Reincarnated Lord: I can upgrade everything!

Chapter 496: Iron Fury Of The Saints

It was strange to Sapphira. Asher could have easily lunged at the crimson-haired assassin before she killed all his men, yet he stood there, unmoving, a shred of concern etched across his face as his warriors were brutally slaughtered before his eyes.

She very well understood the speed of an Awoken One. Asher could have intercepted Blood the moment her inner world stirred, or even before a single paladin fell. As an Awoken One, sensing the activation of another’s inner world was second nature.

Unless, of course, Asher was cut off from them. The moment that thought took root, Sapphira’s heart trembled. She turned to him, to the man whose Kingsword was plunged into the earth, whose eyes were locked on Blood with unnerving calm.

She reached toward him, and her hand phased straight through his form.

This was void.

Asher might appear to stand among them, but he had been disconnected from their plane of existence. The distance between them wasn’t physical, it was dimensional.

And cruelly enough, whoever had done this hadn’t removed him entirely. They had left a fragment of his presence behind, enough to anchor him just enough… so he could witness every moment of the horror to come.

Blood chuckled knowingly.

Of course, she wasn’t the only Awoken One here.

Behind her stood two men, Summer and Winter, arms crossed, gazes indifferent, like spectating deities.

Behind them were two women, Spring, whose inner world was an endless churning sea, and Purple, whose domain was a desolate wasteland crackling with violet lightning.

Of the final two, one wielded an inner world forged of roaring tempest winds, and the last, a man whose terrifying gift allowed him to seal zones entirely, banishing everything within to another plane.

Asher’s current state was his doing.

What everyone saw now was merely a reflection of Asher, a hollow echo of where he truly was.

“Who shall we slaughter first… is it those little ones?” Blood’s voice dripped with venomous amusement as her gaze drifted to Sapphira.

Sapphira took a bold step forward, positioning herself before Mia, who clutched the twins tightly.

“You will all die before you touch them.”

A golden dome materialized, shielding her, Mia, and the twins.

It was clear the crimson-haired assassin could not control their blood, or she would have done so already.

“Destroy that dome.” Blood scowled.

The Awoken Ones began to move—

Just then, golden beams, each thick as a towering pillar, fell from the sky. The fog dispersed under the divine light as the beams struck the ground where the fallen Paladins lay.

One by one, the lifeless warriors began to rise. Their bodies levitated into the air, arms slack at their sides, until their feet gently touched the earth.

Their armour began to reshape, reforming itself into something greater, more majestic, more fearsome than before.

The dull gleam of their former armour gave way to a brilliant, resplendent gold, tempered by a subdued aura that spoke loudly of unshakable resolve.

Their pauldrons expanded, rising high to frame their heads like the wings of judgment. Their helms transformed into golden masks, solemn, and hollow-eyed, giving no hint of the men beneath.

Crowning each helm was a circlet of golden spikes.

Their cuirass took on an angular, reforged design, masterfully crafted to deflect even the deadliest thrusts or slashes.

From their waists fell ghostly white loincloths, thick and heavy, like war-skirts woven from the souls of the fallen.

So thick was their plate armour, the inner mesh of iron mail, meant to absorb impact, couldn’t even be seen.

They had perished as Paladins.

Yet, they returned as something far more, as Iron Saints! Each of them tightened their grips around their long spears and massive round shields, paying little heed to the arming swords sheathed at their hips.

With two hundred years of battle experience not only flooding their minds but also imprinted into their muscle memory, their aura exploded outward, a violent surge of golden-crimson energy erupting from their bodies.

Each burst of battle force formed into a faint, spectral image behind them, a howling wolf, fierce and untamed.

Shields locked into place, spears angled forward with deadly precision.

In the blink of an eye, 300 Iron Saints, all Exalted-ranked, reborn veterans of a thousand battles, rushed into the fray.

Clad in divine armour that repelled even enchanted blades, they were immovable.

The assassins’ weapons, honed to slay those above their ranks, clanged off their golden plates like dull metal striking stone.

Blood’s confident smirk faltered.

She couldn’t control them. Their blood no longer answered her call. It was as though they had transcended her reach entirely.

“Kill them!” she snarled, voice laced with fury.

She lunged at the nearest Iron Saint, her body a blur. Mid-air, she hurled her blood-forged dagger, a crimson chain trailing behind it like a serpent. It tore through the air with a screech.

But the Iron Saint did not falter. He stepped forward and thrust his spear, catching the chain on its shaft.

She scoffed, expecting the usual counter, but to her surprise, he raised his shield and brought it down in a devastating arc, shattering the blood chain into mist!

Another Iron Saint surged forward, leaping high with his spear poised to pierce her skull.

Blood twisted her body, leaning back with the grace of a phantom and sliding low across the ground.

With a sharp turn of her hips, she launched a powerful kick to the back of the Iron Saint mid-air, sending him crashing several meters away.

Still, the Iron Saints pushed forward.

The assassins, though superior to most troops, were being cut down in droves. The golden armoured men tore through their ranks like beasts avenging their fallen.

But Blood wasn’t just an assassin. She was an Awoken One. And so were the six standing behind her.

Even as the assassins perished, the Awoken Ones remained untouched.

Their presence was like looming towers amidst a crumbling storm.

Blood narrowed her eyes, she had nearly a millennium of knowledge, she would not fall here. Not to mere soldiers, no matter how glorified.

Unfortunately, none of them paid heed to Asher amidst the chaos.