Child of Chaos

"Boom!!!"

The Stone Coffin began to tremble again. This time, the Undead creatures seemed to have sensed some sort of danger as well. They even gave up on continuing to entangle themselves with Fang Zheng and the others, turning instead to stare fixedly at the Stone Coffin. If the Lich Lord had been here, perhaps these Undead creatures would still have obeyed its commands. But now that the Lich Lord had mysteriously "vanished," they began acting on instinct. Clearly, in their eyes, whatever was inside that Stone Coffin posed a far greater "threat" than Malte's group.

"What do we do, Mentor?"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Fang Zheng quickly regrouped with the other Holy Knights and the two Grand Knights. Yet their expressions remained exceedingly grave. None of them relaxed in the slightest just because the Lich Lord had quietly departed. Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Stone merely frowned deeply and stared intently at the Stone Coffin without a word.

"Boom!!!"

At that moment, the Stone Coffin within the Magic Circle suddenly jumped. This time, the chains binding it could no longer bear the strain and snapped with a series of sharp cracks. Then, with a thunderous boom, the heavy lid flew into the air before crashing hard onto the ground. At the same time, Fang Zheng sensed a most unusual presence rising from within. The instant they felt it, both Malte and Stone's expressions changed.

"Not good!"

"It's a Child of Chaos! Run!"

But before their words had even faded, the Stone Coffin shuddered again. Fang Zheng then felt a faint ripple sweep past him and rapidly spread outward. Before he could figure out what had happened, Stone beside him dropped to one knee with a thud. Sweat covered his face, and his teeth were clenched tight. Both hands gripped his Greatsword desperately. The Paladin who had been so valiant moments ago now seemed like a frail old man, as though even moving a finger took all his strength.

Malte and the other Holy Knights were no better off. Two badly wounded Holy Knights even collapsed without a sound and lost consciousness on the spot. The Undead creatures that had been attacking them earlier looked even worse. The Undead Giant toppled to the ground without moving, while the Deathbringer that had displayed such terrifying might and the Flesh Golem that had given Fang Zheng so much trouble both fell apart with a crash, reverting to broken bones and rotting flesh.

"Uh... what... is going on?"

Gripping the Skycleaver Sword, Fang Zheng stared at the scene before him in astonishment. He had no idea what was happening. Why had everyone suddenly collapsed? Was he supposed to put on a performance too?

"Be, be careful, kid... It's... it's a Child of Chaos..."

Just as Fang Zheng was wondering whether he should give them a convincing act, Stone spoke beside him. The once extraordinarily robust warrior now seemed to struggle even to speak. He clutched his Greatsword tightly with both hands, trying to force himself upright, but his legs felt as heavy as lead.

"That is the most terrifying existence in the Twilight Borderlands... the mortal enemy of Order... It can create an area that cuts off all Power of Order..."

So that was why they had all gone down in an instant?

Hearing Stone's explanation, Fang Zheng immediately understood. He knew that people in this world basically used the power of Order. To make an analogy, it was as if every skill in this world consumed MP, while this Child of Chaos came equipped with something like an anti-magic field that directly sealed off your MP... Wait, no way!

At that thought, Fang Zheng's expression shifted slightly. He hurriedly glanced at the status panel before him. To his astonishment, every single one of his skills had turned gray and become unusable! Even the Soul Stone's activation ability was the same!

Damn! No wonder that Lich Lord ran away!

Only now did Fang Zheng understand why the Duke of Bones had turned tail without a word. According to the knowledge he had learned from the Holy Temple, whether magic or other powers, all belonged to the Power of Order. The Undead creatures created by the Duke of Bones also relied on necromancy formed from the Power of Order to move. Compared to living people, these Undead creatures were even more vulnerable before a Child of Chaos. After all, they themselves depended on the power of Order to continue existing in this world. Once the power of Order was erased or sealed, they were finished.

The Duke of Bones was probably the same. Though it was one of the Council of the Undying's most powerful members, it was still an Undead creature. The Child of Chaos's "anti-magic domain" would likely affect it as well, so... that old bastard had run so quickly!

What rotten luck!

Holding the Skycleaver Sword, Fang Zheng felt his scalp go numb. He stared fixedly at the Stone Coffin, scarcely daring to breathe. Under his gaze, a tall black silhouette slowly rose from within it.

It was a Knight.

At a glance, it did not seem much different from an ordinary human. If there was anything unusual, it was that this "human" stood a full two or three meters tall. It was clad from head to toe in rusted armor, and faint red light glimmered through the gaps in its helmet. It held an enormous, razor-sharp blade in one hand. It simply rose slowly, silently surveying its surroundings.

"Mentor, what are this thing's traits?"

Clenching the Skycleaver Sword, Fang Zheng asked without turning around.

"Like, what skills does it have? What abilities..."

"None."

"Huh? What do you mean, none?"

