Chapter 697: Kneel and Kiss My Shoes!

The Forsaken Apostate’s huge sword came down.

Lian had recognized the path of the strike from the moment the blade started moving, but the vibrations caused by Gjallarhorn’s Final Call were still flowing around him and making mana control difficult.

Under normal conditions, he could have used his speed to move out of the attack’s path.

But this time, he made a different decision.

The Wings of God folded around Lian’s body and formed a layer of hard, black scales in front of the sword.

This defensive form increased his defensive power by 3333%.

However, its mana consumption changed depending on the power of the attack, and against extremely heavy strikes, it could even consume a huge part of his mana reserves.

But in the current situation, it was the best option.

The sword came down.

Booooom!

For a moment, the sound of the impact covered all the surrounding sounds.

The stone ground beneath his feet was crushed, and a wave of pressure sent ashes and pieces of stone flying in every direction.

A long crack began at the point of impact and spread across the ground.

Several damaged pillars around the battlefield broke.

But the sword could not pass through the two black wings.

The Forsaken Apostate applied more pressure for a moment.

Lian felt a considerable amount of his mana being consumed, but he still maintained his position, at the moment, mana consumption was the least of his problems.

Apart from the elixirs that could restore his mana, he had also bought an artifact from Miranda that could act as a mana bank when needed.

That one was really heavy.

He checked his remaining mana reserves for a moment.

Young Vorhelm opened his wings.

The sword moved away from their black surface, and the two huge wings returned behind his body.

The dust slowly settled.

He was still standing on his feet.

In front of him, the four-meter-tall knight looked at the black dragon wings for a moment.

"Those wings..."

His deep voice came from behind the helmet.

"They are not of angelic origin."

"Do you have a problem with that?" Lian looked at him.

The Forsaken Apostate did not answer, but one of his gray wings moved slightly.

Young Vorhelm noticed the change in its position and used the flying power of his wings to move several meters backward to avoid the next attack.

’Well, I think it’s time.’

He no longer intended to continue the entire battle alone.

The knight was powerful, but the main problem was not just his strength, the creature could control several different directions at the same time with his twelve wings and huge sword.

To break through such a defense, Lian needed more pressure, and fortunately, he had not yet brought all his Colony members into the battlefield.

He raised his right hand.

[ Hive Dominion ]

[ Special Members Summoned ]

Two streams of light formed on either side of him.

A moment later, two new creatures appeared among the broken stones.

The first creature had a huge body with a terrifying structure and powerful jaws.

Three, the Dreadmaw Sovereign.

On the other side, a creature with an impressive figure and a powerful presence appeared.

Four, the Nine-Venom Castellan.

One and Two were also still present on the battlefield.

Now all four Special Members of the Colony stood beside Lian, and both of the newly summoned members were Unholy.

The Forsaken Apostate looked at the two newly summoned creatures and lowered his sword slightly.

"More condemned have escaped their chains, one a prisoner held within this prison, and the other, a condemned who managed to survive the Judge’s sentence... Interesting."

But before Lian could answer, Three raised his head.

At first, he looked at the knight with a proud expression, then his gaze moved toward the red sky above the plateau, and for a moment, his body language changed.

"My lord."

Lian noticed his unusual tone.

"What is it?"

Three did not take his eyes off the sky.

"That damned sun... Is it still awake?"

Young Vorhelm remained silent for a moment.

Ah.

Despite all his power and pride, Three did not have a pleasant experience with the Hollow Sun’s judgment.

And now, after being summoned again in the same land, the first thing on his mind was the possibility of facing that judgment again.

"Don’t worry. The sun won’t bother you anymore."

Three lowered his head and looked at him.

"Are you certain of that?"

"Completely."

Of course, for now.

There was no need to tell Dreadmaw the entire truth either, right?

Three stared at him for several seconds, then looked at the sky again and finally straightened his body.

"Very well, then there is no reason to worry."

Lian raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Just like that?

But the monster was no longer paying attention to the sun, and his gaze settled on the Forsaken Apostate.

"So this armored creature is the reason you summoned me?"

"Yeah."

Three examined the knight more carefully and then let out a short laugh.

