How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 263

Living as the Third Son of a Wasted Novel – Chapter 264

Chapter 62. An Ominous Sign

The black-haired man nodded at my question.

“You seem to have put a lot of thought into me. To answer… yes, that’s right. I was reborn. It seems my predecessor was quite disliked by you? I can feel the killing intent prickling.”

I was annoyed by the black-haired man’s previous sly attitude, but I find this polite demeanor just as unbearable.

He nodded slightly, never losing his gentle smile.

“Well, now that we’ve met like this, I’ll ask again. Are you still unwilling to join us?”

“I don’t think I need to answer.”

“That’s a pity. We could have been good friends.”

“Bullshit.”

Even at my curse, he smiled gently and slowly drew the sword he had sheathed. I could feel him dominating the surrounding space in an instant.

Dangerous. This guy is insanely dangerous.

At the same time, a group of figures appeared on the ramparts, climbing the stairs.

Black cloaks, black breastplates, and cold, inhuman faces.

Obviously. Unholy Knights. Not surprising since the black-haired man is here.

I felt my lips drying and looked at Lordain.

“Lordain.”

“What.”

“Can you handle that guy alone?”

“I can try, but the location isn’t good.”

“Not good? We’re on equal footing, aren’t we?”

“Is he the kind of guy who’s going to worry about hurting his allies? I’m at a disadvantage.”

That’s a sharp point.

The ramparts are indeed narrow. Besides, the Unholy Knights don’t die from ordinary wounds. The knights can get out of the way, but soon our own soldiers might come pouring in here.

“…It’s hard to say for sure.”

“There is one way.”

“There’s a way?”

“If I can use my full power.”

Lordain is an elf. And he’s helping us in disguise right now. That means he’s asking if he can reveal his full abilities.

I quickly weighed the options.

The Master [a knight of exceptional skill and power] has appeared. With that alone, we can’t guarantee victory in this siege.

But Antioch Castle is a crucial stronghold we can’t afford to lose. If we retreat now, Gorgon Castle in the rear, which we had set aside, will become a problem again.

The expeditionary force would be isolated in the middle of enemy territory. And that includes the elite force with the commander.

There’s no reason to hesitate any longer. We must win this siege.

“I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to reveal my hidden power to others if possible. Is that doable?”

Lordain smiled silently at my request, and that was answer enough.

“Then, just a moment.”

I quickly turned and gestured to the knights, who were frozen stiff.

“Get out of here immediately and tell the Commander, ‘A Master-level knight has appeared, will defeat him by any means necessary. Awaiting further instructions.'”

The knights, who had turned pale at the mention of a Master-level knight, hesitated for a moment. Frustrated, I shouted.

“That’s an order! Go and tell him!”

“Understood.”

Only then did they step back and begin to return the way they had come.

The black-haired man and the Unholy Knights didn’t react at all, letting them go. It was clear that I was their only target from the start.

Then, I made eye contact with Lordain and nodded. He grinned, throwing off the helm that had been bothering him.

“Good.”

Lordain raised his hand.

Then, strange things began to happen. An unprecedented power gathered in Lordain’s hand, and then he closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

“Arise.”

Thud, thud…

The ground began to rumble. But it felt different from Duke Bashrun’s Earthquake earlier.

It was as if rewinding the history of a rugged plateau becoming a plain. Suddenly, pillars of earth began to rise.

As the surrounding landscape was completed, a thought vaguely occurred to me.

Colosseum.

Is this what an eco-friendly version of the arena would look like? The dozen or so meters of stone pillars that sprouted up formed a barrier that completely surrounded us, the black-haired man, and the Unholy Knights.

“Is this spirit magic?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

“Earth spirit magic is especially my specialty.”

“Good. Anyway, it’ll be hard to get in from the outside.”

“It won’t last forever. So, we need to finish this quickly.”

With those words, Lordain stood up. The black-haired man in front of him was still smiling silently.

“Amazing. You were an elf?”

“Yes.”

“Unexpected. I thought you were Graham or Count Lindayer because of your skill…”

“So, are you thinking of running away with your tail between your legs?”

“Of course not.”

Smiling, the black-haired man rushed forward, and Lordain also leaped to meet him.

I retreated to avoid getting caught up in the fight and shouted.

“Ruth! Illia! Join me in stopping the Unholy Knights! We need to create an opportunity for Lordain!”

“Understood.”

“Let’s go!”

With those words, I charged, aiming for the Unholy Knights flanking Lordain. Of course, my mind was still racing.

‘Why did the black-haired man appear here like this? To protect Antioch Castle? If that’s all, there would be more effective ways.’

To stop the detachment, it would make more sense to have the Unholy Knights guard the south and for him to rush to the west.

That’s right. A Master-level knight is practically a one-man army. Frankly, if he stood blocking the narrow gate, even tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers would be pouring water into a bottomless pit.

