Masked Knight

Muse saw the lightsaber in Rody’s hands. He then stretched open his arms and coldly said, “Do you still want to fight me? Although you comprehend the ‘Holy Light’ energy, you cannot defeat me. You are better off throwing away your sword.”

Rody laughed and shouted, “What a foolish saint! Do you think you are really extraordinary just because you can fly?” After he said that, he took a spear from the ground and threw it into the air as hard as he could with one hand.

The spear was like lightning piercing through the sky. It turned silver and flew straight at Muse.

Muse merely looked at it. He did not attempt to dodge. Instead, he slowly raised his hand and stretched out his index finger. A magnificent layer of silver light then appeared to stop the spear. When the spear struck the curtain of light, it produced a sound similar to metal clashing. After that, the spear broke into numerous fragments.

“You cannot defeat me, Duke of the Tulip Family," Muse’s voice was cold and indifferent. It sounded like he was just stating simple facts.

Rody felt disheartened but he was stubborn. He held on to his lightsaber and the golden flame around his body rose. After that, a huge light emanated from the sword and extended towards the sky where Muse was.

Muse showed a trace of astonishment and his eyes slowly widened. A silver and transparent ball of light surrounded him. Rody’s Half Moon Slash struck the ball of light and fell apart. The dazzling light radiated all over the sky. It was so dazzlingly bright that people who saw it could not have opened their eyes. The wind generated by it also blew away the dark clouds.

After the dazzling light disappeared Muse’s ball of light was still undamaged.

Muse looked down callously and put down his hands. The ball of light then grew dim and dispersed.

“You still do not understand? You cannot defeat me. You are just a low-level practitioner who has just started practicing the ‘Holy Light’ energy. How dare you challenge the strength of a saint!”

Rody also felt extremely surprised. His strongest attack did not manage to hurt his opponent at all. Feeling anxious, he shouted, “Nonsense! I am a warrior of the Empire! Either I die, or I kill you! Do you want me to surrender?”

Andy was also feeling dispirited and spoke to Rody in his mind, “You fool! Run quickly! He is much stronger than you!” However, Rody did not seem to hear Andy and kept looking at the silhouette in the sky.

Muse nodded and lightly said, “I wanted to kill you but I also wanted to see the power of the Empire’s God of War. Your strength has already reached the stage where you are about to comprehend ‘Domain Force’. Unfortunately, you met me.”

After he finished talking, Muse raised his arms as if he wanted to embrace the sky. The silver flames around his body became brighter until it finally engulfed his entire body.

The clouds moved closer like they were attracted to the silver flames. The more the clouds gathered, the bigger they became and the lower they got. When the clouds collided there was lightning and a faint sound of thunder.

A ruthless voice in the air slowly said, “To my Gods, answer my call and summon lightning!”

Andy only had time to shout in Rody’s mind, “Not good!”

Rody raised his lightsaber with both arms to protect his head. His body adopted a horse stance.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous sound as a powerful lightning flashed down from the clouds in the sky. The lightning felt like the gigantic axe of the gods. It cleaved Rody’s lightsaber with such a fierce force.

A huge flame appeared across the vast grasslands together with the roaring sound of thunder. Everything within a 100-meter radius exploded in golden flames. Rody who stood in the middle was enveloped by the flames.

The surrounding small hills crumbled. The trees were obliterated and the soil was sent flying everywhere. Layers of the earth’s surface turned upside down and everything that touched the flames turned into dust.

After the dust had settled, Rody was seen at the center of a 100-meter wide crater. The lightsaber was still in Rody’s hands. It gave out a sharp but insignificant light. The light acted as a shield to protect Rody’s body. Other than the spot Rody stood on, the rest of the area around him had turned into a large yellow soiled crater.

Rody’s hands trembled. Fresh blood flowed out of his mouth and nose. The lightsaber in his hands suddenly cracked. The transparent blade shattered into numerous pieces. The gem on the hilt also broke into three pieces.

Rody looked pale. The golden flame around his body had already faded. Instantly, his body felt weak and he collapsed slowly. His eyes started to close and he lost consciousness.

Muse was satisfied with his performance from the sky. Although his expression could not be seen, his eyes glinted as he proudly said to himself, “No wonder the elders advised not to use the ‘God’s Lightning Axe’ rashly. The aftermath looks terrible.”

Muse looked at Rody, whose body was still intact. Muse frowned slightly. “This guy is very tough. He actually withstood the forbidden spell.”

He slowly descended to Rody’s side. First, he gave Rody a glance before setting his eyes on the fragmented lightsaber. Only the hilt was left. Muse took the hilt away from Rody and looked at it carefully. He furrowed his eye brows and said, “This sword is strange.” He immediately kept it.

He then took another look at the unconscious Rody and frowned again. He was supposed to kill Rody and bring back his head. However, he grew up in the Temple and ever since he became a saint, he had never personally killed a person. At that moment, he did not have any soldiers with him to help chop off Rody’s head. Such boorish matters were things that a person of high status like him absolutely refused to do.

Muse sighed. If he had blown Rody’s body into pieces, he would have been able to avoid the problem. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, “Although they want me to kill him, I think it is better to capture him alive. Hmph, Radiant Empire’s God of War? His Excellency the Bishop claimed that he was extremely powerful but in the end the duke was not even strong enough to fight back.”

Muse then stretched out his hands and a soft white light came out of his hands. Rody’s body floated in the air as his numerous wounds started to heal. Even the blood on his body gradually disappeared.

“Finally done,” Muse frowned. “Otherwise, it would be vexing to bring along such a bloodied person.”

