Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Within the Void Wasteland, there were hundreds of barriers.
The reason why not a single sign of life could be heard or seen in this vast land was due to these barriers.
If Kane and his group didn\'t enter this place at a specific time together, they would each be dropped into a different barrier.
"A dirty memory suddenly resurfaced."
It was the memory of struggling in this very place.
The feeling of the only defeat he had tasted as Ray Hatzfeld.
He had felt it here, in the Void Wasteland.
"This time, it\'s your turn."
While it would be fair to return that dreadful sense of defeat,
He had no intention of doing so.
Before the Red Spear Knights could even taste that defeat, they would be buried here.
"Shall we get started, then?"
Kane\'s eyes had turned into crescents.
He immediately called for Camilla.
"Camilla, prepare for battle."
"Pardon?"
Kane stood atop a black stone embedded in the ground.
As he pressed down on the stone with his foot,
A very small circle was drawn around them.
It was a space barely large enough for two people to fit.
"Do not step outside the circle drawn on the ground. If you do, we will each be transported to different barriers."
Though it was a sudden explanation,
Camilla quickly grasped the situation.
She nodded, digesting Kane\'s words.
"I\'ll keep that in mind."
"Soon, undead-type monsters will appear. They are high-tier, Class 4 monsters, so be cautious."
"High-Tier 4th Class... I\'ll probably just get in the way."
"If you can\'t block their attacks, the monster\'s weapon will end up in my back."
"I can’t let that happen!"
"So do your best to block them. Don’t entertain any weak thoughts."
"I\'ll do my best!"
Undead-type monsters possessed overwhelming combat power.
Moreover, they had no reasoning, driven purely by a killing instinct, making them extremely dangerous.
A single lapse in focus could result in immediate death.
"There\'s one more thing to keep in mind. If I kill a monster, you must also kill one within 10 seconds."
"I\'ll try!"
Although these types of monsters were incredibly strong,
Their defense was ridiculously low.
It was inadequate compared to their class.
Even Camilla at the beginner-tier of 4th class could kill them.
"Let\'s give the Red Spear Knights a taste of defeat."
Dark energy surged from the stone Kane was standing on.
At the same time, skeletons burst from the ground.
Around a hundred of them, by rough count.
The two were instantly surrounded.
The mutated skeletons charged forward, their red eyes gleaming.
No matter how many there were,
The direction of their attack was predetermined.
Front, back, left, right—there were only four directions.
Fortunately, the skeletons\' spears came only from those directions.
Kane used the Blood Dance to push back the skeletons\' spears fiercely.
The recoil exposed their weak points, but Kane did not kill them.
This was because Camilla was still struggling to fend off the skeletons\' attacks.
"Ugh!"
Camilla blocked the spear thrust at her with her sword ‘Frostbite’, but the impact traveled straight to her wrist.
She heard Kane\'s voice from behind her.
"I\'ll deflect their attacks, and you take advantage of the openings to kill them. You need to take down two at once."
Kane deflected the two skeletons that had attacked Camilla.
Another skeleton that had been waiting behind them lunged forward.
Clang!
Kane deflected the spears of two more skeletons.
"Now!"
Camilla, back-to-back with Kane, spun around.
She slashed at the two skeletons that had exposed their weaknesses.
Slice!
The two skeletons crumbled helplessly.
Kane\'s sword moved again.
BloodSky Blade not only split the spears but also the two skeletons.
"This method is actually better."
Despite how tedious this was, there was a reason for it.
This was a world within a game.
There was a specific strategy for clearing this special field.
Only by following this strategy could they defeat their enemies.
What they were doing now was one of those strategies.
If one person killed a monster, their companion had to kill another within 10 seconds.
If a monster died, it would instantly revive in another barrier.
Victory was achieved by sending all the monsters in one\'s barrier to the other side to an enemy’s barrier.
The Void Wasteland was a death match-style special field.
"Keep going like this."
Kane deflected the skeletons\' attacks, and Camilla swung her sword to kill them.
At first, it was awkward, but as the battle continued, their coordination began to improve.
* * *
Elsewhere, a group of individuals in red armor was fighting against skeletons.
"Why did monsters suddenly reappear!?"
"Dammit, how should I know?"
They killed a skeleton by stabbing it with a spear, but
It immediately revived.
They didn\'t realize a death match had begun.
Only the black-haired man among them noticed the change in the atmosphere.
He was Harald Guttmacher, the leader of the Red Spear Knights.
"The mana in the air seems to be trapped within a confined space."
A strange phenomenon.
It felt like they were trapped in a single space.
"The skeletons aren\'t a concern, but the longer this battle drags on, the more dangerous it’ll become."
They had already fought plenty of battles to obtain the Fire Star.
They had slain every boss monster in the Void Wasteland.
But now, monsters they thought would no longer appear had started to come again.
Something felt off.
"We need to deal with these monsters quickly and get out of here."
The only way to escape this place was to obtain the Fire Star and return to Hatzfeld.
Delivering it to his master would complete the mission.
There was no time to waste here.
"Cavalry unit, trample the monsters at the front!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The armored horses began to charge forward.
The Red Spear Knights charged directly into the skeletons.
The skeletons hit by the horses twisted or shattered.
The knights quickly turned their horses around.
Once again, they charged forward.
This time, flames erupted from the spears of the knights on horseback.
"Throw your spears!"
