Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 354 Territorial Rival - Khorne's Chosen - Gunther
With solutions in place for the bewitching crises of Khorne and Tzeentch, the problem of the last knight corrupted by Nurgle became relatively easier to resolve.

His problem was that he drank too many potions. Now he was a knight of the Church of Healing and Mercy, so he had an abundance of potions. As a result, he used them constantly, and without the help of a supernatural spiritual fruit like Stardew Orange to purify them, his body eventually developed deformities and pustules.

The intelligence report stated that the Mercy Order's healer's water bottle was secretly replaced by Nurgle, and the Sharia's Tears inside were replaced with Nurgle pus.

If left unchecked, he will eventually be corrupted and may even become the champion of Nurgle's gods, possessing the powerful name Silas Rot.

The divine authority of Sharya is to heal, to be merciful, and to alleviate pain and despair, while Nurgle is her exact opposite, who is in charge of plagues, viruses, and suffering.

Therefore, the most favored targets of the merciful father, Nurgle, are doctors. On the other hand, these medical knights, who come into contact with the most patients and plagues, are indeed unable to avoid being infected.

If Sylas, the medic knight mentioned in today's intelligence report, were to become a plague carrier, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the arena, but it would still pose a considerable threat in the future.

Su Li didn't have enough resources to save him anymore, so she regretfully chose a very crude method: she took all his medicine and destroyed it.

This matter didn't require Su Li's personal intervention; the Red Brotherhood's leader, the Prodigal Son Roo, would handle everything perfectly. Their church had 100-140 Red Brotherhood thieves, 60-80 highwaymen, and the Brotherhood's membership had expanded to 80, along with 50 Gold-Worshipping Warriors and 30 Rogue Knights!
Since joining the territory, their numbers have increased by 60 to 80 people, and they are now truly influential figures in the territory.

It's very appropriate to let them handle some matters that are not suitable for the knights to deal with.

They lived up to Su Li's expectations and quickly stole Silas's personal potion.

Once on the field, Silas was shocked to discover that all the potions in his bag had been replaced with ordinary Sharya's Hand!
This medicine can only treat simple superficial wounds; in the heat of battle, its effect is practically negligible.

Even the doctor, Silas, couldn't control his emotions. He became agitated and started cursing, frantically questioning his opponent about whether he had used underhanded tactics.

But his opponent was a powerful white wolf knight who, upon hearing his questioning, flew into a rage and slammed his head down.

As a result, Sylas suffered an utterly humiliating defeat. His questioning triggered his opponent's inner rage, greatly increasing his fighting power. In just one round, Sylas was completely defeated. Without the potion, he had no chance of fighting again.

Thus, this knight tragically lost his place in the top three.

As he was carried away, his eyes were filled with resentment and bitterness, unable to understand who had switched his medicine amidst the heavy security.

Su Li stood in the VIP room on the top floor of Lion Ring, looking at the knight's miserable state, and revealed a faint smile.

Although Silas is currently in a terrible state, if he knew his original fate, he would definitely kneel before Su Li, overwhelmed with gratitude. Because even being beaten badly is a million times better than falling into the trap of becoming a Corruptor like Nurgle!
Once corrupted by chaos, the pain and despair can drive even the strongest person to a mental breakdown, leaving them only with thoughts of revenge against mortals and inflicting their own suffering on others.

With Silas's fate successfully rewritten, Su Li relaxed slightly, then focused her attention intently on the two players in the final match.

Although he and his ministers took various measures to disrupt the peace, they still dared not let their guard down.

Because fighting against an evil god is inherently thrilling and leaves one feeling hopeless and powerless.

Sometimes, your ability to thwart a Chaos God's plans doesn't depend on your own capabilities, but rather on how interested the God is in the matter. If an entity is marked as a "key target of interest" by a Chaos God, its corruption is almost irreversible.

For example, Khorne once forcibly transformed Karl Adebayo, a northern warlord chieftain who opposed him, into the Blood God Champion. Even death cannot escape this fate; if you are bloodthirsty and ruthless enough to win Khorne's favor, this [red kobold] can truly resurrect you on the spot.

Right now, there's no doubt that both Gunther and Orlando are in this state; the longer they fight, the more likely they are to receive a forced blessing from the evil god.

To paraphrase that famous saying, so-called blessings are nothing more than mortals praying for a glimpse from the gods.

