Masked Knight
chapter-180

Chapter 180: Dragon Transformation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Sieg's eyes were red-rimmed. He drew his sword and slashed several times at the invisible wall in front of him. He then shouted, "Fielding! You are a despicable and shameless Roland person!"

Unfortunately, he was at least a thousand paces away from Rody and Fielding. Although he was shouting, his voice could not be heard.

That Gray-Robed Saint put down his small bow slowly and descended from the sky slowly. He stood beside Fielding and looked at him before saying, "Your Excellency Fielding, you can go ahead and kill him now. The Elders have given the order to kill the Duke of the Tulip Family."

Fielding hesitated as he looked at Rody who was kneeling and trembling on the ground. He then gritted his teeth and replied loudly, "No! I cannot kill him now! This is not the kind of thing I, Fielding, can do!"

He then glanced at the Gray-Robe Saint, beside him, and repeated, "A real Paladin will not do this kind of thing!"

"You fool!" The Gray-Robe Saint muttered softly. His eyes then grew cold and said, "Well, if you are not going to do it, then I will!"

However, he had only taken a step forward when he saw a golden light flash by. A sword then blocked his way.

"No!" Fielding said gloomily. "You cannot kill him too!"

"What?" The Gray-Robe Saint’s expression immediately changed and he shouted, "Fielding, what do you mean? Do you want to betray the Temple? I can understand if you refuse to follow the Elder’s orders but how dare you stop me from killing him? Are you thinking of protecting this heathen?"

Fielding replied coldly, "Of course not! If it was a normal day on the battlefield, I will definitely kill him. However, today, he came out after accepting my challenge. If he is killed here today, how can I still call myself a Knight?"

"You fool!" The Gray-Robe Saint stepped forward but Fielding responded by slashing at an empty space. The fierce golden energy from the sword carved a deep hole on the ground right in front of the Gray-Robe Saint.

"Please do not step forward anymore." Fielding said sternly, "I do not want to hurt you."

"How dare you?" The Gray-Robe Saint stepped back and raised his eyebrows as he glared at Fielding. "How dare you raise your hands against me? Fielding, you are too unbridled! Do you really dare to betray the Temple? Where is your loyalty to the Temple? I will report today’s incident to the Temple! Are you not afraid of their punishment?"

Fielding had a gloomy expression, but he persisted. "Do as you wish. You can say whatever you like when you return. However, at this moment, right here, I will not let you kill him!"

"Haha haha…" The Gray-Robe Saint suddenly laughed wildly, "Fielding! Your Excellency Paladin! Have you not thought of the consequences? You betray the Temple. You refuse to accept the order of the Temple. You have violated your own faith! How can you still call yourself the Temple's most loyal Paladin?"

Fielding trembled. He was at a loss and his hand holding the sword was also trembling. However, he gritted his teeth and said, "Of course, I know! I did not betray my faith! I know that I am a knight. A real knight will not defeat or kill his opponent this way!"

The Gray-Robed Saint was furious and his eyes flashed. He wanted to attack Fielding but he knew Fielding was, after all, a Temple Paladin. He would not able to match the strength of a Paladin. Although the Saints were high-ranked sorcerers of the religion, there was only one person in the entire Roland Temple who had achieved the consecrated sorcerer status: the Black Veil Saint, Muse. Only such a consecrated practitioner could compete with a Paladin. He was no match for the Paladin.

"Hmph..." The Gray-Robe Saint sneered. He then changed his tone and said slowly, "Fielding, no wonder the Black Veil Saint do not love you. You are simply a fool!"

Hearing that, Fielding immediately gave a murderous aura. "What did you say?"

The Gray-Robe Saint immediately retreated two steps, His cultivation was lower than the Paladin. Besides that, the close proximity was a disadvantage for a sorcerer, if he were to fight with a Paladin.

"Am I wrong? You are too stubborn! Do you think your Knight’s Spirit is more important than the orders of the Temple?" The Gray-Robe Saint slowly retreated.

Fielding coldly looked at the Gray-Robe Saint and then replied, "I only said I cannot kill him now… Today, after everything is over, I will challenge him to a duel again! I will kill him personally in a fair fight!"

"Pedantic!" The Gray-Robe Saint said coldly before laughing, "Do you think you can stop me from killing the Duke of the Tulip Family just by keeping me away from him?"

