Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 468 The Birth of the Dwarf Oath Gold
"It's you again—!!!" Mhava whirled around, the ghastly green beam of light atop his skeletal battle axe swaying violently, nearly dissipating due to the intense emotional turmoil! The eerie green soul fire in his eye sockets pulsed wildly, almost bursting from their sockets! "Damn Blackforest Lord! Damn dwarven scum! You persistent maggots!!!"

His withered face (if that layer of dry skin could still be called a face) was contorted with extreme rage, his jaw snapping open and closing with a harsh, grinding sound. The meticulously prepared blasphemous ritual had been abruptly interrupted, and the legendary dwarven warrior's core, which was almost within his grasp, had been snatched back. These successive setbacks had completely ignited Mhawa's long-suppressed anger and...fear.

“Every time! Every single time it’s you!! You ruin my plans!!” he shrieked, his battle axe pointing at Su Li, especially at the “Kardrin’s Blazing Fire” battle banner in his hand, which was burning fiercely and exuding a powerful righteous aura and scorching pressure! The crimson-gold light dispelled the surrounding negative energy like a blazing sun, making his necromancy feel sluggish and burning.

"That damned flag... is it another piece of loot you stole from the souls of heroes?! You despicable robbers!"

His curses were illogical and hysterical. All the cold scheming and smugness he displayed when facing Su Li's team had vanished, leaving only impotent rage and stamping. His comical appearance contrasted sharply with his blasphemous ambition.

Holding the "Kadrin's Blazing Flame," Su Li's crimson-gold light illuminated his resolute yet icy face. Ignoring Mhawa's insults, his gaze, sharp as lightning, bypassed the tainted embryonic warrior and locked onto the head of Agrim, bound by necromantic chains and struggling in agony, on the altar. A boundless rage, originating from the banner itself and fueled by this desecration, burned within him, resonating with his crimson dragon aura!

"Put it down, Mhawa." Su Li's voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed through the valley like thunder, carrying an undeniable authority and chilling killing intent. He pointed the battle flag forward, and its crimson-gold light suddenly intensified! "Otherwise, this will be your burial ground!"

"Arrogance!" Mhava was utterly enraged by Su Li's condescending, almost judgmental tone, and felt a chill run down his spine. He stomped his foot, and the withered bone battle axe erupted with an even stronger, ghastly green light, attempting to stabilize its corrosive effect on Agrim's head! "You? Don't think that having that tattered flag can defy death itself! My masterpiece is about to be completed! You will all..."

Before he could finish his harsh words, a sudden change occurred!
The skull of Agrim, enveloped in the crimson-gold light of "Kadrin's Blazing Fire," suddenly began to flicker and sway violently in the empty eye sockets where the eerie green undead fire had just been forcibly injected! An indomitable will originating from the deepest recesses of the dwarven spirit, stimulated by the resonance of the legendary war banner, reignited like ashes doused with boiling oil! Wisps of golden light stubbornly pierced through the ashen areas of the skull, fiercely resisting the ghastly green undead fire!
"No! Impossible!" Mhava screamed, his soul fire raging. He felt his control over the erosion of his head rapidly weakening! The Butcher King's berserk will, aided by the power of the battle banner, was frantically repelling his necromantic energy!

What terrified him even more was that the legendary embryonic dwarf warrior blocking his way, with its crimson eyes filled only with destructive desire, showed a faint, almost imperceptible look of bewilderment and... struggle when it came into contact with the crimson-golden radiance of the "Kadrin's Blazing Fire"! The writhing black tumors and proliferating metal on its massive body also seemed to become less stable because of this light!

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Mhava completely broke down. His carefully prepared trump card was so vulnerable in front of the legendary battle banner held by Su Li! His blasphemous ritual was forcibly interrupted, and even his most powerful henchmen showed signs of wavering! This was simply the greatest humiliation and defeat in his undead career!
He no longer cared about maintaining the dignity of a necromancer, wildly swinging his skeletal battle axe. A thicker, ghastly green beam of light shot towards Agrim's head in a final struggle, while he shrieked at the embryonic warriors: "Fools! Stop them! Tear them apart!!"

However, Su Li would not give him any more chances.

"Kill!" Su Li's roar was like thunder! He swung the "Caderin's Blazing Flame" in his hand forward, and the crimson-gold light swept forward like a burning wave!
"For glory! For the heroic souls!" Hilder raised "Echoes of the Mountains," channeling the power of the sun into her shield. The [Forge Barrier] was activated once more, becoming a moving wall of crimson gold, charging first towards the tainted embryonic warrior! Orstein and the Chosen Knights followed closely behind, their divine lights shining even brighter under the banner!
With his eyes bloodshot, Gerson Grayrock led his most elite dwarven warriors like a whirlwind of vengeance, bypassing the main battlefield and heading straight for Mhawa on the altar!

