Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 212 Commander

The blood-red moonlight soaked the scorched earth, and the burning tents howled in the night wind, like the mournful cry of a dying beast.

Viscount Rhein's silver armor was already smeared with blood and turned dark red. He swung his sword to cut off the long spear that was thrust at him, and the sole of his boot crushed a broken finger bone.

It was still adorned with the eagle-head ring of the Allied scouts.

Two hours earlier, the owner of this ring was boasting by the campfire about his impending military exploits.

"Where is Sauron? Where is Bacchus?" Rhine's roar, mixed with the smell of rust in the wind, filled his throat. He had personally witnessed Sauron cleave a three-meter-thick city wall with a single sword strike, but now even the shadow of that legendary knight seemed to have been swallowed by the night.

Captain Glenn of the Royal Guard suddenly groaned and collapsed to the ground. A black-feathered arrow pierced through the gap in his neck armor. The entire arrow was made of steel, and it was impossible for an ordinary archer to shoot such an arrow.

"East! Bone Pass!" Baron Rockefeller's blond hair was singed by the sparks as he thrust his sword into the chest of a soldier, the jade inlaid on the hilt gleaming eerily in the pool of blood.

The breakout team of thirty knights sliced ​​through butter like a hot knife through butter, but Rhine heard the sounds of horses falling from behind him.

Those guards who had followed him for ten years were pinned to the ground by a rain of arrows from the shadows before they could even scream.

As they rushed over the last fence, the sweet, pungent smell of blood wafted in the wind.

A figure stood at the pass, his black armor adorned with silver lines outlining star trails, and seven headless corpses lay at his feet.

Hols' headless body remained in a charging stance, and the frost on his severed neck proved that this legendary Frost Knight had not even revealed his true strength before being beheaded.

"Good evening, Viscount." Robin's dragon-slaying spear tipped over Bacchus's head. The berserker, once renowned for his dragon roar combat techniques, stared wide-eyed, frozen in a final expression of terror.

The head was casually tossed at Rhine's feet, creating a crimson flower.

Rockefeller's sword sheath suddenly opened a hidden compartment, and a poisoned crossbow bolt shot straight at Robin's forehead.

"Fool." Before Rhine could stop him, emerald ripples appeared on the tip of Robin's spear, and the crossbow bolt turned to dust three inches away from him.

As the spearhead pierced Rockefeller's chest, Rhine saw the image reflected in the Baron's pupils.

Viscount Rhein dug his fingertips deep into his palms, the smell of blood mingling with cold sweat seeping into the gaps in his armor.

"Life Force Unleashed! You are a Knight of Order."

The Order Knights are legendary monsters capable of single-handedly suppressing an entire knightly order.

He finally understood why the bodies of those vanished legendary knights could not be found; Bacchus's frozen head was the answer.

“Minnesota!” He mentally dragged out this guy’s ancestors for eighteen generations and whipped their corpses.

“Baron Allen Wilke.” Rhine forced himself to straighten his spine, his aristocratic tone like armor concealing a trembling throat. “The Holy Law and Noble Law stipulate that knights may not torture or kill nobles with titles.” He deliberately emphasized the surname “Wilke.” “One hundred thousand gold coins, or the perpetual mining rights to that fine iron mine within my territory.”

As he spoke, he untied the blood-stained silk scarf around his neck, revealing a silver chain inlaid with moonstone.

With a clang, the blood-stained family seal ring dangled from the end of the chain—the most elegant gesture of surrender he could imagine.

Secretly, he tapped the ground three times with his boot heels, a signal that the royal guards would fight to the death.

If those scumbags were still alive.

Robin suddenly smiled.

The Dragon-Slaying Spear drew a tragic arc, and Rhine's silver chain snapped in response.

The moonstone exploded into dust in mid-air, and twelve rotating ancient runes emerged from the swirling crystalline dust—the Force imprints reflected in Rockefeller's pupils before his death.

The moment the seal ring fell into the pool of blood, the pendant on Rhine's chest suddenly burst forth with blue light, weaving a griffin totem onto the surface of the armor.

"Oh, there's even a shield barrier from a second-circle wizard." Robin looked at the shield with great interest and even tapped it twice with his Dragon Slayer Spear. "Guess how many hits it will take me to break it?" Robin asked curiously.

Viscount Rhine gave a wry smile: "Can you give me a way out?"

Robin rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment, then said, "I'm still missing a commander?"

Viscount Rhein's lips twitched; this meant he was being asked to betray the entire kingdom and the entire aristocratic circle.

"Refuse! Die!"

"boom!"

Robin's dragon-slaying spear pierced the azure barrier with a fierce thrust. The moment the spear tip collided with the barrier, a dazzling ring of light exploded out.

Viscount Rhine's pupils suddenly contracted. This was the "Griffin Guardian" of a second-circle wizard, the family's last trump card, a contract his great-grandfather had obtained from the Wizarding Council two hundred years ago.

"Click."

The first shot caused fine cracks to appear on the surface of the barrier, as if ice had been struck by a heavy hammer.

"Two shots." Robin chuckled, raising the gun tip again, life force condensing into an emerald vortex on the blade.

Viscount Rhein's heart pounded, and cold sweat soaked through his undershirt. He knew that the barrier could only withstand one more blow at most.

"Wait!" he growled through gritted teeth. "You want the commander? I can grant you that, but you can't reveal my identity!"

Robin paused slightly at the tip of his gun, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes: "Oh? You've got a pretty good idea."

“If you disagree, then kill me!” Viscount Rhine looked resolutely at Robin.

Viscount Rhine's knuckles clenched until they turned white, and the burning pain of the Force chains still lingered in his throat.

Robin's gaze swept across his face like a knife, as if trying to peel away the flesh and look straight into his soul.

"Put on a mask and hide your identity?" Robin slowly lowered his dragon-slaying spear, the tip leaving a charred mark on the muddy ground. "Do you think I would believe the oath of a nobleman?"

Viscount Rhine tore off his blood-stained cloak. "I am not submitting to you in the name of the Rhine family, but in my own personal capacity."

Robin raised an eyebrow slightly.

The night wind, carrying the stench of blood, swept across the battlefield, and in the distance came the neighing of dying warhorses.

After a long while, Robin suddenly raised his hand, and the emerald green Force condensed in the air into a hideous demon mask, which slowly floated toward Rhine.

"Put it on." Robin's voice carried an undeniable pressure. "From this day forward, you are the 'Faceless One'—my shadow commander."

The moment Viscount Rhine's fingertips touched the mask, a chilling coldness seeped into his veins.

The inside of the mask is covered with fine runes, like countless centipedes crawling on the skin.

He suddenly realized that this was not just a disguise, but a shackle.

“Remember this.” As Robin turned, his cloak swept across the pool of blood on the ground, splattering a string of dark red beads. “If you dare to take off your mask, it will eat your face.”

Viscount Rhine placed the demon mask on his face, and the stinging sensation from the runes gradually turned into a burning sensation.

His eyes were filled with hatred and resentment.

Robin gave a cold laugh: "Don't worry, I'll have the entire Rhine family brought over soon. I hope you won't disappoint me."

(End of this chapter)