79 Chapter 79: Nobles and Commoners (I) The Young Duke

Giant bodies made their way toward the group of people, and the once proud-looking commander was shivering while raising his sword.

'At least he has some courage.' Kilian smirked and crawled close to the ground to hide behind a tree.

'I still need to figure out how to get away, myself.'

Kilian turned and looked back at the group of knights.

There were still about five of them left, and he saw something golden flicker at the commander's fingers.

'Magic?'

Kilian's blue eyes widened with envy, watching how the commander yelled something and threw a ball created by pure fire at the closest spider.

Its many eyes were now focused on the commander, who together with the rest, had all their swords pointed at the creature.

"I guess they are not completely useless," Kilian said out loud.

Another ball of fire was thrown through the air like it was the easiest thing to accomplish, but Kilian noticed that this kind of magic was only done by the commander.

Not all knights were able to do combat magic, it was normally higher ranked knights with noble upbringing.

Kilian breathed in to calm his trembling body.

He was surrounded by something even worse than the knights who had wanted to kill him, but he now had time to focus again.

The strange sensation of the power around him flowed more naturally into his body, the thin thread he had felt earlier was now thicker, and he concentrated on filling his body with this strange energy.

He could only guess the difference between him and people with magic, was that they create a magic core in their bodies at a young age, which was the source of their magic throughout their lives.

'Instead, I am more like the core itself soaking up the power around me.'

He felt as if he had grasped more understanding of this strange feeling, but his head was now hurting to the point it was making him nauseous.

Sounds of clinging metal were heard, and the moment he peeked at the fight the bloodied face of a knight met him.

The leg of one of the big spiders was behind the tree he was hiding and a gurgling sound came from the head of a knight whose body had been completely skewered by the sharp talon-like legs.

'They are like the harpies.'

Kilian noticed, seeing as the talon-like end of the spider's legs reflected light as if it was made of metal.

"Aargh!"

Several spiders were in front of the remaining standing knights, and sharp metal legs started to skewer them one by one.

It was an eerie sight as if they were playing with their food, mocking these weak humans.

"Why..why is it not working!" The commander yelled, his voice filled with desperation.

Kilian saw the tattered-looking man spewing words which were followed by impressive blazing fire magic.

He was repeatedly casting it at the giant spider in front of him, only to see it get repelled by the body.

"No, Go..go away…"

The exhaustion from the continued magic attacks was taking over, and the commander stepped backward from the creature, running off into the forest.

He left behind his knights to fend for themselves.

The commotion made the spiders focus on the human who had run away, and two of the spiders set off to chase him down, their huge bodies pushing both minor trees and growth aside to get through the forest.

Kilian felt the tingling feeling of his insides, he had consumed all the power around him he could.

It felt like a huge pressure resided in his head, and his eyes were strained.

He slowly stepped backward away from the scene of bodies that were quickly painting the area red.

One step… Two steps… His heart was beating as he could not look away from the creatures who had remained, still stabbing their prey, though Kilian doubted that any of those knights were still alive.

"Crack".

The noise was almost nonexistent in the ambiance of the forest, but he could not take the chance and did not wait even a split second before setting off.

He instantly turned around, knowing the creatures were now aware of his presence and was not gonna let them get the chance to stab him with those sharp legs.

Branches and leaves slapped at his face as he ran towards the treeline area they had entered from.

'Almost there.'

His mind had felt the small sensation of hope seeing the view in front of him when his vision went black, as his entire body was slammed sideways into the rough side of a tree.

The air was knocked out of his lungs and he gasped, feeling his side burning with an intense pain.

The huge body of a spider got closer, the sharp talons tapping over the ground in quick succession, til one was raised above him.

Kilian tried to calm his mind but his lungs collapsed and were having trouble inhaling air.

He gasped hard, staring at the spider in front of him, the accumulated power he had absorbed tickling behind his eyes.

He could vaguely see a blue glow around the edge of his vision, as he spoke out with the little air he had left.

"Break."

His insides were fighting for air, and the blue at the edge of his vision flashed the same instant the raised leg in front of him split apart.

"Screeech!"

A stumbling spider stepped back, losing its balance.

Dark blood was oozing from the wound of the leg that had been split apart to the point it laid in pieces like shattered pieces of metal.

Kilian dragged his body to its feet, commanding it to move with the little resolve he had left.

'I just need one good spot.'

He was not powerful enough to completely destroy this creature with this power alone, but he repeated the word from before and his vision turned light blue again.

"Break."

Another leg split apart, and the sprawling spider was screeching, unsure where the attacks were coming from.

It then set its eyes on Kilian and stumbled forward to attack him.

"Break."

Kilian continued, the sharp pain in his side was only getting worse, but his lungs were now filling with air again.

Soon the giant creature was wobbling on the ground and Kilian walked up toward the body while raising the sword he had taken earlier during his escape from the knights.

"Shiing."

The soft underbody was sliced open, and Kilian hurried backward before the dark blood reached him.

The plants and leaves around the body started to wither when the dark substance came in contact, and Killian watched as the spider convulsed violently before the body became still.

He ripped his shirt and wrapped his hand, using the rest of the cloth to cover a large piece of one of the sharp legs, and picked it up.

"Let's see if the commander made it back."