Masked Knight

Rody could clearly feel a portion of his strength in his body beginning to recover. Although he was still not as strong as before, the feeling of being full of vitality and the feeling of the flow of fighting energy in his body gave Rody a strong will to fight.

He held his scimitar with both hands then jumped and soared into the air towards the Red Clothed Saint. Rody shouted. His scimitar became a dazzling light as he slashed straight downwards. The hexagram barrier formed by the Red Clothed Saint emitted a protective white holy light.

Clang! Rody’s scimitar seemed to have slashed at a solid metal surface. The huge rebound knocked Rody back in the air.

"Courting death!" The Red Clothed Saint raised his eyebrows. He focused his attention on Rody. Immediately after that, a beam of light shot out from his body like before. Its target now was Rody.

The beam of light was fast. Rody did not have any chance to dodge. Before he could stabilize himself, he was already shrouded in the light.

Old Mark and Sith, who were standing on the ground, cried out in alarm at the same time. Right then, Rody also felt some changes in his body. His strength started to leave his body.

In the light beam, black whiffs came out of Rody’s body. It condensed and floated towards the Red Clothed Saint.

"It is black?" The Red Clothed Saint seemed to be somewhat puzzled. He then automatically dismissed it. There was absolutely no way for opponents hit by the light to do anything about it. No matter from whichever angle you look at it, he had already won.

Rody roared but his body started to tremble. It was not known how he did it. As though there was a weird power, the black whiffs were reabsorbed.

"This…this is…" The Red Clothed Saint’s expression changed.

He could clearly feel the energy he had absorbed moving rapidly in the opposite direction. It seemed as though that there was a force on the other side pulling.

The Red Clothed Saint desperately used his magic power. After pushing his magic powers to the extreme, the strange black whiffs once again flowed back to the Red Clothed Saint.

Rody had stopped roaring as though he had given up resisting. The black whiffs then started to leave his body.

Rody suddenly opened his eyes and coldly shouted, "Are you trying to suck out my fighting energy?"

"Huh?" Looking at his opponent’s indifferent expression and dull tone made the Red Clothed Saint surprised. 'Isn't this the moment where he should be desperately struggling or crying for mercy?'

Rody did not intend to wait for the Red Clothed Saint to speak. Although his body trembled, he lifted a finger lightly and gnashed his teeth. "In that case, go ahead and suck this in!"

A small black qi mass gathered at Rody’s fingertips. The black qi mass appeared out of his fingertips like a flame then flew towards the Red Clothed Saint from his spell.

"This…this is…" The Red Clothed Saint instinctively felt that something was wrong, but his reaction was a little too slow. The black qi mass gently touched his sleeve …

Immediately, black flames started to spread. At that moment, the Red Clothed Saint screamed horribly. In that short moment, his arm and his sleeve had burned to nothing.

Not even ashes were left!

The black flames continued to spread. It had spread to the rest of the Red Clothed Saint’s body. He screamed as parts of his body disappeared successively.

Even more frightening was that the black flames could still spread further. The sorcerers standing on the hexagram who were nearest to it could feel the black flames becoming a threat to themselves. They could no longer keep calm and scattered in a panic.

The Red Clothed Saint also dashed around in a panic. In that brief moment, he had attempted all kinds of spells to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, he did not succeed in stopping the spread of the flames while half his body had disappeared.

While the Red Clothed Saint struggled violently the other sorcerers dared not approach. One after another, they escaped as far away as they could. Finally, the Red Clothed Saint’s screams grew softer. His body had turned into dots of light and disappeared...

Nothing was left behind.

Rody could no longer stabilize his body. His body fell and crashed to the ground. He was gasping for air. Just now, he had had a sudden burst of strength. This little bit of power was not enough to restore him to his previous self. But he had duped the Red Clothed Saint into absorbing the hellfire. He crooned, "Hmmm!"

However, Rody had also suffered a huge loss. After all, his energy was absorbed by the Red Clothed Saint until there was almost nothing left.

