Chapter 390: Defend the Frostgrave Fortress (10)

[Zarrick’s POV]

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

With his sword held ready at his side, Captain Zarrick slowly circled the black knight as raucous cheers thundered from the soldiers behind him.

The Black Revenant moved with him, mirroring every step without once lowering its blade — neither side offering so much as a single opening.

’How clever... it was sizing me up too.’

Zarrick had earned his place among Frostgrave’s finest swordsmen through years of fighting at the front, enough that even veteran soldiers respected the blade in his hand.

Yet the Black Revenant gave him nothing.

Zarrick shifted his stance several times, searching for even the slightest reaction. None came; whenever he tried to bait an opening, its blade was already waiting for him.

’This damn bastard...’

Then Zarrick spotted a narrow opening along its left side and immediately kicked off the ground, surging forward.

His sword flashed toward the gap.

"This is disappointing."

Clang!

Zarrick’s blade was violently knocked aside with almost contemptuous ease. His pupils contracted as his gaze snapped toward the muted golden glow beneath the creature’s helmet.

Did it just... speak?

More than that, did this damn thing just mock him?

’What!?’

There were records in the Voidspawn Encyclopedia of creatures capable of speaking the human tongue, but those were mostly among the highest ranks, where their intelligence rivaled that of humans.

But Zarrick knew a Black Revenant should not possess such an ability. They were never known to be the talkative sort of Voidspawn.

Did he mishear it then?

For a brief moment, Zarrick hesitated, but quickly shoved the thought aside and tightened his stance. Raising his sword once again, he prepared for the next exchange.

Whatever he had heard, he could think about it later.

Right now, he needed to end this fight.

At that moment, the Black Revenant moved — its arm blurred for an instant, too fast for Zarrick’s eyes to properly track.

A split second later, a vicious gust of wind tore past him.

’Huh?’

Before he could make sense of it, agonized screams suddenly erupted from behind him, followed by the brutal sound of earth, steel, and armor being ripped apart.

"Hukkk—!!"

"Arghhh—!!"

Hearing those sudden chorus of terror and pain, Zarrick’s expression hardened as he urgently turned around.

What he saw made his eyes widen; a section of his formation had been carved apart in a perfectly straight line.

Several soldiers were missing arms, others had been cleaved clean through the torso, while shattered shields and broken weapons lay strewn across the blood-soaked ground.

Even more disturbing, a deep trench had been gouged through the earth beneath them, stretching far beyond the soldiers as though a huge invisible blade had torn straight through their ranks.

Zarrick’s face stiffened.

Then he immediately turned back toward the Black Revenant, only for searing agony to suddenly erupt from his sword arm.

His gaze dropped toward the pain, and his breath caught.

His right hand... was gone.

The severed hand struck the ground beside his sword, blood spilling freely from the mangled stump of his wrist.

Zarrick’s face drained of color as his mind went completely blank for a second, before years of battlefield experience and instinct seized control.

Immediately, he clamped his remaining hand around the severed wrist and squeezed hard, trying to slow the bleeding.

His teeth ground together as another vicious surge of pain ripped through his arm, yet he refused to let even a groan escape.

’When... when the hell did it take my hand!?’

Cold sweat slid down the side of his face as his breathing turned ragged and heavy.

The Black Revenant slowly raised its sword again. But before it could swing, a violent surge of mana erupted from behind Zarrick.

"[Earth Rampart]!"

Givard slammed one hand against the ground, and the earth between them suddenly exploded upward. Several massive walls of stone tore from the plains one after another, forming a thick barrier between the soldiers and the voidspawns.

"C-Captain!"

Givard rushed forward and caught Zarrick by the shoulder before he could lose his balance.

"Everyone, fall back! Take the wounded with you, and leave anyone who can still walk to cover the rear!"

The soldiers froze for only a moment, still shaken by what had just happened.

"Move!"

Givard roared.

"Get the injured out of here now!"

With his commanding scream, they were finally jolted from their daze. Some of the soldiers rushed toward the wounded, dragging them back while the others formed around them.

Zarrick’s expression twisted when he realized what Givard was doing.

