Chapter 376

A Death Knight!

Anser had seen him twice before, but both times had only been fleeting glimpses. He had never actually interacted with him.

Today, the Death Knight didn't charge into battle the moment he appeared. Instead, he remained hidden in the shadows of the gateway, silently watching Anser.

Beneath him was a Nightmare with a blazing mane, flaming hooves, and smoldering eyes, but Anser knew it was actually a Phantom Steed transformed to look like one.

That Nightmare was dead.

The twenty-odd adventurers who had managed to escape by sheer luck hid in the distance, silently watching what was happening, their feelings extraordinarily complicated.

So there really was a Death Knight. The undead horde really did exist as well. Anser hadn't exaggerated anything.

They were still shaken, but they didn't regret it. Even if they could do it all over again ten times, they would still want to go inside and take a look. Besides, they were still alive.

As for the adventurers who had died, they no longer had the chance to regret anything.

Anser descended until he was only a few dozen meters from the Death Knight and met his gaze.

"Looks like you have something to say to me."

The Death Knight said nothing. He sat straight and tall, his entire body encased in black armor. An eerie light glowed in his eyes, making it impossible to read any emotion from him.

Anser wasn't in a hurry either. Things were different now. He was fully capable of killing the Death Knight.

But a Death Knight could return from death. Only by fulfilling the obsession in its heart could it be permanently destroyed.

If Anser wanted to build a city here, he had to deal with the Death Knight first. Otherwise, nothing else was even worth discussing.

After a brief silence, a deep voice with a faintly unreal quality emerged from inside the Death Knight's helmet.

"No one is welcome here."

"Hm? What unfinished obsession is keeping you here?" Anser remained unmoved.

He had just declared this place his territory. There was no way he could simply turn around and leave now. He had a reputation to maintain.

The Death Knight didn't grow angry. It was almost as though the man who had started cutting down everyone he saw after resurrecting wasn't him at all.

"I was once the king of this place. Because of my greed and stupidity, Viheral suffered divine punishment. Only by rebuilding Viheral and restoring the werewolves to the goddess's favor can I attain redemption..."

His eerie voice carried far, far into the distance, immediately setting the adventurers whispering among themselves.

Anser silently nodded, his mind rapidly constructing a tragic epic around the story.

That kind of "obsession" really did fit the history and behavioral patterns of a Death Knight.

'Could Sosk have known about this back then and used it to persuade him?'

As he pondered, the die slowly turned and displayed the target's information:

[Death Knight of Viheral, Undead, Challenge Rating 17...]

Anser skimmed through it. The description was fairly detailed, covering not only the Death Knight's obsession but also the method for permanently purifying him.

'Wait... His obsession is obtaining an Artifact called the Moonstone? What the hell does that have to do with any of this?!'

What the die showed him was completely different from what the Death Knight had said. The two weren't even remotely related.

The die had never been wrong.

That left only one explanation: the Death Knight was lying!

Anser didn't even know how to describe what he was feeling. He had almost been deceived by an old bastard who had been dead for who knew how many years.

'Why would he even lie?'

At that thought, Anser silently recalled everything he knew about Death Knights, and realization dawned on him.

'He doesn't want to die.'

Death Knights were terrifying warriors and domineering commanders burdened by dark pasts. Some Death Knights devoted themselves to ending the curse that prevented them from dying, but their selfish souls ensured that they could never escape the fate that bound them.

After "redemption" came true death. Yet Death Knights could become greedy for their current state of deathless immortality, causing their personalities to grow chaotic and twisted, their thoughts and actions riddled with contradictions.

This Death Knight might truly have been the king of Viheral, and Viheral might truly have fallen because of him.

But who said he had to regret it?

Did coming back from the dead mean he had to make amends for his mistakes? That was nothing more than the wishful thinking of good people.

'Maybe he really does want the Moonstone, but refuses to tell anyone.'

Anser didn't know where the "Moonstone" was, nor did he have any intention of satisfying this bizarre Death Knight. His only option was to purify him.

The purification method provided by the die was quite straightforward: use divine magic of 7th level or higher to forcibly kill him, purify the place where he resurrected, and repeat the process several times.

It was a clumsy method, but also the one most commonly used by divine spellcasters.

'I was going to reluctantly let you guard the gate for me. Too bad...'

Anser couldn't be bothered wasting any more words. Through Telepathy, he told Stoll and Iris to get away.

Then he drew upon the Magic Power surrounding him, tightened his grip on the Arcanefire Longbow, and focused on casting.

[Innate Sorcery] + [Metamagic: Enhanced Quickened Spell, Enhanced Heightened Spell, Enhanced Subtle Spell] + [Forcecage]!

Without the slightest warning, an invisible cubic prison formed around the gateway in an instant. Its walls consisted of bars of force spaced so closely together that not even a finger could fit between them.

The Death Knight's reaction was slightly sluggish. He failed to anticipate it and failed to seize that tiny, fleeting window of opportunity.

The Phantom Steed beneath him had barely started moving when it slammed into the bars of force and was knocked back.

The Death Knight swung his longsword at the bars, striking the exact same spot with every blow, but he couldn't damage them in the slightest.

Seeing this, he immediately stopped. With a wave of his left hand, a faint magical glow fell over the Forcecage, but it still had no effect whatsoever.

[Forcecage] was immune to [Dispel Magic].

The corners of Anser's mouth lifted. The way he looked at the Death Knight was like someone eyeing a chicken waiting to be slaughtered.

Combat was a contest of wits—and of who knew more than the other!

Anser understood the Death Knight.

The Death Knight didn't understand him.

Against liches and wizards, he could use [Antimagic Field]. Against vampires and undead, he could simply spam [Sunburst].

Against a Death Knight, it was best to avoid melee combat whenever possible. A single [Forcecage] could take care of the problem, because the Death Knight's reactions were poor and he had no means of teleportation.

If Anser had opened with some other control spell or [Sunburst], the Death Knight's [Magic Resistance] and [Legendary Resistance] would have allowed him to escape with absolute certainty.

And if he took the opportunity to retreat into the castle—or even used those adventurers to threaten Anser—the situation would become much more complicated.

The Death Knight was behaving differently from usual today, which proved that he was capable of thinking. There was a very good chance he would do exactly that.

"You cannot kill me."

The Death Knight turned his head toward Anser.

"I don't believe you."

Anser raised the [Arcanefire Longbow] and lightly plucked the bowstring.

[Metamagic: Enhanced Quickened Spell, Enhanced Subtle Spell, Maximized Spell] + [Sunburst]!

Accompanied by a barely audible murmur, blazing sunlight suddenly erupted inside the Forcecage. It was as though the sun itself had descended, shattering the darkness and turning the gloomy underground into broad daylight.

The Death Knight sensed Anser's intention a moment beforehand, but there was nowhere to hide. He could only endure it head-on.

Brilliant radiance poured over him as black mist billowed from his body.

[...Death Knight hit. Target possesses [Magic Resistance] and [Legendary Resistance]. Constitution saving throw successful. 42 radiant damage taken. Current Hit Points: 167/209.]

'Pretty tough.'

Actually, in a situation like this, getting closer and casting [Prismatic Spray] would have been more effective, but Anser had no intention of giving his opponent even the slightest opportunity to retaliate.

Without pausing, he cast again.

Another Quickened, Maximized [Sunburst]!

Before the light from the first blast had even faded, a second sun erupted. More than a hundred meters across, it blazed with dazzling brilliance, like the sun itself had fallen to the mortal world.

Stoll narrowed his eyes against the light and stared blankly at the enormous sun, murmuring: "Now that's magic!"

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