The Burning Black Knights

Red Fang flapped its wings, and everyone's view instantly zoomed in on the Eagle Capital Dungeon.

He flapped his wings again, and the silent ancient city was instantly transformed. Evil flames raged within, and a group of large, pitch-black monsters wreaked havoc. These were the Burning Demon.

They look remarkably like demons in the traditional sense: a giant body like a gorilla, two or three meters tall, a goat's head and legs with bent joints, as well as bat wings and a thin, black tail of unknown origin.

Flames burned on their bodies, and their true form could only be seen occasionally; most of the time, they looked more fiery than fire elements themselves.

According to Chi Ya's explanation, Eagle Capital Dungeon is divided into two parts: above ground and underground. The Burning Demon above ground are a minority, while those underground are the majority.

Although Gong Qiying always felt it was a bit strange to discuss the difference between the surface and the underground in the dungeon.

This battle is quite simple: Red Fang will send out a monster called Flame Dragon to continuously absorb the flames of the Burning Demon, Gong Qiying and his companions will be responsible for defeating the Ashen One (lol), summoning monsters at will.

Rainbow Horn raised a question: If the Flame Dragon can absorb flames, why did the Burning Demon burn half the continent in ancient times?

Red Fang's answer was:

"Times have changed. Monsters that we can deal with today might have been catastrophic in the past."

There were no Flame Dragon when the Burning Demon were rampaging.

The city lords were eager to get started and confidently selected Available Monster. Only Rainbow Horn pulled out a group of rainbow unicorns that looked similar to him. These cute unicorns had a completely different style.

The Slime Lord pulled out several giant Slime that shimmered with cosmic light, each one an absolute elite-level monster.

The city lord of Hawthorn Skewer City created a group of Bat Monster- like creatures wielding piercing spears and various other weapons. The different weapons and sizes suggested that each creature had its own class of soldiers, and they were also equipped with Water Element creatures to resist the flames.

The Coconut City Lord summoned rock creatures, the largest of which is as tall as the Attack on Titan, presumably because he valued the fact that rocks are not afraid of fire.

Looking at what Gong Qiying had summoned, Rainbow Horn silently said, "Is summoning just this little bit really enough?"

Gong Qiying looked at the ten Black Knight below and said:

"You might not believe it, but these ten combined are invincible. Even the leader wouldn't last a single round."

The Black Knight, all at the C+ level, include those wielding shields and swords, those carrying the Black Knight Halberd (also known as the "Guan Dao"), and those wielding large axes.

Coupled with their imposing black armor and the god race's signature tall and robust physique, an aura of ruthlessness and taciturnity immediately emerged.

Rainbow Horn swallowed hard. He sensed an incredibly powerful aura emanating from these Black Knights; their posture alone revealed their terrifying strength.

But

"The Burning Demon has high temperatures, are you sure it's okay for you to bring out a bunch of tin cans?" Rainbow Horn asked.

No matter how you look at it, it would be difficult for the Black Knight, who is completely covered in armor, to survive the high temperature.

"No problem." He gave a reassuring smile.

How can you say that the Black Knight' armor is just a lump of iron? It should be said that it is a masterpiece made by a master forger. Even the Chaos Bed could only blacken them. How could the Burning Demon melt them?

However, compared to the bizarre Slime, elegant Bat Monster, and majestic rock creatures, these Black Knight seem a bit too plain.

If they added some colorful wing effects, it would probably suit the aesthetic tastes of these city lords.

"My Strong Acid Slime can melt his tin can in a second," said the Slime Lord.

No one else responded; it was best to just watch quietly at this point.

"Let's begin," Red Fang said, summoning dozens of dragon-like creatures with inflated mouths and necks, resembling balloons, which looked somewhat deformed.

The flames on the Burning Demon were continuously absorbed by them, and soon they were also burning, their expressions were ferocious and painful, and their life force was visibly draining away!

Meanwhile, Red Fang was expressionlessly creating new Flame Dragon, waiting for this batch to die before summoning new ones to take their place.

I thought the so-called Flame Dragon was immune to fire, but it turns out it just relied on its high fire resistance and strong suction to withstand it!

The five city lords' monsters were randomly placed in non-overlapping areas. The Burning Demon, already agitated by the stripping of their flames, became even more ferocious upon seeing strangers.

Having been confined inside the seal for so long, they immediately howled and pounced!

Putting aside the ever-burning flames, the flesh of each Burning Demon could be considered that of a minor elite. The long-term sealing has caused them to lose their minds, and their attacks have become chaotic and their ferocity has increased. It is hard to say whether this is a strengthening or a weakening for them.

