Clop... clop... clop...
The Skeletal Warhorse's iron hooves struck the rocks with slow, heavy rhythm.
Each footfall landed like an invisible hammer, striking precisely at the hearts of all who watched.
Nerves that had just begun to relax were instantly stretched to the breaking point.
The Burly Captain jolted awake, snatched up his splitting axe from the ground, and his corded muscles bulged once more, forming a living wall of flesh at the front lines.
Yet the knuckles gripping the axe handle were deathly pale, and cold sweat carved desperate tracks through the soot on his face.
He was a seasoned veteran who had tasted blood on the battlefield for half his life, his eyes sharp and discerning.
But now, his decades of combat experience were screaming at him, warning him to run.
The Death Knight and Skeletal Warhorse moved as one, without a single unnecessary sway, as if they were a single, living instrument of slaughter.
The pitch-black armor seemed to devour light itself, each curved plate radiating a cold, geometric beauty, designed for maximum efficiency in deflecting attacks and reaping lives.
"Don't just fucking stand there! This guy... he's nothing like that pile of rotten meat we just faced!"
His roar came out hoarse and distorted, desperately trying to drown out the terror gnawing at his soul.
The mere sight of this monster, who moved with such silent grace, made him feel like he had regressed into a defenseless child. He had never felt so utterly vulnerable.
Lin Qingyue calmly pulled her younger sister, Lin Xiyue, behind her, tightening her grip on her staff.
What does this thing want?
He had coldly observed from afar while the battle raged, overturning heaven and earth. Only now, as the dust settled, did he slowly amble over.
Is he trying to pick up the scraps? Or is he bound by Rule One: Chivalry, disdaining to join a group assault?
Unfathomable.
Regardless, they had to prepare for the worst.
Lin Qingyue's mind raced, searching for countermeasures.
[ Venti Trial Card ]? The Anemo Archon's Grand Ode might not be able to restrain such a high-speed, heavily armored unit.
[ Noelle ]? A pure strength-type. A head-on clash might work, but the opponent clearly wasn't purely physical. They'd likely be kited to death.
[ Barbara · Specialized Model ]? Hmm, the Sky AK47—its rapid-fire should be highly effective against mobile cavalry targets. It could serve as a backup plan.
Their final trump card: the [ Zhongli Trial Card ].
If this monster proved incomprehensibly strong, they'd have no choice but to summon Rex Lapis himself. One blast of I will have order! would teach him what "manners" truly meant.
The Death Knight reined in his mount fifty meters from the caravan.
At this range, to a cavalryman, it was practically face-to-face.
The Skeletal Warhorse beneath him pawed the ground restlessly, twin plumes of ashen death breath billowing from its nostrils.
The Death Knight sat motionless atop his mount, two crimson specks of Soul Fire glinting through the visor of his helmet, their icy gaze sweeping over everyone present.
The palpable, suffocating pressure emanating from him stilled even the wind in the canyon.
Su Wan and Xia Lian flanked Lin Qingyue, shielding her between them.
Tendrils of icy energy coiled around Su Wan's fingertips, poised to strike.
Xia Lian crouched low, her short bow drawn, an arrow aimed squarely at the knight's throat.
Having partially regained her strength, Lin Xiyue raised her shield, stepping in front of her sister.
The entire canyon fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
The pounding of hearts became the only sound in the stillness.
But then, the Death Knight's next action shattered all expectations, leaving everyone's minds blank.
He raised his right hand, encased in a pitch-black metal gauntlet.
He didn't draw his sword.
He didn't chant an incantation.
He simply... reached for his helmet.
Click.
The crisp sound of a latch unlocking.
Accompanied by a faint hiss of escaping air, the grotesque helmet—so terrifying it could silence a wailing child—was slowly removed.
No skeleton emerged as expected.
No rotting flesh.
And certainly no hollow void.
Beneath the helmet lay a cascade of silver hair, as lustrous as moonlight, meticulously bound at the nape of her neck.
A face of otherworldly beauty was revealed before the crowd.
