"We will die." Lancelot claimed, "If all of you follow me to the battlefield then you would meet your end, I will not say things that reassure you or make you feel peace. I am saying the truth, and only the truth. "
He continued:
"That said, I will not force you. Only those that want to follow me would be given the opportunity to do so.. Otherwise, you are free to do anything you want."
The Knights looked at each other and were unsure of what to do. Perhaps they would rather live their last hours in company of their loved ones or maybe they would want to die in a battlefield, where they were most familiar with.
The uncertainty lasted for a couple of seconds and Lancelot awaited their answers.
Suddenly, a knight clad in steel armor with short black hair raised his hands.
"I.. want to go home. I'm sorry my lord, but I have to spend my last day with my kids."
"Acceptable, you may leave."
Seeing as a knight had the courage and freedom to leave, many more raised their hands which totaled around more than half of the knights inside.
Each and every one of them left the headquarters to tend to their respective homes and families.
By now, the headquarters was emptied and only a hundred or so knights had been left.
Most of them were Pathbearers, wielding the power of the Soul to fight.
"You foolish knights, you do realize that we are to head directly towards our end?"
Lancelot had a serious expression which caused the knights to be pressured to answer.
It was except for a knight with long messy black hair to speak up and raise his hands.
"I will follow you wherever you go, my lord.."
Lancelot recognized the man, it was the person that followed him ever since they were admitted to Knighthood.
It was his right hand man, an individual capable of manipulating the shadows.
"Cassius.."
The black-haired knight proclaimed his loyalty, kneeling towards Lancelot and said, "My life belongs to you, my lord."
He placed his hands on his left chest and bowed his head slightly down.
"Y-you.."
Several knights then proclaimed their perspectives about their situation.
"It's the same for us, Lord Lancelot.. We have nowhere else to go but the battlefield.."
"War is all we've ever lived for and strived for. Thus, war will be the one where we meet our end."
"We will follow you forever, Head Knight Lancelot!"
Everyone proclaimed their loyalties and kneeled towards Lancelot. They showed courtesy like Cassius, and bowed their heads deeply.
"Everyone..."
His hands reached for the handle of his rapier and unsheathed it, forming a shing! sound that echoed in the room
Lancelot raised his rapier in the air and stated:
"This will be our last battle together!" Lancelot stared at the kneeling knights in front of him, "We will die together on the battlefield! As Knights of Elrod, we shall serve this kingdom until the end, even if we are fighting for no one!"
"It may be selfish.. but we fight for ourselves! We fight to meet an inevitable end! And we fight to strive for an uncertain future!"
"My knights! Fight until you die! Do not stop charging until your legs are fractured! Do not stop swinging until your arms have been broken off! Do not stop fighting until you've killed every abomination in the vicinity!"
Lancelot stepped forward and leaned on the edge of the stage.
"With my name as Lancelot du lac, I shall be your guide and charge into the frontlines of the battlefield!"
"Follow me as we march towards death!"
A resounding majestic voice echoed and inspired the hearts of hundreds. They all stood up in unison, unsheathed their blades, and screamed!
"To our Kingdom! To Elrod!"
"To our Kingdom! To Elrod!"
"To our Kingdom! To Elrod!"
*
An hour had passed and Lancelot delegated the plans to his knights.
"If the bell doesn't ring for another hour or so, we shall then stand guard atop the walls. While that's happening, Cassius has to focus on the battlefield and move the knights one by one, keeping them out of danger."
"Overall, we have 3 healing-type Pathbearers, you all will stay at a remote place near the walls where it will be guarded by 5 Knights. All of you will be crucial in prolonging many casualties to occur."
"As such, our long-ranged attack-type Pathbearers are to stay atop the walls and clear out as many Faceless as possible. Utilize your wide range attacks to strike and prevent any of them to come closer."
"Finally.. close-ranged attack-type Pathbearers are to stay below the walls and kill anything that comes close to it."
Then, his tone became even more serious, reverberating the surroundings with its elegance.
"That is.. if everything goes well." He breathed deeply and continued, "If the bell were to ring and the Faceless rush towards the City. Then, Cassius would be rendered useless as he will perform a large-scale teleportation to every single one of us."
"We shall follow the plan after that, sticking to everyone's positions and areas. Although some of its elements have been tweaked, I believe that we can still pull it off."
