A Pledge of Allegiance

Quiet!

When Nalant's longsword pierced Anthony's body, the field fell briefly silent. Only the blood continuously spilling from Anthony's mouth and his wheezing breaths, like a broken bellows, could be heard.

Besides being shocked that Nalant had actually attacked and killed Anthony, everyone was even more astonished that he had become a Title Knight.

"Protect milord!" A moment later, Quick and the others drew their longswords and came to Nalant's side, while Vivian aimed her longbow at Anthony's five guards.

Though those five guards would no longer be a match for Nalant even if they fought together, Quick and the others' reaction satisfied Nalant greatly. Even Vivian's performance was quite good.

Nalant waved a hand, signaling Quick and the others not to be nervous, before looking at the five guards. "I'll give you a choice now: die, or swear loyalty to me from this day onward!"

At such a critical moment, Nalant had no time to waste. He needed to settle this matter quickly.

"Milord, isn't this inappropriate? Anthony is a noble, after all. If we leave witnesses..." Quick immediately reminded him.

In this world, nobles could kill commoners and serfs, but they absolutely could not kill other nobles.

Killing a noble without cause was a grave crime. Even if a noble had committed a crime, only the Noble Council had the authority to judge them.

Now that Nalant had killed Anthony, if the Noble Council learned of it, he could lose his title at best or pay with his life at worst.

"Quick, I know!" Nalant motioned for Quick to stop speaking.

Naturally, he knew the consequences of killing a noble. But these were extraordinary times. Keeping these five guards would give them a better chance of dealing with the Dark Creatures tonight.

"W-we're willing to swear loyalty to you, Lord Nalant!" Anthony's five guards were already frightened senseless. Faced with Nalant's choice, they exchanged glances before kneeling without hesitation.

They had merely been sent by Aldin to protect Anthony. They had never sworn loyalty to Anthony, so his death did not make them resent Nalant.

Besides, under the current circumstances, if they dared say no, they would only become corpses.

"Very good. Now, each of you stab Anthony once. Then I'll accept your loyalty, and I'll find a way to bring your families over from Tulip City!"

"Thank you, milord!" The guards stood and looked toward Anthony, who lay on the ground barely clinging to life.

"N-Nalant, you're... dead for sure today. Even if you don't die... Aldin will... will avenge me..."

"Why aren't you doing it?"

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

At the urging, the guards gritted their teeth and stabbed Anthony at the same time.

"Urgh..." Anthony finally exhausted the last of his strength. His body went limp, and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

Only after Anthony stopped breathing did Nalant look away.

Originally, Nalant had not intended to kill him. The consequences were too unpredictable. But Anthony had brought this upon himself, so he had no one else to blame.

"Guards, heed my command!" Setting aside his thoughts, Nalant looked toward the Dark Creatures slowly closing in. Tonight's greatest crisis had yet to be resolved.

"Yes, milord!"

"Swordsmen to the front, Longbowmen to the rear! Everyone, advance!"

Following Nalant's command, the guards formed two columns and slowly headed down the gentle slope.

The five guards who had just sworn loyalty to Nalant also joined the formation, standing beside Quick and the others.

Soon, the guard squad reached the bottom of the slope, and the Dark Creatures had already surrounded them.

There should still be time! Nalant silently calculated the timing.

"Vivian! Archers, aim freely! Prepare for ten breaths!" As the Skeleton Soldiers with eerie green soul flames burning in their eye sockets approached, Nalant began issuing orders.

"Second squad, nock your arrows!" Vivian immediately relayed the command to the guards. The eleven Longbowmen drew their bows and waited.

"Fire!" When the first Skeleton Soldier came within thirty meters, Nalant gave the order.

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As bowstrings snapped, eleven arrows became streaks of black light and shot out at once.

Bang!

Vivian's arrow struck first. With her Deadly Strike talent, it instantly blew the struck Skeleton Soldier's head into powder.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Of the other Longbowmen, only one truly killed a Skeleton Soldier.

Of course, it wasn't that they had missed. On the contrary, every arrow had accurately struck a Skeleton Soldier.

But Skeleton Soldiers were Dark Creatures. Unless their heads were hit and their soul flames damaged, even losing arms and legs would not truly destroy them.

"Longbowmen, fire at will! Swordsmen, draw your swords!" The Longbowmen had already begun fighting, so the sword-wielding guards naturally could not just stand around. Nalant immediately ordered Quick and the others.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The guards drew the longswords at their waists and raised their small round shields before them, ready to charge at any moment.

"Follow me! Kill them! Prioritize the Skeleton Soldiers' archers!"

"For glory, kill!"

"For glory! Kill!"

The next moment, all sixteen swordsmen charged into the mass of skeletons under Nalant's lead.

Bang!

Clatter!

Nalant took the lead, rushing into the skeletons first. He swung the small round shield in his left hand and smashed it viciously into a Skeleton Soldier.

The Skeleton Soldier's skull shattered on impact, and its bones fell to the ground like a pile of loose parts, becoming scattered fragments.

"Milord is mighty! Kill!" Seeing Nalant lead from the front and easily dispose of a Skeleton Soldier, the guards, who had still held some fear, were greatly encouraged. They roared and crashed into the Skeleton Soldiers.

Don't think smashing a Skeleton Soldier's bones with a shield was easy. Strengthened by death energy, their bones were much harder than those of ordinary humans. Without enough explosive force, ordinary people could hardly achieve Nalant's strike.

Under normal circumstances, it took at least two well-trained guards to handle a single Skeleton Soldier!

This is the power of the extraordinary. If this were my past life, I could probably wear my underwear outside my pants now! Nalant thoroughly enjoyed the unprecedented strength Battle Qi had given him.

Roar!

"Ah, it's a Hellhound!"

Bang! Bang!

Just as Nalant was feeling pleased with himself, a thunderous roar suddenly came from his left, accompanied by two dull impacts.

"A Hellhound?" Nalant was startled and looked toward the sound.

The creature that had roared was one of tonight's most troublesome Dark Creatures: a Hellhound!

Dark Creatures were divided into different ranks.

Ranks one through three were low-level Dark Creatures. Skeleton Soldiers were the lowest rank-one creatures, while Hellhounds were rank two.

The two dull impacts had been caused by the Hellhound sending two guards flying.

The round shields in their hands had been smashed to pieces. Fortunately, protected by the shields, the two men were now shakily climbing back up.

"Everyone, fall back! I'll deal with this Hellhound!" Nalant shouted before swiftly charging toward the Hellhound.

The Hellhound had not yet fully recovered its mobility. Nalant had to kill it quickly, or once it recovered, it could fight an Initial Bronze Knight to a standstill.

Roar! The Hellhound was as large as a calf, its body covered in dark-red veins and looking utterly savage and terrifying. Seeing Nalant charge at it, it immediately bared its sharp fangs.