Currently, the evil god's attention towards them is only secondary. The evil god has seen countless promising talents and doesn't invest much effort in them. However, once this secondary attention rises to moderate interest, the evil god's gaze will linger on them for a while longer, without even needing to bestow a blessing; these weak, formal knights will be forcibly corrupted.

Su Li, Violet, and the others watched the battle intently. The saying "do your best and leave the rest to fate" perfectly describes the situation in this world.

But things didn't go as planned. The battle between the two was extremely intense, and after four rounds, the score was still tied at two to two!
Su Li had to brace himself against the windowsill, his eyes fixed on the match below. The crowd was cheering wildly, but Su Li felt no excitement at all: "How is it? Have they changed much? Has our intervention been effective?"

Hilde watched the two fighting fiercely on the field with a solemn expression. After changing into perfect-grade weapons and armor, the two became exceptionally powerful in their battle.

To be fair, judging solely from their sheer scale and destructive power, their performance even surpassed that of the elite knights wielding trained weapons; the only difference lay in their application of bloodline abilities and the refinement of their martial arts. However, these subtle differences required a higher level of understanding to discern. For the majority of the spectators, this immense spectacle was what truly thrilled them, and the cheers on the field quickly reached unprecedented heights since the start of the competition.

This, on the contrary, further intensified the competitive spirit of the two players on the field, who were determined to win this battle at all costs.

Both of them were breathing intensely, their lungs feeling like they were on fire. From a distance, the summer air around them appeared distorted, like scorching flames rising up.

Hilde's handsome face was filled with solemnity as she replied to Su Li, "Neither of them is in good condition. They are both too excited. The shouts and noises have ignited their thoughts, and their emotions are extremely extreme. They are determined to win, which will make it easier to attract the attention of the evil god."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the situation on the battlefield changed. Orlando suddenly detonated the flames he had planted, causing Gunther to be subjected to a massive explosion almost instantly, and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

This is the ability of Orlando's bloodline. Each attack leaves a trail of blazing sun fire in the opponent's body, causing their internal fire to flare up. As for when to detonate these sparks, that's up to Orlando's choice.

As the knight of the Goddess of the Sun, his choice was undoubtedly perfect. When Gunther's health plummeted to a dangerous level, seizing the crucial moment when Gunther hesitated about using his bloodline abilities to purify himself and restore his health, he decisively seized the opportunity and defeated this formidable foe in one fell swoop.

This means Orlando has secured match point early, and Gunther has to pay this final ransom. If he loses the next match, there will be no seventh frame, and Orlando has already secured the victory.

A thick, pungent smell of blood filled the arena. Ignoring the blood on his body, Gunther roared and rose again from the pool of thick blood, blood droplets flowing from his armor.

This scene instantly sparked a frenzy among the spectators. Even the gamblers who supported his opponent couldn't help but cheer for him. This was the formidable fighting power of the Imperial Knights—extreme resilience and strength, with near-maximum resistance to blows. Once a knight successfully enters the realm of the extraordinary, their vitality becomes incredibly strong, making them difficult to kill even with the most severe injuries.

But they didn't notice that Gunther's armor, stretched taut by the revelry and celebration, was now completely choked with rage, and no sound could be uttered from his roaring throat.

Hilde frowned, grabbed her sword from beside her feet, and left the room. With a wave of her hand, nearly a hundred golden-armored warriors entered the arena ahead of time, surrounding the ring.

This scene of swords and spears surprised the surrounding crowd, but they didn't think much of it, assuming it was just preparation for the championship award ceremony.

But soon everyone realized something was wrong. The battle, which had been evenly matched just moments before, had suddenly turned into a one-sided beating!
Orlando's rapier struck Gunther, but the powerful White Wolf Knight didn't even flinch. He took the blow head-on, bleeding profusely, without wavering. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he broke Orlando's sword-wielding arm at nearly a 90-degree angle. With a kick, Orlando was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through the chains on the arena and falling to the ground.

Gunther's greaves shattered in the attack, and the large foot exposed in front of his boot had turned into red claws, five of which were as sharp as knives.

Then Gunther threw off his helmet, revealing his scarlet, wolf-like eyes and sharp fangs that had already grown in his mouth.

A gasp rippled through the arena as the eight-pointed star of chaos bearing Khorne's blessing appeared on his forehead! This was Khorne's blessing.

The referee immediately rushed into the arena, and as a champion-level knight, he swung his warhammer and smashed it down on Gunther's head.

Under normal circumstances, a skilled knight would have absolutely no chance to block this attack; the skill gap between the two is simply too great.

