Ghost Knight King's Dungeon Project

Chapter 89 [The Ghost Knight's Combat Method]

The arena erupted in cheers, the flesh-and-blood gladiators roaring with excitement and brandishing their massive claws. Amidst the deafening clangs, wielding thin clouds of blood mist, enveloped the stands.

Deckard stood in front of the audience directly opposite the arena. With a clang, his bronze claws clashed together, sparks flying.

Boiling blood mist billowed from the bone nozzles in the joints of his armor, and streams of scarlet gas were expelled with each muscle movement, carrying a pungent, bloody stench.

“Come on, I can’t wait any longer,” Deckon roared. “I’ve seen your true form in your necromancy—perhaps I underestimated you. You are a steady and sharp opponent, and beneath that gleaming armor lies a ferocious beast.”

Samael, accompanied by three or four rotting corpse demons, lingered in the shadows behind the arena for a while before slowly walking across the stands towards the arena below.

“Boss Samael.” He heard Rahado whisper as he passed by.

His heavy, clattering footsteps paused for a moment, and he turned his head slightly.

“I can distract Deckardon from the stands, insult him, throw trash at him, and spout nonsense at him,” Rahador whispered. “Provoke him… distract him, or make him make a mistake, and then I can take advantage of the situation…”

“No.” Samael shook his helmet. “I must defeat him in a way that will subdue the Dirkgong, or he will not give up.”

"Besides, you have already helped me a lot—at least half of my victory today is thanks to you. Thank you for your help, Rahado."

"Huh?" Rahado was stunned. The competition hadn't even started, and he hadn't had a chance to do anything unethical, so why had he already made a contribution?

Samael waved his hand, jumped over the low wall of the first row of the stands, landed on the open ground in the center of the arena, and stepped into the fighting circle.

As both sides entered the arena, the undead in the stands roared with excitement. The frenzied shouts of the flesh gladiators mingled with the stiff, cold hiss of the rotting corpse demons, creating the eerie cheers of the undead.

Samael stepped forward, his armor, covered in white iron, gleaming, and the two swords hanging from his waist by chains swayed slightly.

However, he did not use the Witch Gold Sword and the Holy Iron Sword for the time being. Instead, he carried a Dark Copper Hammer Spear, raised a Dark Copper Shield, and adopted a conservative blocking stance.

The arena backdrop made Dracgon appear even taller. Blood mist dripped from his joints onto his thick, bronze arms, his giant claws almost reached his knees, and his body was massive. He moved like a wild beast on all fours, a ferocious monster.

Blood was seeping from every crevice of his sheet metal muscle armor. Clearly, his body was stuffed with blood-soaked monster organs.

The two knights faced each other inside the arena, slowly pacing along the edge of the ring.

"You've also grasped the skills of being a Darkbron Knight, haven't you?" Dekgon stared at Samael's armor joints with great interest.

Some rusty copper tree roots and fleshy buds of dead flesh were visible in the gaps between his joints.

"What technique?" Samael asked cautiously.

“We fill our empty bodies with scavenged corpses,” Dekgon said. “By selecting warm entrails and strong tendons and stuffing them into our bodies, we can gain the strength of those beasts, just as warriors in primitive tribes believe that eating their enemies can gain their courage.”

“I originally intended to alleviate the emptiness of the undead in this way. But in the end, it gradually evolved into another power—a frenzied, blood-surging power that temporarily overwhelmed the cold, tormenting emptiness.”

"You learn very quickly, you weakling," he growled. "After just a few battles, you've already started to enjoy the pleasure of taking lives and filling your body and mind with blood."

“No,” Samael replied, “I have no interest in meaningless bloodshed. My mind and body are already filled with other things.”

"Let me prove to you that the system and the power of the necromancer are merely tools to carry out my will, not masters who command me."

With a roar, Dekgon leaped from the blood mist with a loud bang of his pneumatic tendons, raised the claws on his right arm, and charged toward Samael, scratching the ground and kicking up dust. His claws were like five sharp broadswords, stabbing fiercely at Samael's helmet!

Samael activated the combat technique of [Lion Fighting], a hunting technique of royal warriors in areas where lions frequently cause trouble. By striking at specific angles and using blunt force, the powerful impact can cause the target to lose balance briefly, allowing Samael to fight off enemies that are larger and stronger than himself.

