A small regiment of Corsican soldiers marched under the veil of night, their spirits high despite the grim nature of their task. They had been sent in response to a distress signal hours prior, yet none among them truly believed there would be survivors. They knew well the fate of those who strayed into these cursed woods after sundown. The church convoy that was marching through their gate this afternoon are probably dead by now. At least that’s what they thought.

  The forest was a tomb, home to the most fearsome of creatures. But of them all, none inspired greater terror than the being they called the Revenant. Though a revenant, by name, was but a single reanimated corpse, this monstrosity had transcended its kind. It was vast, unnatural, a grotesque colossus wielding dominion over the dead. With its infernal torch, it summoned hordes of lesser revenants, growing its legion with each soul claimed. Countless warriors had sought to slay it, driven by promises of fortune and renown. None had returned.

  The Revenant horde grew bigger each passing day. The Corsican border guards, however, had learned to evade the horde. Over time, they had discerned its patterns—its movements through the trees, the silent trails it left in its wake. This knowledge was vital, passed from veteran to new recruit, a necessity for survival.

  “Do you reckon the church convoy could have slain it?” one soldier muttered, doubt laced in his voice.

  “We've hired the finest monster hunter and none returned.” another scoffed. ”The chance of that small group filled with priests and a small guard coming out on top is very very very slim. They need a miracle to pull that off.”

  Suddenly a massive roar and an earthquake shake the earth beneath them. They’re all trying to cover their ears and stand up. However the sound and the shaking of the ground are too much for them. They wonder what happened down the road. Then another earthquake soon follows with a sound of a large explosion that sweeps the entire forest with a huge shockwave.

  All the Corsican soldiers are laying on the ground now, looking all confused on what the hell is going on right now. They knew the church convoy must be engaging in a fight with the Revenant. However, no one thought the battle would be this intense and earth shattering. They thought the church convoy would be dead or at least have a small group of survivors hiding amongst the rubble. Of course the Corsican soldier would not help those damned church survivors, they would just slaughter them and blame the monster for that incident. That was originally the plan, but now after the commotion they caused during this fight, the Corsican army is hesitant to push forwards towards the convoy.

  “Did they bring someone powerful?” a soldier asked, his voice hoarse.

  “They must have,” another murmured. “Important figures were aboard those carriages—perhaps even Saints.”

  The thought silenced them.

  The Saints of the Church were known for their miracles, for powers beyond mortal comprehension. And where Saints tread, their holy protectors followed.

  “Then it must be one of their paladins,” someone whispered.

  Holy Paladins are a title that normal people associate with Longinus order members. They’re the Church number one elite force that can only be deployed by the order of the pope alone on special missions.

  The Longius Order is filled with the top of the top church warriors with varied capabilities and talent. They’re the Apex predator of this land, none can match them in terms of combat capability. Unless they’re compared to warriors lodge from Francia and Saxon.

  There’s two great warrior lodges that originated from Francia and Saxon, one being the Son of Perun from deep Saxon forest and the other is Sword of Gilles from Francia house of nobles. Other than those two warrior lodges, none can compare their power to the great Longinus Order. Their power and prestige are unmatched in this land. If the order wasn’t bound by their oath to serve the church, they could’ve possibly taken a small kingdom with ease and established themselves as Independent nation.

  The small group of Corsican soldiers are looking at each other with unease. If there’s a Holy Paladin in that church convoy, then the chances of them coming out alive from the monster attack are shot up exponentially. Not to mention the Saints and their miracle capability to defy logic and understanding. They wanted to walk away from this mess and wash their hands clean, but now they’re too far deep in this forest and returning with their tails on their back would land them in trouble. They need to at least spy or monitor the situation of the church convoy and then return to their post. The only solution now is to just press forward and hope for the best.

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  “We—” one soldier hesitated, his throat dry. “We can watch from afar. Just observe.”

  The other soldier nodded in unison. They had no other choice besides to venture deeper and see the battle for themselves. Their feet drag their body to keep pressing forwards. They hold their weapon tightly as their eyes darted around the woods looking for any sign to run away as soon as possible. Then another scream can be heard before a huge pillar of light shoots up towards the skies. That’s the craziest thing these soldiers have ever seen before. Then another scream and shockwave. Then another and another. Before long they could feel the ground shake continuously and the sound of battle can be heard carried by the wind.

