to blades. This monstrosity, bearing flames in its arms, charged at the knights.

The burning, murderous intent constricted around them. All the knights trembled in fear. Sillan once again bestowed courage upon them with her holy power, but this time it had no effect. Just as frequent use of drugs diminishes their efficacy, so too does the frequent use of holy spells.

“Pull yourselves together! This is where the great knight, Lord Claude, fell. Didn’t you prepare yourselves for a challenging battle? Are you not the brave knights of Altion?”

The stern rebuke of the commander inadvertently led the knights to start swinging their swords at the Tagrel. It was more of a reflexive action than a surge of courage.

“KROOOO!”

Enraged, the Tagrel began to spew flames at the knights.

A demon with red skin from hell, bearing flames in its hands and feet, charged at them. Their swords could not tear through its thick hide. Even if they swung their fists or raised their shields, the shields would be smashed to pieces.

Todd’s magic was also ineffective. Though he was a high-level mage, the Tagrel’s magical resistance was too high. No spell could penetrate the demon’s anti-magic field.

“AAAAAH!”

Eventually, a knight screamed as he was slammed into a wall. His head was completely embedded, and blood streamed from between his armor; it was a clear case of instant death, no matter how one looked at it.

Sillan was terrified this time as well.

“Ah…”

People were dying before his eyes. Another knight, who had been aiming for the Tagrel from behind, was engulfed in flames and burnt to death. The Tagrel’s punch buried the knight’s head into his body, causing a fountain of blood to spray out.

It was horrifying. Truly a scene from hell.

“Ugh…”

Todd was crouched in a corner like the orc slaves, holding his head and covering his eyes and ears. He was shivering, clearly in a state of escapism. Despite his extensive experience in exploring ruins, he had never encountered such a powerful monster before.

Being a mage proud of his magic, he fell into panic even quicker than ordinary people upon meeting an opponent against whom his magic was utterly ineffective.

“Damn it, damn it, damn!”

Bleeding, Stefan cursed repeatedly. In no time, three knights had been turned into mere spirits without leaving bodies behind. Sir Edward, who had charged first, was sent flying with a punch and lay far away, too distant to check if he was alive or dead.

Despite such heavy losses, the devil in front of them did not have a single scratch. The sense of helplessness in the face of his subordinates’ deaths tore at his pride unbearably.

This couldn’t go on.

They couldn’t just be defeated like this!

“I am the one who carries on the name of Altion…”

Stefan gripped his sword tighter. His face was filled with determination.

“I am the one who has earned the title of Determination!”

Stefan’s figure rushed towards the Tagrel with astonishing speed. The Altion family’s strongest secret technique, the Shooting Strike, concentrated all the body’s elasticity into a single piercing thrust, pouring towards Tagrel like a flash of light. And then…

Thwack!

The Tagrel ‘determinedly’ swatted away Stefan as he flew at him. The expensive armor, mixed with mithril, shattered as Stefan was pitifully flung away. He hit the wall and then the floor, before falling into silence.

Sillan inwardly cursed.

‘No, why on earth did he start with such a big technique!?’

Martial arts is supposed to be about the ‘process’ of checking and countering the opponent within the offense and defense. Ignoring that and just hurling your body from the start, how is one supposed to do anything? It’s blatantly obvious where he’s aiming from!