Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

Patrick could indeed win, but it was an extremely difficult victory. After being torn three or five times by the fox girl, he finally turned around and went around his opponent's back. The guard of his long sword hit the fox girl's new wrist and knocked the rapier out of her hand.

But the fox girl dodged his subsequent attacks, nimbly flipping in mid-air and landing back on the ground after exchanging places with the paladin.

She was about to try to communicate with the gods again to gain power, but before she could do so, her rapier was kicked in front of her again by Patrick: "Pick it up."

"Are you sick?" The fox man showed his fangs and the claws on his furry hands. "You've already lost!"

"Until I die," the paladin said, holding his sword before him, standing tall, "this duel will not end."

"Then I will make it happen for you!"

The fox picked up the rapier and rushed forward for the second time. Although she was in a much better condition than the paladin at the beginning, as time went on, even though the blood under Patrick's feet had gathered into a small lake, she still could not completely defeat this man. Instead, she became scarred after losing the protection of the gods.

"I'm not going to fight anymore! I admit defeat, okay?!" After countless rounds of fighting, the fox woman didn't want to continue. She sat down on the ground, every joint in her body aching as if it were about to break. "Why don't you just die? If that's the case, then give me a quick death! You idiot! You lunatic! You monster!"

Patrick was staggering on his sword, but he had been in this state for several minutes.

"The villagers of Pamiti begged for mercy, but they received nothing." The paladin slowly raised his head, blood stained his forehead, barely enough to flow down. His vision was blurry, but only the other figure entangled in the silk thread was clear. "The murderer who tortured them is dead. I must hold you responsible for this."

"Then just kill me! You have deprived my mistress of her attention, you can do whatever you want to me!" The fox man roared in his throat. Although the fox man and the werewolf were very close, the former's relatively better brain was exchanged for physical fitness. Now she had to shout as hard as she could even speak.

"That's not my style. If I do that, what's the difference between me and you?" In this state, Patrick didn't dare to bend down and squat. He could only kick the rapier over again. "Pick it up and continue."

"Dream on!" The fox man spat and turned her head away, not even wanting to look at her weapon, even though she once liked it so much.

However, just as she did so, the originally white threads around her suddenly turned a bright red, forcibly seizing control of the exhausted fox man's body. In response, the paladin vomited a mouthful of blood and some fragments of internal organs.

"I said, pick it up!"

Chapter 119: Divine Berry Technique

The final encounter was both long and brief compared to the previous ones. With incredible difficulty, the paladin reached the fox girl and finally pierced her chest with his blade. With the passing of life, the entire Isabella clergy showed no resentment, but instead expressed relief and liberation.

it is finally over.

"You really should have sworn that oath of revenge," Leslaufer stepped forward, slashed the beastman priest's head with his sword, and made sure she was dead. Then he reached out and held Patrick's arm. "Don't fall, or you won't be able to stand up."

Leslaufer was very familiar with the holy warrior's current state. He was holding on with only one breath. The moment this breath was released, it would be the moment of his death.

"I'll try..." Patrick forced a smile, "But it doesn't matter anymore. It's over."

"…including my oath."

He placed his left hand over the wound at his waist. The power of light surged in his palm for a moment, but then vanished. "I broke my oath and nearly killed a good man. It was only because I had a mission to complete that I continued to use my power. Now it's over."

"But you didn't kill a good man by mistake," Daisy said quickly. She winked at Leslaufer. "You paladins should be able to distinguish between good and evil, right? Old Lei can't be considered a good man either!"

Leslaufer did not respond, but continued to hold the paladin's increasingly heavy body.

"My strength comes from my own oath, girl." Patrick closed his eyes and tried to breathe, but his eyelids could no longer open. "You can't deceive your heart. If this aspiration is tarnished, the strength will disappear. If I fall into this state, I would rather die."

Daisy apparently tried to convince him that the poet seemed to know a lot of ways to circumvent the oath, but no matter what she said, Patrick was unwilling to respond. Until, something that looked like a circle was stuffed into his mouth.

The holy warrior was stunned and swallowed it subconsciously, leaving only a faint sweet and sour taste in his mouth. However, immediately afterwards, an indescribable power rose from his lower abdomen, warming his limbs and even his mind became clear.

What is this? When an object was stuffed into his mouth, he couldn't help but bite it into pieces. A wonderful taste immediately spread in his mouth, and the power also washed him from head to toe!

Patrick mustered his strength and opened his eyes, only to see the red-haired druid holding a handful of berries and preparing to put the third one into his mouth.

"Please, please let me do it." The paladin quickly stood up and awkwardly took what looked like fruit from Bella's hands. Although his extraordinary power had left him, Patrick could still recognize that these were actually the product of some kind of magic, which was able to nourish both body and soul. Otherwise, ordinary healing spells alone would not be able to save him.