  Now the Corsican soldier's curiosity are at their peak, and also their fear too. Many of their instincts are telling them to run away from this place, but their feet keep walking forwards towards the sound of battle in front of them. They could hear the scream of some creature that really shook their hearts, then they could feel the air become rancid and hard to breathe.

  The smell and the atmosphere are really thick with magic and foul odor. Their hearts are beating like a drum inside their chest and sweat is pouring down from the body even in this freezing cold night.

  Then they finally at the woods edge and saw what’s happening.

  A star had risen from the battlefield. A colossal, wretched beast lay sprawled upon the earth, writhing beneath the crushing weight of a titanic golem. Then, a flare of brilliance. A voice, ringing through the heavens.

  “DIVINE HAMMER!”

  The world shook greatly as if heaven itself descended towards the earth. A powerful shockwave sweeps around the entire area violently as holy magic disperse towards the entire area like a tidal wave.

  The handful of Corsican Soldiers who witnessed this situation just can't help letting their jaws open wide in bewilderment. The ground shook even harder before everything turned bright white and the sound of wailing from the monster faded into nothingness. Then silence follows suit.

  Their vision returned as they watched a charred corpse of a huge entity lie dead before them. A lone figure stood atop the fallen monstrosity. His hair burned like a living flame, and his eyes—glowing embers—pierced them to their very souls..

  The Corsican soldiers did not move. Could not move. The sheer weight of his presence pressed upon them, a force beyond mere strength—a dominance, an authority they could not defy. They didn’t know that such a powerful person could ever exist in this world. Now they understood the weight of the title ‘Apex Predator’ that the world gave towards these Holy Paladin.

  The sheer strength and power they saw before are out of this world. If they ever tried to harm these people like their original plan, they would certainly be a worms meal in a second. By their instinct to live, they pulled their hands up signaling that they mean no harm. They knew that they can’t possibly harm this person, but what could they do besides that. They would kneel and prostrate themselves if that person wanted to.

  Sebastian looked at the Corsican soldier who had just arrived. He watched them thoroughly as he tried to unveil their true intention of coming here. None of them dare to even touch the hilt of their sword and judging from their scared face alone, Sebastian knew that they really mean no harm. Sebastian scanned the entire forest around him, trying to find anyone hiding for an ambush, but alas he doesn’t find anyone besides this small group of soldier.

  He descended into the charred remains of the Revenant’s corpse, smashing through burnt flesh and bone. He was searching for something, his senses attuned to the presence of unholy power. Finally he found it. A lone revenant remained, curled around a flickering blue torch. It trembled, barely clinging to its wretched half-life. Sebastian knew that this Revenant is the last of their group, it’s very weak and almost lifeless from enduring the attack he gave towards its body. However Sebastian came here not for that Revenant, but for the blue torch it hold on its hand.

  “Mas…ter…” it rasped. “Help… us…”

  Sebastian crushed it without hesitation. There was no mercy in his heart for such creatures. He had seen their kind before, knew the horrors they wrought.

  Sebastian looked at that blue torch in front of him and he knew exactly what it was. Another artifact, just like Heart of Fear. Malevolent energy pulsed from it, thick as poison in the air. It had to be destroyed, he cannot let another Isildus incident happen for the second time.

  Raising his hammer high, Sebastian brought it down in a powerful arc—only for an unseen force to lash out. A barrier formed, deflecting the blow with ease, sending a jolt through his arm. He had expected resistance, but not so soon. He knew that destroying the artifact won't be that easy. In the previous battle, he put all of his power into a single attack in an attempt to destroy a single artifact, but it was proven useless as the artifact still remains and appears to be intact.

  “Sebastian, are you there?”

  Dalia's voice can be heard calling Sebastian from the opening outside. She was worried about Sebastian's wellbeing as he just received many fatal wounds on his body. Carlos on the other hand is laying on the ground heaving because of so much mana he poured out for this battle. He can't believe Dalia and Sebastian could still manage to walk after the life or death battle they just endured. This in turn makes Carlos even more irritated. He could feel immense anger brewing up inside his body like never before. Such a scalding hot emotion rushed throughout his entire body and vein. He never felt like this before, he felt like his emotion of anger is amplified massively for some reason.

  As Dalia keeps calling Sebastian from the outside, trying to make sure that he was alright and safe, then suddenly he appears from beyond the darkness holding the blue torch artifact on his hand. Dalia could feel something different from the moment he saw Sebastian, but she couldn't say it out loud as if someone was holding her mouth shut. Sebastian walked past Dalia without saying a single word or even glance, before he put the torch on his belt and walked away towards the camp.