Masked Knight

A small town appeared ahead after the turn at the hill in front.

Or to be exact, this ’was’ a town!

Everything in sight had burnt down and laid in ruins. It looked as though a beast had ravaged the whole town. There was not a single house which was intact. Previously there was a row of tall trees at the entrance of the town, but now they had fallen as if knocked over by some powerful force.

Also, there were residual flames in some of the buildings, emitting puffs of black smoke. A few stray dogs scurried away at the entrance of the town.

The whole town was utterly desolated!

"What... what happened here?" Nedis was shocked to see this miserable scene.

The driver’s knees trembled, and he kept repeating nervously, "Ghost... ghost... there are ghosts..."

Nedis cautiously took a few steps forward. The driver behind her looked as if he wanted to stop her, but he dared not make any sound after opening his mouth.

Nedis walked slowly towards the collapsed wall and took a handful of soil from the ground. She crumbled the soil and let it slip through her fingers.

Her expression was grave.

Apparently, this place was attacked. Judging by the way the walls collapsed, they must have been struck down by some powerful magicians or powerful light blades or wind blades of a powerful warrior. What kind of destructive force was that to damage about ninety percent of the town’s buildings!

About several dozens of meters away, a large pit was blown out on the streets beneath their feet, and the houses on both sides had all collapsed!

More importantly, Nedis could sense a vaguely familiar aura!

A complicated look appeared in her eyes. She suddenly bit her lips, and her body transformed into a blood-red light before vanishing completely on the spot!

The driver standing behind her did not know that this pretty young lady was using the vampires’’Blood Escape Spell’. His eyeballs almost popped out, and he was scared to death. So this girl who had been talking to him for one morning was also a monster! The driver suddenly let out an ear-piercing shriek. He turned around, dashing back to the carriage like a rabbit shot by an arrow, and fled for his life along the path they came.

Nedis used the Blood Escape Spell to hide her movements. Her body floated towards the town like a breeze. The nearer she came to the central part of the town, the more terrifying were the signs of destruction.

It seemed like an explosion occurred in the central part of the town, and the impact spread to all directions, causing the destruction of the entire town. A deep, round pit was formed in the small square in the middle of the town. The buildings around it were all smashed and became piles of indistinguishable rubble.

Suddenly, Nedis’s body froze, and an astonished look appeared on her face. Her hands trembled as she looked ahead in shock...

Amid the ruins, a tall and big figure stood there with his back facing Nedis. He stood there silently in the ruins, and there were no signs of life from the body.

He seemed to be looking at the sky, lost in thought. His long black hair fluttered in the breeze, and he wore a tattered armor of an imperial warrior. The armor was badly torn, leaving only shreds and pieces hanging on his body.

Nedis’s heart trembled, and she wanted to turn around and flee. She did not have the courage to face this person anymore. However, she could not control her feet and she ended up walking towards him silently.

Her ’Blood Escape Spell’ was indeed amazing. That person did not notice her even after she came closer, but Nedis could already hear him muttering to himself.

"Stop killing people! Stop killing people!" His voice was hoarse, and there was a tinge of anger and pain in it.

Immediately, the voice paused and switched to a vigorous long laugh. His tone turned stiff and strange, "They... have the smell of the gods... I... hate! Those with the smell of the gods...all...will kill!"

His tone switched again, and it turned into the initial angry voice, "If you do this again, we’ll fight and perish together!"

"Tsk tsk tsk... Rody, you... angry? Why? Kill those... gods... very good! Very interesting!"

Nedis’s body swayed, and she almost fell to the ground. She could now clearly see the side of that person’s face. The sharp facial features, straight nose, and the tough look on his face. That was the Rody who had caused her to have sleepless nights!

But Nedis could sense a dangerous aura...

After all, she had seen Rody possessed by the Mystic Dragon during the battle with the Hakone Serpent in the Dwarf Kingdom of the Roland Continent. Right now, Rody’s long hair had turned black, and his eyes too became abnormally black. The corners of his mouth were twisted into an evil smile. This was how Rody looked like when he was possessed!

Suddenly, Rody’s face changed. Anger was written all over his face, and he bellowed, "All right! Let’s fight again!"

His face changed again, and his expression became scornful. A cold voice slowly rang, "Come!"

Whoosh! Rody moved!