The Slime lord sent out a green, slimy creature with extremely high defense and flexibility, but it was torn to shreds by sharp teeth and claws in a single encounter.

The Bat Monster's heavily armored soldiers also suffered a great loss at the first contact; their heavy shields were either torn apart or smashed, and their formation was thrown into chaos.

The rock-made creatures fared somewhat better, but even they were still at a disadvantage, with rock fragments flying everywhere when they fought.

Needless to say, the Rainbow Unicorn is just a cute character that can only keep running away, looking like a little rabbit thrown into Curse Frog Swarm.

"Tap tap tap"

A series of powerful footsteps approached, and a grand and majestic symphony suddenly resounded in the center of the arena, leaving all the city lords, including the Burning Demon, stunned.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow Horn stared at Gong Qiying in surprise.

At this moment, Gong Qiying took out the Sound Recording Stone and the amplifying stone, and blasted background music that he had gotten from some Soul-type BOSS on the battlefield. In short, it had a strong sense of destiny in the battle.

With the music playing, the real protagonists made their appearance.

The Black Knight, sword and shield in hand, broke through the thick smoke, and a Burning Demon spotted him, howling as it pounced on him!

The Black Knight moved, simply swinging his shield. This wasn't a parry; he simply used his physical strength to knock the opponent to the ground!

The pitch-black blade pierced straight into the Burning Demon's head. Amidst the demon's screams, the straight sword was twisted, producing a teeth-grinding sound, and the demon's flesh and blood spilled onto the ground!

More demons rushed to the scene, intending to kill the Black Knight, but reinforcements also arrived.

A black meteor flashed by, and the Black Knight Halberd cleaved the three demons in two from head to toe with a single strike, spraying blood into the sky!

The Black Knight, wielding a great axe, spun around and charged straight into the horde of demons, creating a whirlwind of blood and flesh!

This ten-man squad stormed into the battlefield, and while the battle scene wasn't exactly a free-for-all, it was certainly a spectacular display of skill.

Compared to others who haven't yet established themselves, this performance is truly outstanding.

Gong Qiying even recruited several flying magicians as aerial support, spending time charging up their magic-based bombs.

Chiya nodded in approval of his performance, clearly somewhat satisfied.

"No, that strong?" The Slime's body was shaking violently. He had seen a demon slam down on the Black Knight with great force, but the knight didn't even flinch!

Resilience is the reason to be king!

It's a classic plot point, but what's not classic is that the other Dungeon Lord quickly made corresponding adjustments.

A large number of Slime combined to form a twisted humanoid slime. Any liquid that came into contact with it would be instantly melted. The melting speed exceeded the regeneration speed of the Burning Demon. The demon desperately tore the humanoid slime apart, but the opponent used the scattered fragments to regenerate several identical monsters. With the help of strong acid and the speed of spawning, the Slime suddenly gained the upper hand.

The Bat Monster changed their strategy, making full use of their aerial advantage, blood magic, and various lethal weapons. With the command of the Hawthorn Skewer City Lord, they quickly reversed their defeat and were locked in a stalemate with the endless Burning Demon, engaging in a tug-of-war. He then summoned giant bats to break the stalemate.

The rock-formed creatures suddenly changed their physical form, becoming a mixture of mud and rock. Without a fixed shape, they would crawl into the bodies of the Burning Demon through various holes, bursting them alive. Fragments of flesh would also become part of the rock-formed creatures, making them grow larger and larger. As long as their core was not destroyed, they would not die.

The most contrasting one is the Rainbow Unicorn.

As is well known, unicorns prefer virgins and will go berserk if ridden by someone who is not a virgin. The Rainbow Unicorn amplifies this trait.

When a female Burning Demon mounted the Rainbow Unicorn, the unicorn's slender, pure white body instantly twisted and swelled to over ten meters in length. Its rainbow-colored mane transformed into jet-black flames, and it kicked several demons away, even uttering incoherent words:

"Get out of here, you promiscuous bastard!"

Looking at it this way, the Black Knight's fighting style is indeed quite simple; they can kill their enemies simply by constantly swinging their weapons—simple and brutal.

Chiya was increasingly satisfied with their performance. At this moment, two batches of Flame Dragon had already died, and the third batch seemed to be unable to hold on any longer, but he didn't feel sorry for them at all.

Gong Qiying was also somewhat moved. Among the city lords he had ever met, these four were definitely among the highest quality. Their monsters were powerful and their tactics were adaptable, making them a hundred times better than the likes of Jia Nage. Rainbow Horn he initially thought was a comedic character, turned out to be a surprisingly ruthless person.

This shows that Chiya has a really good eye and accurately selected a potential stock.