In the end, you’d have to deploy knights to break through him. That would mean the allied forces would suffer extreme losses by disadvantageously consuming valuable forces…

‘Why bother giving up the gate?’

Amid the rising questions, Kalandart’s words also squeezed in.

Broken causality. What should have disappeared remains. How is that related to this situation?

I couldn’t reach a conclusion. As an Unholy Knight got close enough for our swords to touch, I raised my sword.

The enemy also raised his hand to meet my sword. Seeing that, I fell forward and rolled, contrary to his expectations.

The opponent, who seemed to have expected me to attack, was momentarily flustered and missed Illia, who had emerged like a shadow from behind me.

“Hmph!”

Crack!

Illia’s sword, extended like an awl, pierced the enemy’s chest. But Illia didn’t let her guard down. She knew about their tenacious vitality.

“Keuk…”

As Illia rammed into him with her shoulder, the sword embedded in his chest was pulled out, and he rolled across the floor. Illia didn’t even glance at the fallen enemy and immediately followed behind me.

The finishing blow was Ruth’s responsibility. Ruth, who was following last, cut off the fallen enemy’s arms, legs, and neck.

“Try getting up again!”

Despite Ruth’s growl, the fallen Unholy Knight couldn’t get up again.

Like that, Illia, Ruth, and I became a streak of lightning, piercing through the Unholy Knight ranks, and killed two more in the same way. It was a great achievement for a surprise attack.

“Releasing power.”

However, the enemies, who didn’t even flinch at the death of their comrades, calmly formed an encirclement and began to unleash their power.

A red aura began to flow from their eyes and swords.

Seeing that, I nodded to Ruth and Illia. After all, the external view was blocked by the stone walls created by Lordain.

“We’re using our power too.”

“Understood.”

“Good!”

Illia and Ruth also began to summon their avatars. There were seven Unholy Knights left. We were only three, but we could handle it. The problem was the black-haired man.

I glanced at Lordain.

Thump! Boom! Bang!

With rough roars, the two were exchanging good offense and defense. Inevitably, the mana-filled sword was swung, and the places that were dodged were dented, scattering fragments.

“Young Master!”

At Ruth’s shout, I turned off my nerves about Lordain. When I looked ahead, I saw three Unholy Knights approaching. The remaining four seemed to be blocking Ruth and Illia.

“Three for me alone, I feel good?”

The three opponents didn’t seem amused at my joke.

I didn’t expect an answer either, so I swung my sword at the closest one. The enemy blocked the first attack, but couldn’t block the flash that was fired immediately.

I felt the power of the avatar filling my body and retrieved the sword that had pierced the enemy’s shoulder. It was the hand holding the sword.

“Keuk…”

Even his groans sound like villains.

I chuckled and kicked the enemy, who had dropped his sword, in the stomach, doing a backflip. Two swords fiercely dug into the spot where I had been standing until just now.

The gap after the attack.

But I managed to fill the gap well. Can you do that too?

While floating in the air, I activated the Mark of Hashunar [a special ability or skill].

After passing through a gray, achromatic space once, I returned to reality, and I saw the back of one enemy in front of me. The sword, swung like a whip with mana full of the body, mercilessly tore the armor.

Fwoosh!

The blood that fell on the dry, withered ground with dirt and dust instantly created a red stain. Subsequently, the torso that lost its upper body slowly fell and covered it.

‘My swordsmanship is about to change because of these guys.’

It’s better to pierce the heart as concisely as possible in many ways, including mana consumption. After realizing the tenacious vitality of the Unholy Knights, most of them are cut, cut, and destroyed.

“Hey.”

I spoke to the last remaining guy.

“What is the Twilight Plan?”

I didn’t ask for an answer. I just asked to temporarily calm the dizziness that had turned around because I had summoned the avatar and used the Mark of Hashunar in succession.

But the guy smiled strangely when he heard my words.

“You know that?”

“Only the name.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“What? Isn’t it fortunate not to know?”

“Well, if you knew that, you wouldn’t have rejected that person’s offer.”

It’s certain. There must be something.

I tilted my head.

“Aren’t you going to tell me what it is?”

“You will naturally know as time passes.”

With those words, the guy jumped in front of me. At the same time, I also took a step forward. The guy and I predicted the meeting point and swung our swords as they were. Swords clashed, and the guy and I competed for strength.

It’s unusual. The previous two guys are definitely worthy of being called small fries.

“Grah… Grash Dorquilfay.”

“What… are you saying?”

At a distance where even each other’s breathing could reach, the guy suddenly uttered incomprehensible words.

When I frowned and asked, the guy started laughing, shining red eyes.

“Hahaha-!”

Subsequently, I had no choice but to shake off the guy’s sword and step back. The two Unholy Knights I had already defeated began to rise again.