“You pathetic humans don’t even know how to follow simple orders.” The knight snickered as he raised his hand to strike the woman once again.
Seeing this, the young boy lunged forth, ignoring the consequences of his actions.
He clenched his fist and aimed a punch at the knight’s face, but instead of inflicting damage on the knight, his flesh tore apart on impact causing him to let out a deep, subdued groan before being slammed into the torso by the knight’s knee!
The blow sent the young slave several meters into the air. When he landed, motionless, no one knew for certain if he was still alive or dead. But the message was clear and passed to every fresh slave: disobedience meant death!
Trembling in silence, they watched as the knight veered back to the pregnant woman and chuckled. He lifted his whip up, a wicked smile playing across his furry face as he looked at her horrified expression.
Boom!
All of a sudden, something fell from the sky and crashed behind the carriages throwing snow and debris. A wide crater formed where it landed, affecting the carriage’s balance. The carriage wobbled and tilted slightly toward the left and stayed like that for a while before falling with a resounding thud.
Every eye in the place, be it the slaves or the knights, turned to look at the center of the disturbance. Standing at its center, a dark silhouette was on his knees. Wisps of white breath escaped the narrow gaps of his menacing mask, and his cloak covered his massive body, except for his head, leaving it exposed and thanks to the snow fog, no one could decipher who that silhouette was.
“Is that a dwarf?” one rat knight muttered, squinting his eyes at the figure. His whiskers twitched as he hesitated to take a step forward.
Just as he took a step forward, something happened, something he couldn’t describe quite clearly. He felt as if the wind had moved past him and in the next instant caught hold of the two knights behind him. The heads of the two knights behind him twisted unnaturally before they crumpled to the ground.
The eyes of the first knight, the one who had been holding the whip, widened in shock.
Shing!
He drew his sword and activated his battle force. A grayish-white aura surged around him as he bellowed, “Who are you?!”
The figure slowly rose to his feet, his great build causing the knight to rethink since he once thought it was a dwarf. The silhouette stretched forth his hand and an invisible force yanked the knight toward him, shattering the fallen carriage in the process.
It all seemed like everything happened in the blink of an eye. One second the knight was standing about 3 meters away and in the next, the carriage had been broken into two and he was now dangling in the silhouette’s iron grig, his weapon clattering to the ground.
As the fog cleared, allowing both the knight and the slaves to see the silhouette’s attire, only for the place to be filled by a wave of silence. He wore a heavy cloak that shrouded most of his body, a metal breastplate, a helmet and a scary-looking mask hiding his true face. On the man’s back rested a spear and shield, gleaming even in the dim light.
His tall and powerful figure made a name appear in the minds of everyone.
“… the Achillies’ paladin.”
A man, amongst the fresh slaves, gasped, his knees weakening as if he had seen bright light appear in the midst of the bleak darkness.
The Paladin—Eleazar—stared deep into the knight’s eyes and found fear.
Fear…
From the same knight, he once dreaded as a winter soldier. It was a knight of this caliber that had killed his father and made several veteran knights of the stronghold cower in dread. Their mere presence was like a symbols of death as no unit could survive after going against them.
The great Obsidian Order Knight!
Yet now, right before his eyes and within his grip, that same knight was cowering in fear. This was the product of months of deadly training.
“Where are the slaves?” Eleazar demanded, his voice a low, commanding growl.
The knight sputtered, unable to speak. The force at which he broke through the carriage had crippled his legs and he was still reeling in shock, rendering him mute.
“I… I can show you.”
All heads turned as the young boy, whom everyone thought was dead, staggered to his feet. His face was bruised and battered with years of beating, but his eyes burned with an unyielding fire.
Eleazar tossed the knight aside. “I am Eelazar and I come in the name of The Achilies. Do not fear—I am not alone.”
His words puzzled the slaves, who saw no need for such a declaration. But when they saw the knights that came from behind Eleazar, their conviction almost shattered, tethering on the edge of collapse. It was only when Eleazar’s steady words entered their ears that they were able to keep their resolve intact.
Their courage, however, was short-lived. A knight clad in red armor flanked by four Obsidian Order knights, stepped forward.
‘A Scarlet Order Knight.’ Eleazar muttered grimly.
He recalled how his spear had bounced harmlessly off the armor of the retired Scarlet Order knight back at the small town. He didn’t understand how Asher, who was also in the sacred rank, had decimated a Scarlet Order Knight so easily when he himself had failed.
Unfortunately, Asher wasn’t here to help him.
Eleazar drew his spear and shield, equipped them and assumed a battle stance.
“A transcendent? … How?” Experience exclusive tales on empire
These were the only words that left the Scarlet Order Knight’s lips, his voice carrying both disbelief and caution before he ordered the Obsidian Order Knights to lift up their crossbows. These crossbows were called ‘Star-Breaking Crossbows.’ Capable of killing saintly beings, they posed an undeniable threat!
Eleazar had already anticipated this. The intelligence they had gathered before coming here had given them enough information. Tachmon was under Commander Ivar and he had 100 Star-Breaking Crossbowmen, capable of killing saints, not single-handedly though. What they hadn’t accounted for was the presence of the Scarlet Order Knights.
Swish Swish Swish!
Several bolts tore through the air with blinding speed and in what seemed like a millisecond, the bolts struck Eleazar’s broad, round shield.
Upon realizing that the bolts were able to penetrate his shield, Eleazar frowned. Although they did not pierce right through it, the fact they could pierce through it meant that they posed a threat to him.
When he saw that the crossbowmen were about to infuse their bows with a denser battle force, his pupils glowed and a light blue light appeared around the three knights, dragging them off their feet for above meters and slamming them against the wall. The impact was so forceful that web-like cracks spread across the wall’s surface.
Shing!
The Scarlet Order Knight unsheathed his blade, its edge gleaming with menace. “Try that on me,” he growled.