Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 138 - Silver Bane

When they arrived, everything was utter chaos.

"Looks like they evacuated the citizens at least." Medrauta said as she rapidly surveyed her surroundings. She and Viviane had finally taken a break the previous night, lodging at a nearby town before finishing the last stretch of their journey. Of course, Viviane had rejected the idea vehemently, but Medrauta's dogged insistence and the prospect of fighting while exhausted managed to win her out.

Viviane nodded, a grim expression on her face as she watched soldiers struggling to hold the desperate line of defense they had established. As luck would have it, the pair had arrived at a moment of great pandemonium where their presence hadn't even been noticed. Worse yet, they had arrived too late.

The duchy's border walls had already fallen. Massive chunks of steel and stone were strewn all across the battlefield that used to be a peaceful town, their source traced back to the holes that now gaped through the walls. The massive border gate itself had been torn off its hinges, its metal corpse resting on the ground, as if regretfully mourning the failure of its one and only duty.

Foul beasts of black-red coloration swarmed the makeshift barricades constructed by the desperate soldiers and their officers, their ravenous shrieks striking terror into the hearts of those subjected to the ear-splitting sound. Yet, the soldiers continued to fight, casting their fear aside and replacing it with undying courage earned from their stalwart desire to protect their homes and those they loved.

Medrauta grimaced as she watched one of the beasts tear through a hastily constructed palisade. When even steel and stone failed to stop the witchspawn onslaught, wood had no chance of impeding them at all. In one quick motion, she drew her blade and turned to Viviane.

"I think it's time we jumped in. We've assessed the situation for long enough." Medrauta said.

Viviane nodded in agreement, unslinging her bow from her back and nocking an arrow to the string. "I'll cover you."

Medrauta leapt from her mount, darting forward with lightning speed even as Viviane bestowed her Crest upon the silver-haired knight. Normally, Medrauta would have preferred charging into the fray on horseback, but in such close quarters where men and beasts were already packed together so tightly, the large warhorse would be more of a detriment than anything else.

Glowing silver armor manifested around Medrauta's body as her sword flashed forward, deflecting a witchspawned beast's claw just before it could rend one of the soldiers from head to toe. With a roar, she swept the beast's limb aside, thrusting her sword forward and burying her blade to the hilt. The beast released a horrifying shriek as it died, thrashing against the ground for a few moments before going limp.

The soldiers around Medrauta stared at the knight with a mixture of awe, surprise, and relief, but such emotions were short-lived. Not only were more witchspawn pouring through the hole in the palisades, but they were still wary of the creature Medrauta had slain. Tentatively, the silver-haired knight removed her blade from the beast's corpse, watching to see if it would regenerate just as they did when they were struck by the soldiers' weapons.

"H-Huh...?" One of the soldiers stared at the beast's corpse in surprise even as it slowly began to dissolve into a puddle of black-red sludge. "It's not healing...!"

"It's not healing! It's not healing!" Another soldier cried, his voice laced with relief.

Medrauta thrust her blade in the air, taking advantage of the soldier's rise in morale to rally them as Viviane provided supporting fire, her arrows streaking through the air rapidly and piercing through her targets without fail. Seeing as the beasts she shot remained slain, it would be safe to assume that whatever power the Lake granted Viviane extended to her own attacks as well.