The explosion echoed through the castle, its force pulsating beneath the feet of all within. As the shockwave subsided, five mysterious individuals emerged from the flames, casually approaching the four knights of rounds who stood guard at the front gate.

The mysterious attackers were the Noctem Dolls, whose goal was the king's life.

As the youngest member of Rounds, Isaac was very proud of his title and his seniors because he was currently standing amongst powerful people. So even if a criminal as powerful as Dolls came, he was confident enough to handle it together with the other Rounds members.

However, one of the Rounds members with the strongest defense, Odbert Edgehum, was now just a flattened mass of flesh and blood lying in front of Isaac.

"Is this the Witch of Dread's god's blessing?!" said Stannard.

"The powerful Odbert died in just an instant," said a shocked Isaac.

Isaac and Stannard stood quietly, listening intently as Adam scolded Clarissa for using Instant death on her prey. Isaac couldn't help but feel shocked when he realized that Clarissa's ability could only work on individuals weaker than her. This meant everyone on their team, including Isaac himself, was probably vulnerable to Clarissa's deadly powers. The realization sent shivers down Isaac's spine - they all could die at any moment.

"T-that's a lie-" Clarissa seemed to want to clarify her ability, but Norman jumped up and covered her mouth.

"Shut up! You don't have to say it; a psychological attack is necessary. With this, they can feel how weak they are right now in front of us."

"Lie, what does that mean?" asked Arthur who became curious.

In a slight whisper, Clarissa explains with a hesitant tone,

"E-eeeh... that ability of mine, it somehow only works as a surprise attack. Instead of suppressing their bodies, I suppress their mana. However, if someone is vigilant, their mana becomes harder to suppress. Similarly, the mana of a strong person cannot be well suppressed."

Recalling a past incident, Clarissa had utilized this ability to intervene in a potential fight between Norman and Adam. Their bodies would have been destroyed if they were weak, similar to Odbert. However, since they were strong, the effect only rendered them unable to move.

"A-a-and then, M-my abilities aren't very useful on people who are already vigilant. I-If someone starts to become vigilant, their mana array will be tenser and harder to suppress. I-it means I can no longer instantly destroy the knights' bodies."

Norman then kicked Arthur's butt from behind and said,

"Hey, there's no time to talk; quick, show us the way!"

"A-alright."

Arthur sat down and folded his hands in a prayer position. He closed his eyes and beads of sweat trickled down his face, a clear indication that he was struggling. He was attempting to activate his god's blessing –

"God's Blessing; Eyes of the Angel,"

When Arthur opened his eyes, they shone with a brilliant blue light. His god's blessing granted him the unique ability to see the flow of mana. Over the past five years, he diligently honored his god's blessing and realized that everyone's mana looked distinct. So Arthur can see people's mana through the wall. Arthur's task was to locate Ivaylo, Nishizaka, the Rounds, and the King.

"I've found them," Arthur said.

"Alright, let's go," Norman said.

On the Rounds side, Janet was behind Isaac and Stannard. She was doing something with her blood on the ground this time.

'I must deliver a message to all the rounds!' Janet thought.

Janet was about to use amnis to message all the Rounds members. That way, people could know what was really going on.

'finally!'

"TO ALL KNIGHT OF ROUNDS! THIS IS JANET SPEAKING!"

At that moment, like electricity in the head, all the Rounds members could hear Janet's voice. As soon as the words left Janet's mouth, All Knight of Rounds felt a chill run down their spines.

"Janet? She's using communication amnis?!" exclaimed Birawa, his eyes wide with alarm.

"When Janet has used communication magic, it means the situation is really critical," Fleur explained.

As the members listened intently, Janet's voice continued to crackle through the communication devices.

"Currently, the palace is under attack by Noctem Dolls! That explosion blew up the main gate of the palace. And we're facing five members of the Dolls. Their goal is most likely the king's life! And now... The strongest defense, Odbert Edgehum, is dead! I repeat, Odbert is dead!"

The news was dire, and tension filled the air.

"?!! Odbert, is dead?!" said Sewel.