His left fist raised and struck down hard on his own chest. The fist was enveloped in a fiery golden fighting energy, but his right hand immediately stretched across his chest and forcefully clamped down his left hand.

Rody’s furious voice could be heard amid the vicious cold laughter, "We shall die together!"

A wind blade appeared in his left hand and sliced towards his throat. A loud boom was heard, and black flames suddenly exploded from Rody’s body, shattering the wind blade.

Rody roared and his body shot into the air before it smashed down onto the ground. Both his arms were tangled in a fight, but after a series of loud clashing sounds, it was Rody’s own body that was injured.

Blood continuously spurted out from his mouth, and there were wounds on both his arms too. The two wounds on his shoulder had burst open, and blood spurted from the wounds...

Nedis was stunned by this scene. Her mind went blank, and she looked on in shock as Rody battered himself. She suddenly screamed when she saw blood spurt from his body again, "Stop!"

Just as she was screaming, Rody who was previously rolling on the floor and wrestling with himself suddenly trembled, and then he vanished in front of her eyes!

Nedis’s heart jumped, and all of a sudden, a vicious laughter rang from behind her ears. It was the cold voice again, "Eh? Vampire?"

Immediately, an iron grip grabbed Nedis by the back of her neck and lifted her up. Nedis was terrified, and she turned around and saw Rody’s face as she struggled.

The expression on Rody’s face was completely twisted. Anger, complacency, scorn, pain... The various expressions were entangled, seemingly causing his soul to become twisted too.

"Stop... Do not hurt her!" Rody roared angrily. His left hand struck down towards the right hand which held Nedis.

"Hahaha..." The roar immediately switched to laughter again. Nedis felt a great strength tossing her away. Her body went flying and crashed heavily onto the ground. As she turned around, she saw Rody standing behind her, with one hand choking his throat and another hitting himself hard on his chest.

A golden fighting energy suddenly exploded from his body. The golden fighting energy flared and Rody’s face immediately became normal again. He looked at Nedis and shouted, "You must run now! Run..."

Before his voice faded away, the golden fighting energy suddenly transformed into black flames. The expression on his face too became an evil sneer. His voice switched back to the stiff, dry tone again, "You... Vampire... Come here..."

The golden fighting energy seemed to try to burn again, but it was suppressed by the black flames. Finally, little by little, the golden fighting energy was completely devoured.

Rody’s body eventually stopped trembling, and he stood upright with a triumphant smile on his face. He stretched himself hard, shook his head and heaved out a long breath. He then looked up into the sky and roared with laughter, "I’ve won! I’ve won again! Rody, you’ve battled with me three times... you keep losing... to me!"

As he was saying, he took a deep breath and raised his hand. Black light radiated from his body and immediately, the wounds on his body healed completely. A black flame then shrouded his body, and the tattered armor on his body too mended in an instant. A brand-new armor was now covering his body!

When he was done, ’Rody’ slowly walked towards Nedis who was shaking with fear. He sneered and asked, "You... vampire... Rody’s woman, too?"

He closed his eyes and seemed to be pondering over something. A smile then appeared on his face, "Ahh... I know... you... Nedis!"

Nedis stared at this ’Rody’ in front of her. Of course she knew that although this was Rody’s body, it was the Mystic Dragon which was controlling this body now!

"Shocked? Don’t!" the Mystic Dragon’s voice was a bit strange. It was as though he was unfamiliar with the human language, "His memory... I can... see."

As he finished, he held out his hand and lifted Nedis, holding her in front of him.

"Rody... What did you do to Rody?" Tears welled up in Nedis’s eyes, and she screamed.

"He... fell asleep," the Mystic Dragon smiled, "Every time he lost, he would fall asleep."

Nedis was a bit relieved when she heard that, but as she looked at Rody who was now possessed by the Mystic Dragon, she quietly moved a few steps back. Finally, when she managed to retreat few steps, she chanted some spells in her heart and her body was shrouded in a blood red light before disappearing suddenly!

"Eh?" the Mystic Dragon’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He scorned but did not immediately stop Nedis when he saw her using the ’Blood Escape Spell’ to flee. All of a sudden, he pointed a finger at the distance and tapped lightly.

"Ahh..." Nedis’s scream rang in the air, and her body immediately reappeared. There was a bloody hole on her shoulder as a blood arrow shot out from the wound. She staggered before collapsing on the floor.

The Mystic Dragon walked towards her slowly. With one wave of his hand, the wound on Nedis’s shoulder immediately healed.

