Aniya gritted her teeth and pulled her sword out with all her might. Liam turned his attention to her and saw her shivering before realizing that this is her first time facing up against the demons attacking her home despite her reputation.
But, she's not the only one. Most or maybe all of the soldiers who recently graduated from military school never faced up against the demons. Aniya had no problems when it comes to facing against the demons outside of the kingdom because she had nothing to worry about other than herself.
Liam is worried about his friends. Demons are just not normal beings or monsters outside of the walls. They're capable of facing up against angels in a one-on-one fight for who knows how many years. He turned his gaze at the siege weapons on the walls.
The arrows of the Ballista are made up of holy minerals while the rest of the siege weapons are useless. Magicians had to light up the ammunition of the catapults and the trebuchets, but it was going to be slow. The demons would target the magicians up on the walls or take out the holy gemstone in their staff. It's the weak point for the catapults and trebuchets.
"Aniya," Liam called her name as he put his hand on her shoulder. Aniya flinched when he touched her shoulder before slowly gazing at him.
"L-Liam?"
"You need to go and fight at the frontlines."
"But-"
"No buts! You are a knight. It's your job to defend the weak and fight on behalf of the people of the kingdom. Be brave, Aniya. Come on, remember the Code of Chivalry..."
Aniya widened her eyes and stopped shivering, making Liam smile.
"Respect and defend the weak."
"Love your country."
"Always and everywhere be right and good against evil and injustice."
"Every true knight fights for human dignity at all times."
"Do not fear your enemy."
"Show no mercy and do not hesitate to make war with the infidel!" They both said simultaneously with a huge smile.
"Now, go out there and get your hands dirty." Aniya nodded her head and rushed towards the front gate at full speed. Liam widened his smile before running towards the castle to get to safety.
"Liam!" Liam stopped running and turned around to see Aniya waving her hand at him. "Thank you, Liam!"
He smiled again and waved her back until he continues making his way to his destination. He hopes his parents made it to the castle safely. He can see the elite forces guarding the castle's front gate with civilians rushing through.
He looked through the crowds in the distance, trying to find his parents within the crowd desperately.
He was worried that they were not gonna make it in time, sweating bullets, and started to hyperventilate.
"Mom...Dad...where are you?"
He scans the huge crowd again and again until he saw them by the gates. Liam stopped running and fell onto his knees, sighing in relief and taking his time to catch his breath. He was glad that his parents are getting close to safety.
"Oi kid, don't just sit there or else you're gonna get yourself killed" a man shouted as he ran past him. He was right, and Liam didn't waste any time before running toward the castle as fast as he could.
While he was running with the crowds and heading towards the castle, a red glowing circle appeared right in front of them. Then, a flesh-looking Greatsword stabbed a man in front of the group from the circle, revealing a two-horned red demon, following with a squad of them.
Everyone screamed and turned in the opposite direction, tumbling some people over as they ran away in fear. Liam was being pushed around as he struggled to look behind him and see where are they running to.
He hoped that they are running to find a different direction that takes them to the castle instead of heading to the front walls. Liam couldn't see a thing as he was getting swayed by the crowds.
He looked at the demons who were slaughtering civilians left and right as they were catching up to them. Liam used the momentum from the crowd and time it right to bust through the horde before running to his shop.
Liam busted through the door and grabbed a longsword and a short sword nearby. He rushed back outside and saw the crowd slowly dispersing, revealing the people on the ground who got run over.
One of the demons started approaching a small boy on the ground as he tried to crawl away from it as fast as he could. The demon grabbed his arm and smiled wickedly, stroking his fleshy short sword on his face.
"H-Help...HELP!" The demon started cackling, savoring the pleasure it received from the little boy.
Liam glared at the demon before chucking the longsword at it and charging. The sword only hits the demon on the head with the hilt instead of the blade, but Liam didn't even care. At least, it takes away the attention from the child.
Liam leaped and went for a stab to the head with his right. The demon barely dodged it and began locking its weapon on the cross-guard of his sword. Liam didn't even think twice and instinctively elbows him, stunning him during the process.
He then decapitate the demon in a quick slash from below while the demon was falling and then evaporated due to the blade made out of holy minerals. He quickly turned his attention to the other demons where one of them with four horns coming from his temples was already up to his face. Liam stepped to the side and went for a counterattack to his back.
The demon blocked his attack from behind without even looking at him and smiled. He easily overpower him, and Liam leaped back, remaining in his long-point guard stance. He can't fight them with raw strength or skills. He didn't have much experience in a real battle, so he had to do something to win this fight, or else he's done for good.
