CLANG…

Blades clashed and sparks generated. The two sides confronted each other. Reinhardt did not join the battle; he left it to his knights. He stood beside the stag and observed their battle.

The fight went on for some time, but was swiftly closed once the knights from his order started becoming serious.

THUNK… The last of the enemy was downed, and the squad finally took a breather. Seeing that the battle was over for the time being, Reinhardt explained to the new members of the order who had never seen an enemy like this before.

"The ones you see in front of you are no allies. They are demonified knights and squires who have been contaminated by demonic energy and robbed of their sanity, becoming mindless killers"...

"At this point, it is impossible to save them as their hearts have been turned into a demon heart, so it is better to kill them as fast as possible to save them from the agony. It will be better for all of you to learn that as fast as possible."

Kevin and the other squires gulped. They did not ask further questions as they could all guess how the knights were able to understand the identity of the enemy and move at the first sign of their presence, while they stood rooted.

As they glanced at the determined and dreary eyes of the knights, they knew that this was not their first time fighting a knight turned demon.

"You fought well, now rest."

Reinhardt approached the demonified knights, his title [Guide of the Last Light] activated, cleansing the poor souls of their torment and liberating them. Black smoke was released, and their demon hearts were instantly purified.

"You guys must have tried your best to stop the corruption. You all were honorable knights until the end."

He could see a sword plunged into the body of each of these knights. These wounds were something they got even before they fought the knights of his order. Evidently, they tried to kill themselves before their bodies got completely demonified.

Rule number six of the Rules of Steel. Let Honor Bleed Before It Breaks. Better to fall with honor than rise with shame. The knight's name must never be spoken in disgrace.

Kevin and the others who saw this couldn't help but be reminded of the oaths of the knight. It finally dawned on them, the true weight of these oaths. Even until the end, they stayed true to their vows.

"Let's go," Reinhardt beckoned. The squad continued moving forward. In their way, they encountered many such demonified knights.

This time though, Kevin, Gwen, and the rest did not stay still and participated in the battle, gaining experience and growing stronger with each battle.

The corpses of the knight might have gotten weaker after being demonified. However, the techniques and swordplay they had honed their entire life were still etched into their bones.

Each of these demonified knights was no easy opponent. All the squires had to gang up on one just to beat them.

Just like this, the squad continued to proceed until they could finally hear some noise that was different from your usual clanging of metals.

It was the sound of humans.

No sooner, the Order of the Temple of Light reached the end of the chamber, the place where the noises were coming from.

Reinhardt, leading, gazed ahead; his eyes went beyond where the knights were fighting and towards the gigantic gates that led inside the underground vault.

At this moment, the doors of the vault were open, with thousands and thousands of demonified knights pouring out of it, turning the entire place into a battlefield.

The number of the enemy was so great that it was surprising that they did not pour out of the underground chambers. Of course, there was a solid reason for that.

Despite the enemy possessing more numbers, the reason why they were unable to pour out to the surface was because of two knights and the orders they led.

One was a man wearing bright golden armor with the motif of a golden lion, and the other a woman of ethereal grace and donning a full set of armor while gliding across the battlefield, slaying enemies like a Valkyrie.

Needless to say, the two were none other than the two commanders of two of the seven great knight orders, Marquis Herman of the Royal Lion Guard and Leona Marcella Valkyrie from the Knights of Lunar Veil.

It was thanks to the efforts of these two valiant, extreme knights and their knights that the situation in the underground vault was being contained to the level it was now. That said, it seemed like even they were having trouble against such a number.

While they weren't losing, they weren't winning either. It didn't seem like the situation would end any time soon like this.

Neither the Order of the Royal Lion Guards nor the Knights of the Lunar Veil brought their full force to properly address the situation.

Well, it could be said the same for Reinhardt and the Order of the Temple of Light, too.

As there was no information about what was going on inside the underground vault, no one in their right mind would bring their entire order inside the vault.

"Let's back them up," Reinhardt handed out orders.

This time, he too joined his knights in clearing the enemies. As for the protection of the Bloomkeeper, he left it to the squires. Of course, in emergencies, he can always step in and protect the stag using his [Aetherial Stride] skill.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why he left it under the protection of the squires. It was because the ensuing fight was too dangerous, or to put it frankly, out of the league for the squires as of now.

Unlike the demonified knights they had fought while on their way here, these numbers and ranks were clearly beyond them.

By putting them in charge of the protection of the beast, he was stopping them from risking their lives.

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