Masked Knight

The shock from the explosion caused the mountain to collapse. Rocks, big and small, continued to fall from the mountain walls on both sides of the canyon.

Rody could somewhat feel that something happened behind him. However, the blast rolling behind them made it impossible for them to turn their heads around.

The golden light made the sun look dim. It was as though the land was ruled by that burning flame. A violent shockwave struck the mountains. The entire land had cracked and torn apart.

They ran out of the other end of the canyon without stopping. Booming thunderous sounds continued rumbling behind them. They turned around and saw that the canyon was blocked by countless broken stones.

"Augustine…Did he perish together with them?" Rody was stunned.

Everyone’s face was covered in dust and was almost indistinguishable except for Mouse whose head was buried in Rody’s arms. At that moment, she finally raised her head. Although too weak to speak, drops of tears rolled out of her eyes.

Mouse did not hear Augustine’s dying words. However, there was that explosion on top of the fact that she could no longer feel his aura, then probably...

That battle had made them feel hopelessly vexed. Originally, they had Old Mark and Ruolan who were Paladin-ranked masters. They even had the Black Veil Saint and Sith who were also powerful sorcerers. However, they were badly beaten. Not only did Mouse and Ruolan totally lost their fighting capability, Old Mark had also suffered substantial injuries. Had Augustine not desperately sacrificed himself, they would have really been totally wiped out.

Rody gritted his teeth. He looked at the others and softly said, "Let’s go!"

The others did not speak. They knew they had no other choice but to leave the coast by ship as quickly as possible.

Rody gave Sith a profound gaze. This was clearly Sauron Kingdom’s territory. Since such a large force from the Temple could come here, King Sauron would not be able to escape being suspected.

Rody also felt that he had been too optimistic. The Temple had ruled the continent for a long time and would definitely have their own formidable areas. Although he himself and his companions were strong, they had still suffered a crushing defeat.

At that moment, they had no horses. Everyone could only walk. Fortunately, there was nobody pursuing from behind anymore.

Augustine’s suicide explosion had stopped the pursuers from chasing any further.

On the other side of the canyon, there was a large crater about ten meters large. The crater was surrounded by many broken corpses of the dragon warriors. Most of their blood had dried up. The rest of the blood had mixed with the dirt and turned it red and black.

Augustine’s body had vanished like smoke. His fighting energy had burnt his entire body from the suicide explosion. Not even his metallic armor was left behind. Only a broken cross-shaped sword was left on the ground.

That sword was a Paladin’s sword. It could be considered a good sword that was hard to come by. Now, only half of it remained. The blade of the sword was burned black. It stood obliquely, half buried in the ground

Stuck next to it was a thin long sword. Although it remained intact it had a few more cracks in the blade. This was, indeed, the weapon used by Arslan.

The power of a Paladin’s suicide explosion was truly extraordinary. Even the sword that was the dragon race’s treasure could not endure it.

Although both Arslan and Augustine were already dead and gone, their swords were still standing together on the ground as if they were still entangled in their conflicts.

Suddenly, a hand stretched out and pulled the thin sword from the ground. His hand was hidden behind his black robes. His sharp slender fingers skillfully held the sword.

A golden light came out from his hand and instantly covered the sword. The sword gave out what sounded like a dragon’s cry. The sword was quickly and automatically repaired. Its damaged parts quickly looked brand new.

The man seemed very satisfied as he looked at the sword. He then gave a faint sigh.

The sun was covered by the dust in the sky and the sky looked gloomy. The man stood under the gloomy sky. His hem of his black robes fluttered, revealing his spotlessly white calves.

"Arslan, I have already said that you would not be successful. Sigh…how unfortunate…" The low and deep voice had an indescribable charm as though carrying an old singing accent.

This was the mysterious black clothed person that was always with Arslan at the Temple.

"Arslan, how beautiful you were when you were still among the living…" He had a hint of fanatical and infatuated expression in his eyes for a moment. It soon dimmed as he said, "It is a pity. You could only turn to dust after death. Hmph…I really miss your beautiful body..."

The man held the sword with one hand and removed the black cloak on his head with the other, revealing his face...

The lines on his face were sharp like a knife. His long slender eyes not only did not look defective but, on the contrary, looked seductive. This was especially true for his long eyelashes that shrouded the eyes. He had a straight nose and a small bright red mouth, an elegant smile hanging on it.

The face looked exactly like Arslan’s!

The only difference was that his slim neck had a bulge...Adam’s apple!

He took a look around. "Hmm. Did those little guys die as well? Sigh…Augustine, you make my heart ache. Although those guys are useless, losing so many at one go would make it hard for me to give an explanation to those old guys in the family."

"Hmph. The Temple only has one Paladin left. The remaining ones are just like skeletons...Although the combined sorcery was a headache...still…" His eyes then turned grim. "Prometheus…what other powers do you have that could bind us great dragons?"

A long series of laughter rang out in this broken wilderness.

...

The survivors were not far from the ocean. They would reach a small town soon. It was the Sauron Kingdom’s southernmost port even though it was modest in size.

Rody could no longer hold on. Him being weak made it impossible to continue holding on to Mouse. While fleeing, Rody realized something that made him enraged...

Nedis had not kept up with them!

