Chapter 314: A Demi-human Sneak Attack? An Unexpected Gain, Dark Knight
Gagaran might not have noticed.
But Tang Zheng did. Kelart was clearly and intentionally trying to pry information from Gagaran's mouth about the current gathering places of the various Demi-human tribes.
This behavior immediately made Tang Zheng realize the Holy Kingdom's true objective.
"No wonder I had a strange feeling this whole time. We clearly already scouted the enemy's location, yet we continued with the original plan under the pretext of preventing traps."
Understanding dawned on Tang Zheng.
For the Holy Kingdom, the appearance of so many Undead was both a calamity and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
They could seize the chance to annihilate all the Demi-humans in the entire Abelion Hills!
However.
What was the reason for Kelart's confidence?
Tang Zheng was lost in thought, his gaze drifting to Captain Nigun, who stood to the side with a perpetually cold face that betrayed no emotion.
"Captain!"
Suddenly, a hurried voice came from the direction of the Sunlight Scripture's unit as its owner rushed over.
"We've detected life signs! About twenty individuals, and they're approaching us rapidly!" the member of the Scripture immediately reported.
"Life signs?"
"Not Undead?" Captain Nigun's gaze sharpened as he looked in the direction his subordinate was pointing.
Tang Zheng also looked over. If there were life signs, then in a region like the Abelion Hills, they were most likely Demi-humans.
Gagaran stood up as well, a look of delight on her face.
After a short while.
Twenty cyan figures appeared in everyone's line of sight, rushing towards Tang Zheng's group at an extremely high speed.
The members of the Holy Knight Order immediately stood up and assumed defensive stances.
They were an insectoid race with sharp arm blades growing from their arms, their entire bodies encased in a layer of cyan, exoskeleton-like armor.
"The Blade Armor Beetle tribe!" Gagaran announced after getting a clear look at them.
A group of twenty Blade Armor Beetles wasn't a large number. Coupled with the fact that the human faction intended to cooperate with the Demi-humans, the members of the Holy Knight Order relaxed their guard slightly.
As this group of Blade Armor Beetles drew near the humans, they deliberately slowed their pace, meaningfully displaying a sort of goodwill.
This put the Paladins even more at ease.
"It seems to be the Demi-human faction's advance party."
Seeing this, Kelart spoke softly, a smile gracing the corners of her mouth.
However!
The words had barely left her lips when the smile on Kelart's face froze.
The Blade Armor Beetles, who had been slowing down as they approached, suddenly quickened their pace when they were about thirty to forty meters away from the humans!
In just a few breaths!
The Blade Armor Beetles had already charged in front of the outermost Paladins, the arm blades extending from their arms swinging down like cold glints of light.
"Ah—"
"Ah—"
Several of the outermost Paladins had no time to react and were cut down by the charging Blade Armor Beetles, letting out miserable screams.
In an instant!
The Paladins' expressions changed drastically. With roars of fury, they drew their longswords and charged forward to meet the enemy.
Remedios, who had long been suppressing her anger and frustration, vanished from her spot in an instant and plunged into the midst of the Blade Armor Beetles.
"Holy Strike!"
Remedios's eyes were cold with fury. Astonishing power poured through her sword blade, which radiated with holy light. A Blade Armor Beetle, despite having defenses comparable to plate armor, was cleaved in two by her sword.
"Damn Demi-humans! Kill them!"
Twenty Blade Armor Beetles was not a large number. Although their individual strength was greater than that of an ordinary Paladin, they were outnumbered and faced with Remedios's powerful assault.
In just a moment's time.
The entire group of Blade Armor Beetles was slain.
The smell of blood filled the air. Seven Paladin corpses lay on the ground, causing the other Paladins to seethe with fury.
Every Paladin participating in this mission was prepared to die, but they had never imagined that their comrades wouldn't fall to the Undead, but rather to a sneak attack by Demi-humans!
"Gagaran!!"
Remedios whipped her head around furiously, her bone-chilling gaze fixed on Gagaran.
*Bang!*
The ground beneath her feet trembled.
Remedios shot out like a bolt of silver lightning. The Holy Sword in her hand radiated a blazing white light, cutting through the air with a sizzling hum as she slashed forward.
