Chapter 70: Sherry’s Divine Chosen

Late at night, within the sunless gray fog.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Hooves thundered as six knights spurred their mounts forward, racing south at full speed.

“Rooooaaar—!”

A shrill scream rang out, and in an instant, corrupted creatures filled the surroundings. As far as the eye could see, corrupted corpses surged in from every direction, pouring through countless narrow paths like thin black and gray floods, seeping little by little into this shattered world.

At the very front of the formation, the leading knight held a mist-dispelling lamp. Through her helmet, she let out a hoarse, near-hysterical shout:

“Break through! We’re almost at Nightfall Domain!”

The moment the words left her mouth, she drew the exquisitely crafted dagger strapped to her thigh and drove it straight into her warhorse’s body. The horse screamed in agony, its speed surging sharply.

Sherry’s heart bled.

This was a rare magical beast mount that had grown up alongside her. Forcing out its full potential with a blade meant it would be completely ruined afterward.

“Keep up with Lady Sherry!” The surrounding knights followed suit, mercilessly squeezing the last drops of life from their mounts.

The cavalry formation was like a small fish charging upstream, barely staying ahead of the countless corrupted creatures snapping at their heels.

“Watch out!”

Before they had gone more than a few strides, a blood-soaked knight suddenly kicked his horse hard, howling as he raised his long lance and charged forward.

“Watch out for what?” Sweat poured down Sherry’s face and forehead. Dizziness crept in, and for a moment she couldn’t even tell what her companion was shouting about.

Then she saw it.

A grotesque corrupted corpse leapt high into the air, about to drag her off her horse.

A violent crash rang out.

At the critical moment, the long-shafted lance slammed straight into the corrupted corpse’s chest. Wood splintered explosively, filthy blood spraying everywhere as the creature was sent flying backward.

“Thank you, Knight Cabra!” Sherry jolted back to her senses, cold sweat streaming down her spine. But the moment her voice left her mouth, it seemed to be torn apart by the stench of blood and wind.

The knight lifted his helmet.

A handsome, youthful face emerged, wearing a bright, sunlit smile.

“I intend to become Lady Sherry’s chief knight one day. It’s my honor.”

Sherry’s exhausted expression hadn’t even had time to form a smile before it froze solid.

A massive, radiant wheel of purple light arrived in an instant—without warning—cleaving straight down from Cabra’s forehead through both him and his warhorse.

Man and mount were split cleanly in two.

The young knight’s brilliant smile was still on his face in the next heartbeat.

Then both man and horse collapsed like rotting flesh, crashing apart on the ground.

Warm blood splashed onto Sherry, seeping through her armor. The heat was terrifying—warmer than fire, yet colder than ice.

“That light wheel again… I want to see what the hell it is! Come fight me!”

An old knight burst into mad laughter, completely unhinged, shrieking as he charged toward the corrupted corpses. His words sounded heroic, but not even a ripple followed—he was torn apart instantly and devoured.

Sherry’s pupils trembled.

She wanted to charge to her death as well, but from a distant hillside behind the corpse tide, dense black-purple flashes of light flickered rapidly.

Sherry shouted dully, “The corrupted corpses are preparing ranged attacks.”

Sure enough, in the next moment, a storm of black-purple javelins rained down.

“Spirit Cleave!”

Sherry’s true chief knight struck decisively. The powerful slash formed an invisible wall, and the javelins slammed into it and bounced away.

“Well done!” Sherry forced out a shred of courage and shouted encouragement, desperately holding the group together to prevent another mental collapse. Every knight was one of the family’s remaining pillars. They couldn’t afford any more losses.

Before her words even faded, corrupted cavalry burst from the flanks of the corpse tide—over three hundred of them.

Among them were knights who had once been Sherry’s own comrades.

“Damn it, I’ll hold them off for a while longer.” The female knight at the rear couldn’t take it anymore.

“Valtteri, don’t go—your divine power is nearly depleted!”

“I’ve rested long enough. The Goddess of War will protect me!” Valtteri roared. “Divine Skill—Warbreaker Armor!”

Streams of light rapidly fused around her body. Valtteri transformed into something like a steel tank, crushing straight into the corrupted corpses.

In an instant, the corpse tide’s advance stalled.

Another knight charged after her. “I’ll embrace battle as well—let me assist Lady Valtteri!”

All of this was seen clearly by Phield and the others.

They had been circling this road for two days already.

Phield, Ashina, and fifteen cavalrymen lay hidden on a small hillside, while Rosalia operated alone, concealed at another position.

“Ashina, do you think that Divine Chosen can survive? Or… can Sherry survive?”

With Ashina’s explanations and the map in hand, Phield could follow everything that was happening.

Ashina answered with certainty. “They’ll both survive. There’s still a third-tier knight in that team. If Rosalia and I act, we could kill Sherry—but if the opposing Divine Chosen goes berserk, it would be troublesome. Sherry’s Divine Chosen hasn’t even dissociated her divine artifact yet. She’s definitely still holding something back.”

A divine artifact not yet dissociated didn’t even count as a real crisis.

“Also,” Ashina continued, “the corrupted side has Divine Chosen as well. The light wheel just now was one of them.”

“To be precise,” she added, “there are two.”

Phield stared at the two red markers on the map.

Two uncontracted Divine Chosen.

He almost wanted to grab them immediately and beat them into submission.

But with this many corrupted creatures backing them up, trying to seize two Divine Chosen right now was pure fantasy.

“Then we save as many people as we can and trade it for profit,” Phield said, mounting his horse and gripping his spear. “Signal Rosalia. Move carefully.”

Boom—boom—boom—

Valtteri crashed into the corpse tide. Her heavy-armored fists struck simultaneously, each blow carrying devastating force. Whatever monster came at her was reduced to fragments with a single punch.

Warhorses screamed as corrupted cavalry leveled their lances and began charging her.

“Heh. Come on! Let me show you the weight of Warbreaker Armor.”

Armor that reduced physical damage by 80 percent—corrupted corpses’ attacks were nothing more than scratching an itch. And on top of that, she wore three layers of heavy armor, all master-crafted plate.

After smashing a third-tier corrupted corpse with a single blow, Valtteri continued charging head-on.

“Valtteri!” Sherry screamed, watching her contracted Divine Chosen disappear beneath the tide of corrupted cavalry, panic tearing at her chest.

“Don’t worry about her!” the chief knight shouted.

But in that brief moment of distraction—

Sherry’s warhorse was suddenly dragged down by corrupted corpses bursting up from beneath the ground, its throat torn out.

“No—damn it!”

Sherry was thrown from the saddle. Her eyes went red instantly. That horse was family to her—yet it died right before her eyes. She staggered to her feet and swung her longsword wildly, hacking corrupted corpses to pieces.

The chief knight was horrified and leapt down from his own horse. “My lady, ride mine!”

Suddenly, the sound of hooves echoed again.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

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