The group consisted of three men and two women. In the lead was a tall and handsome man who looked young, but Keiren had already figured out that physical appearance didn't mean much in the Cultivation World, much less actual age.
For example, his prisoner, Tadorian Castell, had admitted to already being 150 years old and yet he still looked like a young man around 20. In comparison, Keiren, who just happened to be that age, was nothing than a toddler. However, the one thing that actually mattered was how much power a cultivator wielded.
The tall and handsome man wore blue armor with engraved lightning symbols. Beside a magnificent sword on his side and the shield in his left hand, he had a long drill like lance in his right hand that was lowered in his attack motion.
On the right side of the leading knight was a short and stocky man who had pitch black hair, black eyes and wore black armor. In his hands he held a black spear and a red shield, while a greatsword was slung over his back. One could only see a diamond embedded into the pommel.
Behind the dark knight was a tall woman with long green hair and red eyes. In her hands was a bow with an arrow inserted. The arrow shone in a green and red light since she was obviously charging a powerful shot.
On the left side of the leading rider was the exact opposite of the black knight. A tall and magnificently handsome God-like man with a ginormous axe and golden armor. His blonde hair was accurately done and didn't even sway in the speed of their charge. A smirk accented his lips, and his golden eyes shone hypnotically.
Behind the man who seemed to be the living embodiment of the word handsome rode a short and meek looking woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She wielded a strange looking spear that appeared to be some unholy fusion between a sword, a spear and a water lily. It was a spear staff. Half staff to amplify spells, mounted with a short sword to be effective in a melee. She was mumbling incantations while charging at Keiren and his group at full speed.
The natives of this realm all stared at the charging knight squad in awe and admiration, before they realized that they were charging at them. Overcoming their fear, the two mages clapped each other's hands and started to chant a long and complex incarnation. The Archers readied their bows, while the two Knights turned Eternal Einherjar pushed their young master to the side and readied their own weapons. Suran and Keiren both summoned their weapons at the same time.
Woosch
The green haired woman with the bow released her arrow that charged at them in unprecedented speed. A tornado of fire was swirling around the arrow tip and it left a discernible green trail in the air.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Keiren's Archers had released a volley of arrows on their own. Five arrows shot in the direction of the charging squad, though in comparison to the one arrow, theirs seemed to crawl their way to their targets.
Before the Fire Tornado arrow could impale Keiren's chest an icy wall appeared between the arrow and him. The arrow smashed through the Ice-wall without much problem, only losing 50% of its might in the process. Behind the Ice-wall was a circular air current that grabbed the weakened arrow and directed it back to the one who had sent it out.
Before the arrows even became threatening to the five charging knights, a wave of mud erupted from the ground and swallowed all six arrows. After the Fire Tornado arrow hit the mud wave, it dissolved into a dirty rain that headed towards Keiren's group.
The dirty rain froze as soon as it touched the ground, effectively creating a stalemate between the ranged combatants, where no side could gain any advantage.
While the ranged battle continued, the three male knights covered the ground between the two groups unharmed. The Golden and the Black Knight clashed with the two Eternal Einherjar and started a heated battle that shook the ground. The two vs two duel also fell into a stalemate as both sides traded blows while coordinating offense and defense seamlessly.
The tall and handsome leader in blue armor ignored everyone around him and only looked at Keiren. His gaze was filled with killing intent and disgust as his lance targeted Keiren's head. The intention was clear, yet Keiren sat on top of Desastro, and was empowered by his Battle Spirit. Keiren slashed Tribulation forward and Thunderfire condensed on its blade.
Tribulation clashed with the lance which resulted in a shockwave that catapulted Keiren off his horse. Keiren sailed through the air for several meters before hitting the ground with a loud THUD. He rolled four meters on the ground before his body stopped moving.
After being dazed for a second, Keiren looked at the knight, only to see him in a wild sword fight with Suran. The lance that had catapulted him from his horse was on the ground, still cracking with lightning. If Suran hadn't intervened at the perfect moment Keiren would have died just now.
The blue knight clashed with Suran over and over again. Lightning cracked around them and sword lights crisscrossed in the air. While everyone fought, Keiren heaved himself back up, his body ached. After he stood up from the ground, he looked at Tadorian Castell who was watching the battle in shock. It was as if he couldn't understand nor believe his own eyes.
Shaking his head, Keiren murmured to himself: "Reinforcements would be awesome right about now, If only I still had my knights, angels, or at least another Valkyrie by my side."
Suddenly, Thunderclouds began to gather in the sky and the combatants started to increase the intensity of their attacks. The battle between Suran and the blue knight became a blur in the eyes of the others, which astonished everyone to the point that the squad of knights tried to disengage to support their leader.
This spelled their doom as it disrupted the seamless coordination of the golden and the black knight, which enabled the two Eternal Einherjar to overwhelm and capture them both. After the defeat of the male knights, the female knight stopped fighting to preserve the lives of their comrades, while the leader and Suran battled it out in the middle.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thunder roared, and 100 lightning bolts struck down on the battlefield simultaneously. 100 riders made of pure lightning sped from the points of impact, 25 surrounded Keiren in a protective formation, 25 surrounded every native on the battlefield while the other 50 surrounded the fight between the blue knight and Suran.
"THE ETERNAL KNIGHTS HEED YOUR SUMMON"
This phenomenon shocked the people on the battlefield. No one would have expected something like this to happen. It even forced the blue knight to disengage from Suran who retreated behind the rows of the fifty knights with heavy breathing and leaned on a horse in the 3rd row to catch her breath.
Fighting such a high intensity battle was hard work, while their skills were somewhat equal with the sword, the blue knight's vast amounts of experience was something she was unable to contend with on her own. She felt like she was fighting a slightly weaker version of the Eternal Einherjar.
The blue knight stood in the middle of the Eternal Knights, his breath slightly heavier than normal. He was impressed by the little girl that he just fought. She was able to keep up with him, that was astonishing in so many ways that it was worth praise. Then he looked around and inspected the group of lightning knights that had appeared around him, before his gaze shot over to the young man that was surrounded by a group of said Lightning knights.
At this moment, he realized that something wasn't right about this situation. A hint of doubt and clearance appeared in his eyes before it vanished again. Suddenly, he transformed into a lightning bolt that passed through the encirclement of knights in the fraction of an instant. His sword was just about to pierce Keiren's throat as a pair of delicate fingers grabbed it and suspended the weapon and its master in the air. The 6-winged Valkyrie locked eyes with the blue knight. It appeared as if she was gazing deep into the soul of her competitor.
"Such a poor lamb." The Valkyrie shook her head, her voice sounded sorrowful. "If you hadn't committed yourself to the wrong master, there would still be hope for you. Alas, you chose the dark side because of something so freckle as pride. You were lost, and the Demons you should have fought with all your might took control over your life. Now you are little more than a brainwashed puppet." The Valkyrie seemed to lament the poor fate of the blue knight until a voice asked from her back.
"Can he still be saved?"
Keiren's question irritated the Valkyrie a little bit. She had momentarily forgotten where she was. She turned around and looked at Keiren with a gaze that he couldn't discern.
Was it curiosity or… contempt?
"The man can be saved, but the question you should ask yourself is whether it is worth the price. Is it worth it to help a lost man regain his honor instead of abandoning him when he can still be saved from the depths of his own doom? Wouldn't it be better to kill him and let him struggle to regain it in his next life?"