Chapter 149 Ashes to Ashes.

Matalan raised his tower shield to soak up the damage from Dave's [Death Descent]. Then he flung Dave away with a smash from his shield and struck at the draugr as he was recovering. But Dave switched armaments from gauntlets to the Sword of Mercy and Falcon shield and used [Block] to stop the Death Knight's attack. He pushed off, using the force of the attack to help power a flip backwards and create distance between himself and Matalan.

The Death Knight shuffled sideways, circling around Dave, looking for an opening. Suddenly he just disappeared in midstep.

Dave looked around for the Death Knight but didn't have the slightest clue where he was.

"Never drop your guard!" the shout came from above. He looked up to see Matalan descending in a headfirst dive his sword in both hands, pointed at Dave's skull.

Dave dove clumsily to the side as the Death Knight struck, cracking the arena floor.

"That was close!"

Dave used [Stampede] to charge at the Death Knight.

The Death Knight couched his shield to block the dash attack but was still forced back.

Dave attacked with [Sword Lunge] creating a giant sword at point blank range.

Matalan recoiled but didn't take any damage.

"Weak!" the Death knight taunted, smacking Dave with his tower shield.

[-11,200]

Almost a third of his HP emptied by a single attack.

Dave wasn't disheartened, he just smiled wickedly as he stomped the ground to activate [Death Surge]. The Death knight was Slowed, allowing the draugr to use another attack Skill, [Ray of Flame].

The twisting torrent of concentrated fire erupted from Dave's mouth, lighting up the dark limbo they fought in. [Ray of Flame] blew up against the Death Knight's shield, raised at the last instant.

The Skill did flat damage, so a damage indicator still appeared above the Knight's head despite the intervening shield

[-2,2000]

The [Ray of Flame] second effect was the explosion in contact, the splash Damage from it melted the floor. Since the Death Knight couldn't move normally due to the ongoing Slow debuff from [Death Surge] he started taking DOT from the melted floor.

[-5,000]

[-5,000]

[-5,000]

[-5,000]

The Death Knight was losing a chunk of HP with every tick of the clock.

Dave re-equipped the Sworn Stalwart gauntlets and used [Aura].

A surge of fire erupted outward, turning everything inside a 20 meter radius into a blazing inferno.

Matalan's health was being slowly whittled down by 1% of his attackers maximum HP every second. The skill lasted for 20 seconds, with Dave's HP that was a total of just over 6,000 damage. And it was Flat Damage, so resistances didn't change it.

The Slow debuff from [Death Surge] finally ended. But Dave was watching the timer closely and he threw a [Spectral Skull] at the Death Knight to Stagger him, trying to keep him on molten area of the floor for as long as he could.

The molten floor hardened around the Death Knight's feet, Dave smacked the Death knight's shield with his right fist unleashing a blast of fire from the Sworn Stalwart's gauntlet. The already red-hot shield glowed even redder.

Matalan swung at him with his sword. Dave started to dodge, but raised an arm to block it instead when he realized he couldn't get out of the way in time.

The sword impacted and slid across his arm but didn't do significant damage. He was shocked that the arm-parry worked, he didn't have the Skill.

The Death Knight was preparing another shield attack.

Dave sidestepped the incoming shield-bash and hit the Death knight with a flaming uppercut, spewing fire across his face, punishment for an overextended attack.

Dave kept moving, stepping around the Death Knight continuously and attacking, 'strafing' his opponent to keep him off balance and unable to aim or launch an attack.

After five consecutive attacks [Ramp Up] activated and his gauntlets took on a shimmering fiery glow.

You have caused an Overheating effect to your adversary.

They will lose

-500HP/second until the Overheating status is removed.

"Ha! A hidden bonus Effect, niiice!" Dave smiled and attacked again.

The Overheating status caused the Knight to be engulfed in flame, but he didn't look fazed. No, now he looked more terrifying with the fire burning all across his arnor and was truly enraged by the attacks.

"I ROSE FROM FIRE AND ASH! IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!" He swung his blade and a crescent of black energy shot out toward Dave.

Dave activated [Double Edged] and [Vertical Slash] escaping the black energy and his own Skill at the same time just as the ground erupted. The Minhocao rose from under the earth and gnashed the Death Knight in its jaws then spat him out.

[-22,000]

While the Knight was still in the air Dave used [Demon's Maw], summoning a giant demon face to bite the Death Knight, stripping away another 5% of his total HP before he even fell back to the arena grounds.

[-17,500]

Dave clapped his hands together making a sound like thunder.The sky lit up and a flaming meteor descended, impacting the arena floor.

Another damage value appeared above the Death Knight depleting his hp, but he simply rose from the fiery rubble and faced Dave, "Not enough. Not nearly enough!"

[Aura] flickered out, having consumed all of Dave's Mana.

Dave smiled and smacked both fists together, a burst of flame rushed out from the gauntlets.

The draugr used [Immortal Apparition] to appear in front of the Death Knight then activated [Infernal Tornado] hoping to Stagger the Knight and buy himself some time.

But he realized that despite [Infernal Tornado] the Death Knight wasn't Staggered, his attack still incoming!

'Shit, Hyperarmor!'

Dave frantically used [Bastion] to nullify the Knight's attack.

Normally, [Bastion] caused him to take an immobile defensive posture for three seconds, so he was surprised when [Infernal Tornado] wasn't cancelled. The spinning attack continued, damaging the Death Knight and keeping the Overheated Status going.

The Death Knight's Hyperarmor almost cost Dave the match and his life.

Abruptly, Dave stopped and stepped back, disengaging from his opponent. Matalan gave him a puzzled, slightly disappointed look.

The draugr smiled, "Good fight. Thank you."

A spectral scythe swept through the Death Knight's neck in a decapitating cut, the match was over.

The Limbo effect from [Life Cleaver] cleared, revealing the draugr standing over the headless Death Knight.

The hordes of Undead howled and shouted, praising the winner of the match.

A notification opened up in front of Dave.

Undead Ascension!

You have defeated the Regiment leader, Matalan of Ash!

You are hereby elevated from Undead captain to the rank of

Death Knight!

You have been given command of Battalion 501.

You may select 100 Elite ranked undead to promote to Undead Captains!

The promoted Undead will command 100 soldiers of their own!

You now have the right to enter the Bone Palace!

Just as you challenged your superior for advancement, so too can others challenge you for your position.

Serve the Undead King faithfully!

+5,000 Contribution points.

"YES!" Dave shouted with glee. "More than a thousand strong, forget an army of one!"

Two more notifications appeared.

Your Legacy has reached another stage.

Do you wish to continue your next challenge?

Y/N?

The Undead King has summoned you to his presence

You have 10 minutes to comply!

"I'll meet with the king first." Dave accepted the summons and disappeared from the arena.