Chapter 70: First Dragonknight

The earth beneath the Jeju Forest groaned under the relentless onslaught of iron-shod hooves.

Dozen upon dozen of massive war stallions galloped in tight, flawless military lines, their armored chests plowing through underbrush, low-hanging vines, and ancient rotted logs.

The air reeked of pine, wet soil, and the unmistakable metallic stink of fresh blood as the Myrain Viscounty’s strike force pushed straight toward the territory’s central depths.

As the column surged forward, the vanguard turned the forest into a slaughterhouse.

They cleaved a bloody highway through every mutated terror foolish enough to cross their advance.

Certain 1st-Tier abominations were nowhere to be found in this sector.

The terrifying Namphibian Froggars—vicious aquatic abominations mutated from swamp frogs—remained isolated along the Eastern Rivers that bordered the neighboring danger zones, rarely venturing onto dry forest turf.

Likewise, the heavy herds of Thunder Buffaloes kept to the rocky plains of the West where the forest met the sheer cliffs of the Craven Mountains.

In the primary woods of the Jeju, the apex 1st-Tier threats belonged to two species:

The lumbering, bone-armored Three-Headed Rhinos and the predatory, pack-hunting Red-Scaled Deers. ℴ

Clang! Slice!

Riders swung broadswords, morningstars, and heavy cavalry lances without ever breaking the galloping pace of their steeds.

Spearheads punctured thick hide, and steel blades met corrupted bone with sickening thuds.

At the absolute front of the formation, Ser Hughway put on a masterclass of mounted lethality.

The veteran Sword Master’s blade moved with fluid, terrifying speed—a silver arc of death flickering through the dappled morning light.

With six swift, effortless flicks of his wrist, six massive Red-Scaled Deers charging from the thickets were cleanly decapitated before their blood could even splash his boots.

A heavy, suffocating pressure rippled outward from Hughway’s drawn steel.

The lingering mana of a true Sword Master hung in the air like a localized storm, causing the surrounding trees to tremble and the hearts of nearby soldiers to swell with unshakeable confidence.

Without slowing his charger down for a single breath, Hughway urged his stallion deeper into the woods, his eyes locked on the horizon.

Riding just a few paces behind, Ser Damian Blacksun felt his heart skip a sharp beat.

His dark eyes burned with unsuppressed excitement.

Seeing a true Master fight in open terrain stirred the martial hunger locked deep in his chest.

SHRIIIEEK!

A guttural, unnatural screech tore through the roaring hooves.

From a dense cluster of brambles on the right flank, a towering Red-Scaled Deer burst forth, charging directly toward Damian.

Unlike the gentle forest herbivores of ancient legends, this creature was a nightmare born of corrupted mana radiation.

Standing over 2.1 meters tall at the shoulder, its massive frame was encased in interlocking, dark red scales that acted like natural plate armor.

Its dull grey eyes glowed with mindless, ravenous aggression, and its elongated maw was lined with jagged, flesh-tearing fangs. It no longer craved vegetation.

It hungered purely for raw, warm meat.

The abomination launched itself forward, baring its dripping fangs as it aimed to take off Damian’s head.

Damian’s stallion veered hard to the left, instinctively trying to avoid the collision.

The sudden shift in momentum momentarily slowed Damian down, causing him to fall slightly behind the main column of galloping knights.

With the main force surging ahead, Damian was left alone to clear his path.

As the beast closed in, Damian leaned low in his saddle, drew his sword with a sharp whistle of steel, and swung in a tight horizontal arc.

SWOOSH!

The edge of his blade caught the charging deer right at the throat.

The sheer force of Damian’s strike, combined with his weapon’s keen edge, severed the abomination’s neck in a single, fluid stroke.

Black, corrupted blood sprayed across the moss as the headless corpse crashed into the dirt, skidding several meters before coming to a halt.

ROAR!

Before Damian could recover his posture, three more Red-Scaled Deers burst out from the surrounding tree line, surrounding his mount from three distinct angles!

