Masked Knight

It was close to midnight now and a carriage was moving slowly on the streets of the Imperial City.

"You were in the limelight tonight." Seth, who had been enjoying the view by the window, suddenly said.

Rody sighed. "So what? In the end, I was used by that old fox, the King." His smile was somewhat bitter. "I had no choice. After all, I have come to Roland Continent with the aim of causing both sides to fight against each other. The greater the scale of the conflict, the better it will be for us. The King obviously knew our intentions, so we are just using each other."

Rody felt a bit frustrated. He had defeated a prestigious Paladin of the Roland Continent without much effort in tonight’s banquet—although before this Rody had also defeated several other Paladins, this was the first time that he had done so in public. The duel tonight was significant in the sense that it not only forced those Roland Kingdoms to draw a clear line between themselves and the Temple, and it also showcased his power.

After all, the Radiant Empire already had peace talks with the Roland kingdoms, so they were allies from now on. The fact that Rody as the Special Envoy of the Empire had such extraordinary power definitely gave the Roland people a firm determination. These thoughts must be in the King’s mind as well.

Besides, after the duel just now, the banquet continued even though the Paladin and Elder Gu Ming left one after another. The ambassadors from the various Roland kingdoms were obviously more hospitable to Rody, coming up to him one after another to show friendliness and court for his support. Once the war began, it would be a great advantage to have the support from a powerful foreign ally like the Radiant Empire—even though the Radiant Empire could not directly send armies across the Thunder Straits to assist and fight the war, as long as they sent senior warriors like Rody, it would have a tremendous effect on the battlefield! Right now, there were no warriors among the Roland kingdoms who could match the Paladins!

Seth was silent for a moment, then he suddenly laughed, "You are indeed unsuitable to deal with such matters. You seemed a bit clumsy when faced with such situations filled with conspiracy and deceit."

Rody rolled his eyes but he nodded in agreement. "You’re right! I suppose you are more suitable than me."

Suddenly, Seth asked, "Have you ever thought about what you will do with me when the matters in the Roland Continent come to an end?"

Rody laughed and leaned back in the chair lazily. "Bring you back, and let Nicole decide what to do with you."

Seth pouted. "Is there any room for discussion?"

"No!" Rody replied flatly.

Seth scorned. "I’m afraid it’s for your own sake that you want me to go back. In order to be together with my sister, you can no longer pretend to be the Duke of the Tulip Family, am I right?"

Rody replied in a deep voice, "And also to let you shoulder the responsibilities that you are supposed to bear! The child in the queen’s womb! As well as your family’s burden..."

"And Myka, too?" Seth asked Rody sarcastically.

Rody paused for a while before he looked up and stared at Seth, saying in a cold voice, "It’s better that you never bring up anything about Myka in front of me ever again! You’ve hurt her once, I absolutely will not allow you to hurt her for the second time! She’s my woman now."

Seth looked like he wanted to laugh, but Rody added coldly, "In this world, there are some words that should not be said! And there are some things that should not be done! Once you’ve done it, you will have to bear the necessary responsibilities! Don’t think that you can challenge the rules of this world!"

Seth seemed to be unmoved, "Don’t worry, I have no intentions towards Myka..."

Rody suddenly smiled, but his smile was as cold as ice, "It’s best that you do not, if you do ..." His gaze was fixed on Seth’s face as he continued in a cold tone, "I will not hesitate to kill you. I definitely will."

Though Seth did not usually have much feelings, what Rody said managed to send chills down his spine.

Seth burst into laughter in an attempt to hide his true thoughts. He pointed at Rody’s nose and laughed loudly, "Surprise! Surprise! You silly boy have learned to fight over women, hahahaha…"

Rody did not get mad. Instead, he asked softly, "You don’t believe me?"

Seth halted his laughter. He took a deep breath and smiled wryly, "I do believe. You aren’t the silly little boy whom I’ve chosen anymore."

They sat in silence again but not for long, as Seth suddenly asked another question, "That Paladin Fielding, you said he has recognized you?"