Arslan watched the Red Clothed Saint die tragically in the sky. She showed no signs of helping.

When Rody fell to the ground, she finally felt relieved. 'This Domain Master had not yet recovered!'

"Kill them!" Arslan exclaimed. The operation was almost a success. After giving her command, her subordinates, the dragon warriors, roared and attacked.

Hundreds of dragons burst with a powerful murderous aura. Again, and again they puffed their hot dragon’s breath. Sith had already carried Ruolan up. He used his powerful sorcery to create protective Guardian Boundaries. On the other hand, Old Mark grabbed Seth as he barely held back the huge flying dragons.

He had already killed about a dozen dragons but carrying Seth had compromised his speed and evasive ability. This was why he could only fight back and block his opponents' attacks. He did not have the leeway to dodge. Consequently, it was very tiring.

At that moment, Old Mark growled as he cut off the head of a dragon with his sword. However, the dragon’s breath had almost claimed his life. He had quickly dodged but his leg was singed.

Rody could only kneel with one leg on the ground and resist by brandishing his scimitar with one hand.

Arslan’s objective was clear. It was Rody.

Rody was barely able to endure her two slashes. Her first slash had sent Rody flying. He crashed into a rock that broke into pieces. Rody had almost totally lost his ability to fight. Arslan resolved that she must kill Rody life on that day. She then swung her second slash down, aiming at Rody’s heart.

Rody did his utmost to dodge. Although he had avoided the sword striking his heart, it had still managed to pierce through his shoulder. The sword nailed Rody’s entire body to the ground. He could no longer move or dodge anymore.

"His head is mine!" Arslan waved her hand and pushed away a dragon warrior that was next to him. She then stretched out her hand. A few long sharp nails emerged from her originally thin fingers. The nails were like blades gradually approaching Rody.

Rody sighed. He could not help but glance at Mouse who was at a distance. At that moment, Mouse was exhausted, lying down on the ground by Sith’s feet. Sith was using defensive spells to block the attacks of the dragon warriors flying around. Mouse’s eyes looked as though she had no perception.

Suddenly, Rody’s neck felt cold. His first thought was: 'This is how I die…'

"A…Argh!" The one that screamed was Arslan!

When her sharp fingernails jabbed into Rody’s neck, his blood had colored them red. But at that moment, there was a sudden change.

With sizzling sounds and green smoke, the parts of the fingernails that were contaminated with Rody’s blood started to burn silently. Those parts melted and turned into a green smoke with sizzling sounds.

Arslan cried out in pain and pulled back her hand. Her body jumped back like a spring.

However, the nails at her fingertips had been almost completely burnt. Her fingers had already begun to melt. The melting had even spread.

Arslan acted decisively. She gritted her teeth and swung her sword down, cutting off her hand from the wrist.

The beautiful female Paladin cried out in pain and quickly retreated. A few of the Temple’s sorcerers in the sky descended and started to treat her with sorcery.

Rody had survived but his neck still had a deep wound. Blood continued to gush out. It was as though the body heat was also flowing away.

Suddenly, it seemed somebody had approached him. A warm and soft body pressed into him. A soft sobbing voice was then heard. Rody immediately recognized that this voice belonged to Nedis.

He felt a drop of water on his neck. After a few sizzling sounds, the cut on his neck began to heal quickly, and the bleeding gradually stopped. Although Rody could not see Nedis, he heard her ask, "Are you feeling better now?"

In the earlier battle, Nedis had no choice but to use her unique skill, the Blood Escape, to hide because she was not powerful enough to protect herself. When she saw Rody in danger, she ran over to his side impetuously.

Rody sighed as he struggled to sit up, and whispered, "What did you use to heal me?"

Nedis tried to reply. "My…"

Before Nedis could finish, a dragon warrior saw that Rody had recovered and hissed loudly. He rushed toward Rody but the latter acted quickly. He grabbed Nedis and rolled away. He then heard a loud sound as a large hole appeared at the place they were at.