The knights agreed with Lancelot, and felt the end of this plan to be bitter.
They were, inevitably, going to die after all..
Prolonging the battle for a couple hours would buy them nothing but time for the people to survive, but that too is fine.
As long as they fought until the end, it was enough in their eyes.
A part of them wanted to live longer and see the people prosper from their efforts, but it was useless.
In mere hours, all of them will die, leaving nothing but a remnant of a once prosperous civilization.
"Now, everyone, gear up.. It's going to be a long day."
The knights left the room and renewed their weapons, armors, and everything that could help them.
Although some of them didn't wear any armor due to the uniqueness of their Path and a couple of Lost Souls, some still did in order to serve as another layer of protection.
Still, Lost Souls were very rare to the point that not that many knights had them. Only 3 or 4 knights had Lost Souls which included Lancelot.
In fact, his rapier is a Lost Soul of a Beyond.
It's unique features consisted of three skills that were already shown in battle.
One is a Passive Skill which dealt with the rapier's incredible sharpness. It can cut through anything as long as Lancelot had the power to do so, he could even cut steel like it was butter, taking no effort at all!
Then, the last two are both active skills. One radiated a pulsating light while also capable of absorbing it at once. Thus, the result of this is the rapier being lit in a dim light.
It was unique, but the effects did not help that much in battle, only serving as a guiding light or a void of darkness amidst the battlefield.
Could it be helpful in battling the Faceless? Maybe not.
But is it helpful in facing another intellectual individual? Very much so.
As for the last skill, it is by far the most important out of all, or rather.. the strongest and the most defining skill of his rapier.
The skill named thousand cuts turns Lancelot basic and proper slash into a multitude of strikes.
It was seen better in his multiple pierces against various Faceless where a sudden countless amounts of gaping holes were located in their body in a mere instant.
Not only that, but this also enforces his own speed even more.
As a Pathbearer that moves in a speed of sound, Lancelot strike's could do even more than just a thousand cuts.
He could do at least 10x more!
That said, the preparations of the knights finished and all of them stood in the room with their newly-suited gear.
Seeing as the bell had not rung yet, Lancelot determined to accomplish the first plan that they've conjured.
"This is our final battle." He spoke softly, "Everyone, fight and surpass your limitations."
"Let us march on."
Lancelot walked through the hundreds of knights in front of him, all of them forming a line for him to walk through.
It was as if he was splitting the sea itself and walking through it.
In a second, Lancelot reached the door that led outside, he turned back towards his knights.
With his right hand man beside him, he whispered:
"Let's go.."
He opened the wide and big doors, revealing a shining light that reflected through the room.
It was blinding, or rather... too blinding.
"What-"
Suddenly! A decapitated head flew towards Lancelot, staining his armor crimson red with its blood.
Even someone as fast as him did not have any time to react due to the sudden situation.
He stared at the head and his eyes widened at the dripping blood coming down from it.
"T-this!"
The sun scorched the pavement, roofs, houses and many more, blinding everyone inside even though they were already covered by the headquarters.
In fact, it was too blinding to the point that staring directly at the sun would permanently render your vision useless.
"What's happening.."
Lancelot used the active skill of his rapier and absorbed the light, his weapon pulsated in radiance.
Upon the lights being dimmed, he saw a horde.. no, a sea of Faceless flooding the streets and massacring everyone on sight.
They've already attacked without Lancelot and his knights ever knowing.
He stared back and screamed:
"We're under attack! Move forward!"
Lancelot was the first to move.
He used his speed to immediately rush through a number of Faceless and deal devastating blows to them.
In a second, he had already defeated 33 Faceless!
He moved through the crowds and began to crush everything in his path.
Then.. a thought lingered in his mind.
'Why hadn't the bells rung?! What happened?!'
Lancelot stared at the walls in the distance.
He jumped from head to head of the Faceless in order to get closer to it.
However.. a gruesome sight welcomed the Head Knight Lancelot.
Atop the wall, the knights that were stationed... had been scorched to ashes.
Perhaps it was due to the heat of the sun, or maybe it was something else..
Still, the Faceless flooded the kingdom, decimation and destroying everything! It was surprising to see that their headquarters were the only ones that were not attacked. Was it planned?
Lancelot gritted his teeth, feeling his chances plummet deeper down.
'Damnation!'
With a mental curse, he rushed through the swarm of Faceless and exterminated thousands of them.