I'm not the only one listening to it. Even with their ears covered, the knights have excellent hearing. Several of them have noticed the watchers are missing and begin running over to investigate the crime scene. As one runs toward the horses, Ambrosia strikes again, slitting his throat with her claws and carrying him away, before the others can catch sight of her. They do, however, see me clear as day on the ground staring up at them.

The larger one has a Threat Level of 4 and jumps toward me. He moves slowly in his armor. It must weigh at least forty pounds. That is my advantage over them. They are slow. I am agile. As the knight advances, he stumbles in the mud and falls forward toward me with his sword and shield in hand. As he tries to get up, he leaves them on the ground and removes his helm, which is full of mud and hinders his vision. A lethal mistake. I step forward and grab him. Then, I use all my strength to lift him and throw him at the base of a tree trunk. He drops there with his head first. The force is so vast, that smashes his head with a splash sound, like a watermelon crashing on concrete. I feel great satisfaction watching him die. So much, I have forgotten about the other two knights.

The first knight lets out a war cry as he swings his blade. Had he been quiet, he could have chopped my head. His stupid arrogance is his downfall. I dodge his swing and watch as his sword collides into the second knight's back. It doesn't kill him but does some damage. He is down to his last 6 Hitpoints. Entangled as they are, I cast Fire Bolt and hit them both. The fire burns what skin the two knights have exposed and turns their armor into an oven. The second dies from the heat almost immediately, while the first cooks over a few seconds.

"Run!" I hear one merchant crying out. As I turn toward her voice, I see four of the Black Knights with war scythes riding toward me.

Just when I feel like I'm completely fucked, I grab one of the fallen knight's shields and cast Bright Light on it. Their horses go blind and rear up, stopping dead in their tracks. The knights are blind too and I get the chance to counter. I run toward them, careful not to stumble. I use the shield to knock the first one closest to me to the ground, and wedge my sword in between the eye slits of his helmet killing him instantly. A moment later, when the second knight's eyes start to adjust to the light, I toss the shield at him and watch as he falls back to the ground. Without their horses, they are walking fortresses with no balance.

The merchants are fighting back. I can see them gathering in mass around the fallen knights, attacking them with wooden staffs and tools. A few of the merchants, one a beautiful woman, have picked up one of their swords and are dealing significant damage to them. I smirk for a moment, proud to have inspired them to rise up for themselves.

Of course, not paying attention makes me vulnerable. One of the Black Knights, the one I had thrown off his horse with the shield, is still alive. He grabs me from behind and tosses me to the ground. I feel the mud falling into my mouth as he pushes my face down flat. I struggle to breathe and I lose the grip on my sword. I can't even call for help. I feel his knee pushing down on my spine. He's trying to break my back with his weight while suffocating me in the wet mud. Not going to happen. I give up struggling and wait. I'm not afraid. Not when the forces of hell are on my side.

My vampire protector appears and kicks the Black Knight in the chest, and he’s thrown several feet away from me. I pick myself up off the ground when I see her staring at me with a mocking expression.

I pick up my sword from the ground. I turn toward the knight while Ambrosia, my guardian angel disappears back into the darkness, without the merchants taking notice of her. With my sword in hand, I look down at the knight. He has 2 Hitpoints left and broken ribs. I see the dent where Ambrosia had kicked his armor in. I'll have to thank her for leaving him alive for me. I let him struggle as I slowly plunge my sword into his neck.

"Die already," I tell him.

For the first time in this world, I'm tempted to drink the blood of another living being, just because I want to make it suffer more.

The third of the Black Knights that comes after me has a Threat Level of 5. He still has 16 Hitpoints, despite being knocked on his ass by the merchants. He's wearing no helmet and takes his armor off where it has bent in.

He wants a duel with me. No tricks. With a sword in one hand, he holds out his other and makes a motion for me to come at him. I answer his call and rush him like a wolf. I feel the frigid wind flowing over me as I move. It's almost like the entire world is moving at a monumentally slow pace. My heart is beating faster and faster. I feel the blood rushing through my veins. Even as the Black Knight swings and hits me, and I take 5 damage from his attack, I feel no pain. I move low as he swings at me again, and I counterattack with an upper horizontal slash. Our blades collide and protest at the sheer strength, but Lush endures. The same cannot be said for my opponent's steel sword that shatters into pieces. It's a one in a million shot. I feel stronger than ever until I feel arrows hitting my back. I forgot about the damn archers.

"Damnit, Ambrosia, what are you doing?" I cry out. My health drops another 5 points. That's 12 out of 28 HP. Not good. This isn't how I imagined the fight going. The Black Knight grabs my wrist and twists it. I drop my sword from my hand and he hits me in the gut. My leather armor isn't enough to protect me from the iron knuckle he has in his hand. I lose another 2 points.