Chapter 46: I'd Like to Try That, Too
Across the wilderness, a silver-white cadre of knights charged forward at full gallop.
Their armor gleamed with a faint, sacred radiance, and even their steeds shone with the same divine light.
These were the Knights Penitent of the Lyon Empire, an elite unit composed of high-ranking paladins. Even their celestial warhorses came from a heavenly realm by invocation of a divine ritual.
The knights had long since forsaken their birth names and were known to their comrades only by their code names.
The knight in the lead was known as Starfall. For three days and nights, he had led the Knights Penitent in a relentless charge. He was determined to reach Alkhemia as swiftly as possible.
It was the first time in the order's history that they would face a legendary undead head-on. The thought filled every knight with sleepless excitement. They could hardly wait to smite all evil in the name of the Radiant Dawn.
But the distance between nations was vast, and the Lyon Empire was not on friendly terms with its neighbors. A powerful military force like the Knights Penitent could never simply teleport within the borders of another kingdom.
Thus Starfall had been forced to take a long, winding route. Only a single canyon now stood between them and open plains. According to their intelligence, however, that canyon was home to a massive gnoll tribe.
Gnolls—twisted, cursed creatures—were born of savagery and evil. Since claiming this canyon, they had butchered countless human travelers. Starfall had already decided that he would purge the tribe, a fitting warm-up before facing a legendary undead.