Chapter 179: [179] Chaos In The Halls (2)

Ark turned around to check how the others were doing, only to stare in shock as a number of knights surrounded Mountain on all sides.

Mountain was using his shield to defend the princess, but that meant he could not use his ability properly.

The worst part was that all the knights held spears, meaning they could strike from a distance. They seemed to have no fear and were willing to give up their lives just for the sake of killing her.

Time left: [5:59]

The black smudge in the sky was becoming awfully clear. They had no time to dawdle here.

"Tch!" A weapon already began to materialize in Ark’s hands.

"Mountain!" He roared. "Toss her!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Mountain grabbed the princess by the waist and hoisted her into the air.

"W-wait, what are you doing, sir??!" The princess panicked, squirming around in his grip.

The knights tried to run her through with their spears, but Mountain defended her with his body and shield, one of the spears piercing his shoulder.

And then—

Swoosh!

He launched the princess, kicking and screaming, high up toward Ark.

Now free of his burden, Mountain turned his attention to the knights that had swarmed him, his shield splitting apart into a dozen swords as he took an offensive stance.

Ark was not the only one that saw the princess who was racing through the air like a frisbee.

And it did not particularly help that she was screaming at the top of her lungs, attracting the attention of every single hostile.

Before Clyeretha could even go halfway, a group of three knights and seven soldiers began racing toward her, their weapons ready to receive her.

"Ten seconds." That was how much time he had before the princess would hit the ground.

"Ten enemies." Ark hissed through gritted teeth as he let out a steamy breath, twin daggers gripped firmly in both hands.

He had one second for each man, not a nanosecond more. If he failed, it would not be the enemies that killed the princess. The impact on the floor would shatter her skull.

The world became colourful as Ark flared his senses, every single detail magnifying before him. He could hear the sound of gurgling blood, the rush of blood through veins, the sound of the princess’s body cutting through the air—

In front of him, the first goblin arrived. Ark could see the sword strike before he even swung his blade.

[Rush]

Ark had absorbed a lot of kinetic energy during the fight. Now was the perfect time to use it.

Clang!

Both blades collided, sending his opponent’s sword flying back, just before he sunk his dagger into the underside of his jaw.

Both movements had happened so fast that the goblin did not realise what had happened until he was gurgling blood. Ark’s body was a blur of blue lightning, a phantom that could not be comprehended.

"One."

He appeared in front of two others, leaned slightly below their attacks, watching his reflection on the blade as he swung.

Two heads flew into the air, accompanied by a rain of blood.

"Two. Three."

"Die, heretic!" A knight brought a great sword down from behind Ark, but the sword did not go all the way. It hung right behind his head, held back by metal strings.

"What the—?"

More strings appeared around his neck, and just as he grasped for them, trying to pull them off, his head was detached from his body.

Another flash of colour from behind him—

Ark vanished, appearing behind the soldier. "What the fuck?!"

He pulled the severed head with so much force that the strings blurred.

Splat!

The head slammed into the goblin’s head, bursting it apart and sending blood splashing onto Ark’s armour.

"Four. Five."

The others seemed to have realised that fighting him one on one was a bad idea, because three knights came at him at once, a glaive, a sword and a mace.

Swish!

Ark jumped back as the weapons cleaved down, exploding on the floor. He sent his two daggers flying from both sides, then, using the invisible strings tied to them, he crossed his hands, sensing them lashing out towards the middle.

Clang!

The knights blocked, blasting the daggers to the side, before they lunged for him, their gleaming weapons lashing out.

"Tch."

Ark ducked underneath an attack that nearly took his head, feeling a gust of wind rush past him. He spun around, then flipped into the air, coming down with a kick that cleaved into the neck of the goblin holding the mace.

The mace fell, and Ark stopped its descent with the ball of his foot. He rotated the mace on his toes, just as the second knight attacked.

Ark dodged, one foot up, one holding the mace.

The second knight stabbed with his glaive, but Ark caught it with his armpits. He tugged on it, pulling the knight towards him. At the same time, he tossed the mace up and caught it midair.

BAM!

Ark flattened his armoured head, causing blood to spew out of the grates of his helmet. The final knight screamed in rage as he put his entire life behind his last attack.

Ark tugged on the strings they had long forgotten about. The knight froze mid-swing, his fingers trembling.

He turned around and caught the princess in a hug as the knight fell down face first, the two daggers stuck inside his spine.

The three heads that had been sent into the air finally fell down with a wet thump. "Six, seven, eight." Ark hissed, feeling slightly annoyed.

Ten seconds had passed, but there were two left.

The princess was trembling in his grip, and tears were rolling down her blindfold as she grasped his armour.

"S-sir Ark?? I-I thought I was going to die~" She was a shivering mess, but Ark could understand her fear.

Just the sound of the screaming men alone, the gurgle of blood, and the wet sound of a sword plunging through flesh were enough to destabilise most people.

"Stay close to me." Ark placed a strand of steel webs on her hand to allow her to stick close, then he turned to the final two high goblins.

"Let’s finish this."

They screamed out in rage, both skilled warriors rushing forward with fervent determination.

Ark slowly lifted his hand, and just as they were a few feet away from him, a cloud of ash blasted outwards, swallowing them whole and sending their bodies flying in the opposite direction.

Ark stared at the large timer overhead.

[4:31]

Not bad. They had wiped out most of the soldiers. As long as they ran, they would be able to escape in time—

Click Clack—!

Ark heard the sound of armoured boots coming from the other side of the hall.

"When I heard my father sent one of his best men, I wondered who it might have been." A soft, feminine voice came.

"No wonder my men were slaughtered like pigs. So it was you, Sir Ark, the Mad Berserker."

She smiled. "My sister clinging to my betrothed like a leech. How appalling."

Clyeretha trembled when she heard her sister’s voice, her face turning pale.

Ark frowned internally. The tower was having him roleplay a character in the story, so he was not surprised by her words.

In their eyes, Ark probably had the appearance of someone they knew. That was the only reason Clyeretha had not been uncomfortable around a bunch of undead.

’But betrothed? Really??’

He took in her features. The woman was dressed in pitch-black, lustreless armour. She had skin as light as the princess’s, golden eyes of the same colour, and long silver hair that slipped out of her alloy helmet in a high ponytail.

But while Clyeretha was as delicate as a flower, this woman looked like a rose bush riddled with thorns.

And—

Ark pointed his swords at the woman. She was not just strong. She was the tower boss.

[Threat detected! Cleopathra, The Stormy Legion, Level 30 x 1!]