Fielding showed a strange expression. Suddenly, he roared and slashed with his sword. A golden light appeared as he fiercely slashed towards the distance. The wave of golden energy struck the invisible wall outside the 'Dragon Break' sorcerer array. The whole sorcerer array only rumbled faintly.

"It is useless…" The Gray-Robed Saint slowly raised one of his hands. He then floated further and further away from Fielding. "Have you forgotten? This sorcerer array is created by dozens of sorcerers using the combination of sorcery. Even with your strength of a Paladin, it would not be so easy to destroy this sorcerer array! However, it looks like the Duke of the Tulip Family could no longer hold on for long!"

The Saint’s voice grew more distant as he floated up faster and faster. Soon, he had flown far away.

Fielding turned around to look at Rody, who was kneeling on the ground. Rody had a hideous facial expression. His mouth was opened as if he was screaming but not a single sound could be heard.

Rody’s body shook and struggled as if he was trying to break himself out of some shackles from his body. He stretched his hand towards the arrow stuck in his foot but he could not stretch all the way towards his foot, no matter how hard he tried.

That silver arrow pierced through and was stuck into his heel. Bright red blood flowed quickly and tainted the ground under his foot red. Fielding gritted his teeth and said, "Wait. I will help you pull the arrow out."

He moved towards Rody and stretched his hand to grab the arrow in Rody's foot. However, before he could touch the arrow, he saw a silver light burst out of Rody's foot. Fielding felt like he was struck by lightning. He was immediately flung out and stumbled on a bit before he stopped. He was surprised and felt a burning pain in his hand. He looked down and saw that his hand was charred black.

"Fielding!" The Gray-Robe Saint’s low hoarse voice came from the sky, "You are truly foolish. Do you not understand? The arrow shot from the God Slaying Bow is not something you can just pull out, even if you are a Paladin!"

Suddenly, they heard Rody roared. That sound was incomparably mournful as if it was going to break through the sky.

"Hahaha…" The Gray-Robe Saint laughed loudly, from the sky, "It is working! Fielding, I have said, he will still die even if I don't get near him. Don't you know how powerful the God Slaying Bow is?"

Fielding was drenched with sweat and rain. He felt heavy after hearing what the Gray-Robe Saint said.

Fielding certainly knew how powerful the God Slaying Bow was. As one of the strongest guardians of the Temple, a Paladin, he naturally knew about the secrets of the God Slaying Bow. That was one of the few spiritual artifacts conserved by the Temple of the Roland Continent.

According to legends, the God Slaying Bow was a cursed artifact from the era of the Devil. It not only injures the body but also the soul of the victim, as well. Those shot by the God Slaying Bow would have their souls slowly swallowed up by the power of the curse. That was a real death. After the soul was swallowed, it would wither and vanish.

At that moment, Rody's voice became more and more hoarse. Suddenly, the arrow at his foot glowed with a silvery color, which soon turned into a silver light and then hid inside Rody's body.

The silver light could be faintly seen entering Rody’s wound in his foot before it moved quickly up the leg.

Rody’s body trembled even more vigorously and his blue veins could be seen. He wanted to clench his fist but he could not move a single finger. The tearing pain in his soul caused his mind to go blank.

"Soon… Very soon…" The Gray-Robe Saint spoke as his body emitted a holy light. His voice was still hoarse but had a very gentle tone. His voice came from far away in the sky but gently rang in Rody's ears. "Do not struggle. No need to struggle against the devouring of your soul. Just relax your body and mind. The pain will end soon. There will no longer be pain or hatred. Everything will be calm. The eternal silence and the eternal end is what you need the most..."

Rody’s body gradually bent forward and seemed to have quietened down. Fielding could not help but step back. He felt guilty. He considered himself a real knight and abided by the Knight’s Spirit. Although he hated the man in front of him, he felt extremely disgraced to let his enemy die like that. That was because his enemy did not die in his own hands.

"Damn…" Andy was sweating profusely in the Imperial Palace. His eyes were closed tightly but panic was written all over his face. Sky was beside him and could not help but ask, "What is wrong? Old skeleton, tell me. Quick!"

Andy suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes looked like the eyes of a dead person. "There is no other way. This is the power of God's Slaying Bow. Ónly someone at the 'Domain Force' level can help Rody overcome… Only you can help Rody pull out the arrow shot by that God Slaying Bow… Right now, there is no other way to save him!"

