Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Chapter 347: Chapter 334: The End of the Road

When he saw Sven’s ambush party appear on the hillside, Anno’s pupils contracted. For the first time, a true chill swept through his heart.

’Gloria...’

’She had set an ambush here long ago?’

His thoughts raced as his gaze involuntarily drifted past the throng of people, looking to the west.

At the end of the night-shrouded hills lay the vital chokepoint for the return to the East: Sunset Canyon.

’Don’t tell me even there...’

The brief panic receded like a tide, replaced by an icy resolve.

’So what if there are ambushers in the canyon?’

’It’s the only way back to my territory.’

’Besides, in his eyes, the only ones on this battlefield worthy of being his match were Duke and Graham.’

’Gloria?’

’The Fiery Sun Church?’

A sneer tugged at the corner of his lips.

’This Princess may be a master of schemes, but in the face of absolute Power, she is merely someone who lights a candle and fancies herself the master of light itself.’

"Two Shadow Devourers, cover our rear! Hold back the ambushers! The rest of you..."

His voice was low and hoarse, but it no longer wavered.

"Follow me! Break through the ambush and charge straight for Sunset Canyon!"

As the command fell, two blurry figures emerged from the Shadow behind him.

They wore dark-patterned cloaks, their auras profound and inscrutable. They were the Extraordinary Professionals under Anno’s direct command.

The two said nothing, merely nodding slightly before turning to face the endless rain of arrows pouring down from the hillside.

The Shadow Energy around them suddenly boiled, spreading upward like a living creature and actually freezing the falling Arrows in mid-air for a moment.

"Go!"

Anno barked, and without further hesitation, spurred his horse and charged forward.

His remaining personal guards desperately clustered around him, using their own bodies to block the endless stream of arrows from the sides, tearing open a gap in the storm of death.

Hoofbeats thundered as dust and smoke filled the air.

Anno didn’t even glance back at the two subordinates who were buying him time with their lives. His gaze was locked dead ahead.

’I have to break through before Duke catches up.’

But not long after breaking through Sven’s ambush, a horn suddenly sounded from the forest path ahead.

Another ambush party, led by Fide, appeared like Ghosts.

Arrows rained down once more as battle cries erupted.

Anno’s gaze turned cold. He once again ordered his accompanying Extraordinary Professionals to intercept the ambushers without hesitation, then cracked his whip and continued galloping west.

By the time he finally broke out of the deadly forest, he had fewer than a hundred personal guards left.

Every man was wounded, their breathing ragged. The horses foamed at the mouth, clearly also reaching their limits.

Blood and dust caked every exhausted face. The column advanced in silence, the only sounds being the clatter of hooves on the barren ground and the faintly audible shouts of their pursuers, which grew thinner on the wind.

Erwin rode closer, his voice hoarse from thirst.

"Lord Duke, the pursuers behind us seem to have slowed... The soldiers and horses can’t hold on much longer. Should we..."

"We can’t stop."

Anno cut him off, his voice as hard as iron. He didn’t even spare a glance for his loyal, faltering guards.

"If necessary, abandon anyone who can’t keep up. Once I’m back in the East, I can have as many Warriors like these as I want."

Erwin’s Adam’s apple bobbed. In the end, he just lowered his head.

"Yes, my lord."

He followed Anno’s solemn gaze into the distance.

The deep silhouette of Sunset Canyon was faintly visible in the twilight, like a great beast with its mouth silently agape.

"Lord Duke..."

Erwin’s voice dropped even lower, tinged with unconcealable worry.

"Since Her Highness Princess Gloria could so accurately predict our every move, even setting ambushes on all our escape routes... then Sunset Canyon is probably..."

Before Erwin could finish his sentence, several sharp whooshes tore through the brief silence.

Several Arrows, wrapped in the cold moonlight, shot toward Anno’s face and heart like venomous snakes.

"Hah, the same old trick..."

Anno scoffed, flicking his wrist. His Longsword met the arrowheads with precision.

However, the moment the blade collided with the arrowheads, his brow furrowed sharply.

The Power transmitted through them far exceeded that of an ordinary Arrow; this was no shot from a common archer.

"CLANG!"

Though surprised, he still managed to deflect them with his immense strength.

The strange Arrows, having lost their target, embedded themselves deep into the scorched ground beside him, their fletchings trembling slightly from the immense impact.

Just as he was about to habitually order his last few Transcendents forward to intercept any potential ambushers, something strange happened.

The hidden Runes engraved on the Arrows buried in the earth suddenly lit up, emitting an ominous, heart-stopping, eerie blue glow.

