NOVEL WEB Chapter 83: Only When the Map is Cleared, Comes the True Order!
The sword light swept through the night, flashing white across half the sky.
That strike from Rosen came unexpectedly to all saints, who had thought given the Order Knight's calm and friendly tone, he might be attempting to appeal to An Su's sense of comradeship. They hadn't anticipated a direct assault.
It was a ruthless and tricky sword move, one Rosen had put all his might behind.
He was well aware of the stakes involved.
As far as he was concerned, An Su had to be eliminated.
He couldn't let this opportunity, so close at hand, slip by.
Otherwise, he would remain the one with the greatest contribution from the three border areas.
Even if he were to stab a saint in front of everyone, he could later explain that An Su had fallen and became a Cultist first, and his sword was wielded in defense of the Order.
After An Su's death, all of his memories would vanish, and naturally, he would not know who killed him.
Only the victor would have the right to interpret the Order—this was the true doctrine of the Order Knights!
As long as An Su was killed, no one would know of this incident!
An Su was just a frail Magician who had not undergone training; at such close range, he surely wouldn't be able to dodge!
But Rosen was only half-right.
After a month of massive sacrifices and the cruel, high-intensity training from the Painful Esoteric Sect, An Su's physical condition had nearly reached that of a second-tier warrior.
Facing this surprise attack, An Su was not shocked, for he had anticipated it.
If he were in his adversary's place, he would have made the same choice.
The corner of his mouth remained calm with a smile. He just stepped backward slightly as the sword blade slashed through his grey hair, slicing upwards across An Su's shoulder, leaving a trail of blood.
[Shadow of Blood]
It seemed An Su didn't feel the pain in his shoulder, and his will didn't waver in the slightest,
He softly chanted the magic of the Painful Esoteric Sect as shadows grew wildly from his feet, the slender silhouette now tinged red at the shoulders as if soaked in a mist of blood.
[Support Magic]
[Magic Power Consumption: 2 points (originally 4)]
[Temporarily transfers the wounds to one's shadow for ten minutes; if the attacker dies within that time, the wounds can be transferred a second time onto the attacker's corpse]
In Rosen's astonished gaze,
The wound on An Su's shoulder swiftly disappeared, and the smile on his face grew even more genuine, "In ten minutes, you will die, and your cause of death will be shame, leading to suicide."
Nonsense!
Faced with the fearful and questioning looks from the surrounding saints, Rosen felt like his lungs were about to explode. As an Order Knight bathed in admiration and reverence for so many years, he had never been treated this way!
Having taken action, he was determined to see it through.
He twisted his sword blade, a cold gleam surged back, thrusting once again towards An Su;
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But An Su bizarrely took a step back, narrowly avoiding the blade's edge. The sleeve of his hand flashed coldly, and his slender fingers flicked a poisoned dagger toward Rosen.
The angle was both cunning and quick,
Leaving Rosen all the less expecting that An Su, a Magician, could possibly possess combat skills. Caught off guard, the dagger managed to slice a gash across his cheek.
[Bleeding]
[Combat Skill Point Consumption: 1]
[Effect: Causes continuous, unstoppable bleeding in the affected area for ten minutes]
Blood flowed like a fountain, staining his visage crimson.
Their exchange happened in the blink of an eye, as fluid as drifting clouds and flowing water, and in just that brief moment, Knight Rosen's cheek was streaming with blood.
Alice's eyes went wide, utterly unable to believe what she saw. She had long heard from her cousin Ai Xueli that An Su's mastery of magic far surpassed hers, to the point of being one level higher than a magical prodigy.
But since when had this magical beast learned combat skills?
Could it be that he was also a genius in the warrior domain?
That he could engage an Order Knight in close combat and even gain the upper hand seemed far-fetched.
...The truth was that An Su had little to no natural talent in the warrior domain. His ability to use this move depended entirely on the huge sacrifices that had been piled up; this sleight of hand with a dagger had been a trick he spent a month mastering.
The success of his move was also due to Rosen's carelessness.
With just a bare blade, he definitely couldn't beat an Order Knight.
But it didn't matter, An Su was just looking for a test subject to try out his new moves on—this was also a bad habit of players on the dark path, always wanting to test their new skills on a target.
Rosen's face was half-covered in blood, his eyes filled with a bloody redness, his hatred for An Su had reached a peak. To be humiliated by a Magician in his area of expertise was simply outrageous.
He must personally wash away this disgrace.
But to his surprise, An Su said with a smile, "Then I won't bother you."
"I'm slipping away first."
In Rosen's stunned gaze, An Su put the blood-stained dagger into his sleeve. His farewell was tinged with apology, and his sunny smile was like that of a big boy leaving the party early.
If you have henchmen, only fools fight personally.
Of course, a group beating is always better than fighting alone!
Moreover, An Su indeed had other things to attend to.
His previous behavior, including the deliberate cut he had taken, was all just for show.
The show was for someone special to see."
The Cultists were already pressing forward in unison, confronting the Holy Knights in a semi-encirclement, their cold eyes fixed dead on Rosen.
That tense atmosphere suddenly reached its peak.
Leading Lister and his company, An Su once again stepped forward with the swagger he had practiced for days. Their steps were uniform and precise, filled with the commanding air of superiors.
Damn it... Rosen watched An Su's back fade away, his eyes almost turning grey.
He had never seen such a shameless fellow!
To slip away from a battle at the front!
And yet, An Su's personal guards were very convinced by him, proactively clearing a path for him,
Every time An Su passed someone, the latter would lower their head respectfully and call out with fanatical eyes full of fighting passion,
"Boss An Su, Well done!"
Where was he 'well done'?
Rosen was almost speechless, wondering what benefits An Su had promised these Cultists in advance to boost their morale so high!
Of course, the Cultists were excited because the chosen one, An Su, had promised them, if the battle went well, a new washroom would be built in the military school.
That was a new washroom, after all.
A washroom symbolizing freedom!
—If Rosen knew about this crude promise, he probably would have coughed up blood in anger.
Rosen looked back at his own saints, their morale already scattered, their eyes filled with doubt and mistrust when looking at him.
From their perspective,
An Su and his company were saints who had killed dozens of second-tier Cultists in one month and had even climbed to high positions within the Esoteric Religion.
While Rosen was just all talk, up to now, the achievements of his people were almost zero.
All they felt now was regret.
Regardless, they were already aboard this pirate ship, so they had no choice but to press on.
They still had a numbers advantage,
Even without an inside helper,
The odds of winning were still very good!
The Holy Knights drew their swords, and the Magicians took out their Magic Wands to start chanting blessings. Under the interweaving lines of silvery rain, the saints and Cultists clashed in the rainy night, their battle cries echoing.
An Su watched this scene from afar and turned to walk towards the legion commander's study.
Good, all the characters were in place.
Let the offering commence.
For An Su,
Those who were alive brought chaos,
Only by going to great lengths, could one find true order—this was the true doctrine of the Order Church!