Rody nodded. "I think so. It’s just that I’m not sure if he will tell the Temple about this. I guess ..."

As he was saying this, Rody suddenly stopped and the expression on his face changed. He suddenly squeezed towards Seth and opened the carriage’s window, saying in a deep voice, "Something is going on out there!"

"What?" Seth asked curiously.

Rody fixed his gaze outside the window, and then he closed his eyes, seemingly listening to something, but there was only silence in the surroundings except for the sound of hooves and wheels rolling.

"What are you looking at?"

"There!" Rody pointed to a direction outside the window and said in a grave manner, "There’s somebody fighting over there! And both are masters! I can feel the fluctuations of energy!"

"Oh?" Seth suddenly became interested.

Rody closed his eyes, seemingly trying to sense something. His brows suddenly drew together, "Hmm? It seems like...one of them is Fielding! The other one...is a bit strange..."

Seth’s eyes lit up. "Fielding? For one to fight with a Paladin, his or her strength must be quite good too!"

Rody suddenly yelled, "Stop the carriage!"

The carriage came to an abrupt stop, and two guards from the Royal Knights came by the window.

"Your Excellency Special Envoy, what are your orders?"

Rody pushed open the door and hopped down the carriage without saying a word. He seemed to look far away with an astonished look on his face.

Seth followed Rody closely and hopped down from the carriage, smiling. "Since it’s strange, we might as well go have a look?"

"Okay!" Rody was about to leave, and Seth hurriedly said, "I’ll go with you!"

Rody shot a glance at Seth, but Seth smiled, "What if someone comes with intentions to harm me, do you think I, a weak lady, can fight them off? There is still a long distance to the Summer Palace from here!"

Rody pondered for a moment. 'Right now, Seth’s identity is Miss Nicole, if the Temple actually comes after him, these Royal Knights would not have the ability to ensure his safety.'

Rody nodded. The Royal Knights then watched in shock as he held out a hand and grabbed Seth’s collar, lifting him up by the collar and leaped forward with a huge step. In just the blink of an eye, they had already gone more than ten meters away!

Rody ignored Seth’s cries, and he had already run past a few streets in just a few moments. Seth was cursing angrily as he could only hear the wind whistling past his ears, and the houses on both sides moving backward rapidly.

Rody ran for some time, gradually nearing the city gate. As he was hurrying towards that direction, he suddenly heard a few cries coming from the side.

Rody abruptly stopped, and a brief cry could be heard coming from an alley behind the piazza on the left. According to Rody’s experience, it was a cry from a person who was seriously wounded!

"Somebody’s there...." Without waiting for Seth’s reply, Rody put him down and shouted, "You stay here and don’t come near!" He then ran towards the direction of the cry.

This place seemed a bit remote. Rody had just run two steps forward when he saw several patrol soldiers of the Imperial City lying on their stomachs with their bodies scattered around haphazardly on the floor, obviously been knocked out by their attackers. Rody frowned and quickened his pace.

The person in the alley seemed to have heard someone approaching and gave another cry of help. Rody saw a bright white light flashed in the originally dark alley, and as he came closer he saw a person lying on the floor!

To be exact, it was a corpse!

The corpse on the ground was wearing a white robe belonging to the clergy of the Temple. The body laid crookedly on the floor, half of it was covered with fresh red blood, and a standard cross-shaped sword belonging to a knight was impaled on his chest. When Rody came closer, he noticed that this person was someone he was familiar with! It was the Temple’s Elder Gu Ming, whom he had met in the palace earlier tonight!

Rody’s face immediately changed.

The elder of the Temple had just died here!

The cry must have been from Gu Ming as there was no one else here, and the assailants must be still nearby! Struck with such thought, he leaped onto the roof and gazed into the distance. Under the night sky, he could vaguely make out a few figures fleeing far away. Rody frowned, and as he was about to go after them, he heard a slight noise from the corpse beneath.

Rody immediately jumped down from the roof and saw the supposedly dead Gu Ming opened his eyes suddenly.

Rody bent down and frowned, "Elder Gu Ming?"

