Swoosh!
Felix swung his sword and shield to block the oncoming magical beasts and tentacles.
Behind him, the citizens of Jupiter trembled in fear as they moved toward the city gate.
The problem was that the path to the city gate lay quite a distance away.
"It's impossible for me alone to protect all of them. In this situation, reinforcements might not even arrive."
Even in the dire circumstances, Felix moved as quickly as he could, swinging his sword to prevent a massacre, but he still couldn't shield every citizen.
As exhaustion set in from the lack of a clear solution, an image of Zeke flashed in his mind.
"If my lord saw this, he'd click his tongue in disapproval."
Recalling Zeke's stern voice, Felix swung his sword even faster and bashed the magical beasts with his shield.
He tried to hold out as long as possible, but soon Felix reached his limit.
Growl.
The magical beasts, now larger than before, approached them.
Felix shouted to the citizens.
"I'll hold them off, so hurry and go! Now!"
He raised his shield and gripped his sword with renewed strength.
Hercion consumed aura just to equip, but he couldn't face the magical beasts' acidic fluids bare-handed.
Caw!
As Felix gritted his teeth, the magical beasts let out horrific shrieks and charged.
But then—
Thud thud thud thud!
Mercenaries and soldiers hidden among the citizens hurled spears at the magical beasts.
They rushed forward with crudely made shields.
"Damn it, listen up! Draker knight! Fall back!"
Seeing Felix throw himself into danger for them, the mercenaries and soldiers who had been hiding to save their own skins stepped forward of their own accord.
While they blocked the magical beasts, Felix caught his breath for a moment.
He quickly downed a recovery potion and unleashed aura-infused sword strikes at the beasts once more.
Boom!
The issue was that the magical beasts and tentacles kept coming without end.
Though the surrounding soldiers and mercenaries gathered to help Felix hold the line, it wasn't enough to stop them all.
"Damn it."
Surveying the situation, Felix suddenly drew up his energy and unleashed a powerful sword strike at the magical beasts.
Boom boom boom!
Seizing the brief moment as the beasts recoiled, Felix yelled.
"Get out of here before more of them swarm! Hurry!"
"Damn! Come with us, knight!"
"I'll hold them while you go! There will be my comrades at the city gate! Protect the citizens!"
The mercenaries and soldiers nodded grimly at Felix's words, raising their shields to guard the citizens as they ran toward the city gate.
That was when it happened.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A magical beast twice the size of the ones charging earlier appeared, lumbering toward Felix.
"Haa... damn, this never ends."
Felix confirmed the citizens were somewhat safely away under the soldiers' and mercenaries' protection, then deactivated Hercion and gripped his sword, focusing his energy.
Rumble!
As aura concentrated in his sword, the surrounding sounds faded away.
Felix felt as if he himself had become the sword.
Soon, he sensed a magical beast entering the domain he had spread.
Caw—
The beast swung its sharp claws at him.
Felix stepped back, dodging the claws.
Then, releasing his tension, he swung his sword.
Swoosh!
The magical beast's arm, covered in tough carapace, was cleanly severed by Felix's sword and thudded to the ground.
Screech!
Felix experienced a mystical clarity where every drop of acidic fluid erupting from the beast's body was vividly clear, yet he was unaware of it.
He evaded them all, stepped forward, and swung at the beast again.
Swoosh—
The light swing sliced through the beast's sturdy armor, severing three arms in an instant.
Growl—
The beast retreated, whipping its massive tail at Felix.
It had enough force to demolish nearby houses and even the walls in one blow.
But Felix held a serene stance, sword raised, waiting until the tail was nearly upon him.
As the tail closed in, he slowly swung his sword from below upward.
To Felix, now one with his sword, cutting the tail was effortless.
Swoosh—
From tail to head, the beast's massive body split perfectly in half.
Thud!
Felix snapped back to reality upon seeing the beast collapse in one strike.
He had unconsciously reached the realm of Sword and Mind as One, but Felix didn't realize what he had done.
Tremble.
Having pushed himself to his limit, Felix no longer had the strength to hold his sword.
As he planted it in the ground to steady himself, he spotted smaller magical beasts approaching from behind the fallen ones.
Seeing this, Felix gave a wry smile.
"You little bastards. Why do you keep coming after me?"
Despite the threat of their dripping acidic slime, Felix could no longer move.
Yet, contrary to his grumbling, to draw their attention until the end, he shouted at the magical beasts.
"Come on, you punks! I'm right here! Come and get me!" With his roar, the magical beasts charged at Felix.
Caw!
Just as their sharp claws were about to tear into his flesh— Crackle crackle crackle!
Bolts of light scattered in all directions.
Screech—
The magical beasts struck by the light bolts turned to charcoal and collapsed.
Felix, staggering, barely lifted his head.
"No way...?"
Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder, and a warm energy flowed from it into his body.
Vitality surged back into Felix's weary form.
Regaining enough strength to move, Felix whirled around.
"My lord!"
Zeke, wielding Ascalon, unleashed radiant lightning bolts at the charging magical beasts.
Crackle crackle crackle!
That single attack reduced dozens of distant magical beasts and tentacles to ashes.
Only after clearing some of the beasts did Zeke turn to Felix.
"You've shed a layer, Felix."
He patted Felix's shoulder and continued.
"Congratulations on your promotion to red knight."
By attaining Sword and Mind as One, Felix had broken through the wall to advance as a red knight.
"Me, a red knight...?"
Feeling one step closer to the Zeke he admired, Felix's chest swelled with emotion.
But that lasted only a moment. Seeing the ashen remains of the magical beasts scattered around, he soon shook his head.
"I wonder if another thousand years of training would let me catch up to my lord." Unaware of Felix's bittersweet thoughts, Zeke said to him.
