The Kingmaker System Chapter 715 - 714. Dragon Versus Witch (2)

The relentless horde of undead proved overwhelming; even after their bodies were severed, they continued their relentless assault. The Royal Knights found themselves facing an unprecedented foe, even more terrifying than the beasts of Serpentwood Forest. Unsure how to proceed, they could only continue to hack their way through the ceaseless tide of the reanimated, which crawled and latched onto anything still moving.

Over half of their horses were incapacitated, forcing the knights to dismount and fight on foot. Their mobility severely hampered, they were relegated to desperate self-defense, their armor the only meager barrier against the onslaught.

"We cannot handle this on our own!"

"Send for reinforcements!"

"The reinforcements are currently engaged in battle to the southwest!"

"What in the blazes?! So, no one is coming then?!"

The knights struggled to maintain their ground. They had been engaged in continuous combat within one of West's largest towns, situated a considerable distance from Emerald Harbor. However, the sheer number of undead prevented them from retreating.

Though the Royal Knights numbered close to twenty thousand, they were a mere handful against the nearly one million undead, a vast majority of whom were once ordinary townsfolk. Attempts to rescue those hiding were met with chaos as injured or bitten individuals succumbed and turned at an alarming rate.

Duke Esmertia, observing from atop a hill, could do little as he watched the Royal Knights and his own family's knightly order fighting below. From his vantage point, it appeared as though the knights were being consumed.

"Your Grace, our defenses may not hold much longer. We must seek assistance from the Princes!" exclaimed Sir Henry Redwood, Captain of the Royal Knights.

Duke Esmertia's jaw tightened. He loathed to admit it, but Sir Redwood was correct. Esmertia had initially dismissed Marquis Ocean's declaration of withdrawing his forces from the area as mere bluster. However, the moment the knights arrived, the shadowy figures who had been managing the situation departed without a word. Since then, the undead numbers had swelled exponentially, rendering the knights' efforts largely futile.

"We must make a swift decision, Your Grace," Sir Redwood urged, his gaze fixed on a knight galloping towards them.

The horse was laboring heavily, its body bearing numerous scratches and bite marks that Redwood recognized as precursors to an undead transformation.

"H-Help..." the knight choked out, slumping from his saddle.

Redwood quickly moved forward, drawing his sword as he observed the horse, which whinnied loudly and thrashed its hooves. Redwood had lost count of the number of mounts his knights had been forced to put down to prevent them from turning and attacking their own ranks.

With a swift stab, Redwood decapitated the horse. He then turned to find the knight from earlier missing. His eyes widened in alarm as he spun around, only to witness Duke Esmertia impaling the knight with his own sword. The knight convulsed and growled, still twitching and inching towards the Duke despite the fatal wound.

Redwood was overcome with pity and a helpless frustration as he witnessed his men in such a state. These were men from esteemed families, rigorously trained to serve as knights. What account could he give to their families? Their sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers reduced to mindless abominations, dispatched by their own comrades?

A grimace contorted Redwood's face as he watched Duke Esmertia behead the undead knight before turning to him with a dark expression.

"Fire the signal," the Duke commanded. Sir Redwood let out a silent sigh of relief.

He hurried to the nearest tent, retrieved the signal flare, and ignited it. He then wondered if it would be visible through the downpour, but resolved to try nonetheless.

After lighting the flare, he stepped back and watched as it exploded in his hand before ascending skyward. He caught a glimpse of a faint red light, but it was largely swallowed by the clouds. His only hope was that someone would spot it and provide aid.

Meanwhile, back in Oasis, the Domina had ripped out three more pages, summoning three distinct calamities.

One of these was known as Iron Maw.

[Iron Maw

A construct-like beast resembling a quadruped, forged from reinforced, curse-infused metal. Engineered for siege warfare and utter destruction, its primary purpose is to breach fortifications, armor, and defensive structures. Its formidable jaws possess immense crushing power, capable of shattering enchanted defenses and bone alike. It exhibits significant resistance to physical damage and is challenging to incapacitate.]

Its metallic surface shimmered dully in the rain, a patchwork of jagged, darkened plates fused haphazardly, as if hammered into place without regard for aesthetic. It pulled itself along with a grinding noise, each movement punctuated by the shriek of metal on stone.

The beast crouched on four powerful legs, its build dense and formidable, optimized for brute strength over agility. Its head was essentially a reinforced casing containing a maw that unhinged to a surprisingly wide aperture. Interlocking metallic plates, not teeth, formed its jaws, lined instead with thick, crushing ridges.

Before the reverberation of its movement fully dissipated, another spatial distortion rippled through the air.

From the shattered debris, its form unfurled, stretching vertically, thinning, and then separating as it detached itself from the concealing shadows. Its limbs extended, long and gaunt.

Its locomotion was unnatural, joints bending at impossible angles, its body elongating as it settled onto the ground. It bore a superficial resemblance to a humanoid; it was tall and skeletal, with disproportionately stretched limbs culminating in slender, needle-like fingers that twitched.

Its head canted slightly, and the accompanying notification appeared.

[Widow StalkerA towering, arachnid-humanoid entity engineered for vertical traversal and ambush. It boasts extreme flexibility, enabling seamless movement across walls, ceilings, and uneven surfaces. Its elongated extremities and sharpened digits are designed for piercing strikes targeting vital areas. Its agility is exceptional, making it hard to pinpoint due to unpredictable motion patterns.]

Finally, the third entity materialized from a fissure in the ground behind Domina.

First, thick, coiled black chains ascended, scraping heavily against the stone with a resonant, grating sound. They remained taut, as if anchored to something below, and then, it crawled forth.

