Volume 6: Fighting for the World Chapter 311: Destruction Knight VS Ghost Knight King - Knights' Duel
I didn't expect that this ghost knight king Heinrich had some knowledge and knew a little about our undead wizards. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he was so confident and dared not take me seriously. If it were an ordinary undead wizard, he could only rely on his two legs to run away. Heinrich's threats would indeed be quite effective - facing a strong group of ghost knights, including many level 10 individuals, it would be very likely to be dangerous, which would be enough to produce a great deterrent force, making the other party afraid to act rashly because of their own safety. However, I am not a fierce dragon that cannot cross the river. I dare to go to the ghost knight kingdom alone. I am different from those ordinary undead wizards. I have the abilities of "blood bat transformation" and "instant teleportation of demon possession". I may not be able to match the speed and especially the endurance of the flying ghost knight, but if I want to successfully escape under the cover of the black bone dragon's subordinates who have an absolute advantage in numbers, it should not be too difficult. Heinrich's arrogant words sounded particularly ridiculous to me, and I didn't take it seriously. If I didn't want to preserve the strength of the remaining main battle forces as much as possible and didn't want them to suffer too much loss - that would require spending a lot of time rebuilding the main battle forces' organization, which would affect my future development - I would not be interested in continuing to fight with the arrogant Ghost Knight King here. Even if I want to break through and escape, I have to test its strength first.
I don't know if it's my turn to be unlucky. I originally just wanted to invade the Ghost Knight Kingdom and quietly expand my power. I first tried to complete the transformation task of the Ghost Archer Dragoon and the Ghost Spear Dragoon, and initially established a combat organization that could participate in actual combat. But I never thought of provoking the Ghost Knight King so early. To challenge the king, the strength I have is really too weak. I have to wait until I have accumulated stronger strength or dispatched the main force of my subordinates to make full preparations before I can proceed. What kind of important identity does this damn Haishaer have? On the surface, there is nothing special about him. He is just a normal , but he is valued so much by Heinrich. There should be no relatives between undead creatures. I am really angry. Since he has such a high status, why doesn't he pay attention to protecting himself? He likes to show off everywhere so much. He dares to come and provoke me arrogantly with those few men. As a result, the Ghost Knight King was involved and I was trapped. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have had to go through the trouble of taming it. If I had just let it run away, I might have saved myself a lot of trouble. At least I wouldn't have had to face the threat of the Ghost Knight King so early.
At this point, it is useless to say anything, and I can only find a way to face it. Heinrich's attitude is tough, and there is no room for negotiation, but it is not so easy to force me to surrender. The person who tied the bell must untie it. The matter started with Haishar, and the way out of this predicament naturally lies on it. No matter what kind of relationship it had with Heinrich before, it has signed a "soul contract" with me and has become my subordinate. Everything is based on my will, and life and death are in my hands. If I let it die, it can forget about living. This is the bargaining chip with Heinrich, and it depends on how much it values Haishar. Can it make greater concessions for Haishar and get acceptable conditions for me?
"I didn't expect that Heinrich Ghost Knight King knew a little about us Undead Wizards, but it's a pity that he knew only a little bit. As a mysterious race different from ordinary undead creatures, the abilities of us Undead Wizards are not something you, as an outsider, can guess and understand! Our slow speed and lack of sufficient self-protection ability are just surface phenomena, which can be effectively compensated by other abilities. Even in a one-on-one battle, I may not be able to defeat the powerful Ghost Knight King, but it is not that easy for you to kill me. Even if a war breaks out, with so many Black Bone Dragons protecting you, you can't attack me at all, and that threat has no effect on me at all. If you don't believe it, open your eyes and look carefully, this is the unique ability of us Undead Wizards."
Before Heinrich could refute me, I had already used my "Blood Bat Transformation" ability on the spot, transformed into a bat, and flew several circles in the air with full speed. My straight-line sprint speed might not be as fast as those of the higher-level air combat ghost knights, but my agility should be higher than theirs. If they deliberately evaded, it would not be so easy to hurt me. I even spit out a few mouthfuls of blood mist, and I could control the range of the blood mist at will, further showing Heinrich that I have a strong self-protection ability - if I want to bargain with the strong, I must first prove that I am also a strong person and get Heinrich's recognition. Otherwise, the difference in strength is too great, and if I challenge the strong as a weak person, the other party will not take it seriously, and I can't expect to get equal treatment and favorable conditions for myself.
"The Undead wizards are indeed the most mysterious race in the 'Dead Space'. They actually possess such abilities. But so what? They are just the abilities to escape. They won't have much impact on the battle situation. Moreover, under my full-scale pursuit, you may not be able to escape with your life. At least most of your men will die here. If you want to fight me, you are too far behind." Heinrich's attitude was still tough, as expected of a king. However, he had also indirectly admitted that he might not be able to kill me as he said before.