The woman holding the zither had a look of surprise and loss on her face, which seemed to illustrate this point.

"That's what I told you before," Bella looked at Leslough and Angarita, "but...but I didn't expect to master it at this time. Maybe it's because I really don't want this person to die like this. You see, my reckless behavior only got me kicked out of the society, but he had to pay the price with his life - this is unfair."

"Of course, different levels of behavior will lead to different levels of consequences, my friend." He swallowed ten berries in a row. These miraculous foods, each of which could provide a person with a day's nutritional needs, did not bring Patrick a sense of fullness or satisfaction. They only barely pulled him back from the brink of death. "A kind person like you will certainly not make the same stupid mistakes as me."

"Sister Bella originally tried to make all carnivores vegetarian." Angelita curled her lips and ruthlessly exposed her druid friend's plan.

"……what."

The paladin blinked and decided it would be better not to join in on the topic.

"Fate, what are you doing?" Vondal did not participate, but focused his attention on the werewolf shaman who had been ignored before. While everyone was busy with the paladin's affairs, he sneaked up to the headless body of the fox girl.

"I know your tribe is short of food right now, but isn't it better not to bring any back?"

"Mr. Von-Dal!" Fate was startled and stood up straight. "I don't plan to take it back. I'm just thinking about the divine revelation."

"Hasn't that already been confirmed to be a vicious trap set by the fox god?"

"I don't think so, sir," the werewolf hesitated. "Even if this is really Isabara's oracle, if the fates of the two gods are connected, then those images might also be the intention of the god Darragher - I mean..."

"Just do it, kid," the dwarf patted Fate's shoulder. "You're doing this for your tribe. There's no problem with anything you do. The only question is whether you want to do it or not."

"Of course, for the safety of me and my companions, if I find that your actions will cause danger, I will not hesitate to stop you."

Fate quickly shook his head. "Not really, not really. It's just that just now... a ritual suddenly appeared in my mind. Perhaps that was the will of the gods."

The conversation between the two also attracted the attention of others. After explaining the whole story and what was required for the ceremony, everyone thought it should be fine and let him drag the fox man's body until he stopped between the many stone pillars on the way.

Fate took out a small knife from his animal skin pocket, and then found a vessel that was not sure whether it was made of stone or bone. After filling a bowl with the fox man's almost solidified blood, he began his ceremony.

Blood left strange streaks on his body. He held a knife in one hand and a bowl in the other, and began to sing between the stone pillars with a special voice, half laughing and half crying, with the corpse as the center. He sang and danced at the same time, but for safety reasons, everyone stayed far away and could not hear the specific content of the song.

"Shaman... right?" Daisy stared. The priests at the Angora Temple hadn't performed such a procedure when treating her; their movements were professional and swift. Meanwhile, the rituals performed by Fate were filled with a primitive, barbaric, and strangely beautiful feeling.

"Shaman."

Leslaufer nodded affirmatively. He didn't understand what the werewolf was doing, but at least it looked similar to the ones he had seen before.

Chapter 120 Shaman's Ritual

Fate's ritual seemed to have worked. Black mist continued to flow down from the bowl in his hand, and soon enveloped the entire area of ​​the stone pillar. But unlike before, there was no red light in the mist this time. Instead, a huge werewolf phantom slowly took shape in the center.

The being completely ignored the existence of Reslaufer and the others. It merely glanced down at the shaman who was already trembling and crawling on the ground, and then disappeared into nothingness. Everything returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.

"finished?"

Seeing that Fate was still lying there in a kneeling position, Feng Dahl rushed over first, but saw that the fox man's body had turned into a pile of bones, without a trace of flesh and blood.

"It seems so... Thank you, ah!"

Fate stood up and was about to express his gratitude, but suddenly he screamed in pain and squatted on the ground. He held his head with both hands, but could not stop the hair from the top of his head from turning as pale as the fox man, but the latter's hair at that time seemed more like some kind of disease, while the shaman's fur was more oily, and under the illumination of the light magic, it seemed to reflect the moonlight.

"I, what's wrong with me?"

The entire transformation process lasted for more than three minutes, during which time Fate's body expanded by a full circle and a half. His eyes involuntarily switched to a state where only the whites of his eyes were visible, but now the white was filled with dense bloodshot. Even if he didn't use any power, just looking into such strange eyes would make people feel extremely terrified.

"The Eye of Evil..." Patrick looked at the eyes thoughtfully until Fate collapsed to the ground after a violent convulsion. "Do you feel... hungry or thirsty now? Or very full? Like you just had a big meal?"

