Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Clash of the Vanguard
Chapter 142: Clash of the Vanguard
The Ashfall Marches were completely painted in black blood.
From my vantage point on the towering iron walls, the battlefield looked like a swirling vortex of absolute violence.
Nyssa’s snipers continued to completely lock down the sky.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Another volley of Arcane Penetration Rounds ripped through the dark clouds, shattering the skulls of falling undead thralls and sending massive Abyssal Wyverns crashing into the dirt.
But the ground war was a brutal, grueling stalemate.
The Corrupted Paladins were incredibly resilient. Their dark holy armor repelled standard slashing attacks, and their massive broadswords cleaved through my Beastman infantry with terrifying ease.
They marched in perfect, calculated formations.
"We are taking heavy casualties in the fourth trench," Silas reported through the Arcane Radio on my hip. "The Paladins are using their holy auras to burn the mud, neutralizing our hidden explosive charges."
"Hold the line," I commanded coldly. "Do not retreat a single inch."
Suddenly, the ambient mana on the battlefield violently spiked.
A blinding, purplish-white light erupted from the center of the enemy formation.
FWOOSH.
A massive, crescent-shaped arc of corrupted holy magic tore across the plains. It moved with devastating speed, completely vaporizing a dozen of my Orc heavy infantrymen in an instant.
The magical arc slammed directly into the base of our black iron walls.
BOOOOOOM.
The entire Velkrath Imperium violently shuddered. The fifty-foot iron wall groaned under the sheer impact. A massive, glowing dent was left in the impenetrable metal.
The chaotic noise of the battlefield momentarily paused.
A colossal figure stepped through the ranks of the Corrupted Paladins.
It was Commander Kaelen.
The A-Grade High-Orc Juggernaut dragged his massive broadsword through the mud. His dark plate armor bled a suffocating, terrifying light. He did not yell. He did not scream battle cries. He radiated a cold, calculating aura of absolute death.
Kaelen stopped fifty yards from the main gates.
He looked up at the wall. His dead, emotionless eyes locked directly onto my glowing red visor.
"Your iron is mathematically flawed, Sovereign," Kaelen stated. His deep, rumbling voice easily carried over the wind. "Descend from your wall. Offer your neck to the Vanguard, and I will spare your civilian population."
I gripped the brass railing. I ignited my core, preparing to teleport directly into the mud to shatter his arrogant skull.
Anise gasped beside me, feeling the terrifying A-Grade pressure radiating from the Commander.
Before I could channel my mana into my spatial ring, a massive silver blur launched over the razor-wire trenches.
THUD.
Rolf landed heavily directly in front of Kaelen, completely blocking the Commander’s path to the gates.
The Silver Wolf stood to his full, towering height. His new pitch-black Symbiotic Origin Metal armor pulsed with deep red veins, hungry for impact.
"You do not get to speak to the King," Rolf growled, exposing his razor-sharp fangs. "You deal with the Vanguard."
Kaelen slowly lowered his gaze to look at Rolf.
"A dire beast wearing a parasite," Kaelen analyzed coldly. "You are an anomaly. But your kinetic density is insufficient to stop my blade. Move aside, dog."
Up on the wall, Anise turned to me in a panic.
"Grik, you have to help him!" Anise pleaded. "Kaelen’s corrupted light will burn right through that biological armor! Rolf is outmatched!"
I did not move. I crossed my massive arms over my chest plate.
"He is the Alpha General of the Velkrath Imperium," I replied, my voice rumbling with absolute certainty. "He is my shield. I do not interfere with his hunt."
Down in the mud, Rolf let out a deafening howl.
ROOOAAR!
Rolf lunged forward with explosive speed. He swung his massive, double-bladed battleaxe in a devastating horizontal arc aimed directly at Kaelen’s neck.
Kaelen did not flinch. He casually raised his broadsword with a single hand.
CLANG!
The collision of enchanted steel and raw kinetic force created a massive shockwave that blew the mud away from their feet.
Rolf’s eyes widened slightly. He had put his full strength into that swing, but Kaelen had blocked it effortlessly.
"Your leverage is poor," Kaelen stated entirely without emotion.
The Commander twisted his wrist. The corrupted holy magic flared violently along the edge of his blade.
SQUELCH.
Kaelen drove his knee directly into Rolf’s abdomen, knocking the wind out of the massive wolf, and then slashed his broadsword across Rolf’s chest.
The Symbiotic armor instantly hardened to absorb the physical blow, but the purplish-white light completely bypassed the metal. The corrupted magic seared directly into Rolf’s flesh.
"GAAH!" Rolf roared in pain, stumbling backward.