Rody suddenly pushed away the person in his arms and shouted, "Go and hide!"

Rody immediately grabbed his scimitar and kneeled on one knee.

Arslan had now healed. However, she was furious from losing her hand. She roared and then shouted from the sky. "Everyone fall back! Fall back!"

The dragon warriors began to retreat once they received the order. Old Mark immediately ran towards Rody. Rody had also quickly rushed towards Sith. He then held Mouse in his arm.

Mouse was unconscious, but her breathing was smooth even though it was weak.

Arslan roared in the sky. "Rody, you actually broke my hand! You have actually caused such a severe damage to my precious body!"

Rody sneered and replied, "You are just a reptile! What are you shouting about for?"

Arslan’s body burst into flames. She seemed to have pushed herself to her fullest potential. As her fighting energy was all-encompassing, the flames around her body turned golden before turning white then finally turning to a red color.

Tik tik! Tik tik! Tik tik! ...

As Arslan roared non-stop, the sound of a hurrying horse could be heard on the horizon.

From the horizon, a black stallion could be seen running wildly as it approached. Its rider wore a simple armor. His body shined with a golden light. It was evident that he was wearing a golden armor symbolizing his status as a Paladin. He held the reins with one hand and a huge cross-shaped sword in the other.

Before Rody and his companions could figure out who the knight was, he heard the approaching knight roared loudly from a distance.

"Run! Rody! Take Mouse and run towards the canyon!"

The thick and rough voice sounded familiar to Rody. Mouse, who was in his arms, was still a little conscious. She forced her eyes open and spoke with a faint voice, "It's…it is Augustine!"

Augustine had already approached with his horse. He jumped off the horse and then shot like an arrow towards Arslan in the air.

Arslan sneered, "Augustine, you actually escaped from prison! Are you determined to become an apostate?"

Augustine did not say anything. He slashed down at Arslan with his cross-shaped sword.

Arslan did not dare to be careless against the attacks of such a Paladin. She blocked a few of the attacks when Augustine suddenly shouted, "Why are you not moving? Run!"

Rody stood on the ground and looked at Augustine and Arslan fighting in the sky. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Thank you!"

He then held Mouse and ran towards the canyon.

Old Mark pulled Seth while Sith supported Ruolan. All of them were powerful people. Although they were all injured, they could still manage to run quickly for short distances.

Arslan shouted and the other dragon warriors went to stop them.

Augustine also shouted. He forced Arslan a few steps back and then quickly descended. He quickly fell behind those escaping and sent a dragon warrior flying with a swing of his sword. Woosh! Woosh! He then sent out wind blades left and right, stopping the pursuers.

"Augustine!" Arslan had instantly moved in front of Augustine. Her blade was like a poisonous snake thrusting itself towards Augustine’s heart. Augustine did not block the attack. Instead, he gave a backhand swing at Arslan.

Arslan did not want to perish together with her opponent. Naturally, she tried to get away. But a nearby dragon warrior had burnt Augustine’s arm with its breath.

The Paladin rolled away but suddenly stuck his sword into the ground and swung it upward. Countless gravels were shot out. Several dragon warriors were hit and scattered away in painful retreat.

Arslan seized this opportunity to thrust forth with her sword.

Finally, Augustine reacted. However, he still did not dodge. He simply moved forward, towards Arslan’s sword. The sword in his hand flew towards his opponent’s neck!

Arslan was angry but she still refused to perish together with her opponent. She turned her sword and blocked Augustine’s sword. She repeatedly took a few steps back and then shouted, "Augustine, are you mad? Do you want to die?"

Augustine was solemn, and his eyes looked desolate. He gritted his teeth and still did not speak.

Arslan pointed at Augustine with her sword and said, "You escaped from prison and protected those heathens and fight against me! Your actions are equal to apostasy. Augustine! Do you admit your guilt?"

Augustine finally shook his head and replied in a low voice, "Words are useless. Fight!"

