Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 219 The King of Slayers Takes Shape (Third Update)
What is the true value of being called the enemy of the world?
It's basically like after you die, the Path of Pure Goodness gives you a golden light effect and forces you to take a big step forward on the Path of Lawful Pure Goodness.

"How come I see you here again?"

Talia, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, reappeared in front of Rean, and he was naturally taken to the local police station.

Regardless of the reason, it is true that he attacked the sheriff.

Actually, if he asked either Sallyman or Dania, it would make getting him out of trouble much easier.

But he needed some extra help, so he directly asked Talia to come and help him get the person out.

"Can it be tracked?"

Rean casually pulled out a scroll covered in bloodstains and marks.

Talia took it and sniffed it gently.
"Ugh, where did this come from? It's disgusting, a mixture of at least a hundred kinds of blood. It's too messy, I don't even know who you're looking for, there's no way to track it down."

"A very dangerous opponent. Extremely dangerous."

Rean emphasized this point to prevent the female detective in front of him from being foolish enough to go and track her down alone.

"I understand. Do you need my help?"

"Okay. I'm lacking some local support. Could you help me find more people to deploy the cables? But I'll need you in a pinch."

Rean didn't stand on ceremony with his partner; if he really wanted to track down potential accomplices, he would need professional help.

Talia communicated with the local police station, and with her reputation within the system, she easily obtained Rean's release by showing her identification. In fact, the local police station was eager for Rean to leave as soon as possible.

On the one hand, it was because his identity was so special; once he entered the police station, they immediately discovered his special identities as "the husband of the Sudar family" and "Princess Dania's high-riding knight." On the other hand, it was because...
"Please deal with those cultists as soon as possible. They're terrifying. Merchants don't dare to do business here anymore." This chubby baron, who seemed to be a manager behind the local sheriff, was personally entrusting Rean with this task.

To express his sincerity/gratitude, he even stuffed a bag full of money into Rean's hand.

Many paladins wouldn't accept the money pouch, but Rean used a scout to check if the other party was alright. Under the baron's stern gaze, he accepted the pouch.

But this reward and gratitude are actually only to be expected.

Cults and thugs of this caliber are beyond the capacity of a single regional police station to handle; it's best to rely on the "omnipotent adventurers."

After finding a room, Rean chatted with Talia, entrusting her with some matters privately. He decided to leave professional matters to professionals, as Rean himself wasn't good at finding needles in a haystack.

Back in his house, it was almost dawn. After thinking it over, Rean decided to go back and get a good night's sleep.

My whole body aches right now, I'll talk about everything after I've woken up.

But as soon as I entered, the blankets on the bed were bulging, as if someone was sleeping soundly.

Rean, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much. He wouldn't be surprised if they pulled something out from under the covers these days.
"Huh? This is... Lana?"

But this time, I was genuinely surprised.
Rean's voice startled the little guy awake.

"Lana wanted to practice swordsmanship with you! But you weren't there! You lay down for a bit and then fell asleep!"

So she just lay down and went back to sleep? Looking at the sleepy-eyed girl, Rean sighed and decided to let her sleep later and take the little one to practice her sword first.

"No, Lana is sleepy, let's sleep together!"

But this usually sensible little guy is actually acting spoiled? Did he sense my exhaustion?
Rean smiled, removed his armor, and lay back down.

He was truly exhausted this time, and soon fell asleep.

When Sallyman arrived at breakfast time, she found Rean fast asleep, a rare sight for her.

The little one curled up like a cat and lay on his belly.

"Li, forget it, go get some more sleep."

To Suliman's surprise, the usually diligent little guy and Rean still hadn't gotten up even after breakfast had gone cold.

Even as it approached noon, Rean was still sleeping.

"Master, last night..."

At this point, intelligence personnel delivered new information, which was the result of a report submitted proactively by the local police station.

Then, when Rean woke up at noon, he saw Sally Man pouting and ignoring him. After thinking for a moment, Rean guessed that the truth about last night had been revealed.

"Sorry, things happened so suddenly, I didn't have time to inform you."

"Difficult to deal with?"

"It's alright. Well, they were quite difficult to deal with. It's not that they were very strong, but I don't want to encounter such an opponent again."

Sleep restored Rean's energy, but he was still a little dazed. After thinking it over, this was the only conclusion he could reach.

Noticing that the girl's initial resentment had vanished, replaced by worry and unease, Rean chuckled and patted her head.

"Don't worry, it's just the first time you've encountered a rather special opponent. Knowing how to deal with it will make things much better."

This statement was half true, but also somewhat exaggerated. Rean asked himself honestly, and it seemed that nothing would change if he encountered the Whisperer again.

He still lacked the confidence to maintain his true self in that place that resembled a divine realm.

He had already realized that the monster was probably just a fake "idol".

It was likely created using the characteristics of Whisperers and the power of the Outer Gods who "exchange life for knowledge," creating a special "altar."

By sheer chance, Rean shattered its special domain; otherwise, he might have ended up losing limbs. And limbs lost in this way, having already been sacrificed to "Truth," would likely not be able to be reattached in the conventional way. "It really was a close call." He might not have died, but losing limbs was unacceptable.

Rean sighed, even doubting whether he was a transmigrator and whether he would receive the treatment a transmigrator protagonist should have.

Snake venom, mind control, and the strange domain from before—why am I always being controlled? Other protagonists don't have these abilities, but their resistance is maxed out, and they always manage to break free from control at crucial moments.

And I'm supposed to be a paladin known for my resistance, so why am I getting hit by all kinds of crowd control?

Rean also knew that he couldn't really blame himself. In the end, it was because his opponents were too overpowered. Magical girls, Outer Gods, and Great Mind Mages (suspected) could easily crush a Paladin who was only at the highest level two.

