Chapter 92: The Immortal Legion

A figure clad in black armor.

Those he had defeated did not die; they rose again.

And their armor began to transform.

From a crude shape into something sharper and sturdier, taking on a more imposing appearance.

The knight in black armor radiated a sharp, majestic aura.

‘Dark Knight.’

Evan felt the threat emanating from them as the message appeared before his eyes.

Then, the black aura gathered in the hands of those who had risen once more.

Just like their armor, pitch-black swords were formed.

From bare hands, they now wielded weapons.

Anyone could tell their combat power would multiply several times over.

The Sacred Knights fighting in the front lines became somewhat intimidated.

At that moment, the Executioner who appeared to be the commander shouted out.

“Everyone, regroup your ranks and attack again! Do not be afraid. Goddess Eris will be with us!”

Simultaneously, brilliant light shone forth from his body alongside his holy power.

Then the Paladins and Sacred Knights pressed their attack against the Dark Knights.

Evan paused briefly and used the Memory Crystal.

He needed to record the battle scenes to gather information about them.

‘Memory Crystals can record up to one hour after a single activation, right?’ Evan placed the activated Memory Crystal in his pocket.

Then, he observed the Sacred Knights and Dark Knights engaged in combat once again.

‘Something’s off. They were defeated, but they revived and became even stronger than before.’

Evan opened the status window of a nearby Dark Knight.

[Alignment: Evil]

[Race: Human]

[Gender: Male]

[Class: Dark Knight Lv.1]

[Affinity: 0%]

[Potential: Chosen One]

[Skills: Living Armor Lv. Master]

[You can access the memories of the soul.]

‘As expected, these guys also have the power of the Chosen One.’

Like Beron, they use the power of living armor.

However, unlike Beron, they have an added class.

‘Dark Knight Level 1, huh.’

This piece of information carried bad news.

Having a level meant they could continue to grow stronger.

‘It really is like living armor. The armor itself levels up and evolves.’

They start weak but grow stronger over time.

‘We absolutely cannot let them live.’

Though the method to defeat them was unknown, Evan concluded they needed to be finished off early.

Evan, who had been watching from the sidelines, drew the Elemental Sword and approached a Dark Knight.

‘No matter how many times they rise, there must be a way to beat them.’

It was time to test the true power of the Elemental Sword.

He needed to find out which element they were weak to.

He infused mana into the Elemental Sword, and the blade began to resonate.

[Elemental Sword effect activated.]

[Please select the elemental attribute to use.]

A chill began to settle over Evan’s sword.

Sharp ice blades formed as the sword lengthened.

[Ice Blade activated.]

[Cold sensation spreads throughout the body.]

[Cold resistance increased by 300%.]

Additional damage of 250% applied to opposing element attributes.

Evan chose Ice as the first elemental attribute.

For the time being, he could only use basic Ice skills.

In an instant, Evan closed the distance and swung his sword at the Dark Knight.

Swish!

The sharp icy blade sliced across the Dark Knight’s armor.

[The target has been exposed to a lethal cold wave.]

[Slow effect 50% applied.]

The Dark Knight was helpless against Evan’s attack.

Evan relentlessly slashed the now-slowed foe, and it collapsed to the ground.

But the damaged armor began to regenerate, and the Dark Knight rose again.

Though Ice attributes slowed the Dark Knights and dealt powerful attacks, they couldn’t be fully defeated.

‘Does Ice attribute not work on them?’

Evan switched to the next element.

[Fire Blade activated.]

[Hot flames envelop the body.]

[Fire resistance increased by 300%.]

Flames surged from Evan’s sword.

Once again, Evan launched his attack on the Dark Knight.

Beron lay sprawled on the ground, tattered.

Like a doll with its strings cut.

His pupils were lifeless.

A meaningless existence, unable to die.

He stared at the sky without any will.

“Tch! He’s completely lost it. I thought we might save even one of them, but he’s useless.”

A man with short green hair sneered in dissatisfaction.

Two Lamakria men loitered nearby.

While barely managing to bring Beron after dealing with Rolten, seeing Beron’s state confirmed he couldn’t be their comrade.

“That old man could’ve secured 300 more if he had done his job properly, but he messed it all up like this.”

“No, I expected this. Everyone in that village was stupid. And the chief was blinded by money, so he leaked information.”

“Too bad, but let’s move on to the next village. We need to secure more to topple the Order.”

Beron’s ears twitched as he listened to their conversation.

His eyes slowly regained focus.

The more he listened, the more anger welled up inside him.

All the plans belonged to them, and it was their organization that caused the village’s ruin and his parents’ deaths.

Beron’s armor began to regenerate rapidly.

