Chapter 270 (1): Sun Knight Leo

Golden light streaked across the sky, flickering continuously. Clad in a knight’s armor, Wayne was being carried along by a blonde woman, turning into light particles and teleporting repeatedly. All the while, he tried to analyze the formula to learn the technique.

Valkyrie’s teleportation distance wasn’t long. Like the portal of the undead warhorse, Julia, she teleported short distances, suited for the battlefield but not long-distance traveling.

“You shouldn’t have said those things to Vera, Wayne,” Valkyrie said in resignation. “She’s falling deeper and deeper. It’ll be hard for her to leave you in the future.”

That’s the point!

Wayne felt no guilt whatsoever. He was risking his life to pursue the girl and working hard to advance their relationship. Why should he feel guilty?

His silence left Valkyrie helpless. She said after a moment of consideration, “You’ve learned my swordsmanship. If there’s a chance, I’d like to give you a lesson on chivalrous spirit. I hope you’ll study well.”

The chivalrous spirit included the eight virtues that embodied a knight’s noble character: humility, honor, sacrifice, valor, compassion, honesty, fairness, and spirituality. Those who knew the chivalrous spirit would understand what each virtue represented. Those who didn’t know would still understand from the literal meanings.

Spirituality, specifically, referred to a knight’s inner beliefs, including reverence for the divine, devotion to making contribution to their faith, and the ability to comprehend divine revelations.

Wayne knew what Valkyrie was thinking. He had become a Sun Knight candidate and was qualified to take on the mantle of the chosen knight, but his approach to justice was too indirect.

She believed he needed lessons to learn what it meant to be a proper knight.

“Teacher, I understand what you’re saying, but think about it. Among the knightly virtues, there is no rule dictating that a knight must be single, nor any rule that a knight can only have one girlfriend.” Wayne went through the eight virtues and didn’t find anything on chastity. It wasn’t in the discussion.

Looking at it from another angle, wouldn’t his juggling multiple relationships be a demonstration of sacrifice, valor, compassion, and fairness?

Besides, he was being transparent about his scumminess, having honestly informed the trio of close friends what he was doing. That was an act of honesty—another virtue he embodied. He was already an excellent knight.

Valkyrie was speechless. She wondered what dictionary Wayne had been reading to come up with so many twisted arguments.

A moment later, the two rushed from the plain to the peaks of the black mountains. From their vantage point, they took in the eerie scene below. The peaks looked carved by knives and axes, all hard lines and steep slopes. Violent winds swept past, split by the blade-like mountains. The roaring sounds resembled rumbling waves.

In the center of the black mountains, an abyssal maw devoured all surrounding light.

Massive tentacles reached out from the abyss. At a distance, they resembled ancient tree trunks covered in uneven wrinkles and suckers, glinting with a cold, ghostly light.

The tentacles swayed irregularly in the abyss, sometimes coiling together and other times extending outward. With each movement, the dark abyss seemed to take on different meanings.

As deep, ancient roars resounded, the black mountains trembled slightly in response, broadcasting chaotic and highly corruptive sounds in all directions. Wayne estimated that each of the massive tentacles extending from the abyss ranged from five hundred meters to over a thousand meters long. Facing such a monstrosity instilled feelings of insignificance and helplessness.

If Thoggua was this big before even awakening, what a behemoth it would be after breaking the seal!

The most threatening aspect of the black mountains, the low whispers, gave Wayne a headache. They buzzed like a swarm of flies, causing no real harm, but irritating him so much that he wanted to argue back on the spot.

Wrong! I’ll explain!

Sensing where the light was, Valkyrie transformed into light and dove down. The armor reassembled on the ground, blocking the path of a monster.

Cushing!

Due to his proximity to Thoggua, Cushing had mutated again. Standing at five meters tall, his entire body had scaled up. His two starkly monochrome eyes were bloodshot, making him look vicious and terrifying.

When he saw Wayne, Cushing opened his mouth, nestled in the tendrils under his eyes. The meaningless low growls were a beast’s way of driving away enemies. Cushing’s thoughts had turned chaotic after becoming in sync with Thoggua. The weak sunlight preserved his last shred of sanity, compelling him to rush to the abyss to reinforce the seal.

It was Cushing’s mission—one he had never forgotten during the past sixteen years.

“I’m sorry. You’re beyond saving. Forgive me for taking away your faith.”

Looking at the still restrained tentacles, Wayne stepped forward and collided with Cushing without hesitation.

The moment their bodies made contact, he shed the armor and transformed into white foam, entering Cushing’s monstrous body.

Reconstruct the body! Reshape the thoughts!

