Novel Full Chapter 345: The Legends Of The Golden Order Knights (4)
Chapter 345: The Legends Of The Golden Order Knights (4)
“Lost?” That voice made Mountain tilt his head to the speaker. It was the orphanage’s caretaker, an old man holding a walking stick to support himself. He was incredibly old, probably over a hundred years!
It was a miracle that this man could not only walk but also speak fluently, and apparently his sight was still functioning. There was just a faint amount of mana in him, and it was because of the small chubby bird on his shoulder.
It was a low-tier summon only good at chirping.
At best, it could nudge someone to wake up in the morning.
“Summons can’t be lost. It’s not possible.” The old man slowly shook his head, answering his own question.
“Not lost.” Mountain’s voice rang, deep and heavy. Like a boulder dragged across stone.
The old man’s squinted eyes widened. The wrinkles cleared the way for his eyes to study Mountain properly.
“You can speak? That’s extraordinary.” The old man was more pleasantly shocked than horrified. Even in his shock, his voice was low and stable.
When Mountain didn’t speak, the old man tapped his staff against the ground twice. The dry knock echoed with quiet beckoning, drawing Mountain’s attention back to him.
The old man pointed at the entrance with the stick. “You may enter. I don’t judge Humanoid summoners, and neither do I train my kids to. If you wanted to kill us, we don’t have the strength to protect ourselves. Besides, it’s clear to me that’s not why you came this way, so…”
He smiled softly, then turned and walked into the courtyard.
His smile widened when he heard the sound of Mountain rising to his feet. When they both entered the courtyard, the kids peeked from where they were hiding.
Most of them, out of trust for their caretaker, came out. Mountain was tall, absurdly tall to the children who slowly came out of hiding. They couldn’t comprehend this huge golden armoured existence and were filled with curiosity.
Mountain, on the other hand, could see a bunch of children in the snow running towards him.
A memory.
“I run this orphanage,” the old man said to Mountain, then his eyes went to the huge hammer-axe.
“You’ll be more welcoming if you lower the hammer and the shield.” He whispered.
Mountain glanced at him from the corner of his left eye, then dropped both weapons.
They sank into the ground, forcing a dust cloud to surge outward. The earth groaned beneath their weight.
Everyone covered their eyes as their clothes fluttered.
’Those things must be quite heavy.’ The old man thought in his heart but maintained a gentle smile externally.
“He’s not dangerous. Come around. I know someone who loves children when I see one.” The old man chuckled lightly, tapping Mountain’s armour with his stick.
The children looked at themselves, but one fearless nine-year-old girl with green hair walked out of their midst, heading straight for Mountain like she wanted to fight him.
Her chest was puffed, small fists clenched, lips pursed tight, and eyes steady.
She marched up to him, maybe a little too close, as when she tried to look at his face, the little girl almost fell backward.
Noticing her struggle, Mountain slowly went on one knee. She still had to lift her head, but at least she could see his helmet properly.
The little girl blinked.
“I’m Sarah. What are you?” She tilted her head, then turned toward the old man. “Is he a human being like us?”
“No, my dear, he’s a summon just like my little bird.” The old man responded softly. His bird chirped as if agreeing with what its summoner said.
Sarah blinked several times to properly process that information, then her large eyes widened even more.
How could a summon look like this? She thought all summons were beasts and plants. This heavily armoured being looked like a human.
“It looks like a man.” She said innocently.
“He, not it.” The old man corrected.
Meanwhile, Mountain watched in silence.
’They’re different. Different from the rest of this world. This world filled with hate and monster-worshipping men whose honour has long been lost.’
His deep voice rang inwardly.
Looking at this child made him recall the days he once knelt before Pathan kids.
Mountain lifted up his hand to pat Sarah’s head, but that action frightened her.
She swiftly pulled back, retreating as fast as her legs could carry her, only for a purple gate to appear right behind her.
The air split open with a sinister glow.
A gate known as the assassin gate with over a 99.9 percent death rate.