Gu Ming seemed to be in a delirious state. He could sense somebody in front of him but in haste, he must have thought it was the assailants who ambushed him. He suddenly growled and raised his hands, a light ball shot towards Rody without warning. They were at such a close distance, and Rody did not expect Gu Ming to suddenly attack him.

On top of that, the power of the Temple’s Elder was not weak. The light ball, seemingly a Fire Faction sorcery, hit Rody on the chest. Rody’s body jolted, the huge shock forced him a few steps backward. Although he was unharmed, the clothes covering his chest was already charred.

Rody yelled, "Elder Gu Ming, it’s me..."

Gu Ming’s eyes were wide open but suddenly, his body stiffened, his hands dropped, and he was dead.

Rody was shocked. He raised Gu Ming’s body and examined it carefully, and found that he was really dead. He then looked around and noticed that there were traces of a fight, but not much. Obviously, it was just a brief fight. Since the power of a Temple’s Elder was not weak, it would take more than one person to kill him, and he was most probably ambushed.

"How is it?" Seth’s voice rang from behind.

Rody placed down Gu Ming and sighed, "Have a look!"

Seth glanced at Gu Ming on the floor, his facial expression became weird, "Hmm, it’s him?"

Rody smiled wryly, "Seems like another conspiracy. An Elder of the Temple dying here…"

Seth’s eyes flickered as his thoughts raced. "You’re right! He just made an appearance at the palace, and he and the various Roland kingdoms have publicly turned against each other. Then not long after that, he is found dead here! There’s a huge problem in this!"

Rody replied in a deep voice, "I don’t think it’s the King. He has no reasons to do this!"

Seth was deep in thought, "Hmm, you said you could sense that Fielding is battling with someone outside the city...Gu Ming is dead here...Oh no!"

He suddenly yelled, "We need to leave here fast!"

"What?"

Seth looked somewhat panicked, "Idiot! Leave now!"

He ran towards Rody, trying to pull his hands and leave. Sure enough, they heard a loud roar from the intersection, "What have you done!"

Fielding had suddenly appeared at the intersection. He was half-naked, and his body was covered in blood. There were several wounds on his chest, shoulders, and arms. The ones on his chest and shoulder were especially bad, with blood gushing out profusely.

He immediately saw Gu Ming on the floor with a sword impaled in his body, and also Rody who was standing beside with bloodstains on him. He suddenly snarled and struck his fist at Rody. Rody frowned and pulled Seth aside. Fielding did not pursue to attack but knelt down on the floor and lifted Gu Ming, roaring in rage, "Did you kill him?"

He dropped Gu Ming and stood up, glaring angrily at Rody, "Tulip! Why did you do this?"

Rody sighed, "It wasn’t me, I was just passing by."

"Do you think I’m blind!" Fielding’s mind was in chaos now. A moment ago, he was ambushed by Ars.Lan and poisoned by Dragon Saliva, causing him to bleed profusely. Even though he was powerful, as a Paladin he was not skilled in sorcery, so he had to turn back to seek help from Gu Ming who was an expert in sorcery. And then he saw this scene before his eyes.

"There’s blood on your body! And the clothes on your chest were charred! Isn’t this due to attacks by Gu Ming using sorcery!" Fielding looked as if he could not even stand properly. He had just gone through a fierce battle and was injured badly. On top of that, he had shed too much blood, so he was very weak. He clenched his fists and glared at Rody, "Why did you do this? Did the Sauron King order you to do so? You’ve killed Gu Ming to defy the Temple! Am I right!"

Rody was not good at handling such situations. He indeed had blood on his body, but this could be easily explained. The problem was with the blow that Gu Ming gave him before he died, thinking that Rody was one of the assailants. This had made things a bit hard to be explained.

When Fielding saw that Rody did not answer immediately, he growled and lunged at Rody with golden fighting energy radiating from his body.

Right now, Fielding was surging with emotions and was completely controlled by rage. Though the blow was powerful, it did not hit Rody. As Rody dodged, he heard a big boom and behind him, a large hole was blasted out of the wall of one of the houses by Fielding.