He gritted his teeth and stood up.

“Huh? That one’s up?”

“Stupid fool. After getting beaten like that, he still wants to fight?”

The two men began using Living Armor’s power as well.

Pitch-black armor covered their bodies.

In numbers and skill with this power, Beron was at a disadvantage.

But none of that mattered to Beron.

He just wanted to move until the rage inside him settled.

Fueled by vengeance, Beron charged forward.

The two men rushed at him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists struck Beron’s abdomen and helmet.

“Ugh!”

The powerful blows sent Beron tumbling to the ground.

But without a moment to rest, they continued kicking him.

Though the armor protected him, the impact still got through.

“Ugh!”

Beron gasped harshly, writhing in pain before collapsing weakly.

The two men stopped after seeing this.

“He seems more useful than we thought. Let’s take him.”

But even as they talked, Beron got up.

Red light glowed in his eyes.

“He’s up again? Still wants to fight to the end?”

“Let’s kill half of him at least. He’s annoying otherwise.”

The two men resumed beating Beron mercilessly.

Though he was repeatedly struck and collapsed, he kept getting back up.

At some point, they felt something strange.

“…Why is this bastard so persistent?”

Beron kept rising.

And relentlessly charged at them.

“This isn’t working. It’s a pity to waste one, but we have to kill this one.”

Just as one of them was about to summon a sword, Beron closed in at an abnormal speed and pressed his face to the man’s arm.

A mouth suddenly appeared on the helmet, opening wide to reveal sharp teeth.

Beron bit down hard on the arm.

“Aaaah!”

The gauntleted arm was bitten off.

The man writhed in pain but was no match for Beron’s sudden counterattack.

Beron continued biting, and the man’s life ended.

Beron’s armor began to transform.

Evolving to the next stage.

“C-crazy bastard!”

The other man reacted late and attacked Beron, but

“Ahhh! S-save me!”

He was overwhelmed by Beron’s evolved power.

His neck was bitten off instantly, and he died on the spot.

Beron caught his breath, slowly feeling his growing strength.

And he found the purpose for living.

He would track down the organization they belonged to and never stop until they were annihilated.

***

Evan and the Sacred Knights caught their breath.

“It’s over……”

“They’re truly monstrous beings.”

Each of them cheered, announcing their victory.

Around them lay all the fallen Dark Knights.

‘Persistent, but they’re not immortal after all.’

Their armor had excellent regeneration, but if attacked faster than that speed, they could be defeated.

And they seemed unable to withstand sudden, powerful damage.

‘The surest way is to finish them instantly, but their defense is too high for that to be possible.’

Once the situation settled, Evan approached their bodies.

He began searching for clues.

“They’re all Lamakria people.”

As Evan rummaged through the corpses’ clothes, an Executioner approached from behind.

“Order benefactor, thank you truly. Thanks to your efforts again, we were able to stop those evil creatures.”

“Not at all. I only did what was right.”

Evan responded with a light smile.

“This incident will deepen the conflict with the Order.”

The Executioner seemed unsurprised.

“These guys are fundamentally evil. It’s not just a southern problem; the whole continent is threatened. How about joining us in the fight for peace?”

The Executioner extended his hand.

Though it seemed like an offer of a handshake, Evan shook his head.

“I’ll help, but I want to handle it my own way.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“The path I must take is different. If I ever need to come to the south, I’ll visit.”

“Ha ha, understood. Benefactors are always welcome.”

The Executioner smiled broadly, about to turn away satisfied.

But then he stopped, as if he had noticed something.

Specifically, he couldn’t take his eyes off the emblem embroidered on the clothes Evan had been searching through.

“That’s the Estia Guild’s mark. It seems they were involved this time, which complicates things.”

“Estia?”

The Executioner seemed to know something.

When Evan asked, he nodded and continued.

“Yes. They’re vermin. A criminal guild formed by Lamakria people, essentially a terrorist group targeting the Order. They hide throughout the central region. We plan to find and annihilate every one of them.”

As he finished speaking, a message appeared before Evan’s eyes.

[Clue to a faction acquired. (15%)]

The quest progress increased.

The faction he mentioned seemed connected to the quest.

However—

“If you want to join us or learn something, visit any nearby Order. If you find Astarod, they’ll handle it immediately. It’s a special unit Bellium created to target Estia.”

He explained his organization, but it was also an unexpectedly dangerous warning.

[Clue to a faction acquired. (32%)]

They too were among the factions included in the quest.

‘This one or that one, they’re all the same?’

Evan had never trusted anyone, but now there was no one he could trust.

Every faction was a target that had to be dealt with.

The Order’s faction and Estia were enemies, but both were harmful to Evan.