The Death Knight stood in the middle of the room between the mercenaries and the soldiers. Everyone present could feel the evil aura surrounding them. This undead was a terrifying creature. His eyes were empty, and the little bit of skin that was there barely covered some parts of his skull. It only looked at them with a couple of small red lights instead of eyes.
The Death Knight wasn’t supposed to be here. His mission was to seal the exits of the tunnels, but Thanatos was busy fighting Grul deep underground. During the fight, he lost control of a part of the Knight. Instead of completing his mission and returning to his master, he wandered looking for more exits to seal, reaching the upper parts of the labyrinth and killing anyone in his way.
"GGGGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAA!" The undead scream, filling the hearts of everyone with despair and fear. Only two remained firm before the intimidating scream.
"Not only torture and slavery, but you also added necromancy to the list of your crimes." Cadoc said while looking at Rak. Of course, he blamed the mercenaries for the existence of this creature. To commit a taboo like necromancy was the epitome of foolishness.
It had only been 30 years since the battle against the necromancer Zek. It was thanks to the Kingdom's joining forces with the Republic that both nations survived. It was the current Supreme General, Thane Ulick Rion, one of the three great heroes, who killed the necromancer.
To prevent another disaster, both nations banned the practice and study of necromancy. This offense was punishable by death. After seeing the creature, Cadoc threw the last bit of mercy he had in his heart. If they will not surrender, then death is the only appropriate punishment.
Sadly, Rak was just as confused. He had no idea where the undead had come from. Not even his master, Ennis, was fool enough to resort to something like necromancy. In fact, the thought of using puppets that can't feel pain or emotions would probably end up boring his Master in a few days. Still, the reality was that the undead was here.
"Go, take the master away from here. It doesn’t matter if he refuses, knock him out." He ordered one of his men to retreat. Making sure Ennis could escape safely was the most important thing right now.
A sudden strike of a sword hit him. Rak managed to block it with his own sword.
"Trying to run away? After this, you bastards deserve only death." Cadoc was furious.
Both were trying to overpower the other. While the swords were still clashing against each other, the Death Knight moved. In the blink of an eye, he was beside the two men and made a horizontal slash with his great sword.
They back away just in time to dodge the strike, no that was wrong. Both had their clothes slashed on one side. If they had backed away a second later, they would have been split in two.
This is bad. That thing is not an ordinary undead. If I have to compare it to something, his skill with the sword is equivalent to a Capitan. Since he also attacked the mercenary, that must mean they have trouble controlling him. I have to defeat both on my own or the mission will fail. Cadoc tightened the grip on his sword. He was the only one here who could defeat these opponents.
"Retreat soldiers! I will deal with them alone."
"Boys, stay back! You only get on my way." Rak took a battle posture and drank a potion of Strength.
They all jumped at the same time, and the infernal battle dance of the three combatants began.
The clash of the swords echoed in the room. Slashes and swings happened at rapid speed. Not a single person left the other room to relax. The undead was at the center of the fight. Cadoc and Rak could recognize that this was the bigger threat.
Cadoc took a position to hit both opponents at the same time. "[Pierce]!" This time, instead of one single thrust, it was over a dozen of attacks. As the rapid thrusts rained down on them, Rak managed to get away after having his elbow pierced. The Death Knight stood his ground, blocking with his shield and armor, taking the brunt of the rest of the attacks.
Cadoc continued with the barrage of attacks, managing to pierce the armor as he hit the decomposing flesh, until he saw Rak grabbing his sword over his head. The sword began to glow, and he screamed. "[Break]!"
Rak aimed at the back of Cadoc, who managed to hide himself behind the body of the Death Knight. With insane reflexes, the knight put his shield up to block the hit. The shield crumbled into hundreds of pieces as the sword sliced through it.
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Cadoc took advantage of the gap in the defense of the undead and he cut him right in the middle. The rancid flesh and bile exploded like a balloon. If it were a normal person, he would have died after that attack, but he wasn't.
The Death Knight refused to back down, and his sword started to exude a black substance from it. It was necrotic energy, the magic that runs through the bodies of the undead. The magic that is the complete opposite of life and healing magic. The Death Knight roared and struck both.
Cadoc blocked the hit with his sword, which almost broke after the impact. Rak wasn’t so lucky. He needed a moment to return his sword to a defensive position after using his special ability. That moment was enough for the undead to slice his left hand.
