Chapter 17: Vanquish
The last elite knight blanched as his strongest comrade was launched like a cannonball through the trees, vanishing into a wake of splinters and shattered bark. But Lucien didn't give him a chance to react. His blade whistled down like a divine verdict, wreathed in golden aura and suffused with unstoppable force.
Selene's pained cry rang in Lucien's ears. He could hear the clash of metal as she held off the remaining two elite knights alone. Gritting his teeth, he channeled every ounce of momentum into his descending strike. The air warped around the blade as it cleaved down.
The knight raised his weapon to block, but Lucien's blade shattered it like brittle glass. His sword continued without pause, punching through the knight's armor and tearing into flesh and bone. Blood sprayed as the enemy fell in a broken, unrecognizable heap.
Lucien didn't stop to examine the wreckage—he turned instinctively toward Selene.
What he saw nearly made his heart stop.
One of the knights was wrapped in chains of silver light, his movements slowed to a sluggish crawl. But the other had bypassed the spell and was furiously hammering away at Selene's barrier. Her brows were knit in strain as cracks spiderwebbed across the shimmering shield. And just as Lucien looked, the barrier shattered with a sharp, crystalline sound.
Without hesitation, Lucien summoned the system window.
Spend: 600 gold crowns → Speed +600
He felt the change instantly.