Muse sighed and searched for a clean place to sit down. After that, he closed his eyes to rest.

Not long after that, an approaching cavalry could be seen far away. Its silver armor gleamed under the moonlight. It was another group of the Roland cavalry brought by Muse. However, their numbers were much greater.

The cavalry rushed towards Muse and the soldiers dismounted. A middle-aged cavalryman who led the group stepped forward and knelt before Muse. “Your Excellency, the Royal Knights of the Third Regiment reporting for duty!” He said loudly.

Muse slowly opened his eyes and said, “Very good! You are all not late! What about the others?”

The middle-aged cavalryman, Bia replied, “I have merged two groups together along the way here. The others who have received your message should be nearby.”

Muse sighed. “Good. All of you, get this man on a horse. After that, we will go back to our territory.” He paused for a moment before he slowly warned them, “Be careful. This man is the Duke of the Tulip Family.”

Bia was surprised. “He is the Duke of the Tulip Family?” He looked at the unconscious Rody and gave Muse a salute. “Your Excellency is truly the saint of the Temple! When we return, His Majesty will definitely bestow upon you a hefty reward!” After that, he turned around and ordered his men to carry Rody onto a horse.

After that he gave Muse a red horse and saluted, “Your Excellency, are we leaving now? Or shall we wait for the others?”

Muse looked at him for a moment and replied, “We won’t be waiting for them! We will leave immediately. The others will be able to catch up with us.” After he finished speaking, he turned the horse around and led the soldiers without looking back at them.

The Roland cavalry had 2,000 cavalrymen. Taking advantage of the darkness at night, they slowly started to leave. They had completed their task. Even though they were a big group marching through the Great Moon Kingdom’s territory plus they had Muse who was extremely powerful, they still marched quickly and carefully in the night.

Muse had ordered them to hide during the day and travel during the night. It was also to avoid Reuenthal’s soldiers. They might be allies but if Reuenthal found out that they had captured the Duke of the Tulip Family, he might have demanded to take the prisoner back as his own. As Muse wanted to take the prisoner back to the Roland Continent, he could not give the prisoner to Reuenthal.

At dawn, about 10 days after, Muse ordered the troops to rest. The troops searched for a low-lying position to stop at. They were at the edge of the grasslands. The grass there was tall and thick. One would only need to bend a little and he would be completely hidden by the grass.

After stopping for a moment, Muse examined Rody’s condition. Rody was still unconscious after 10 days even though his wounds had almost healed. Muse felt that something was wrong. At first, he thought that his forbidden spell had caused him internal injury. However, after examining him with magic, he found that Rody’s breathing was normal and smooth. He looked at the leather armor Rody was wearing and his heart stirred. He ordered his subordinates to remove the armor and sneered. “Looks like it was enchanted by a high ranked sorcerer. This is truly an exceptional object.” After that, he handed over the armor to his cavalrymen.

Muse looked at the morning sun before turning to Bia and said, “Let us take a break. Dispatch a few people to see if there is anything suspicious.”

Bia saluted respectfully. After that, he gave Muse a leather flask containing water. Muse nodded and drank a mouthful of the contents before saying, “Watch over the Duke of the Tulip Family. If you see any of Reuenthal’s men, immediately hide the duke. Do not let them see him. We are in someone else’s territory...”

Before he finished speaking, Muse suddenly paused. He squinted and angrily looked at Bia as well as the others.

“What drink did you give me?”

Muse dropped the leather flask. His body trembled and he struggled to stand.

Bia and several high ranking knights had already stepped back. They drew out their cross-shaped sword.

“You dare plot against me?” Muse’s voice was no longer indifferent. His eyes were seething with anger. “Why? Has Reuenthal bought you over?”

Bia stepped back vigilantly and loudly said, “Your Excellency Muse, how could I betray my own country?”

Muse coldly replied, “I am His Majesty’s Special Envoy! If you secretly harm me, wouldn’t it be considered treason?”

Bia and a few high ranking knights held their swords as they carefully surrounded Muse. After that, Bia gave a hideous grin and said, “Your Excellency., you are truly foolish. His Majesty had wanted to eliminate you for a very long time. You see, when you go back, you will take over the position of Bishop in the Temple next year. When that time comes, will the kingdom listen to the orders of His Majesty or the orders of the Temple?”

Muse smiled callously. “I see. It looks like His Majesty cannot bear the sight of the Temple and wants to eliminate us. Are you guys not afraid of the Temple? Can you defeat the Circle Knights of the Temple? Will you be able to kill the elders of the Temple?”

Bia spread out his hands and softly said, “That is not a problem I need to think about. If His Majesty the King gives the order, I will just execute it. As for your question, His Majesty will definitely have a solution.”

Muse sighed and slowly raised his hand. However, his arm felt limp and weak. He was also not able to use any sorcery. After that, he asked, “What did you make me drink?”

Bia saw that his opponent had already given up resisting and laughed loudly. “In the past 10 days, I have been giving you plain water. Your Excellency has become used to it and therefore, did not take any precaution. Today’s water is different. I added a bit of red dragon blood.”

Muse gave a wry smile. “Red dragon blood? Do you think a little bit of red dragon blood can poison me?”

Bia simply replied, “Your Excellency, you are the Black Veiled Saint. Naturally, a bit of red dragon blood will not poison you. However, it is enough to stop your sorcery. We will send you off with our swords. Do not worry. We will send the Duke of the Tulip Family back to our territory. I am grateful to Your Excellency for giving me this merit!”

After that, he slowly approached Muse with merciless eyes.