Flames spread from the tip of the spears, engulfing the shafts as they flew forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the spears struck the skeletons, explosions erupted.
The Red Spear Knights charged into the deafening blasts.
They retrieved their spears and reined in their horses.
"Did we get them all?"
Harald asked as he looked ahead, picking up his spear.
"They\'re getting back up!"
The vice-captain beside him shouted.
The undead had a tenacious life force.
No matter how many times they were killed, they would rise again.
And now, having been corrupted by dark magic, they had mutated into even more resilient monsters.
"Damn persistent creatures."
Harald scowled.
"Captain, there are even more of them this time. It looks like there are at least 300."
"If they rise again, we’ll just kill them again."
The Red Spear Knights\' horses charged once more.
This time, it was as if they were determined to obliterate them completely.
They unleashed their mana without holding back.
With every knight being at least a Beginner-tier 5th Class knight,
Their destructive power was overwhelming.
They were, after all, one of the most elite knight orders of the Hatzfeld Kingdom.
The mutated Class 4 skeletons were crushed without being able to launch a proper attack.
Every time the skeletons touched the knights\' spears, they disintegrated into white powder that scattered into the air.
In an instant, they dealt with the 300 skeletons.
They held their breath and looked at the ground.
"It seems to be over."
"Whew. Those things were annoyingly persistent."
"Let\'s get out of here before more show up."
"Move at full speed, we need to get out of the Void Wasteland."
Harald spurred his horse forward.
The Red Spear Knights followed him at a gallop.
But they didn\'t get far before they had to halt.
Screeech!
An ice wall blocked their path.
"A lich has appeared."
Now even an undead mage, a lich, had shown itself.
"Is it because of the Fire Star?"
The Elemental Star that had been lying dormant in the Void Wasteland.
Harald suspected that trying to take it out had caused the mutated monsters to desperately try to stop them.
"We must bring this Fire Star to Prince Dirk. Everyone, don’t falter and fight to the end!"
The Red Spear Knights charged towards the lich.
* * *
Three days had passed since Kane and his group (Camilla and Blata) entered the Void Wasteland. In that time, they had broken through dozens of barriers. The lingering mana in the air was a sign that the Red Spear Knights were still alive. They had been holding out for quite a while, considering they must have faced well over a thousand mutated monsters.
And then there was the undead mage, the lich, along with gargoyles and death knights. Everything was mixed in. No matter how strong the Red Spear Knights were, they were bound to be defeated eventually by the endlessly regenerating mutated monsters.
"It\'s time to watch them die."
The reason Kane had been breaking barrier after barrier to advance was clear, he wanted to get his revenge and watch the Dirk’s dogs die as painfully as possible.
"Kane, you\'re really ruthless."
"Does that bother you?"
"I like it even more. We get along so well, hehe. Let\'s go enjoy the show."
At Blata\'s urging, Kane and Camilla stepped out of the barrier. The sight that greeted them was one of carnage. The bodies of mutated monsters were strewn everywhere, attempting to resurrect, but they crumbled into dust as soon as Kane emerged from the barrier.
"They held out for a long time."
Camilla swallowed as she looked at the exhausted Red Spear Knights.
"So, these are the famous spear knights of the Hatzfeld Kingdom…."
The knights were covered in wounds, their armor long since rendered useless. Their spears were chipped and worn. Even their warhorses were dead. They stood back-to-back, seemingly fighting to the last breath.
The Young Master had driven them into this desperate situation. They looked utterly defeated and exhausted, with only faint traces of mana left in them.
All the monsters they defeated showed up at their barrier and Kane made sure to kill each and every monster.
‘How did the Young Master know that the Red Spear Knights were here?’
It was a question that had always puzzled her. The Young Master seemed to know things that others did not. As she stared intently at Kane\'s profile, he began walking toward the Red Spear Knights.
"It\'s been a while, Harald Gutmacher."
Harald\'s eyes, filled with ragged breaths, trembled as he recognized Kane.
"Kane… Rehinar?"
"You look exhausted," Kane remarked, his smile never fading.
Having defeated the Red Dragon Corps, he was finally about to exact his revenge on the Red Spear Knights, those who had once brought about his downfall. The person Kane especially despised was Harald Gutmacher, the commander of the Red Spear Knights. Harald had always been a thorn in his side, interfering at every turn. Even back when Kane was Ray, Harald was second only to Dirk on his list of people he wanted dead.
Now, standing before his nemesis, Kane felt a surge of exhilaration. He had waited for this moment, longing to crush Harald when they met again. Finally, the opportunity was here.
"I\'m going to take that chest you\'ve been guarding so desperately," Kane declared.
"How dare you!" Harald, trying to prove his worth as the commander of the Red Spear Knights, summoned a fierce wave of mana, despite being on the brink of collapse.
Kane chuckled mockingly at the sight. "Foolish bastard. You don’t even understand why you’re in this situation, yet you still try to fight."
As Kane unleashed his own mana, the sheer force of it overwhelmed Harald, the weight of the "Blood Oath," the power of 4th form of rune, pressing down on everything around them.
"Urgh!" Harald couldn\'t withstand Kane\'s power and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Kane strode over and grabbed Harald by the throat. "Kgh…!"
"\'How dare you\' is a phrase reserved for someone much stronger than a fucking insect like you," Kane sneered, tightening his grip.