After Kane assembled his vast army of the living and the dead, he began his march toward the city of Frans.
Above them, the sky was heavy with thick black clouds, and the howling winds carried the stench of blood and ash—as if nature itself was warning of an impending calamity.
The Black Knight's army, mounted upon their steeds, looked like a roaring wave of darkness sweeping across the earth, moving with an ominous, silent thunder that shook the hearts of all who heard of them.
Every step they took spread terror through the villages and towns along their path. Even those who hadn't seen the army with their own eyes whispered in dread:
"A great black army marches toward House Frans… The Black Knight is coming!"
At the front of the army rode Kane upon his massive, awe-inspiring steed. Those who spoke of him described him as a mythical beast come to life.
By his side rode Leon, gripping his giant spear, and Duan with his faint, knowing smile as he gazed at the empty banners above the army.
Duan broke the silence:
"If you truly wish to terrify your enemies, you need a banner worthy of legend. What do you say we revive our ancestors' banner? No one has carried it for centuries."
Kane's cold gaze remained fixed on the horizon as he asked, "What does it look like?"
A strange gleam lit up Duan's eyes as he answered:
"A crimson background, symbolizing the blood that will be spilled… and two black swords crossed, streaked with violet, representing the dark energy flowing through our ranks."
Kane immediately ordered the creation of the banner, and once it was raised above the soldiers' heads, a shiver ran through everyone present.
It looked like a phantom from ancient history itself, filling the army with a sense of eternal legend and unmatched might.
During the march, Duan approached Kane again and said:
"To topple your enemy's fortresses, you need more than swords. You need strategy."
He then taught Kane a war tactic unlike any he had seen before: creating siege weapons infused with dark energy.
Under Duan's instruction, the soldiers gathered wooden frames and massive stones. Then Duan combined them with deathly violet energy, forming energy-fueled catapults.
Kane tested one himself. When the first stone launched, glowing with shadowy power, it slammed into the horizon with an earth-shaking blast.
Kane knew then that his army now had a weapon that would instill fear before it shattered walls.
Meanwhile, news of the army reached Rod Frans, lord of the city and head of House Frans.
Rod was a forty-seven-year-old man, bald on the crown of his head with thin hair on the sides, broad-bodied and consumed with arrogance.
At first, he dismissed the reports as the ramblings of fools. But as terrified spies returned with the same warnings, his heart began to tremble.
One of his spies burst into the hall shouting:
"My lord, it's no ordinary army! It's a massive black host marching this way!"
Only then did Rod realize the danger. He immediately sent for aid from House Argant, their strongest allies.
While Rod prepared within the safety of his castle, Kane's army was already approaching the towering walls of Frans.
Kane stood atop a ridge, overlooking the fortifications, and raised his hand with a thunderous command:
"Prepare… the main gate is our first target."
Rod appeared atop the walls, his voice booming with false bravado:
"Who are you?! How dare you enter imperial lands? You serve no house! What you do is a declaration of war against the entire empire!"
Kane's voice roared like thunder in reply:
"I am the Black Knight, and this is my army—the Army of Darkness. We are children of the empire, but we serve no emperor. We serve justice and the oath of true knighthood!
We are here to protect the people, not to sell them as slaves or slaughter them like cattle as you do. Today… judgment comes for you, Rod Frans!"
Then Kane shouted:
"Fire!"
The catapults Duan had built unleashed their dark stones. With each strike, the walls cracked, and defenders screamed.
Rod panicked and fled back to his keep, drawing the city's soldiers into the castle with him, abandoning the civilians to their fate.
The main gate shattered under Kane's relentless assault. His army surged forward like an unstoppable tide.
The townsfolk panicked and fled, but soon they noticed something strange: the dark army did not harm them. They struck down only those who raised weapons against them.
Kane had given strict orders:
"Do not harm anyone unarmed. Do not approach the innocent. Our enemies are those who fight."
This discipline filled his foes with dread. Even Rod's soldiers whispered:
"They're not mindless beasts… they fight with honor!"
Kane led his knights deeper into the city until they reached the Frans family's palace.
The gates shattered, and the army stormed inside, discovering a hidden underground cellar.
When its doors were broken open, a horrific sight awaited them: slaves chained to the walls, their faces pale and bodies frail from hunger and torture.
Kane's rage ignited, his eyes glowing with dark power:
"Is this what you do to your people? You will pay for this!"
He ordered the slaves freed immediately.
At that moment, Leon and Duan arrived with reinforcements. Kane barked:
"Capture Rod alive! He will face judgment before the people!"
Rod attempted to flee deeper into the castle, but his elite guards clashed with Kane's army.
The battle was brutal—swords clashing, screams echoing, Leon wielding his spear like a storm, Duan's blade flashing with lethal grace, and Kane himself advancing like an unstoppable tempest.
Within half a day, the battle ended.
Rod, the coward who never even drew his sword, was found crawling on the ground, begging for his life:
"Please… spare me!"
Kane looked at him with utter disgust:
"Filth unworthy of life."
He dragged Rod before the gathered townsfolk. In front of all, Kane announced his crimes—slave trading, theft, and betrayal of his oath to protect the people—before executing him publicly, severing his head with a single strike.
Kane's voice thundered across the square:
"The era of justice begins today! I am the Black Knight, and I will never allow harm to come to the innocent or the return of slavery!"
When the people saw the freed slaves and learned the truth, they knew Kane was right.
As his army departed through the shattered gates, the citizens cheered and praised them, their voices echoing long after the army disappeared over the horizon.
Hours later, House Argant finally arrived with a massive military force—only to find the aftermath:
The gates were broken, the palace lay in ruins, Frans soldiers' corpses littered the streets, and Rod's head hung for all to see.
When they asked the townsfolk what happened, they heard the tale of the Black Knight and his unstoppable army.
The next day, Kane and his forces took a long-deserved rest in a nearby city after their grueling march and war.
But while they rested, rumors spread through the empire like wildfire:
"The Black Knight's army cannot be stopped."
"He does not harm the innocent, but he spares no one who stands against him."
"He raises an ancient banner, and the skies darken with black mist at his coming."
Kane's name was on everyone's lips. Nobles trembled at the thought of his sudden appearance; even the Emperor himself issued a decree declaring Kane's army an unsanctioned force that must be stopped.
Yet among the youth, Kane became a symbol—the ideal knight.
Among noble ladies, he became the dream: a warrior bound by an unbreakable code of honor, leading an army loyal to his cause.
And thus, the legend of the Black Knight spread to every corner of the empire, and House Frans—and all like them—became a grim warning to all who would oppress the innocent.