Chapter 362: The Lesser Death Knight

"Ah, shit. Shit, shit, shit."

Kael turned away from the approaching figure and found The Leonard staring across the battlefield with an expression he had never seen on him before.

Actual panic.

"What?"

"Shit."

"Very informative."

"That’s a Lesser Death Knight."

Kael glanced at the inspection window still floating before him.

[Lesser Death Knight]

"Yeah. I got that from the notification."

"You don’t understand." The Leonard lowered his axe, and for once, there was no arrogance in his voice. "No Death Knight should be here."

Kael looked back toward the creature. It continued walking through the distant smoke without accelerating. Its tower shield remained at its side, its enormous sword hung loosely from the opposite hand, and blue light burned steadily within the hollow sockets of its corpse-like face.

"What makes it so different?"

"They’re death."

Kael looked at him. The spear wielder looked at him. The mage frowned, and even the burly man turned away from the battlefield.

The Leonard seemed to realize how little that explained. "I mean they’re actual high-level undead. Death Knights don’t belong anywhere near Floor Eleven. You start seeing monsters like this on Floor Thirty and above."

"Thirty?"

"At least."

Kael’s expression hardened as the creature continued walking. "That explains the Fist King’s warning."

"Part of it." The Leonard studied the battlefield, then appeared to realize something. His eyes widened before a fraction of the panic left his face. "Oh. Thankfully, it’s Lesser."

Kael waited for the explanation.

The Leonard pointed toward the thousands upon thousands of bodies covering the ground outside the fortress. "A true Death Knight can raise allied dead."

Silence followed as everyone slowly looked across the battlefield.

Goblin corpses lay beside orcs. Trolls had collapsed across entire formations of hobgoblins. Tens of thousands of bodies covered the ground between the fortress and the approaching knight.

The spear wielder stared at the carnage. "All of them?"

"If this were a proper Death Knight?" The Leonard swallowed. "Potentially."

Kael imagined every corpse they had spent the last several hours killing suddenly standing again. Then he imagined the trolls getting back up.

"No."

"Exactly." The Leonard exhaled. "This thing apparently doesn’t possess that ability."

The spear wielder relaxed slightly. "Well, that makes it far more beatable."

"No. Not even close." The Leonard looked toward the approaching knight. "That thing is still going to be ridiculously strong."

"How strong?" the burly man asked.

"I don’t know. I’ve never fought one."

"You’re doing a fantastic job inspiring confidence today."

"I’m trying to keep you alive." The Leonard pointed toward the fortress defenses. "We need everything focused on it. Every railgun, ballista, archer and turret. Maybe we can break it down before it reaches the wall."

Kael looked toward his railgun. The weapon had finished charging, and electricity crackled violently between its rails. The one he had personally crafted however, was still hours away from returning to its completed shape.

"That part won’t be a problem." He raised one hand toward the waiting crew. "Railgun."

Metal shifted as the enormous weapon rotated across the battlement. Its barrel aligned with the distant Death Knight, but the undead creature did not raise its shield, ready its sword or increase its pace.

Kael waited until the targeting mechanism stabilized.

"Fire."

The railgun screamed. Its projectile vanished, and a fraction of a second later, the sound struck them.

BOOM.

The metal bolt tore across the battlefield faster than sound, passing over scorched earth and shattered corpses in a blur. Kael had seen what those projectiles could do. They tore trolls apart, annihilated entire formations and continued through hills after passing through everything unfortunate enough to stand in their path.

The Lesser Death Knight was made of dried flesh, bone and armor. For the smallest fraction of a second, Kael expected the projectile to punch straight through it.

The knight’s sword arm flickered.

That was all Kael saw. Not a complete swing or the movement from beginning to end. Only a blur.

Two explosions erupted behind the Death Knight, one to its left and another to its right. The smoke trailing behind the railgun shot surged past the creature before splitting around its body.

Kael stared as something metallic spun through the air far behind it. A second piece struck the ground hundreds of meters away.

The burly man slowly lowered his sword. "Did it..."

The spear wielder finished the thought for him. "It cut the railgun shot."

Kael said nothing. The Lesser Death Knight continued walking at the same pace, its sword already returned to its side.

The Leonard’s face had gone pale. "That’s what I was trying to tell you."

Kael looked toward the other defensive weapons. "Everything."

The nearby officer hesitated. "Climber?"

"Everything we have." Kael pointed at the Death Knight. "Send it."

The fortress opened fire.