Stone's answer left Fang Zheng utterly bewildered. Wasn't this a boss? He had never heard of a boss that did not have some ultimate move. How was he supposed to fight that?

"Ch-Children of Chaos are monsters born from Chaos..."

Malte had caught his breath by then and spoke softly.

"All skills and magic come from the gifts of Order. They simply cannot learn to use such power. But even so, they are still enemies not to be underestimated. These monsters of Chaos need only rely on their bodies to pose a terrifying threat to their foes. Be careful. Legend says these creatures possess immense strength and incredible speed..."

"I see... Hm?"

Fang Zheng nodded upon hearing that, then suddenly froze.

Why did this scene feel so familiar?

A gigantic monster for an enemy, unable to use Soul Stones, unable to use skills... Wasn't this just Dark Souls?

Then let's see whether you or Teacher Gundyr is stronger.

At that thought, the corner of Fang Zheng's mouth curled up. He reached to his waist and drew a short sword.

Then Fang Zheng took several steps forward and stopped before the monster. He gripped the Skycleaver Sword tightly in his right hand and held it straight ahead, pointing it at the Child of Chaos. Next, he raised his left hand, which held the short sword in a reverse grip, laid it across his chest, and nodded at the Child of Chaos.

"Huh?"

Everyone was stunned by Fang Zheng's movement. Malte turned to Stone in surprise.

"Stone, what is he doing? And... why hasn't he been affected by the Chaos Field?"

To those of the world of Order, Children of Chaos were terrifying because the Chaos Field cut them off from the Power of Order. This was true even for Paladins like Malte and Stone. Though they normally possessed tremendous strength and looked almost superhuman, that was all thanks to Star Spirit Energy. It was like how some people in Wuxia novels looked skinny and frail, yet could send a burly man flying dozens of meters with one slap. Naturally, it was not because their bodies were strong, but because their Internal Force was profound.

Within the Chaos Field, Holy Knights were like martial arts masters who had lost all their Internal Force. They were basically useless.

"That kid is rather special... Hm, but that stance, could it be..."

Stone answered Malte vaguely. Holy Spirit Protection was top secret. Though he and Malte were friends, such matters could not be casually revealed. But when he saw Fang Zheng's stance, Stone's eyes lit up. He had often discussed the world in Fang Zheng's "dreams" with him, so Fang Zheng had told him about a group of warriors in that world called the Farron Undead Legion. They were warriors who fought in the darkness to destroy the Abyss, but in the end, they too were gradually corrupted by it and became the enemies they had once hated.

Back then, Stone had been deeply moved by the Farron Undead Legion. They reminded him of the Order Legion stationed in the Twilight Borderlands. Like the Farron Undead Legion, they fought Chaos at the edge of civilization to protect Order and civilization. From time to time, some of them would be corrupted by Chaos and turn into monsters. Stone himself had once been one of them, so the moment Fang Zheng told him about the Farron Undead Legion, he had thought of the Order Legion.

And now...

"That stance... Could it be..."

"Roar!!"

The Child of Chaos clearly had no idea what Fang Zheng was doing, nor did its inherently chaotic nature care. It roared, raised its Greatsword, and leaped into the air, bringing the blade down upon Fang Zheng!

At the very moment the Child of Chaos's Greatsword descended, Fang Zheng rolled sharply to the side, narrowly slipping past the whistling blade. He swung the Skycleaver Sword forward and slashed heavily across the Child of Chaos's waist. With a metallic clang, sparks scattered everywhere. The Child of Chaos swayed slightly, then swiftly swept its Greatsword in a half-circle across the ground and attacked Fang Zheng again. This time, however, Fang Zheng advanced rather than retreating. He rolled forward, closing the distance between them, then raised his sword and swept it at the Child of Chaos once more. The Child of Chaos quickly stepped back while snapping its Greatsword inward, chopping directly toward Fang Zheng's neck!

But Fang Zheng seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. The instant the Child of Chaos withdrew its sword, he bent low as though an invisible thread had pulled him down, allowing the Greatsword to sweep over his head. Then Fang Zheng surged forward again, and at that moment, the Skycleaver Sword in his hand erupted with brilliant, dazzling Holy Light!

"Slash!!"

Fang Zheng raised his right hand, sweeping the longsword upward in an arc and carving a shocking wound across the Child of Chaos's chest. The blow made the Child of Chaos stiffen, but before it could react, Fang Zheng brought down the blade he had raised high, knocking its body backward. Then he leaped into the air, spinning once along with his sword. The Skycleaver Sword traced a crescent moon through the air before descending from above and cleaving directly into the Child of Chaos!

Under Fang Zheng's three consecutive slashes, the Child of Chaos finally could not hold on. It flew backward like a stone launched from a catapult and crashed into the stone wall behind it with a thunderous boom.

Dust scattered everywhere.

Fang Zheng lowered his sword and let out a long breath.

Behind him, Stone and Malte were practically staring their eyes out.