I transformed back into human form and stood in front of the battle formation again. I had already secretly issued an order to transfer Haishaer to my side and have him guard me. "Yes, once the battle starts, my men may suffer heavy casualties, but I can guarantee that the list of casualties will include Haishaer, my junior whom you value. Don't forget that he is now my loyal subordinate. Maybe I will let him intercept you directly, and he may die under your saber."
"You sinister and despicable necromancer, how dare you threaten me with Haishar's life?" There was obvious anger in Heinrich's voice.
"If my interests are threatened, I will not hesitate to use any means to defend them. I will never accept your harsh conditions, especially the first one."
"You think you can threaten me with Haishar? The dignity of a king cannot be violated. You are not qualified to bargain with me."
"Oh, then there is nothing to say. The dignity and honor of us necromancers cannot be desecrated by others. Let you step over Haishar's corpse to hunt me down." I deployed Haishar in front of me and prepared to attack. There is still a chance to make a comeback after breaking out. Once I agree to Heinrich's conditions, I will get nothing in the future. I will never give up the interests of the Ghost Knight Kingdom.
"You despicable guy, if you dare to hurt Haishar, I will mobilize all my elite troops to hunt you down and will never let you go." Heinrich almost roared.
"I'm sorry, I come from a faraway place. If you are willing to visit my territory, I will welcome you very much. I will definitely entertain you in a warmer way and make your honorable Ghost Knight King reluctant to leave." I'm not worried about being hunted down. With the existence of the teleportation magic circle, if the situation is critical, the worst that can happen is that I will abandon my men and teleport back. Don't even think about harming my life.
"You..." Heinrich seemed furious, brandishing his sword and almost rushing over to kill me, but after looking at Haishar who was blocking me, he tried his best to hold back. It seems that Heinrich really values this junior who I don't see any special features in, and is unwilling to sacrifice it easily. "Tell me, despicable guy, what conditions do you have in order to let Haishar go? Remember, don't go too far. Everyone has their own value. Although I value Haishar, I will not give up my dignity as the Ghost Knight King for it and pay too much for it."
Seeing Heinrich curbing his anger and continuing to negotiate with me. Finally, he allowed me to put forward my own conditions and made it clear that we could negotiate. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, it's better to avoid war if possible. I don't want to waste my men's strength unnecessarily. However, it seems that the Ghost Knight King is indeed a strong man with a high IQ. Even in such a rage, he can still restrain his impulse and regain his composure in time. It's not that Haishar is too important to him and he must not lose it, but it means that he will be the type that is more difficult to deal with. "My request is very simple. I can cancel the 'Soul Contract' signed with Haishar, give up control and restraint on it, and restore its freedom. However, you must swear in the name of Lord Death that in the future, unless I actively infringe on your interests, you will not take the initiative to interfere with my activities in the Ghost Knight Kingdom, nor can you take the initiative to provoke other Ghost Knight Kings to cause trouble for me."
Before I finished speaking, I heard Heinrich's roar again, "You despicable fellow, don't dream on. If you are allowed to invade our Ghost Knight Kingdom and bully and enslave our kind, it will be the greatest shame for me as the Ghost Knight King. Don't even think I will agree to it. I've warned you, don't challenge my patience and bottom line, otherwise I will never let you go even if I sacrifice Haishar."
"Then let's add a time limit. How about this: within a year, you let me develop in the Ghost Knight Kingdom and you are not allowed to interfere with my actions." I was still bargaining with Heinrich, trying to get more benefits for myself so as not to affect my development.
"Don't even think about it..." Heinrich said angrily.
"Then nine months is fine..." I hurriedly reduced it to another three months.
"Stop dreaming..." But all he got in return was Heinrich's roar.
"If this doesn't work, then give me six months. This is my bottom line and it cannot be reduced any further." My tone also turned tough. I couldn't go too far and not leave me any chance.
Heinrich stopped roaring and remained silent for a while before he said coldly, "So, you are determined to go to war with me?"
"That's not right. I certainly don't want to be an enemy of a strong man like you, but I also have the dignity of a necromancer. I can't accept being forced to agree to your conditions and leaving in humiliation. I have no choice but to fight."
