Episode 232 – Crisis
The shaman stared at the dark knight.
He knew that the dark knight by Harkman’s side was a puppet under the control and domination of his lord.
For the past few days, the shaman had stayed close to Harkman, playing to his temper—for one reason: the signal.
"Ah."
The mont he made eye contact with the dark knight, the shaman shuddered violently. A deep chill ran down his spine, and he could feel the gaze of his lord.
The order had been given.
It was ti to move.
"The signal has been sent."
Harkman, who had been reclining on a sofa with a thick map draped over his face, raised his head at the report.
As the map slid off, the shaman picked it up and placed it on the table.
It was a map detailing the structure of Beneta’s fortress wall, and the location where the bomb was to be detonated had been marked.
“What a boring wait this has been.”
Harkman stood and stretched.
For one of the top-ranked knights of Hell Gri to be hiding out, waiting on soone else's orders—he could hardly stand the indignity.
If not for the rosy future Kal had promised, he would have already cut down the shaman in front of him and left.
As he donned his ornate armor covered in runes, the subordinates who followed him began to gather, fully ard.
Fifty in total.
All of them were skilled swordsn backed by Demtor.
Before long, the spacious room was packed with ard n.
"Wait at the designated spot until I arrive."
At his command, the subordinates bowed and quickly exited the room.
Only Harkman and the shaman remained.
Throwing on his cloak, Harkman checked the box stored in his subspace, then turned to the shaman and asked,
"Is the route drawn on the map reliable?"
"It was drawn and sent by the lord himself. If it's wrong, feel free to cut off my head."
"You'd better an that. If the structure of the wall differs from this map, forget the mission—I’ll cut your throat first."
"Of course."
Harkman clicked his tongue briefly, then tucked the map inside his armor.
Everyone working for Kal had this cult-like devotion to him.
Unlike Demtor, which ruled through bloodlines and power, this was... different.
“How should I put it... this side feels more dangerous.”
Though their power was nowhere near that of Demtor, if he had to pick a side to deal with, these lunatics felt like the worse option.
“Haven’t moved alone in a while.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“I’m only moving because I’ve got sothing to gain. Be sure to tell your master—when the bomb goes off, it’s ga on.”
With those parting words, Harkman left the room alone. Before regrouping with his subordinates, there was sothing he needed to do.
He quickly scanned the quiet, dark alleyways.
“This way?”
Recalling the location marked on the map, Harkman smirked and kicked off the ground, beginning to run.
His cloak flared behind him, revealing his dazzling armor. He no longer bothered to hide. In gleaming full armor, he raced through the alleyways.
He seed to enjoy the startled murmurs of the townsfolk.
Soon, those murmurs would turn to screams. The fact that the flare would start from his hand filled Harkman with a rush of excitent.
The outer wall of the fortress lood ever closer.
“There it is.”
Spotting a specific tree marked on the map, Harkman veered sharply.
Lifting his head, he saw the towering, solid fortress wall. Running alongside it at terrifying speed, the wall on his right blurred like a wave.
Soon, he spotted the guard post marked with an X.
Grinning ferociously, he pounded the chest of his armor.
Wuuuung!
His armor vibrated as the runes began to glow, forming luminous streams in the air. The streams quickly converged and elongated—
—until they manifested a massive greatsword.
Weapon Breaker.
A magical sword—one of Demtor’s treasure-class artifacts, and the item that had granted him his divine na.
The mont he grabbed the sword suspended in midair, a shout rang out ahead.
“Wh-who goes there?!”
The dwarf knights and soldiers stationed at one of the four passageways connected to the inside of the fortress panicked at Harkman's sudden appearance, hurriedly drawing their weapons.
Ignoring their cry, Harkman swung his greatsword violently. A dwarf knight raised his halberd and shouted—or tried to.
“Intru—!”
KWAANG!!
In the instant he blocked the blow, the dwarf knight lost consciousness. The halberd was crushed, his skull caved in, and he collapsed with a thud. The nearby soldiers widened their eyes in horror.
Skkk—
That was their final expression.
Without even a scream, Harkman cut them down like straw.
He then charged toward the tightly sealed iron gate that led to the inner fortress. The iron gate looked thick and sturdy.
“Grrrraaaaah!!”
Letting out a roar, Harkman’s body began to shine silver.
His trait—Steel.
Both his armor and greatsword glowed silver as he thrust the sword into the gate.
Greatsword Charge!
The blade pierced through the gate, and with a brutal push from his armor, the iron was torn like paper.
KWAANG—!
Dust billowed into the corridor.
Standing before the shattered gate, Harkman rolled his neck and shoulders, looking satisfied.
“Now I’m getting ward up.”
Smiling gleefully, he darted down the right passage.
Though Beneta’s inner wall was a maze, his movent was unhesitating.
“Wh-who—!”
“An intru— Kugh!”
“Stop him! He’s the enemy!”
Everyone who encountered him in the passage beca prey to the greatsword.
Weapons, shields—it didn’t matter.
Everything shattered with a single blow. The flesh and bones behind the defenses were torn apart like paper.
