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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Knights marched into the forest.
News of their advance spread like wildfire through the online communities.
+
[They’re finally entering the forest]
Look at that thick armor ㄷㄷ
How much did that even cost?
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[Didn’t they usually wear chainmail? Why the full plate armor now?;]
[Because it’s the Forbidden Forest. They’re playing it safe.]
[Even their shields are thicker lol]
[They must have heard about the double-edged axe splitting a shield]
[They sure value their lives lol]
[Wouldn’t you, if you only had one?]
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[Around 150 of them]
150 Knights ㄷㄷ
Add the players, and Yor’s done for…
+
[Finally, a balanced fight]
[lol Is that what you call balanced? The power difference is huge.]
[That seems… low. Don’t they usually send more?]
[150 is low?;;]
[Yeah, normally there are thousands of soldiers and hundreds of knights in a subjugation force.]
[The forest is too dangerous. A larger force would just attract more monsters.]
[So they sent an elite force, fully equipped. Look at their armor.]
[Makes sense]
The online community buzzed with activity. Raids were always big events, and this one was particularly unusual.
An NPC they’d interacted with, even befriended, was now a raid boss.
Some players were unhappy with this turn of events, but it couldn’t be helped. It was too late to change the course of the river.
A few clung to hope, but most accepted Yor’s inevitable demise.
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[Forget all that, who’s excited about the 100 million won reward? lol]
Me!
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[Me too lol]
[The streamers are probably ecstatic lol]
[Seriously? You’d kill him for money?]
Ultimately, most players treated it as a festival, a raid to be enjoyed.
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Day Six dawned.
The air felt different. Heavy, oppressive. A large group of people generated heat, especially on a hot summer day.
Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I felt uneasy.
Thump. Thump.
An ominous sound echoed from the depths of the forest. The clang of metal, the rhythmic thud of hundreds of boots.
And voices.
“This…”
I knew instantly. The Knights had arrived.
I frowned, but moved cautiously towards the sound. I needed to assess their strength.
I moved through the trees, staying hidden.
‘Damn, there are a lot of them.’
I finally got a clear view. They were numerous, as expected, but seeing them in person was different.
The intricate patterns etched into their metal armor identified them as Knights.
Something else caught my eye. They moved in groups of five. One carried a large shield, the other four wielded swords. As if the five were a single unit.
It looked almost comical, but I couldn’t underestimate them. They’d be difficult to penetrate.
And a short distance away, a group of otherworlders had gathered. Some strolled casually, others streamed the event. They were here to watch, not to fight.
“Found him!”
“He’s over there!”
My observation was interrupted. They’d spotted me. I hadn’t been completely hidden. Hundreds of eyes were searching the forest.
“…Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and charged. I needed to test their defenses.
I aimed my spear and dropped from the tree, targeting one of the Knights.
“Incoming!”
“Shields up!”
He reacted quickly. One of the five raised his shield, the others took cover behind it.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
My spear, imbued with Sword Qi, struck the shield. The Knight’s face contorted in pain.
Even with the shield, the impact was significant.
But that was all. The shield held. A simple spear, even with Sword Qi, couldn’t penetrate the thick metal. And five Knights braced against the impact.
Four swords lunged towards me, cutting off my attack.
Swish! Swish!
I quickly retreated. Their attacks were swift and precise, but their range was limited.
They wouldn’t extend beyond the shield. An extremely defensive formation. It would be difficult to capture me this way, but it didn’t matter. There were hundreds of them.
While I was occupied with one group, the others were slowly closing in, like turtles surrounding their prey.
“He’s even more handsome in person… What a waste. Such a handsome boy, tainted by demon blood…”
“Silence! Who told you to chatter during a mission? Focus! He’s not human. He’s a demon seed.”
“Y-yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
I overheard snippets of their conversation.
I frowned. I felt trapped. I needed to break through their encirclement.
A direct attack wouldn’t penetrate their shields.
The solution was simple.
‘Hit them harder.’
A brute force approach, but effective. I couldn’t afford a prolonged fight. They outnumbered me. I was the one with limited stamina.
Pierce.
I pricked my finger, coating my spear with blood.
The blood, imbued with demonic energy, would strengthen and sharpen the blade, making it even more deadly than Sword Qi.
“He’s using his ability!”
“Confirmed! Prepare the holy water!”
I lunged, aiming for the shield again.
They were ready this time. They produced vials of holy water and splashed it on the shield.
Such a waste of precious holy water… But it was effective.
The blood on my spear sizzled and evaporated, its demonic energy neutralized.
My attack stopped halfway, embedded in the shield.
I couldn’t help but curse.
“Fuck, this is bullshit.”
They outnumbered me, and my attacks were useless.
A cautious, methodical approach. The weight of the Empire was pushing down on me.
If I couldn’t break through, I had only one option.
Run.
“He’s trying to escape!”
“Stop him!”
They moved quickly, tightening their encirclement. A large shield, as tall as I was, blocked my path.
But they hadn’t anticipated my last resort.
I activated Seere’s arm, targeting the large shield. It had a ten-minute cooldown, not ideal for a large-scale battle, but it was enough to create an opening.
“What!?”
“Damn it, not now!”
The group that lost their shield panicked.
I discarded the shield, which had teleported to my waist, and attacked the five Knights.
Slash!
“Ugh!”
They cried out in pain as my spear sliced through their armor. Not fatal wounds, thankfully for them. I’d been off-balance, and their armor was thick.
But it was enough.
“Catch him!”
“Yes, sir!”
I broke through their lines and ran. I asked myself a single question.
‘Where to?’
The answer was obvious. The deeper layers of the forest.
The Knights pursued me relentlessly, maintaining their five-man formations.
But they couldn’t close the distance. I was faster, and their armor hindered their movement.
Swish! Swish!
Arrows flew past me, but none connected.
The dense forest made aiming difficult, and shooting while running required considerable skill.
Good. I could escape.
…Even if I didn’t know what to do once I reached the deeper layers.
But I’d overlooked something. One of them could keep up.
“!”
A chill ran down my spine. Alarm bells rang in my head.
I turned.
Slash!
A sword, moving at incredible speed, hurtled towards me.
A single, refined strike.
I barely managed to block it with my spear.
Crack!
An immense pressure washed over me.
I saw my attacker.
The one who’d been calmly observing and issuing commands.
A man in his early thirties, with golden hair.
“You’re not escaping.”
The Fourth Knight Commander spoke.
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[Your Text Here]
Yeah, Yor is not winning this.
makes me wonder why he didn’t leave for the deeper forest earlier