The Devouring Knight

Before the battle started, Lumberling checked on his status window.

Name: Lumberling

Race: Human

Age: 27 years (4 months)

Level: 12

Essence Point: (22,089 / 38,000)

Power: 12,073 (Skills: 10,102 | Level: 1,971)

Fragment of Divine Blessing: Qi Adaptation

(A trait bestowed upon beings from the Martial Realms, allowing them to thrive in foreign energy systems.)

Fragment of Divine Blessing: Blessing of the Undying Flame

(Near death, your body and spirit burn brighter, granting you bursts of power far beyond normal state.)

Fragment of Naxxiriss' Blessing: Blessing of the Pale Dream

(You become resistant to illusion and fear. Your own aura causes low-level terror in the weak-minded. (Effects weakened))

Cultivation Realm: Unranked

Beginner Imperial Mindseal Meditation Level 2 (833/1000)

Beginner Ironblood Tempering Scripture Level 2 (711/1000)

Knight Stage: Knight One

Active Skills

Beginner Sprint Lv2 (658/1000)

Beginner Hammer Shock Lv1 (0/1000)

Beginner Spearheart Thrust Lv. 1 (326/1000)

Beginner Thundering Lunge Lv.0 (851/1000))

Beginner Triple Fang Lv. 0 (650/1000)

Beginner Steel Tempest Lvl 0 (1/1000)

Beginner Executioner's Gale Lv. 0 (1/1000))

Dominion Strike Lv. 0 (1/1000))

Beginner Stonewall Guard Lvl 0 (1/1000)

Beginner Phantom Step Lv. 0 (1/1000))

Beginner Essence Weave Lv1 (782/1000)

(Derived from Essence Devour. Allows the user to bind the essence of a fallen enemy and channel it into another chosen vessel.)

Passive Skills

Essence Devour

Low Level Spearheart Doctrine Lv2 (654/1000)

Beginner Shadow Glide Lv8 (931/1000)

Beginner Flowing Edge Lv7 (431/1000)

Beginner Bowmanship Lv2 (852/1000)

Beginner Shield Bash Lv3 (941/1000)

Beginner Bonecrush Method Lv2 (742/1000)

Beginner Dual Wielding Axe Lv1 (879/1000)

Beginner Dagger Fang Lv. 0 (646/1000)

Resistances

Beginner Poison Resistance Lv2 (786/1000)

Beginner Cold Resistance has been learned Lv. 0 (347/1000)

Arcane Stage: Unranked

Elements

Fire Element Lv.0 (1/1000)

Earth Element Lv.0 (1/1000)

Chaos Element Lv.0 (1/1000)

Thunder Element Lv.0 (1/1000)

Element of Gravity. Lv. 0 (1/1000)

Einherjar Stage: Unranked

(Odin's Blessing Lv.1 (1/1000))

(Týr's Blessing Lv.0 (501/1000))

(Thor's Blessing Lv.0 (251/1000)

(Ullr's Blessing Lv.0 (251/1000))

Oracle Stage: Apprentice Lv. 0 (1/1000)

Unique Skill: Luck Analyze

Unique Skill: Fate Glimpsed (Skill has no level. Grows Stronger as stage increases.)

….

"With my current strength, I could fight a Mid-Knight, maybe even push higher if I'm forced to," Lumberling muttered, testing the grip of his spear. His eyes narrowed as faint light traced across his status window.

"My skills are stacking too… there has to be a way to combine them," he whispered. The thought burned at the edge of his mind, but now wasn't the time. The answers would come later if he lived long enough to find them.

He shut the window and looked out across the battlefield.

His army was split into five divisions, each one given to a trusted captain. Krivex commanded the archers, Gobo1 by his side leading the militia. Aren led his elite squads, supported by Gobo2.

Skarn with Takkar at his flank thundered at the front with the boar cavalry. Skitz, along with Vakk, marshaled the hunters. Shade stood ready with the wolves, Lunira shadowing him, with Kaeldron and the lizardmen.

And at the center of it all, Lumberling turned to face Lucian's men, the battered but proud soldiers of House Arden. They were different from his goblins, kobolds, and beasts. These were human knights and soldiers, drilled under a Duke's banners.

No True Knights stood among them, but still they held strength. Fifteen Quasi-Knights, thirty-six Knight Apprentices, fifty-eight Knight Pages. And over twenty-five hundred soldiers who had spent years sharpening their bodies.

Lumberling studied them one by one. 'So even with so many Knights, they failed to produce more True Knights.' A faint, amused smile tugged at his lips. 'All the more proof that my captains reaching that level is something rare.'

He stepped forward, raising his voice so it cut through the rumble of marching feet and clattering armor.

"Knights and soldiers of House Arden! My name is Lumberling. Your young Lord has placed your lives in my care, and I will not waste them!"

The men straightened, some exchanging looks, others fixing their eyes on him.

"Today, we fight not as scattered men, not as remnants, but as one! I will stand at the front with you. And if death comes, we will not meet it crawling, we will meet it standing, with our spears and blades thrust forward!"

The air seemed to tighten as the men shouted in unison, pounding their shields and weapons, their fear burning into something sharper.

He turned slightly, eyes flicking toward Liraeth's side of the field, where her own forces braced under her command. Together, their combined armies numbered more than five thousand. The enemy had six thousand.

The difference was slim, but everyone knew the true weight of this battle rested not on numbers, but on the clash of leaders and elites.

Lumberling lowered his spear, pointing it toward the enemy lines.

"Form ranks! Hold steady! Today, we carve our names into this land!"

The soldiers roared, the sound rolling across the battlefield like thunder.

...

From the Legate's side, the old man narrowed his eyes. Across the field, the enemy had reorganized, their banners raised, their soldiers roaring with new fire.

His gaze shifted. Three figures cut through the chaos, charging directly toward him, their auras blazing.

His lips twisted into a snarl.

"Lafuente…" he spat, his voice like iron grinding on stone. "All the time, all the resources I poured into you, just to make you a Mage-Knight. And this is what you do with it? What a waste." His teeth clicked together as rage simmered in his eyes.

Then a sound of hooves rolled across the field. Out from the shadow of the Legate's army came ten riders. Their black warhorses snorted clouds of steam, armor clanking with each deliberate step.

The knights were clad in full black plate. Darkness clung to them, their aura suffocating, each one a True Knight, their presence alone enough to make seasoned men falter.

They reined their horses before the old man. Then, in perfect unison, they dismounted and dropped to one knee, their voices deep and cold.

"Your orders, Imperial Legate?"

The old man's eyes gleamed like a predator's. He raised his hand, fingers curling as if gripping the throats of his enemies across the field.

"I want all their heads."

The words fell like a decree.

The ten Knights rose as one. Without hesitation, they turned, mounting their steeds again, and rode to the front lines. Their aura spread like wildfire, igniting the army behind them.

At once, the massive host of soldiers moved as if they shared one heartbeat. The ground shook under thousands of boots and hooves as they marched in perfect rhythm toward the clash.