Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The enemy!

They were coming?!

Perfect! Just perfect!

The damage caused four days ago was just starting to get under control!

Anara rushed over to a tent at the centre of the makeshift camp.

As he entered, he found a burly man with short fiery hair, sharp eyebrows and close set hazel eyes sitting down with his gaze plastered on the ground.

He was decked in a bulky reddish gold armour that constantly hissed of fine mana with a massive greatsword attached behind it.

In front of him was a very short figure who spoke with a light pant, drizzles of sweat oozing from her brow. She had light ash blonde hair and large black eyes that never left the burly man's face as she gave a full report.

Anara waited for this woman to finish whatever she was saying before he asked.

"How does it look, Bull?"

The large man named Bull did not shift his gaze from the ground or give a direct answer. Instead...

"Oliviana..."

For indeed it was...

"Yes sir," the short figure responded immediately. She turned to Anara and gave the answer in Bull's stead. "Around three hundred."

...!

"Three hundred?! Are you sure?! There were only dozens of them before!"

"Anara," Bull said. "Oliviana is the best scout we have. Even as an Assassin without as much strength as the others, she excels in information gathering. It IS dire."

The Paladin Champion's face paled.

This...

"How far are they?"

"They should arrive in five minutes. They aren't in much of a hurry," Oliviana explained to which Anara bit his lip and turned.

"I'll go mobilize my Knights to join th—"

"Don't. Keep your Purity Knights in the city to defend the civilians and Priests as they have always done. The Capital Knights from neighbouring cities are already being contacted. They should arrive as support soon."

The Paladin Champion ground his teeth once more.

'Damn it!'

These Contract Knights numbered a measly sixty and some. Against three hundred, they wouldn't stand a chance!

Before he left, Anara asked one more question.

"Are those two—"

"Yes. Unfortunately, they are among them. If I were strong enough I'd try to assassinate them but..." Oliviana said with a dark look on her face.

In the previous assault to Evic, there were two men who had been particularly dangerous to fight against.

They alone killed 43 Purity Knights, 37 Capital Knights and 15 Contract Knights.

Their prowess, their techniques...

The 11th rank Paladin Champion rushed out of the tent and behind him Oliviana and Bull followed as they walked up to the front of the camp where roughly 30 Contract Knights were already in formation.

Contract Knights worked in Divisions.

These were groups of up to a 100 individuals who would be sent as fighting forces to requested locations.

This was Division 16, lead by Commander Bull, a Second Phase Master with a grand reputation as a long serving Contract Knight of the Carpet Keep.

His lieutenant, Cast, stood at the forefront of the formation of the 30 Knights, on his body not a single piece of protective clothing.

"Ready?!" Cast called, to which the other Knights responded with vigour as they prepared, coating their bodies with vibrant mana. As did he.

Ten out of the thirty manned ten items that looked like cannons – large, thick barrelled contraptions that had an assortment of arrays within them.

They were peak Unique grade tools that required one to infuse their mana into them for them to function – expelling high destructive projectiles that could cause mass destruction.

These were clearly lacking but Legendary grade tools would not be issued when there were too many civilians within a 100 mile radius, otherwise, Bull would have ordered for the delivery of cannons of that grade from the Keep.

In response to the sudden overwhelming threat, a group of twenty reinforcements had come along with these tools to assist in the effort, but as Bull put on his helmet, he couldn't help but feel even more nervous.

"You go into the city too," he instructed Oliviana behind him.

"No," the short woman said as she pulled out a thin sword from her storage ring. "I'll be alright. An Assassin's shine comes from exploiting opportunities. I will fight too."

Bull nodded without fighting her decision.

He was her Commander but only in name.

She was free to do whatever she desired. After all, they were not conventional Knights hung up on hierarchy.

From the distance, a familiar sight showed.

Just like with how the assault had begun previously, two men were the first to emerge from the uneven, hilly ground far off.

They looked identical, both with skinny bodies and hideous clean vertical stars on the middle of their faces. One donned a sleek black leather armour, while the other donned one with a brown hue.

These colours were how most distinguished these two brothers, friends and foes alike.

"Ready!" Cast called as he took a cautious step, igniting the wills of the Contract Knights in Bull's stead.

"Yeah!" the Knights responded while taking a step as well, those manning the cannons flooding them with their mana!

"FIRE!" Cast ordered and two cannons roared, emitting a deafening noise that threatened to break apart the crust beneath them!

Then, as if tens of giant beasts roared in unison, each of the two cannons set loose two blinding beams of energy that forced even Master Stage experts within the formation of Contract Knights to squint!

The flash of light upon their release refused to die down immediately and as the beams of energy crossed the distance to their targets in less than a short breath, a thunderous boom was already lording over everyone's eardrums as the impact occurred!

Two devastating rumbles like earthquakes punished the lands where the two enemies had been spotted and further behind them, a mushroom of light, flame and dust shooting its way into the sky!

Bull immediately rushed forward, taking mildly spaced steps on his way towards the enemy he was almost certain was not done.

Not by a long shot.

As the light from the cannons finally started to wane, the dust and light, flying matter that covered the area literal bombs had fallen on dispersing, Bull grunted and pulled his greatsword from his back.

A tall, threatening shadow emerged from the thick.

It was almost six meters tall, made entirely out of forest green perfect Aura.

A Genuine Incarnation in the form of a mantis!

Beneath its tall frame, was Brown who wore a crazed smile as a neon green light wrapped firmly around him.

He pointed at Bull who furrowed his brows and then, with a light call that almost couldn't be heard, he shared a 'secret'.

"Black is already inside."

A maniacal visage tagged along with this message.

...!

Bull's eyes almost popped out of their sockets!

The degraded and pulverised ground still steaming with somewhat moist ache beside Brown, lacked the figure of the other twin!

The Commander turned his head back to his Division.

No. To the city!

Before he could blink, he witnessed an atrocity than not even his fellow Knights had had the chance to notice yet.

All the civilians who had been in the city... were now outside, directly standing behind his Division in formation!