Arslan and Augustine were both from the Temple. Arslan naturally knew how powerful the person known as the present generation’s strongest human Paladin was. She herself was injured. Although Rody was escaping further and further away, she had no choice but to raise her spirit and carefully deal with Augustine.

A few of her subordinates had tried to get past Augustine and pursue the others but Augustine had airtight defenses. He sent out two light blades, cutting off the wings of a dragon warrior attempting to get around him. The remaining dragon warriors then obeyed Arslan’s orders and finally decided to concentrate on eliminating Augustine first.

Arslan was the first to attack. Her body and the sword in her hand seemed to merge together. It became a dazzling light, shooting forward. Augustine blocked the attack. With a loud clash, his body shook violently, and he stumbled a few steps back but then slashed horizontally. With a whistling sound, a huge light blade swung forward. Arslan jumped up high to dodge it. But two dragon warriors behind her could not react in time and were cut into four pieces.

Arslan became faster. Ting! Ting! Tang! Tang! Within a short time, she thrust seven to eight times like a thunderstorm. Augustine blocked those strikes in a single breath, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. Augustine knew he had been struck in the back. His vision turned black as he instinctively rolled down.

The back of his armor was a bloodied mess of flesh. A dragon warrior had struck him in the back. Fortunately, he wore an armor and the injury was not too heavy.

The dragon warrior that had sneakily attacked him was too greedy. The first thing he did was to get nearer. Augustine’s murderous aura condensed and quickly slashed. The dragon warrior’s head burst into a mass of bloody fog.

Arslan soon found an opportunity. In the fog, she suddenly thrust her sword into Augustine's body!

Augustine had apparently already anticipated it. He did not dodge at all and struck at Arslan’s shoulder.

The two Paladins grappled with each other. Arslan’s sword was inserted into Augustine’s lower abdomen. Augustine’s sword had pierced Arslan’s shoulder.

Arslan suddenly had a weird feeling. That attack. Augustine could have dodged it! But…

She looked at Augustine’s strange expression.

"You wish to die!" Arslan exclaimed.

Augustine used force in his hands as he caught Arslan’s shoulder. At that moment, both of them had half their bodies stained with blood. Augustine then smiled sadly, "Yes. I want to die! I have finally become an apostate today. So, I should also die here!"

Arslan panicked and struggled madly. She fiercely twisted the sword in Augustine’s abdomen. Augustine was sweating profusely but he struggled and held onto Arslan’s shoulders. As they struggled, the sword stuck in Arslan’s shoulder moved in deeper. Blood gushed out and Arslan’s lips turned purple.

The two of them then rolled on the ground. The other dragon warriors could not interfere even if they wanted to help.

Augustine’s body suddenly burst into a golden flame filled with fighting energy. The flame became more and more intense and violent...It faintly started to become uncontrollable...

"You…you are…" Arslan was really afraid. She had no intention to die together with Augustine here!

Augustine’s golden flames continued to rise. Finally, he opened his eyes wide and roared. Even his eyes had turned golden.

The qi flames expanded to an alarming degree. The periphery looked as though it was electrified. It was as though things were gradually getting out of control.

"Augustine! Are you trying to blow yourself up with the fighting energy?" Arslan struggled desperately and screamed wildly. "Do you want to rebel for just a few heathens? You don’t want to live anymore? Don’t do this. Augustine! Don’t…"

Augustine's hand that held Arslan’s shoulders had plunged inside her. With a murderous gaze, his other hand then grabbed something out from within her bosom.

He opened his bloody fingers and a black veil appeared in his palm, making a sizzling sound as it burned in the qi flames.

Momentarily, Augustine’s murderous eyes were replaced with tenderness. He finally whispered:

"Mouse, you never noticed but…I love you…"

Boom!

Arslan screamed tragically as the golden flames exploded. The explosion was like a golden ball that devoured everything. The vibrating energy of the qi blast convulsed the land, creating a wall of earth that was several ten meters high...