Morland - Blood and Sweat [Ongoing✓]

Chapter 4 : Awake, What the Hell is a Dungeon Prison?

- ORIS, OUTSKIRTS -

Darrel's howling could be heard from within the sphere of mana, and the clouds in the sky continued to rotate around the area.

"Lieutenant, if this goes on we will have erratic weather patterns in this region for some time." One of the knights clad in golden armor stated.

"Will you tend to the squires?" The Lieutenant queried his companion.

"It's not like I have a choice."

This was the first time the Lieutenant had spoken a full sentence since all he had done earlier was call out to his men when they blundered during their scuffle with Darrel.

The Lieutenant sighed as he jumped off his trembling mount, then he brazenly approached the mana sphere that Darrel had conjured. The Lieutenant sighed and then gripped the straps on his gauntlets, then proceeded to tighten them before extending his hand towards the swirling mana sphere.

[Fsst!!]

The sphere that had been expanding ever so steadily and aggressively repelling everything in its path suddenly popped like a bubble of water, the Lieutenant stood in a refined battle posture with his index and middle fingers pointing straight at Darrel.

The other knight in gold watched for a moment, then proceeded to help Calestian and Reginald who had drowsily witnessed this feat before falling unconscious.

"Plain mana manipulation..." The Lieutenant murmured.

Darrel stood in disarray at what had occurred, he recalled the fury that had consumed him before when he had burst into outrage and unknowingly set off a mana explosion. The first two Holy knights had been hurled away several feet across the sandy dunes, but this man clad in gold had repelled his formidable defense with just two fingers.

'What a ridiculous monster.' Darrel contemplated. 'I knew that the two knights in gold were stronger, but this guy needs a whole new definition of strong.'

Darrel recalled his earlier predicament with the previous knights, he had thought defeating the two knights would gain scare the rest and allow him to escape, but he had not expected the sudden fit of rage and temporal power spike.

When the leader of the group dismounted his horse and effortlessly counter his power, Darrel realized that he had only made himself a bigger target.

As Darrel looked on at the Lieutenant in awe, he noticed that he appeared younger than his men, his face had a youthful look and he stood just a few inches above Darrel, and this may have been because of the armor he was wearing.

"I will say this once more, surrender prisoner."

There was no way for Darrel to win this battle let alone escape it, his enemies had superior armor, and weapons, and were familiar with the terrain. He had suspected this earlier, and now his suspicions had grown stronger, and every fiber of his being was telling him to run.

'Fight or flight?'

Unfortunately, both these options were now obsolete, but as Darrel pondered only one option had been set on the table by the knights in gold, but a man can not simply be told to just surrender.

"You forgot to say one thing..."

Without a word, the Lieutenant merely eyed Darrel expecting him to complete his statement.

"Or die!"

Darrel immediately charged at the Lieutenant with the sword he had taken from Calestian in his hand. If this was the end of the line for him, Darrel would prefer he died fighting as any man would, and perhaps such an act would blot out the transgressions of his former life.