They are all characters I control.

Page 79

Just as the church knights retreated to the town gate, pagans armed with crossbows suddenly appeared on the city wall and began shooting at the church knights and residents below.

"Defense!" Eleanor was prepared for this.

The church knights knew very well that these heretics would not let them go so easily, and they quickly raised their shields.

The vast majority of arrows struck the shields and broke, with only a very small number hitting some residents and church knights.

Upon seeing his subordinates attacked, Knight Commander Will immediately glared angrily at the Scarlet Witch above his head.

"Didn't you say you'd let them go?!" Knight Commander Will stormed toward the Scarlet Witch.

"Release them?" The Scarlet Witch laughed. "When did I say I was going to release them?"

Will's expression changed, and his body began to surge with divine magic.

"you--"

“I said, ‘Let your knights leave,’” the Scarlet Witch said slowly. “I didn’t say whether they should leave alive or dead. They are my guests, how can I just let them go?”

Just as the Scarlet Witch was laughing triumphantly, Knight Commander Will made his move.

He was only five meters away from the Scarlet Witch, a distance long enough for Knight Commander Will to unleash his power.

Without any warning, Knight Commander Will's body suddenly burst forth with dazzling holy light.

The next moment, he appeared in front of the Scarlet Witch, and with a swing of his knight's sword, he beheaded her.

Staring at the head rolling on the ground, both the church knights and the pagans were stunned.

It seems that no one expected this to happen.

The Scarlet Witch is dead?

No, of course not.

At this moment, Mel, who was being protected by Eleanor, looked in the direction of the Scarlet Witch and curled the corners of her lips.

Then, a loud "bang" was heard.

The headless Scarlet Witch's body exploded, and dark red smoke instantly enveloped Knight Commander Will.

Chapter 133 Justice Must Not Be Opposed, Believers Turn to Swords

The dark red smoke billowed from the exploding corpse of the Scarlet Witch and lunged at Commander Will like a living thing.

Will instinctively held his breath and took two steps back, trying to get out of the smoke's reach. But the smoke was faster than him, instantly enveloping him.

It's not poisonous. It's not corrosive.

It's something more insidious.

Will felt the smoke seeping into his body through his pores, his breath, and the gaps in his armor.

They didn't bring pain, they didn't bring suffocation, but rather a sense of emptiness.

The magic within me is fading.

It wasn't suppressed, it wasn't sealed, but rather "devoured." The dark red smoke, like hungry parasites, frantically sucked every last bit of magic power from his body.

Will knelt on one knee, supporting his body with his sword, veins bulging on his forehead as he unleashed purification magic.

Although the purification magic temporarily slowed down the rate at which magic power was consumed, it was still unable to easily dispel the eerie blood mist.

“Captain!” Eleanor’s voice came from afar, filled with panic.

"Don't come any closer!" Will roared, his voice hoarse. "There's something strange about this smoke!"

However, Sir Will's worries were somewhat unnecessary, as the dark red, curse-like blood mist only entangled Sir Will.

Looking at Knight Commander Will, who seemed to have lost his power, Eleanor and the church knights could only watch helplessly.

Meanwhile, the infidels' arrows continued to rain down from above.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

A laugh came from the end of the street, and all eyes turned in that direction.

It was a fat, middle-aged woman wearing an apron stained with oil. At that moment, her body began to crack, like a cicada shedding its skin.

Dark red hair cascaded out from the cracked skin, fair arms broke free from the rotting flesh, revealing a slender waist, full breasts, and long legs.

A brand new "Scarlet Witch" emerged from the body of that seemingly ordinary middle-aged woman.

She cracked her neck, making a snapping sound, and wore a satisfied, alluring smile.

“Will’s all-out attack was indeed well-deserved.” Scarlet Witch Dorothy looked down at her reborn body, her tone full of admiration. “If I hadn’t prepared the ‘molting’ ritual in advance, I would have really died just now.”

"What a pity, what a pity, I'm terrified of dying."

"So I never gamble my life on a single bet, and it's a pity you didn't kill me."

She walked barefoot and gracefully toward Knight Commander Will.

Every step they took was a blow to the hearts of the church knights.

“You…” Will raised his head, his eyes filled with rage as he tried to unleash his magic.

But the holy light that had just shone on his body was immediately extinguished.

His magic was running low, and the dark red blood mist continued to devour Knight Commander Will's magic.

