Chapter 183

Chapter 183

The one who greeted them beyond the door was a knight.

A true knight wearing full plate armor and a red cloak.

Unlike the undead knights they had faced until now, he had maintained his living appearance to some extent.

At the noble dignity flowing naturally from the knight, Lee Ji-ryeong frowned.

That was because he looked completely different from the Warden Lee Ji-ryeong had imagined.

When people thought of a Warden, they usually imagined someone shabby and violent. But the knight before them now was far from such an image.

The knight did not even glance at Lee Ji-ryeong and stared only at the bed.

On the bed lay Cha Jin-cheol, whom the Grim Reaper had kidnapped.

“It’s the Captain.”

“What is he trying to do to the Captain?”

The West District Awakened shouted when they discovered Cha Jin-cheol. But Lee Ji-ryeong stretched out his hand and stopped them from running toward him.

The knight paid no attention to the commotion and only looked at Cha Jin-cheol. No, to be precise, he was looking at the binding rope at Cha Jin-cheol’s waist.

Warden’s Binding Rope.

It was the item Cha Jin-cheol had won at the White Bear Caravan auction.

The knight reached out and stroked Warden’s Binding Rope.

‘Is there some story behind that item?’

Zeon frowned.

Among the items the White Bear Caravan had released into the market, it was the one that had particularly bothered Zeon.

When living, there were times one saw objects that felt ominous and unsettling for no reason.

Such objects always caused problems later.

In Zeon’s eyes, Warden’s Binding Rope was that kind of item. That was why he had thought Damian had released poison into Neo Seoul.

He had only watched because it did not seem likely to become a problem immediately.

At that moment, Lee Ji-ryeong opened his mouth.

“Are you the Warden?”

He did not expect the knight to answer.

Most undead lost reason and retained only instinct. But an unexpected answer came back.

—My name is Gregoric Telma Carion. A sinner who failed to protect the great king and fell to become a Warden.

“Gregoric? Can you understand our words?”

—My name is Gregoric Telma Carion. A sinner who failed to protect the great king and fell to become a Warden.

The knight, who revealed himself as Gregoric, repeated the same words like a parrot.

“So he doesn’t have reason. He’s just repeating fixed words?”

Just as Lee Ji-ryeong frowned, it happened.

FLAAARE!

Suddenly, powerful light burst from Warden’s Binding Rope held in the knight’s hand.

“What the hell?”

“My eyes......”

The Awakened, who had not expected the intense light, lost their sight for a moment and staggered.

Before Zeon or Lee Ji-ryeong could react, the binding rope turned into light and disappeared.

‘What?’

‘What is this? Why did the item......?’

It was then.

As if refusing to give the two any more time to think, the knight drew his sword. Then hundreds of knights were summoned around him.

Gregoric Telma Carion.

One who had sworn loyalty to his king.

A Knight Commander who had vowed to protect him even after death.

But he had failed to protect the king and had fallen to become a Warden. And he had waited only for his master’s return.

Shrrrk!

Gregoric pointed his sword at the Awakened.

—Those who interfere with the king’s return, I shall kill them all.

An eerie voice flowed out from between his helmet.

“The king’s return? What bullshit is that?”

“Fuck! Smash him and save the Captain first.”

The West District Awakened charged toward the knights in fury.

They had watched with their eyes wide open as Cha Jin-cheol was kidnapped. Their patience had already reached its limit.

Even if Lee Ji-ryeong tried to stop them, it was useless.

Their minds were filled only with the thought of saving Cha Jin-cheol.

“Kill them!”

“Attack.”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

The West District Awakened launched an all-out attack.

That became the signal.

The Pegasus Raid Team joined the battle as well, and a fierce fight broke out.

CLANG! CLANG!

Weapons clashed against weapons, and all sorts of magical attacks flew back and forth.

“We have to take down the Knight Commander first. He’s the boss.”

Bronson set out to hunt the boss with the clearing team.

Bronson’s face was full of confidence.

He had not been much help in the battles until now, but the story was different if it was a human-shaped monster.

That was because what he was most confident in was fighting people.

“Die!”

Bronson and the Awakened attacked the Knight Commander all at once.

No one could withstand being ganged up on.

Even if that someone was a human-shaped monster.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

All kinds of Skills and weapons struck the Knight Commander.

It was an attack delivered at full strength.

Bronson was confident this single attack would incapacitate the Knight Commander. But his smile vanished in an instant.

FLASH!

Suddenly, intense light burst from the Knight Commander’s entire body and nullified every attack.

A sacred curtain of light that made one’s chest feel clear just by looking at it swirled around the Knight Commander.

Lee Ji-ryeong muttered with an incredulous expression,

“How can an undead use Holy Shield?”

Holy Shield (Holy Shield).

It was a Skill used by those who served a god, such as Paladins.

In Neo Seoul, it was mainly used by the Paladins of Dongdaemun.

Although they had the flaw of being fanatics, in any case, they were people who served a god.

Thanks to that, they could use Holy Shield.

But the Holy Shield the Knight Commander had unfolded now was incomparably stronger than that of Dongdaemun’s Paladins.

Like the sun compared to the moon.

The Knight Commander’s Holy Shield was not a simple defensive Skill, but a Skill that united offense and defense.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!