"You... vampire... Do not run," the Mystic Dragon said coldly, "Your ’Blood Escape Spell’ doesn’t work on me."

When he saw the terrified look on Nedis’s face, the Mystic Dragon mockingly said, "The Blood Escape Spell... I taught... you vampires!"

"What...!" Nedis exclaimed in shock.

The Mystic Dragon bent down and stained his finger with some blood from the wound on Nedis’s shoulder. He then waved his fingertip across Nedis’s face and drew a weird symbol on her forehead with her blood.

"You... vampire... Dark Faction. Me... Mystic Dragon, Dark Faction!" The expression on the Mystic Dragon’s face was icy cold, "Vampires... my slave! You were before, and still are now!"

He stood up and waved his hand, and a black flame shot towards Nedis’s body. It immediately penetrated her body, and Nedis felt her whole body relaxed. All the pain and feeling of weaknesses in her body had suddenly vanished.

"I like the dark aura radiating from your body. I will not kill you," the Mystic Dragon strode forward, but then he turned back and ordered coldly, "Follow me, do not escape!"

He waved his hand, and Nedis felt a strong force dragging her towards him. Her body could not resist that force at all.

Both of them flew for a few miles, but the Mystic Dragon seemed to be extremely curious about everything. He flew here and there along the way, and he would grab the birds he saw flying in the sky to examine before crushing them to death.

When he saw houses in the distance, he would stare at it for a moment and then shoot a black flame towards it with a wave of his hand. They would then immediately turn into ashes.

And then he would turn around to look at Nedis and say in a serious manner, "The smell of gods... kill!"

Nedis understood those households must be devout followers of God.

Now that the entire eastern province was under the control of the church, those who were loyal to the Radiant Empire had already fled. Those that remained were mostly inclined towards the religion of God. If this Mystic Dragon were to kill as he wished, the population of the entire eastern region would be wiped off by him!

The longer Nedis followed him around, the more she noticed that his mode of thinking was somewhat strange.

He was like an insensible child!

Nedis had been following the Mystic Dragon around for the whole day. At night, the sky had darkened but the Mystic Dragon seemed like he was not sure where he wanted to go, or maybe he did not have any destination in mind at all.

Finally, Nedis called out to him from behind, "Wait!"

The Mystic Dragon immediately drifted in front of Nedis like a gust of wind. He asked coldly, "Why?"

Nedis jumped and retreated a step back. She whispered, "I... I’m hungry!"

"Ah." The Mystic Dragon’s expression was dark. He looked at Nedis coldly, "Vampires, weak tribe."

With a wave of his hand, he grabbed a few wild birds from the trees beside the road. He wrung their necks and threw the badly mutilated birds to Nedis, saying coldly, "Drink blood, vampire!"

Nedis opened her mouth and looked helplessly at the Mystic Dragon.

She was not a pure-blood vampire. She had half-human blood and half-vampire blood coursing through her veins. She did not usually drink blood, and her eating habits were similar to that of humans.

She smiled bitterly as she looked at the Mystic Dragon. Suddenly, an idea struck her, "Please wait, I have something to show you."

As she said that she took out a water bottle which she carried with her and a small package. Inside the package were a small knife and a few tiny bottles.

She then picked up some twigs from the roadside and started a fire.

The Mystic Dragon frowned and watched her. He was curious and confused at the same time.

So vampires don’t drink blood?

Nedis feared that the Mystic Dragon would become impatient, so she did everything very quickly. In just the blink of an eye, she already removed the feathers and skin on the wild birds. She then sliced open their stomachs with the small knife and washed it with some clean water. Finally, she pierced them with tree branches and started roasting them over the fire.

Then, Nedis opened the tiny bottles and sprinkled some powder onto the roast birds from one of the bottles. Immediately, a delicious aroma filled the air.

A strange look appeared on the Mystic Dragon’s face when he smelled the scent. He felt that this scent was somewhat tempting, but he had never come across such weird scent before this.

Nedis rapidly turned the branches which skewered the wild birds. She secretly cast some spells to make the fire burn more vigorously. She smiled and explained, "I’ve sprinkled some seasonings which I carry with me while traveling."

When the meat was evenly roasted, Nedis handed the branch to the Mystic Dragon. She smiled and asked, "See?"