The Dark Copper Hammer and Shield were specifically designed to complement the [Lion Fighter] and counter the heavy, blunt weapons of enemies like the Derkgon.

The moment Deckon lunged, Samael swung his right arm forward, smashing his spear into the side of Deckon's gladiator helmet, causing his massive body to shift slightly. At the same time, he lowered his body to the right and below, dodging the first attack from under Deckon's giant claw.

The gladiator helmet of the Decogon was smashed and buzzed, slightly detached from his neck, but was pulled back by the flesh and blood inside.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Amidst a series of explosions, Decgon was surrounded by a blood mist, and with the help of the reaction force from the pneumatic tendon jet, he brought himself to a stop at the edge of the arena.

Bang! He swung his giant bronze claw back and forth, and Samael, who had no time to dodge, raised his shield to block.

Amidst the screeching, ear-piercing friction, sparks of dark blue light flew everywhere, and the claw tips left five rough scratches on the shield surface.

The combined force of the pneumatic tendon's jet recoil and the power of the Dekgon body created a tremendous force that pushed Samael backward. Samael activated [Step Focus], struggling to maintain his balance and using the momentum to retreat, temporarily creating distance.

“Ah, the same old tactics again, running away like Rahado, how boring.” Dekgon slowly turned around and stared at Samael.

“Hey, I’m sitting right here,” Rahado complained from the audience.

“Fortunately, I already know how to deal with guys like you.” Deckon chuckled hoarsely like a lion.

The next second, his gladiator helmet snapped back, revealing his flesh-filled neck at a horrific angle as if his neck had been broken.

The neck snapped instantly under this terrifying force, and a large, cloudy, yellowish-brown eyeball opened at the break in the skull, while a bony tube protruded from the break in the chest cavity.

[Bio-based Nail Gun]!
Samael was startled. His body was made of heavy bronze, and he lacked the agility to dodge it. He raised his shield, lowered his body, and tried to use the shield to block the attack.

Boom! With a violent release of pressure, a large cloud of blood mist burst from the bone nozzle in the joint, and nail-like bone fragments shot out from the nozzle, slamming into the bronze shield with a loud clang.

The bone fragments shattered into broken pieces, the shield vibrated and groaned, and its surface was dented deeply. If it had been flesh and blood instead of a ghost knight wielding the shield, even the metacarpal bones would likely have been shattered.

Bang! Bang bang bang bang bang! Blood mist exploded repeatedly in the arena, like a frenzied gunfire booster, growing ever closer with the frenzied footsteps of Deckon.

Taking advantage of Samael's shield-raising opportunity, Deckon charged forward once again. With a loud bang, his massive body was enveloped in blood mist and then burst out of it. He raised his giant claws high and slashed down with enough force to split a living person in two.

The shield temporarily obscured his vision, and Samael didn't have time to adjust his angle or use the [Lion Fighting] combat skill to interrupt Deckon's attack from the side. He made a decisive move, immediately abandoning dodging and passive defense, activating [Footstep Focus], raising his shield, dragging his hammer and spear, and charging head-on towards Deckon.

Using the acceleration of his combat skills and the inertia of his heavy body, Samael's shield and Decogon's claw fist collided fiercely in the center of the arena!

Clang! A deafening roar echoed as the dust from the impact, originating at the center of the arena, was propelled laterally by the rumbling shockwave, splitting the earth's dust and blood mist in two like invisible wind blades.

The shield shattered instantly under the immense impact, along with Deckon's right fist claw blade.

As the fragments of Nether Bronze scattered like shrapnel, Samael used the momentum of the impact to swing his right-hand hammer and spear, unleashing a [Charged Impact] that slammed upwards.

With a thud, Dekgon grabbed Samael's right arm with his left claw, and as the shield shattered, his broken right claw gripped Samael's left wrist tightly.

“You… are going to lose.” Dekgon chuckled, the fleshy, bony tube in his throat moving laboriously downwards, pointing at Samael’s helmet.

“Not yet,” Samael said in a low voice. “Since you used these flesh fillers, then of course I can use them too.”

His helmet snapped back, and dozens of rotting, fleshy tentacles burst forth violently from the severed neck! Each tentacle was inlaid with a blade of dark copper, and with the combined enhancements of Nightmare Tentacles and Frenzy Stance, the frenzied slashes instantly transformed into a blue mist that engulfed Decgon's entire upper body.