There was another silence, as if he was considering something. After a while, Heinrich spoke again, "I can give you another chance. Either you accept my two conditions, completely remove the restraints on Haishar, and retreat with your men. Or you can resolve the dispute according to the tradition among us Ghost Knights. In addition to large-scale battles involving many people, the main parties can also decide the winner in the form of a duel, but this can only be done between knights, called a knight's duel. Now I will challenge you to a duel in the name of the Ghost Knight King. As a necromancer, you have a special nature. I admit that you are qualified to participate in the knight's duel and can be the object of a duel with me, but this is a fair decision. "In a duel, no third party is allowed to participate. You can only challenge me alone. Or you can send your knights to duel with me on your behalf. They can only fight me one-on-one. You or other undead are not allowed to participate. The duel between knights is a fight to the death. If you or one of your knights can win the duel and kill me, then naturally no other ghost knights attached to me will come to trouble you, and you can develop peacefully in the ghost knight kingdom. If you lose, you must accept my two conditions and not make any other requests. This is your last chance. If you refuse again, I will attack and defeat you even at the cost of sacrificing Haishar."
A knight's duel? You're already an undead, why do you still keep this tradition? This Heinrich is really cunning. It seems that has given me another option to solve the problem, but in fact, he is still taking advantage. In a one-on-one duel, the Undead Wizard can participate, but he cannot fight with his subordinates. Facing the Ghost Knight King is like courting death. There is no ability to defeat it. The subjugated undead subordinates can fight on his behalf, but they can only be Undead Knights. Under normal circumstances, which Undead Knight can defeat the Ghost Knight King? Unless I have subjugated another Ghost Knight King, it is also equivalent to going up to die. This can also be called an opportunity. It is no different from directly agreeing to the two conditions. It's just an extra formality. He wants to use this as an excuse to make it easier for me to compromise and give in, and to take care of my self-esteem as a Undead Wizard. It's really thoughtful.
Unfortunately, Heinrich probably made a wrong calculation this time. The mistake was that he didn't know my background. Ordinary Undead Knights would naturally not be the opponent of the top-level Ghost Knight King. However, I have two extraordinary Undead Knights under my command - the high-level Destruction Knight Ibora with wind attribute and the high-level Destruction Knight Wuma with earth attribute. Even though they are the "undead public enemies" that everyone wants to kill, it cannot be denied that they are still members of the Undead Knights and should be qualified to participate in the knight's duel. Although Ibora and Wuma are only level 10 intermediate, they are not ordinary goods like Haishar who have nothing special to offer. They each have unique abilities and their actual combat power far exceeds that of opponents of the same level. Even when facing the powerful Ghost Knight King, they should not lose to their opponents in terms of IQ and actual combat experience, and may not be without the strength to fight.
"I can send my Undead Knights to participate in the duel with you on my behalf. Can any Undead Knight be invited? Regardless of type or identity?" This is something that must be determined first. I want to see if Ibola and Wu Ma, who are the Knights of Destruction, are qualified to participate in the battle. Otherwise, I don't have any other Undead Knights who are capable of competing with the tyrannical Ghost Knight King.
"Of course, any Undead Knight is eligible to participate. Even low-level Dark Knights and Terror Knights can be my opponents in the knights' duel. Moreover, I took the initiative to provoke this duel. Therefore, as long as the opponent of the challenge is your Undead Wizard or Undead Knight, I have no right to refuse." Perhaps seeing that I might agree, Heinrich immediately made an affirmative guarantee.
That's good. Unless I have to, I really don't want to engage in a full-scale fight with the Ghost Knight King. There will be no benefit at all. Although there is still a great risk if I use Ibola or Wu Ma to fight Heinrich, the benefits I may get in the end will also be considerable. Weighing the pros and cons, it is still worth a try.
"I wonder what specific rules are required for a knight's duel, such as time and venue restrictions. You should explain these to me in advance, right?"
"The location of the duel can be decided by negotiation between the two parties involved, and there is no time limit. Once the battle begins, unless one party is willing to voluntarily admit defeat, it will be a fight to the death. However, in a knight's duel, it usually ends with one party falling down. Taking the initiative to admit that you are defeated in a duel is a cowardly act. It loses the dignity of being a knight, and the consequences are even more serious than losing your life. No undead knight would do this. Even if you use the binding power of the contract to force your subordinates to surrender in a duel, it can certainly save its life, but it will seriously weaken its courage. In addition, if one of the parties is unable to fight against the opponent and deliberately escapes too far from the opponent, it will be considered as passive fighting. If the situation is serious, it will be judged as automatic defeat, and the duel will not be allowed to go on endlessly in the chase and escape. "Perhaps because he saw my "blood bat transformation" and thought that I might use guerrilla tactics to delay the time of the decisive battle, Heinrich deliberately emphasized the tone of the last paragraph, as if to warn me.
