Looking at the black-armored knight's hand, at the blade with a faint, ghostly yellow light flickering.
"Corrupted Sword · Crocdabal."
The gray-robed mage's withered eyes revealed envy, and he let out a soft laugh, "After you die, I will take good care of this sword and collect it for you."
This is one of the legendary 13 heroes, one of the Black Knight's four weapons. Besides this scarred fellow in front of me, the other sword is in the hands of that woman from the Kingdom's adventurer team [Blue Rose].
As for the other two, the "Evil Sword" and the "Death Sword," their whereabouts are unknown. These are incredible collectibles.
What a pity!
If he were a warrior, being able to hold and use such a weapon would be too blissful!
The gray-robed mage's fiery gaze made the black-armored knight's eyes turn cold: "Move your filthy gaze away from this sword!"
"A foul-smelling fellow like you should stay with your worms!"
Faced with this undisguised disgust and mockery.
The gray-robed mage didn't care at all, but the greed in his eyes still subsided a bit.
The two high-level disciples quarreled.
The leader ignored them, instead turning his gaze into the distance, not knowing what he was thinking. After a brief silence, he said faintly:
"What is that guy doing?"
The gray-robed mage's expression froze. He knew that the leader was asking about that mysterious red-robed magic caster. He had only met the other party a few times, and although they had never exchanged a word.
He could also sense that the mysterious red-robed magic caster's strength might be a bit stronger than his. "The other party has been frequently appearing near the demi-human gathering place recently, seemingly looking for something?"
The gray-robed mage asked doubtfully, then continued: "Leader, should we call the other party over to participate in this operation?"
"No need."
"You two, plus it, are enough." The leader's hoarse voice sounded.
The Death Knight stepped forward, its scarlet, terrifying eyes and chilling pressure spreading out, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees again.
"Oh, it's an enemy."
The black-armored knight raised the Corrupted Sword in his hand and whispered with interest.
The gray-robed mage's heart trembled.
He originally thought that the red-robed caster might become one of the high-level disciples, but now the leader didn't seem to have that intention—or he had changed his mind!
"I have no interest in playing hide-and-seek combat games with this group of people."
"Since you're here, then don't leave. It just so happens that we're short a few powerful corpses!"
The black negative energy permeating the leader's body wriggled slightly, echoing with his cold tone in the face of this terrifying atmosphere.
In the circulating stories of "Heroic Tales" and "Adventurer Tales", those heroes and adventurers always gradually eliminate the enemy's power and figure out the information before finally achieving victory.
Reality is not the biographical novels and stories in the mouths of bards!
"Yes, Leader!"
"Yes, Leader!"
The gray-robed mage and the black-armored knight nodded respectfully at the same time, then turned and left.
Watching the two gradually disappear.
A trace of anticipation appeared in the leader's pale pupils.
"Does that legendary, true secret society really exist?"
"No, it must exist!"
"After this matter is over, it should be enough to attract the other party's attention."
The leader's seemingly absent-minded muttering voice echoed faintly in this empty ground buried with a large number of undead.
At this moment, on Minori's side.
After a brief rest, the three elite troops immediately set off and headed towards the southern hills.
Everyone had to travel as quickly as possible during the day to reach the water source in the southern area within three days and meet up with the remaining demi-human tribes.
Because everyone only carried three days' worth of food and water, any more would affect the speed of travel.
According to the normal route, with Go Gin, the demi-human, leading the way, three days would be enough to reach the destination easily, but in reality, it would take longer.
One is to ensure sufficient physical strength.
The second is to guard against attacks from the undead.
These two points alone compressed the time for everyone to travel by 1/3.
Patta——Patta—
Kuro trotted along at the very back of the entire team, while Enri tightly grasped the bone chain, sitting on Kuro's neck.
"Captain-sama, I——" Enri's cheeks were a little ashamed.
Everyone was traveling on foot, only she was sitting on Kuro, feeling the strange gazes coming from all around from time to time. Enri was naturally a little embarrassed.
"Just sit there and relax."
Minori shook his head, observing the surroundings while speaking calmly.
At the same time, his body moved forward quickly with great agility.