Rody felt the strength of his whole body...no, not the strength, it was his life, seem to gradually disappear. He was swallowed by a kind of void. He could even feel the beating of his heart gradually slow down.

He heard the gentle voice of his opponent. The voice was filled with a strange temptation. "It's the end... eternal silence, eternal end."

Eternal... end?

His vast mind felt like it was pricked by a needle. A familiar and gentle voice then spoke. "Everything goes through a cycle. The stars come after total darkness.The moon rises after every sunset. Flowers wither after they blossomed. Spring arrives after every winter. The cycle will come through. This is the law."

The Gray-Robed Saint, who was floating in the sky, and Fielding, who was standing not far from him, were shocked by what they saw next.

Rody had turned weak and stopped struggling. Suddenly, he started to shake again. As his body shook, he tried to straighten and eventually stood up.

"Arh! Arh! Arh! Arh..." Rody raised his head as he roared again and again. Finally, he tightly clenched his fists. His pale golden fighting energy, that had almost died, suddenly started to burst out again.

"He… How could… What is this?" The Gray-Robed Saint cried out in alarm.

Rody’s golden fighting energy suddenly changed. His blonde hair grew like summer weeds. His golden fighting energy had a tinge... a tinge of black.

Although he was not restrained by any physical chains, others could clearly hear those chains being broken.

The flame that surrounded Rody’s body rose several meters high. Suddenly, the flame began to shrink and became an extremely dazzling dot.

"Not good!" Fielding was alarmed. He instinctively grabbed his sword and fiercely plunged it into the ground. He grabbed the hilt of the sword tightly with one hand and held the other hand in front of his face.

The dazzling light dot flashed violently, twice.

The soldiers on the wall of the Thunder City, Sieg together with his thousands of soldiers who were waiting outside the city wall, the Gray-Robed Saint floating in the sky and the soldiers in the distant Roland army’s barracks, all saw the scene at the same time.

Just like inflating a balloon, the bright dot instantly swelled into a huge ball of light.

The wave of energy on the ground spread out in all directions. Boom! Countless sparks flew. Rody stood still with both his hands open. Finally, the huge ball of light exploded. After numerous crisp crackling sounds, something seemed to break like glass. The invisible wall in front of Sieg broke apart like a crystal.

The sorcerers who were casting their spells in the sky could not dodge in time. One after another, they spat blood and fell.

The Gray-Robed Saint placed both his hands on his chest. He wrapped his body with a holy light to protect himself.

The huge waves of energy threw Sieg and the others off their feet. The violent wind thrashed the leaves everywhere. Even Rody’s horse, Garros, ran far away long before that. It was tossed and rolled out by the violent waves of energy.

Fielding was nearest to Rody. With the wind pulling violently on his cloak, he tried to stand up. His body trembled gently.

The rain in the dark sky had long stopped, but the dark clouds were getting lower and lower. Finally, after a whistling sound, a tornado descended from the sky and wrapped around Rody and Fielding ...

The people on the city wall and at the barracks were stunned. Tiger, the commander of the Roland coalition army, watched with his eyes wide and his mouth agape as he looked at the distant gigantic black tornado. He then murmured in a voice only he could hear, "That guy… he is not human!"

"Disperse!"

After a loud resounding roar, Rody opened up his hands. The tornado surrounding him suddenly turned into a black fog and quickly dissipated!

The dark clouds in the sky had dissipated. The sun shone confidently, changing from an incomparable gloom to brilliant sunshine in an instant. Everybody felt like they had just witnessed a miracle. Sieg and his subordinates had been thrown around all over by the wind. Some had fallen and were slightly injured. This moment they were all sprawled on the ground. After the surroundings had gradually quietened down, they raised their heads slowly.

Rody was already standing there. The picture of the dragon on his chest seemed to have disappeared. Rody was standing straight and seemed to be at a loss. He stretched out one of his hands and looked at it carefully. After that, he clenched his fist.

"This feeling... seems a little strange…" Rody muttered to himself, "It feels different."

Fielding also finally stood up. He was startled to see Rody nearby, with his back to himself. The wound on his foot, not knowing when had already been completely healed. Rody's golden hair had grown to his waist and was even long enough to drape behind him.

Rody looked at his fist and then slowly opened it again. He whispered, "It seems to be like this?"

Rody voluntarily held out one of his hands, only to hear a rustling sound. The Dragon Fang Sword, which was dropped on the ground some distance away, quickly flew towards him. Rody then caught hold of the hilt of the sword.