"Sky Slash!"
"Mighty Strike!"
A cold glint appeared in Gagaran's eyes as well, and she swung her spiked club without hesitation.
*BOOM—*
The two clashed in an instant, a powerful airwave surging outwards.
Kelart and Captain Nigun, who were closest, were the first to retreat. Seeing this, Tang Zheng also moved back.
"Wait, sister!"
Kelart raised an arm to shield her face from the surging airwave while hastily trying to stop them.
She also despised Demi-humans, but it was clear that something was off about what had just happened. No matter what those Demi-humans were thinking, they wouldn't have attacked the humans who had come to help them in their current predicament.
If they were to attack, it would be after the threat of the Undead was dealt with, at the very least!
After a brief clash, Remedios and Gagaran both took a step back simultaneously.
"Kelart, you saw it yourself! These despicable Demi-humans have no intention of cooperating at all!"
Hearing her sister's restraining voice, Remedios still glared furiously at Gagaran.
"Your Excellency Gagaran, can you tell me what just happened?"
Kelart gestured for Remedios to stand down and asked in a serious tone, "I need an explanation!"
Gagaran was also baffled and bewildered at this moment. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She also had no idea why the Blade Armor Beetle tribe would attack humans.
"Those Blade Armor Beetles were likely being controlled."
"Didn't any of you notice that their movements were a bit stiff?"
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Tang Zheng took a step forward and spoke softly.
Remedios immediately looked over and opened her mouth to say, "You bastard, how dare you side with the Demi-humans..."
"Sister!"
Kelart's tone was markedly stern this time as she shouted.
"But—" Remedios started.
"I also feel that the situation just now was unusual," Kelart said earnestly, looking apologetically at Tang Zheng. "Controlled by someone?"
"Leader Tang, do you mean that our enemy isn't just the magic caster who controls the Legendary Undead?"
Tang Zheng gave Kelart a surprised glance, not expecting her to connect the dots so quickly.
As expected, compared to the one-track-minded Remedios, Kelart was indeed far more intelligent and troublesome.
"Correct."
"Last night, we were attacked by a large number of Undead, but we never saw any Death Knights. This indicates that someone else was controlling the Undead that attacked us."
"If I were that powerful magic caster, why would I need to be so cautious?"
Tang Zheng's expression turned serious as he reminded them, "We have more than one enemy. After traveling all night, even though it's daytime now, this is the perfect opportunity to attack us."
Remedios froze for a moment, then looked at Kelart.
*BOOM!*
A crimson fireball suddenly shot towards them from a distance.
The members of the Cleric Corps, already on alert, immediately cast their magic.
"Shockwave!" a Cleric shouted.
*RUMBLE—*
The force of the explosion erupted, forcing everyone to immediately stop their argument and look in the direction the fireball came from.
A hundred meters away, in a spot that had been empty, two figures appeared out of thin air.
An old man wearing a gray magic robe and a warrior clad in black armor.
"Hoh, members of the Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy."
"It seems you found that little greeting to your liking, didn't you?"
The Gray-robed Mage's sinister laughter reached everyone's ears.
"Was that Teleportation?!"
Captain Nigun first glanced at his subordinate—those two clearly hadn't been there during the last scan—then he realized something. "Someone who has stepped into the 'Heroic Realm'! A fifth-tier magic caster!"
Everyone's expression grew serious.
Tang Zheng and the others quickly moved forward to face the two mysterious individuals.
"Who are you!" Kelart asked, her gaze cold.
"Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself."
"We are high disciples of Zuranon, and we plan to transform the Abelion Hills into a true nation of the Undead."
The Gray-robed Mage ignored their hostile glares, speaking with arrogance instead, "So, could I trouble you all to leave?"
"We don't want to offend two kingdoms at once. That would be very troublesome."
The moment the name Zuranon was mentioned, some people looked blank, while others looked astonished.
"That legendary evil secret society that destroyed a city twenty years ago!"
Kelart murmured to herself, "So the mysterious magic caster controlling the Legendary Undead is the Alliance Leader of Zuranon."
"No wonder." A flicker passed through Captain Nigun's eyes. As his gaze turned icy, a sense of understanding dawned on him.
