Swords, magic, and martial arts

"Another lamb yearning for liberation has arrived," the priest said, ignoring the kneeling female knight and turning his gaze to Baron, who was walking toward him step by step.

Baron ignored him and gritted his teeth as he continued walking towards him, dropping the giant axe in his hand and quickening his pace slightly.

"Don't struggle anymore. Even if you're so eager to be freed, I won't grant your wish," the priest said to Baron. "Your sins are grave, and you must continue to atone for your crimes in this hell. Today is not your day of release."

After saying that, he pointed his finger at Baron, and several holes appeared at Baron's feet, then closed up again, binding him down to the ground.

Baron tried his best to break free of his restraints, but to no avail. Eventually, the flames on his body burned out, and he lost all his strength, collapsing to the ground.

"Don't struggle like them. You too must suffer in this cruel hell. I will not help you escape today," the priest said again, pointing to his mask. "Before the mask given by the gods, the fear in your heart will be magnified infinitely. People like you who are so afraid that they can't even stand up should not even think about challenging me."

After saying this, he picked up the female knight and placed her on the stone platform above the altar. "I will use your blood as a guide to lead these lost sheep back to the embrace of the Lord."

Rhodes lay on the ground, hating himself for this state.

When faced with danger, they always try to escape first, or rely on others.

They never chose to stand up...

If I had been braver, I wouldn't have had to kneel down in front of that bastard.

He possesses a martial arts system that others don't have, yet he is still far inferior to those who don't.

I have never lived up to the word "knight-errant"...

Having a martial arts system like me is truly an insult to the concept of "chivalry"...

The priest on the altar raised his dagger high and plunged it into the female knight's shoulder. The female knight trembled, but she endured the pain without making a sound.

"More wounds will allow the Lord to feel your piety. Although your sins have not yet been redeemed, I believe that the merciful Lord will forgive you."

After saying that, he plunged the dagger into her thigh again, and she still endured the pain without screaming.

"What a tough lamb." With that, he plunged the dagger into the female knight's abdomen and twisted it. The excruciating pain of her intestines being twisted was unbearable, and she screamed in agony.

Hearing her screams, Rhodes wept with grief and indignation.

Dark green flames erupted from his body. Unlike the aggressive flames on Baron's body, the flames on Rhodes' body gave people a feeling of resilience and inexhaustible vitality.

He picked up the longsword, and a blue light flashed across both the sword and his body.

He charged swiftly towards the shocked priest. His furious sword strike was deflected by the purple light emanating from the priest's robes.

Black flames erupted from the longsword, shattering the purple light on the priest's body and tearing his robes, but the black flames on Rhodes could not harm the priest himself.

After that, the priest quickly regained his senses and retaliated with a blood-stained dagger, saying, "The flames on your body are disgusting, full of blasphemous stench."

Rod used his free left hand to grab the dagger, while his right hand swung the longsword at the mask.

The priest's dagger was extremely sharp, and a deep, bone-revealing wound appeared on Rhodes' left hand, but the priest's mask was also cut in two and fell to the ground.

The priest's face was revealed; he was a handsome middle-aged man with blond hair, and judging by his appearance alone, one would certainly think he was an elegant nobleman.

"Foolish blasphemer, do you think this will free them from fear? Even if you destroy the appearance of the divine object, you cannot harm its inner spiritual essence." The priest sneered, "Even after you die, you will not return to the Lord's embrace. I will torment your soul."

Rhodes thought he was talking too much and ignored him, then launched another attack on the priest.

His attack was easily dodged by the priest, and he was preparing to launch the next attack when the priest's dagger came flying at him, but he made no attempt to parry it.

This time, he deliberately bumped his left shoulder into the priest's dagger, dropped his longsword, grabbed the priest's shoulders with both hands, and then frantically banged his head against the priest's face repeatedly.

The priest wanted to inflict more damage on Rhodes with his dagger to stop him from attacking, but Rhodes gripped the priest's neck tightly with both hands, squeezing him hard while keeping him at a suitable distance to facilitate his ramming and make it difficult for the priest to use his dagger.

The priest's once-prominent nose was smashed beyond recognition and covered in blood by Rhodes's forehead, and his struggles grew weaker and weaker as he suffocated.

Finally, the priest stopped struggling and fainted. Rhodes used the dagger stuck in his body to cut off the priest's throat and send him to meet his god. Just in case, Rhodes also cut off his head.

After doing all this, Rhodes, without bothering to check his injuries, rushed straight towards the female knight on the stone platform. He didn't notice the strange light flashing on the dagger.

The female knight lay on the stone platform, barely alive. She had lost a lot of blood and her injuries were severe, especially the wound in her abdomen.

Rhodes casually transferred the effect of "The Wise Man's Calamity" to a resident who was still in a hypnotic state next to the altar.

"I can't hold on much longer, don't waste your energy trying to save me... Go and find a way to rescue those civilians," the female knight said weakly.

Rhodes ignored her and used the priest's dagger to cut open the armor where she was injured. He then applied a high-grade wound medicine that could only be used once more. However, the wound on her abdomen was too large, and even if the outside healed, the intestines inside would not.

The female knight's skin, already cold from blood loss, was already growing cold. Rhode looked into her pained and desperate eyes beneath her helmet and began to think rapidly about how to save her.

I don't know how to perform surgery myself, unless I can get a medicine that works almost as well as a high-grade wound medicine and can treat organs.

He asked the system, but it didn't answer at all. He suddenly remembered the unfinished mission. Completing the mission would allow him to draw a prize, and if he could draw a prize, he would still have a chance to save her.

If her basic swordsmanship isn't good enough, she might die before her swordsmanship levels up. We need to choose one that levels up quickly...

Thinking of this, he picked up the dagger and stabbed himself in the thigh, then in the other thigh. He stabbed deeply with each cut, but avoided his artery.

The female knight looked at him in confusion, but she seemed to have no strength left to ask any more questions. Her eyes gradually lost their luster, as if she were about to fall asleep at any moment.

Seeing this, Rod quickened his pace, repeatedly inflicting wounds on himself with his dagger, causing him to grimace in pain, but he endured it without making a sound.

Finally, he heard a voice that sounded like heavenly music.

With Iron Shirt upgraded to level 4 and the weekly mission objective achieved, Rhodes earned a chance to draw a prize. He quickly chose to start the draw.

The prize wheel has a lot of items, and several of the medicines should be able to save her, such as the Life-Sustaining Eight Pills and the Thousand-Year Ginseng...

In his heart, Rod prayed incessantly to all the gods he knew, hoping that one of them would bless him and that he could win the medicine that could save her in the lottery.

If he can't get the right medicine, he can only watch helplessly as she dies in front of him.

However, there was only one chance to win the lottery, and when the results were announced, the pointer landed on the Advanced Mafeisan (a type of anesthetic).

Advanced Mafeisan: Excellent pain relief; after taking it, all sensation of touch is lost; one bottle can be taken three times.

Rhodes was furious and helpless at the result. Was this fate? Instead of giving him the medicine to save her life, he was given painkillers so that she could pass away without pain in her final moments…