Their heavy hooves pounded the earth as they lunged in a coordinated ambush, aiming to tear both rider and horse to ribbons.

Damian’s stallion sprinted forward, its hooves kicking up clumps of turf as it narrowly dodged two snapping jaws.

Realizing that fighting three 2.1-meter tall abominations atop a panicked mount would risk injuring the horse, Damian made a split-second decision.

He unbuckled his boots from the stirrups and kicked off the saddle, vaulting high into the air!

"Go!" Damian barked, letting his horse sprint ahead to follow the rear guard of the knight column while he landed heavily on the forest floor, his leather boots digging into the damp soil.

The three Red-Scaled Deers instantly wheeled around, their grey, vacant eyes fixing upon the solitary warrior.

They kicked the earth with their heavy hooves, snorting clouds of steam into the chilly forest air.

Surrounded on all sides by 1st-Tier beasts, Damian didn’t feel a single trace of panic.

Instead, a cold, focused calm washed over his spirit—the exact mindset Craig had described for a true Sword Runner.

He adjusted his stance, tightening his calloused grip on his sword hilt until his knuckles turned white.

THUMP!

The deer on his left snorted viciously and charged first, using its sheer body mass to crush Damian beneath its weight.

Damian moved like lightning.

Utilizing the explosive agility of a Middle-stage Sword Runner, he pivoted his heel, letting the massive beast brush past his shoulder.

As it passed, he twisted his waist and delivered a heavy slash across its armored flank.

SPARK!

His steel bit into the thick red scales, but the attack was too shallow—the scales absorbed the brunt of the kinetic impact.

The abomination grunted in anger, sliding to a stop and spinning around to strike again.

However, the shallow wound bled dark fluid, and its explosive momentum was visibly dulled.

SNAP!

The remaining two deers pounced simultaneously from his blind spots!

One snapped its razor-sharp teeth at his neck while the other lunged with its massive, blood-stained antlers.

Damian’s heightened physical senses kicked into overdrive.

Bending his knees, he ducked beneath the snapping jaws of the first deer, feeling the gust of wind from its bite graze his hair.

In the same motion, he brought the heavy pommel of his sword smashing upward into the jaw of the second deer!

CRACK!

The brutal impact shattered the creature’s lower fangs, sending it reeling backward in disoriented agony.

Capitalizing on the opening, Damian channeled his raw physical strength into a violent, spinning thrust.

He drove his sword straight through the wounded deer’s scale-gaps, plunging twelve inches of refined steel directly into its corrupted heart!

SPLAT!

The beast let out a choked gurgle and collapsed dead onto the dirt.

Without pausing to breathe, Damian yanked his blade free and spun toward the final two abominations.

The deer with the shattered jaw lunged out of desperate rage, but its movement was erratic.

Damian stepped inside its guard, grabbed one of its thick, blood-red antlers with his bare gauntleted hand, and forced its massive head down toward the earth with overwhelming physical force!

"Down!" Damian roared, driving his sword down through the top of its skull.

The second deer dropped like a stone.

The final remaining Red-Scaled Deer, seeing two of its pack killed in less than ten seconds, hesitated for a fraction of a heartbeat—its primal survival instincts flickering.

That microsecond was all Damian needed.

Pushing off the ground with explosive power, he closed the distance in an instant, delivering a lightning-fast diagonal slash that cleaved through the abomination’s torso, felling the creature on the spot.

Breathing heavily, his tunic splashed with dark monster blood, Damian wiped his blade against his trousers and sheathed it with a sharp clack.

He turned his head toward the trail.

His war stallion was still sprinting a few hundred meters ahead, keeping pace with the tail end of the knight column.

Damian broke into an effortless, high-speed dash, his superhuman legs blurring across the forest floor.

Within seconds, he caught up to his galloping mount, vaulted smoothly back into the saddle, and rejoined the front line beside Ser Hughway as if nothing had happened.