I am not worried about this. No matter whether it is Ibora or Wuma who participates in the duel in the end, they should not be forced by Heinrich to the point where they have no power to fight back and can only escape blindly. Moreover, they can actively admit defeat. Although as Heinrich said, actively surrendering in a knight's duel will damage the knight's dignity and seriously weaken the combat effectiveness of the undead knight, for the Destruction Knight who is the "public enemy of the undead", dignity is not of much value. Survival is the first priority. In order to save its own life, it can use any means. Without this worry, Ibora or Wuma who participate in the duel will not be in danger of life, and I am more determined to fight with the Ghost Knight King.
"But the undead knights I subdued who are suitable for the duel are not with me. Even if I want to agree, I can't immediately duel with you. The strongest subordinate here is Haishar. You will definitely not agree to my sending him as an opponent in the duel, right? I wonder if you can give me a few days to prepare and recruit the undead knights who will participate in the challenge from afar."
"How many days do you need to prepare? I don't want it to take too long."
"Five days. You're anxious, but I don't want to waste it here. I also hope to resolve the dispute as soon as possible."
After thinking for a while, Heinrich looked at me and said, "Okay, I can give you five days, but during these five days, you can no longer carry out any hostile actions in the Ghost Knight Kingdom, and you must not endanger Haishar in any way. You must ensure its safety, and wait until the duel is decided before deciding anything else. At the same time, you must swear now in the name of the supreme Lord Death that if you lose the duel with my knight, you must abide by the two conditions I proposed before - you must not invade the Ghost Knight Kingdom again, and you must completely remove the shackles on Haishar and give it freedom."
As expected of the Ghost Knight King, he was really smart. He was worried that I was trying to buy time, so he did this to me. If I really wanted to have a knight's duel, there would be no reason for him to disagree, which eliminated the possibility of me breaking the contract. Fortunately, I really intended to have a duel with him to protect my interests in the Ghost Knight Kingdom as much as possible, so it was not difficult for me to make such an oath with him.
"Then you must also swear in the name of Lord Death that during the five days of waiting for the duel, you will not infringe upon the interests I have already occupied, and will not launch any hostile actions against my subordinates who are left here. If you lose in the duel, your subordinates will not continue to attack me to avenge you, and no other ghost knight kings will be notified and rush to trouble me for revenge. In the future, I will still be able to move freely in the ghost knight kingdom, and will not suffer unnecessary harm because of defeating you in the knight duel."
"No problem. I can swear to guarantee all of this. As long as you or your knights can kill me in a knightly duel, there will be no trouble after all. My dignity and honor as knights will never allow us to retaliate for a fair duel." Heinrich seemed very confident in his own strength. He spoke decisively without the slightest hesitation.
"Also, I hope that the location of the duel can be chosen in an area far away from the Ghost Knight Kingdom. I cannot let you take advantage of the location and bully us outsiders. Don't bring too many men to watch, and avoid the situation being difficult to control since it is our first time participating, which may lead to other unnecessary troubles." Ibola and Wu Mako are both "Public Enemy of the Undead" Knights of Destruction. Any undead creatures they find will be regarded as enemies. Before and during the duel between the knights, they are restricted by the rules and should not have any problems. Once the duel is over, their safety cannot be guaranteed, and naturally they cannot be too arrogant and show their true colors in front of many ghost knights.
"Okay, I promise you too." Heinrich agreed very readily. He probably wanted me to quickly accept the knight's duel as a way to resolve the dispute, and he firmly believed that he would win the duel.
Seeing Heinrich's confident look, I couldn't help but feel secretly happy. Humph, the strongest point may also be the weakest point. As long as I can break through this point, I can gain greater benefits and turn the crisis into an opportunity. Of course, all this is based on having super strength. Ebola or Wu Ma who participate in the duel must try their best to defeat the Ghost Knight King Heinrich, otherwise all efforts will only be in vain, and my loss will be great. Thinking of this, I looked at Haishaer who was blocking in front of me. If I want to defeat Heinrich, I still need its help. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy, you can win every battle. Since Heinrich values it so much, the relationship between them is naturally extraordinary. Haishaer should have a certain understanding of the Ghost Knight King's ability. Tell Ebola or Wu Ma to know, so that they can have a good idea and be prepared in advance, so that they can have a better chance of winning in the duel.
I finally made my position official and decided to accept Heinrich's proposal to resolve the dispute by a duel of knights. Then Heinrich and I swore in the name of the dead old man to strictly abide by all promises and never dare to violate them. Then we agreed on the specific time and place of the challenge, as well as the number of spectators. Heinrich glanced at Haishar again and quickly retreated with a group of ghost knights. It didn't lie to me. There were indeed small groups of ghost knights coming from the back. Although the number was not large, they were basically all elites of the upper level of level nine and ghost form. They really had extremely powerful forces. Once the battle started head-on, I might be able to escape successfully through the teleportation magic circle. The remaining more than 2,000 black bone dragons and those newly conquered ghost knights would probably be in danger.
