The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 176: Storming the gate (3)

"Let’s team up."

The brown-haired girl stood with her back to him. She didn’t turn but he heard her question. Instead of replying, he glanced at the area in front of her. It was littered with corpses.

’She is strong.’ Hex’s attack shattered the ground and threw the incoming horde back. Her attack rendered many immobile, even killing many.

The sound of retreating steps indicated the withdrawal of the first group. The sight of their retreat incensed the creatures. They overcame their shock and resumed rushing toward them.

The group around Hex readied themselves to fight. Hex, however, didn’t place much hope on them. Apart from the boar-like fellow with the bushy red beard and the Esmeralda, he didn’t sense anyone of note.

But they weren’t useless. The incoming horde was huge but consisted mostly of Demons and a few Fiends. The group of Knights would be enough to withstand them and allow Hex to preserve his energy.

Hex took a quick survey of the people. To his surprise, despite facing a horde, none looked afraid. Their eagerness to fight and firm gaze deserved respect in Hex’s eyes. But when his eyes landed on the bushy beard at the back, he nearly rolled his eyes. The Refined Knight sat on a boulder and drank liquor. He even had a sack with snacks. When he noticed Hex’s gaze, the bushy guy stretched his hand and seemed to offer it to him. Hex shook his head and faced the horde.

Demons posed no challenge to Hex. With each swing he killed a creature, moving quickly through the crowd, taking his place at the front. The creatures swarmed around them. It didn’t take long to understand why the officials didn’t create a team structure.

Not only were they strangers but the creatures served as an excellent filter. The strong ones held their place while the weaker Knights were pushed to the back. In the first ten minutes, they lost five Knights. After that, their death toll slowed tremendously. The remaining people could adapt and switch with each other.

Esmeralda, who stood at the center front, was also pushed back. When she stood beside Hex, she threw him an annoyed look.

’What’s her problem?’ Hex chose to ignore her. If she had a problem, she could say it.

Seeing Hex not paying attention to her, Esmeralda frowned. She killed a few Demons in her path, till she stood right at his side.

"Why didn’t you join me?" She hissed.

"What are we doing now? Aren’t we joined in battle?" Hex asked in reply while killing Demons effortlessly.

"Not like this. Are you dumb?" She barked. "If you hit the ground and create more shards, I can shoot them at the enemy. We can kill more that way."

’So she doesn’t create the projectiles but uses existing objects to shoot?’ Hex realized the way her Technique worked.

Esmeralda saw the change in Hex’s expression. Although the guy looked dumb, she was glad he finally understood her intention. But her happiness changed into confusion when she saw him continue his attacks.

"You do understand what I am saying, don’t you?" She asked, her irritation flaring up once more. The pesky creatures died easily but their blood stank. And it was acidic. If it got on her clothes or skin it would burn a hole in them.

"I did."

Hex spoke calmly, climbing over the small hill of corpses before him. There was no end to these creatures. They crawled over the buildings and through the alleys. As the sun lowered in the sky, the darkness crept forward. More and more creatures appeared. Hex sensed many Fiends underway.

"Then why aren’t you shattering the ground?" Esmeralda exclaimed. Why waste time killing one at a time when she could take out ten times in the same period?

"What’s my cut?" Hex asked. He knew she was right. It would be faster to let her deal with the weaker creatures. But he didn’t owe her or the others anything. So, why would he do as ordered?

Esmeralda’s eyes bulged from anger. She barely contained herself. She gritted her teeth and proposed to share the Fiend crystals with him, giving him priority when the number was uneven.

As soon as she agreed, Hex scaled a building, killing the creatures crawling on it, and jumped with his second Blessing activated. The concentrated blast was greater this time because he didn’t hold back. Esmeralda’s quick follow-up effectively took out an estimated hundred Demons at once.

Hex liked the results, so once Esmeralda fell back to the ground, he jumped to another building and repeated his attack. Esmeralda didn’t miss her chance.

Their combined attacks bore fruit. The unending stream finally seemed to have an end. Only, the remaining creatures were all at the Fiend stage. Seeing a few hundred Fiends, even Hex gulped.

