Dead but still so lively!

  Ulrich turned his body and twisted his wrist slightly, allowing the sword edge to glide along the smooth arrow shaft.

  “Garrh!”

  Tuk!

  The sword, with all its weight, struck the ground, blasting chunks of stone shards in all directions.

  Tchk!

  Tchk!

  Despite parrying the attack, Ulrich couldn’t quite escape the hail of stones. What’s more terrifying was the condition of his arm.

  Goddess, this pain is wrenching…!

  Ulrich was sure that if he tried to parry another strike from this abominable knight, his arm would become minced meat from the stress alone.

  I can’t contest it in strength; it’s my weakness.

  Wiping the blood streak off his cheek, he whispered in Hermes:

  “Dark Arrows.”

  He didn’t need to, but had to. The evocation of Hermes enhanced his spell. And through that, five dark arrows materialized in the air.

  Ulrich gripped both hands on the spear body, which was unstable, then slammed the tip against its steel helmet, producing a loud and sharp clang. At the same time, he controlled his arrows, letting them pierce the throat of the knight.

  However, his attempt was futile, as the thick steel armor completely disregarded his attacks.

  No damage?

  Seeing this, Ulrich's face dropped, his breath growing shallow as he bit his lip before taking another deep breath.

  It’s not like I can kill this one in a solo duel!

  After the initial clash, Ulrich could feel it. The knight was enraged. Was it due to his dishonored style of fighting? Or that he didn’t face it head-on, as a true duel between warriors would?

  It’s ridiculous just thinking about it.

  If you’re dead, then stay dead. There’s no honor in persisting in the world of living when your glory has gone hollow!

  Ulrich loosened his grip and turned behind him.

  “I’m moving now, all is on you, Mason.” Saying so, Ulrich focused the strength onto his feet, bursting forth with great speed. To put it mildly, he booked it, leaving even Borik and Snezana flabbergasted.

  They turned to each other. “Ugh, Sir Johan… Why do I feel like it’s not your first time running…?”

  The knight roared with blistering rage, its sword swept the air, producing sharp blades of wind.

  “Garrh!”

  It had been stationed in this forsaken ruin for gods-knows-how-long. Not to mention, there was a voice in its head that cursed it to guard the entrance of the Keep’s gate for an eternity. To finally meet a worthy foe, only for it to run away.

  By the gods, this was too damnable! Too infuriating!

  The knight, enraged and fueled by madness, leaped into the air.

  “I thought you were a loyal dog. Why are you jumping at me?!”

  Ulrich cursed, tapping his chest thrice, and bent low.

  In that moment, a surge of adrenaline filled his body as he dashed toward the planned area on the bridge. His muscles and ligaments tore apart, like a rubber band stretched too far, followed by the sounds of fabric being ripped.

  However, facing life and death, this pain was nothing!

  “Sir Johan, get out of the way!” Saying so, Mason held two explosive arrows with his teeth and loaded one onto the bow, pulling it back.

  Thump.

  By now, the knight had already landed. Its weight left another crater on the unstable bridge, and its body slightly staggered. More importantly, its position was exactly where they wanted it to be.

  The crater produced by its rabid movement only made their life easier!

  Looking at it, how could Ulrich waste this opportunity?

  Using this chance, he turned and faced the feral knight directly, hurling his spear forward. It didn’t dodge, no, that’d be pointless. The knight was confident in its armor and strength.

  A puny spear would leave no scratch on this glorious armor!

  “Garrgh!”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Idiot,” Ulrich muttered.

  He was blessed that this wasn’t a true Great Knight, but a fallen, mindless knight instead. And in that moment, the spear flew like a shooting star, aiming for the precise spot between the knight’s ankle.

  Once standing, it started to chase after Ulrich again, but it was already too late.

  Bang!

  This single momentary pause in its movement was brief as a blink, but that’s all they needed.

  “Now!” Mason shouted.

  Following Ulrich’s direct instruction, he did not wait for their benefactor to get out of the way and let go of the nock.

  Flewk!

  The arrow flew with yearning for Mother Earth, striking the ground beneath its feet.

  Boom!

  “Good! Keep going!” Borik and Snezana cheered.

  Mason loosened his jaw and dropped an arrow in his hand, loading another in one swift motion and—

  Flewk!

  Boom!

  “D-Despicable humans!”

  The trio, as well as Ulrich, was stunned.

