The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 288: The old man

Chapter 288: The old man

The air filled with sand and dust.

Hex couldn’t enjoy the scene as much as he might have wished to. After his vision returned, his other senses started to connect again.

His hands shot to his ear as the thundering noise sent his ears ringing. But he forgot to brace himself.

The ground rumbled and he lost balance. With a thud, he landed on the ground. Sand rained on top of him. Tiny particles swirled in the air, prickling his eyes, skin, and nose. He sneezed.

The sound of sneezes and coughs, mixed with gagging sounds, filled the air for a few seconds.

He could feel the heat radiate through the sand below. It took the ground a few seconds to stop trembling. The sound of sand shifting all around them stopped too.

"You alright?"

Sterling reached out to pull him back on his feet.

"Yes," Hex said. "I didn’t think it would work. But I am sure glad it did."

"Indeed," Sterling grinned. His gaze went to the cloud of dust still drifting around. "It’s beautiful. Shame of the Devil’s crystal though."

"I don’t regret it. Only a crystal of that level could do something to that Overlord. I have to admit though, the power in it surprised me. I didn’t think the result would be so devastating. The Frost Dragon one didn’t do such damage."

"You think?" Old man Perl stepped toward them and sneered. "You destroyed a main monolith. And those things are assumed to be indestructible in normal cases."

"Oh."

It might have to do something with him ending inside his inner space. He didn’t feel the impact at that time.

"Why are we standing? Shouldn’t we make a run for it?" He asked, reminding the group that they weren’t out of danger yet.

"Aren’t we safe now?" A young Knight from the group asked.

Hex glanced at him and the people around him. They shared his confusion. The shockwave sent them to the ground. Some even bled from their orifices. The landscape was a mess. And that was when they were about a hundred meters away from the core of the explosion. How could someone escape such a blast?

"The opponent is an Enlightened Knight."

His words caused some to shiver despite the blistering heat. An Enlightened Knight. A being of that stage ruled over the lives of countless. No one here witnessed one being killed.

"B–But even then...," the young Knight stammered, still somewhat skeptical about Hex’s fears. Before he could complete his sentence, they sensed the sand started to churn. It seemed to drag toward the center of the explosion.

"Let’s hurry," Hex said as he stepped away. Sterling nodded and Quid barked out the order to run.

Some whimpered, others cried. But they all hurried to their feet. Hex helped them to their feet and helped them lift their pieces of luggage. Sterling and Quid took the lead. He would follow from behind. With old man Perl.

"What are you doing? Let’s go."

After taking a few steps, Hex realized the old man didn’t follow. He hadn’t budged from his place since the others started to flee.

The sand churned faster and encompassed a larger area. Hex suspected the area would increase with time. The Overlord required an incredible amount of Earth elements to recover.

"Hurry."

Hex ran back and tried to pull the old man away.

"Don’t rush. I will show you something good." The old man replied with a smirk. His eyes were fixed on the area in the center of the blast.

"What are you planning?" He asked in confusion and irritation. He turned and saw the last person turning into a distant spot. Soon, they would lose sight of the rest.

The sand continued to churn. It took Hex a minute to realize the sand didn’t continue to sink at the same rate. No, it had slowed down.

When he paid more attention to the sand, his nose picked up a scent. The iron smell caused him to turn with a start.

Just like he feared. The old man was bleeding. He missed it because of his dark clothes. But now that he took a closer look he saw the dark patches.

"You are hurting yourself. It won’t do us any good if you turn weak again."

In reply, he heard the old man grin.

"I won’t fall weak. Not like that. The tortoise is strong but can’t compare to the King."

Hex didn’t care. He wished to get away as soon as he could. But he didn’t leave. He suspected the old would need him once he was done.

He did increase the distance though. His senses didn’t pick anything. It was his intuition. It never let him down.

Bang!

Hex just reached outside of the area where he could see the sand shift when the ground burst open. Once again, the air filled with sand and dust.

This time he prevented his nose and mouth from filling with particles by covering them up.

He peered through the gaps of the cloth he wrapped around his face. A massive phantom of a tortoise rose from below.

Inside the phantom, the figure of the Overlord could be seen. Hex used his enhanced vision to inspect the man’s current situation.

’Massive burns. His skin melted off. His hand and part of his ribs are charred so much, the bones underneath are visible too.’

It wasn’t easy to observe a being on such a level. He felt his eyes sting. Feeling something trickle down his cheek, he swiped it with his finger. Seeing it smeared with blood, he stopped looking at the Overlord.

"Don’t push me, old man."

The phantom clawed out of the sand and moved away from them. The overlord’s warning fell on deaf ears.

Out of the hole the Overlord crawled out, a stream of water spurted out. It slithered in the air and went straight at the Overlord.

Despite his weakened state, the Overlord wouldn’t let Perl get his way. He defended by moving the sand as a shield. The water and sand clashed and mixed.

The draw of the initial clash didn’t stop the old man. Of anything, it spurred him on to act more crazy. His blood floated up and mixed with the water.

The mixture sizzled and eroded the sand. The Overlord screamed and warned Perl. But the old man didn’t stop. His blood-soaked water pierced the sand shield and went straight to the Overlord.

The Overlord didn’t give up yet. The phantom retracted its limbs and its shell covered him. Seeing this, Perl grinned. He spat blood and sent it to merge with the water. He continued to reinforce the stream to pierce the shell with holes.

None of them paid any attention to Hex. When he saw how crazy their battle was, Hex decided to join. For a brief second, he hesitated. It might be that the old man’s craziness infected him. He threw that thought to the back of his mind.

He took a wide route and reached the tortoise once it stopped to hide in its shield.

’It’s there. I was right.’

Silver light flashed and he appeared inside the shell. His sudden appearance stunned the Overlord.

"Hello."

Hex waved and grabbed. Silver light flashed once more and he was outside the shell.

When he regained his senses, he heard the Overlord scream and cry. Perl didn’t show mercy.

His mixture of blood and water hit the Overlord as soon as they appeared outside.

"NO! STOP!"

The Overlord cried out but it didn’t work. He screamed but Perl pierced him with his water. And then again. He continued to do so for some time.

Hex stood not far from the spectacle. It took a while for Perl to put enough holes in him so Hex could pull the core out.

The core held his soul, his energy, and his understanding of his element.

As soon as he pulled the core out, the body stopped twitching.

Thud.

As Hex took a breath of relief, he saw Perl collapse. With a shake of his head, he picked the man up and placed him on his back. The man didn’t weigh anything. With a last glance at the devastation around him, he took off. With a slow jog, he disappeared into the dust.