The other city lords advanced at an unprecedented pace, while the Black Knight stood out for his steady and composed approach.

If advancing smoothly, like a crushing vehicle, can be described as steady and methodical, then...

As the battle lines advanced, the city lords' monsters inevitably suffered casualties, including Gong Qiying. They expanded the battlefield, replenished their troops, and increased manpower, with everyone fighting very seriously.

The Black Knight and the Unicorn even teamed up, with the Greatsword riding on the Unicorn and wielding a greatsword, slashing around like a war angel.

Burning Demon continuously emerge from the underground cavern leading from the ancient city. The Slime Lord was the first to react, summoning a humanoid form of strong acid to block the entrance.

Chiya was very satisfied with his performance, which also boosted the teamwork between Gong Qiying and Rainbow Horn.

The battle on the surface lasted for half a day. After each city lord suffered some casualties, the battle line was finally pushed forward to the large hole leading underground.

The Black Knight riding a unicorn was the first to leap into the dungeon, scoring a point for Unicorn Dungeon and Zane Dungeon. The Slime lord was so angry that his body trembled, and he followed suit and jumped down.

The underground scene was even more chaotic, with the density of Burning Demon increasing several times over.

Red Fang's Flame Dragon also had to increase, and the rate of consumption was getting faster and faster.

To completely close the seal, all the Burning Demon that have escaped must be eliminated, which means that only battle remains!

Amidst the fighting and killing, everyone was rapidly building up their forces. The number of Slime exceeded one hundred, the number of Bat Monster surpassed one thousand, the size of the rock creatures grew larger and larger, and the number of Black Knight increased by ten.

While everyone else was being overwhelmed by the swarming Burning Demon and forced to replenish their forces, Gong Qiying simply glanced at where the battle damage had occurred, then tapped on the Available Monster to replenish one or two more, and the Black Knight continued their steady advance.

No matter how chaotic or frenzied the Burning Demon's offensive was, Gong Qiying's team remained as steadfast as a pillar of strength.

As time went on, the other city lords began to notice something was wrong.

This is your progression speed when there are few Burning Demon, and it's the same when there are many.

Are you just pretending to be weak to actually do something big?! Get back to your full strength!

Then Gong Qiying spawned a wave of minions, and then... he got the most kills, rising to the top in kill rate.

Everyone else was stunned, and the Slime was so agitated that it became deformed.

But at that very moment, an unexpected situation suddenly arose on Red Fang's side!

The number of Burning Demon surged, but his Flame Dragon couldn't absorb them fast enough. Before he could summon more Flame Dragon to join the battle, the remaining Flame Dragon that were in use exploded!

The flames returned to the Burning Demon once more!

A raging fire burned, billowing smoke filled the air, and demons howled amidst the flames.

A Bat Monster pounced, cautiously thrusting its weapon at the Burning Demon, but flames immediately coiled around it like snakes!

The next second, it turned into a lit torch and crashed into the army of Bat Monster with a wail!

This smash had serious consequences.

Hundreds and thousands of Bat Monsters were set ablaze in an instant, the raging flames accompanied by shrill screams, a spectacular scene rarely seen in human life.

Even if the summoned Water Element tried to remedy the situation, it was to no avail; no water could extinguish it.

"This, how could this be!" Hawthorn Skewer was shocked; his entire army had been wiped out in an instant!

The flames of the Burning Demon were too evil; they were not ordinary fire at all. They clung to the body like maggots, refusing to leave no matter what.

Its burning speed is also extremely fast; even the most robust Bat Monster cannot survive in the flames for more than five seconds!

The same applies to Slime, unicorns, and rock creatures.

Under the terrifyingly high temperatures, even the core of the rock-built object melted!

The battle, which had been going smoothly just moments before, instantly turned into a crushing defeat, and almost all the city lords had the same thought:

You think you can beat me with seventeen cards?!

The Burning Demon is showing signs of weakness, the Burning Demon is in defeat, and the Burning Demon has won a great victory!

As expected of an ancient calamity, the danger level has increased exponentially after regaining the power of fire!

Just as the demons were shouting, heavy footsteps echoed through the fire.

"Gah—"

The demon, whose neck had been snapped by hand and whose body was still engulfed in flames, was thrown over.

What?! You snapped the neck of Burning Demon with your bare hands? Isn't that just courting death?!

In the next instant, the Burning Demon witnessed a scene they would never forget, perhaps the last time they would ever see it.

Amidst the raging flames that seemed capable of destroying the world, a series of pitch-black figures suddenly appeared!

Their black armor was covered with twisted flames, every hole spewing out angry fire, making their bodies appear even more majestic in the firelight!

