When Knight awoke that day, he immediately took up his sword. He could feel the change in the air and immediately knew that something was about to happen.
He summoned a sword twice his height and set it ablaze with ghoulish green fire. He stepped out of his cabin when the sun had yet to come out. He continued walking until he reached a desolate clearing on the fringes of his claimed territory. The grass that used to glow with evergreen illustriousness was nowhere.
For a kilometer, trees were dead, scorched marks on the ground, charcoals, skulls, and bones of the dead strewn across the clearing. The place reeked of death, and aptly so, for this was the place where Knight took the lives of more than 396 hopefuls over the years.
He doesn't usually go there when he feels the presence of an opponent, but even though Knight felt no one approach, he chose to step out nevertheless. He arrived with a sword in hand and stabbed it beside him; for no reason, he waited for minutes that reached hours.
He did not know who he was waiting for, but he did not leave until finally, a Female Knight walked towards the clearing with the sunrise behind her.
[Lv. 576]
On her right hand was a sword that was twice her height, her face was covered with a winged tip helmet, and she was hugged tightly by her armor.
"So, you are the one whose killing intent I sensed even from outside the mountain." Knight picked up the sword and held it in front of him, "Announce your nam-"
Clang!
The echo of swords meeting and clashing echoed. Yulia did not wait. Her eyes were already red with seething rage. Her sword glowed with a beautiful golden runic glow, and she wanted nothing more than to hack and kill the Death Knight who took everything away from her.
"A sneak attack? And you call yourself a Knight?" the Death Knight sneered.
"I'm going to kill you." such was Yulia's simple response. She jumped back and regained her stance. Yulia took a deep breath as she held the sword in front of her, "My name is Yulia Scorch, and in the name of Father you killed and the 100 lives of the citizens you killed, I will you!"
[Knight of the Sun Wing Lv. 100]
Yulia ran her fingers across the sword's body, activating the runes. A golden light exploded from her sword, manifesting a stream of aureate light wrapped around her arms, reaching her back and forming an ethereal wing, "Sword of the Winged Knight - Golden Fury."
[Exclusive Class Skill: Sword of the Winged Knight - Golden Fury]
The skill granted the Knight of the Sun Wing a boost in their physical capabilities compared to their mana and stamina, draining twice as fast. But, this restriction is circumvented when activated in an evil presence.
When activated after clashing with a creature like a Death Knight, the skill no longer drains the user's strength but grants them even more power and speed to eradicate all evil in the world. Calling it powerful would be an understatement.
The Death Knight did not just allow Yulia time to activate her skill because he was curious. No, while Yulia activated her skill, he too was preparing.
The lives claimed by Death Knights in combat remain in the same soil where their lifeblood last touched. Their souls would wander until they disappeared or the Death Knight's defeated. They would remain in the mortal plane until they were set free by either death or victory, empowering the very enemy they sought to vanquish.
The green blaze on his sword rose up, and the dead's souls wailed in despair. The very battlefield writhed and braced for what's to come.
[Activate Field: The Land of Claimed Souls]
[Death Knight Lv. 551] -> [Death Knight Lv. 601]
Land of Claimed Souls was a skill that's exclusive to Death Knights. When activated, the Death Knight's level in the vicinity temporarily increases by 50. However, this skill had a unique function. When used in the presence of a Holy or Divine Knight, they receive another level boost, [Death Knight Lv. 651]
Good and Evil, Holy and Unholy, counter each other perfectly. No one stands above the other, and if the former receives a buff, the latter does as well.
The Death Knight and Yulia looked each other in the eyes. They took their stances, Yulia holding the sword beside her and the Death Knight holding his sword with his right hand. One of them was fighting to avenge their loved ones, and the other was just fighting for survival.
A gust of wind blew in front of them. Silence befell, and then-
Fwu!
They moved simultaneously, meeting in the middle of the clearing with their swords.
BOOM!
The clash of their spirits and power uprooted the ground!
It began with a simple slash, and with that first engagement, the both of them understood that the Death Knight had an advantage in strength. But, Yulia did not back down; using momentum, she gapped the considerable distance between them.
The two clash swords tens to hundreds of times without stopping. Every conceivable angle was taken up, middle, down, left, right, and right. Yulia flew around the Death Knight to strike any possible opening, but the Death Knight planted his feet on the ground and parried every single strike.
From an explosive exchange to a drawn-out pace, their fight devolved.
[Wraith Claws] The Death Knight sent out wraiths to distract her, but Yulia responded with a wall of golden light surrounding her.
[Holy Sun Armor] her armor was also magical and defended her against weak projectiles and spells. In response to the Death Knight poking her was a single massive slash with holy and fire attributes behind them.
The Death Knight responded with a massive cleave.
It was clear that the fight was about to turn into a drawn-out battle.
In such a fight, it was clear who had the advantage.
Yulia was human, and the Death Knight was undead; it was clear who had the advantage. The latter did not feel pain or fatigue while the former had to breathe.
And at the one-hour mark of their fight, when the earth was scarred and uprooted, the balance was suddenly tipped, and the one who took the advantage in their long stalemate was Yulia.
Without rest, Yulia swung her sword again, and again, and again until she finally controlled the fight's tempo and gained the upper hand. She had swung hundreds of times more than the Death Knight, who didn't tire, but Yulia did not slow down.
She moved forward, and the Death Knight retreated.
Strength? It didn't matter to Yulia. Since she was young, she had always lacked power, but she found a way to circumvent this flaw, 'If I'm weaker than my opponent, then I'll just overwhelm them with speed and technique.'
The Death Knight was being pushed back, and from time to time, he would feel his armor nicked by her sword. The glowing sword was sharp, especially against an unholy being like him, 'This can't go on!'
He thought to himself. However, he could not block Yulia's sword. He was trapped, but instead of running away, he chose to plant his feet deep into the earth and stabbed the ground with his sword.
Yulia leaned forward, and the Death Knight swung his sword horizontally.
Fwu
The wind roared, and just as he was about to claim her head, Yulia flapped her ethereal wings, and she jumped away from the Death Knight's range.
'I'll gain distance from the both of us and regain my postu-ACK!' Yulia yelped as her leg got caught by the Death Knight and was slammed to the ground multiple times.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
She was ragdolled without mercy. Her back was planted on the ground, and both her feet were pinned by the Death Knight. At this moment, Yulia saw a sword coming down upon her like an executioner's ax.
'If I block with my sword, the force would lead me to give me the final blow.'
She could not block nor run; thus, she swung her sword. And the sword that arrived first at their intended target was the Death Knight's!
The Death Knight arrived for her neck before hers could even approach his head, yet, at that very moment, Yulia smiled.
CLANG!
An echo of steel was heard as another flash of golden light appeared on Yulia's neck. A necklace holding defensive magic stopped the Death Knight's sword from severing her neck, shocking the Death Knight.
At that very moment, when the Death Knight's sword failed to take her head, Yulia's sword reached the Death Knight.
Yulia whispered, with a grin on her face, "I win."
SLASH!
And she completed her swing.