"You...what feeling are you talking about?" Fate was breathing heavily. Even though he had closed his eyes, he still looked ferocious, but his inner self didn't seem to have changed.

"Well, first of all, physically. Very full? Very hungry? No change at all?"

"No feeling," Fate honestly touched his stomach and shook his head. "I'm a little hungry from all that just now, but that's probably not the feeling you want."

"Indeed not—mentally? If I am not mistaken, you may have been observed by the incarnation of Darraghel. Does that comfort you?"

"The curse on me, the curse that prevented me from hunting successfully, is gone now," the werewolf hesitated, "I will indeed be relieved by this..."

"That's not it, okay." Patrick stared into the werewolf's eyes until Fate could no longer bear the blunt gaze and was about to reveal his evil eyes. Then he looked away. "Okay, I'm sure you haven't been influenced by the will of that god and turned into a bloodthirsty wolf."

"If that were the case... I'm afraid I'd still die here today," the paladin chuckled to himself. "You're still yourself, that's good. Keep it up."

Fate nodded confusedly. At this moment, he was no longer the werewolf who looked more like a human, but had turned into a huge pale beast. Just standing there gave people a sense of oppression.

But it only appears when standing still. It would be best if you roll your eyes out, otherwise people will soon discover the innocence hidden under your savage body.

Somehow, his bloodthirsty god had spared the shaman's spirit world, allowing him to remain as he was, but as Patrick could judge, that was a good thing.

"Looks like we can go back and report back," Angelita clapped her hands happily. "Mr. Patrick, do you want to come with us? Now that you've avenged your great hatred, there shouldn't be anything else important to do. How about joining us?"

"We should be passing through West Inassus. I don't know where the Qingzun City you mentioned is, but maybe we'll be going the same way?"

It was clear that Patrick was indeed tempted by the proposal, but he quickly shook his head and refused. "Thank you for your kindness, but forget it. I... am not on the same page as you. Forcing a partnership would only cause trouble for both of us."

He was speaking to Leslough, the veteran, with whom he was destined to have no common ground. His willingness to yield rather than draw his sword was already a measure of tolerance.

"Besides, I don't actually plan to go to Qingzun City. I don't know anyone there anymore, and I still have other things to do, like confessing my sins. Maybe that will allow me to forgive the mistakes I've made."

"Sounds a bit like the self-deception of a cult," Leslaufer shrugged. "Go ahead, let's not delay you from regaining your power—you'll use it to continue rewarding good and punishing evil anyway, right?"

"Of course," Patrick immediately became serious. "I will dedicate my life to the land where my wife and I lived and the people here. There is no need for you to worry. But... your name is Raslaufer, right?"

"Leslaufer, although I don't know what you have, I still advise you that meaningless killing will only lead you deeper into trouble. It's better not to indulge in it too much, otherwise you will eventually..."

"I'm also giving you some advice. Just take care of yourself, your own son, and stop interfering in how others live their lives," the mercenary waved his hand impatiently. "If you get used to interfering in others' lives, one day you'll completely lose yourself on this path and ultimately abandon your oath."

Leslaufer did not intend to persuade people to reflect deeply like the Holy Knight. He preferred to use physical means to persuade people to sleep. However, the Holy Knight was shocked to the spot as if he was struck by lightning. After a long while, he saluted deeply to the mercenary with full respect, then turned and walked out.

"You seemed to have said something remarkable just now," Angelita approached Leslaufer. "You seem to say things like that every now and then, but I didn't expect you could actually convince a paladin."

"After living long enough, one always has some insights," Leslaufer said with a "tsk." "As for that guy, I guess he must have been a paladin for a short time, otherwise he wouldn't have lived to this age."

Paladins, or those with similar beliefs, are always short-lived, as if they were born just to "bang" and few can live long enough. But if the latter really exist and still do not betray their oath, then they must be incredibly powerful.

"Let's go, forget about that guy." Leslaufer told everyone to leave, and he took the fox girl's head with him. "He still needs to repent, but we have to be the saviors of an entire tribe of werewolves!"

Chapter 121 Visitors from the Werewolf Tribe

Isabara's curse on the werewolf tribe was lifted, and the werewolves were naturally grateful to Leslough and others. However, the beastmen who could not even get enough food could not give anything valuable to express their gratitude. Only Vondal pried out some relatively rare materials from them.

These materials were largely unpolished, forcing the dwarves to seek a settlement with a forge to recondition them for portability and future processing. After a brief search on the map, they located a small town called Karochuk, home to a minor noble. Most notably, it housed a monastery belonging to the Waybreaker Evandra, a place they could find supplies without attracting too much attention.

