The Great Battle Against the Undead Knights

After administering some simple healing to the captives, Aliciel set up a defensive ward before venturing deeper into the cave with Ren Dao-zhen.

The goblin warren was a labyrinthine maze; had it not been for the starlight guiding Aliciel, they would have surely become lost within its winding passages.

Nearby, they discovered another cavern containing several crude pots.

A strange slurry was still simmering in one of them, and various foodstuffs lay scattered about.

It seemed to be the goblins’ dining hall.

“Strange.”

“What is it?”

“This place… it’s too clean…”

“Clean? I wouldn’t say that.”

Gazing at the unidentifiable liquid bubbling in the pot, Ren Dao-zhen felt a wave of nausea just from the smell.

“I meant in a different sense. Goblins are scavengers; they eat anything. While they do some basic preparation, a kitchen like this should, by all rights, be piled high with the bones of animals and humans alike. But this place is spotless—not a single bone in sight. That’s what I find strange.”

“Now that you mention it, I remember something. While we were chasing them earlier, some of the goblins were dragging animal carcasses deeper into the cave. Could they be collecting the bones on purpose?”

“And what use do you think they would have for collected bones?”

“Hm? Oh! The Necromancer Knight!”

It took only a moment of thought for Ren Dao-zhen to connect the dots.

In his experience, bones usually meant one thing.

“Head Maid, did you know all along that the Necromancer Knight was hiding in this cave?”

“It was merely a guess.”

Aliciel had scanned the entire surface of the Sunset Mountains and found no trace of the knight’s aura.

This suggested he was hiding underground, perhaps in a cave system like this one, which also happened to be teeming with goblins.

Necromancer Knights were not mindless weapons of war; they possessed a degree of intelligence.

This one, a remnant of the Dark Cult, had a bounty on his head from the Tri-Phase Church.

He wouldn’t expose himself carelessly.

Yet, he wouldn’t sit idle either.

His only recourse was to enslave the weak goblins, forcing them to gather bones so he could summon skeletal soldiers, biding his time and amassing power.

“Let’s keep moving. I’ll leave these minions to you. I need to conserve my strength; I suspect a difficult battle lies ahead.”

“Alright.”

Ren Dao-zhen nodded slightly.

He knew full well that only Aliciel was capable of dealing with a Necromancer Knight.

The two continued their descent into the depths of the cave.

They encountered numerous goblins along the way, as well as other monsters like bats, all of which Ren Dao-zhen dispatched with ease.

But as they ventured deeper, the monsters grew stronger, and even Ren Dao-zhen, with the skills of a B-rank adventurer, began to struggle.

Aliciel blessed him once more, elevating his power to A-rank, a boost that left Ren Dao-zhen thrilled for quite some time.

“We’re almost there. Prepare yourself!”

At last, after clearing out the horde of monsters, a bright light appeared ahead.

It was not the soft, warm glow of a fire, but an ominous, grayish-green radiance.

It was the fire of bone, a flame from the netherworld.

Aliciel stepped forward, moving ahead of Ren Dao-zhen as they walked toward the light.

In the next moment, the narrow passage opened into a vast underground plaza, revealing a stone temple built within.

Eerie green ghost-fire illuminated the space, revealing a massive *kyōkan* (TL Note: A mound made of the skulls of defeated enemies) at its center—a pyramid of countless skulls from all manner of creatures, including humans.

Bathed in the ghostly green light, the sight was enough to send a chill down one’s spine.

Aliciel’s gaze swept past the grim monument, settling on the figure seated upon a throne of bones within the temple.

It was a towering Necromancer Knight, standing a full three meters tall.

Clad in heavy plate armor, eerie green flames licked out from the gaps.

The same ghost-fire burned within its helmet, a fearsome and imposing warrior of the dead!

“You… you are not followers of the Obscure God. One a fledgling recruit, the other… a maid who worships the Star Dragon?”

A voice like a whisper from the abyss emanated from the knight’s helmet.

The ‘Obscure God’ he mentioned was a derogatory term for the Triune God of Salvation, a common insult for an enemy deity.

“Why have you sought me out?!”

“To borrow… the head upon your shoulders.”

Aliciel said softly.

“Hoh. Then there is nothing to discuss. You are no Headless Horseman, and I have no intention of gifting my head to another.”

When words fail, actions speak.

Knowing negotiation was impossible, there was no need for further pleasantries.

With a wave of its hand, the Necromancer Knight set the *kyōkan* ablaze with ghostly green flames.

The skulls within began to stir.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of skeletal soldiers materialized in the plaza, completely surrounding the pair.

“Is that all? Are these the only tricks you have?”

Aliciel spoke coolly and snapped her fingers.

Just as she had with the goblins, a star-purple barrier expanded outward.

The starfire clinging to it incinerated every skeleton it touched, turning them to ash.

In an instant, Aliciel had annihilated the army of several thousand.

Even if their numbers had been doubled, the outcome would have been the same.

Aliciel silently produced a throwing knife, aimed for the knight’s head, and let it fly.

With a whistle of displaced air, the knife crossed the thousand-meter distance, closing in on the Necromancer Knight’s head in an instant.

“*Clang—*”

The next moment, green flames erupted in the knight’s palm, coalescing into a massive greatsword.

Compared to that colossal blade, Aliciel’s throwing knife was no more than a sewing needle.

The greatsword swept out, swatting the knife from the air.

In the next instant, the Necromancer Knight vanished from its throne, reappearing in the plaza.

The massive blade swung down directly at Aliciel.

She leaped back, dodging the strike.

The greatsword slammed into the ground, carving a deep fissure that snaked toward Ren Dao-zhen, stretching hundreds of meters in a heartbeat.

“Leave this place.”

Aliciel glanced back at Ren Dao-zhen.

No more words were needed.

Ren Dao-zhen nodded and turned to leave.

It was obvious that the battle to come was far beyond his league.

As Ren Dao-zhen departed, Aliciel summoned two throwing knives into her hands.

A moment later, the two combatants clashed.