More skeleton knights dropped dead to the ground, and those that remained were unable to attack after Francis joined Wei in firing at them. For a brief moment, the skeleton knights' advance slowed. However, after about forty-five seconds, both Wei and Francis' skills wore off. The skeleton knights began rampaging again, though half of them had already been wiped out.
"It's time for us bladers to make a show!" Lance smirked as he raised his sword.
"For Fenix!" Reich shouted, charging alongside Lance toward the remaining skeleton horde.
"Hehehe, I think this is going to be fun," Wei grinned, laughing. He quickly followed the two bladers, using his Dash skill to close the distance.
Lance and Reich initiated the battle with quick, powerful slashes. At the same time, Wei jumped into the air, activating his Liquid Blade skill. "Swordfish!" he shouted as his blade turned into liquid, forming multiple swordfish-shaped blades made of liquid metal. The sharp, sword-like bills of the swordfish pierced through the skeleton knights' armor as they sped toward the horde.
Still airborne, Wei used another skill. Boiling, glowing blue water began to gather in his left fist like a burning flame. "Water Shots!" Wei shouted as he threw a powerful punch into the air. Multiple bursts of glowing blue water shot out from his fist, hitting the enemies with pinpoint accuracy.
After unleashing his two skills, the number of skeleton knights dropped from fifty percent to a quarter of their original strength.
Wei landed on the ground, wiping his brow. "I'm low on mana now, but I still have my sword. Time to finish off all you bone suckers!"
Lance and Reich continued fighting the skeleton knights with their swords, while Francis kept shooting arrows from a distance.
Among the remaining quarter of the skeleton knights, five enormous skeleton giants lumbered forward, charging straight at Wei. With his mana nearly depleted—only 100 points left—Wei relied on his Level 3 Dash skill to dodge their powerful strikes. He moved at lightning speed, narrowly evading the giants' swords. He rushed in, jumped at one of the skeleton giants, and slashed its neck. But the attack didn't deal enough damage. Wei quickly dashed away, retreating into the air to avoid any retaliation.
Back on the ground, Wei paused, thinking of his next move. Suddenly, his foot hit something on the ground. Looking down, he saw a mana gem, along with other types of gems and a scattering of gold. These gems had been dropped by the skeleton knights that had been slain.
Wei quickly picked up the mana gem. As he absorbed it, his body glowed, and his mana points were completely restored.
"Alright, time for the final showdown," Wei smiled, his confidence returning. He assumed a samurai stance, called Ko Gasumi, preparing for his next attack.
The giant skeleton knights were charging toward him, their angry roars filling the courtyard. Just as the giants closed in, Wei felt his Dash skill cooldown complete. In the blink of an eye, he rushed forward, faster than ever, and with a shout, he activated his Liquid Blade skill again.
Wei swung his sword repeatedly, and multiple massive liquid arc blades shot out from his blade. The skeleton knights were pushed back and sliced apart by the arc blades, their bodies disintegrating as they were slain. The giant skeletons, too, were obliterated by the powerful attacks, their massive forms collapsing into the ground, vanishing into dust. Gold coins and gems appeared where their bodies had fallen, scattered across the courtyard. Wei felt a surge of excitement. He was eager to collect the gold coins as quickly as possible, but he held himself back, watching as the three Biriganians finished off the remaining skeleton knights. Once the last of the skeletons had been slain, the three Biriganians approached Wei, their weapons still glowing from the battle. Just as they came near, a new screen window appeared in front of Wei.
*************************
CONGRATULATIONS!
YOUR TEAM DEFEATED
ISA'S PALADINS
COLLECT ALL GOLD AND
GEMS NOW.
**************************
"Wei, go ahead and get our prize," Lance said, a grin on his face.
Wei nodded and pressed the Collect button.
The team received a total of 100,000 gold coins—Wei received 60,000 gold coins, while each of the Biriganians got 10,000 gold coins.
"Wow! I got 60,000 gold coins! Just a bit more and I'll be set!" Wei's face lit up with excitement.
"Sir, if you need more gold, I suggest we take on a bigger monster. 100,000 gold coins is nothing compared to what we could get by killing the Fiendish King of this castle," Francis suggested, and the other two Biriganians nodded in agreement.
"Woah! Did you just say 100,000 gold coins is just a few pennies compared to what we can get from the king? Then let's go hunt him down!" Wei replied, his excitement palpable.