"Fielding, listen to me!" Rody sighed. As he was about to speak, Fielding struggled up from the ruins, roared and charged at Rody once again. Rody had no choice but to dodge again. A thundering boom was heard as Fielding’s fist landed on the floor where Rody was previously standing, and a deep pit appeared on the stone floor.

"I’ll kill you!" Fielding’s eyes were red with anger. He suddenly pressed his palms together; his aura rapidly intensified. Between his palms, a huge light ball was forming at high speed.

Rody’s face changed slightly, "Do you want to destroy this place!?"

Just as Rody finished his sentence, a huge light ball already shot out from Fielding’s hands. The energy ball gathered all of Fielding’s power, and Rody knew he could not dodge this time because if he did, the street behind him would probably be destroyed by Fielding.

His eyes flickered with anger. In the face of Fielding’s indiscriminate attacks, his temper started to flare up as well. As the energy ball approached, Rody’s eyes glinted and he suddenly waved his hand.

After a dull thud, the blow delivered by Fielding using all his strength was deflected away by Rody without much effort. The energy ball then soared into the sky and disappeared quickly like a meteor in the night sky.

Fielding refused to let it off easily and tried to charge at Rody again. Rody grabbed Fielding’s fist and twisted it hard. Fielding howled in pain and collapsed on the floor.

He struggled for a few while but in the end, he did not have the energy to move anymore. Rody said coldly, "Fielding, I did not kill Gu Ming!"

Fielding did not seem to believe him. Seth who was standing at the side suddenly spoke; his voice too was cold, "Idiot, if he was the culprit, with his power he could have easily killed you too right now. Why would he need to talk so much nonsense with you?"

Seth’s words were more useful than anything else. Fielding was stunned for a moment after he heard this, and he actually stopped struggling.

Rody gave Seth a grateful look and sighed, "I was passing by this place just now when I saw Gu Ming being ambushed. I wanted to go after the assailants, but then I noticed Gu Ming wasn’t dead yet, so I had to delay the chase, but then..." He pointed at his chest where the fireball spell had left its mark, smiling bitterly, "Gu Ming must have been in a delirious state and thought of me as his assailants, so he gave me a blow."

He then recounted in detail about what had happened. He told him about how he ended up here to check things out due to curiosity after he sensed that there was a fight outside the city and the energy waves that were emitted were similar to Fielding’s.

Rody held out his hands and pulled Fielding up. His expression was serious as he said, "This was what happened. If you don’t believe me, you should consider this properly. I’m from the Radiant Empire, what good does it do to me if I kill Gu Ming? Today at the palace, the King’s side and the Temple’s side have already turned against each other. If I kill Gu Ming at this time, it serves no purpose at all! Besides, I already know that Gu Ming is Mouse’s teacher, why would I do such a thing?"

Fielding was silent for some time, and finally some trust appeared in his expression, "Okay, I got it."

His body was still trembling slightly as he walked back to Gu Ming and knelt down on both knees. There was sorrow on his face, "Elder Gu Ming…Elder Gu Ming…" A murderous look suddenly flashed in his eyes, "It must be her! That bitch! And also, Prometheus! It must be them! She ambushed me on the way and at the same time sent someone else to ambush Gu Ming!"

Fielding paused here and tossed his head back in a wild laugh, "Prometheus! Have you become heartless and barbaric just for the sake of becoming the Pontiff? How could you so ruthlessly kill Elder Gu Ming!"

As he was speaking, his breath seemed to get caught in his throat, and his body was swaying dangerously. Rody saw this and held out his hand to support Fielding. He frowned and asked, "How did you end up with so many wounds on your body?"

Fielding gasped for breath and his voice was a bit weak, "I was ambushed by another Dragon Tribe Paladin of the Temple! Prometheus wanted to kill me! The reason is because not everyone in the Temple supports the move to declare war on the various Roland kingdoms. If we died here, this would successfully incite hatred in the Temple towards the Roland kingdoms! When they are united with hatred, they can...can…." Before he could finish, Fielding was too exhausted, and his body quivered, and he fainted.

