So Hattie was left desperately using her tentacles to stall the dark champion's movements, but it was clear she couldn't really land a fatal blow!
Without help, it was only a matter of time before she'd be forced to yield.
Just then, Charles swept his gaze over the other three battlefields. In a split second, he made his decision. Of course, there was no way he'd let his witch go down—he raised his twin-bladed polearm and charged at Hattie's foe, unleashing an Eldritch Smite—
Boom—!
The explosion of magical power echoed across the battlefield, and the dark champion crashed to the ground. Hattie was quick, instantly summoning her tentacles to wrap around his wrists, pinning him in place.
"Roar—"
The dark champion shrieked, its desiccated body erupting with massive strength as it tried to break free, but its current position made it impossible to get any real leverage. Charles leaned in, spinning his polearm. Flaming blades chopped down again and again, and as he whispered "purified," the undead managed a few more roars before finally disintegrating into ashes.
Another 2,000 Purification Points earned, Charles let out a breath and turned to check on Anno and Nymeria. But suddenly, a surging wind howled down, and a huge shadow fell over him!
Alarm bells screamed in his head, and at the last possible second, he chanted, "Shield!"
Buzz—
A magical shield enveloped his body, just in time for him to feel like he'd been blind-sided by a speeding truck.
Bang—!
An unstoppable force slammed into him, sending him tumbling backward and rolling across the ground!
"Ugh—!"
He grunted, rolling with his weapon as he hit the dirt. But rather than panic, he instantly recognized what had just happened.
The Death Knight was here!
This shameless brute—a supposed knight—had the gall to sneak up for a stealth attack!
Even as he rolled, Charles risked a glance. There, towering over two meters, fully clad in plate armor, left arm hefting a door-sized shield, right hand swinging a massive flail, stalked the Death Knight—who slowly faded in from invisibility.
This was today's final boss: the number-crunching monster that was the fallen prince's Death Knight!
And he wasn't alone: floating at his back were four banshees. They were still at least partly sentient—or perhaps just following some primal loyalty to their general. As they sang their eerie chants, layers upon layers of spells wrapped around the Death Knight, empowering him with even greater strength!
"Destroy the aggressor!"
The Death Knight spoke, voice rasping and cold, as he strode toward Charles, flail raised, intent on caving in his skull.
But suddenly, wind shrieked as black mist coiled beneath Hattie's skirts. Huge tentacles shot out, snaking toward the Death Knight!
"Roar—!"
Yet when faced with Hattie's assault, the Death Knight just growled. His flail spun once, smashing into a tentacle—
Boom—!
A torrent of magic surged out. The tentacle—thicker than the Death Knight's own waist—exploded into a cloud of magic-black mist, vanishing without a trace!
His weapon was no ordinary flail, but a potent magical weapon—at least on par with Nymeria's sword!
Still, Hattie's efforts weren't wasted. At the very least, they bought Charles some valuable time!
Big-shield warriors loved to bash opponents flat, but pounding on a downed foe was the real threat—same trick Charles had just used on the dark champions!
Fortunately, Hattie stalled that blow, giving Charles a chance to reset.
After two quick rolls, Charles scrambled to his feet. He wasn't actually hurt—the bash, while brutally strong, came from a mundane shield, so his Supernatural Gift kept him safe.
He shouted, "Theresa! Deal with those four banshees!"
Hearing that, Theresa didn't hesitate—she raised a hand and unleashed her strongest spell: "Sunburst!"
8th-level spell, Sunburst!
Blinding radiance flooded the rear of the battlefield, lighting the whole islet. The wild light pierced the banshees' spectral bodies; these fragile undead just couldn't survive that kind of punishment—shriek after shriek, then nothing but ashes in the sunlight!
Meanwhile, the skeleton soldiers were still duking it out with the battle nuns. But the girls, after regrouping, held the line and blocked any reinforcements, keeping the Death Knight isolated.
Well, him and two remaining dark champions. But compared to what they'd just faced, those were small fry!
"Theresa, change tactics—work with Hattie and pin him down!" Charles barked, not rushing straight for the boss. "I'll take care of those last two dark champions!"
Ignoring the bright flashes of Theresa's Guiding Bolts, he dashed toward Nymeria and Anno.
By this point, Nymeria's opponent was already battered and barely holding on, though she was breathing hard herself. When she saw Charles, she called out, "I'll set you up!"
She lunged, meeting the dark champion's cleaver in a frontal clash.
Steel screamed as she was forced back three steps, face twisted in pain—she wasn't a pure bruiser and could barely match up in a head-to-head contest!
But the dark champion lost his balance nonetheless. Charles lunged, striking while the enemy was still unsteady—his blade hit straight into the undead's chest, magic surging in a thunderous blast that sent it crashing over!
As it flailed on the ground, Charles followed up—two more quick strikes, another "purified," and the champion went up in flames, crumbling to ash.
He didn't stop to catch his breath—together with Nymeria, he rushed to Anno's side and smashed down her foe with an Eldritch Smite. The three of them made quick work of the last dark champion, hacking it to pieces and purifying it into dust.
A total haul of 4,200 Purification Points—and for a moment, Charles finally felt like he could catch his breath. But not for long.
"Anno! Let's move!" he called.
He led the charge himself, twin-bladed polearm pointed right at the Death Knight.
"On it!" Anno responded, quickly chanting another holy incantation: "Crusader's Mantle!"
Buzz—
A holy white light radiated from her, covering her, Charles, and Nymeria's blades with a milky glow. Their attacks suddenly became even deadlier.
Charles glanced at her in surprise, recognizing the paladin's exclusive 3rd-level spell, Crusader's Mantle—it imbued all friendly weapons within five meters with radiant power!
It wasn't the biggest boost in the world, but it stacked up—and when everyone in the front line had fast attack speeds, it added up to a serious damage increase!
Seeing the surprise in his eyes, the paladin girl tipped her chin up, absolutely glowing with pride. "I haven't been slacking off at all these last months—I've been training hard!"
Charles snapped back, running some quick mental math.
All this time, he'd figured Anno only knew Aura of Protection, so she was probably just level six.
But now, if she could cast 3rd-level spells—she must be higher than he'd thought. At least ninth, maybe even ten.
Level eleven? Unlikely—in paladins, it came with "Improved Divine Smite," making her sword glow gold all the time. Anno wasn't doing that, so ten was probably her cap.
Wow, this girl really is tough. He'd have to find time for a proper class-level test someday…
With that, he broke into a wide smile. "Congrats, sweetheart. Looks like this guy's not getting out alive today!"
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