Battle Under the Moonlight Part III

Reil the Elder watched as the heavily armored knight Sam charged toward the cargo, his saw blade dropping to his side. Something was off.

He had initially thought they were dealing with some gang or minor faction, but the appearance of a heavily armored knight suggested a much more formidable enemy.

This situation was dangerous, but Reil the Elder still chased after Sam.

The three brothers had come to Roya from elsewhere seeking the glory of war.

They had participated in the Third Northern Inquiry War, intending to enhance their skills and establish some merits. Even if they couldn't become nobility, they aimed to become officers.

However, the Third Northern Inquiry War ended much quicker than expected.

As the eldest and strongest, Reil had just touched the basics of the Refining Stage and hadn't formally entered it before the war ended.

The Refining Stage for knights was simple—constant battle.

With enough combat and survival, one could quickly complete the Refining Stage and start gathering merit.

Even constant defeat could still lead to the formation of merit, as some knights had formed the Merit of the Undefeated, granting them the ability to resist death through countless battles.

Reil the Elder had been on the path of forging his life force through endless battles, but the war ended too soon, leaving his refinement incomplete.

Moreover, their pre-war investments left them stranded at the Overflowing Stage.

But wars didn't end based on the whims of three participants.

Reluctant to return home empty-handed, the brothers came to Roya with high hopes but gained nothing, leaving them unwilling to go back.

Most of them were recruited by Mansra and became part of the smuggling team. After all, they needed to survive, eat, and prepare for the next war.

"Knights may not be born for battle, but they will undoubtedly end because of it. That is a knight's fate!"

With this belief, Reil the Elder moved with a force, and the six saw blades in his hands glowed with power. In the next moment, he darted forward, the blades forming arcs and entangling Sam, who was charging toward the cargo.

"Sword Skill: Sixfold Slash!"

"No one can escape this war!" Reil the Elder pulled hard, and the saw blades, enhanced by his life force, cut deep into Sam's armor, leaving six gaping wounds.

Blood spurted from the cuts, and Sam finally halted, turning to face Reil the Elder.

"Sam really likes this armor!" Sam said, touching the cuts and ignoring his bleeding wounds.

He raised his greatsword with one hand and brought it down on Reil with terrifying force. The air split with the swing, creating a gale that pulled Reil toward it.

"Damn it!" Reil struggled against the sword wind's pull with his life force field, managing to sidestep the blow.

"What kind of monster are you, using pure physical strength to perform sword skills without relying on a life force field!" Reil's eyes burned with desire. If he had such a monstrous physique, he wouldn't be stuck at the Overflowing Stage.

"Sam is in~vincible~~" Sam shouted, raising his sword again. Through the gaps in his armor, flames seemed to burn within.

He swung the sword horizontally. Despite its enormous speed, the distorted air made it seem slow.

This combination of speed and slowness made it difficult to counter, especially with the pulling force from the sword wind, making every swing a sword skill.

A sword skill was a form of supernatural swordsmanship.

Typically, a life force field coated the weapon, drawing on natural forces to enhance attacks with pure destructive power.

Reil's Sixfold Slash had invoked natural forces, cutting through Sam's thick armor and injuring him.

But Sam's sheer physical strength alone invoked natural forces, a feat only monsters could achieve.

"The origins of knights lie with paladins, and sword skills originate from sacrifice."

In ancient times, people believed that the spirit was God's prized quality and life was merely a gift for God.

Thus, life force originally existed as a sacrifice to God, bringing miracles.

Sword skills evolved from sacrificial rites, transforming into simplified rituals using life force to invoke natural forces, producing miraculous effects.

However, unlike mental force, which could be finely controlled even outside the body, life force was typically destructive.

If monks drew miracles from miracles themselves and sorcerers manipulated natural forces with mental power to form miracles, knights used life force to invoke natural forces within their attacks, not miracles.

Sam's actions broke through the barriers of reality and miracles without using life force, directly unleashing natural forces.

"No, he can't be an ordinary human, even with unique traits!" Reil dodged the greatsword's strikes, recognizing that Sam's strength exceeded the bounds of training.

His physique was unnaturally resilient. Despite wearing heavy armor and being injured, he attacked relentlessly without tiring.

Fortunately, reinforcements arrived.

"Big brother!" Reil's second brother charged with a knight's lance, the impact pushing Sam back a few steps until he crashed into a tree.

A life force field surged out, restricting Sam's movements and curbing his formidable strength.

Reil the Elder seized the opportunity, wrapping the saw blades in his life force field and wrenching Sam's sword from his grasp.

He finally had a moment to assess the cargo situation.

His youngest brother and their men surrounded the cargo, locked in a standoff with the enemy. Bodies lay on the ground, and arrows from hidden archers claimed lives with each shot.

The youngest brother had avoided arrows but bore several wounds from the fight.

"I'll hold him. Go help our brother!" Reil's second brother braced the lance, pinning Sam against the tree. This monster, though at the Overflowing Stage, had an absurdly resilient life force and armor, making it hard to kill him quickly.

"Futile!" Sam roared, tilting his head and biting the lance.

He bit a huge chunk out of the lance, chewing through the metal and spitting out iron shards.

The iron shards struck the second brother, causing him to flinch despite his chain mail. The life force field weakened.

Sam's fists became two hammers, smashing the lance away, and he lunged at the second brother, arms spread wide to crush him.

At that moment, a stone flew from afar, striking Sam's face and snapping his head to the side.

Jin casually tossed another stone as he walked over.

"A half-giant? Where did you find such a rare breed?" Jin marveled at the world's rapid changes, where all sorts of peculiar creatures emerged.

Much like certain harsh environments spawned sin-aberrations, some unique places bred exceptional beings, or sorcerers created extraordinary life forms through experiments.

These beings weren't necessarily related to sin. The Church judged them based on their potential threat to human society.

Giants were one such example, some naturally born, others created by sorcerers.

Since giants didn't integrate well with humans, most were driven to remote areas. Finding a half-giant in Roya was exceedingly rare.

This rarity wasn't just geographic; it involved tolerability issues too.