His face was streaked with blood. Wiping it off with a swipe, Harkman wore a pleased expression.
“Perfect. I was worried for nothing.”
The map was flawlessly accurate.
Every turn, every landmark was precisely placed.
Kal had said he drew it himself—but just when had he surveyed the inner wall of this place?
DING DING DING DING—!
"Have I been spotted? Their reaction's fast."
Shaking the blood off his sword, Harkman moved again.
With Kal's army approaching the wall, most of their attention would have been focused outside. But it seed he had been noticed sooner than expected.
It ant their security was tight—but he also knew that security would beco their downfall.
The breached corridors soon filled with noise and footsteps.
Hearing the approaching rush, Harkman smiled in delight rather than worry.
“Yes, co to . Hehehe.”
Killing everyone in his path, he soon reached the spot marked with a red X on the map.
It looked no different from the other passages he’d run through.
Why had Kal instructed him to detonate the bomb here?
He would soon find out.
Taking out the box from his subspace, he opened it.
Click—
Inside was a snow-white sphere.
Feeling the aggressive presence rapidly surrounding him, Harkman activated the sphere—Terremor.
Beep—
The sphere blinked with a red light as it began to float.
The mont it touched the ground, Terremor would explode.
Watching it descend slowly, Harkman turned and began sprinting down the escape route marked on the map.
Dwarves rushed after him in droves.
Judging by their speed, they were knights.
Monts later—
"Idiots."
With Harkman’s sneer as the final word—
KUUUUUOOOOOOOOOM!!
The ground cracked as a massive explosion ripped through the fortress. Every passage shook violently, and the ground began to collapse from the center of the blast.
Screams were drowned out by the crashing debris, and the entire area was buried under a mountain of earth and rubble.
The collapsing terrain devoured everything faster than the wind.
Neither the dwarves chasing him nor Harkman himself could escape the shockwave.
Beneta’s fortress walls vanished beneath a massive cloud of dust.
"...Sothing’s wrong, right?"
“No way.”
“No one said it would collapse this fast.”
Harkman's subordinates, waiting outside, looked at the crumbling fortress with unease. Their commander had yet to erge before the wall ca down.
Their worry, however, was unfounded.
Fwooo—
Through the rising dust, a silver glow began to shine.
Sprinkling light as he erged, Harkman sheathed his sword with a furrowed brow.
He spat and threw a dwarf’s severed head to the ground—the knight who had pursued him to the very end.
“I’ll be charging extra for this.”
His appearance was a ss.
Though his steel-reinforced body had withstood the collapse, he hated being covered in dirt.
"First, I need to finish the job if I want proper paynt.”
His next mission was one he had to complete—because it directly tied to his reward.
Elf hunting.
“Let’s go.”
Recalling the location of Sharbadin, Dorneth’s companion, Harkman began running with his subordinates.
Their destination: the Lord's Castle of Beneta.
“Ggaaahh!”
“P-please, spare …!”
Beneta was engulfed in chaos.
The mighty right-side wall had collapsed entirely, sinking into the ground. Knights scrambled to clear the debris, but the sheer volu of stone would take the entire army to remove.
While dwarves, beastkin, and rcenaries dug through the ruins in search of survivors, ergency bells began ringing atop the wall.
“E-enemy!”
“Cavalry! Cavalry is coming!”
“…What?!”
The soldiers searching the rubble were struck dumb.
Monts later—
Dududududududu—
“…You’ve got to be kidding !”
The ground rumbled ominously as the thunder of hooves echoed through the dust.
There was no need to guess where the cavalry would strike.
The breach in the wall was wide enough for ten grown n to pass through—plenty for mounted troops.
“G-get the shieldn! Now!”
“Hurry! We can’t let them break through!”
As screams echoed, soldiers atop the wall hurried down to reinforce the breach.
anwhile—
Graaagh!
“Stop them! Hold the line!”
Through the dust and debris, a flurry of spears pierced through the gap.
The cavalry broke through first in small numbers, but dozens of them quickly surged into the fortress, trampling soldiers in their path.
Hundreds of hooves stord through the breach, crushing so of the shieldn beneath them.
Hundreds of cavalry poured into the city. Just as the defensive line was about to fully collapse, a dwarf leapt down from the wall.
“You bastards!!!”
KWAANG!
Neigh!
Grahhh!
With a massive axe and shield, he slamd into the charging horses.
The steeds had their necks snapped and crashed to the ground, while the riders were flung away, limbs broken.
“Uwaaaa! It’s Lord Natone!”
“The Knight Commander is here!”
As Knight Commander Natone held the breach, armored dwarves arrived to reinforce the defenses.
With solid shields blocking their path, the cavalry stumbled.
Beneta’s rcenaries lunged from behind the shields, spearing horses and throwing riders from their mounts. Fallen enemies were skewered and killed where they lay.
They had stopped the charge for now—but the cavalry’s assault didn’t let up.
No matter how many they repelled, the enemy kept pouring in through the breach.
Soon, the ruins were flooded with hundreds—thousands—of soldiers and horses.
At the heart of it all, Natone groaned and muttered under his breath:
"What a goddamned bloody day this is."
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