"Twelve wings? What a flashy appearance."

The Forsaken Apostate turned his head toward him.

"A condemned who has escaped his own sentence has no right to judge others."

Dreadmaw immediately answered.

"Look at yourself! What happened to you? You’ve turned into a loyal dog waiting for its owner to throw it a bone?!"

"A powerful creature like you, serving under a nobody? Even thinking about it is shameful! You’re not just a disgrace; you’re an insult to everything we Unholy represent!"

"But you can still stop your situation from getting worse."

"Kneel. Lower your head and kiss my shoe. Maybe I’ll feel sorry for you and ask my master to let you live as a slave instead of executing you."

"Of course, don’t expect your position to be any higher than that of a dog."

There was silence for a moment.

Four, who had been examining the mana flows around the knight until that moment, turned his head slightly.

"It seems your confidence has no limits."

"If you’re going to talk nonsense, you’d better stand behind me and let me show you what real power means." Three glanced at him.

"Do not worry, I would prefer to remain at a suitable distance and correct any mistakes you might make." Four answered calmly.

Lian looked at the two of them for a moment and then rubbed his hand over his face.

Wonderful.

He had almost forgotten what kind of personality the third Special Member of his Colony had.

Dreadmaw would not change his attitude even when facing a creature stronger than himself.

Of course, even when he had been defeated by Lian, he had preferred to die rather than accept humiliation, in the end, he had only changed his mind because he thought Lian was a Demon.

Even so, speaking like this in front of a creature that was stronger than almost all of them... Well, that was really something else.

Three immediately stopped talking when he saw the knight’s sword move.

He knew very well when it was time to get serious.

Lian also had no intention of wasting any more time, and through Hive Dominion, he gave several short commands.

’One, stay on the left, control the ground beneath his feet.’

’Two, put pressure on him from the right, use your eyes to disrupt his movements.’

Then he turned his attention to Three and Four.

’Three, I want you to limit his retreat path. But don’t stand directly in front of his sword.’

"There is no need to teach me how to fight, my lord." Three answered proudly.

’Then I hope I won’t have to collect your corpse.’

There was no answer for a moment.

Four quietly said.

’Your orders are clear, my lord, I shall target the weak points of his armor and his mana flows.’

Lian nodded.

Good.

Then he looked back at the Forsaken Apostate.

The knight held his huge sword in front of his body, and his six pairs of gray wings moved slowly.

"So the number of your companions has increased."

Lian took one step forward.

"Yeah."

"Do you believe these creatures can break my master’s will?"

"No." Young Vorhelm answered without changing his expression.

He looked at the huge crack behind the knight for a moment and then stared at him again.

"I just want to get his guardian out of my way."

And before the Apostate could answer, the ground beneath his feet split apart.

[ Fault Hand ]

The crack moved directly toward the knight’s right foot.

The Forsaken Apostate immediately moved out of his position, but this time, Lian had been waiting for that movement.

"Three!" He shouted.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign extended his hand toward the ground.

[ Ossuary Gravefield ]

Part of the ground along the knight’s retreat path split apart, and huge structures made of connected bones rose from it.

The Apostate was forced to change his movement, and at that moment, Two attacked from the right.

One of the Eight-Disaster Wolf’s eyes turned golden.

[ Bone Mountain ]

More bone pillars rose from the ground and limited the knight’s movement from the right.

The Forsaken Apostate was trapped between two huge structures for a moment.

But instead of retreating, he raised his sword.

A horizontal slash.

The sound of breaking bones echoed across the plateau, and a large part of the obstacles was destroyed in an instant.

But before the knight could pass through the remains, Lian moved.

[ Thunder Ashen Step ]

Young Vorhelm appeared a short distance away from the knight.

The surrounding air suddenly became cold.

[ Frost Dominion ]

A thick layer of ice formed over the broken stone ground.

The parts of the ground that the knight was using to maintain his balance froze under the extreme cold.

The Apostate immediately shifted his weight.

But that change in position created a short opportunity for Lian, and his right hand moved toward the knight’s damaged shoulder.

[ Glacial Reaper Claw ]