novelAlta Chapter 166 : He Must Remember
Chapter 166 : He Must Remember
Chapter 166: He Must Remember
Robin kept constant awareness of the distance between himself and the Lich.
The creature continuously raised a Skeleton Legion.
Even when they were cut down by swords, smashed apart by rods, or pierced through by arrows, the skeletal soldiers soon rose again.
Meanwhile, the Adventurers were steadily accumulating fatigue and wounds.
Anyone could see that if this continued, defeat was certain.
If there was any saving grace, it was that the Lich did not use any separate offensive magic.
Even the magic required to command the Skeleton Legion seemed to be a heavy burden on it.
“Robin! Watch out!”
Even amid the Battlefield where skeletons and humans were entangled together, Sigbard’s shout rang out clearly.
For an instant, the back of his neck turned cold.
Thud.
When he turned around, a Skeleton cavalryman had been struck by an arrow and tumbled down.
For a brief moment, his eyes met Aelin’s.
“What did you do to the arrow.”
He set aside the question for now and swung the sword in his left hand and the sword in his right in an off-beat rhythm.
He drew out his Fighting Spirit long, extending his attack range beyond that of a spear.
The Skeletons within three meters shattered in droves.
“These bastards just get back up even after we kill them—what are we supposed to do!”
“Keep pushing! If we fall back, it’s over!”
“Anyone got any Holy Water left!”
Had only five minutes passed so far.
For now, they were holding out well with the Silver-Ranked Adventurers at the center.
The Paladin’s Blessing had long since faded.
A few Adventurers had taken out Holy Water to resist, but Skeletons poured in beyond that.
“There are too many of these bone bastards.”
Sigbard approached after knocking down a Skeleton cavalryman.
He crushed a skull rolling on the ground beneath his foot and jerked his chin toward the Lich.
“If we don’t kill the Lich, this won’t end.”
Robin glanced back toward the castle gate.
There was no sign of the Knight Order coming out.
“We’ll have to deal with it ourselves.”
“I know that, but…….”
“I have a method.”
Whoosh.
Sigbard’s rod swept past above Robin’s head.
The rod wrapped in Fighting Spirit smashed apart Skeletons and embedded itself in the ground.
He had thrown the rod as it was.
After leaving his hand, the rod hummed, and when Sigbard opened his hand, it returned to him just like that.
“I think I understand how to use Accumulated Energy.”
“All of a sudden?”
“I’m not certain, but it’s worth trying.”
Growing through battle was natural, but Sigbard’s words were unexpected.
What mattered was that it was good news.
“What do you think.”
“I’ll open the way.”
If they could just land a blow on the Lich, the Adventurers would be able to breathe again.
It was a situation that required a variable.
Faintly, but he could feel it.
A different kind of power than before was mixing into Sigbard’s rod.
“Conserve your strength.”
“Understood.”
Ssssh.
Robin took a deep breath and then relaxed the strength in his hands.
The distance to where the Lich stood was roughly thirty meters.
If he went straight, it was not that far.
The problem was that Skeletons filled the space in between.
He erased the question of whether he could do it from his mind.
He would succeed no matter what.
“Let’s go.”
Slice.
He lightly dashed forward, then thrust into a skull’s neck and pulled the blade out.
Even if armor covered their weak points, there were still gaps.
The sword struck precisely through a joint and a vital point, and a scraping sound rang out.
Crack.
He kicked away the skull that rolled to the ground and continued moving his blades.
Nicks steadily accumulated on the swords he had used for a long time.
Because he was not wrapping them in Fighting Spirit.
“It feels like I’ve returned to the beginning.”
Robin’s own swordsmanship, excluding Fighting Spirit.
The reason for facing Monsters solely with swordsmanship was obvious.
To unleash his strength at the moment it was truly necessary.
“Robin, you fight well even without Fighting Spirit! You should’ve done this earlier!”
Sigbard said in a voice mixed with admiration, but Robin had no room to respond.
Picking only weak points required an extreme level of concentration.
That did not mean he was using Acceleration of Thought.
There was still a long way to go before reaching the Lich.
If he squeezed his brain dry by recklessly using Acceleration of Thought, he would exhaust himself before getting there.