It was a bipedal figure, tall and robust, its body enveloped by these same chains that dragged behind it, scouring the ground with every motion. Its shape was obscured by the multitude of dark bindings, and where its face ought to be, a void-like cavity existed, emitting a faint, pulsating luminescence.

[Chain FiendA subjugated humanoid being that harnesses cursed chains as both instruments of confinement and aggression. It can project its chains to considerable lengths, ensnaring or obliterating targets. Each chain carries a possessive curse that impedes movement and disrupts the flow of Qi upon contact. Resilient and unyielding, its specialty lies in controlling the combat arena.]

The trio of monstrosities stood motionless, awaiting their Summoner's directive. Domina's gaze met Ocean's, a confident glint in her eyes; these three were far removed from the lesser beasts he had dispatched with such ease. They would undoubtedly consume a significant portion of his effort, and even if they didn't, she still possessed additional calamities to unleash.

She gestured for them to advance. The Iron Maw lowered its head slightly, its immense weight pressing into the fractured stone beneath it.

The Widow Stalker shifted subtly, its limbs adjusting as it tilted at an unnatural angle, poised to disappear from direct view. The Chain Fiend remained stationary, but its chains began to creep forward slowly, inch by agonizing inch, spreading across the terrain like encroaching tendrils.

"This should provide sufficient diversion for you," Domina declared, her voice cutting through the downpour, steady and unwavering.

Ocean offered no reply.

He remained rooted to his spot, precisely as he had been. The rain cascaded upon him, parting around him, sliding off the intangible pressure of his Dragon's Presence which emanated from his form in constant, oppressive waves. The very ground at his feet stayed pristine, untouched by the fractures scarring the surrounding area, as though destruction itself hesitated to trespass into his domain.

The atmosphere grew heavy, compressing inward as his presence expanded, initially understated, then becoming irrefutable. The rain's descent slowed as it entered this zone, its flow impeded, its momentum disrupted, creating the illusion that the world itself was reluctant to move with haste around him.

The Iron Maw initiated the assault.

It charged without reservation, its bulky mass surging forward with unexpected velocity. Its jaws unhinged, layers of metal peeling apart to form a crushing semicircle aimed directly at him. The ground cracked further under its relentless advance, stone splintering with each thunderous step as it closed the distance in a single, decisive lunge.

Ocean moved like lightning, his arm already swinging before the Iron Maw could complete its charge. A solitary punch was all it took to obliterate the creature into countless fragments. The shattered components dispersed in every direction, and before Domina could even process the turn of events, the Widow Stalker was already in motion.

It did not approach from the front.

By the time the Iron Maw lunged, the Widow Stalker had already vanished from its preceding location, its form blurring as it ascended the nearest vertical surface and plummeted from above. Its limbs stretched out during its descent, each movement precise, calculated, targeting a single point: Ocean's throat.

It might have landed its strike, but the instant it entered his immediate vicinity, its advance faltered. The Dragon's Presence bore down upon it, forcing its entire being towards the ground as if an insect were caught beneath an immense weight.

Ocean's head tilted slightly, and the surrounding mana intensified as he exerted his control. Before the Widow Stalker could comprehend what was happening, its very form began to twist and contort. The Pure Mana emanating from the Dragon forcefully permeated its being.

The creature let out a piercing shriek as its body swelled to an impossible size before it violently ruptured, dissolving into a fine black mist.

Suddenly, Ocean's communication brooch illuminated, and a voice emerged from it. "Master," Yugo's voice resonated.

"Speak," Ocean commanded.

Turning, Ocean had just enough time to register the clanging sound of chains. He witnessed the Chain Fiend's bindings lashing out in multiple directions, each extending with ferocious speed as they hurtled towards him.

"An emergency signal has been activated by the Royal Knights," Yugo reported.

The chains converged around the protective force field generated by Ocean's Dragon's Presence, poised to ensnare him.

"Hm..." Ocean hummed thoughtfully. "Dispatch a team to render aid, but caution them against lingering. Ensure our own casualties remain minimal, and above all, make certain Duke Esmertia returns safely."

"Understood, Master." Yugo's reply came, and the brooch's glow faded. Ocean then tilted his head.

Abruptly, the chains' assault ceased. The Chain Fiend appeared bewildered as it tugged fruitlessly at its bindings, which seemed to be held fast by an unseen force.

A faint smile touched Ocean's lips. He then extended his arm, executing a pulling motion. The Chain Fiend, frozen in place, was violently yanked from its position as if it were a mere rag doll, then slammed with immense force into the surrounding building ruins.

The Domina observed in disbelief as one of her formidable calamities was tossed about with such ease, all without the Dragon making any apparent physical movement. She struggled to grasp how such a feat was possible.

Grimacing, she prepared to tear another page from her grimoire. However, from the periphery of her vision, she detected an object hurtling towards her.

She leaped aside just in time, watching as the battered form of the Chain Fiend landed precisely where she had been standing. Its shattered bindings lay strewn across the ground.

"Hey, Lilith," the Dragon's voice called out to her.

"What was that you said about entertaining me?"

Ocean keenly observed her shifting expression before letting out a soft chuckle.

The Chain Fiend stirred weakly on the ground, only to be immobilized as the falling rain transformed into icy lances. These projectiles rained down upon it like meteors, pinning it to the earth. In mere seconds, its form dissolved into the same ubiquitous black mist as the others.

"You'll need to exert yourself more than that," Ocean stated. His voice, calm and steady, carried effortlessly through the downpour, betraying no hint of strain or exertion.