Wei turned around and started walking, but then he noticed that the Biriganians weren't following him.
"Hey, are you guys not coming with me back to the castle?" Wei asked, confused.
"We know an easier route to find the King of Fiends. You just need to follow us," Francis answered.
Francis raised his bow to the sky, drawing the string back. As he held it, a magical arrow materialized, shimmering with energy. Once fully formed, he released the string, sending the magic arrow soaring high into the air. The arrow arced gracefully and landed on the ground in the courtyard, not far from the Biriganians.
"Come, let's go," Lance called to Wei.
Wei followed the Biriganians as they approached the area where the magical arrow had landed. The arrow's aura illuminated the grassy ground, revealing a black door lying on the ground nearby, partially hidden in the grass.
"I'll go first," Reich said. He stepped closer to the door on the ground, then jumped onto it. His foot slammed into the grass, forcing the door to open and sending him tumbling into the tunnel below.
"How did you guys know there was a hidden passage here?" Wei asked, watching the Biriganians with curiosity.
"This castle serves as a training ground for Biriganian soldiers. We learned everything about it from the academy," Francis explained.
Francis took a mana bottle from his small bag and drank from it. After finishing, he pulled out another bottle and offered it to Wei. "Fill up your mana first before we jump into the tunnel."
"I'm good. I just took a mana gem earlier," Wei replied.
"Alright, then let's go," Francis said, before jumping into the open door. Lance followed right behind him. Wei was the last to leap in.
The three landed at the bottom of the tunnel, their feet hitting the ground with a thud, crouching slightly from the impact of the fall.
Reich was sitting on the ground when Lance and Francis got up.
"We thought you were already fighting monsters down here. What happened?" Lance asked, confused.
"This place was supposed to be crawling with all sorts of demons, like hell itself, but it seems they're nowhere to be found," Reich replied, standing up.
The underground area of the castle resembled a dungeon. Sconces mounted on the walls bathed the place in dim light. At the end of the hall, a chapel came into view. Inside the chapel, candles flickered on the altar. Behind the altar, a massive wall loomed, towering around sixty feet high, its surface blending into the pitch-black darkness beyond. The wall seemed to lead into an endless void.
Lance started walking toward the chapel. "If the monsters aren't here, then we need to search for them."
The other two Biriganians followed Lance, and Wei moved after them, ready for whatever came next.
"Guys, can you hear that?" Reich asked, his expression tense.
"Hear what?" Lance replied, glancing around.
"Yeah, it sounds like horse stomping," Reich said, his eyes narrowing as he listened carefully.
"Right, but it could be something much bigger," Reich added, a hint of concern in his voice.
As Wei and the three Biriganians walked toward the chapel, the stomping sound grew louder.
"Woah! What was that noise?" Wei asked, confused by the sudden rumbling.
"It sounds like it's coming from near the chapel," Lance said, his voice low and alert.
The team halted as the stomping noise intensified, and they felt an enormous presence approaching.
Behind the altar, within the tall, wide, and pitch-black wall, four massive creatures materialized. A fiendish knight, mounted on a towering horse, was at the center. On either side of him were two giant wolves. The wolves stood at least 10 feet tall, the knight himself was around 20 feet tall, and his horse, an imposing 16-foot creature, stomped onto the altar as it phased through the wall.
"Prepare yourselves!" Lance shouted, his eyes focused on the approaching fiends.
"Wei, let's kill the wolves first and we'll take care of the knight afterward. Lance signaled something to Francis then he ran together with Reich towards the giants fiends.
A lightning arrow materialized on the bowstring as Francis pulled it back and aimed at the two Biriganians running. After a second, he released the arrow. Reich and Lance were hit by the lightning and immediately moved with lightning speed. The giant wolf saw this and lunged at them. The two Biriganians leaped into the air just as the wolf's jaws snapped open, its sharp teeth aiming to catch them. In a flash, Reich and Lance struck the wolf, their blades cutting and slashing through its mouth and body in a flurry of strikes that seemed endless. At the same time, Francis released another lightning arrow, sending it flying toward the knight's eyes. The fiendish knight blocked the arrow with its gauntlet, the impact sparking across the metal.Wei activated his dash skill and ran toward the other giant wolf. He jumped into the air, preparing to unleash his ultimate attack.
"Tsunami Slash!!!" Wei shouted.
A giant arc of glowing blue, boiling water surged from his blade as he swung it down. The powerful wave of water struck the wolf, instantly killing it.