But Gunther swung his battle axe fiercely, blocking the golden hammer's blow without moving an inch. The massive clang of metal on metal echoed throughout the arena. After a brief silence, the arena erupted in even more fervent cheers! To witness the battle between the Khorne Champion and the Sun Goddess Champion—this match was absolutely worth it!

Hilde had no intention of dueling with the King of Khorne. She decisively waved her hand and ordered, "There's no need to duel with the Chaos Champion. Use our advantages to kill him quickly."

At her command, all the arena referees came down, and as many as six champion knights surrounded her, their golden armor gleaming and their presence awe-inspiring, drawing cheers and applause from the audience. Even the gamblers who had already lost their bets didn't have time to react; their eyes were fixed on the center of the arena.

To be honest, this scene was truly exhilarating. The champion knights of the Church of the Sun Goddess acted together with perfect coordination and outstanding tactics. Coupled with the knights' champion-level strength, the perfect combination of martial arts, divine magic, and bloodline abilities completely amazed everyone.

When the champion-level Gunther was swiftly defeated with almost no ability to resist, the power of the Church of the Sun Goddess was so unparalleled that it was deeply etched into everyone's minds.

Su Li also breathed a deep sigh of relief. Although he ultimately couldn't withstand the corruption of the Chaos God, it was much better than the initial situation, and the top three were no longer completely corrupted.

Of the three, two have been successfully saved, and only one has been corrupted, which Su Li can accept.

The crowd witnessed this exciting turn of events and the unparalleled battle, cheering wildly and praising the spectacle as well as the fact that the ticket price was well worth it.

But before Su Li could leave the room to present the awards, another unexpected event occurred.

In the pool of blood where he fell, Gunther's body gradually burned like ashes. But in the pool of blood, a powerful figure was reshaped and then, as if passing through a blood-red portal, slowly descended from the Demon Realm.

Khorne, in a thunderous rage, resurrected Gunther, bringing him back to the world in a devastating form. He remained as imposing and powerful as ever, but his armor was now stained with crimson blood, his legs had grown as thick as a bloodthirsty demon, and a pair of bat-like wings sprouted from his broad back.

Su Li stopped in shock. Good heavens, this world really has an evil god who doesn't make any sense.

With Khorne's intervention, the Chaos Warrior Champion was completely transformed into a demon.

As soon as Gunther appeared, his scarlet eyes were filled with rage and fury. With a wave of his hand, his massive chain battleaxe, burning with flames, drew a chilling light: "Hahaha! I must thank you, you lackeys of the Sun Goddess. Without you, I would not be able to feel the blessings of my supreme master."

“Khorne’s Chosen!” Oliver, standing beside Su Li, gasped. “My lord, we have actually brought about the birth of a Khorne’s Chosen. His anger and hatred will never be quelled, and he will try time and again to spread the flames of war across our territory.”

"Stop talking nonsense! We'll talk about the future later." The dwarven engineering master decisively pulled out a large-caliber musket: "What we need to do now is whether we need to disperse the audience in the arena first. I see that many of the weaker civilians have already begun to show signs of corruption and distortion, suffering from the torment of the Chaos Wind and becoming believers of Khorne."

Oliver slammed his right hand, adorned with a black iron ring, onto the table, his tone cold and resolute: "We cannot disperse them. If we let the audience go now, our tournament will be completely ruined. The dispersal of the crowd will only fuel the rumors. We must kill this chosen monster in public! This will actually enhance our reputation. From now on, whenever the Blessed Khorne Gunther Gorehowl appears on Earth, people will remember his terrifying background, which will further elevate the reputation of our Glorious Arena!"

Meanwhile, outside came Gunther's enormous roar: "My master's will has descended upon this land. He is very interested in the Spear of Heaven. I will be his vanguard and seize this interesting toy for my master! When the time comes, I will build a throne of skulls higher than mountains and a sea of ​​blood deeper than the ocean beneath the Spear of Heaven, and offer it as a sacrifice to my supreme master!"

The situation left Su Li with no time to carefully weigh the pros and cons, so he decisively waved his hand and ordered, "Everyone, listen to my command, launch a full-scale attack, and quickly eliminate Gunther!"

Oliver was the most resolute, so he was the first to use [Wisdom Blessing]!
Despite being a bureaucrat, as the chosen one of the goddess of justice, he can still play a significant role on the battlefield.

This is his strongest divine spell, which allows the target of the blessing to temporarily seize the intelligence of other creatures around them, making the target, stripped of their intelligence, reckless and more likely to fall into a pre-set trap.

