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Guardian Knight

"The sword of justice!"

Forseti thrust his sword into the ground, a burst of holy light emanating from beneath Marco.

*Boom!*

Marco's leg was impaled by the sword of justice, and he screamed as he fell to the ground. Despite his injury, driven by sheer determination, he crawled swiftly towards the depths of the palace.

Outside, Kronan robbers surged towards Forseti like a wall of stone.

Swinging his dual swords, Forseti cleared the Kronan robbers around him before charging into the palace.

Marco's panicked figure vanished around a corner. Forseti swiftly pursued, navigating corridors until he entered a spacious bedroom-like room.

Inside, Marco was nowhere to be found. The vast room stood empty.

Frowning, Forseti's palm suddenly glowed with golden light, the Holy Light Pointer extending and pointing directly at a wall.

A secret passage?

Forseti reacted swiftly, approaching the wall, infusing it with holy light. Stepping back, he gestured.

"Holy Shock!"

*Boom!*

With a resounding blast, the wall illuminated with holy light exploded, revealing a hidden staircase.

Entering the secret passage and pursuing, Forseti soon caught sight of Marco again. Marco clutched a box in his mouth, hastily fleeing down the narrow passage.

Not so fast!

In the straight passage, Forseti's Holy Light wings fluttered, accelerating him until he appeared behind Marco in an instant.

Rivendell Sword and Demon Slayer Sword sliced through Marco's body in quick succession, trailing afterimages of Holy Light.

"Ah!" Marco screamed as his body was cleaved into three pieces, collapsing to the ground.

His upper body twitched briefly before crumbling into a pile of rocks with a crash.

Forseti reached out and searched through the rubble, eventually uncovering a Mountain Heart.

Compared to previous finds, this Mountain Heart was large, round, red, and gleamed with extraordinary quality at first sight.

Stowing away the Heart of the Mountain, Forseti's attention then turned to a small box. It was the same box Marco had been carrying in his mouth before his demise, its contents unknown.

Opening the box, Forseti found a diamond-shaped, faintly glowing white spar the size of a fist, emanating strange energy fluctuations.

Sensing its significance, Forseti closed the box and carefully stored it in his Sanctuary space.

Retracing his steps, Forseti returned to the palace exterior to continue his battle against the Kronan robbers.

With Marco gone, the robbers' morale plummeted. Forseti swiftly dispatched the remaining resistance, driving the rest to scatter and flee.

The palace exterior resembled a large quarry strewn with debris of all sizes.

Forseti scoured through the rocks, eventually uncovering eighteen Mountain Hearts. Adding the previous two, he now had a total of twenty.

Twenty Mountain Hearts should suffice for quite some time.

Before departing, Forseti opened his Sanctuary to review the rewards for eliminating the robbers.

As expected, most rewards were average or even junk, except for one noteworthy item.

**Experience Tome: Seven Sages of Black Iron (Boss)**

**Experience Level: Level 6**

The Seven Sages of Black Iron were the seven bosses in the Blackrock Depths group. Initially, Emperor Thaurissan summoned them alongside Ragnaros, the Firelord.

...

Three days later.

A rainbow-colored light flashed in the teleportation chamber, revealing Forseti beside Heimdall, holding a round shield and a sharp blade.

"Is this a creation of the dwarves for you?" Heimdall inquired.

"That's right," Forseti affirmed, brandishing the sword and shield.

These weapons were crafted for the Guardian Knights: Silent Fang and Dragonman's Shield.

Exiting the teleportation chamber, Forseti proceeded directly to Hadiya's Forge.

"Is Brunnock around?"

Old Hadiya smiled and nodded. "He's practicing shields in the backyard."

Forseti entered the backyard to find Brunnock just finishing a shield toss.

"Hey—" The round shield soared gracefully, cutting through a piece of wood before returning to Brunnock's hand in the same fluid arc.

"Brunnock, your shield skills keep improving," Forseti remarked.

Every time he witnessed Brunnock's magical shield maneuvers, Forseti felt a mix of admiration and curiosity, wondering how Brunnock had mastered this remarkable technique akin to that of the Captain America.

"Lord Forseti, what brings you here?" Brunnock turned towards him.

Forseti said nothing, instead presenting the Dragonman's Shield to Brunnock. "Try this."

Brunnock inspected the shield, eyes lighting up as he examined it closely.

"This shield..." With his expertise in forging and shields, Brunnock immediately recognized the exceptional quality of the Dragonman's Shield.

Forseti explained, "It's called the 'Dragonman's Shield,' forged by Eitri using Nidavellir steel."

"Does it have dragonfire imbued?"

"It does. Infused with dragon's blood, the shield not only bears the name of the Dragon, but also grants resistance to flames."

Brunnock gripped the Dragonman's Shield, excitement evident. He adjusted his stance and threw the shield once more.

"Hey—" The Dragonman's Shield flew from his hand, its trajectory adorned with swirling patterns that seemed to bring the dragon emblem to life.

Cutting through wood, the shield returned to Brunnock in a perfect arc.

"What do you think?"

"This... this is perfection!" Brunnock exclaimed.

Comparing it to his previous shield, Brunnock immediately lost interest in his old equipment.

Forseti then retrieved the Silent Fang. "Join my Knights, Brunnock. The Dragonman's Shield and Silent Fang are my gifts to you."

From the first time he witnessed Brunnock's magical shield technique, Forseti had recognized Brunnock as a promising defender.

Thus, when it came time to assemble the Guardian Knights, Brunnock was his first choice.

After all, Brunnock's shield technique, reminiscent of that seen with the US team in Forseti's previous life, was unparalleled.

Brunnock accepted the Silent Fang, eyeing it alongside the Dragonman's Shield with a smile of pleasant surprise. Without further ado, he nodded. "Alright!"