The Dilapidated Black Knight

Decrepit ruins stood amidst the chilling wind, emanating a putrid stench.

Whoosh!

A sharp sound resonated as a silver streak flashed through the air and disappeared.

Click.

A faint noise followed, as if a delicately set mechanism had been triggered. A diagonal indentation appeared on the stone wall from top to bottom, soon followed by a booming sound. Almost half of the wall's surface, along with the fragmented rocks and sand, started sliding down along the sloping mark.

In a matter of moments, the seemingly solid stone wall remained only half intact, still connected to the ground, while the other half had already fallen to the floor.

Dust and smoke filled the air.

"Damn it, this is impossible!" A young man hiding behind the wall cursed.

The young man appeared to be around twenty-two or twenty-three years old, with an handsome appearance. His lustrous black hair stood out. Despite his swearing, his face didn't display much panic. The calm and tranquil gaze in his eyes emitted a unique charm.

He chose not to stay behind the crumbling wall and swiftly ran, wielding his only weapon. As almost half of the wall rumbled and collapsed, he took cover behind another wall.

"Sean! You big liar!" A slightly childish voice suddenly resounded, its urgency and nervousness making it sound sharp. "I'll never believe you again!"

The owner of the voice was not far from the young man.

It was a little girl of tender age.

Her fair and delicate skin, typical of children, appeared exceptionally smooth. Coupled with her exquisitely crafted features resembling a masterpiece sculpted by a master artist, and her golden long hair shimmering under the sunlight, it was evident that this girl's identity was far from ordinary. At least in the eyes of the currently disheveled young man, Sean, this girl's lineage belonged to an exceptionally noble one.

However, Sean's expression now turned sour. "You idiot! Didn't I tell you to hide properly?"

Sean raised his head from behind the obstacle and indeed saw the enemy, who had previously targeted him, now turning to face the little girl.

"Damn it! I haven't even built up stable resentment, and now you're stealing away my grudge!" Sean cursed, but upon seeing the enemy taking steps towards the little girl, he quickly grabbed a stone and hurled it at the foe. "Cecilia, run! Find a place to hide!"

Ding.

The stone hit the helmet of the opponent and bounced off onto the ground. But as a method to attract attention, it was enough.

Standing in front of Sean was an enemy, a warrior clad in black armor. However, the armor was worn and damaged in multiple places, and due to lack of maintenance, it had lost its luster. It provided protection only in certain areas, which were not the most vital ones. The true vulnerable spots were exposed.

At first glance, this armored warrior seemed like an elite soldier withdrawn from the frontlines. However, in reality, it was a Dark Knight.

[Name: Dilapidated Dark Knight]

[Race: Undead]

[Class: Dark Knight (Fifth Tier)]

[Attributes: Strength: 16; Agility: 8; Endurance: 13; Intelligence: 0; Willpower: 5]

These were the pieces of information Sean could gather about the monster before him.

Under normal circumstances, a Fifth Tier Dark Knight would be far beyond Sean's current ability to handle. However, this particular Dark Knight had suffered severe and irreparable damage, reducing its effective tier to just one. Even so, it was not an easy creature to deal with for most people, as it still retained the combat instincts of the undead.

But now, only instinct remained.

Under the influence of this instinct, it would prioritize its targets based on their relative strength within its line of sight.

Sean noticed the Dark Knight's gaze finally settling on him and taking steps towards him. He frowned, gripping his sword tightly, and emerged from behind the hiding wall. The current situation deviated slightly from his planned script, but it was still within his control. If Cecilia hadn't unexpectedly revealed herself and disrupted his plan, dealing with this Dark Knight would have been easier.

"Come on!"

Sean glanced at the blue-hued blade in the Dark Knight's hand before taking a step forward, charging towards it!

Charge!

The distance between Sean and the Dark Knight was only six meters, the maximum distance achievable in this charge. Sean was fast, but the Dark Knight's reaction was not slow either.

Almost as soon as Sean began his charge, the Dark Knight instinctively swung the longsword in its hand.

Once again, a sharp sound that made Sean's scalp tingle resounded as the sword swept in a half-circle, and the pale blue radiance resembled a crescent moon. The speed of this strike was extreme. With Sean's charging speed, he would have been decapitated by the time he reached the Dark Knight. Instinctively, it was clear that the Dark Knight's combat prowess surpassed Sean's.

However, unexpectedly, at the moment when the sword was about to strike Sean's neck, there was a distinct pause—a sudden transition from extreme speed to stillness. The powerful reactionary force made Sean's face contort, indicating that it was an unpleasant experience. But this sudden pause allowed Sean to completely evade the danger of losing his head. The next moment, Sean's ordinary iron sword forcefully pierced through the Dark Knight's heart.

Roar!

Suddenly, two red lights appeared inside the helmet of the Black Knight. Although Sean heard a transmission, he also heard an angry roar that seemed to come directly from the soul.

However, Sean showed no fear. He tightly gripped the sword in his hand and continued to advance, even penetrating through the decaying and stiff muscles of the Black Knight's back. Then, in the next second, Sean released his right hand while his hand emitted a faint white light. He mentally said, "Allocate a bit of proficiency: strength, agility, endurance."

The glow on Sean's right hand quickly faded, but the peculiar thing was that no one except him could see that light anymore.

The Black Knight, holding its sword in its right hand, swung it as expected. However, instead of the anticipated image of blood splattering before it, the Black Knight only felt that its right hand felt somewhat different. But with its brain already completely decayed, it couldn't discern the specific extent of the change.

As Sean stepped back, he now held the sword that was previously in the Black Knight's hand.

[Check passed, successfully acquired opponent's weapon.]

The Black Knight glanced at the sword in Sean's hand, then looked at its own right hand. It couldn't understand why its sword was gone. However, as an undead creature severely injured and devoid of intelligence, it simply lowered its head to look at its chest. It then reached out and grasped the sword that pierced through its chest, pulling it out.

Yet, when the Black Knight raised its head again, it was met with a barrage of attacks from Sean, raining down like a storm. These continuous attacks, though insufficient to face a fully functional Black Knight, were more than enough against a damaged Black Knight with only one-third of its combat instincts remaining. Despite Sean's current lack of high damage output, many of his attacks were deflected by the armor on the Black Knight's body, mitigating most of the damage. However, Sean's advantage lay in his smooth and uninterrupted flow of attacks, with every three strikes forming a set of attack techniques, like a relentless storm.

From the beginning of the assault, the Black Knight could only resist for a moment before completely falling into a disadvantaged position, entirely suppressed by Sean. Although it attempted to counterattack, its ordinary sword was no match for the sword Sean had taken from it. After a few clashes, the Black Knight's sword broke completely, exacerbating its disadvantage.

"Cecilia!" Sean shouted.

"I got it!" replied the blond girl hiding in the distance.

Then, in the next moment, Sean immediately lowered himself, evading a swing from the Black Knight. He then swiftly lunged to the side, leaping two meters behind the Black Knight. Rolling on the ground, he quickly stood up. Just at that moment, a booming explosion resounded, and a scorching heatwave and blast of air surged, causing Sean to stumble.

Fortunately, his reaction was swift, and he quickly regained his footing.

Looking up, the Black Knight had transformed into a human torch, but its tenacious undead life force prevented it from dying. However, Sean wouldn't allow this creature any chance of counterattack.

He swiftly charged towards the Black Knight, wielding his sword. A crescent-shaped blue radiance swept across the Black Knight's neck, and its flaming head, adorned with a black helmet, soared into the air.