A quick headcount revealed twenty-five survivors so far if Hex included himself. He failed to estimate the passage of time but knew it wasn’t dusk yet. If they survived these Fiends, they could rest and join other teams.

"Back to back."

The man with the red bushy beard shouted suddenly. The group didn’t have enhanced senses to guess the man’s power, but surrounded by bloodthirsty creatures, they didn’t hesitate. They turned and formed a circle. The man with the bushy beard was the only one outside the circle.

Some saw him but there was no time to adjust. They stood surrounded by screeching creatures. Their black eyes stared inhumanely at the twenty-five humans.

Hex activated his second Blessing, wrapping himself with a cloak. Esmeralda stood beside him, appearing grim.

"My projectiles won’t work against so many."

She stood close to Hex and even then lowered her voice. The others hadn’t spoken so far but their eyes looked at them to start. They relied on their mass attacks to kill off the wounded Heartless. She didn’t wish to break their morale.

"What about bigger objects?" Hex whispered.

"The biggest I have tried were the size of my fists. And I can manage twenty at most."

"That is enough."

The Fiend-stage Heartless stood around them, drooling. They seemed eager to sink their maws into them. But they were waiting for something.

’Shit!’

Hex knew what they were waiting for. And he wasn’t wrong. An ear-deafening screech sounded suddenly.

Thud.

The echo of the screech didn’t disappear before a figure slammed into the ground. Aside from Hex and maybe the man with the bushy beard, no one noticed where it came from. The figure was smaller and more humanoid than the others.

Its beady eyes shone with intelligence as it observed the group. Hex swore he saw it smirk at them. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

"AH!"

Someone, somewhere at the back lost his bearing. His cry in the open area resounded louder than it came from his mouth. The Knights who stood their ground when facing the endless hordes, trembled involuntarily under its gaze. Hex considered their reaction normal. After all, how many could remain in front of a Disaster?

Hex turned, eyeing the Refined Knight. The boar-like fellow wiped his bushy beard and put his drink away. The fellow didn’t meet his gaze but Hex knew somehow the man knew he was looking at him.

’Hopefully he will take action.’

With that, Hex leaped into the air - the whistling noise of the wind drowned the exclamations of the group - and slammed his energy-filled fist into the ground. He chose a harder floor.

His excellent control over his bursts created exactly twenty shards as big as Esmeralda’s fist. Esmeralda hid her shock at Hex’s move. They discussed the attack but it was before the Disaster appeared. She hurried to follow behind him. But her eyes lingered on Hex’s back for a little longer. The irritating fellow was braver than most men she knew. And that was something as she knew many brave Knights.

She activated her Blessing, imbuing the shards with energy. Her energy burst on contact, turning the pebbles into projectiles. They shot and hit a few Fiends but the ones behind the Disaster remained safe. It used its energy as a shield.

The ones struck fell to the ground. They writhed, their shrieks ignored by Heartless and humans alike. The Heartless didn’t care, and the humans whimpered, disheartened by the Disaster’s display of strength.

Hex eyed the Disaster and the Heartless behind it. Most of them stood at the back. He turned and saw the worried faces. When the others met his gaze, he smiled and shouted.

’JUMP! TO THE SIDE!"

The Knights, including Esmeralda, followed his shout in reflex. Only when they struck the floor did their minds clear up. But before they could question why he shouted to jump, the ground beneath trembled.

They turned to the back, sensing the massive heat. Hex grinned. He sensed the energy building up at the back before anyone else did. His attack was to draw the Disaster’s attention. And it worked.

The burly figure seemed ablaze. His stature grew even more than before. Now, he didn’t look like a boar; he turned into one. Large tusks grew out of his mouth. His skin shone bright red and his hair fluttered in the wind. Each strand stood ablaze.

He stomped against the ground and flew toward the Disaster. To onlookers, it seemed like a spear shot. The Disaster shrieked and jumped at the incoming attack. It knew this human was a monster. But it wished to find out, how big of a monster.