As Mhava watched the ferocious enemies pounce, and his crumbling ritual and the embryonic warriors beginning to falter, a genuine, undisguised fear and panic appeared on his withered face for the first time. Everything he had meticulously planned was rapidly collapsing in a comical and tragic manner under Su Li's absolute dominance and the suppression of the legendary battle banner!
"Kill!" Su Li's roar was like thunder! The crimson-gold "Kardrin's Blazing Flame" battle banner, like a burning military order, instantly ignited the fighting spirit of the entire team!
As Mhawa watched the enemies pounce like wolves, as his own crumbling ritual crumbled, and as the embryonic warrior, clearly starting to falter and hesitant even in the glow of the battle banner, completely drained the color from his withered face (though it never had been to begin with). Fear overwhelmed his anger, and his carefully constructed evil confidence deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon.

"No! No! No!!!" He let out a piercing scream, like a chicken being strangled, frantically swinging his skeletal battle axe, trying to maintain the already shaky, ghastly green pillar of light, while roaring at the embryonic warriors: "Stop them! Useless trash! Stop them!!"

However, the only response he received was a low, confused growl from the embryonic warrior. Its massive body instinctively took a half-step back under the oppressive force of "Kadrin's Blazing Flame"! This slight retreat, however small, was like a bolt from the blue in Mhawa's eyes!
"Traitor! Even you...!" Mhava was furious, feeling like the whole world was against him! Just as Hilder's "Echoes of the Mountains" was about to collide with the embryonic warrior with the power of the sun, Orstein's Chosen Hammer tore through the air and crashed down, while Gerson Grayrock's dwarf warrior, burning with the flames of vengeance, plunged straight into his altar like a sharp knife!
run! Must run!
Forget about legendary warrior cores! Forget about great blasphemy! Survival is the priority!

No longer caring about the dignity and ambition of the ancient chieftain, Mhawa let out a shrill scream that was not human, and slammed his skeletal battle axe into the ground!
"With bones as steps! With souls as wings! Nagash path! Take me away!" He almost cried out the escape spell.

Thick, inky negative energy erupted once more, and countless pale, skeletal arms stretched out wildly. This time, they didn't grab the nearby undead (because there was nothing nearby except the embryonic warriors), but instead directly seized the hem of Mhawa's own robes and his withered body! At the same time, another group of skeletal arms suddenly grabbed the ankle of the still hesitant embryonic warrior!
“Fool! Come with me!” Mhawa screamed, as if afraid of losing even this last “possession”.

The black mist churned violently, and after absorbing some of the necromantic energy that had escaped from Mhava, it contracted inward again and exploded with a bang! A dark energy channel, even more hasty and unstable than before, instantly formed! The wails of the dead within the channel sounded chaotic and disordered.

Mhava's withered figure was violently pulled by a tremendous force, dragged into the energy channel in a disheveled and almost rolling manner! His escape resembled that of a rat scalded by boiling water; all traces of his previous cold, calculating nature had vanished. In the final instant before disappearing from the channel entrance, he didn't forget to stick out half of his withered head, letting out a hysterical, yet utterly weak, scream in Su Li's direction:
"Lord of Blackwood! I'll remember you! I won't give up! I'll be back! You wait—!!!"

The sound abruptly stopped, the passage collapsed instantly, leaving only a few wisps of negative energy ash that quickly dissipated, and the blustering threat that echoed in the air.

"Coward!" Gerson Grayrock, having missed his target, spat fiercely in the direction of the collapsed passage. But their crisis was far from over!
On the altar, without the suppression of necromantic energy continuously infused by Mhava, and intensely stimulated by the crimson-gold light of "Kadrin's Blazing Fire," Agrim's head completely lost control!
The ghastly green necromantic chains binding it did not disappear; instead, they twisted and tightened wildly as if alive! A chaotic and violent energy suddenly erupted from the area on its head where the ashen gray and golden light were fiercely clashing! In the empty eye sockets, the remaining eerie green necromantic fire clashed violently with the Butcher King's indomitable golden will, forming an extremely unstable and destructive state!
"Roar--!!!"

A deafening, inhuman roar, a mixture of pain, rage, and blasphemy, erupted from its head! It broke free from the suspended altar's restraints and, like a massive meteor hammer burning with ghastly green and dark gold flames, hurtled indiscriminately towards Gerson Grayrock and the dwarven warriors closest to it, accompanied by a terrifying shriek! Its speed was astonishing!

"Watch out!" Su Li's pupils contracted, and he immediately swung his Oath Spear, summoning two squadrons of Green Knights, who surged towards the head like a tide, trying to suppress its rage!