Smoke rose from his silver fur. The scent of burnt ozone and roasting flesh filled the air.
"Your armor eats kinetic energy," Kaelen analyzed, slowly stepping forward. "But it cannot consume the divine light of the Zenith Academy. You are fundamentally flawed."
Kaelen raised his broadsword high above his head with both hands.
"Execution," the High-Orc muttered.
He swung the massive blade down with terrifying, blinding speed.
Rolf crossed his armored forearms over his head to block.
CRASH!
The impact drove Rolf entirely to his knees. The ground beneath him shattered into a massive crater. The corrupted holy fire washed over his body, burning him mercilessly.
The Zenith Paladins cheered in the distance.
I watched closely from the wall. I felt the connection between me and my companion through the System.
Rolf was burning, but his spirit was not breaking.
Down in the crater, Rolf looked up at the emotionless face of Commander Kaelen.
"Divine light?" Rolf spat a mouthful of dark blood onto the glowing sword pressing down on him.
Rolf gripped the searing hot blade with his bare, armored hands. The metal burned his palms, but he did not let go.
"You are just a mutated Orc holding a stolen flashlight," Rolf growled, his golden-amber eyes flaring with absolute, primal rage. "You serve dead men in a dusty academy! I serve the Sovereign!"
A sudden, terrifying change occurred in the ambient mana.
I smiled behind my visor as the translucent blue screen flashed before my eyes.
DING!
[System Alert: Companion ’Rolf’ is experiencing a Soul Crucible Catalyst.]
[Catalyst Trigger: Absolute Loyalty and the refusal to let his Sovereign’s wall fall.]
[Apex Evolution limits shattered.]
A blinding pillar of pure silver light erupted from the crater.
It was not holy magic. It was the absolute, dominating presence of an Apex Predator claiming his territory.
The silver light violently extinguished Kaelen’s corrupted holy fire in an instant.
Kaelen’s emotionless eyes finally widened in genuine shock. "Impossible. Your core capacity was calculated."
"I am the Alpha!" Rolf roared.
[New Law Awakened: Law of the Silver Colossus (Tier 1)]
[Property: Absolute Kinetic Reflection.]
Rolf stood up. The sheer force of his newly awakened Law pushed Kaelen’s massive broadsword upward.
The Symbiotic Origin Metal on Rolf’s chest suddenly shifted from pitch-black to a blinding, radiant silver. The armor had fed on all the kinetic punishment Kaelen had dished out, and now, fueled by the Law, it was ready to return it.
Rolf did not use his axe.
He clamped both of his glowing silver gauntlets onto the flat of Kaelen’s A-Grade broadsword.
"Let’s test your math!" Rolf barked.
He twisted his hands with pure, monstrous strength.
SNAP.
The impenetrable, corrupted holy broadsword shattered into a dozen useless metal shards.
Kaelen stumbled backward, completely disarmed. His analytical mind frantically tried to process the impossible variable standing in front of him.
He did not get the chance to recalculate.
Rolf lunged forward, completely breaking the sound barrier.
BAM.
Rolf slammed his silver shoulder directly into Kaelen’s chest plate. The Law of the Silver Colossus unleashed all of the stored kinetic energy in a single, devastating point of impact.
Kaelen’s thick plate armor instantly caved inward like crushed tin.
CRUNCH.
The Commander’s ribs shattered. Dark blood erupted from the High-Orc’s mouth.
Rolf did not stop. He grabbed Kaelen by the throat, lifted the colossal commander effortlessly into the air, and plunged his razor-sharp silver claws directly into the center of Kaelen’s chest.
SQUELCH.
Rolf ripped his hand backward, violently tearing the High-Orc’s corrupted magical core completely out of his body.
Commander Kaelen’s dead, emotionless eyes finally glazed over. His massive body went completely limp.
Rolf tossed the lifeless corpse of the Zenith Vanguard Commander into the bloody mud.
He crushed the corrupted core in his fist and let out a terrifying, earth-shaking howl of absolute victory.
ROOOOOOAAAAAR!
The entire army of Corrupted Paladins froze in pure, unadulterated terror. Their invincible commander had just been butchered with his bare hands.
DING!
[System Alert: Companion ’Rolf’ has successfully slain an A-Grade Threat.]
[New Title Acquired: The Unbreakable Shield.]
[Effect: Vanguard troops fighting alongside Rolf receive a massive 50% reduction in physical damage taken.]
I looked at Anise. Her jaw was slightly dropped.
"I told you," I stated proudly, turning back to the battlefield. "He handles his own hunts."
With their commander dead, the Zenith Vanguard was completely exposed. It was time to break them entirely.