"Don't bother." Dorothy sat on the windowsill, standing on tiptoe to admire the scene before her.

"That's a specially made potion of mine; it will gradually erode the magic power within you."

“It’s only been a minute, and you can still barely use low-level magic. In three minutes, you won’t even be able to use low-level magic…” The alluring scarlet witch gave Knight Commander Will a charming smile: “In a little while, you will also lose your sight, hearing, and ability to speak.”

Will gritted his teeth and tried to circulate the holy light within his body, but each attempt only deepened the feeling of emptiness.

He felt his body turning into an empty shell.

"mean……"

“Despicable?” Dorothy stood up, laughing heartily. “Sir Knight Will, you’ve come this far, and you still say such naive things? War is only about victory and defeat, not despicable acts.”

Knight Commander Will stopped arguing with the Scarlet Witch; he needed to hurry.

Before he becomes completely powerless, he should at least send the church knights out.

Although his magic is fading, Knight Commander Will's physical combat abilities remain intact.

"Go ahead, it's alright, no need to stop him." Watching Knight Commander Will stumble and run towards the church knights at the city gate, the Scarlet Witch had no intention of stopping him.

The situation wasn't so optimistic for the church knights at the city gates either.

The pagans on the city walls continued to shoot or throw stones, which not only exhausted the arrows but also drained the energy of the church knights.

Meanwhile, the townspeople who had been released by the heretics were now huddled together in the middle of the church knights' procession, trembling with fear.

Upon seeing Commander Will return, the morale of the church knights was immediately boosted.

Regardless of whether Knight Commander Will was injured or poisoned, as long as this captain was present, the church knights could activate their high fighting spirit, not to mention that Knight Commander Will always managed to lead them out of danger.

Eleanor tried to meet up with Knight Commander Will, but Karl and several church knights moved even faster.

Seeing that Karl and the other church knights had met up with Knight Commander Will, Eleanor and the church knights breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the next moment a short sword appeared on Knight Commander Will's thigh.

Subsequently, daggers and short swords appeared in the gaps of the other armor on Knight Commander Will's body.

"Captain! Karl! What are you doing?!"

"Damn it! Did you betray us?!"

"I have to go save the captain!"

"..."

The church knights could no longer fail to understand, however unbelievable it may seem, that Karl had betrayed the church.

At this moment, Karl and the few traitorous church knights quickly retreated after their successful sneak attack.

They didn't bother with the injured and poisoned Knight Commander Will at all.

"Everyone calm down! Don't panic! Maintain formation..." Eleanor tried to calm everyone down, but the church knights didn't listen to her.

Many of the church knights began to move, abandoning their previously impenetrable formation and approaching the wounded Knight Commander Will.

Just then, as the church knights began to move, the townspeople who had been under protection started to move.

They had no weapons, yet they pulled at the church knights, pushing them down and pinning them down.

One person wouldn't be enough, but the number of these townspeople was almost twice that of the church knights.

"What are you doing?! Why are you doing this? We came to save you!" Eleanor looked at the civilians who were grabbing her knight's sword with a look of astonishment.

There was no trace of heresy or malice on the other person's face; instead, he was in tears and pleading.

"My child is in their hands..."

My wife is pregnant!

"Please! Surrender! Maybe that way you'll survive!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"I want mom!"

The civilians cried out and knelt on the ground; some begged for mercy, some tried to explain, and some just trembled with their heads in their hands.

The church knights gripped their weapons, looking at those they had just been protecting with eyes full of anger, confusion, and pain.

They were knights of the church. Their faith was to protect the weak and to safeguard the innocent.

But when these "weak" and "innocent" people pick up knives and stab their fellow citizens—

What should they do?

Eleanor gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She looked at the common people kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down their faces; at the women holding their children, trembling all over; at the elderly people with their heads down, not daring to look at her.

She couldn't lift her sword.

She was a church knight.

Dorothy watched this scene, a satisfied smile curving her lips.

“What a touching scene,” she said softly. “The ‘mercy’ of the church knights is always the most effective weapon.”

She raised her hand.

"Alright, let's send them on their way."

The surrounding pagans raised their weapons and surrounded the church knights.

Eleanor stood there, her hand holding the sword trembling.

Just then—

Her hand tightened suddenly.

She didn't accept it herself.

Someone else accepted it for her.