The Mystic Dragon frowned and took a step back, staring at the thing in Nedis’s hand, not knowing what to do.

Nedis smiled and took a bite of it before handing it over to him again.

The Mystic Dragon’s eyebrows smoothed out and he took it. He tried one bite, and his mouth was filled with the fragrance of the food. He had never tasted such flavor before.

In his memory from thousands of years ago, he used to eat Mythical Beasts’ meat and drink their blood. Even the meat of the Three-Faced Boar’s meat, which he thought was the most delicious, dimmed in comparison with the food this little vampire offered him today!

He finished it up in a few gulps, and the way he looked at Nedis became kinder.

Seeing that he enjoyed his food very much, Nedis sped up what she was doing and handed him another one. A strange smile appeared on the Mystic Dragon’s face and he did not look so evil anymore.

Nedis sighed silently in her heart. Mystic Dragon from the ancient times? An existence which even the gods feared? It seemed like he had never had any delicacies before. Hmph! The life of His Majesty the Mystic Dragon was not as comfortable as an ordinary human.

Thinking of this, she passed him another bottle which was filled with wine. Nedis was in the wine business, so the wine that she carried with her was, of course, some fine wine.

The Mystic Dragon did not refuse her offer this time. He poured the whole bottle of wine into his mouth and swallowed it all. His expression was very happy.

Nedis looked at the smiling Mystic Dragon. It was as though it was Rody who was standing in front of her, and she was entranced by looking at him.

Right at this moment, there was the drum of hooves in the distance.

A troop galloped towards them from the main road ahead. There were hundreds of people, all clad in the Flaming Warrior uniform of the religion of God. They carried longbows on their backs and sharp swords in their hands. They galloped rapidly towards them like a gust of wind.

The Mystic Dragon did not even bother to look at them. He was focused on the lingering aftertaste of the rich wine. He felt that none of the food that he had eaten in his entire life were as good as the one offered by this little vampire tonight.

Five hundred Flaming Warriors had come up to them in an instant. They halted their horses, and the leading warrior bellowed, "Who are you!"

The Mystic Dragon’s eyebrows drew together, and he looked at them coldly. His expression became more chilling as he said in a low voice, "Gods... the stench of gods..."

Nedis sighed. She knew that the Mystic Dragon was going to kill again. She could not bear the sight, so she turned around.

That warrior did not know that he was already in grave danger. He shouted, "Who are you! And you! You are wearing the armor of an imperial warrior! Soldiers! Arrest them!"

The Mystic Dragon suddenly pointed his finger and looked coldly at the warrior in front of him.

"You... stink of God... I... hate..."

The warrior looked at the Mystic Dragon strangely. Just as he was about to speak, a black flame suddenly shot towards him.

Nedis had already closed her eyes as she could not bear to look on anymore. A loud boom rang in her ears, and the earth shook under her feet so much that she could hardly keep her balance. She could hear fierce winds blowing up the sand and rocks.

When she opened her eyes once again, there was no sign of any Flaming Warriors anymore!

The main road ahead was completely destroyed. A hundred-meter-long and hundred-meter-wide huge pit appeared in front of them. Black smoke fumed from the ground, and the men from the Flaming Warriors had vanished completely together with their horses.

The Mystic Dragon’s expression was dark, and he said coldly, "Gods... the smell of the gods... I hate!"

A thought came up in Nedis’s mind, but she kept a straight face and asked, "You... You hate those with the smell of God?"

The Mystic Dragon’s face was gloomy. He said slowly, "Hate them! Hate them! Kill them all!"

A cunning look appeared in Nedis’s eyes. She immediately took a few steps closer to him. The expression on her face was sincere and she said respectfully, "Your Majesty, go northward! North! After crossing a strait, the whole continent there are people loyal to the gods! There is even a temple there! Inside the entire temple are all servants of the gods! Why not I bring you there?"

Rage immediately appeared on the Mystic Dragon’s face. He bellowed, "Servants of gods!"

He suddenly let out a long howl, drawing up a strong gale all over the sky as he shouted, "Kill them... kill them all!"

He grabbed Nedis’s arm and roared, "Bring me there!"

As he was speaking, he waved his hand. After an explosion of black flames, the entire land within the perimeter of a hundred meters became scorched earth. The Mystic Dragon then lifted Nedis and flew up into the air. Under the moonlight, both of them shot towards the direction of the Roland Continent up north like a comet...