Two days after Reslaufer and the others left, the werewolves' grand celebration of their rebirth continued unabated. Hunters continued to go out for long-awaited hunts, bringing fresh prey to the table. Within a hundred miles, not even a mouse was spared, and all were eaten by the werewolves.

Such a gathering would naturally attract attention in the wilderness. When another gluttonous feast that lasted all day was about to end, a strange traveler, surrounded by several werewolves, entered the tribal settlement.

"Ah, stranger, but welcome—hiccup!" The "False Wolf", the werewolf who was once the strongest in the tribe but now gave up this title to the blessed Fate, came over drunkenly. "Relax, you can spend the night here safely, because we have no shortage of food!"

He tried to give the traveler, who had become a double in his vision, a big hug, but his reach was empty. The traveler did not dodge, but his size was so small that the burly werewolf could hardly hold him without falling.

"...Especially someone like you who doesn't have enough meat, hiccup." The werewolf muttered.

"Interesting. You're the alpha wolf here, aren't you?" The tiny stranger, wearing a black cloak that was comically large for him, looked at the werewolf with amusement, his eyes gleaming from beneath the hood. "I heard from your people that you're holding this banquet to celebrate a long-awaited hunt. But I don't understand. Aren't you one of the best hunters in the wilderness? Why would you need such a celebration?"

"You don't know this. We—wu, wu!" The "alpha wolf" was about to speak, but a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed his mouthpiece, preventing him from saying a word. The visitor turned his gaze curiously, only to see an elderly werewolf looking at him with the same scrutiny.

"The drink the alpha wolf has consumed has exceeded his limit," the old werewolf said, grinning apologetically. "If you have any questions, why not ask me? I'll avoid making you think that people like us are ignorant beasts."

"Ah, elder, I don't really like talking to elders. People like you are lifeless and boring," the stranger sighed in disappointment. "But okay, you should hear what I'm asking. What exactly happened here?"

"Our long-planned hunt was disrupted by a group of uninvited visitors, leaving us hungry for days. This time, we have to make amends." Qirkan let go of the tribesmen's mouths and touched his own stomach. "Although we are similar to wolves and can eat at intervals, the prerequisite is that we have to eat enough the previous time."

"We tried to catch a cockatrice before, but it got away with it. Sigh."

The stranger immediately sighed. "Ah, I see. Cockatrices are indeed a rare delicacy, aren't they? You really should celebrate—but I'm more interested in those uninvited guests. Could you tell me more about them?"

Qirkan looked at the little man cautiously. As the true leader of the tribe, he had to be more alert and cunning than the others. So when he noticed the unusual smell of blood on this man, he immediately interrupted the "alpha wolf" to prevent him from saying anything inappropriate.

"Unfortunately, we don't know much other than they beat us up," Zirkan pointed westward, "but they went that way, just two days ago. If you're looking for them, that's all I can offer."

In fact, the town of Karochuk is northwest of the werewolf settlement. Zilkan specifically pointed in a wrong but not completely wrong direction.

It was not their fault that they did not know where the outsider had gone. Besides, he was an old wolf, old and confused, so it was normal that he had a bad memory.

Fate, who was not far away, looked over here but did not come forward. He now maintained his human form, with only his hair being white so that he would not stand out too much among his kind.

Although his status in the tribe has been significantly improved, since Qirkan has spoken, he will not question it - for the sake of the tribe, it is better not to have two voices in the wolf pack.

"Ah—that's right," the stranger turned his head to the west and nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for your cooperation, elder. It seems I must take action immediately."

"Would you like to invite me to have a simple meal? Your alpha wolf doesn't seem to mind it, and I see that you have quite a few humans here as well."

"That's our human form," Zirkan shook his head decisively. "Sorry, we don't have a tradition of hospitality. The leader wolf is drunk."

The short guest shrugged nonchalantly—it was hard to tell under his large cloak—and walked out. He looked nothing special, just an ordinary person asking for directions, but when his figure completely disappeared into the night, the old werewolf breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.

"Father, why are you doing this?" The disguised wolf leader had sobered up a little by now and looked at his father in confusion. "That guy is so small, not even enough to fill our teeth!"

"Then why did he dare to walk alone in the wilderness?" Qirkan asked without looking up. "Be careful of those seemingly harmless things. How can I trust you with the fate of my people?"

"You're always right," the wolf leader poured himself another bowl of wine. These drinks weren't brewed, but natural products from some plants. "But it doesn't matter. Now we have another person who's willing to use his brain. Didn't you always tell me that when you first became the tribe leader, you always discussed everything with the shaman?"

"Besides, that guy can't find us even if he causes trouble, so there's nothing to worry about. Would you like a bowl?"

"roll."

"okay."