Others Summon Dragons, I Summon Legendary Knights Chapter 345: The Legends Of The Golden Order Knights (4)

"Lost?" The voice prompted Mountain to turn his head toward the speaker. He was the orphanage caretaker, a frail elder gripping a walking stick for support. This man was astonishingly ancient, likely surpassing a century in age!

Astonishingly, he could still walk, talk smoothly, and even see clearly. A mere whisper of mana lingered in him, thanks to the plump little bird perched on his shoulder.

That bird was a lowly summon, skilled only in chirping.

Its greatest feat might be pecking someone awake at dawn.

"Summons can’t get lost. That’s impossible." The elder shook his head gradually, responding to his own query.

"Not lost." Mountain’s tone boomed, profound and weighty, akin to rock scraping over gravel.

The elder’s narrowed eyes flew open wide. Creases parted as his gaze examined Mountain intently.

"You can talk? That’s remarkable." Delight mixed with surprise in the old man’s reaction, far from fear. His voice stayed calm and soft amid the astonishment.

Silence met him from Mountain, so the elder struck his staff on the ground twice. The hollow thuds resounded softly, pulling Mountain’s focus back.

With his stick, the old man gestured toward the gate. "Come inside. I don’t scorn Humanoid summoners, nor do I teach my children to. If death was your aim, we couldn’t fend you off. Clearly, that’s not your purpose here, so..."

A gentle smile crossed his face before he pivoted and stepped into the yard.

Hearing Mountain stand up, his smile grew broader. As they crossed into the courtyard, children peeked out from their hiding spots.

Trusting their caretaker, most emerged. To the kids creeping forward, Mountain loomed impossibly tall. This massive figure in golden armor baffled them, sparking pure wonder.

In contrast, Mountain spotted a group of snow-covered children dashing his way.

A memory surfaced.

"I oversee this orphanage," the elder told Mountain, his gaze shifting to the enormous hammer-axe.

"Lower the hammer and shield to seem friendlier." He murmured quietly.

From his left eye’s edge, Mountain eyed him, then let both weapons fall.

They plunged deep into the soil, kicking up a billowing dust storm. The ground rumbled under their immense burden.

All shielded their faces while garments whipped in the gust.

’Those weapons weigh a ton,’ the elder mused inwardly, yet his outward expression remained warmly smiling.

"He’s harmless. Gather round. I recognize a child-lover at a glance." The elder let out a soft laugh, prodding Mountain’s armor with his staff.

The kids exchanged glances, but a bold green-haired nine-year-old girl stepped forth from the group, striding toward Mountain as if challenging him.

Chest thrust out, tiny fists balled, lips pressed firm, gaze unwavering.

She advanced right up to him, perhaps too near, nearly toppling back while craning to view his face.

Seeing her wobble, Mountain knelt down slowly on one knee. Her neck still strained upward, but now she could properly eye his helmet.

The girl blinked.

"I’m Sarah. What are you?" She cocked her head, then glanced at the elder. "Is he human like us?"

"No, child, he’s a summon, same as my bird here." The elder replied tenderly. His bird chirped in apparent agreement with its master.

Sarah blinked repeatedly, absorbing the revelation, before her big eyes expanded further.

How could any summon resemble this? She’d assumed they were all beasts or flora. This armored giant seemed utterly human-like.

"It looks like a man." She stated guilelessly.

"He, not it." The elder gently corrected.

Mountain observed quietly all the while.

’They stand apart. Unlike this world’s hate-filled folk who idolize monsters and forsake all honor.’

His profound voice echoed within.

This girl evoked memories of kneeling before Pathan children long ago.

Mountain raised his hand to stroke Sarah’s hair, but the gesture startled her.

She darted backward swiftly, legs pumping, just as a purple gate materialized behind her.

The atmosphere tore apart with an ominous purple shimmer.

Known as the assassin gate, it boasted a fatality rate exceeding 99.9 percent.