Old Mark was with Seth, Sith was carrying the unconscious Ruolan, and Rody was carrying Mouse...However, Nedis had gone missing.

"You don’t need to look anymore Rody…" Sith lightly said, "It is impossible for anyone to survive that violent explosion."

Rody’s eyes flashed coldly as he quietly watched the old sorcerer.

Sith was somewhat unable to endure being glared at. Rody then lightly asked, "What about you? When do you plan to attack?"

"What?"

Rody then sneered and said, "Don't pretend anymore. Didn’t the King give you the order to make me stay on the Roland Continent?" He paused for a while before continuing, "This is the Sauron Kingdom’s territory. If it was not secretly arranged by the King, how could the people from the Temple leisurely wait here to stop us? On top of that, we have created such a huge ruckus with our fight and yet the garrison soldiers here have not appeared. Why have they not appeared even after so long?"

Sith started to have cold sweat on his head. He gave a strained laugh and said, "You…you are rather attentive."

Rody sighed. "Sith, we faced trials together at the Dwarven Kingdom, so I do not want to be your enemy. But if you intend to fight here, I would have no choice."

Sith smiled wryly but his eyes were firm. He softly said, "Rody, I am sorry. I do not want this...but since I was born, my life itself has already dedicated to the revival of the Shaka Empire!"

He quickly retreated and stood outside the attacking range of Rody and the others. He spread out his hands and the magical vibrations from his body also quickly spread out.

"Rody!" he shouted in a deep voice. "You should be able to understand that right now, all of you would not be able to defeat me! That earlier battle has given all of you a lot of injuries. No one among you here can defeat me!"

Rody held out his scimitar and laughed coldly. "When have you ever seen me surrender?"

Sith wanted to continue speaking, "I only need to prevent you from leaving the Roland Continent. You can also follow me back to the King! At the very least, your companions would not die…"

Old Mark laughed. He took out his sword and jumped out in front of Rody. He then smiled and said, "Old guy, if you have any skill, it would be best to use them all now. Show me how powerful you are!"

The old sorcerer shouted. There was a sad and sharp whistling sound. About five wind blades shot out from his hand. Old Mark became like a red light dashing left and right to block. The wind blades were all stopped.

The volume of Sith’s voice became lower, "It is useless! Although you are a Paladin-ranked warrior, we are fighting in long-ranged combat! You are not a match for sorcerers! Rody, I will give you one last chance to pick between two choices. The first choice, I will kill all of you here and frame the Temple. The second, you follow me back obediently and you will be placed under house arrest, but your life will not be in danger..."

Rody sneered. Waving his scimitar, he shouted, "Just drop the idea!"

Sith sighed. "Then, please forgive me. You leave me no… Argh!"

He gave a surprised and tragic scream before he could finish.

A sword with its tip covered in blood pierced out of Sith’s chest. The tip of the sword was still dripping with blood. Sith looked at the blade piercing out of his chest with a disbelieving gaze.

The sudden change also shocked Rody and Old Mark.

A clear and icy voice then whispered from behind Sith. "Forgive me. I did not want this, but you have also left me no choice…"

The longsword was pulled out. Sith inhaled deeply but could no longer exhale. Both his hands were open as though he wanted to grab something. However, he was not successful as he fell down to the ground...

Behind him, a person staggered, half covered in blood. It was Nedis.

At that moment, half of Nedis’s body was soaked in blood. Her tender and beautiful face had turned pale. However, she looked at Rody with a mixture of deep love and hatred.

Rody was startled. By the time he recovered and went to support her, Nedis had already fallen down.

Rody ran forward quickly and had Nedis lean on his shoulder. Before he could speak, Nedis suddenly opened her mouth and bit him in the neck!

She had bitten very hard but was not able to injure him. Rody could feel two streams of tears flowing down his neck.

"I had been following you but soon thought of leaving you... " Nedis’s voice had deep resentment.

"When that female dragon stabbed you, you even pushed me away! Could it be that I do not even have the right to die with you?"

Rody’s first thought was to scold the woman as he normally would. However, his throat felt blocked as though he was choking and unable to speak. He could only carefully support Nedis. His movements were surprisingly light as though afraid that he would affect Nedis’s injuries if he used a little more strength.

At that moment, Rody could only hold Nedis with one hand and Mouse with the other. "Alright. This is not a good place to stop. We must quickly leave here."

Old Mark did not move. He suddenly gave a wry smile and pointed to the sky as he sighed and said, "I am afraid it would not be so easy…"

The sun in the sky was obscured by the dust. A tall and slender figure floated in the sky. His body was covered in black robes and he was carrying a long and slender sword!

Although it was not clear who that person was, his murderous aura had manifested clearly.

"How touching…I did not expect to see such a touching scene after arriving so late!" That person said as he gradually descended. His feet touched the ground and then he strutted over.

Rody was surprised when he saw the figure’s face. "Arslan!"

"No, you are wrong." The man smiled. His face was gentle and bright like the moonlight. "My name is not Arslan. My name is…more complicated in the dragon’s language. However, when translated into your language, it would mean the successor to the Dragon God! You may address me as Your Excellency the Dragon God!"

As he said those words, his eyes flashed with a trace of light. Rody and Old Mark felt their heads hurt as though theirs were pricked by something. They involuntarily staggered and stumbled back a few steps...