Ballista strings released together, sending enormous bolts through the sky as hundreds of archers loosed their arrows. lightning towers crackled in preparation for the moment the creature entered their range, and the remaining three railguns were moved to Kael’s tower and began turning toward the same target.

Hundreds of projectiles converged upon the Death Knight.

For the first time, the undead reacted.

It raised its shield.

Green light spread across the dark metal. It was neither flame nor lightning, but a translucent aura that formed around the tower shield and extended outward until it covered most of the knight’s body.

The first arrow struck and bounced away. A ballista bolt followed, carrying enough force to kill an orc several times over, but it ricocheted from the barrier without leaving a mark. Another struck, then another. Arrows shattered, bolts spun away and cannon fire exploded against the green aura.

The Lesser Death Knight did not stop.

It walked through everything, one measured step at a time, its shield raised while an entire fortress poured ammunition into it.

Kael watched the green surface carefully. There were no cracks, no visible weakening and nothing to suggest that the bombardment was having any effect. Even the knight’s pace remained unchanged.

The mage looked toward the scenario timer. "We still have four hours."

No one answered.

Four hours remained until the magus completed the portal and the civilians could evacuate. They did not necessarily need to kill the Death Knight if they could prevent it from reaching the crystal for that long.

The problem was becoming increasingly obvious.

The Lesser Death Knight appeared perfectly capable of walking through every defense they possessed.

The burly man watched another ballista bolt bounce from the shield. "It’s forcing us out."

Kael glanced toward him. "What?"

"The Tower." He pointed at the Death Knight before lifting his own blade. "That shield beats the fortress weapons. Its sword beats the railgun. They want us down there."

Kael grimaced because he hated that the man was probably right.

This wave was not testing their fortress. It was testing them.

Kael studied the creature’s sword. That was the real problem. He had not seen the strike that cut the railgun projectile. Even with his newly increased Dexterity, all he had perceived was a flicker before the projectile split.

Could he dodge that?

Kael was not sure, and that alone was a terrible sign.

The mage stepped forward. "I can slow it."

Everyone turned toward her.

"How much?" Kael asked.

"I have a suppression spell."

"What kind?"

"Movement and action-speed reduction."

That immediately caught Kael’s interest. "How much?"

"At full strength?" She considered the question. "Thirty percent, maybe."

"Maybe?" The Leonard asked.

"It depends upon its resistance."

"And if it resists?"

"Then less."

"Wonderful."

Kael ignored him and replayed the sword movement in his head, or at least tried to. There had barely been anything to replay, but thirty percent slower might be enough.

He flexed his hands. "I can dodge that."

The burly man looked at him. "You sure?"

"No."

"That sounded confident a second ago."

"Thirty percent slower, I can probably dodge it."

The spear wielder frowned. "Probably?"

"Better than standing here until it reaches the gate." The Lesser Death Knight was drawing closer, and Kael looked at the others. "I’ll take the front."

The Leonard immediately objected. "Why you?"

Kael pointed toward himself. "I’m faster."

The spear wielder opened her mouth, then closed it. She had already seen him move.

"I’ll keep its attention," Kael continued. "You attack whenever it gives you an opening. Don’t commit unless you know you can get out."

"And me?" the mage asked.

"Stay behind us and keep that slow active." When she nodded, Kael turned toward the approaching knight. "If that thing gets its speed back while we’re fighting it, yell."

"What will you do?"

"Panic creatively."

The burly man snorted.

Kael stepped onto the battlement and jumped. He landed outside the wall, followed by The Leonard with his axe, the burly man with his heavy sword and the spear wielder with her weapon ready. The mage descended last and remained several steps behind them.

The Lesser Death Knight stopped.

For the first time since appearing, it ceased moving. Its shield lowered, and the enormous sword rose until its tip pointed directly toward Kael.

A notification appeared.

[Lesser Death Knight requests an Honorable Duel.]

Kael stared as another window followed.

[Honorable Duel]

A contest between two warriors.

No allied combatant may interfere.

No external assistance may be provided by either side.

Victory will be decided solely by the skill and power of the participants.

[Do you accept?]

Kael read the offer twice, then looked from the enormous undead knight to the sword that had cut a railgun projectile in half.

"No."

[Honorable Duel declined.]

The Lesser Death Knight’s eyes changed. Blue vanished from its hollow sockets, and red ignited in its place.

"Oh."

The knight disappeared.

"Move!"

It did not charge Kael. Instead, it passed him and went straight toward the mage.

She had already raised her staff. Purple energy gathered around its head as she began the first portion of her incantation, but the Death Knight had identified either the weakest combatant or the most useful one.

Whichever it was, the creature’s sword rose.