Cornflower Witch

Chapter 76 The Oath of the Sword
Step by step, she climbed up the steep slope, occasionally having to hold onto the rocks to climb up.

After more than half an hour of rock climbing, Hirutiya finally reached the last colorful bubble. The grass here was a light green, unlike the static and withered weeds in the gray and white world.

The rocks on the mountain have been eroded by the wind, and some dust particles have rolled down. The view here is open and there is no space for monsters to hide, nor is there any abnormally twisted place.

Overall, it was quite good, Hilti thought to herself, then turned her gaze to the sword stuck in the mountain cliff.

The sword's blade is made of gray iron, resembling weathered rock. There should have been some inscriptions on it, but they are now blurred and indistinct.

Hiltiya slowly walked towards the sword, grasped the hilt, and the solidified 'castle' elemental power within it instantly spread, once again sweeping across the area and forcing the gray world back slightly.

So that's how the colorful bubbles here are formed—all thanks to this sword. Hilti observed intently.

【Weathered Iron Sword】(Castle): An ancient longsword embedded in stone. A past king once plunged it into the stone to swear an oath; wherever its cold light shines, the land belongs to the kingdom. (Solidifies the environment, repelling other elemental forces.)

As she stroked the sword hilt with her palm, the 'castle' aura emanating from it spread out intermittently, making Hilti feel as if she were bathing in the wind, dispelling her previous fatigue. She also slowly came to understand and remember the way the strange power contained in the sword operated.

About forty minutes later, Hilti slowly loosened her grip on the sword hilt, and a sudden realization dawned on her mind.

[Sword Oath] (Castle): Those who possess the 'Third-Tier Castle' attribute can swear an oath with their sword, encompassing the surrounding land and turning it into a fiefdom, thus isolating themselves from the encroachment of other attributes.

Although she can't use it, this kind of secret knowledge must be extremely valuable.

Because it had long been weathered, she could not take the sword with her. If she tried to pull it out by force, it would probably break on the spot, and the 'castle' aura condensed in the sword would dissipate very quickly.

It was rare to find such a safe place, so Hiltiya decided to rest here for a while and take a nap.

……

Not far from the Stone Sword, a clean rock surface was prepared, and Hiltiya slowly lay down to recover from the fatigue of her journey through the gray world and the depletion of her sexual energy.

In her dream, she seemed to see a group of people from the distant past, dressed in smocks and chainmail, their faces weathered as if they had just come from a battlefield.

"Sir Horin, shall we continue onward? We are already deep within the Shadow World," a follower asked the leading knight.

"We move on."

The knight in black armor spoke with absolute certainty, forcing the wavering group to abandon their thoughts of retreating.

They were all warriors with the 'castle' attribute. The leader, Knight Holin, was probably at the fourth rank and was very powerful. Hilti saw him wielding a large two-handed sword and easily slaying a ferocious monster as tall as a mountain. The black blood that flowed out was enough to flood a pond.

From the boiling black mist, the knight slowly emerged, his resolute face remaining unchanged. On his arm was an insignia with a 'fir' pattern, signifying his affiliation with the 'Fir Knights'.

This team traversed through one colorful bubble-shrouded area after another in the gray and white world, slaying every monster they encountered along the way. Among them were flying multi-headed serpents, bird-footed humanoid creatures that could speak, and one-eyed flying slugs. Most of them were twisted and bizarre in shape and had all sorts of strange abilities.

However, none of these abilities could be applied to the Horin Knight. His powerful 'castle' aura covered him like armor, protecting him and allowing him to defeat these strange creatures step by step.

And so they won again and again, but they also grew increasingly exhausted.

Traveling through the gray world is a huge drain, even for a 'fourth-tier castle' knight like Holin.

Such energy expenditure is extremely difficult to recover in this world, so Knight Hollin had to conserve his strength and no longer use the same aggressive moves as before.

They were searching for a target, or rather, hunting down an enemy who had escaped into this world—the powerful witch who had once ravaged the mountain forests.

These witches are mostly skilled in the powers of 'hibernation' or 'nightmare', and possess various strange secret arts. Some can easily bewitch and manipulate others. After a long search and trek, Knight Holin finally arrived at the witches' hiding place deep in the mountains.

"You actually dared to chase us all the way here."

The old hag's face was so thin that you could see her bones, but she had a tall frame, over 2 meters tall. Unfortunately, there was not much flesh on her skeleton, which resembled the limbs of a bird. One of her hands held a special skull, while the other hand was picking up some kind of powder.

The old hag blew air from her mouth, and the powder turned into crystalline dust that floated up, then transformed into a jet-black python that slithered around her, occasionally flicking its blood-red tongue and revealing its hidden fangs.

Knight Hollin and his two remaining attendants drew their swords and charged at the last remaining witch. She let out a chilling laugh, and then the black snake burrowed into the skull in her hand, as if it had swallowed something, before emerging again.

Suddenly, the black snake swelled up and became enormous, its massive body thicker than a water vat, its head held high, displaying a fierce and menacing expression.

It swooped down, devouring two servants, and bit down hard on the body of Knight Holin. Its venomous fangs slowly eroded the black armor and seeped into the flesh.

Sir Hollin fought back fiercely, using all his strength to plunge his sword into the black snake's neck from the side, and then unleashing its power.

The steel's sharpness was revealed, severing the black serpent's source of power. Soon, the serpent's head rolled off powerlessly, its entire head torn apart by the knight Holin.

The powerful knight lifted the massive black serpent's body with one hand, then dragged and threw it down the mountain. He picked up the tattered greatsword and walked back towards the witch on the slope.

"You're at your wit's end. There are no reinforcements. No one will care if you die here. No one will erect a monument for you. Your spirit won't be able to ascend to heaven. And in the end, you'll become nourishment for my pet." The witch looked at the knight with a sinister smile.

She beckoned once more, and the black snake's corpse that had fallen into the mountains turned into crystalline mist, then reformed into a black snake, once again circling around her.

"See that? That's true power, something you stoneheads will never learn." She mocked the knight's foolishness.

"Fall down, you bastard." She breathed from her dark purple lips, and an invisible current surged toward Knight Holin.

At this moment, two thin black snakes sprang up from the wounds on Knight Hollin's body caused by the black snake bite. Half of their bodies were in Knight Hollin's flesh, while the other half twisted and flicked their tongues, looking extremely ferocious.

Two black snakes were sucking the blood and flesh power from the Knight Hollin's body. Because the black snakes were born from him, even the protection of the 'castle' aspect could not shield and isolate them.

The knight's steps became increasingly unsteady and difficult as he walked up the hillside. He staggered from time to time, kneeling on one knee, his exhausted strength making it difficult for him to stand.

Just as the old hag said, he had reached the end of his rope and was on his last legs.

but……

So what?

He had long ago sworn an oath to follow that king and cleanse the mountains of their filth and evil spirits.

On the edge of the distorted and eroding mist, a new kingdom will be established.

The heavy greatsword was raised again, then held upside down and plunged into the rock with its last bit of strength.

May our nation remain evergreen like the cedar tree, and may our knights' armor be forever strong, and their swords forever sharp.

Ancient vows resounded, the knight in his destiny shattered, and the scattered fragments poured into the earth along with the sword blade. Invisible light spread, and the rising pillar of light once again dispelled the incomparably heavy clouds. At the end of the vast sky, the huge serpent body tumbled on the sea of ​​clouds, and strands of light shone through the serpent body into this forgotten corner.

(End of this chapter)