This was a lightness-type magic cast by the magic chanters of the clergy group on everyone, which could save physical strength and speed up travel.
"But." Enri lowered her head slightly, the fingers holding the bone chain turning a little pale.
"Enri."
"Captain-sama."
Minori motioned for Enri to look at the three people in front: "Observe those three carefully, and pay attention to how they lead the troops."
"Ah, yes!" Enri was puzzled, but she immediately nodded and quickly turned her gaze over.
Those three people were Commander Remedios, Chief Priest Kelar, and Captain Nigun, respectively.
"They've started to move over there too, faster than expected."
Minori frowned slightly. The information transmitted from the shadow clone allowed him to perceive the leader's actions in the first place.
Strange!
It was somewhat strange that the leader would directly start a war with the Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy. No matter the outcome, it wouldn't be of much benefit to the leader.
"There's too little information, lacking some key information. We can't see the leader's true purpose based on speculation alone." Minori thought to himself.
"Minori." A familiar voice came.
Minori looked at Pabel, who was following closely behind.
As a top archer, the other party was stationed at the rear of the team. During the day, there was no need for Pabel to exert himself.
Those sharp eyes that could see things clearly even in the dark night were the true moment to display their skills in a nighttime environment.
On the other hand, Clementine was at the very front of the team at this moment. With her agile body and speed, she was suitable for acting as a scout.
"Pabel." Minori turned his head and responded softly.
The two had already become familiar with each other, so they addressed each other by their respective names.
"You really value this companion."
Pabel glanced at Enri sitting on Kuro from the corner of his eye.
Minori raised his eyelids, knowing that Pabel had heard his brief conversation with Enri just now, which was why he spoke like this.
"Everyone thinks she doesn't have much talent."
Minori shrugged his shoulders and said with a chuckle, "But I don't think so. I've always believed that everyone has their own talent."
"It's just that they lack the possibility of being discovered and the effort to realize their talent."
Hearing these words.
Pabel's eyes widened. The usually calm and unwavering man rarely showed a change in expression.
"Minori, that point of view is simply amazing!"
"You know, I have a daughter who has a very high talent in archery, but I really don't understand why she would choose to become a paladin."
"Oh, I didn't mean to say the paladin is bad. That child is a bit timid and cries at the sight of caterpillars. A girl should be…"
Pabel seemed to have a switch flipped, and he began to talk endlessly about his daughter.
Minori wore a helpless expression and could only try his best to appear to be listening.
Speaking of which!
The other party's daughter was Ninya, one of the humans Minori disliked the most, but that was referring to the future Ninya.
Now, she was just an ordinary girl.
Not far away.
Orlando had also latched onto Go Gin, seemingly wanting to learn combat skills and abilities, which Go Gin found a bit annoying.
The relaxed and casual attitude of the group was not stopped by Kelart, but rather seemed to be intentionally allowed, and that was precisely why.
The tense atmosphere that should have filled the air and the sense of deathly fear in the face of tens of thousands of undead were greatly relieved.
However.
The faint, almost imperceptible, putrid smell in the air kept the spirits of the elite troops tense.
Along the way.
Everything was filled with desolation. Not to mention normal beasts, magical creatures, or even demi-human races, there wasn't even the sound of insects chirping or birds singing.
What this represented was self-evident.
The place where they were was like a thorough dead zone. This oppressive atmosphere was like a mountain hanging in everyone's heart!
As the high-hanging sun set in the west.
The atmosphere became even more oppressive and tense!
As the nominal commander, Kelart immediately issued the order to set up camp and rest, taking advantage of the time before nightfall.
They began to arrange magical means of alert and protection.
Rays of magical light flickered constantly from all directions.
Although the undead could also move during the day, as the dead, unless they were being controlled, they rarely appeared actively during the day. Night was the time when the undead truly became active.
This was also why everyone hurried on their way during the day and immediately rested before dark!
The hot temperature filled the air with a stuffy feeling.
Minori glanced over the men, who were taking off their helmets, their faces full of sweat, gulping down the water from their water bags, and after a brief thought, stepped forward.
"Vice Commander Gustavo."
Minori called out to Gustavo, who was among the paladins and giving instructions.