Her skin was almost transparently pale, yet it radiated the vibrant essence of life.
A high, straight nose, perfectly curved thin lips, and the slightly upturned, pointed ears characteristic of Elves.
But it was her eyes that truly captivated the soul.
Those crimson eyes, the same fiery hue as Soul Fire, were icy, sharp, and possessed a profound depth that seemed to pierce the heart and soul.
A woman?
And a... living Elf?!
"Holy... shit..."
The Burly Captain's jaw dropped wide enough to swallow an egg, his mountain-splitting axe clanging against the ground beside his foot.
He'd lived half a lifetime, but never seen anything so... beautiful...
How the hell can this be a Death Knight?!
Lin Xiyue, Xia Lian, and Su Wan froze in place as well.
Especially Su Wan, who came from a noble family and had seen countless beautiful women and socialites.
Yet the woman before her evoked a shock that transcended mere physical appearance.
It was a nobility etched into the very blood and soul, an imperishable dignity that had weathered millennia.
Beside her, Su Wan felt the noble etiquette she had painstakingly cultivated since childhood seemed like a clumsy duck trying to mimic a swan.
Is this... really our enemy?
A million question marks flooded Lin Qingyue's mind.
What's going on?
Taking off her helmet to reveal her face before a fight?
Is this some new type of mental attack tactic?
Distracting the enemy with her beauty?
Hey! That's totally against the rules!
While everyone's minds short-circuited, the female knight gracefully dismounted.
Despite the jaw-dropping weight of her full plate armor, she landed without a sound, her movements elegant and composed.
Clamping her helmet under her arm, she strode a few more steps toward the convoy on long legs, stopping thirty meters away.
Then, under the bewildered gaze of everyone present, she placed her right hand over her chest and bowed toward Lin Qingyue in a flawless, textbook-perfect knight's salute.
...
The entire canyon fell into an eerie silence once more.
Su Wan felt her brain wasn't just fried; it had been vaporized by this absurd scene.
Pink Holy Light that could heal the dead? A Cleanse Spell that could dismantle Abominations? She could barely attribute those to Lin Qingyue being some kind of off-the-charts monster.
But now, the enemy's final BOSS—a polite, impossibly beautiful Elf Big Sister—was gracefully saluting their side?
Has the entire aesthetic of this Dungeon been fundamentally corrupted?
Or am I just playing it wrong?
"Um..."
After hesitating for a long moment, Lin Qingyue finally decided to break the eerie silence.
She ventured, "Hello? Are you... here to fight, or just... visiting?"
The question was direct, utterly Lin Qingyue.
Hearing her, the corner of the Death Knight's icy face seemed to twitch upward, the barest hint of a smile. The arc was minuscule, yet it felt like the first crack in a millennia-old glacier.
She spoke, her voice clear and cold, with a strange, rhythmic cadence that resonated distinctly in everyone's ears.
"I am Aeldara."
"I am not your enemy."
"Not our enemy?" Lin Qingyue blinked, her mind struggling to catch up.
She pointed to the mountain of corpses and bone ash still smoldering with dark smoke at the far end of the canyon, then to the dismembered Necromancers scattered on the ground, reduced to component parts by Xia Lian.
"Then these... they're not with you?"
Aeldara's gaze swept over the carnage, undisguised contempt flashing in her crimson eyes.
"Those pathetic creatures who must abandon their living essence and twist their souls just to barely touch the power of death—do they dare compare themselves to me?"
Her voice dripped with contempt born of absolute confidence.
"They are nothing but garbage who desecrate the art of power. I'm glad you purged them."
These words clarified the situation for Lin Qingyue and her companions.
It wasn't infighting among the undead; rather, the original powerhouse looked down on the counterfeit apprentices.
Aeldara's gaze remained fixed on Lin Qingyue, as if among the gathered crowd, only Lin Qingyue was worthy of her direct attention.
"I am Aeldara, commander of the Silent Watch knight order, serving under Her Majesty the Queen of the Silvermoon Forest," she declared slowly, revealing her true identity.