Chapter 76. Where the Angel Shed Blood (2)
Hesabel intentionally led the holy knights into this challenging terrain to complicate the troll hunt, putting a spotlight on Isaac’s skills. She didn’t care about the knights’ obstacles.
Though escape crossed their minds, the risk of uncontrolled trolls causing future havoc led to the decision to confront them.
But the hoof prints were not part of the plan.
“Hesabel, what else lurks in that valley besides trolls?”
Despite being a minor detail, Isaac didn’t overlook it.
[Hmm, not certain. But I sense a potent curse.]
Isaac recalled the prophetic words of the red flesh’s messenger. There was likely a curse left behind by the banished celestial being, a threat he hadn’t truly faced until now.
‘Hesabel’s skills are lacking.’
While Isaac shared his senses with controlled entities through his ‘rate in the Wall’ ability, Hesabel’s control over trolls was rudimentary, akin to herding sheep. Her influence waned when the trolls got too riled up.
“Hey, Paladin?”
As Isaac kept investigating without stepping into the valley, a knight called out in confusion. Sensing urgency, Isaac pressed on.
“Hesabel, update me on any anomalies. Something’s off in this valley.”
[Acknowledged.]
Drawing his sword, Isaac ventured into the valley, the warm heat from the Key of Luadin enveloping him. Suppressing the sword’s heat, its glowing crimson dimmed to a dark blue.
While the sword’s heat was advantageous, Isaac didn’t want unnecessary attention on it.
Boom, bang! Echoes resounded from deeper in the valley. Despite facing holy knights, the continuous noise hinted that Hesabel was managing things well.
“Ah, this darn…”
Soon after, Isaac encountered a holy knight stuck in mud, muttering swears. The knight quickly composed himself at the sight of Isaac, a rare slip in behavior for a dignified holy knight, indicating his frustration.
“Trolls in the woods are a pain, huh?”
Isaac extended his hand to help the knight out of the mud, the knight accepting with muttered apologies.
“These sneaky critters! Just hurling stones and logs down the valley, getting me all fired up… Wish I had packed a bow.”
“Hey, isn’t there another righteous knight with you?”
“Nah, he went ahead to hunt them down.”
Even for a Code of Light holy knight, dealing with a bunch of trolls in the woods could be a real challenge, showing either too much confidence or plain recklessness.
Isaac and the knight kept venturing further into the valley.
Eventually, they stumbled upon something odd. Troll body parts – arms, legs, and a head – neatly sliced off.
“Check out those scorch marks on the cuts.”
The knight inspected, showing the other holy knight was no pushover. Despite Hesabel’s cunning moves, the trolls were no match for a skilled opponent.
But the battle signs didn’t halt there.
Out of the blue, Hesabel sent a message.
“Isaac, multiple trolls disconnected all at once.”
Something bizarre was going on.
“Not the holy knight’s doing?”
“Nah, he’s not that skilled. And it’s not like they perished… It felt like they lost control.”
Isaac sensed the weirdness he felt earlier in the valley turning real. Things were definitely stirring up. The trees rustled around them.
Swoosh.
A warm breeze swept through, carrying a strong hint of blood. The nearby knight tensed, ready for action.
A palpable sense of danger filled the air.
Soon, the source of the bloody scent emerged. The valley stream was now tainted with red.
As they ascended, the blood trail thickened. It could be the knight’s blood, or worse, not just one person’s.
“Where does this valley lead?”
Trying to remember the lay of the land, Isaac recalled snippets about Hendrake’s domain. Mining was its main deal. After a good run, some mines were abandoned due to depleted resources.
Arriving at a big cave entrance, Isaac paused.
Red water flowed out, probably from the stream. The knight must have gone in. Checking the ores and mess around, Isaac guessed it linked to an abandoned mine.
“Do you think the trolls went in?”
The knight’s worried whisper got a silent nod. The troll disconnection was close. Isaac entered the cave, catching the thickening stench of blood.
Thud.
Someone was coming their way from deep inside. A bloodstained holy knight appeared.
His armor shimmered in the dim light. Without a word, he signaled them to follow. His armor clinked. The knight beside Isaac hurried ahead, but Isaac motioned to him to hold up. Instead, he raised his sword, letting the Key of Ruadhin glow.
A bright light filled the space, accompanied by intense heat.
“Oh, darn…”
The holy knight nearby was so ticked off, he let out a curse. Man, when that other holy knight’s helmet got squashed flat, it was like, is this guy really still kicking? Then, out of nowhere, the knight’s body spasmed like it was being controlled by something. Isaac noticed something grabbing at the knight’s neck and quickly shoved the other guy out of the way.
Bam! The dead holy knight vanished into the shadows, then got hurled out of the cave.