He simply advanced, relying on the swordsmanship ingrained in his body and on instinct.
Clack. Clack-clack-clack.
The sound of bone and steel colliding did not cease.
Each time the twin swords moved, Skeletons fell.
“Hoo. Hoo.”
One minute felt like an hour.
While he had forgotten how far he had come and focused solely on moving his swords—
“It’s done.”
When he turned his head, the Lich was right in front of him.
The creature glared at Robin but took no particular action.
Had it let its guard down upon seeing how exhausted he was?
“Rest. You’re bleeding.”
“Ah.”
Blood seeping from his side had soaked his clothes before he knew it.
He had charged in fiercely, but breaking through without injury had not been easy.
In any case, he had brought Sigbard before the Lich.
All that remained now was to land a heavy blow with the Barbarian Tribe’s Accumulated Energy.
“Skeletal Monster, if you’ve already died, you should be sleeping quietly—what’s with all this rampaging.”
“Grrrrrk.”
As Sigbard aimed his rod, the Lich stretched out its hand.
The moment a grotesque Summon was about to emerge—
“The son of Gunrad calls. Beivolg.”
Bang.
The Lich’s Summon, which had opened its jaws wide, vanished without a trace.
“As expected, language is important. Lend me your strength, Beivolg.”
Beivolg was the name Gunrad had given to his cherished weapon.
The rod in Sigbard’s grasp vibrated, and a heavy pressure crushed the surrounding area.
“Sigbard, just what…….”
His body grew heavy, as if gravity had doubled or tripled.
The Lich, seemingly flustered by the situation, hurriedly tried to cast magic—
Thud.
Sigbard’s rod struck the Lich squarely in the solar plexus first.
“……!”
“Skeletal Monster, prepare yourself.”
As if he had grasped how to use Accumulated Energy, he warned in a triumphant voice.
Unlike before, Sigbard felt nothing even when meeting the Lich’s gaze directly.
The energy flowing from the rod blocked the vile magic.
Baaang!
Sigbard’s physical abilities surged, and he pierced through the magic the Lich had deployed and struck it.
It was hard to believe the tide of battle had reversed in such a short time.
The Lich cast spells every moment, but the instant they touched Sigbard’s rod, they vanished as if it were a lie.
“Uahahaha! Now that’s more like it!”
As if washing away the resentment of having fled until now, Sigbard’s rod pounded the Lich with exhilaration.
Sensing the crisis, the Lich halted the resurrection of the Skeletons.
As the creatures that had been rushing in from all directions disappeared, Robin was able to catch his breath.
Even the Adventurers holding the line near the castle gate let out cheers.
“Disappear already!”
A tremendous power gathered into Beivolg.
Sigbard was certain that this strike would be the end of the grueling battle.
Wooooong.
Just before the blow, a force that could have treated a mere Lich as laughable swelled—
Piiiuu……
As if cold water had been thrown over a blazing bonfire, the power scattered.
With a sharp crack, it was blocked by the Lich’s barrier.
“Saaaak!”
A Summoned Serpent appeared and bit into Sigbard’s shoulder.
He quickly tried to tear the creature off, but it was quite tenacious.
Only after twisting its neck did its jaws finally loosen.
“Sigbard!”
“I’m fine. It seems it’s still too soon to handle Accumulated Energy skillfully.”
It was a power strong enough to overturn the tide, yet it had failed to finish the job.
Using Accumulated Energy again right now would likely be difficult.
Sigbard’s arm trembled faintly.
“What a pity. I could have destroyed the Core.”
“Watch out!”
Robin drew up the Fighting Spirit he had been conserving.
The moment Sigbard was pushed back, the Lich began firing off spells in rapid succession.
If he cut them down with the sword in his left hand, a Lump of Darkness flew in immediately after.
If he knocked it away with the sword in his right, a Summon lunged at him.
After barely fending off magic that struck two or three times per second—
“Sorry. We have to retreat.”
“I know. The problem is it’s not as easy as it sounds.”
The Lich, truly enraged now, did not let Robin and Sigbard go.
At times the ground beneath their feet turned soft.
At others, sudden explosions erupted and shattered their balance.
“Robin, use that.”
“What.”
“Anger. Wouldn’t that work on the Lich too?”
