I can evolve everything

Chapter 108 The Decaying Returner

The air ahead was thick with the pungent smell of blood, and the walls of the northern fortress slowly came into view.

The aftershocks of the magical clash are receding, but the real disaster has only just begun.

The horde of monsters outside the fortress is relentlessly attacking the city walls. Even though the magic circle of [Eternal Flame] is still operating, instantly obliterating most of the monsters that touch the walls, this tidal wave of monsters continues its relentless assault on the walls.

"Go in and help." Valen's sword was pointed directly at the side gate of the Northern Fortress.

Renn lowered his body, holding his greatsword horizontally to the side of the saddle.

Upon seeing Valen and his men, the guards on the city wall quickly pulled the winch on the side gate, and the massive gate slowly opened a crack.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Valen was the first to rush through the crack in the door, followed closely by Ryan and the others.

Upon entering the Northern Fortress, Raine dismounted.

Logically, in the face of a siege of this scale, the plaza inside the fortress should be a busy command and control hub.

But the inner city before us was eerily empty.

The braziers around the perimeter burned quietly. Scattered on the ground were discarded spears, bandages, and several overturned supply carts.

It seems something happened here just now, causing the soldiers who were carrying supplies to disappear.

But so far, not a single monster has been able to get into this place.

It wasn't until Renn took a few more steps and saw the entire square that he understood the situation.

In the center of the square, large pools of blood were gradually freezing.

A figure was stepping over the pools of blood, walking towards the black tower at the end of the square.

Hughes Bloodhoof.

This former knight of the Northern Fortress, now a traitor, is inside the fortress.

He walked slowly, with casual steps, as if strolling leisurely.

"That is—" Garrick clenched his right hand, cold sweat dripping down his chin.

In front of the Black Tower, a squad of thirty heavily armored soldiers and two knights wearing fortress-standard plate armor were stationed.

They appear to be vanguards sent to test Hughes.

The two knights did not retreat when faced with the approaching black figure.

They raised their shields, drew their longswords, and thrust them toward Hughes.

Thirty halberdiers followed closely behind, spears held horizontally, and charged towards Hughes.

Hughes stopped in his tracks.

He simply extended his pale, bloodless hand from under his cloak and gently flicked it in the air.

It was just a slight movement.

The two novice knights at the forefront suddenly stopped.

They remained in the stance of charging with their shields raised, and the next second, the shields in their hands split smoothly in the middle.

Immediately afterwards, their plate armor, and even the flesh and bones inside, all shifted and slid off along a plane.

The charging formation of the thirty halberdiers collapsed in an instant.

But there were no screams, because their vocal cords and necks had been severed at the same time.

Fresh blood gushed from the clean cut, further expanding the pool of blood beneath Hughes' feet.

Fragments were scattered all over the ground, and the heat from the internal organs rose in the cold wind.

Hughes stepped over the wreckage. He didn't look down at the soldiers who had died because of him; his gaze remained fixed on the base of the black tower.

The absolute disparity in strength meant it was a one-sided slaughter.

Valen's breathing became extremely heavy.

The young knight's eyes instantly became bloodshot.

Among the soldiers who were cut into pieces were recruits he used to know.

"brute."

Valen bit his lip until it bled. He drew his longsword and prepared to take a step forward and charge towards the figure in the center of the square.

An arm swiftly reached out from the side, grabbed Valen's neck, and pulled him backward.

Caught off guard, Valen lost his balance and fell heavily to the floor.

"Who?!" Valen roared, trying to get up.

"Quiet."

A tired but remarkably calm voice rang out above them.

The man who stopped Valen was tall. He wore heavy plate armor, the knight's insignia on his chest stained dark red with blood, and he carried a broadsword.

Ryan recognized the man.

Sir Mo Fan.

A garrison officer at the Northern Fortress, a powerful figure second only to Commander Roderick and his deputy, and the highest-ranking commander of this outer city defense line.

Mo Fan stared silently at Valen on the ground: "The soldiers on the city wall just told me you had arrived."

"Put your sword away, Valen. That's suicide, a pointless suicide."

"He's slaughtering our brothers." Valen struggled to his feet, pointing to the center of the square. "We have twenty full-fledged knights. We have to do something."

"You can't do anything."

Mo Fan released his grip, his gaze passing over Valen and landing on the black figure gradually approaching the Black Tower in the square.

"Hughes is imbued with [Spell Reflection] and [Deflection Field]. What he used to kill just now was the instant-cast fifth-circle spell [Spatial Cut]. For a knight of his level, killing a few soldiers or twenty regular knights makes no difference in mana consumption. The only consequence of you rushing in is to increase the number of people in this area."

Ryan listened quietly from the side.

His hand remained on the hilt of his sword, but reason told him that he could not afford to fight against Hughes in the distance.

Mo Fan is right. Against that extraordinary power, knights of their rank are practically useless.

"So we're just going to stand here and watch him?" Valen asked through gritted teeth, somewhat resentfully.

“He can’t get in,” Mo Fan continued. “His goal has always been the same: the core of the Eternal Furnace underground. The reason he didn’t go on a killing spree in the Northern Fortress wasn’t out of mercy, but because he disdained wasting his time and energy on ants like us.”

The garrison commander turned around and looked at the elite troops who had fought their way back from various defensive lines.

"The Grand Master, Sir Karen, along with three high-ranking knights, two archmages, and a bishop from the Inquisition, have severed all conventional passages to the underground. They are now waiting for him within the defensive array at the heart of the furnace. That will be the real battle, a fight for their level."

Mo Fan's gaze lingered on Valen and the others for a moment.

"What we can fight isn't that monster," Mo Fan pointed to the north, where the roars of demons were coming from. "It's the city walls behind us. Those beasts lured by Hughes are tearing at our defenses. If the fortress falls, even if the captain and the others kill Hughes underground, the Northern Territory is finished."

"As for the group of people that Hughes just killed, they were just a suicide squad that voluntarily risked their lives to test Hughes."

His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over him, calming Valen down considerably.