Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 274 Road
Flames enveloped Rean, and the black knight regained his form on the surface.

He increasingly appreciated the power of the "Masked Dragon Knight" class. This armor, in the end, was still his flesh and blood, so it could be used to replenish him when necessary.

His powerful physique was rapidly recovering, and the "Prince (Deer) Heart" artifact on his chest was also accelerating his healing, even actively repairing his armor.

"cure."

"That's enough, save your energy."

Rean told Larry to stop the healing spell and to use it sparingly.

This small group of paladins only had one healer, and even that was quite ineffective; it was truly bizarre.

One reason is that everyone is a "judgment knight," and the treatment effect is so poor that it is almost non-existent.

On the other hand, apart from Larry, they are all classical paladins, whose spell lists are pitifully small and who do not have any "divine favor" bonuses.

The healing abilities of paladins and priests originate from the guidance of "positive energy (of life)," a special energy from the higher plane (the realm of gods). This is also the reason why healing magic is regarded as "evocation," ultimately stemming from the use of elemental power.

The gods can grant believers, knights, and priests special "positive energy plane channels" that enhance the effects of healing spells to a certain extent, especially for priests and paladins in the life realm, where one priest can be used as ten paladins.

In addition, there are "privileges" that only those favored by the gods can enjoy, such as divinely bestowed weapons, divine grace, divinely bestowed mounts, and divinely bestowed war servants (often high-ranking beings from higher planes). Pure classical paladins are indeed very rare; in reality, it is more of an advancement of an ordinary paladin under the gods.

"Looks like the team needs a professional priest. Tsk, I don't want to be pointed at by the gods."

If Rean were willing to submit to the gods, there would probably be plenty of gods who would want him. But he cannot accept the gods' rules for his behavior.

"If only there were a foolish deity willing to provide divine benefits without interfering or meddling."

Rean chuckled to himself. How could there be such a fool who would provide divine power without asking for anything in return?

Most of the gods in this world are so-called "believers in God". One of the core goals of their actions is faith and dioceses, and their subordinate churches will naturally pursue the so-called "return on investment".

Therefore, divine authority and royal authority will always compete for influence, and they will not give up any opportunity to spread their faith.

"True gods, evil gods, and external gods—none of them can be trusted. My faith must never be entrusted to others." The more Rean read about this, the more resolute he became, even vaguely resembling a believer.

In fact, what changed Rean the most was not the fact that he possessed "power".

"I absolutely cannot end up like Lex, dying a confused wretch."

Lex's situation served as a wake-up call for Rean.

This world is not kind; there is no unspoken rule that if you are kind to others, they will at least treat you well in return. Kindness and conscience will be seen as weakness and vulnerability, and goodness will be seen as foolishness.

Isn't Lex strong enough? Yet men fight purely and persistently for love and loyalty, only to be used as tools for deception by those in power.

"I must take control of my destiny, not only the destiny of others, but also my own. Even in the pursuit of love, I should be the one to possess it, not to be controlled by it."

At this moment, Rean wielded his sword with more decisiveness.

There's no way around it; the negative examples are too frightening.

Lex is very strong, almost invincible, but does he have anyone he can trust by his side?
Even as a high-ranking official in the kingdom, does he have his own organization and power? King Griffin could easily manipulate those around him, controlling their information and morally blackmailing them, treating them like puppets.

Being powerful is meaningless when you're alone, unless you're willing to be someone else's puppet or a mere destroyer.
"ELDER (The Fire of the Forge)"

This time, Rean had no intention of holding back at all along the way.

He needs fame, authority, and the power to control his own destiny.

The furnace fire summoned by Long Yan struck the retreating manticore hard.

This kind of threatening species, which naturally reaches the standard of a Great Warrior upon adulthood, had no chance of survival against Rean's squad. Rean did not intend to waste too much time on it.

"when!"

Its painful counterattack, its scorpion tail that tore through steel, pierced deep into Rean's armor, even whipping him up.

