Chapter 188

Lucas and Evangeline had been waiting on the walls throughout the defense.

Neither was the situation to go out and fight, nor were there enemies approaching for a hand-to-hand battle, so their strength had been entirely preserved.

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter-!

The two knights, mounted on horses, charged forward like chariots.

The firepower of Salamander's Legion concentrated on them as they burst out of the open gates.

However, the first bombardment was completely negated as Reina swung a tornado to counter it.

"That mage officer, I don't like her on a personal level..." 

Lucas glanced at the walls as he muttered.

"But her skills are reliable."

"If her abilities were worth nothing, I would've kicked her out long ago! Let's go!" 

Evangeline spurred her horse and took the lead.

The ordinary salamanders continued to breathe fire, but Evangeline raised her shield and blocked them all.

Immediately following behind her, Lucas swung his sword to the left and right.

Swish! Snap!

The salamanders in the path of the two knights were all cut in two, spraying blood.

In no time, they approached the closest giant salamander.

The giant salamander, as large as a house, slowly turned its body and aimed its fiery muzzle at the two.

Lucas and Evangeline split to the left and right simultaneously, as if by some agreement.

Boom! Boom!

Where the two knights had stood a moment before, fireballs now fell.

But the two knights had already dispersed, diving under the massive body of the giant salamander.

"Huh-!"

Lucas's 'Soul Strike' skill glowed as he struck down his sword,

"Ha-ha-ha!"

Evangeline thrust her spear, dealing 'Damage Payback' with the accumulated damage on her shield.

With Lucas's sword strike and Evangeline's spear strike, one of the thick legs of the giant salamander flew off.

The giant salamander twisted its body, letting out a heavy scream.

Its head, held high before, came down. The two knights, seeing their prey, simultaneously glowed with anticipation.

"Let's go-!"

Ta-dah!

Evangeline, driving her horse towards the neck of the giant salamander, sprung up like a squirrel.

Despite wearing heavy armor, she moved in an unbelievable manner.

The giant salamander tried to breathe fire at Evangeline, but,

"Don't breathe fire... on me!"

She smashed the monster's crown with her shield. Bang!

With the shock, the giant salamander's head fell even lower, low enough to reach Lucas's galloping sword.

Flash-!

Lucas's sword erupted with brilliant rays of light.

With the 1st skill 'Soul Strike', and the unique ability of his newly acquired sword 'Karma Eater' to create sword energy, there was no surviving this attack.

It was a finishing blow!

Snap-!

Lucas's fierce upward swing cleanly severed the giant salamander's neck.

The monster's enormous body collapsed, spilling lava-like blood onto the ground.

"That's one down."

Flicking the blood off his sword, Lucas muttered, and Evangeline landed next to him with a thud!

"The start's good!"

"Four left. Don't let your guard down. Let's go."

The two knights mounted their horses again and charged towards the next giant salamander.

The battle continued, and it was when Lucas and Evangeline had toppled the third giant salamander.

Vroom!

Evangeline's horse looked noticeably fatigued. When it refused to move properly, Evangeline was taken aback.

"Huh? What's wrong with you? Are you hurt?"

Examining the horse, Evangeline slapped her forehead in realization.

"Oops! The armor was too heavy...!"

The [Golem Armor] that Evangeline wore offered immense defense but at the cost of its tremendous weight.

Besides, it was only logical that even the most robust warhorse would have its limits when the rider was performing acrobatics on the saddle while wearing such heavy armor.

'I should have worn lighter armor if I planned to ride!'

Why did she have to make these trivial mistakes? Evangeline swept a hand over the panting horse's mane.

Thanks to the shield Saintess Margarita had provided, the horse had not been burned, but the battlefield was still a sea of flames.

Superhuman heroic characters were not significantly affected, but it was only natural that ordinary warhorses would tire more quickly.

"What do we do? We can't fight like we did earlier."

"No choice. Let's return to the castle for now and then again..."

Lucas stopped mid-sentence as fireball bombardments rained down from above.

"Damn, retreat!"

Instinctively driving his horse out of the bombardment's path, Lucas faltered.

Evangeline, following him, was too slow; her horse couldn't move properly.

With no time to act, a fireball bombardment struck right above her.

- Boom!

"Evangeline!"

Lucas shouted in front of the thick explosion.

A moment later, a choking voice emerged from the dark smoke.

"I'm... okay..."

Despite taking a direct hit, Evangeline had not been seriously injured. Her armor and shield were merely blackened.

"Ugh, the horse..."

But the warhorse caught in the fireball's blast was instantly killed.

Evangeline mourned beside her fallen horse.

"Ughhhhh, I'm so sorry..."

"Now's not the time!"

Lucas quickly grabbed Evangeline by the back of her neck, hoisted her behind him, and fled the area.

The falling fireball caused an immense explosion.

"We've lost our mobility! We must finish this as quickly as possible!"

But without their feint, the monsters' attacks focused on them. Lucas's and Evangeline's horse was continually bombarded.

Approaching the fourth Giant Salamander, their horse was finally swept away by the relentless attack.

- Neigh!

"Damn?!"

"Woah!"

The two knights who had fallen from their horse quickly rolled to their feet, but flames continued to fly at them from all directions.

- Bang! Whoosh!

Evangeline held her shield forward, blocking the fireballs, while Lucas swung his sword to fend off minor attacks.

They were stuck in place, continuously battered by flames.

'Was it a mistake to come out here with just the two of us?'