Amidst a dense barrage of clanging and popping sounds, deep scratches were left on Deckon's armor! The bone bio-air gun barrel, along with the tendons at the back, was instantly severed. The tendrils, carrying the tip of the Nether Bronze Blade, pierced deep into Deckon's body, shattering the bio-nailing air gun beyond repair!

Rahador's tricks left a deep impression on Samael, and Nightmare Tentacles was a versatile tool structure that could be made without even needing fresh flesh, only the dead flesh of the Corpse Demon.

Deckon was startled. With two loud bangs, his arms, along with the pneumatic tendons inside, exerted force simultaneously. The Ghost Knight's immense strength combined with the explosive power of the pneumatic tendons, and the enormous shearing force instantly ripped Samael's left arm armor off his body.

He somewhat hastily tossed Samael's body and arm armor aside, creating some distance to avoid further damage to his body from the tendrils.

However, the instant it was ripped off, several tendrils of rotting flesh also sprouted from the broken end of Samael's arm armor, tightly wrapping around Dekgon's right arm armor, resembling a grotesque octopus.

Dekgon cried out in alarm and instinctively swung his arm violently, trying to shake off Samael's left arm armor, but the rotting flesh tentacles gripped him exceptionally firmly, and he was unable to do so for the time being.

Samael's arm armor was fixed to Dekgon's wrist. Taking the opportunity, he raised his palm, and semi-molten necromancer surged from his palm, forming a nail-shaped rapier. In the chaos, he raised his hand and stabbed it into the gap under Dekgon's shoulder armor, piercing the pneumatic tendon inside!
“This is…” Degun came to his senses and, as if swatting a mosquito, raised his left claw and slapped hard at Samael’s torn arm armor.

However, the arm armor had automatically released its tentacles, fell to the ground, and was crawling rapidly using the arm armor and the tentacles at the break point.

Deckon roared in fury, raising his claw-bladed boots to crush the arm armor.

Taking advantage of the moment he was entangled with his arm armor, a hammer-spear swung fiercely from the side, smashing it down on his gladiator helmet.

[System Status: Unbalanced] Degon's helmet buzzed, and a flashing pop-up appeared in the UI.

The next second, the one-armed Samael used [Step Focus] to take a running start, leaped up, raised his hammer and spear high, and took advantage of the brief moment when Dekgon lost his balance. With a [Falling Strike], the sharp tip of the hammer and spear pointed downwards and stabbed Dekgon in the neck!

The spearhead pierced through the entire cavity of Decgon's breastplate with unstoppable force! The flesh inside was instantly torn apart by the powerful inertia, and the spearhead, angled, plunged deep into Decgon's body, destroying all the flesh and blood structure within!
Deckon struggled, barely managing to shake off Samael's attacks. He pulled the hammer spear stuck in his neck with his left claw, activated the pneumatic tendons with his right claw, and slammed it down hard on Samael.

However, a dull thud came from his right arm, but it did not produce the expected powerful impact. Instead, puddles of blood and mud flowed out from the gaps in his armor, and bits of flesh seemed to be vomiting as his tendons throbbed.

The surprise attack with the arm armor had pierced a rapier into Decgon's right arm armor, the tip of which had broken through the airtight structure of the right arm, and the pneumatic tendon had become a pile of useless flesh.

The right claw slammed down heavily, but it no longer possessed the terrifying power it had before. Samael, with only one arm, drew the Nether Bronze Sword from his waist and parried with the [Blade Reversal Stance].

Without the support of flesh and blood, Decogon's attacks no longer possessed the impact of breaking armor, shields, or dismantling combat stances. Although the heavy attacks could still cause the blade to shake violently, they could now be difficult to parry with Samael's one-handed sword techniques.

The bronze sword tilted, deflecting the force, blocking, and shifting its center of gravity.

Deckon's physical strength was still considerable. Both the sword blade and the claw blade were chipped open, and the claw tips slashed across the sword and scraped against the breastplate, leaving five deep cracks.

Samael took the claw strike, barely dodging the attack, and then retaliated with a thrust, piercing the gap in the Deckon's left arm armor with a muffled thud, destroying the structure of the pneumatic tendon.

