Chapter 730: Joining Forces

After resting in the safe room, the survivors prepare to head toward another city gate.

They hope to reach the old fortress on the far side and search for an exit there.

They have scarcely stepped outside when a long, piercing shriek rings out.

The entire ancient city shudders before anyone understands what has happened.

Then the cries of bat owls and countless other monsters answer one another across the city.

Henwell and the Lady of Calamity exchange a look. They can sense countless monsters closing in on their position.

Without waiting for an order, everyone else scrambles back into the church complex.

The monsters pour inside just as the last people cross the doorway.

Miller and Dacro take the front and fight desperately against the onslaught.

Neither holds anything back. They pour all their fighting spirit into every attack.

There are simply too many monsters. Packed tightly together, they surge forward in wave after wave.

The defenders are soon forced back into the central hall as creatures flood through the passage like water through an open gate.

Just as the endless tide is about to swallow them, flesh suddenly bursts apart within the passage.

A towering figure charges through, its sword flashing in every direction as it kills every monster within several meters.

Everyone's heart sinks at the sight of the statue knight absorbing their flesh.

To their surprise, however, the construct shows no intention of attacking them. Instead, it cuts down every monster trying to enter the hall.

The statue knight is ferocious, but even it cannot stop so many creatures.

Some monsters continue to slip past along both sides. They neither circle around to attack the statue knight nor turn on Henwell's group.

They rush toward the swords embedded in the hall floor instead. The moment they draw close, the surrounding blades begin to glow.

What looks like invisible sword aura cuts every monster to pieces.

Henwell can tell that it is not sword aura at all.

The power of law acts directly upon space, fracturing the area around each blade to create a Spatial Killing Formation.

Each sword's Spatial Killing Formation connects perfectly with the next, leaving no blind spots.

However, two of the twelve swords in the outer ring have been removed.

One gap faces the entrance, where the statue knight stands guard.

The other lies to the left of the passage.

Henwell raises Silver Dove and fires into the gap. An area-of-effect extraordinary round reduces every monster within several meters to mangled flesh.

After firing the second barrel, Henwell reloads and orders, "Miller, Dacro, block that gap!"

"Doyle, take the others and clear out anything that slips past the statue knight."

"Keep your distance from the statue knight, and stay as far from those swords as you can."

Miller alone obeys. Everyone else remains rooted to the spot.

Henwell snaps, "Move! If the monsters knock down any more swords, we could awaken even more statue knights!"

At last, the others advance reluctantly and kill the monsters that slip through.

Henwell turns to the Lady of Calamity. "Did I arrange that properly?"

She gently shakes her head. "Don't ask me. Follow your heart."

"Everything is arranged by fate. There is no right or wrong."

"The destination never changes. Only the paths leading there are different."

Her answer makes Henwell's mouth twitch. When did she turn into a fortune-teller?

Abbas looks at them curiously. "What are you talking about?"

Henwell replies, "Nothing. I was asking Lady Thatcher's opinion. Most of the combat force here belongs to her."

Abbas senses that something is amiss, but says nothing more.

Daisy, the spy, watches Henwell and the Lady of Calamity with suspicion.

She has infiltrated the expedition under the identity of a physician.

Only Henwell and two others know that Daisy has also reached the Knight rank.

Even with Miller and the others helping, the number of monsters entering the hall continues to rise.

Just as the defenders begin to buckle, several dark-brown creatures covered in fine scales enter along the top of the passage.

They look vaguely humanoid and reptilian. Each of their four limbs ends in sharp claws that can sink easily into stone as hard as steel.

Like geckos, they crawl across the ceiling and into the hall.

They immediately scatter, denying the statue knight an opportunity to cut them down together.

More and more ceiling-crawling monsters enter behind them.

Realizing that Miller's group blocks their path to the gap in the sword formation, they spread out and prepare to attack.

The lizard-like monsters are particularly deadly. Each has reached the Knight rank.

Dozens of them are enough to threaten Miller and the others.

Just as they prepare to pounce, Henwell raises the shotgun he has kept in reserve.

Two blasts kill several monsters.

Everyone reacts to the warning, contracts the defensive line, and forms a basic battle formation against the growing horde.

More and more monsters are slipping past the statue knight and entering the hall.

Anxiety spreads through the group. Even Henwell frowns and reaches toward one of the nearby swords.

Just before the situation collapses completely, a thunderous commotion draws everyone's attention.

The passage suddenly sprays out masses of flesh like the discharge chute of a wood chipper.

Every monster within it has been swept away.

Another statue knight appears amid the flesh filling the passage.

Its sword identifies it as the first statue knight they released.

Its body has developed the texture of flesh and now resembles a corpse.

The statue knight gives its companion inside the hall a slight nod.

The other reverses its sword in both hands, points the blade downward, presses the hilt to its chest, and bows gently.

The statue knight in the passage then drives its sword into the ground, and light flares around its body.

The blinding radiance forces everyone to close their eyes, while every monster it touches releases a piercing scream.

When the light fades, the passage has vanished, replaced by a solid stone wall.

The monsters that avoided the light roar savagely and hurl themselves at Miller's defensive line.

The statue knight does not join the fight. Still gripping its sword, it bows its head toward the place where the passage once stood.

It seems to be bidding its companion farewell, or perhaps reciting a funeral prayer.

Within several minutes, Miller and the others begin taking wounds one after another.

Only then does the statue knight ready its sword and join the battle. With such a powerful ally, they need barely ten minutes to kill every remaining monster in the hall.

After feeding on so much flesh and blood, the statue knight no longer resembles stone. It looks more like a desiccated corpse.

Rather than attack Miller's group, it lowers its head and studies the tense humans.

After a moment, the statue knight nods. "You are as weak as ants, yet your courage and sense of duty have earned my recognition."