"I'll hold this side, so get the citizens out of the city, Felix. Reinforcements from the allied forces should arrive soon."
Snapping to attention, Felix nodded at Zeke's words.
"Understood, my lord!"
Zeke watched Felix run toward the citizens, then turned back.
He looked up at the cocoon fixed atop the tower.
"The energy I sensed from the Watcher of the Apocalypse feels even clearer now." The energy within the cocoon continued to grow.
As he stared gravely at it, more magical beasts approached Zeke.
Caw!
Zeke swung Ascalon, unleashing another burst of radiant lightning.
Crackle crackle!
Since absorbing the sentinel infused with Ramiel, his light power had grown far stronger, and the magical beasts couldn't withstand it, scattering as ashes.
Zeke levitated, raising Ascalon to emit radiant lightning in all directions.
The tentacles writhing along the walls ignited from his bolts and crumbled to dust.
From the air, Zeke surveyed the city and spotted Bathory with the Dracul Knight Order evacuating Jupiter's citizens.
He directed another bolt toward them.
Crackle crackle!
As Zeke's successive attacks rapidly thinned the magical beasts' numbers, the accumulating cocoon noticed his presence.
Changes occurred in the beasts prowling the city for prey.
Their bodies merged with nearby tentacles, sprouting wings on their backs.
Swoosh—
The magical beasts spread their wings and took to the sky, swarming toward Zeke.
Over hundreds of them encircled him in the air, closing in.
Seeing this, Zeke summoned Bucephalus.
The long-unseen Bucephalus nuzzled Zeke's cheek affectionately.
"Yeah. Good to see you, Bucephalus. Let's play for a bit."
Patting its head, Zeke mounted and summoned radiant lightning.
Bucephalus's horn reacted with Zeke's bolts, unleashing massive lightning in all directions.
Crackle crackle—
Pure white bolts poured toward the incoming magical beasts.
Caw!
The lightning split into dozens of streams, enveloping the beasts' bodies.
Unable to reach Zeke, the magical beasts were swept away and reduced to ashes.
Though the beasts outnumbered him overwhelmingly, they scattered like leaves in the wind before Zeke's power.
Zeke urged Bucephalus straight toward the cocoon atop the tower.
"I'll end this before the Watcher of the Apocalypse hatches."
The Watcher could serve as an incarnation of the Thirteen Palaces, and if it hatched fully, another constellation might manifest in the phenomenal world.
If that happened, Jupiter Castle's destruction would be inevitable.
Zeke drew Laevatein, raising it in rider form toward the cocoon.
Hum hum hum!
The energy of Chaos Field concentrated in Zeke's sword.
Infinite Sword Art — Special Transmission Form
Chaos Field
Soul-Annihilating Slash
The technique, fusing Chaos Field learned from his battle with Ramiel and Infinite Sword Art, unfolded.
The slash infused with chaotic power flew toward the cocoon.
As if to protect it, the tentacles rooted around the tower moved, merging to form a sturdy shell.
Boom boom boom boom!
The chaotic slash clashed with the tentacle shell, sending sword waves scattering everywhere.
Crack crack crack!
The sword waves shattered not only the tentacles but also hidden magical beasts from the inside out.
Zeke gripped Laevatein tighter, drawing up even more energy.
Cracks began to form on the sturdy shell.
Rumble rumble!
The chaotic power relentlessly invaded the broken shell, etching fine fissures across its surface.
Seeing this, Zeke's eyes gleamed as he pulled a spear made of Godslayer Stone from his inventory.
Hum hum hum!
The Godslayer Stone vibrated faintly, reacting to the constellation's power within the cocoon.
Zeke hurled the spear forcefully at the cocoon.
Boom boom boom boom!
With a sound tearing through the air, the spear struck precisely where the largest crack had formed on the shell.
Crackle crackle!
As the Godslayer Stone spear embedded, the shell shattered, and its tip pierced the hidden cocoon within.
At the same instant, Zeke's infused chaotic power surged along the spear, ravaging the interior.
Rumble rumble rumble—
A shockwave erupted from the reacting spear.
Hum hum hum hum!
Powerful vibrations and waves shook the cocoon.
Soon, its surface bulged and swelled unevenly.
Zeke extended his hand, spreading shadows to form a curtain enveloping the tower where the cocoon was fixed.
Simultaneously, the cocoon exploded.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Zeke's shadow curtain blocked the blast's shock, preventing Jupiter Castle from collapsing.
But it couldn't fully absorb the aftermath.
The directly hit tower crumbled, parts of surrounding buildings collapsed, and even the sturdy walls cracked or broke in sections.
Zeke retracted the shadows and sighed in relief at Jupiter Castle, mostly intact.
"Fortunately, I stopped it before it hatched."
The angel from Sagyeon Palace, descended via Ramiel, had been cultivated from an angelic fragment by Harvey West and only fully hatched after absorbing a homunculus.
But the cocoon Zeke just destroyed was undoubtedly a true angel seeded by the constellations in the phenomenal world.
Zeke recalled the report from Boris.
"So Emperor Nero acquired an angelic cocoon and tried to awaken it with dark magic." If left alone, not only Jupiter Castle but the entire southern empire would have suffered massive damage—this outcome was a miracle.
Thinking the threat neutralized, Zeke descended to aid in repairing the ruined Jupiter Castle.
But then, an ominous energy stirred.
"This is...?"
Rumble rumble!
Something writhed at the very top of the shattered tower.
Sizzle sizzle—
The rising black smoke gradually cleared, revealing a wriggling form on the ground.
It was a mystical figure of two statues back-to-back in prayer.
But the statues' lower halves were incomplete, replaced by writhing black flesh.
The imperfectly hatched Watcher of the Apocalypse had emerged from the cocoon.