"Shield Wall!" Gerson reacted swiftly, roaring as he raised his tattered rune axe and instantly formed a tight formation with the dwarven warriors! The effect of [Forge Barrier - Array] immediately appeared under the guidance of the battle banner, a faint crimson aura, similar to the "Echoes of the Mountains" force field, covered the front of their formation!
"Boom!!!"

The head slammed into the crimson aura! The violent impact, mixed with chaotic energy, erupted! Gerson and the guards were struck like by a battering ram, groaning as they slid backward, their formation nearly shattered! The crimson aura fluctuated violently, barely managing to block the attack, but the necromantic energy and golden dust emanating from the head acted like corrosive acid, hissing and eroding the force field.

"Its power is consuming its source! The necromantic chains must be dispelled!" Hilde immediately judged. She abandoned the idea of ​​pursuing Mhawa and turned to rush towards the out-of-control head. "Echoes of the Mountains" was raised again, and the power of the blazing sun was poured into it. Runes flowed on the surface of the shield, ready to meet the attack head-on!

Having missed its target, the head roared even more wildly, spinning erratically in the air before locking onto its target once more—this time, Su Li, who was wielding the battle flag! It slammed down with destructive force, accompanied by a chaotic energy storm!

"Protect the Lord!" Erstein roared, his massive body blocking Su Li's path, the Chosen Hammer carrying the power to crush everything heading straight for his head! The other Chosen Knights also joined in, their various divine lights bombarding his head in an attempt to disrupt its trajectory.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Violent collisions echoed continuously at the valley entrance! The out-of-control head, like a raging bouncy ball, charged left and right under the radiance of the battle flag and the onslaught of the crowd, each impact unleashing chaotic energy turbulence! The necromantic chains began to crack under the suppression of the power of the blazing sun and the battle flag, but the violent power contained within the head itself was also rapidly being consumed, with more and more golden dust dissipating.

This is a race against time! The blasphemy left by Mhawa must be dispelled before the head exhausts its strength and self-destructs!

"Demst, Dietrich, purify it!" Su Li commanded the chosen knights to defend while issuing a stern order. Following Su Li's command, vines of life wind from Eliria quickly coiled around it, the emerald light fiercely clashing with the ghastly green necromantic energy, fixing it in place.

Demst, the priest of Mor, was as unreliable as ever. He stepped forward, took out a black shroud from his robes, and lamented, "Alas, today I'm going to use up all my savings! I hope sending a legendary soul to the Mor world will cheer the old man up and make him generously bestow some divine grace to make up for my loss. Without rewarding his loyal followers, they have no motivation to work!"

As he finished speaking, the shroud in his hand emitted a deep, eerie blue light: "Death is the final destination, not a plaything for the blasphemers!"

An invisible domain, imbued with an absolute will to end, suddenly expanded from the Shroud of Turin! This power precisely locked onto the ghastly green necromantic chains wrapped around Agrim's head. A ghostly blue light, like a cold blade of judgment, slashed fiercely at the chains composed of corrupted energy!
"Sizzle—sizzle—!"

A sickening corrosive sound rang out! The necromantic chains that the eerie blue light touched were like ice and snow thrown into strong acid, instantly emitting thick black smoke and letting out a shrill, silent scream as if the soul was being torn apart!

The structure of the chains was brutally dismantled and annihilated by this pure power representing the supreme authority of death! Durmst's power did not dispel, but directly "commanded" these low-level necromantic energies to submit or be annihilated! This was Mor, the guardian god of death, making a merciless judgment on those who desecrated the order of death!

At the same time, Dietrich also moved. This priest of Sharya had a gentle and compassionate face, and his eyes shone with an emerald light representing life and mercy. He clasped his hands together at his chest, and a sacred emblem carved with new shoots and babbling brooks radiated a soft yet firm light in his palms.

"The winds of life soothe the wounds; the fountain of mercy cleanses the filth!" Dietrich's voice was clear and soothing, like a mountain stream flowing gently. He slowly opened his hands, and a pure, vibrant emerald green light, like warm water, gently flowed toward Agrim's tormented head.

This stream of light lacked the domineering and coldness of Durmster's deep blue light, but possessed unparalleled penetrating and purifying power. It gently enveloped the head, its emerald light seeping into the decaying areas corroded by necrotic energy, like the gentlest healer soothing a festering wound.

Where the light passed, the filthy grayness was quickly washed away like dirt being rinsed by clean water, revealing the head's original tough texture! Those golden specks of light that fiercely fought against the undead fire and represented Agrim's indomitable will, nourished by the emerald light, became bright and stable like seedlings receiving sweet rain!
"Life is life, death is death..." Dietrich prayed softly, as emerald light continuously poured in, not only dispelling the remnants of necromantic energy but also soothing the raging and tormented spirit within his head, guiding it toward peaceful rest.

