Ben started the engine.

  Jerry climbed back atop the van and tied himself down before knocking. “I’m good.” He paused and must have turned to Hauxwell. “Hey, don't forget you owe me a drink, so don't go getting yourself killed.”

  Hauxwell scoffed and shook his head. “You think these fools are a match for me.” He then walked beyond the rubble of the collapsed wall.

  Ben followed behind, carefully treading over the loose stones and avoiding the mess of gore Hauxwell had created earlier. When he made it to the other side, he had to stop as the knight stood still.

  There must have been over a hundred of them. Their silhouettes were surrounded by unnatural darkness, and their eyes glinted blood red. Their bodies twitched and jolted with every step as if possessed by something sinister. When they were about a hundred feet away, they froze still like soldiers at attention, waiting for the command to attack.

  Ben’s chest felt heavy, and his guts sank like a rock being dropped into the ocean. Flashbacks of what happened at the proving grounds whizzed through his mind, and he knew some crazy shit was about to go down. He felt concerned for Hauxwell, who was putting himself in danger, and hoped he had something awesome up his sleeve to get out of the situation alive.

  Around a dozen enemy knights stepped forward. Their armor had a darker tinge than the Hollow Moon knights, almost like gun-metal grey. The darkness they radiated was more apparent than the regular foot soldiers, and the one leading them was wearing fancy armor similar to Le’Vieux’s.

  When their leader removed his helmet, he revealed a pale blue face. His long, slimy hair fell below his shoulders, covering the dark veins across one side of his face, leading to his neck area. A malicious grin filled his face, revealing blackened teeth that would make a dentist run for his life.

  “Holy shit, they’re all infected,” Ben muttered. After facing the infected Frogmen and Nest Mother, he felt they would be harder to kill.

  Their leader put up a hand, causing the other knights to stop. Alone, he stepped towards Hauxwell as if he wanted to chat.

  Ben put his ear near the window and carefully listened.

  “Sudfield. What an unpleasant surprise for you to ruin a wonderful day like this.” Hauxwell started.

  “Shut it, old man. I thought you would have been dead by now. What is this sorcery?” Sudfield growled, his voice sounding morphed and twisted.

  Hauxwell patted his torso, causing his armor to ring. “Dead? I think you must be mistaken. It seems you're the one who looks a little worse for wear. Don't you think?” He then looked around. “If you’d kindly ask your men to move out of the way, that would be most appreciated. We’re a bit pressed for time.”

  Sudfield eerily laughed. “You came here, killed my men. Then you have the gall to make demands. We have you surrounded, and there are more of us in the tree line. Meso has fallen, and their knights are mine to command as I please. Why don't you and your friends join us? This power is mesmerizing beyond belief. We’ll take the Feruslands for ourselves and be unstoppable.”

  Hauxwell shook his head. “You must be dreaming if you think we want to be anything like you. All my life, I’ve never needed devilish tricks to be powerful. Why would I start now? Burrow back in that dark hole where the sun doesn't shine and leave us be.”

  Sudfield’s grin vanished, and a scowl took its place. “The Mesolands are mine. When I’m done with the rest of you scum, I will ensure your friends down south suffer a long, painful death.”

  Yellow magic started to radiate off Hauxwell’s armor like flames. He raised his shield and held his sword back, ready to strike. “Over my dead body. Even in my old age, I will cut through all of you like a hot knife through butter.” His sword started to gleam brightly like a lantern as if he was charging a special attack.

  Sudfield laughed as if he didn’t care. “We will see about that, you old fool.” He turned towards the treeline and shouted. “Meso knights, stand forward.”

  Dozens of mounted knights emerged from the tree line. Their bodies were glazed in a slimy tar-like sheen, and even their mounts looked zombified.

  Ben felt a shift in the air, as if their presence filled the entire area with despair.

  Jerry knocked on the roof of the van. “When Hauxwell starts his attack, move on my mark. Be careful getting onto the road. Those knights are not like the men we fought before. They are trained killers with powerful skills and abilities.”

  Sudfield pointed ahead. “Attack! Make sure they all die slow and painful, then we will add them to our ranks.”

  Hauxwell’s energy had become larger than the van. It buzzed with sparks of electricity and occasionally pulsed out with shockwaves that vibrated the surrounding air. It all became smaller and condensed into his sword, glowing almost as bright as the sun. “Come and get some!” He yelled, swinging it sideways.

  The magic sprayed off the sword in a giant slash of light, encasing the battlefield in a warm flash. Smaller beams split off of it like cluster bombs before shooting toward multiple groups of enemies across a large area.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Sudfield and his close knights erected a barrier before the attack hit. It cracked in multiple places, deflecting the beams to the unprotected men on either side before shattering into smaller pieces and dispersing.

  Explosions shook the battlefield like artillery shells, causing the earth to tremble with each blast. Within seconds, many of the enemies were flat on their asses, some missing limbs and others splattered.

  Hauxwell’s armor started blazing again, and he turned to face Sudfield and his bunch. He motioned with his sword toward the road before marching ahead.

  “What? Is he not coming with us?” Ben asked.

  “Don't worry about him. He can handle himself. Get us out of here right now!” Jerry yelled.

  The van’s tires spun to action. Ben steered towards the main cobbled road, avoiding the potholes and craters. The enemies that had survived in that area were getting up and readying their weapons.

