The thug’s sudden shot fires a bullet no bigger than a thumb, piercing through Archbishop Atwood’s priestly robe etched with divine runes.

It blasts a huge hole right through the Archbishop’s chest, the force sending him flying over ten meters.

Snatching Atwood’s platinum staff, the thug stomps the entire platform to splinters, then bursts forward, chasing the blood-spurting Archbishop through the air.

By now, the Iron Knights have arrived, springing up from the ground with powerful leaps to block the thug’s pursuit.

Amir’s face is pale as he turns to the kingdom’s Iron Knights beside him, “Elders, please, go save the Archbishop. He cannot die here—especially not at this moment, in this place. If he falls, our family and kingdom couldn’t bear the consequences.”

Though terrified of the thug’s ferocious strength, the four remaining kingdom Iron Knights understand the gravity of the situation.

They grit their teeth and rush out, trying to stall the thug as best they can.

They hold back, not going all-out, merely supporting the Church’s knights.

Even so, it’s deadly dangerous—one misstep and they’ll be cut down.

The thug wields his longsword in one hand, the staff in the other, swinging both with fierce precision.

Surrounded by a dozen Iron Knights, he doesn’t at a disadvantage for a second.

Screams echo intermittently—each one a skilled knight felled by his blade.

Still, he can’t close the distance to finish off the fallen Archbishop.

Despite the massive hole in his chest, Atwood somehow clings to life.

Pure white light wells up from his body, slowly transforming into a tangible, gel-like substance that fills the gaping wound.

Yet, he remains unconscious.

Closest to him, Arius sends his wife to Count Jansen, then draws his longsword to rally the palace guards and shield the Archbishop.

The restrained thug reaches into his coat and pulls out a small box.

As soon as the box hits the ground, it unfolds rapidly, growing into a tiny house about the size of a small room.

This mini house, spanning just a few square meters, is covered in menacing spikes and coated in a dark brown-black hue.

Its front wall is dominated by a massive door taking up half the surface, etched with dizzying, nauseating patterns, made of a metal-like material.

From the cracks in the door, a thick, dark brown viscous liquid seeps out, emitting a pungent stench.

Seizing the moment, the thug slashes off the right arm of a church knight.

With his left hand, he swings the platinum staff like a baseball bat, sending the severely wounded knight flying through the air.

The unlucky church knight hurtles directly toward the strange little house.

Before he can crash into it, the door—seemingly alive—suddenly swings open, revealing rows of foot-long spikes lining its backside.

That eerie door snaps shut like a monstrous maw, swallowing the church knight whole.

Onlookers watch in horror as the house seems to writhe and pulse, as if it’s a living creature.

The door just witnessed is its gaping mouth, chewing on its prey.

Muffled screams echo from within, mixed with fresh blood oozing from the metal door’s seams, confirming the terrifying suspicion.

Soon, the chewing sounds cease, and the strange door opens again, spewing out over a dozen shadowy figures.

The crowd finally gets a clear look at these humanoid creatures.

Standing two meters tall, each sports a thick tail.

Their sturdy legs bend backward at the joints, ending in hooves.

Their hands have only four thick fingers, tipped with sharp, pointed nails.

A chain wraps around their left arm, ending in a barbed sickle.

In their right hand, they wield a massive serrated greatsword—blade about 1.5 meters long and nearly 40 centimeters wide.

Their faces are grotesque, with snarling fangs and bulbous noses.

A single horn juts from the top of their heads, while their blood-red vertical slit pupils gleam with savage bloodlust.

Besides scattered armor plates, their skin is covered in dense, dark brown scales.

At the tip of their thick tails are two crescent-shaped blades, violently whipping the ground.

The force shatters the heavy stone slabs of the palace square into flying debris.

After the eerie little house shudders once, the dozen or so monsters seem to receive a signal and charge into the chaotic battle.

Though these creatures look terrifying, to the Iron Knights they’re hardly a real threat.

But these monsters aren’t here to kill the Iron Knights—they’re here to collect the bodies of the slain church knights.

By the time the church knights realize this, several monsters have already hauled off eleven corpses, tossing them back into the creepy little house.

Moments later, the house’s door swings open again, spewing out hundreds of monsters.

Some are massive, wielding huge greatswords engulfed in black flames—clearly far more formidable.

Others carry grotesque bows made from twisted bones, raining arrows down on the church knights.

Only two rangers remain, who had been picking off monsters one by one, but now find themselves overwhelmed.

The two remaining spellcasters are still tied up, doing their best to hold back the savage thug.

Suddenly, a leader monster wielding a massive decapitation sword charges toward the Archbishop’s position with dozens of smaller monsters in tow.

Everyone capable of fighting, including Amir, draws weapons to face these unknown foes.

As the battle begins, pressure mounts immediately.

Even the weakest monsters match knight-level strength.

They’re tough as nails and pack brutal power.

Their unique fighting style throws Amir and the others off balance.

Monsters’ thick tails whip out at intervals, sending unlucky fighters flying.

The lucky ones survive the blow; the unlucky die instantly when struck in vital spots.

Only then do they realize the purpose of the hooked chain wrapped around the monsters’ left arms.

When someone is flung away, the hook lashes out like a venomous snake, snagging the unlucky airborne victim.

A vicious yank tears some knights’ bodies apart midair.

Some knights get dragged before the monster, where the serrated heavy blade slices them clean in two.

Thankfully, the leader monster is only slightly stronger than a Battle Knight, so Amir and the Grand Knights manage to hold their ground.

Meanwhile, some monsters keep hauling bodies back to the sinister little house.

Within a minute, more monsters crowd the square.

More powerful monsters appear too—horned fiends wielding both a long whip and a decapitation sword, capable of overpowering Grand Knights.

Fortunately, only a few dozen show up, and mostly swarming the Iron Knights.

But the sheer number of smaller monsters equals hundreds of knights fighting simultaneously.

When Henwell finally catches his breath and crawls out from beneath the debris under the platform, he’s met with this chaotic scene:

Screams, cries, wails, and roars fill the air everywhere.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep