Masked Knight

"But…" Nedis, unable to remain calm, could not help but exclaim.

The man gently waved his hand. He had strong and slender fingers but his skin looked pale. He then faced Nedis and smiled, "I did not lie. I have broken through that array before. You would not know but after that array was broken, it would disappear…but…"

He deliberately paused for a moment and then continued, "It would reappear at the entrance after ten hours!"

His voice then turned to disdain as he lightly said, "Did you really think that a God-ranked lethal trap array would be so easily broken?"

Sith seemed fascinated when he heard of the God-ranked lethal trap array. He frowned and silently repeated the words as if he tried to remember the name.

Suddenly, he cried out in alarm and said, "Could it be…that sorcery array is…."

That person smiled a bit. He looked at the old sorcerer and gently replied, "Yes, you guessed right. That is the one!"

"What is it?" Nedis could not help but ask.

Sith had a complicated gaze in his eyes. He hesitated a little and then murmured in a hollow voice. "The Roland Continent sorcery was thriving during the God and Devil war. It was said that during the war with the Kara people in the South, God appeared and made a terrifying array. This array had destroyed the Kara race’s powerful army of two hundred and sixty thousand. This included one-third of their evil wizards1!"

"You are wrong!" That man suddenly said, "They were not evil wizards. The Kara race called them White Wizards."

Rody did not care about all these and coldly said, "Alright. You told me those words earlier today and also followed me here. What do you want to do?"

That person did not seem worried at all as he replied, "Don’t you find anything strange? Special envoy of the Roland Continent…Hahaha. Do not be suspicious. I know your identity."

He simply smiled and continued, "Since I have the ability to come in here ten years ago, why did I not take the thing here?"

These words made Rody ponder.

True. This person with strong domain powers had the ability to come in here ten years ago. Why had he not taken that thing?

Rody’s mind immediately realized something. Cannot see the sky, cannot see the earth, cannot see people.

"Could it be…" Rody said, "Could it be it is because it cannot see people?"

This time, that person did not speak immediately. He was silent for a while as if weighed down with anxiety. Finally, he sighed and nodded his head. "Yes. It is because of those last few words!"

That man saw that the three looked like they still had questions. He raised his head and looked at the distant clouds. He then gave a mysterious smile and said, "Alright. If you all have questions, leave it for later. Right now, let's all sit down and appreciate the strange scene that is about to take place." He paused for a while and then added. "I promise you that this would be the most interesting thing you have ever seen in your lives!"

That man always spoke casually without anger. It was as if he had a strange intoxicating charm. After he finished speaking, he sat crossing his legs on the clouds and no longer spoke.

Rody and the other two looked at each other before sitting down with him.

That man smiled when he saw Rody and the others sitting down with him. He pointed at a direction and slowly said, "Look there! That would appear when the sorcery array is broken!"

The three look at the direction the man was pointing. The clouds at that location gradually changed.

The clouds suddenly shook. It split and separated into four directions. A blood-red ray of light shined through from the clouds.

It was the sun.

However, the light from the sun was red and was frightening. Its blood red color also made people feel restless.

The blood-red light even made the other white clouds look red.

Immediately after that, a huge golden light shined from above.

The light beam illuminated the red-white clouds. There was the sound of the ocean waves. Like snow being warmed by the sun, the clouds gradually moved to both sides and disappeared.

Wherever the golden light fell, the red-white clouds would suddenly dissipate. It was as if the evil atmosphere from the blood red clouds would gradually dissipate.

Nedis and Sith were in a trance as they watched the magnificent sight. Only Rody who had a strong domain power felt something from the evil atmosphere of the red-white clouds.

Suddenly there was a roar from under the blood red light.

It was an inhumane roar that was filled with anger and resentment. The roar was loud and endless. Finally, it was as if the sky had scattered. It was as if there was a thunderclap.

That person seemed to be very relaxed and was listening attentively. He then sighed and said, "How many years have I not heard it roar? Unexpectedly, it is still pleasant to the ears."

Sith turned pale and seemingly realized something. He suddenly recalled the myths and legends.

He then shouted, "This world has two suns. The blood-red sun symbolizes evil and the golden sun symbolizes light! Is the blood red sunlight that evil symbol? In that case…that roar must be the legendary devil watching the…the…"

As if his tongue was tied, Sith was unable to continue speaking. Nedis who was listening could not help but ask, "The what?"

"The Hakone Serpent." The mysterious masked person was the one who replied Nedis. He seemed to smile a little and explained, "The dwarfs worship Totem Gods. However, no matter what Totem God they worship or what Master Sith say about the myths and legends, they are all false! The Hakone Serpent is not any of these. It is…"

"It's coming out!" The one who shouted was Rody. He shouted as he looked at the blood red sun.

Under the red lights, the clouds suddenly and gradually scattered and spread out. Amongst the mist of the clouds was another large and unparalleled figure.

"So big?" Nedis could not help but take in a deep breath.

However, she soon found out that she was wrong.

On top of that, she was extremely wrong.

When the huge shadow behind the mist gradually revealed its vile visage, the terrified Nedis realized that the large figure was only the head of a snake. Two lights pierced through the mist. On both sides of the large triangular head was a pair of amber eyes. When it opened its eyes,

the snake’s pupils shrank into two fine lines. These eyes showed anger and resentment, making people tremble in fear.

Nedis was the first to fall. She shrank into a ball as an instinctive reaction to a frightening enemy. The snake’s eyes were also peerlessly murderous and not that different from a person with domain powers.

Its huge head slowly surfaced from the clouds. The snake suddenly opened its mouth. The red crown of its head split into two. The top and bottom had sharp fangs as thick as ironwood.

"Cover your ears!" the masked man suddenly warned. He then waved and instantly created a Guardian Boundary surrounding everyone.

The snake opened its mouth and roared at the golden light in the clouds.

Nedis felt as though her soul was almost torn apart by the monster’s roar. It was like the Gods in heaven caused thunder to strike in her ears. She was the weakest in the group. Even though she had prepared herself and there was the Guardian Boundary around her, she could not endure it and almost fainted.

"Alright." The mysterious person sighed. He stretched his hand to comfort Nedis. He then smiled and said, "He would roar once only each time. Withstanding its roar would be beneficial to your strength."

He then clapped his hands and stood up.

Nedis was still scared out of her wits as she murmured, "I have never seen such a large snake before…Its head is so big…Its body must be…" Nedis thought for a moment and could not imagine how long the body of the snake would be. She laughed bitterly and said, "I think it would not be a problem for it to swallow a few of us at the same time."

The snake’s head had retreated back into the clouds and no longer reappeared.

Rody turned to look at the mysterious man and softly asked, "What is your objective?"

The man sighed as he looked at the cloud where the snake was and whispered, "You saw it? That was what the last words meant! That thing has this snake as a guardian! Unless there was a person that meets that last condition, we would not be able to obtain that thing from that! This was why I left empty-handed ten years ago even though I managed to get past the sorcery array."

Rody coldly said, "What does this have to do with us?"

"Because you are someone that meets the conditions of those last words!" The man finally said the most important words.

"What?" Before Rody could even speak, Nedis could not help but speak out, "What are you talking about? The last words said that it cannot see people! Although Rody does not perform like a person sometimes, he is still just a human."

The man ignored Nedis’ words and looked straight at Rody. He said, "I have a proposal. Would you be willing to accept it?"

Rody looked at the man and sneered. "I listened to you talk so much. Naturally, I am waiting for you to finish!"

"Good." He pointed at the exit and said, "Have your two friends wait outside. The two of us will stay here. I will tell you something interesting."

"Don’t promise him that!" Nedis was the first to shout. "Rody, he is a sneaky person. He wants you to stay in here. What if he closes the exit and stops you from leaving?"

Rody thought for a moment. He then smiled and said, "Can you give me a convincing reason?"

The man laughed.

Although he wore a silver mask, Rody could completely feel his amusement. He suddenly leaned towards Rody and whispered.

"The Hakone Serpent has a connection to the Mystic Dragon."

Rody was startled and he looked at the guy in surprise.

What did he mean?

Did he already feel the Mystic Dragon’s power in my body?

Could it be?

Rody thought of countless possibilities. He then gritted his teeth as he looked at the man and said, "I promise you."

Nedis wanted to say something else but Rody waved his hand and stopped her. He did not look at Nedis but at Sith. He then said, "You all leave first…" He then added, "Once you are outside, if you see any changes, immediately leave this place."

Sith sighed and softly replied, "You have made your decision? This fellow…"

Rody shook his head. "Just leave."

Nedis still had a terrified look. Rody simply said, "Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to me. There is still nothing in this world that can kill me."

Once Rody saw Sith and Nedis leave, he turned back to the masked person and said, "Now, only the two of us are left. If you have anything to say, you might as well say it now."

The mysterious person laughed softly. His tone was filled with mockery. "We are not in a hurry. We have been around each other for a while and yet we have not yet formally introduced ourselves. I believe you have guessed that I am Prometheus, the Chief Elder of the Temple."

Rody coldly replied. "That’s right. I have certainly guessed that."

The man shook his head and sighed.

He stared at Rody and said something that shocked Rody.

"I have one more identity. I believe you have heard this name before…" The man said in a calm and terrifying tone, "My other name is Kara! The True God Kara!"

Translator's Notes:

1 巫师 wushi. Refers to wizard or sorcerer. It is not sushi/mofashi. Since I already used the terms "magicians" and "sorcerers", I am using "wizards" now.