He had lost too much energy tonight and was seriously wounded. Most importantly, he was poisoned by Ars.Lan’s Dragon Saliva so the wounds on his body could not heal, causing him to shed too much blood. No matter how tough a Paladin was, he was after all just a human made of flesh and blood. After losing so much blood, he finally could not cope and passed out.

Rody sighed. He shook Fielding a few times, but Fielding’s eyes remained tightly shut. He frowned and said, "It seems like he is seriously wounded."

Seth smiled, the expression on his face was as sly as a fox, "Why don’t you just kill him? Isn’t he your rival in love? Are you going to bring him back and let Mouse see him? For all I know, women tend to have a very sympathetic heart..."

Seth noticed Rody’s glare and immediately clarified, "I’m just joking."

He finally stopped smiling and asked in a serious manner, "You can bring Fielding back, but what about this guy?" He pointed at Gu Ming on the ground, "Are you going to bring this corpse back too?"

Rody crouched down to examine Gu Ming’s wounds and frowned, "It must be a sorcerer who ambushed him! When I came in just now, I saw a flash of bright light which belongs to sorcery. But they intentionally impaled a knight’s sword in Gu Ming’s chest...Obviously, they are trying to frame the Sauron Kingdom..."

Seth smiled bitterly, "Don’t tell me you’re really planning to bring this corpse back!"

Rody frowned, "If not, what should I do?"

Seth sighed and gave Rody a pitying look, "You really are incompetent when it comes to political matters! Didn’t you hear what Fielding said just now? Not all within the Temple supports the declaration of war with the Roland kingdoms! Now, with Gu Ming dead, this will incite hatred within the Temple towards the Roland kingdoms! Prometheus can proceed to eliminate the objections within the Temple, and both parties can then battle against each other!" He suddenly looked at Rody with a sneer on his face, "The purpose of you coming to Roland continent, isn’t it to start a war between both parties?"

Rody’s expression was far from friendly, "You mean we should just dump the body here?"

Seth asked in reply, "Do you have better suggestions?"

Rody sighed, "I can’t do that!" He gazed at Seth, "No matter what, he is Mouse’s teacher. I cannot leave his body here like that! Moreover..." He suddenly smiled, "I’ve heard of a saying: All that are opposed by the enemy, we shall support! All that is supported by the enemy, we shall oppose! So, I cannot leave Gu Ming’s body here! Although I don’t have any other reasons, my intuition is telling me that it would be useful by doing so!"

Rody ignored the look on Seth’s face and lifted Fielding. He then held out one palm...

A black flame suddenly rose from his palm. The flame fell on Gu Ming’s body and rapidly set it on fire, causing it to melt. Not only Gu Ming’s body but also the cross-shaped sword impaled on his body too gradually vanished into the flames. In the end, not even a speck of dust was left!

Seth watched Rody’s actions in shock. He suddenly gasped, "You...are you using the ‘Hellfire’?"

He looked at Rody with a serious expression, "How did you know how to use this?" His expression was rarely so grave. "I’ve read about it in some legends. ‘Hellfire’ is not something ordinary! Even if you’re a Domain Master, according to legends, ‘Hellfire’ can only be performed by Gods! As a human, even after achieving domain power, it is still impossible to perform the ‘Hellfire’!"

Seth looked into Rody’s eyes and asked in a strange tone, "You’re not a human?"

His tone was very strange, but he did not seem like he was joking.

…

The Temple, atop a misty mountain peak.

Beside the main peak on a slightly lower peak, there was a black building. Inside the building, a large Hexagram Sorceror Array suddenly flashed, and a person walked out from the sorceror array.

It was Ars.Lan.

Ars.Lan’s face was pale. The armor she was wearing was damaged in several places and there were also holes in her cloak.

"Are you injured?" A cold voice rang from the side. A figure cloaked in black emerged slowly from the corner. He was cleverly hidden in the dark recess of the corner by the black cloak.

Even though he was asking ‘are you injured?’, his tone did not sound like he was deeply concerned.

Ars.Lan’s face was as cold as his, "Are you hoping that I’m dead as well?"