Boom! At the same time, the sound of hooves and a massive figure burst out of the cave.
A nasty stench of blood, a vibe that just screamed murder, and a chill that killed the springtime vibe took over.
In walks a knight decked out in blood-red armor, snarling like a wild animal.
“Finally stumbled into my territory, huh?”
The blood knight’s mouth stretched wide, showing off a bunch of gnarly fangs.
[Blood Knight (A)]
[Guardian of the Banquet Hall. Ended up in this realm thanks to some curse from the prophet of the red flesh. Constantly craving food due to that same curse.]
Isaac clocked the creature’s identity using his Eyes of Chaos.
‘Now that’s the real deal.’
The curse Isaac had been bragging about before, courtesy of the prophet of the red flesh, was definitely hanging around in this area.
A Blood Knight, protector of the ‘Banquet Hall,’ known as the ultimate party spot for the Red Chalice Club. These guys always yearned for the good stuff, stuff they could only see but not touch, and ended up indulging in the flesh and blood of intruders instead.
This wasn’t just any old monster.
But Isaac just smirked, seeing this as a golden opportunity. A surprise curse that could be nipped in the bud right here, right now.
Isaac figured out the creature’s ride.
‘A Phantom Steed?’
It was Owen’s Phantom Steed. Looks like it was snagged through some deal with the Immortal Order by the Prophet of Red Flesh, probably for some curse-related mojo.
The Blood Knight’s lower half was fused with the Phantom Steed, the horse’s bones caked in dried blood, making it look like a gruesome bodysuit. The Phantom Steed used to be legless, but now it sported six legs, maybe to suit the Blood Knight’s tastes.
Thuds filled the air as the Blood Knight charged at Isaac once more, hooves pounding fiercely. Its spiked whip sliced through the air toward Isaac. He dodged quick, feeling the same energy in the whip as the thorn vines conjured up by the Prophet of Red Flesh.
But instead of dodging, a paladin behind Isaac amped up his armor’s defense with some miracle juice. He figured his heavy-duty armor could handle the hit, planning to yank the Blood Knight down the moment the whip got ahold of him.
Turns out, the Blood Knight was way stronger than the paladin thought.
“Oof!”
With the whip snagged on the paladin’s arm, the Blood Knight zoomed past, dragging the poor guy across the rocky ground, arm all twisted up.
The armor’s magic started to fade fast from the shock. Isaac saw his opening, crouching down.
“Thanks to the Phantom Steed, huh?”
Even in the game, the Blood Knight was a tough cookie, usually dealing with a couple of paladin units at once, nothing too crazy. But here, the Blood Knight was tossing the paladin around like a ragdoll, then coming back for Isaac.
“I’m gonna chew you up!”
“Real original taunt there.”
The Blood Knight swung the paladin at Isaac like a club, but even Isaac, protected by miracles, couldn’t slice through a whole paladin. And honestly, he didn’t even want to.
With a loud crash, Isaac caught the paladin and activated some funky color magic. Dark ink-like darkness oozed from his armor, turning everything black.
As Isaac vanished into the darkness, the Blood Knight felt the weight of the whip vanish too. The paladin wasn’t dangling anymore, and darkness swallowed the Blood Knight whole.
“I’m starving, I’m gonna faint from hunger!” he wailed. “Give me some meat… your meat!”
The Blood Knight heard annoying hallucinations, but as a tough banquet guardian, he brushed them off.
“Evil spirits, scram!” he shouted.
The darkness got expelled from the Blood Knight with a thud. But Isaac had already made himself scarce.
***
Meanwhile, Isaac was chilling at the valley entrance where he had dragged the paladin. Delia and her crew showed up late and were shocked by the scene.
“Yo, Sir Paladin!”
Delia was surprised by the dark shadows and funky color magic around the Blood Knight.
“That’s the angel’s curse I saw earlier!”
Isaac unintentionally framed it well. He tossed the paladin to Delia, who caught him, though the paladin was in a rough state but alive.
“Take him and dip. We need backup from the bishop and the squad,” Isaac said.
“I can fight too…” Delia protested.
“Not this time. It’s too much for me even. Go get help!” Isaac urged.
Delia realized this wasn’t her jam, especially since her skills were for humans, not creepy monsters.
Delia and her posse bounced, leaving the Blood Knight watching them silently.
“Gonna chase them or face me?” he growled at Isaac, eyeing him up. He was summoned through a cursed prophecy, of course he would target Isaac.
Isaac met his gaze. He wasn’t lying about the challenge. The Blood Knight could easily outclass him in a sword fight.
Isaac sheathed his sword.
“What’s the play here?” the Blood Knight asked, not attacking the unarmed Isaac, unsure of his intentions.
“Just checking out a new move,” Isaac replied, reaching out his hand towards the Blood Knight.