The Deckon arm guard snapped shut, locking the Nether Bronze sword blade firmly in place. Although made of the same Nether Bronze material, the blade was much thinner than the edge of the armor, and under the immense force, it snapped in two, scattering fragments everywhere.

Most of the tendons filling his body were destroyed, and bits of flesh and blood were sparsely falling out from the gaps in his armor.

"You think you can defeat me like this?" Decgon growled darkly. "That flesh and blood are merely an aid to my power, just icing on the cake for my true strength."

He flung away the bits of flesh from the gaps in his armor, then slammed his claws together violently, sending sparks flying with a clang.

“Yes, your physical strength is indeed considerable.” Samael bent down to pick up his left arm armor and put it back on his shoulder. With a loud clang, his body was restored to its original state. “But strength is not important. What is important is controllable strength.”

"To some extent, I admire the targeted modifications you've made to this—you pretend to be a savage brute, but in reality, you've done extensive research and improvements on flesh and blood materials, close combat, and the characteristics of your own abilities."

Dekgon remained silent.

“Rahador once said that your amplifier doesn’t enhance control, making your movements easy to lose control of. So I was trying to lure you into charging from the beginning, trying to make you lose control of your movements and crash out of the gladiatorial ring,” Samael said.

"But, in that loud bang, you used your pneumatic tendons to brake and control your movements, stopping yourself at the last moment before you crashed out of the circle, and then quickly turned around and attacked me."

"Compared to Nether Bronze, flesh and blood have a natural advantage in adaptability. The pneumatic tendons filling your armor are not just a secondary amplifier to enhance your strength, but also a recoil mechanism to limit your uncontrolled movements in critical moments, and a buffer to absorb the shock of blunt impacts."

“You are indeed stronger than me, but I never expected to be able to completely destroy your body in the arena with some skills and combat techniques.”

"From the very beginning, I came here because you lost control and crashed headlong into the gladiatorial arena."

“Now that this flesh and blood have been destroyed, it will be much easier for you to lose control of your movements and crash headfirst out of the arena,” Samael said calmly.

Deckon remained silent for a moment.

“You can choose to concede,” Samael said, looking at Dekhgon’s gladiator helmet. “Or, we can continue.”

“Or perhaps, what we need now is to change the rules of the gladiatorial combat,” Decogun suddenly said. “The new rule is that you must destroy the opponent’s machine to win.”

“I don’t recommend you change it like that.” Samael’s gauntlets slowly rested on the hilt of the Holy Iron Sword at his waist. “But if you insist, that’s fine too—because I will always find a way that you can understand so that you can get along with people in a more appropriate and suitable manner.”

He drew the Holy Iron Sword, and with the Nether Copper Sword and the Holy Iron Sword in his hands, his arms and the tips of the two swords stretched diagonally downwards, like slightly outstretched wings.

“It’s alright, I enjoy taking care of people,” Samael said gently. “After you’re destroyed, I’ll keep your helmet hanging up and take care of it—until I find a way to eliminate the effects of the extermination system.”

Clang! Clang clang... Recognizing the sword, Rahado recalled the unfortunate night in Prancing and immediately scrambled over three or four rows of seats to hide behind Ansba in the last row at the highest point of the audience, using the sitting, dazed Ansba as a human shield.

Degon's gladiator helmet turned slightly, watching Rahador's reaction, as if he were thinking about something.

He hesitated for a moment, and bits of flesh and blood slid off his body and fell to the ground.

But in the end, he shook his helmet.

“I refuse,” he roared. “You can destroy me, let me perish in the savage passion of killing and fighting—after all, I’m already dead, and this is the only way I can feel life—”

Samael lifted his helmet and moved slightly.

A winged carrion demon wearing a bell-shaped helmet and carrying a bronze hand cannon took off shakily from the stands and hovered leisurely above the arena.

In an instant, Deckon roared and pounced on Samael like a caged beast struggling in its death throes!

Clang! A blinding white light, like magnesium burning intensely or the dazzling sparks of welding, flashed for a moment in the arena.

Then came the booming sound of hand cannons firing, a loud clanging, and the clattering sound of something scattering on the ground.

After a dazzling flash of white light, the sounds of swarms of scythe-wielding, rotting corpses darting about echoed through the stands, along with the chaotic sounds of scythes rapidly severing the limbs of the remaining gladiators and the soft clinking of blades.

A moment later, the ancient arena fell silent again.

(End of this chapter)