His blessing was undoubtedly aimed at Hilder, and it also significantly affected Gunther's mind. This made Khorne's chosen one, whose mind was already not very bright, even more mentally charged, his head filled with muscle, leaving him only with the mind to hack and slash, determined to smash the strongest and most dazzling knight on the field.

And this most dazzling knight was undoubtedly Demst. He wore the most powerful rare-grade armor in the territory at this stage, the Twilight Armor, a standard gilded black plate armor in the Gothic style, decorated with the symbol of a double-tailed comet, the emblem of a griffin, and raven feathers, which perfectly showcased his style as the chosen one of death.

Without a doubt, this was the worst choice under the aura of reduced intelligence. While Durmst's combat strength and lethality might not be great, his resilience and recovery ability were truly exceptional.

With the God of Death watching over him, it would be difficult for him to die even if he wanted to. This was a chosen knight who could roam freely in the Sorcerer's Domain for days and nights. Even a group of Sorcerer's sharp blades couldn't pierce him, and a peak-level chosen red dragon couldn't tear him apart. This chosen knight of Khorne, who only knew how to slash, had no good way to deal with him either.

Then hundreds of muskets around him unleashed their full power, firing at full force from their high position in the Lion Ring Arena. Dense smoke enveloped the sky, and Gunther's condition rapidly deteriorated.

The ones who inflicted more damage on him were undoubtedly Hilde and the nearly 10 champion knights behind her. Their extensive use of fiery blood and divine magic abilities prevented him from killing to his heart's content.

If the situation continues to develop in this way, given the Church of the Sun Goddess's enormous tactical advantage, it is clear that they will be able to take down Khorne's Chosen very easily.

But no demon or monster can be killed so easily!

If Khorne were to resurrect him, he would only be besieged and killed; Khorne would not even bother with him and would waste his divine power.

Gunther may have been a bit simple-minded, but he was chosen by Khorne because of his unique and outstanding qualities.

So after being bathed in blood, Gunther roared and a huge red shockwave sent everyone flying, leaving only Demst behind.

[Divine Art: Blood God's Eye!]

This is a powerful ability bestowed upon him by Khorne. When he uses this ability, no enemy can refuse his duel challenge. However, for a very long period of time afterward, if he is not in a duel state, he must enter a duel state as soon as possible.

If he kills an opponent or a monster in a duel, he will randomly receive a temporary blessing from Khorne.

These include [Evil Eye], [Unclean Resilience], [Iron Skin], [Murderous Mutation], [Blood God's Eye], [Unnatural Reflexes], [Dark Fury], [Killing Power], [Chaos Aura], [Dark Ascension], and more.

It could be said that he was a tool chosen by the Blood God, used to filter out those powerful and interesting targets. His extremely intense thirst for victory attracted Khorne's interest, and being chosen by Khorne through duels meant that he could not escape from birth to death, and would be forced to engage in endless duels for eternity.

This was naturally a very suitable arrangement for the Blood God. If Gunther won in the continuous duels, the losers would either submit and become Khorne's servants and lackeys, or have their heads cut off and sacrificed to the Blood God, thus bringing the Blood God a continuous stream of benefits.

If Gunther loses the duel, the victor will be selected and placed under Khorne's secondary attention; he will be an interesting target.

Regardless of victory or defeat, Blood God will never lose.

This is a vivid depiction of the despair this world can offer!

So even though Demst fought a fierce battle and managed to defeat Gunther with difficulty, the smile on his face was more painful than a cry.

He shook off the blood, flesh, and pieces from his body, found Su Li, and cried out, "It's terrible, terrible, terrible! These three years of working for the territory have completely ruined me. I can almost feel the burning gaze of the Blood God Khorne as he discovers his prey."

"Stop bragging!" Su Li glared at him. "Even the most perceptive priests would have a hard time sensing the evil, covetous gaze of the Chaos God, let alone you. But your performance today was indeed excellent; look at the cheering crowd outside. Our Glorious Arena can be considered a great success!"

Although Demst is a bit of a joke, his strength is undeniable. With rare-level weapons and armor, his combat power far surpasses that of the chosen goalkeeper Gunther.

He successfully shattered Gunther, causing the entire territory to revel in celebration, which was another unparalleled honor for the territory!

From now on, whenever Gunther appears again, any knight who encounters him will think of Blacksin Territory and its famous Glorious Arena!
(End of this chapter)