Cushing howled in agony. From the center of one tentacle, pure sunlight suddenly poured out. The knight’s power held fast to the last of his will, but unable to resist the white foam’s terrifying corruption, the light soon dimmed.

Amid the pain of having his body and mind torn apart, Cushing heard a voice. It instructed him continuously to remember what he looked like as a human.

Remember, and don’t forget it.

Soon, the white foam squirmed out and dove into the armor set, slowly reverting to Wayne’s form.

Cushing’s monstrous body had been dismantled and reassembled. The bald, muscular man over a hundred and ninety centimeters tall breathed heavily, his muscles sharply defined. Like a sculpture, he perfectly embodied the combination of power and beauty. His entire body radiated heat. He fit the stereotypes for followers of the Goddess of Sun.

Looking at his face alone, the hard, sculpted lines and pronounced features would’ve made him a handsome man, but due to excessive workouts, his skewed appeal now catered more to the same sex.

Drenched in sweat, Cushing looked at his hands while trembling. The process of rebirth hadn’t been pleasant, and he felt even worse after the rebirth. He looked at Wayne in horror, asking fearfully, “What did you do to me? Why am I...”

He couldn’t thank Wayne enough for turning him back into his human form, but the changes in his body and thoughts told him that Wayne had taken a page out of Thoggua’s book, inflicting irreversible changes in him.

The difference was that Wayne’s corruption outranked Thoggua’s.

What manner of monster is he?

“Mr. Knight—no, Cushing, why didn’t you reveal your identity from the start? Vera looks a lot like Auntie Carter. You should’ve recognized her as your daughter.” Wayne skipped the unpleasant topic rather than answering the question.

In the past, he had only ever entered magical girls, older sisters, and mature women. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would one day be inside a muscle man. In fact, he had even ravaged the man’s behind.

He hoped Vera wouldn’t mind.

Cushing remained silent. Facing his daughter’s boyfriend, he waved his hand and used elemental magic to extract metal from the black mountains, forging an armor set with high heat before cooling it with water elements so that he could wear it. Although some of his bits were still exposed, it was better than nothing. At least his private parts were barely covered.

Once dressed, Cushing said in a grave voice, “Vera came seeking the power of the Sun Knight. When she saw me, she couldn’t recognize me due to her fear and disgust. I didn’t want to claim to be her father in that state. That would only trouble her.”

Cushing explained that when he led a team to the Golden City, he had been defeated by Thoggua’s pawns. As a result, his body mutated, and his wife was gone. In order to complete his mission and rescue his wife, he had repeatedly infiltrated the Golden City to attack the lead priest.

All of his attempts failed.

Gradually, he became unable to resist his mutation, and his thoughts became chaotic. Only part of his will occasionally awakened thanks to the protection of the knight’s power.

When Wayne’s group arrived, Vera made him remember who he was.

Cushing saw a resemblance to the Sun Knight in Valkyrie. Guessing that the seal in the Frozen Land was on the verge of breaking, he decided to make one last attempt.

Since Valkyrie was a knight, she would surely find the medal and rescue his wife, Carter. Even he found his appearance repulsive. There was no reason to disgust his wife and daughter. It would be a good thing for him to die in the mission.

“Not anymore. You’ve become human again. Your wife and daughter are waiting for you.”

Am I really human?

“You are!”

Why can you hear my thoughts?

“...”

Say something!

Cushing despaired. Based on his experience serving the Golden City, he more or less figured out his relationship with Wayne.

In a flash, Wayne stepped out of the armor, transforming into the Sun Knight with the medal in his grasp. The brilliant golden light dazed Cushing and made him see black.

It’s over. Even the knight’s power was taken by the monster!

“No, the knight’s power hasn’t been taken. It still belongs to the Sun Knight, Leo. I’ve gained the goddess’s recognition and become the next Sun Knight.” Wayne’s eyes blazed with golden light. The chief surgeon now took on the role of a psychiatrist to help his patient move on from the trauma.

Cushing’s gaze went blank for a moment. Then he quickly brightened and looked at Wayne with awe. The young man would be the next Sun Knight.

The Watson family had served the Sun Knights as squires throughout history. Although Cushing was still loyal to Leo, he didn’t mind establishing a rapport with Wayne in advance. He dropped to one knee and introduced himself.

Valkyrie shook her head, admonishing Wayne for hypnotizing Cushing. He could’ve offered help openly and righteously, but he just had to be indirect with his justice, making it seem like he was up to some conspiracy.

Wayne didn’t explain. The surgery he had conducted on Cushing was far more terrifying than Valkyrie imagined. Rather than fabricating lies to whitewash himself, it was better to make Cushing forget the unpleasant memory.

See? The in-laws had gotten closer immediately.