Demst's azure judgment and Dietrich's emerald purification, two completely different yet perfectly complementary forces, acted together on Agrim's head!

The effect is immediate!

"Roar..." The roar emanating from the head was no longer one of destructive rage, but rather a low growl of bewilderment and exhaustion, a result of the pain lessening. The chaotic, eerie green necromantic fire in the eye sockets flickered wildly and quickly dimmed under Durmster's death sentence, like a candle in the wind; while Dietrich's life light filled the "void" left by the dissipation of necromantic energy, nourishing Agrim's last glimmer of will.

Those thick necromantic chains, under the slashes of the ghostly blue light and the purification of the emerald green light, were like spider webs being burned by flames, breaking, disintegrating, and turning into ashes one by one! The restraints were stripped away layer by layer!

When the last pale green chain was completely reduced to nothingness by the final blow of the Demus Privilege Staff's eerie blue light, his head jolted violently!
The last glimmer of struggling eerie green in the eye sockets was completely extinguished! The violent impact and chaotic energy receded like the tide. Only the head itself remained, along with pure and warm golden specks of light, flickering like embers from a furnace, emerging from the cracks in its skull and the empty eye sockets.

It no longer attacked, nor roared. Silently hovering in mid-air, the rage and pain gradually faded from its wide-open face, leaving only a profound weariness and…relief that seemed to transcend eternity. The cold, azure domain of Durmst and the warm, emerald glow of Dietrich, like two protective rivers, encircled it, granting it final peace.

Golden specks of light, like fine sand, drifted slowly from its massive head and merged into the air. It gave one last "look" at the "Kadrin Blaze" battle banner that was burning fiercely in Su Li's hand, and the burning ancestral face seemed to be silently staring back at it.

“...The mountains...forever…” That whisper of will, filled with peace and a sense of ultimate belonging, slowly dissipated from the depths of everyone’s soul, like the lingering echo of a distant war song.

As the last speck of golden dust merged into the smoke-filled air, what hovered in mid-air was no longer the phantom of Agrim's agonizing head, but a real relic imbued with a heavy history and power.

A huge dwarf head lay silently on the charred rock contaminated by the blasphemous magic circle.

It retained Agrim Ironfist's signature wide-open, furious expression, its thick, dark gold beard resembling solidified flames, each hair distinct. Most shockingly, at the point where the head and neck were severed, and in several deep cracks on the skull, flowed not illusory dust, but thick, scalding dark gold blood, as if it had just flowed out!

The blood did not congeal; it flowed slowly like molten metal, radiating astonishing heat and a rich life force (despite being a life already lost), and containing an indomitable fighting spirit and an eternal sorrow. It seemed to flow directly from the wounds of history, transcending time and space, telling the story of a legendary warrior's final sacrifice.

Su Li stepped forward, his gaze complex as he looked at the true remains of the Butcher King. He sighed, his voice low and full of reverence: "Rest in peace, Agrim Ironfist. Your head will not be defiled by the blasphemers; it will return to the mountains, to the halls of honor of the dwarves."

Demst stepped forward and, with solemn and gentle movements, carefully wrapped the head, which was still dripping with dark gold blood, with a specially made, thick black shroud imbued with the power of the Mor god. The cloth quickly absorbed the scalding blood, leaving only dark marks and preventing any sacred blood from dripping onto the dust.

Just as the head was removed from its enclosure, everyone discovered that on the rock beneath it, stained with dark gold blood, there was a small pile of metal shimmering with a strange luster!
These metal blocks possessed a deep, dark red hue, reminiscent of congealed blood, yet within them flowed threads like molten gold. They were incredibly heavy, exuding an aura of solemnity and sanctity, and… a strong sense of covenant and oath!
“Dwarven Oath Gold! And there are over 3000 of them!” Gerson Grayrock’s voice trembled with awe as he staggered forward, his calloused hands carefully cradling one. “Even as a dwarven chieftain, this is the first time I’ve witnessed the birth of Dwarven Oath Gold! This means that the dwarven race acknowledges that those who receive these Dwarven Oath Gold have done the dwarves an immense favor.”

These dark red, molten gold-like metals are the legendary treasure of the dwarves—Oath Gold! It is the final materialized remnant of Agrim's indomitable will and vow of protection!

In the center of that small pile of precious oath gold, there lay an even more eye-catching item.

That was a rune.

It wasn't etched into metal or stone, but rather composed of pure energy, suspended a few inches above the ground. This rune was exceptionally complex and rugged, its lines interwoven like roaring lava and wildly swirling battle axes, radiating a chillingly ferocious fighting spirit and undying rage! The rune itself was dark gold, yet its edges burned with an inextinguishable crimson light. Simply gazing at it evoked a primal urge to tear apart enemies and crush obstacles!

(End of this chapter)