Chapter 389: Defend the Frostgrave Fortress (9)

Under Captain Zarrick’s command, nearly two hundred soldiers advanced across the northern plains. Several hours of daylight still remained, but they could not afford to waste any of it.

Their objective was simple: destroy as many of the fifteen Nightbloom Spawners as possible before nightfall.

To accomplish that, as planned, the force was divided into three assault groups, each assigned a different role but ordered to advance as a single formation.

The first was the Containment Group, formed mostly from several seasoned knights and hardened warriors.

Their task was to engage the packs of Voidspawn gathered around each Nightbloom Spawner, drawing the creatures away and keeping the horde occupied long enough for the others to push through.

Behind them advanced the Severance Group, composed of the strongest close-range fighters within the force.

Once a path had been carved open, they would push directly toward the towering plant and strike at its thick roots, trunk, and exposed joints, hacking through its body until the massive creature finally collapsed.

The last was the Bombardment Group, consisting mainly of magus, archers, and other ranged fighters.

They remained farther behind the main line, suppressing approaching Voidspawn while concentrating their heavier attacks upon whatever section of the Nightbloom the Severance Group had already weakened.

Ruvian watched the advancing force in silence.

Those men represented only half of Frostgrave’s available soldiers. The rest had been ordered to rest and preserve their strength for the defense that would come tonight.

It was a simple precaution, but a necessary one if the assault failed.

"They’ve finally engaged one of the Nightbloom Spawners," Calyra said quietly, her eyes fixed upon the battlefield below.

Ruvian slowly nodded.

The Nightbloom Spawners were scattered far apart from one another, which meant the force could concentrate on them one at a time instead of being forced to face several at once.

But for some reason, something about this bothered him.

Wasn’t this going a little too smoothly? Weren’t those demons aware that the humans would try to destroy the Nightbloom Spawners before nightfall?

Calyra glanced at the troubled look on his face.

"You thought so too?"

Ruvian didn’t need to ask what she meant. From the way she said it, Calyra had clearly arrived at the same conclusion.

"Yeah, I don’t think their real goal is Frostgrave," he said, uncertainly. "If they truly wanted to bring the fortress down... wouldn’t they be resisting us far more fiercely than this?"

"..."

Calyra fell silent before slowly turning her gaze toward the ground below once more.

"You mean?"

"I mean, they’re just standing there and letting us come to them. The Voidspawn around them are fighting... but it doesn’t feel like they’re actually trying to stop us."

"I see." Calyra’s eyes narrowed slightly. "It does seem that way."

A thunderous boom rolled across the plains.

Ruvian watched as the massive Nightbloom Spawner finally toppled, its twisted body crashing into the earth.

Cheers erupted among the soldiers below, soon echoed by those watching from Frostgrave’s walls. At the head of the force, Captain Zarrick raised his sword with a triumphant grin.

"Forward! Onto the next one!"

Under his command, the soldiers quickly regrouped and surged toward the nearest Nightbloom Spawner.

Only several minutes later, another deafening crash shook the plains. The second Nightbloom Spawner came tumbling down.

At this pace, destroying all fifteen before nightfall no longer seemed impossible. Even if they fell short, bringing down ten was well within reach.

Even with that suspicion in the back of his mind, Ruvian had to admit the Frostgrave soldiers were impressive.

Yet just when he thought things might finally go their way, that lingering dread finally proved itself right. As the force marched toward their third target, something emerged from the distance, directly along their path.

A lone knight clad in blackened obsidian plate came into view across the plains, advancing with the cold calm of a creature that had never learned to fear resistance.

The creature did not hurry. It simply walked menacingly, while the Voidspawn gathered around him like hounds trailing their master.

Even more unsettling, none of the creatures obstructed its path. They seemed to part around the knight naturally.

Yet the Frostgrave soldiers kept advancing. Their morale was still high after two victories, and not a single man showed fear.

From where they stood, it probably looked like nothing more than another enemy standing in their way.

But Ruvian’s expression slowly darkened.

The closer that figure came, the harder it became to ignore the dread radiating from its body, palpable even from Ruvian’s position high in the sky.

With her exceptionally keen Mana Sense, Calyra could feel it too. An oppressive pressure hung around the creature, thick enough to make the surrounding air feel almost stagnant.

"Ruvian..."

Both of them were already sure. With that much Dark Mana pooling around its body, the entity before them could only be...

"Yeah... that’s a demon."

*****

[Zarrick’s POV]

Zarrick watched the lone knight stride toward them without the slightest hesitation.

There was something almost insolent about the way it moved, as though the two hundred soldiers standing before it were not even worthy of making it draw its weapon.

That calm, unhurried stride alone was enough to make his blood simmer.

’Who the hell does it think it is?’

Zarrick tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword, his earlier grin already wiped clean from his face.

He hated that sight far more than he cared to admit.

"Captain, hold the advance for a moment."

"What now?"

Scoutmaster Girard suddenly called from several paces behind him. His eyes narrowed beneath the hood of his field cloak as he scrutinized the black-armored figure from head to toe.

"I think I know what that thing is."

Zarrick glanced back with an irritated frown, but Girard had already raised one hand toward the approaching figure.

"That should be a Black Revenant, a knight-type, Reaper-rank Voidspawn. They are rare, but every record we have describes them as exceptionally difficult to kill."

Girard’s expression grew grimmer as the distance between them slowly narrowed.

"That armor is not something it wears, Captain. It is part of its body, and ordinary blades will barely leave a mark on it. Worse, the more damage it suffers, the more mana it draws into itself to restore whatever was broken."

His gaze hardened.

"But that is not the part we need to worry about most. Black Revenants are feared for their swordsmanship, and their strikes carry enough force to cleave through almost anything once they gather enough mana behind the blade."

Girard’s eyes narrowed even further.

"And once one takes command of a battlefield, every Voidspawn around it will answer to whatever order comes from beneath that helm."

Hearing that, Zarrick suddenly raised one hand. The entire formation immediately slowed before grinding to a complete halt.

Girard frowned.

"Captain?"

Captain Zarrick had suddenly recalled something he had read years ago in an old military record concerning rare Voidspawn.

Black Revenants were prideful creatures that imitated the conduct of human knights, especially when facing an enemy they deemed worthy.

More importantly, they possessed one peculiar habit: once challenged to single combat, they would usually accept, and the other Voidspawn under their command would not interfere unless someone else violated the duel first.

Zarrick’s lips slowly curled upward.

’This is a good chance to show others just how strong I am.’

Without another word, Zarrick swung one leg over his horse and dropped heavily onto the ground.

Drawing his sword, he strode several paces ahead of the formation before leveling the blade straight at the approaching Black Revenant.

"You there. If you truly consider yourself some kind of honorable knight, then come forward and face me alone."

The Black Revenant stopped.

For several seconds, neither side moved. Then the creature slowly reached for the massive black sword hanging at its side, drawing the blade with a harsh metallic scrape that echoed across the plain.

Zarrick’s grin widened.

"Girard, the moment I put this thing down, lead the others forward and slaughter every Voidspawn behind it."

His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"Do not squander the opening I give you."

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[Chapter 389: Defend the Frostgrave Fortress (9)

Plot Points = 297,000