’They weren’t meant to kill, but to...’

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

A deafening series of explosions erupted, but what burst forth was not scorching Flame and shrapnel, but visible, violent, and distorted torrents of Magic Power.

This chaotic Energy spread out instantly like an invisible tide, wildly battering and tearing at every living being and energy structure within its range.

"Ugh!"

Anno grunted, feeling the air around him suddenly seize up as if he were being throttled by an invisible hand. The blood and energy in his body churned violently.

Meanwhile, the personal guards behind him, already exhausted and running on willpower alone, couldn’t even let out a full scream.

The torrent of Magic Power swept past mercilessly. Warhorses whinnied in pain and collapsed to their knees. The light in the soldiers’ eyes dimmed rapidly, and their bodies fell limply as if drained of all Power.

It took only the span of a single breath.

When the strange, eerie blue light dissipated, not one of the hundred-odd personal guards who had been protecting Anno was left standing.

They lay silently on the shattered ground, their life-force completely extinguished.

The dust and residual Magic Power had not yet settled. The night air, thick with the stench of blood, felt suffocating.

His vision was a blur of Chaos. Anno felt an extremely powerful aura descend abruptly, but it wasn’t locked onto him. Instead, it swept across the surroundings like an invisible scythe.

"Argh!"

A blood-curdling scream erupted from beside him almost simultaneously.

This was only the beginning.

It was followed by a second scream, then a third...

Short, desperate wails broke out one after another, like birds having their necks wrung.

A chill ran through Anno. Through his Perception, he could clearly feel the life-forces of his three remaining Extraordinary Professional subordinates being extinguished, one by one, at an astonishing speed.

It was clean and efficient, like snuffing out candles.

It all happened too fast. From the aftershock of the explosion to the arrival of the slaughter, only two or three heartbeats had passed.

So fast that he didn’t even have time to channel the Power still churning within him. So fast that by the time he realized where the attack was coming from, the area around him had already fallen deathly silent.

"Erwin!"

Anno gritted his teeth and roared, trying to locate his most trusted adjutant amidst the Chaos.

But the response was not a familiar voice, but the heavy, dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

Then, a round object, trailing warm moisture, rolled over and over to stop by his boot.

Just then, a gust of night wind blew past, dispelling some of the lingering dust and smoke.

Pale moonlight shone down, illuminating the head at his feet, its face still frozen in terror.

It was Erwin.

His eyes were wide open, pupils dilated in absolute Fear, frozen in his final moment as if he had glimpsed some incomprehensible horror before his death.

Blood was still gushing from his severed neck, staining the dry earth red.

’How is this possible...’

Anno’s fingers gripped his sword hilt so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He knew Erwin’s strength well. While not top-tier, he was a skilled Knight.

And his Extraordinary Professional subordinates were certainly no pushovers.

’Even though they were exhausted, men and horses alike, how could they...’

’How could they be so thoroughly and silently reaped in a span of time so short it barely existed?’

A cold dread, the likes of which he had never felt before, crept up his spine.

Before the chill could recede from his back, a new sound seeped into the air thick with blood and dust.

The sound of slow, heavy, and immensely oppressive footsteps.

THUMP...

THUMP...

THUMP...

It stepped on the shattered earth with a rhythm so steady it was suffocating, as if it weren’t treading on the ground, but pounding on his very heart.

With every step, the deathly stillness of the night seemed to congeal a little more.

Dust still drifted gently, blurring the newcomer’s silhouette. Only a vague, unusually tall and sturdy figure could be seen approaching at a deliberate pace.

It made no roar or threat, simply walking in silence, step by step, with the calm and certainty of a predator hunting its prey.

The lingering aura of death from the brief, brutal slaughter just moments before seemed to serve as its sole backdrop and testament.

Anno tightened his grip on the sword in his hand, his cold fingertips once again feeling the solid reality of the metal.

He tensed every muscle in his body. The Abyssal Power within him struggled against the still-unsettled torrent of Magic Power, trying to coalesce once more.

He forcibly suppressed all his shock and uncertainty, leaving only pure vigilance.

His gaze pierced through the thin dust, locking onto the approaching silhouette that brought death and the unknown.

The footsteps stopped.

The figure came to a halt about ten paces away, standing silently at the threshold between Shadow and moonlight, an invisible pressure washing over Anno.

Just then, a voice spoke.

It was low, slow, and carried a sense of playful mockery, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Every word struck the silent night air with clarity.

"Lord Duke... did you like the gift I sent you?"