"Destroy evil!"

The power of holiness erupted once more, forcing Rean back. Rean's magic power was running low, but his reserves of holy power were still quite abundant!
Another lion scorpion that lunged at him was blocked by Larry's sword, which was positioned back-to-back with him.

The paladins' Demon-Slaying Slash had only a mediocre effect when it struck the manticore. Although it was counterintuitive, this powerful man-eating monster was a true "beast" and had no concept of good or evil.

Using the Wallbreaker, Rean could wound it, but that was all.

On the contrary, Hela's sword aura is more effective against powerful monsters that are not immortal; fast swordsmen often achieve surprising results. "Awooooo!"

Another roar sent chills down Rean and his group's spines. Several manticore corpses lay on the ground, all summoned by the previous one.

What makes manticores so troublesome is that they possess the characteristics of lions; they not only live in groups but can also call to each other.

"Ouch!"

Another roar of a lion echoed from afar, and the people behind Rean were also caught in a fierce battle.

"We must break through them as quickly as possible; time is running out."

What Rean found most unbearable was probably the time wasted being surrounded by the pride of lions.

However, lion scorpions are not easy opponents; if their venomous tails sting, even a great warrior could be instantly killed.

"Headache. I can have a breakdown, but for the next period of time, I'm afraid it will be up to you guys."

Claire, one of the Radiant Guardians, spoke up. She still had trump cards up her sleeve, but like her personality, they were essentially double-edged swords.

If an attack breaks out now, it would be good enough if it didn't harm our own comrades; otherwise, we might have to withdraw from the battlefield once our ace is used.

The ace is leaving the front lines before the main show even starts? How can Rean accept that?

"Oh!"

Two more manticores were summoned, and with the four still remaining on the battlefield, the six high-level monsters had already tied down most of the team.

"Damn it, don't block my way!"

Rean activated his Dragon Eye, trying to find a safe route. But to his dismay, his "X-ray vision" revealed two more manticores approaching.

"So many! How did those bastards get through?"

"After all, they are just wild animals. We can just find some people to feed them."

Taking a deep breath, Rean slammed his fist on the wall behind him.

"boom!"

The wall-breaker remained effective, but this time, it only tore a small hole before automatically healing. The deeper the underground ruins, the closer they are to living things, the harder they become, and they also have an automatic repair function.

Even if you manage to tear a small hole, the other side won't let go of its prey and will definitely chase after you, so it won't be very effective.

But if we keep dragging this out, we won't have enough energy or time, and then we'll have to fight the cultists to the death.

"Can my sword clear a path for me?"

At that moment, for some reason, Rean thought of Lex. He single-handedly faced the towering giant elephant and charged alone into the enemy army, unparalleled in the world.

"No, that's not my path."

What will be Rean's path? At the very least, it shouldn't be a "lone hero" like Lex Luthor.

"I decide my own path. I can forge ahead, I can shed blood and tears, but I should not be alone behind me."

In the hallucination, Lex suddenly turned around, revealing a wry smile. "You bastard, you're dissing me for helping me! It's not because my daughter is here..."
"Fine, you can go your own way."

That moment of disorientation made Rean dizzy, and he returned to reality.

“VOTH (Road)”

Suddenly, Rean uttered the word.

Suddenly, the wall in front of him opened. To be precise, a path of light appeared before Rean.

It is like a corridor of light, directly "piercing" through the walls here.

This is a dragon's words, Rean's understanding of "ambition" and "path," and his essential desire. Although Lex's spirit helped him, it was indeed his own ability.

“Let’s go.” Rean was still dizzy. This was the first time he had actively activated “Dragon’s Words,” and the source of this burning was his ambition and his desire.

Without others understanding, Rean stepped onto the "path of light" first, and then the knights followed one by one, rushing forward with the manticore, only to crash headfirst into the wall.

(End of this chapter)