One of the tasks for this mission was to investigate the identity of the mysterious magic caster. After all, an evil mage who could suddenly appear and was capable of creating and controlling Legendary Undead had emerged.
No amount of attention or vigilance was too much!
If it was Zuranon, then everything made sense.
Tang Zheng felt like laughing at this moment.
Alright, it seemed Zuranon was definitely taking the blame for this whole affair in the Abelion Hills.
He hadn't expected them to announce their affiliation right off the bat. He didn't know whether to call them confident or arrogant.
"Pavel!"
Remedios didn't have so many complicated thoughts. Now that the enemy was confirmed, she just had to kill them.
"Yes!"
"Black" Pavel had already drawn his bowstring taut. An arrow glowing with a faint red light was instantly loosed.
The arrow streaked through the air like a rainbow!
It crossed the hundred-meter distance in an instant, heading straight for the Gray-robed Mage's head.
"Dark Strike!"
The stoic, black-armored knight standing to the side suddenly took a step forward. With a wave of his arm, he swung his black longsword.
It easily struck the incredibly fast arrow.
*BOOM!*
The arrow exploded on contact, and scorching flames engulfed the black-armored knight.
The members of the Holy Kingdom faction showed looks of elation, only to be stunned the very next moment.
And then they saw!
The black-armored knight walked out of the flames completely unscathed, his entire body shimmering with a faint black light, like some kind of protection magic.
"I hate it when people use petty tricks."
"In a moment, I'll kill your captain first, and then I'll kill you."
The black-armored knight raised the black longsword in his hand, pointing its tip at "Black" Pavel. The scars on his face writhed like maggots as he spoke in a cold voice.
"It seems you all refuse to leave!"
The Gray-robed Mage's voice followed immediately after. He lifted the magic staff in his hand, which seemed to be made of vines, and slammed it forcefully onto the ground.
"Come out, everyone!"
*RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—*
The ground shook!
Skeletal and rotting arms began to emerge from the ground as large numbers of low-tier Undead started to appear.
"Protect the corpses and prepare for battle!"
"Remedios, I want one of them captured alive," Kelart said quickly.
"Got it!" Remedios replied, a fiery light in her eyes.
At this moment, Tang Zheng looked at the status panel that only he could see, a trace of surprise on his face.
*Skill "Dark Strike" discovered. Requirement: Intermediate Job Class [Dark Knight]. Prerequisite Job: [Paladin]. Current conditions not met...*
*"Genius" Job activated. Conversion successful. Learning conditions met. Consume 3 Skill Points to learn?*
"A prerequisite of Paladin?"
Tang Zheng was a bit stunned.
If he remembered correctly, the prerequisite for the Holy Knight job was Paladin. How was it that this Intermediate Job Class before him also had Paladin as a prerequisite?
After a brief hesitation, a thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. It was just an Intermediate Job Class; at worst, it would be a waste of three skill points.
*VMMMM—*
*Job Class Acquired!*
...
**Job:** Dark Knight
**Level:** Intermediate Job Class
**Ability Effects:**
**Passive:**
*Power of Pain*: Attacks are imbued with negative-attribute damage and apply a continuous negative-attribute erosion effect.
*Heart of Darkness*: Reduces incoming Holy and Fire attribute damage by 10%. Increases Holy attribute resistance by 10%.
**Active Skill:**
*Dark Strike*: A skill converted from "Holy Strike." Enemies hit by this skill have all healing effects they receive halved.
**Description:** A Paladin who has fallen into darkness. Light? Justice? Holiness? Ptooey!
(Note: For every level up, MP, Physical Defense, and Magical Defense increase by 10 points.)
...
After seeing this job's information, Tang Zheng finally understood why an Intermediate Job Class, whose name seemed completely unrelated to a Paladin, still required Paladin as its prerequisite.
"A fallen Paladin... what a cliché job."
Tang Zheng compared the job information for Dark Knight and Holy Knight and found that there was no connection between them in terms of their content.
He temporarily suppressed the thoughts in his mind.
Tang Zheng turned his gaze back to the front, where everyone was already engaged in combat with the Undead.
(end of chapter)