"Hmm?"
Vice Commander Gustavo turned his head in surprise, and when he clearly saw it was Minori, he quickly walked over: "Team Leader Minori, what's the matter?"
"Everyone's water bags should already be empty, right?"
"That's right. The climate of the hills is too abnormal. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so hot in the current month."
"In that case, I have something I need to discuss with you." Minori said softly, explaining his idea.
Vice Commander Gustavo was initially surprised and hesitant, but then a look of joy appeared on his face: "That's great!
Team Leader Minori, I need to report this to the commander and Lord Kelart."
"It's okay." Minori nodded.
After realizing the impending attack through the Shadow Clone, Minori would not remain indifferent and planned to assist everyone within the scope of his abilities.
He wanted to see if the alliance leader really intended to eliminate them!
Soon.
Kelart, Remedios, Captain Nigun, and the others walked over.
"Team Leader Minori, your suggestion is good." Kelart said with a smile.
Remedios also rarely showed a friendly attitude, resting her hand on her holy sword, and said casually: "Thank you for your trouble."
"It's no trouble."
Minori shook his head and responded softly.
"Thank you, Team Leader Minori, but wouldn't that waste the already limited water supply? The paladins consume more."
Another vice commander, Isadoro, nodded to Minori first, and then said worriedly.
"Then prioritize the Paladin Order!"
"The Sunlight Scripture and the priests can contribute half a bag of water, that should be enough." Captain Nigun directly gave the plan.
"Alright."
Kelart thought for a moment and nodded.
Soon!
Dozens of paladins began to act, collecting a portion of water bags from the priests and the Sunlight Scripture troops.
They gathered all the water inside and poured it into a temporary large water bag made of cloaks.
Enri took out 10 bottles of the limited "Regeneration Potion" she carried on Kuro and poured them all into the large water bag.
"Alchemy!"
Minori's hands emitted a magical glow, allowing the poured "Regeneration Potion" to completely dissolve into the water, creating a diluted version of the "Regeneration Potion."
With his ability, he could have completed it in the blink of an eye, but in order not to be suspected, he could only delay it.
"Thank you, these guys are in much better spirits with your potion."
Vice Commander Gustavo looked at the paladin members distributing the diluted potion, a grateful expression on his face.
This was made by "Genius Alchemy," and even diluted, it relaxed the paladins' tense nerves, and even their faces had a few more smiles.
"No need to thank me."
Minori said indifferently, then changed the subject: "By the way, Vice Commander Gustavo, could I take a look at the sword in your hand?"
In unfamiliar situations, rashly touching or asking for the other party's weapon is impolite and easily provokes hostility.
But after what just happened, the relationship between the two sides had obviously gotten closer!
"This is the standard weapon of our Paladin Order, nothing special."
Vice Commander Gustavo raised his hand and scratched his short, golden hair, then reached out and drew the weapon in his hand, handing it over.
What the other party said lightly,
Minori knew that this kind of weapon was not so easy to obtain. This was a silver-white blade, with the emblem of the Holy Wu Kingdom's "Paladin Order" cast on it.
The faint magical reaction proved that this was a magical item. In addition to its intrinsic value, obtaining this weapon was also one of the steps in the ceremony to become a paladin.
In short, the meaning was extraordinary and unique to every paladin!
'Buzz!'
'Contact weapon · longsword, obtain basic occupation information: Paladin.'
"An eye-opening weapon." Minori observed the longsword in his hand with an unchanged expression, praised it, then raised his hand and returned it.
"Haha, this weapon has been with me for more than 10 years. In terms of value, it may not be comparable to some truly expensive weapons, but the meaning is extraordinary."
"If Team Leader Minori likes it, you can apply to our commander for one, but the pattern on it has to be removed."
Vice Commander Gustavo took back the weapon and said jokingly.
"Forget it, I am a magic chanter. Taking such a weapon would be a waste."
Minori shook his head, smiled and replied, his fingers deliberately stroking the silver-white armor on the other party's body, pausing briefly.
'Buzz!'
'Contact armor · Paladin Armor, obtain intermediate occupation information: Holy Knight.'