That person did not refute her. Instead, he continued calmly, "After you left, I’ve been watching the life clock on the walls. The flames on Ni Lin’s and the others have already extinguished, yours is the only one still burning now. I was waiting to see when will that blow out too."

Ars.Lan gave a small laugh. The laughter was tinged with a sense of anger.

The person asked flatly, "Are you angry? Absolutely unnecessary. Although we are both from the Dragon Tribe, I abide by the agreement. I’m just giving you an advice, don’t think that your little trick could fool Prometheus. He’s not a person who can be easily dealt with! Though your intentions of planning for the Dragon Tribe are good...from what I see, you’re playing with fire!"

Ars.Lan’s tone was sarcastic, "So you willingly abide by the agreement and willingly work for Prometheus? Even after you watch Ni Lin and the others die, you are still willing to continue to work for Prometheus?"

"Yes," the person replied lightly. "At least I know that by doing this, it will not bring catastrophe to the Dragon Tribe! A few dead are better than many dead! But I need to correct you a bit...I did not ‘willingly’ work for him."

Ars.Lan sneered. "Whatever! But I’m telling you, things had been successful for this trip to the Imperial City of the Sauron Kingdom! "

That person seemed to sigh and shook his head. He did not continue to refute her but asked softly instead, "So are you preparing to go meet Prometheus right now?"

"Yes!" Ars.Lan moved to the side of the room and started to remove her armor. Even though there was another person in the room, her actions did not slow down.

First, she removed her armor, and then her underclothes. Within moments, she was already completely naked!

This Dragon Tribe female Paladin not only had a beautiful face, after her armor was removed, a body so perfect that even the Creator would gasp in admiration was revealed.

She had a slender figure. Her shoulders looked as though it was carved out with a knife. Her torso was tall and straight, and her skeletal framework was evenly structured. She held her plumpy chest up high, without the slightest care about the mocking gaze cast from beside. Her legs were straight and thin, buttocks round and firm and the skin over her whole body was fine and smooth without any flaws.

Ars.Lan gazed coldly at the person beside her, "Are you done with the gawking? If yes, then bring me my armor now!"

The person’s gaze slowly turned from cold to passionate, there was some obsession in the way he looked at her. He seemingly chuckled when he heard Ars.Lan’s icy voice. He walked towards her and tried to place his hand on Ars.Lan’s shoulder. Ars.Lan frowned and moved away, and she warned him coldly, "If you touch me again, I will kill you immediately!"

That person took a step back. Though his body and face were hidden beneath a black veil, his eyes could be seen flickering with deep hatred. Finally, he let out a long breath and slowly waved his hands. After a flash of bright light, a set of clothes appeared on Ars.Lan’s body, followed by a golden armor...

There were no changes on Ars.Lan’s expression after she was covered in clothes, but the look in that person’s eyes seemed relieved.

Ars.Lan drew her brows together and looked at him, saying sneeringly, "I’m going to meet Prometheus!" She turned and was about to leave, but she suddenly added icily, "You’d better not look at me like that next time! It makes me feel so disgusted! If you like it so much, you should take off your own clothes and look at yourself!"

That person seemingly chuckled and said suddenly, "Be careful when you meet Prometheus! Something happened when you were not around these two days."

"Oh?" Ars.Lan halted her steps.

That person continued softly, "It’s Augustine! It seems Prometheus wanted to release him! Although this suggestion has not been passed by the Elders Council, I think it’s just a matter of time before they do."

Ars.Lan frowned, "Are they willing to forgive Augustine even though he had committed such a serious crime?"

That person laughed disdainfully and said in a light voice, "Augustine is a Paladin after all! They are in need of people now. Although your power is not bad, and Prometheus requires the help of us Dragon Tribe, but they humans cannot possibly trust the Dragon Tribe entirely! I heard that the humans have a saying which goes like this, ‘Those from an alien race will not have a loyal heart’!"

He paused and looked at Ars.Lan smilingly, "Although these words sound mean, I think they fit you perfectly. You indeed have ill intentions towards Prometheus..."