Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

A peculiar dark knight stepped on the almost empty street. Half his armor was a deep black, the other half was a pallid gray. Wolfram was followed by the group of 30 Golem Knights of all sizes and inspected the state of the place.

It had not gone unnoticed by the people of Sigma, that their protectors had diminished, prompting most of them to hide inside their allocated quarters. Curios eyes observed the knight, carrying a shield in one hand and a staff in the other, and the knight order behind him.

The menacing knight lifted a small orb to his helmet.

"Master, something seems to be out of order. I register a lot fewer guards in the vicinity than the information stated," the cold, deep voice rang through the street.

Wolfram had grown over the past weeks, while Seth was mostly busy making items, he had given the Angel Knight his trust and had him lead the golem knight. During their adventures in dungeons and explorations outside the district, the Golem's ego had grown quickly into a reliable subordinate.

This was why Seth felt comfortable sending the golem knights as replacements for the oathguards.

"What do you mean?" Seth's voice that came back had the voice of music and people in the background.

"As I said, the guards I can detect are less than half of what was supposed to be present. They are also not doing a very good job guarding, if I may add."

With less than half the guard present, those present did their best not to stand out. Although the attacks had lessened, they were all people who treasured their life. Even if something happened, the chances they would jump out to help seemed low. A groan could be heard from the communication orb.

"Oh well, you should have enough manpower to make up for it, right? Try to find out what happened, but don't abandon your post. Stay until members of the Oathguard arrive to take over."

Although it was a pain in the behind, Seth didn't really worry. The golems had grown even stronger with Wolfram at their helm, and their leader alone could make up for the part of the missing guards.

"Yes, Master"

Ending the call, the metal eyes wandered over the cityscape in front of him. There was really a lot to do.

"Elder, We lost contact with the scouts."

The elder just nodded to show that he had taken notice. As expected, it was a trap. It was a shame to have lost their scouts, but it also showed the inability of the natives. There had been no news or warning from them. He really couldn't understand why the Leader was insisting on working with them.

Maybe this was the straw that would break the camel's back and the Leader would finally take action. This world was stronger than they expected, as shown by their several setbacks. Their setbacks also showed that the natives were of less use than expected. Whether it was their strength, or their ability to gather information.

He could use this chance to return to the sect and try to persuade the leader. With the number of outer disciples already in place, with a few more External Elders and maybe some inner disciples, it wouldn't be a problem to... replace their "allies" completely.

They already had enough information to take foot in this place. If he did it right, maybe he could become a Branch Leader. With his talent, if he managed to monopolize the resources in this place, his chance to finally break through to Dao Severing.

"Kyaa!"

A figure came flying in from the entrance, shot straight past him, and shattered into a rain of gray crystals on the wall behind him. In a heartbeat, his Qi started rotating through the passages across his body and he madly absorbed the energy of the Fleshly Demon Formation.

It lost much of its efficacy because of this, but he had no time. It was a mere moment, but he had recognized the face of his messenger as he passed by his and was pulverized at the wall. The messengers were at the peak of Golden Core Formation, whatever could finish him off like that, he needed all the strength he could gather to face it.

The burns quickly receded from his body, leaving behind freshly healed skin. He spat out a mouthful of black rotten blood as he rose to his feed not a moment too late, to dodge a purple ray that moved in irregularly angled paths.

His judgment was right, although he was only healed on the surface, had he tried to preserver without exhausting the formation, the weird witchcraft may have hit him. With a wave of his hand, he closed the gates to the hall, to buy just a moment more.

The only answer was the ear-shattering boom as something easily broke down the gates. In the ensuing dust cloud, he could finally see the silhouette of the attacker. It looked like a knight, one of the natives wearing these primitive kinds of armor. In one hand he held a shield, in the other he held a scepter with a purple glowing tip.

"You and your compatriots have been judged to pose a danger to public order. Please surrender peacefully or you will be subdued with force," a cold, deep voice rang through the hall.

The elder didn't listen, he had already unsheathed his saber, his bright saber aura illuminated the room as he used the 7th Demon Blade Dance in a surprise attack on the intruder. He turned into a bloody ray and instantly appeared behind the knight, ready to slash him in two, from the shoulder to the hip.

Surprised, a heavy shock ran through his arm, as the saber art was inadvertently stopped by the shield of the knight, which had somehow reacted to his surprise attack.

"Criminal Scum. Delta has no use for you and your kind."

In a flash, the elder barely avoided the purple rays that suddenly flew from the tip of the scepter. Or so he thought, he felt a weird cold encroaching on his left arm. When he took the risk to look down, he found the fingers of his hand had already turned into a stiff grey metal, and the transformation slowly crept up his wrist.

Furiously circulating his Qi only slowed down the transformation. Decisively, his saber flashed and cut off his hand before turning back to the knight, who had just been standing there, watching him vigilantly.

"It's all over now, lawbreaker. Your spree is at an end. It's off to the lock up now!"

As he spoke, another purple ray shot at the cultivator.

"You are underestimating me too much, pig!"

The elder easily dodge and charged at the knight. He was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, how could he be done in by some primitive? He stopped trying to contain his injuries and put his all into circulation his 13 Demon Arts.

The saber blade, now glowing in a bloody light, shot toward the knight, leaving a deep gash in the shield, that had appeared in its way. He did not let it break his moves, and got ready to chain his next strikes to shower the pig in a rain of saber light.

Crimson lights flashing like a lightning storm filled the hall. Even other external elders had a problem breaking through his technique, once he started his flurry of blows. By the time his move came to an end, he was breathing heavily.

He should have been satisfied, but his face was gaunt, stricken by horror. None of his moves at done any damage. Some were blocked by the shield, some by the scepter, and others left deep gashes in the armor, but he never felt the cutting of flesh. His opponent, covered in gashes, had not lost even a drop of blood.

Just standing there and defending, eating up everything he threw at him. The purple glow of eyes behind the helmet, never losing trace of him, as if watching a child acting up, staring deep into his soul.

"Shit!" he cursed.

A hand was lost and his injury from his fight with the witch was flaring up again, his time was over. Even at his peak, he had not managed to leave a decisive blow. The elder came to the conclusion that he had to flee.

The second he circulated his qi and use the Blood Ray Escape Art, the knight suddenly vanished. He had not seen him appear behind him, but he saw the purple staff suddenly smashing into his rib cage.

Wasn't this his move?! In shock, he realized, that the knight had used the 7th Demon Blade Dance, even more, proficiently than himself. But it was just a fleeting thought, as the pain washed over him.

A purple fire covered the tip, as it barreled through his body like a bulldozer. His strengthened bones could barely resist the force. As he felt them turn to powder, and the pain of his left lung being squashed, he also felt that terrifying energy invading his body.

Was this how the messenger had died? His thoughts raced as time around him almost seemed to slow down. He had to get away, now. Before this witchcraft reached his dantian.

"Just you wait- This is not over!"

A huge explosion blew away the hall, as the elder detonated his Qi and fled with his nascent soul.