"Oh right, it leveled up."

After some thought, Rean touched the Heroic Spirit Compendium on his waist; it was somewhat useful in this regard.

Rean glanced at the changes and was genuinely pleasantly surprised.

Most professions that reach Tier 3 will gain core abilities, such as the fireball ability for warlocks and mages, or the spellcaster's specialization.

The situation is a bit more complicated for paladins. Divine magic classes are often "given by the gods," which gives them a somewhat fatalistic feel.
[Awakened Second Ring Divine Art: Lesser Restoration.]

For a third-circle paladin to awaken a second-circle divine spell is already quite rare. However, this low-circle divine spell that removes negative status effects has very weak effects (lower levels of disease, poison, paralysis/immobilization), and it doesn't seem to have much effect on Rean (mainly because Rean is most afraid of paralysis and immobilization, but how can one cast a spell to remove immobilization after immobilization).
Second-circle divine magic is indeed not strong; Rean seems confident that he can withstand any negative status effect that can be removed by this divine magic.

More than that, Rean wanted a buff spell that could enhance his combat power.

"My meager reserves of divine magic are better than nothing. There's no need to complain about something I got for free."

Not to mention comparing him to priests of the same rank, even compared to ordinary paladins, due to the lack of divine protection, their reserves of divine magic are not on the same level. However, considering that Rean used most of his holy power to cut through the evil slash, it seems acceptable.

What truly satisfied Rean were his several professional skills.

[Awaken extraordinary abilities, divine weapons, oaths to enemies, divine armor, divine protection.]

These abilities, whether active or passive, are the source of the Paladin class's strength.

[Divine Weapon: By channeling pure goodness into a weapon and infusing it with celestial positive energy, the weapon will glow faintly while its power is greatly enhanced, and it will be regarded as a magical weapon.]

This is a very useful ability, and it's basically standard equipment for combat-oriented paladins. It allows the paladin's holy power to be added to the blade.

Unlike the Evil-Slaying Slash, this is a normal buff, which makes the paladins truly "wielding magical weapons."

But then, problems started to arise.

[Enemy Oath: Lock onto a target and declare it your mortal enemy. You will instinctively sense its location at a certain distance and receive certain enhancements to your abilities (including resistance, destructive power, willpower, etc.) when fighting it.]

[Special targeting has been established, with targets limited to: humanity and enemies of humanity. This will be automatically announced upon entry into the detection range.]

Okay, the active ability has become passive, and it's now directly locked onto this type of target. It seems to have become a feature that can only be used against powerful enemies?!

But it seems it could be used as an automatic reconnaissance radar?
Rean knew about the enemy oaths of the other paladins, which didn't have such complicated restrictions, but they also didn't seem to have such strong buffs.

But being able to advance in rank is a purely benevolent blessing, and as a paladin without divine backing, I don't seem to have much to complain about.

But this also seems to suggest that He wants Rean to kill more of these things, to hunt down more of these things lurking in the darkness.

[Divine Blessing (Passive): You have strong resistance to disease; you are not prone to illness and can maintain a good physical and mental state for a long time.]

This ability is quite subtle in actual combat, and its main effect may be in the latter half of daily life, but how could Rean refuse a blessing that brings him health and freedom from illness?

And the last one is what Rean has been looking forward to.

[Divine Armor (Passive): Your will, your holy power, and your divine power will merge into your physical body, enhancing your spell resistance and elemental resistance to a certain extent.]

This is the core characteristic and ability of the Paladin, the starting point for the anti-magic can, and the dividing line between the Paladin and the regular Knights and Warriors.

It must be said that both Sue's gifts and Chun Shan's rewards were quite generous, giving Rean, a classic knight, a full range of abilities.

However, when these abilities are combined, it looks like they've built up your offense and defense, and then given you a radar to detect enemies, urging you to just keep slashing with your sword.

Forget about divine knights and protective shields; they don't exist. Just go all out and hack away.

Of course, while increasing "magic resistance" made Rean feel a little more at ease, it probably wouldn't be of much use against Whisperers or Purple Roses.

What delighted Rean the most, even made him ecstatic, was an unexpected and surprising discovery.

【Heart Soul. The Demolitionist of Su'er (Silver)】

Along with the significant enhancement of his Paladin class abilities and the evolution of his physical body, the soul power derived from Sul has finally begun to evolve normally!
This evolution directly propelled them from the primitive state to the silver level that a third-tier professional should possess.

But given that Rean's Thousand Faces Dragon ability can elevate his soul power, it means that Rean has finally reclaimed what he has always longed for.

[Heart and Soul. Sul's Wallbreaker (Gold): Your will is your hammer. Infused with your will and rage, this extraordinary ability can ignore the opponent's defenses to a certain extent.]

Rean has acquired a soul power on par with the one he possessed when he was possessed by Sul!

With the addition of a divine weapon, the Gold-tier Wallbreaker, the Evil-Slaying Slash, Dragon Flame, and the ultimate technique of the Sul Sword Art, Rean's sword will no longer be as powerless as before.

Holy Armor and Lesser Restoration can enhance magic resistance to some extent, but don't expect too much. For the opponents Rean might encounter, the magic resistance provided by a Tier 3 Paladin is simply not enough.

He remains the sword of judgment, far greater than the shield, and far more offensive than defensive.

Perhaps this is a change brought about by advancement, but more so it's because Rean's physical body and professional abilities have gradually improved, and he has received the gifts that the Heroic Spirits inherently bestowed upon him.
"Uh, am I supposed to be a paladin? Why do I look more and more like a brute hacking maniac the higher I go?"

(End of this chapter)