Unpredictable, this gate sealed shut forever once closed—no entry possible.

Unlike other gates open to all, the purple one evaporated like a slammed door, unopenable until it willed otherwise.

As Sarah tumbled inside, Mountain seized his shield and hammer-axe, hurling himself through the purple gate.

Instantly, the gate sealed shut. It appeared and faded in a flash, yet Sarah and Mountain had vanished, leaving the old man and the children rooted in stunned disbelief.

***

As shock gripped them, Mountain stood facing a tranquil lake. His eyes scanned a forest of tall, scattered trees filled with lush greenery and serene calm.

Sarah stood mere meters ahead of him.

Mountain started toward her but spotted unnatural elements blended among the trees.

They were Fey!

Bark-like skin covered their bodies, green eyes shining fiercely, three of the six with bows drawn taut, arrows trained on the pair.

The instant Mountain shifted, thick vines exploded from the lake, hurling water in all directions while snaking around his limbs and yanking him under.

Deep in the lake's abyss, endless vines from every direction twisted around him, dragging him further down.

A fey archer fired an arrow at Sarah, but Mountain’s shield expanded into a dome.

The dome reflected the attack, inflicting a chest-piercing wound on that fey.

Fortune smiled, as his alien physiology placed no heart there.

Vines shredded as Mountain triggered Black-Out State, yet fresh ones surged, hauling him deeper while bubbles drifted skyward.

The lake surface barely stirred, concealing the raging battle beneath.

Meanwhile, the chief archer made its entrance.

It wielded a bow but held its fire.

"Interesting..." the boss murmured, as vines surged upward, smothering the dome in layers leaving no air passage.

The vines suspended Mountain’s feet off the bottom, robbing him of any stable footing to push harder.

Countless vines encased him almost entirely.

From the lakebed, vines formed a pulsing web converging at one core—like a heart—and that nexus was Mountain!

His eyes flashed with intensity.

Roaring wildly, he ignited Overload State, his armor shifting to black. Even the lake quivered.

He wrenched left, then right, drew a deep breath, and drove himself downward.

Crashing into the lakebed, he seized the vines firmly and hauled with raw power.

Muscles swelled massively as the vines cracked at their roots.

Suddenly, he rocketed upward.

The momentum shattered additional vines.

The lake’s surface quivered gently, until a colossal black-armored knight erupted forth.

Water blasted outward as he vaulted several feet skyward before slamming onto solid ground.

Mountain’s blazing golden eyes snapped to Sarah, collapsed on the earth with an arrow impaled through her chest!

She had gripped the shaft in her dying grasp, eyes bulging wide, face drained pale with terror.

Mountain dropped to one knee, cradling her softly.

’The Defender has fallen.’

Those final words from his demise in the Ruination echoed through his mind.

Mountain bellowed at full volume, a shockwave exploding outward to hurl everything within two hundred meters flying—even mighty trees toppled.

Towering waves crashed across the lake.

Cry Of Anguish.

A technique Mountain knew intimately, among his earliest, activating solely amid profound emotional grief.

Gently laying Sarah aside, his stare locked onto the Fey Archers.

The chief fey loosed another arrow with blinding speed.

It ripped through the atmosphere.

Mountain intercepted it mid-flight.

Grunting fiercely, he shattered the shaft and surged ahead. All restraint vanished.

He plowed straight through the woodland.

Branch upon branch exploded under his charge.

As he exploded from a dense shrub barrier, two furred tigers...

This flawless ambush struck true.

It blindsided Mountain.

Yet he was a knight forged to respond by pure instinct.

He parried the black tiger’s lunge and cleaved off the white tiger’s head. The Reflect skill flung the black tiger’s claw back at its own face, blinding the beast.

Mountain pulverized its skull, then wheeled toward the Fey Archers, their earlier smug delight erased—most of all from the Chief Fey Archer.

Its expression mirrored his grim resolve.

Good... now both sides had suffered loss.