Liam remember his sparring from earlier and decided to try those techniques out on them since they affected the demon he killed. Demons are a lot physically stronger than he thought when he first strike the one on the back or maybe he's just weak.
Liam gripped his sword tighter and wait for them to come toward him. It's too risky for him to charge at one of them, and the other will strike him behind his back.
The demon who attacked him before rushed toward him, and Liam stood his ground, glaring him in his eyes. Liam almost tore his quads when he barely dodged his attack from above. Liam gritted his teeth and prepare for a slash to his head. The demon smiled, waiting for his attack as he stared at his sword until his attention was ripped away from Liam.
Liam threw a left hook to his face and didn't hesitate to follow up with a left roundhouse to the body. It didn't hurt him physically, but it did hurt his pride because he was caught off guard by his filthy hand. The demon roared and swing his weapon wildly.
Liam stepped back again and slice his legs during the process. The demon growled as he kneeled with blood coming out from his wounds. Good thing the blade is made out of holy minerals. For a normal material for blades like kitchen knives, the tools will be broken immediately. When it comes to holy minerals, it restrains their regeneration, almost as if they just receive like a normal wound.
He rushed back toward his opponent without hesitation, preparing to strike him down off guard until the other demon who cast teleportation earlier interfere with him by sending a ball of blood at him. Liam avoided it and continue making the distance between himself and the enemies. He turned his attention to the demonic magician before he was struck in the stomach by his staff.
Liam puked out blood and went flying straight into his armory shop.
"ARGHH!" Liam roared as the adrenaline rush kicks in. He grabbed a knife nearby and throw it at them before jumping out of the window and running after the knife he had just thrown.
He leaped and prepare to strike them, oblivious to the pain all around his body. He attacked the one with the sword, followed by a left straight and hurting his pride again. Liam fell onto his knees and stab the demon into his stomach.
The demon widened his eyes and slowly looked down to see his blood pouring out until he slowly started withering into the air. Liam smiled, and then he was sent flying back to his shop again.
Liam screams out in pain, closing his eyes tightly. He slowly opened to find a Brandistock sticking out of his right shoulder and an arrow piercing through his left thigh. He turned his attention leisurely at the demon magician who was standing in front of the shop before raising his staff in the air.
"Unholy Smite!" Liam widened his eyes, realizing that demons don't do incantation. He felt the ground rumbling, and then a dark maroon pillar came towering down his shop. The ground around him started collapsing, and Liam screamed as he fell down the hole with the debris blocking the daylights.
His body was getting tossed around from the debris passing by and bouncing off the rocks before finally reaching the bottom.
Liam screamed out in pain from the arrow and the Brandistock ripping out of his body, creating gaping holes. He shivered madly and gritted his bloody teeth. He rolled onto his stomach with his left arm and began looking around with his blurry bloody vision. He wiped his blood off his face to get a better view of his surroundings despite his vision.
The only thing he saw was a small light ahead of him. He grinds his teeth and pushed himself toward that light. He uses his last resort of strength to get himself out of this darkness. He tried his best to hone his senses to ignore the pain and keep moving forward.
"I'm not giving up," he said, spitting blood and crawling closer to the light. Crawling as fast as he could to save his home.
"R-Respect...and defend the weak. L...Love your country. A-Always and...everywhere be r-right and good...against e-evil and injustice. Every t-true knight...fights for human dignity at all times!"
Liam cringed in pain and started to get angry that his body is starting to give up on him. Fighting against his will physically and mentally. His fingers started to turn red from trying to pierce the ground. His body was screaming in agony, but his mind kept on fighting back the cruel nature of the pain.
"D-Do...not fear...your enemy. Show...n-no mercy! A-And...do not hesitate!... To m-make war...with... the DEMONS AND DEVILS!!"
He reached out towards the light, feeling his eyelids getting heavy and his strength fading away from his body until his hand finally reach his destination.
Then, his senses came back within seconds, and the pain instantly disappeared from his body. A glowing yellow aura was swirling around his left arm and then traveled to his right. Healing his wounds with glowing yellow orbs coming out of his body.
Liam widened his eyes and looked at his left hand. He was touching the Core. He felt something taking over his body as the aura dig into his body, creating glowing yellow marks and began running through his body. Suddenly, he instinctively let out a war cry, following a yellow pillar of power awakening inside of him.
On the surface, the demons turned all their attention from the fallen building as the yellow pillar shot up to the sky. They squinted their eyes from how bright it was when all of a sudden, they saw a shadow figure in the pillar-like aura who had glowing marks running through his body.
"W-War paint..." The demon magician stated with enlarged eyes after realizing that the person he was fighting earlier...is a Champion.