  This fallen knight can speak?!

  However, Mason quickly recovered and played his role, ringing the death knell with another explosive arrow.

  Boom!

  With the final arrow, the wind blew, and the rock shards squall. All that's left is dust. At this point, the bridge was on the verge of collapse. And what’s more strange is the fact that not a single monster came despite their loud fireworks. And they're glad none was attracted.

  For a moment, their eyes narrowed toward the bridge. Unfortunately, the storm of dust and smoke lingered, making it difficult to see.

  Did it fall?

  Recalling Ulrich’s words, they decided to stay back, afraid of checking its status.

  “Sir Johan?” Mason called out, lowering the bow in his hand. Borik and Snezana's thoughts were cut short as the smoke and fume cleared.

  Looking from here, Ulrich was nowhere to be seen.

  “…” They turned to one another, the silence growing in the air.

  A moment later, Borik awkwardly scratched his cheek, whispering:

  “Did Sir Johan fall with it?”

  Before the final arrow came, Ulrich thought he had time to retreat. However, he’d overestimated his speed, as well as the Blessing of the Shadow.

  This is a mess.

  Looking around, he cursed.

  Praise to his Dark Arrow spell, he was able to react in time, turning it into a spear and lodging it into the rock. However, his arm was still numb and weak from that initial clash. What’s more, that thing below him was more crazed than ever.

  “How in the goddess are you still alive?”

  “Garrgg!”

  It’s ridiculous. The height from the bridge to the depths of the ravine must be over a hundred feet. Anyone or thing falling from that height should’ve died!

  What do I do now… He sighed. Ulrich wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to the knight below him and looked at his arm.

  Why did I restrict myself to a single spear?

  Thinking so, he produced another Dark Arrow, extending his spirituality to make another spear, then carefully lodged it under his feet. After doing that, he tapped it with his foot, making sure it was stable before sticking another one beside it.

  That’s better. My arm was getting tired.

  Hanging one arm on the side of the ravine was numbing and unpleasant to say the least. After all, strength wasn’t his forte. Even if you include his Blessing of the Shadow, as well as increased accumulations of lesser runes, his limit was ten minutes, and that was being generous.

  I thought this spell was pretty lame and straightforward… But now I understand Rosaline’s words.

  He didn’t think it’d be possible, but it seems like his Dark Arrow spell was more versatile than he’d ever expected. Indeed, there’s much to be learn.

  Now that he’d gotten a stable foothold, Ulrich turned his attention below, looking at the knight once more. The right side of its armor was shattered into pieces, leaving the shoulder, stomach, and waist exposed. Even that monstrous thing couldn’t survive the fall unscathed.

  “Finally, a reasonable development!” Ulrich blinked.

  Upon closer inspection, there’s blood dripping from its wound. How was that possible?

  A Fallen Knight is already dead, hence “Fallen”. Their body should have long decomposed or dried like beef jerky. So, how is it that this knight still bleeds? It was inconceivable!

  Ulrich forced himself to be vigilant, examining the knight in great detail. Even at this point, it was still trying to get to his position by persistently climbing the wall.

  How persistent.

  Thump.

  Thump.

  In that moment, the cliff trembled.

  Perhaps, the thing below realized it couldn’t climb, so it decided to raise its sword, striking the stone wall with unrelenting perseverance.

  “Can’t you be any more unreasonable?!”

  The spear beneath Ulrich’s feet vibrated with each strike, becoming more unstable by the second. Given enough time, he’d certainly fall, having to face that crazed knight in a one-on-one!

  “Garrrgh!!”

  Fuck.

  While trying to think of his next move, the cliff shook again. This time, one of the spears hung loosely off the edge, causing him to put more weight on the other one.

  Don’t tell me I’d have to actually fight it…

  Ulrich stared below and gritted his teeth. At the very least, its armor was damaged, exposing half of its body. If it was before, no amount of arrows or slashes leaves a scratch.

  It’s doable!

  Closing his eyes, he accurately estimated that only half of his spirituality remained. Either way, if he continued to maintain the form of the arrows beneath his feet, he’d eventually be afflicted with spirituality weakness.

  In that case, it'd be no different from death. The one worse thing than being stuck in a hard place is knowing that if he hesitated, then he’d be left with no chance to wallow in regrets!

  Reeling in his fear, Ulrich took a deep breath and bent low, holding onto the two spears lodged in the cliff before making his descent.