This gate couldn’t be predicted, and once it closed, it was closed, no one could get in.
People could enter other gates no matter their differences but not the purple gate because it would vanish, like a door that was closed and couldn’t be opened until it chose to.
Mountain grabbed his shield and hammer-axe, lunging himself into the purple gate as Sarah stumbled into it.
The gate closed down immediately. It came and vanished in an instant, but Sarah and Mountain were gone, leaving the old man and the other children frozen in disbelief.
***
While they were still in shock, Mountain found himself before a lake. He stared at a forest with sparse yet tall trees, lots of greenery, and a peaceful serenity.
Sarah was a few metres before him.
Mountain was about to approach her when he noticed some part of those trees that weren’t part of the tree.
It was the Fey kind!
Their skin was like that of tree bark, their green eyes gleamed brightly, and three out of six of them held fully drawn bows, aiming the arrows at them.
Just as Mountain was about to move, thick vines burst out of the lake, splashing water everywhere as they coiled around his limbs and pulled him into the lake.
Mountain found himself at the depths of the lake with more vines, as if from every part of the lake, coiling and pulling him deeper.
One of the fey archers shot an arrow at Sarah, but Mountain’s shield suddenly transformed into a dome.
It sent the damage back, and that fey had a wound through his chest.
Luckily, due to his physiology, his heart wasn’t there.
Vines were ripped apart as Mountain entered Black-Out State, but more kept coming, pulling him deeper and deeper into the lake as bubbles swam upward.
The surface of the lake rippled softly while a huge conflict went on in its depth.
On the other hand, the chief archer finally appeared.
It had a bow but didn’t use it.
“Interesting…” The boss said as vines rose up, wrapping around the dome so much that there wasn’t any space for air to move through at all.
The vines made sure Mountain’s feet did not touch the ground, so he would not have a solid platform to exert more force.
He was almost completely covered with countless vines.
From the bottom of the lake, it looked like a web of vines all connected to one spot like the heart, and that spot where they gathered was Mountain!
His eyes gleamed.
With a roar, he activated Overload State and his armour turned black. The lake itself seemed to tremble.
He forced himself to the left, then to the right, and took a deep breath before forcing himself downward.
He hit the lakebed, tightened his grip on the vines, and dragged them with all his might.
His muscles bulged as they began to snap from the source.
Then, he shot upward.
Other vines snapped due to that force.
The lake’s surface rippled softly, but in the next moment, a massive black-armoured knight burst out.
Water sprayed everywhere as he soared a few feet into the air and crashed on the ground.
Mountain’s burning golden eyes went to Sarah, who lay on the ground, an arrow right through her chest!
She had clutched the arrow before falling to her death, eyes wide and face pale with fright.
Mountain went on one knee as he gently carried her.
’The Defender has fallen.’
The last words before he died in the Ruination rang in his head.
Mountain roared at the top of his lungs, unleashing a shockwave that swept everything two hundred metres around him away; not even the trees were spared.
Great waves rose up on the lake.
Cry Of Anguish.
A skill that Mountain knew quite well, one of his first and one that only activated when he felt an emotional loss.
He gently dropped Sarah, eyes fixed on the Fey Archers.
The chief fey swiftly shot another arrow.
It tore through the air.
Mountain grabbed it.
With a grunt, he snapped the arrow and lunged forward. Now there was no restraint left in him.
He barrelled through the forest.
Branch after branch shattered beneath him.
The moment he burst through a thick wall of shrubs, two furred tigers…
This perfect ambush did its job.
It caught Mountain off guard.
But he was a knight who was trained to react on instinct.
He blocked the strike of the black tiger and decapitated the head of the white tiger. The Reflect skill sent the black tiger’s claw strike back into its face, blinding it.
Mountain smashed its head, then turned to the Fey Archers whose faces no longer had that confidence and glee, especially the Chief Fey Archer.
It was as grave as his own.
Good… now they’ve both experienced a loss.