Rody then took a deep breath and finally turned around to look at Fielding.

"You are… alright?" Fielding could not help but exclaim. "That is the God Slaying Bow. By right, you cannot undo that spell!"

Rody shook his head. "Indeed, it cannot be undone… I did not undo that arrow… Perhaps, it is God’s will."

Fielding was stunned.

God’s will?

He stared at the Duke of the Tulip Family and sensed that something was wrong. However, besides Rody’s hair growth, there did not seem to be any difference in him or his power. But … Why … Why do I feel something is wrong?

"Maybe there are really rules…" Rody spoke to himself, "I became the Duke of the Tulip Family. Master Autumn gave me a seed of power. I absorbed a dragon. Now, I relied on these to escape today's catastrophe. Is it really God’s will?"

Rody could not help but look up at the sky. In the sky, the mass of white light wielded by Gray-Robed Saint had been retrieved. He was also looking down intently at Rody, on the ground.

"Hey!" Rody suddenly shouted, "Were you the one who schemed against me, just now?"

Before the Gray-Robed Saint could reply, Rody continued and said coldly, "That phrase, ‘eternal silence and eternal end’. You said that! Am I right?"

Rody then said loudly, "You are wrong! There is no eternal end in this world!"

"You… What are you talking about? What is it?" Gray-Robed Saint asked.

Rody smiled coldly and replied, "Even if such a thing as eternal end exists, I can personally crush it!"

Rody suddenly raised his hand holding the sword.

A sharp golden arrow pierced through the sky and the Saint’s body shook. Rody’s Dragon Fang Sword savagely punched into his body. The Gray-Robed Saint was surprised to see the sword stuck in his chest. It was as if he was looking at the world’s most incredible thing. Blood slowly foamed from his mouth as he muttered, "How... How can this be possible?"

A tiny black flame suddenly emerged from the sword. The black flame spread along the blade to the Gray-Robed Saint's body, envelope it, and burned away. It was a fire from hell. Within a short moment, the Saint was burned into ashes... No... There were no ashes left even … The whole body had completely disappeared.

Only the Dragon Fang Sword remained in the sky. The sword then fell down and slammed into the ground between Rody and Fielding.

Fielding was stunned to see the sword stuck in the ground in front of him. He then instinctively looked towards the empty sky.

There was nothing left!

There was nothing… Not even a little bit of ashes, dust or slag were left!

"You… You have killed him?" Fielding seemed to squeeze out those words from his throat.

Rody looked coldly at Fielding. He raised his chin slightly and squinted as he looked at Fielding with a murderous aura.

Fielding instinctively stepped back.

"I hate people scheming against me! It is really disgusting!" Rody spoke as he looked at Fielding.

In the Imperial Palace, Andy suddenly sat down. His body seemed to be completely relaxed... Perhaps, cannot say relaxed. He simply felt soft and weak. Andy's face was pale and he had cold sweat on his forehead. He looked somber and his breathing was rapid.

Next to him was the anxious Sky. He could not help but jump over and shouted, "Old skeleton, quickly tell me what you saw. I am very worried." Sky then rudely kicked Andy after saying that.

Andy opened his eyes and looked sideways at Sky. He then sighed. His expression was a mixture of surprise, worry, and a few other emotions.

"What the hell! When did you suddenly become taciturn?" Sky was extremely anxious and could not wait to grab Andy’s neck and force him to talk.

Andy gave a forced smile and said, "Well, that boy is fine...for the time being, he is fine."

"Oh?"

Andy nodded his head and continued, "He is really fine. This time, the dragon in his body saved him."

Andy paused for a while and showed a strange expression as he continued, "The dragon on his chest has disappeared. In other words, this is the real integration with the dragon… Fatty…"

Andy then showed a weird smile. "Do you know what I just saw? No… I should say experienced... Do you know what I experienced? It was a really rare scene, for thousands of years…"

Sky wanted to rush up but when he saw Andy’s serious expression, he stopped and frowned, "What is it, actually?"

"Dragon God Transformation!" Andy said briefly, "It is the Dragon God Transformation! This is not the fake Dragon Transformation like what that huge snake did... It is the real Dragon God Transformation! The Mystic Dragon’s Dragon God Transformation!"

Andy sighed and then continued, "The boy had actually gone through the first Dragon God Transformation. Is this a good or bad thing?"