In the sea of flames, Lucas bit his lip.

He had been confident in his individual strength during previous battles.

He had judged that he and Evangeline could handle the situation by themselves.

Better to finish it as the two best knights rather than risk unnecessary casualties by bringing other soldiers. That had been his thinking.

But had he been wrong? Had it been a reckless strategy?

'What would my lord have commanded?'

Ash's confident smile, always delivering the optimal instructions, flickered before my eyes. I missed it.

'No, because of that!'

Lucas gritted his teeth.

Ash had said he trusted Lucas and had entrusted him with the command. He had said that no one but Lucas could handle the role of commander.

He had to honor that trust.

Lucas gripped his sword tightly. That's when it happened.

Swooosh-!

A blue wave shot out from the castle wall, hitting the face of the fourth giant salamander.

Boom!

The monster, just about to launch an attack on Lucas and Evangeline, twisted its body, screaming in pain.

Startled, I looked toward the wall to find it was Junior. Exhausting her last strength, Junior had cast a spell, but now she was falling to the ground.

"Now's our chance!"

The monster's attack had weakened momentarily, and Lucas and Evangeline dashed forward with all their might.

Once they closed in, the rest happened in an instant. Lucas and Evangeline slew the fourth giant salamander in a single strike.

Thump...!

Standing next to the massive fallen monster, Lucas and Evangeline caught their breaths.

"Only one left now?"

"Yes, we just need to take that one down..."

The last giant salamander was particularly far away. Fifty other regular salamanders were also gathered there.

They couldn't just rush in without a plan. Lucas wiped the sweat and blade grime from his jaw with the back of his hand, clicking his tongue.

'How do we take it down...?'

***

Meanwhile, atop the castle wall.

"Hmm..."

Damien was deep in thought.

He looked down at the magic gun [Black Queen] in his hand.

'The Prince commanded that I only fire this gun three times.'

Although the reason was not given, Ash had urgently instructed not to fire the Black Queen more than three times.

He didn't understand why there was suddenly a constraint on his well-used weapon, but Ash's words must be obeyed without question.

So he had fired only twice so far, saving the last bullet.

"..."

Damien looked back at the battlefield. He saw Lucas and Evangeline, isolated in a fiery hell, without their steeds.

Eventually, Damien made up his mind and nodded.

'I'll fire the last shot here.'

He raised the Black Queen and took aim, targeting the giant salamander, then hesitated.

Ash had said to shoot only three times, but not that he should kill only three.

With one more shot, hitting as many enemies as possible would make the remaining battle easier.

'If I align the trajectory well... hit as many as possible with a single shot...'

Running to the end of the wall, Damien soon finished aiming.

He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

Bang-!

With a resounding blast, the magic bullet was fired.

Soaring to the end of the battlefield, the magic bullet precisely pierced the giant salamander's eye, penetrated its head, and additionally impaled two regular salamanders that had been guarding it.

Kugugung...!

The last giant salamander spewed flames and fell.

"Phew."

Watching the scene, Damien felt a secret relief.

With this, they had passed another critical point in this defensive battle...

"...Huh?"

That's when Damien noticed something odd.

From the magic core of the Black Queen, a faint, unknown aura began to spread. It was like smoke...

"Hungry... so hungry..."

It seemed like a voice could be heard.

'What's that?'

Rubbing his tired eyes and looking back at the Black Queen, it was unchanged. It retained its usual smooth and beautiful appearance.

'...Did I see something false because I used my eyes too much today?'

Shrugging it off, Damien wrapped the Black Queen back over his shoulder.

As Damien's gaze shifted away, once again, a faint aura began to spread from the Black Queen's magic core.

It was a sinister light, like the darkness of midnight.

***

- Crash...!

With Damien's supporting fire, the last Giant Salamander fell.

Lucas and Evangeline took care of the remaining ordinary Salamanders one by one.

Regular soldiers also streamed out of the gates to assist in this process.

After defeating all the monsters and putting out the fires scattered across the battlefield, the sun had already set. The defense had taken the entire day.

Returning to within the castle walls, Lucas suddenly felt an overwhelming fatigue.

Evangeline had already leaned against the wall and started to doze off as soon as she got back.

"You worked hard, Deputy Commander."

Reina, who was overseeing the aftermath of the battle, smiled at Lucas.

"I must acknowledge your bravery. But, you won't last long with that approach. You only have one life, after all."

"..."

Lucas agreed. Today's battle had certainly felt more awkward than usual.

Although they had managed to pull through safely, the process had been dangerous and sloppy.

Above all, Lucas himself lacked confidence in giving the orders.

What this front line needed was Ash.

'My Lord...'

Surveying his party members, scattered and fatigued around the castle walls, Lucas murmured to himself.

'Please come back soon...'

***

[STAGE 7 - CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP - Damien(N)]

[Leveled-up Characters]

- Lucas(SSR) Lv.45 (↑1)

- Evangeline(SSR) Lv.45 (↑1)

- Jupiter Junior(SSR) Lv.54 (↑1)

- Damien(N) Lv.43 (↑2)

[Deceased or Injured Characters]

- None

[Acquired Items]

- Salamander Legion Magic Stones: 290

- Giant Salamander Magic Core(R): 5

[Stage Clear Rewards have been given. Please check your inventory.]

- R-grade Reward Boxes: 5

>> Get Ready For The Next STAGE

>> [STAGE 8: A Lucky Day]