Chapter 16: Killing Above My Level! A 6-Star Chest Acquired!

John glanced at his resource panel.

He had started with 14,950 Gold.

After adding everything gathered along the way—

plus the nearly fifty thousand Gold he had just earned—

his total had skyrocketed to:

73,572 Gold!

"This scroll definitely got the best possible use."

John was extremely satisfied with the result.

Saving it for some future emergency or monster wave would’ve been a complete waste.

For now, John wasn’t worried about monster sieges.

Wiping them out only took him a few seconds anyway.

As for using it to save his own life...

that was still too far in the future to worry about.

Using it here was far more valuable.

As long as he successfully recruited the Ancient Dragon Hero this time, the scroll would have paid for itself many times over.

CRASH!

At the center of the scorched crater, shattered rocks suddenly exploded outward.

A three-meter-tall figure emerged from the fading lightning.

The heavy armor covering his body had been blackened and cracked apart by the thunderstrike.

Large sections had been blasted away entirely, exposing gray-white muscle underneath that looked as if it had been cast from raw iron.

His crimson eyes lifted.

From several kilometers away—

they locked directly onto John.

Above his head, the once-enormous HP bar still displayed a terrifying number.

[990,000 / 1,000,000]

The 10,000 points of True Damage had indeed taken ten thousand HP from him.

But that amounted to only one percent of his total health.

"Still nine hundred and ninety thousand HP."

A deep, hoarse roar rumbled from Rask’s throat.

He raised the nearly undamaged executioner’s blade with both hands.

Then he stomped down.

BOOM!

The rock beneath his feet collapsed into a crater.

Despite his enormous body, Rask exploded forward at terrifying speed.

A dark-red afterimage stretched behind him as he charged straight toward the Dark Knights positioned below the cliff on the flank.

"Formation."

"Charge."

Standing high above, John remained perfectly calm as he issued the order.

The thirty Dark Knights of the first squad showed no hesitation.

Their undead warhorses reared up.

Then the riders lowered their four-meter spiral cavalry lances and activated their unit skill.

[Trampling Charge!]

Movement Speed +120%!

The red glow in Rask’s eyes flared violently.

His enormous executioner’s blade carved a savage blood-red crescent through the air.

[Bloodrage Sweep!]

CLANG—!

A deafening metallic explosion tore through the battlefield.

The gigantic blade swept horizontally with a violent wave of bloody energy.

The five Dark Knights at the very front were cut clean in half—

riders and mounts alike.

-2,450! — Lethal Damage

-2,510! — Lethal Damage

-2,910! — Lethal Damage

Five 4-Star Dark Knights instantly shattered into fragments of bone and dispersed through the air.

But the twenty-five Dark Knights charging behind them didn’t slow down at all.

Using the full momentum of their charge, their armor-piercing lances struck with pinpoint precision—

driving straight into the gaps in Rask’s shattered chest armor.

PSHKT!

The sounds of flesh tearing rang out one after another.

-1,280! — Charge Critical!

-350!

-453!

-380!

Rask’s massive body was forced back three or four steps under more than twenty consecutive cavalry impacts.

Twisted iron peeled away from his chest.

Gray-black corpse blood sprayed wildly into the air.

But against an HP bar of nine hundred and ninety thousand...

the damage barely moved it.

"ROAR!"

Enraged by the wounds, Rask slammed one giant foot into the ground.

[Brutal Stomp!]

A visible crimson shockwave spread across the earth.

Every Dark Knight within more than twenty meters was blasted away.

Bones cracked throughout their warhorses as red damage numbers appeared over them simultaneously.

-805!

-750!

-975!

Rask stepped forward.

His executioner’s blade fell again and again.

Three more Dark Knights were instantly smashed into bone fragments.

And yet—

John, standing atop the cliff, didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

His fingertips hovered over the Lord interface.

Within his core mark, the power of 10,000× Acceleration roared silently.

[Spend 200 Gold to revive 8 fallen 4-Star Undead Dark Knights?]

"Revive."

John answered without hesitation.

The Gold counter flickered.

Two hundred Gold vanished instantly.

A revival process that normally required several hours—

was compressed by 10,000× Acceleration into just 1.8 seconds.

CRASH!

The scorched earth behind Rask suddenly burst apart.

Eight Dark Knights in pristine heavy armor climbed out of the ground, each carrying an intact cavalry lance.

They mounted their warhorses.

The instant the horses’ front hooves touched the earth—

Trampling Charge activated again.

PSHKT!

Two lances punched straight through the weaker armor around Rask’s lower back.

-453!

-510!

-426!

Rask didn’t even have time to turn around.

The second and third Dark Knight squads were already charging in from both flanks, accompanied by the shriek of displaced air.

Armor-piercing lances stabbed again and again.

-234!

-312!

-453!

-1,260! — Charge Critical!

Dense yellow and red damage numbers erupted around Rask’s body.

From that moment onward—

the mighty commander of the Old Imperial Legion found himself trapped in a bizarre cycle.

Every swing of his giant blade could instantly kill several Dark Knights with its terrifying damage.

But the Dark Knights he had just slain—

would climb back out of the soil behind him moments later.

Fresh armor.

Fresh lances.

Then they would charge again.

As long as John had Gold—

the attacks would never stop.

Even if he had to grind Rask down one strike at a time—

John could still kill him.

Thirty cavalry fell.

[Gold ×750 deducted.]

[Revival Complete!]

Forty riders were blasted away by Rask’s shockwave.

[Gold ×1,000 deducted.]

[Revival Complete!]

Before long—

the ground at the center of the basin had been churned into ruins.

Broken bones and shattered pieces of heavy armor littered the battlefield.

Yet those fragments would soon dissolve into black undead mist—

only to gather together again.

Meanwhile, Rask’s one-million-point HP bar was falling at a visibly terrifying rate beneath the endless undead charges.

900,000...

750,000...

500,000...

The battle continued for nearly half an hour.

Broken lanceheads covered Rask’s body.

Almost all of his once-solid dark-red plate armor had been torn away, exposing the scarred flesh beneath.

His movements grew slower.

And slower.

"The Old Era... will rise again..."

Rask let out one final roar.

His massive blade slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

At John’s command—

all one hundred and fifty Dark Knights converged at once.

Then they launched a full frontal charge.

One hundred and fifty heavy cavalry lances became lines of dazzling gray-white light.

Perfectly synchronized—

they pierced through Rask’s chest.

His neck.

His skull.

-453!

-453!

-1,350! — Piercing Critical!

The final sliver of HP above Rask’s head—

vanished.

CRACK!

The enormous executioner’s blade in his hands snapped cleanly in half.

His three-meter-tall body froze where it stood.

Then slowly—

it toppled forward.

BOOM!

The corpse crashed heavily onto the scorched rock.

[Ding!]

[Your army has successfully slain "Rask, Commander of the Old Imperial Punitive Legion — Lv.15, Dark-Gold Lord-Class Boss!"]

[Higher-Level Boss Kill achieved!]

[Massive EXP awarded!]

[Your unit, Undead Dark Knight, has reached Lv.12!]

[Gold +10,000!]

[Congratulations, Lord!]

[Loot Acquired: 6-Star Chest ×1!]