"What the hell are you doing, Givard? We can still fight!"

"No, we cannot."

Givard tightened his hold around him and glanced toward the towering stone walls he had raised.

"That thing is not behaving like any Black Revenant I have ever encountered."

Zarrick glared at him, still enduring the searing pain.

"So what?"

"So if we remain here, more men are going to die."

Another heavy impact suddenly shook the stone barrier.

Givard’s expression immediately hardened.

"You already lost your sword hand, Captain, and nearly a whole section of our formation was wiped out in one attack."

He looked directly at Zarrick, refusing to give him room to argue.

"Without you leading the front, our formation will fall apart the moment that thing charges us again."

"But Givard... there are still thirteen of those damn plants left!"

"And what good does that matter if this thing is standing in our way?"

Givard pointed toward the cracking wall as another low rumble passed through it.

"Right now, only you, Commander Fajarn, or Lord Evrard have any real chance of bringing down something like that. And you are in no condition to fight."

Zarrick’s face darkened, but Givard continued before he could answer.

"Commander Fajarn and Lord Evrard are both preparing the fortress for tonight. We cannot pull either of them away."

His grip on Zarrick’s shoulder tightened. "So we fall back first, treat your injuries, and report what happened here."

Zarrick stared at the barrier for several seconds.

Then another violent impact struck it.

Crack!

A massive chunk of stone broke loose and crashed onto the ground. Within the settling debris, the half-revealed figure of the ominous black knight could be seen.

"Fuck!"

’Damn it... retreating now would stain my name with disgrace, but I can’t die here yet. I’m still a virgin!’

Zarrick kicked at the dirt in frustration before finally turning away.

"Fall back, everyone!"

The order spread through the formation almost instantly.

"Retreat and take the wounded! Move. Now!"

As soon as they heard the orders, the Frostgrave soldiers began withdrawing across the plains, carrying their injured with them while the remaining men formed around the rear to cover their escape.

*****

[Ruvian’s POV]

Captain Zarrick was a First-Class Magus on the verge of breaking through into the Grand Magus rank. For someone like him to be overwhelmed without even putting up a proper fight left a deep impression on Ruvian.

If this was already how Ruvian felt after witnessing such a one-sided defeat... what about the soldiers below who regarded Captain Zarrick as one of their strongest pillars?

"In the end... we could only bring down two of the Nightbloom Spawners. That doesn’t sound very good."

Calyra sighed in frustration.

"Don’t be discouraged just yet."

At Ruvian’s words, Calyra’s usual impassive expression shifted slightly. With a trace of confusion, she turned toward him and asked,

"Why do you say that? There is hardly anything reassuring about having that many Nightbloom Spawners still standing."

"Well, it isn’t good. But like we discussed before... I don’t think the demons’ ultimate goal is to bring down Frostgrave Fortress."

Ruvian narrowed his eyes.

"Of course, I can’t be certain. But think about it. If they truly wanted to destroy this place, why didn’t they come with their full force? Why send only one demon?"

At the mention of that, something clicked in Calyra’s mind.

"It’s like... they’re scouting?"

Ruvian had considered the same possibility, though he did not think it was quite that simple.

He had a growing suspicion that this entire incident was somehow connected to the aftermath of his encounter with Mamveth.

Whatever their true objective was... Ruvian still had no idea.

But one thing was certain; this was undoubtedly part of the ripple effect caused by him altering the events of Vazrun Island.

A moment later, a faint rush of mana stirred the air beside him. Ruvian heard the soft flutter of paper cutting through the wind and turned his head.

Something was flying straight toward him, wrapped in a thin shimmer of mana before slowing to a halt just within his reach.

It was the magic envelope.

The moment he saw it clearly, a faint smile appeared on Ruvian’s face as he immediately recognized the seal stamped across the envelope.

It was from Silvena D’Elvoire.

She had received his letter.

"Ah, good news. It seems our reinforcements will be arriving soon. Let’s head back to Frostgrave. We also need to get ready."

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[Chapter 390: Defend the Frostgrave Fortress (10)

Plot Points = 297,000