"Clang!" A sharp, resonant metallic clash rang out—but it wasn't Todd and the others' weapons blocking Natasha's "Thunder" longsword as she slashed toward Verdi. It was the sound of Wayne's two-handed greatsword cleaving downward from above, striking full force against Todd's iron-hardened body after Todd had abandoned his attack.
But even though the greatsword was heading straight for his head, Todd merely shifted slightly. He didn't retreat, didn't withdraw the countless steel spikes he'd launched or the longsword slashing toward Natasha. Instead, he used his own body as a shield, preventing Wayne's greatsword from intercepting him.
The transparent metal visor of his helmet was split clean through. A deep gash appeared across his rigid, silver-white metallic face, cleaving his nose and mouth in two. But what flowed from the wound was not blood—it was a silvery-white metallic liquid, laboriously working to repair the nightmarishly grotesque face.
Relying on his strength as a fifth-level Great Knight and the resilience of his iron transformation, Todd withstood the full force of Wayne's greatsword. Though under the impact his blood-glow longsword didn't cut Natasha's neck as intended, it still slammed heavily into her back.
The already severely fractured milky-white Blood Dragon Armor was powerless to block such an attack. A horrifying wound opened on Natasha's back, silvery-gray blood gushing forth—her spine and internal organs were faintly visible.
Natasha clenched her teeth tightly, not letting out even a whimper of pain. Instead, she used the force of the blow and the injury itself to drive her "Thunder" longsword faster and harder.
After severing Sylvia, the silver-white electric serpents wreathing "Thunder" blazed even more brilliantly. With a sharp crack, a thick bolt of lightning split the sky and slammed into Verdi.
This extraordinary longsword had a chance of summoning genuine lightning upon striking its target.
The damaged deep-purple armor quickly charred black. Verdi, who had just managed to recover from paralysis with the help of Sylvia and the accompanying knights, was once again plunged into a desperate state—hair standing on end, limbs sluggish.
Watching the descending longsword, Verdi's eyes seemed to blaze with endless fury. Even facing certain doom, he refused to surrender his will to fight. Rallying whatever small fraction of power he could control, his right hand broke through the sluggishness and paralysis and seized the hilt of "Thunder."
Countless dancing arcs of electricity erupted. Verdi's right hand, along with his entire forearm, was sheared clean off—but it bought him precious time. The transparent Shield of Truth rapidly solidified at his throat, and his feet, which had recovered slightly, kicked hard against the ground.
"Thunder" struck the not-yet-fully-formed Shield of Truth. A phantom rift, as though it didn't belong to this world, appeared for a brief instant. After the slightest hesitation, the Sword of Truth shattered the Shield of Truth as though it were an ordinary shield, then swept across Verdi's neck as he slid backward.
His neck split open rapidly, bright red blood gushing out like a fountain.
Unfortunately, Verdi's backward movement prevented Natasha's longsword from landing a complete blow. Though more than half his neck had been severed and his cervical spine bore a deep wound—wobbling as if it might snap at any moment—the formidable life force of a Great Knight kept him from dying immediately. Instead, he lapsed into unconsciousness.
It was his knight's will that had saved his life at the critical moment.
Natasha was about to wheel her dragon-scale horse around to send the half-dead Verdi straight to hell, but the other Great Knights from various directions had abandoned the encirclement and rushed to Verdi's side, shielding him.
After a brief assessment of the situation and how long she could sustain the power surging from her injuries, Natasha felt a twinge of regret but didn't let greed get the better of her. She galloped past Verdi and charged toward the Melzer Black Forest. This concerned not only her own honor and that of her family, but also the lives of the knights sworn to her—she couldn't afford to be reckless.
Wayne and Lucian, with the knights all frantically rushing to Verdi's rescue, encountered virtually no resistance and followed Natasha out of the encirclement. Yakasha also seized the moment, breaking off from his duel with a knight, feinting toward the unconscious Verdi, then spurring his wounded horse to catch up quickly. Only Daniel, caught in that last wave of attacks, had been completely surrounded by the enemy knights and had fallen from his wounds.
The four dragon-scale horses surged forward at tremendous speed. Under pursuit from Todd and the others, they quickly neared the edge of the black forest. At that moment, Natasha suddenly turned and hurled her three-meter-long black lance, "The Slayer," backward with all her might.
Under Natasha's full power, the tip of "The Slayer" once again traced eerie black convection lines through the air. The thunderous boom only came after the lance had already passed.
Before Todd could even register Natasha's movement, he instinctively threw himself off his dragon-scale horse and rolled onto the wasteland beside the path. "The Slayer" shot through the space where he had been and flew toward another fourth-level Great Knight in pursuit behind.
That fourth-level Great Knight didn't dodge like Todd. Instead, he raised his golden shield to block.
"The Slayer" struck his shield. In silence, a ghostly, terrifying crack appeared across it—not only splitting the shield in two, but rapidly spreading to his armor and his horse.
The black lance pierced clean through and clattered to the ground. The fourth-level Great Knight and his dragon-scale horse shattered into countless pieces like glass.
This was Natasha's final burst of power, achieved through "The Slayer"—the extraordinary weapon treasured by the Violet family—and the strength of her own bloodline.
Todd rose to his feet. All he could see was Natasha, Lucian, and the others vanishing into the black forest—and the knights behind him, frozen in shock.