  Jerry launched a barrage of standard arrows, which didn’t do much. He then switched to the fire-enchanted ones. The enemies hit the ground again, their bodies in sizzling tatters.

  The mounted knights kicked their horses into action but were slowed down when a few arrows exploded in the dirt directly in front of them, causing their horses to stumble.

  Powerful shockwaves rang in the air behind them. Ben glanced through the mirrors and saw Hauxwell engaged in a melee with multiple knights. He was surrounded, and it looked like he was about to get swamped as his body disappeared, making the bend onto the road.

  Ben frowned in frustration. He hated everything about leaving Hauxwell behind. From the way things looked, there appeared to be no other way. Even if he did try to go back and run a few enemies over, the likelihood of them getting surrounded was high. He hoped the old knight would make it out of there in one piece.

  [+120XP, +4MP]

  [You are now Level 5: +1 Skill Point Available.]

  ***

  After completing every five levels, the system user can boost one of their stat pools by 25 points. These bonuses do not stack, so the system user should choose before the next five levels are progressed.

  ***

  [Order of the Hollow Moon (Faction): You have been promoted to Corporal.]

  [Mechanical Mage Class is now Level 2: New skills and abilities are now available.]

  Hell yeah!

  The problem was that Ben couldn't afford to look away from the road to see what class skills he had unlocked.

  A group of mounted knights emerged near the treeline, joining the chase. Their bodies and mounts began to gleam small embers of crimson energy. The horses started plopping faster, leaving trails of black slime on the cobbles with each plop. Within an instant, they closed the distance.

  “Damn it,” Ben yelled.

  As the enemies caught up, hitting the gas was useless. The uneven road made gaining speed with the van difficult and caused the suspension to creak and rattle. Repairing it would only fix part of the problem, as there was no way he could keep it up until they reached safety.

  That drivetrain upgrade could work wonders right about now.

  He glanced rapidly at his profile screen and had just the right number of points for the upgrade. While steering with one hand, he hovered the other over it and selected it.

  [Off-Road Drivetrain is now Unlocked.]

  Hopefully, I've made the right choice.

  The van lifted off the ground, and the steering became less jittery. Ben pressed on the gas and noticed the van could take more of a beating. He managed to create some distance.

  "What the heck!" Ben exclaimed, noticing something strange.

  The enemies became blanketed in a blood-red glow. Their movements became supercharged before they shot toward him, leaving trails of darkness after them.

  Jerry shot an enchanted arrow at the horse in front. It landed between its eyes before exploding like a grenade, splattering brain matter everywhere and causing it to stumble. The horse's rider was launched like a trebuchet into the nearby bushes as his buddies behind tried maneuvering out of the way. They were either knocked off balance or ended up in the flora.

  When they recovered, they looked pissed off and started twitching. Their weapons started to gleam before they started lobbing blobs of magical energy.

  “Watch out!” Jerry shouted.

  Ben calculated when the attacks would hit and avoided the resulting explosions. He got distracted enough to allow the enemies to catch up.

  The riders split into two groups and approached both sides of the van, either avoiding or deflecting the arrows that were shot their way.

  Ben saw they were about to start swinging at the van. He swung the steering wheel side to side, using the entire road's width to ram them off.

  “Take a swing at that,” Ben muttered, watching them crash into the nearby tree trunks.

  [+275XP, +5MP]

  Another group of enemies had caught up to them and looked like they were charging special attacks.

  Ben held the steering wheel tight, which hurt his palms, and shouted, “Hold on!” When Jerry paused his barrage, he waited for the enemies to get within arm's length before slamming on the brakes.

  The riders crashed into the back of the van. Most of them were pushed off balance, their armor scraping with sparks as they slid across the cobbles. There was one who managed to leap off his horse and hold onto the back of the van.

  Ben heard a twang from the top, followed by a ring, before he saw the enemy rolling on the cobbles. He thought that was it but noticed some enemies rise from the ground. They started skittering towards the van like zombies.

  [+45XP, +2MP]

  The surrounding darkness began to shift. Ben noticed a strange white glow from up ahead, and a spiral of what looked like magic was spinning into the sky, pushing the dark clouds away.

  “What’s that up ahead?” Ben asked.

  “Keep going! I see Hollow Moon crests up ahead. From the looks of things, they’ve brought a war mage.”

  When they neared the source of the spiral, a loud warhorn rang. Columns of armed men marched ahead, stopping when they noticed the van. At the forefront were mounted knights clad in black and white surcoats. The one leading them raised his hand and rode ahead, slowing down near the van before turning and riding along.

  “Alfred is in the back. He’s in bad shape and needs urgent help.” Jerry explained.

  “Alright, I’ll instruct my men to make way. You must get to Robynhill, where Grand Marshall Le’Vieux is waiting with the other mages. We will hold the line here.” The knight was about to ride ahead when he was interrupted.

  “Hauxwell is still back at Dimiwood fighting with Sudfield and his men. Be careful. Some evil sorcery has possessed them.”

  “We’ll keep an eye out for him.” The knight finished before riding back to his column. He pointed and shouted orders before the men dispersed to either side, creating enough space for the van to pass.

  Ben estimated there must have been over two hundred soldiers and around a dozen knights. He didn't know what was happening, but a war was brewing. He sped up and high-tailed it back to the village.