The Black Knight move freely in the fire!

The pain of being burned alive made them feel as if they had returned to the time when they followed Gwyn to link the fire, and after they were burned to ashes, they became ashes wandering the world.

If they can even endure the flames of the Burning Demon, there's no reason they should be defeated by the flames of the Burning Demon!

Engulfed in flames, the knight draws his sword and charges into the horde of demons!

The Burning Demon's wails are heard once again!

The Slime's body was taut and round, glancing between Gong Qiying and the Black Knight, almost as if he was about to swear to express his feelings.

"Why wouldn't they be burned to death!?"

It was just ashes left after the fire was lit, so how could it be ignited?

But this doesn't mean the Black Knight are immune to harm; the flames will also scorch their bodies.

The moment Gong Qiying summoned them, he had already applied all the fire resistance buffs he knew to the Black Knight!

Even then, he wasn't sure if it was safe enough, so he also stuffed a Pokémon with the [Flame] ability into the armor of each Black Knight.

With that, how could the Black Knight possibly lose?

The city lords were stunned. Even Chiya was momentarily dazed before remembering to summon more Flame Dragon to attract the flames.

The flames were completely absorbed, and the city lords were finally able to send out monsters again, but they were dumbfounded to discover—

The battlefield has been ravaged by the Black Knight, and less than one in ten Burning Demons are still alive!

"He's already finished, so what are we supposed to do?" Hawthorn Skewer asked blankly.

The coconut rolled over and said dejectedly, "Shoot the air."

But this confusion didn't last long, as a heavyweight character from the Burning Demon appeared: a demon Warrior captain.

Its enormous size, spiked body, and powerful aura all proclaim that this is the final boss.

Red Fang went even further, saying that whoever defeated the Demon Warrior Captain would earn him a huge bonus.

What are we waiting for? Let's start fighting!

The demon Warrior captain's combat prowess was no joke. The corrosive effect of the humanoid slime was much less effective against him, the blood magic of the Bat Monster could not attract life forms of higher rank, and the massive rock creature could contend with him, but it was impossible to determine a winner.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the damage they could inflict had decreased. The demon Warrior captain launched a frenzied offensive, but they resisted steadfastly.

Until Red Fang gave a hint.

"Find the black spear nearby and use it to pierce the demon Warrior captain's heart to kill him completely."

If this drags on any longer, countless of his Flame Dragon will die. No matter how wealthy and powerful he is, he'll feel the pain of losing them.

Black spear?

The group immediately split up to search the entire underground area, and eventually found it, but...

It broke; the black spear broke.

"Useless, it's broken, ineffective." The demon Warrior captain actually spoke at this moment, he still had his rationality!

The broken spear was much less powerful, and he, who could have easily pierced the demon Warrior's long body, now needed to catch the strength of others.

But the demon's body is covered with a hard shell; who can break it?

A cunning smile appeared on his face, and his size increased several times over. The Bat Monster blocking his way was sent flying and crashed next to the black spear.

Gong Qiying looked at the Bat Monster, then at the black spear, a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, with a try-it-out mentality, he directed the Black Knight to pick up the spear.

What is he trying to do? The spear is no longer usable.

Just then, a total of twenty Black Knight surrounded the demon Warrior captain.

"Heh, dying, struggling."

The demon dismissed it with disdain, but he forgot one detail.

The armor of these Black Knight is covered with scars left by demons. What does this mean? Are they weak?

No, this means they played the entire game and haven't left the court yet!

Amidst the mocking laughter of the demon Warrior captain, the Black Knight swarmed forward. At this moment, no tactics were needed; all that was required was to unleash their power completely!

The demon Warrior captain was laughing loudly, then stopped laughing and looked puzzled, and then looked horrified.

"Your power? How could it be!"

The Black Knight Halberd slashed across his legs, and the demon Warrior captain crashed to the ground. The Black Knight used his weapon to smash through his entire armor.

The demon's super-fast regeneration is activated; it regenerates as soon as a piece is broken, appearing completely unharmed.

But he no longer had the power to resist the Black Knight, and at this moment he was just a living target that would automatically regenerate!

"You can't kill me, I live forever!"

"Stop! Don't do anything pointless, you can't kill me!"

"Help! Madmen! This bunch of madmen!"

"Please, kill me."

The demon Warrior captain let out a miserable cry, having endured an unknown amount of beating before finally giving up trying to think.

The armor protecting his heart unfolded automatically, and the Black Knight picked up his spear and easily pierced his heart!

Red Fang let out a Dragon Roar, his tone tinged with amusement, and shouted loudly:

"It's over!"