Powerful light stretching out from Holy Shield struck Bronson and the Awakened.

“Kraaak!”

“Kuhk!”

With screams, their bodies were blown backward.

Bronson rolled across the ground while bleeding, and most of the Awakened who had attacked suffered severe injuries and could not pull themselves together.

Lee Ji-ryeong’s expression hardened.

“Grade S?”

He had hunted countless monsters until now, but this was the first time he had faced a Grade S monster.

Before that tremendous presence on an entirely different level, Lee Ji-ryeong’s shoulders trembled.

He too had surpassed Grade A and was looking toward Grade S, but the presence of a true Grade S made his breath catch.

Suddenly, his gaze turned toward Zeon.

Unlike himself, who had gone stiff, Zeon’s expression was no different from usual.

That sight provoked his pride.

He had tried hard to ignore it until now, but now he knew for certain.

He felt rivalry toward him.

In a way, it might have been an inferiority complex.

Zeon was the first person to make him feel such emotions.

That was why he was even more flustered.

He did not want to show weakness in front of Zeon, if no one else.

“I will face him alone.”

“Captain!”

“During that time, clear out the rest.”

“Please be careful. If something happens to you, Captain, our Pegasus Raid Team will collapse too.”

“Trust me.”

“Heh! If we don’t trust the Captain, who would we trust?”

Gesling raised his thumb.

He spoke with a smile, but his eyes were stiff.

He too could feel that the Knight Commander was a monster unlike anything they had ever faced before.

“That’s right! I, Lee Ji-ryeong, am a man who will one day stand at the top of Neo Seoul. A trial of this level is nothing to me.”

Lee Ji-ryeong launched himself toward the Knight Commander.

CRACKLE!

With lightning wrapped around his entire body, he collided with the Knight Commander.

BOOOOM—!

The two monsters clashed, and a tremendous shock wave erupted.

The shock wave also struck Zeon’s group.

Thanks to Zeon offsetting most of the shock wave, Briel took no damage at all. But it was too early to relax.

That was because the knights summoned by the Knight Commander attacked them as well.

“Where do you think you’re going, ghosts who couldn’t even die?”

“Chahahaha!”

Eloy and Levin fought back against them.

Levin had also grown a great deal through this dungeon clearing.

He turned into a ghost in an instant and released Purple Lightning.

CRACKLE!

It was Purple Lightning, which had shattered countless undead until now. But against the knights, it did not display much power.

“These bastards are covered head to toe in items.”

Levin gritted his teeth.

The armor the knights wore was reducing the power of Purple Lightning.

Because of that, his attacks could not display their proper strength.

This was also his first time encountering such a situation.

But on the other hand, the knights’ attacks did not inflict much damage on him either.

Like the Grim Reaper, he was not damaged by physical attacks while in Ghost Transformation.

Once they realized their attacks did not work, the knights made light rise along their swords.

They had infused divine power into their blades.

“Fuck! Isn’t it cheating for undead to use divine power?”

Now, even while in Ghost Transformation, he could not relax.

That was because divine power also affected spiritual bodies. But Levin did not retreat and stood against them.

Eloy was the same.

“Die, all of you!”

Her figure as she rampaged while swinging the Mad Nine-Tailed Fox resembled a madwoman.

The hall was chaos itself.

The Awakened and the undead knights became tangled together in battle, and Levin and Eloy ran wild like mad.

At the center of it all were Zeon and Briel.

Briel looked up at Zeon.

Everyone was going mad, but only Zeon remained calm, as if he stood alone in a separate world.

Even the undead knights attacking the other Awakened like mad did not attack Zeon, as if they had instinctively sensed something dangerous.

That sight felt extremely alien.

‘Zeon!’

Briel gripped Zeon’s sleeve.

It was because she felt that if she did not do so, Zeon might leave for somewhere far away.

At that moment, Zeon held Briel’s hand. Then he smiled.

Seeing Zeon’s smile made her feel relieved for no reason.

After reassuring Briel, Zeon looked ahead again.

What he was looking at was Cha Jin-cheol.

Cha Jin-cheol did not move at all, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

‘Those who interfere with the king’s return, I shall kill them all?’

Zeon repeated the Knight Commander’s words and recalled the situation from a moment ago.

The sight of Warden’s Binding Rope turning into light and disappearing.

‘Warden’s Binding Rope was a medium for the king’s resurrection.’

Now everything became clear.

He finally understood why Warden’s Binding Rope had made him feel so uncomfortable.

It was clear that the true master of this ancient castle intended to resurrect by using Cha Jin-cheol.

Zeon moved toward Cha Jin-cheol. Then the undead knights, sensing danger, blocked his path.

“Move.”

THUD, THUD—!

Zeon’s fists struck the undead knights.

The undead knights were flung in every direction, opening a path toward Cha Jin-cheol.

Zeon ran along that path.

Other undead knights rushed in to stop him, but by then Zeon had already reached Cha Jin-cheol.

Zeon drove his fist down toward Cha Jin-cheol’s head.

“No!”

“You crazy bastard......”

The West District Awakened threw themselves forward and blocked Zeon’s attack.

THUD!

Thanks to the Awakened who blocked Zeon’s fist with his whole body, Cha Jin-cheol remained unharmed.

And Cha Jin-cheol opened his eyes.