"How can he be dead? A sword couldn't cut through his skin!" shouted Tobias.

"Right now, I'm asking all Rounds to hold off the Dolls at the front gate! I'm ashamed to say that the three of us won't be enough to defeat the five of them."

The voice then trailed off.

"How about it, captain? Do we need to gather at the front gate?" asked Birawa

"No, our focus is Ivaylo. The one in front is likely a decoy for the soldiers. We can't let Ivaylo move alone inside the palace."

As Janet finished her message, Tobias with a guilty feeling, said,

"We're sorry, Janet. We won't be able to help you."

Suddenly Sewel's voice rang out urgently,

"Tobias! Don't just stand!"

In the heart of the city, Tobias and Sewel were engaged in a fierce battle against thousands of zombies - each one more terrifying than the last. These weren't just ordinary zombies, either. They were humans who had been brought back to life by Ivaylo, an evil doll that the Noctem Dolls had unleashed upon the kingdom. As Tobias and Sewel fought through the monstrous horde, the air around them seemed to thrum with a pulse of danger.

Back at the front gate, Janet, who knew that no rounds would be able to come, was now ready with her rapier.

"I'll support behind you and cover you two. You two don't need to worry; attack them with all your might," Janet continued.

Isaac and Stannard nodded.

Norman then picked up Clarissa and ran, followed by Arthur behind him.

'They are running? So they don't mean to defeat the three of us here? Whatever they are going to do, we have to stop them here!'

Suddenly, a bright orange fireball shot out from beside them. Norman turned his head and saw that it was Janet, her rapier held high as she aimed at him.

"I'm not letting you leave here!" Janet shouted, her eyes blazing with anger.

"AAARGH! RALPH! DO SOMETHING!" yelled Norman.

"Sigh... Alright," Ralph muttered, clearly annoyed but still willing to help.

Norman kept running, dodging fireballs left and right as Janet hurled them at him from the amnis circle she made with her rapier, But Ralph was a master with a whip, and he swatted each fireball away with ease.

Isaac suddenly appeared in front of them, his eyes blazing with determination. Ralph readied his whip to defend them.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Stannard growled

Before the two of them could reach them...

"ABARE: LIGANS!" a chain whipped out in front of Isaac and Stannard, shattered the floor.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON ME! I AM YOUR OPPONENT!" shouted Adam.

The chains wrapped around Adam's hands again. The rest of the chain snaked into an object attached below his shoulders.

"RALPH! STAY OUT OF THIS! THEY ARE MY PREY!" said Adam.

historical

"Sigh... again, I can't fight anyone. This is why I'm too lazy to pair up with you," Ralph replied.

In the meantime, Norman, Clarissa, and Arthur had moved away. Now that Clarissa was gone, there were mixed feelings in Isaac's heart. Happy that they didn't have to fight Clarissa, then angry at himself for letting someone as dangerous as her get away.

"Fighting the three of us alone? Don't joke around. You underestimate us!" Stannard ran straight to Adam.

He raised his sword and slashed it at Adam.

"HAHAHA, THIS IS WHAT I WANTED!" shouted Adam, excitedly,

Stannard's sword was aimed at Adam's shoulder; he intended to destroy Adam's Armacar first. However, his hands were immediately wrapped around the chains. Stannard changed his attack, now using his shield to push Adam's body.

But

'He's not moving!' Stannard thought.

After pushing forward with all his might, Adam didn't even move from where he stood. Adam smirked. He calmly loosened his grip and paced his hands together. Stannard retreated back, Without warning, Adam launched forward with lightning speed, his movements graceful yet deadly. Stannard barely had time to react; his shield was raised just in time to deflect Adam's fierce kick. Adam followed up with a barrage of punches and kicks, each strike expertly aimed and executed precisely.

Stannard struggled to keep up with Adam's movements, his shield barely keeping him in the fight. In the middle of the fight, Adam uttered,

"Hehe, so weak. I am glad we are not having a 1v1 fight. Because I can easily beat you in no time,"

[ILLUSTRATION]