The blood poured from the wound in Rak's wrist; not only that, but the necrotic energy also damaged the rest of his arm. Cadoc also found that his arms were losing strength. Since he had contact with the necrotic energy, his hands were dry and with wrinkles, like those of an old person.
The Death Knight continued with his attack. Seeing that Rak was the most vulnerable opponent, he launched another strike at him. Rak had only one hand, but his battle instincts were those of a veteran. He raised his sword and once again used his special ability. "[Break]!"
The two swords collided. The impact was so strong that the air was pushed outside of the point of impact. Rak's special ability was something he learned from his journeys as a mercenary. The most powerful warriors could use multiple special abilities and even combine them in new ways. So, it wasn’t strange for warriors to try to teach one another.
[Break] was something he learned from an old fighter many years ago. It took him years of training, but he managed to learn the ability to destroy the weapon of an opponent in a single hit. The reason he did it was because he wanted to create the perfect opportunity to use another special ability he had learned.
The sword of the Death Knight began to crumble only about halfway. He didn’t manage to destroy it completely, but it was still good enough. Even while his arm was losing strength due to the necrotic energy, Rak activated his second ability. "[Rain of pieces]"
The small fragments of the sword and shield began to transform into sharp knives. Hundreds of small knives were pointing at the Death Knight. It was at that moment that Cadoc realized there were also knives pointing at him. He saw Rak smiling. He intended to finish both opponents with a single move.
"[Swan dance]!" Cadoc's sword turned white, and he swung it in an elegant and gentle manner. With the moves of a swan he blocked and redirected away from him most of the knives. He protected his face and torso. Some of the knives struck at his legs and arms, but they weren’t fatal.
The Death Knight could only block with his broken sword. He took most of the knives. His armor was destroyed and some of his bones were broken after taking the numerous impacts. The undead finally fell.
Rak looked at the Captain. He launched himself with his sword, ready to kill. He was going to finish him while he was still hurting from the knives. The two men clashed once again.
Both were tired and hurting, Rak missing a hand, and Cadoc with numerous stabs in his arms and legs. Both refused to die. Their fight only lasted a few more seconds.
After exchanging about a dozen strikes, they both used the last remnants of their strength to activate their special abilities.
"[Break]!"
"[Pier-!!! [Swan dance]" Cadoc changed his plan at the last second. Rak didn't know why the soldier hesitated until he felt the murderous intent on his back.
Rak only managed to look at his back for one second before he was cut. The Death Knight stood back up.
With his broken sword, he launched a blade of necrotic power at his opponents. The dark blade extended beyond his reach and cut Rak in the back. Cadoc saw the Death Knight stading back up, so he changed from an offensive to a defensive move.
He managed to get away thanks to the use of [Swan dance]. He used the remaining seconds to run to the undead.
The Death Knight launched another blade of necrotic energy at Cadoc, but this time he couldn’t dodge. It was too big and was aimed at the center of his body.
Cadoc didn’t run out of the way. If he was going to be cut, then he would make the most of it. He lost his left leg, right below the knee. The pain was merely a distraction as he reached the undead.
"[PIERCE]!" Before he died, he used the last of his strength to pierce the skull. The light cracked the skull not once, not twice, but three times. Three thrusts with all he had shattered the head of the enemy, destroying it.
This time, the Death Knight fell and never stood back up. Cadoc dropped on the floor, wounded and missing a leg.
"AH…AH…" He finally regained his breath. The adrenaline left his body and the pain of dozens of knives began to occupy his mind. The hot sensation below his knee reminded him of his inevitable death by hemorrhage.
"CAPTAIN CADOC! QUICK GIVE HIM A POTION!" A couple of soldiers ran toward their captain to administer first aid. They retrieved his leg and, thanks to the potion of healing, his leg got reattached.
Cadoc was still hurt. His leg needed more healing, and he still had a lot of cuts on his limbs. He looked at the remains of his opponents. The mercenary Rak was cut in half and the remaining bones of the undead creature.
"Come on. We need to help the others and rescue the slaves." He began to walk toward the path where other mercenaries disappeared.
"But Captain, you are still injured. You need to rest-"
"A Knight doesn’t rest while the innocents are still suffering. We don’t know if there are stronger opponents. It is my responsibility to lead you, so follow me." He ran without looking back.
He put on a brave act to distract his subordinates. In truth, he was worried that there were more undead creatures. If somehow there’s something equal or stronger below, then I will sacrifice myself so the rest of them can escape with the slaves. Please Silver, don’t die alone. With that final prayer in his heart, Cadoc continued the raid.