“And then what. If I use it now, my Fighting Spirit will be drained.”
“So what of it. Can’t you fight without Fighting Spirit?”
Despite the bite marks left on his shoulder, Sigbard swung his rod freely.
At times with his bare fists, at times with kicks.
The sight of him wielding his entire body as a weapon suited the word barbarian.
At his casual demeanor as though it were all routine, a hollow laugh escaped Robin.
That laugh stirred a strange impulse within him, and he found himself nodding.
“To the Shadow of the Past, mercilessness.”
Shhk!
He pulled back the sword in his left hand and severed a Skeleton’s head.
“To indomitable Fighting Spirit, exaltation.”
Krrrk!
He drew the sword in his right and broke a cavalryman’s leg.
Crossing his arms, Robin’s eyes flashed as he uttered a single word.
“Anger.”
At the same time, as if detonating compressed power, he flung both swords wide.
Sinister Fighting Spirit streamed forth in torrents, growing longer and longer.
Like crescent and waning moons, the launched arcs of Fighting Spirit crushed every Skeleton in the vicinity.
Kagagagagak!
The Mercenary King’s Fighting Spirit was effective even against the Lich, slicing its upper body diagonally and sending it crashing to the ground.
“Hooouu… Run.”
Though the Lich’s upper and lower halves had been separated, he did not believe it was dead.
Understanding Robin’s words, Sigbard turned without looking back.
Piiing!
An arrow grazed past Robin’s ear.
Aelin’s arrow did not stop at one.
The continuous volley spoke for itself of how dangerous the situation was.
“If we’d just smashed the wall, the Knights would’ve rushed out!”
“That would be disastrous.”
He said that, but Robin harbored the same thought.
Their joint assault with Sigbard had failed; capturing the Lich now was a distant prospect.
Just as he was turning his thoughts to forcibly scaling the wall—
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Footsteps unlike those of Monsters drew nearer.
Footsteps in unison, disciplined like a single army.
“The Knight Order?”
Unexpectedly, the Knight Order broke through the Skeleton Legion and appeared.
Each one shone with a brilliant blue light as they pierced through the Monsters, showing no sign of strain.
“There! There are Adventurers!”
One Knight spotted Robin and shouted.
Even with the Lich right behind him, the Knight Order approached without hesitation.
Soon, a Knight who appeared to be the leader looked at Robin and asked,
“Did you fight the Lich.”
“Yes.”
“Well done. We’ll handle the rest.”
His tone was as calm as if he were saying he would be back from a stroll.
Before Robin could add anything, the Knight Order stood before the Lich.
Sigbard spoke with puzzlement.
“I can feel Divine Power. What’s going on.”
“It seems their weapons have been Blessed.”
The reason they showed no fear even before the Lich.
Divine Power overflowed from the Knight Order’s armor and swords.
The confident leader pointed at the Lich and gave the order.
“Eliminate it.”
The blue Aura extinguished all at once, and the Knights charged.
A judgment that Divine Power would be more effective than Aura.
The Lich’s magic, clumped with malice, was helplessly cut apart by the Knights’ swords.
“Saaak!”
Summons that occasionally appeared were cut down with Aura, and they even openly endured the magic the Lich spewed.
Even so, the Knight Order steadily inflicted damage upon the Lich.
As though there was nothing more to see, the leader approached Robin.
“It’s the Knight Order I belong to, but they’re quite capable, aren’t they.”
“They are remarkable.”
“Still, what an extraordinary coincidence. To think you’re alive.”
An uneasy feeling crept over Robin at the Knight’s words.
A voice that sounded as though he had heard it somewhere before.
Its identity was revealed at once.
When the Knight removed his helmet, Robin’s pupils dilated.
“Three years ago you were a Rebel, and now you’re an Adventurer? Quite the unusual history.”
“You are…….”
“So you remember. It’s Nelson.”
Unconsciously, strength gathered in Robin’s hand.
The Knight who had pursued him when he and Imelda were branded Rebels.
The enemy who had ambushed Calimacos and inflicted a fatal wound.
One of the targets he had vowed to take revenge upon someday.
“Calimacos raised something rather curious.”
Robin stared at Nelson in silence.
As if he might kill him at any moment.