Chapter 285 (1): Just Wait for Death. There’s No Hope

“Well done!”

“That’s how you should do it!”

On the side, Wayne watched the Moonlight Knight ruthlessly beat down the Darkness Knight and spoke his thoughts aloud. As a die-hard follower of the Goddess of Nature, he was fully entitled to make such comments when he saw the Darkness Knight, who had slaughtered his fellow members in Windsor, getting pummeled. Even Silvia and Veronica wouldn’t be able to find fault in him if they were here.

Boom!

There was a flash of black light, and the next second, a figure flew backward like a high-speed cannonball, crashing into the depths of the glacier with a thunderous boom.

Darienne, the Moonlight Knight, hovered in the air with a sword of light, a faint smile tugging her lips. “What, is this your limit? How disappointing. I haven’t even used White Night Creed yet.”

White Night Creed was the Moonlight Knight’s exclusive divine artifact, corresponding to Elemental Mantra, Shadow Nightmare, and Twilight Despair. It took the form of a light silver longbow with devastating ranged damage.

As an archer, Darienne managed to crush Auston in close combat. She taunted the Darkness Knight, mocking him for being an easy conquest.

Black light devoured the surrounding ice. Auston picked himself up wordlessly, ignoring the mockery. Holding Twilight Despair, he stayed alert for attacks that could come from any direction.

The gap between their life essence was so big that he couldn’t track Darienne’s movements. Forget fighting back; he couldn’t even defend himself properly.

To face such a powerful opponent, Auston had no choice but to accept more pain, converting it into power before unleashing it into absolute force.

With the veteran carrying the newbie, the newbie’s experience skyrocketed, or perhaps it was because light and darkness were natural enemies. Either way, Auston progressed at an astonishing rate under the pressure. In only half an hour, White Night Creed made its appearance.

The light-silver bow was all sleek lines and smooth curves like a dancer moving under the moon, graceful, elegant, and breathtakingly beautiful. The icy blue patterns covering the bow added an air of mystery and allure. As Darienne injected it with her mana, the bow radiated a soft glow; the beauty of it created the fleeting illusion of a moonlit lake rippling and shimmering radiantly.

Darienne nocked an arrow, her mana forming an icy blue arrow. It pierced through the air and hit Auston’s mask of Darkness, sealing the Darkness Knight in solid ice with one shot. The parts of the glacier that had been carved out by Darkness restored anew.

Darienne hadn’t delivered a killing blow. She put away her longbow and turned to the side, her eyes finding Megan. “Dig him out and take five minutes. I’m not satisfied yet.”

Megan hurried over, stepping onto the glacier and transforming one hand into a black clawed hand to quickly extract Auston.

“Amazing, Darkness Knight!”

Wayne leaned in and gave a compliment in an annoyingly sarcastic tone. When Auston ignored him, he shrugged and turned to the white-haired knight.

I want to touch it!

What excuse should I use?

Moonlight’s divine artifact was right before him, but Wayne couldn’t find a reason to touch it.

It was all Auston’s fault for being so weak. If this were an even match where both sides needed to take breaks, he would’ve been able to help the lady with her burden as a gentleman.

Your bow looks heavy, Miss. Let me hold it for you.

Too bad he couldn’t do it!

Darienne’s expression was frosty, radiating an energy that kept people at more than a few arm’s lengths. The iceberg was too cold for Wayne to think of a good pick-up line to approach her with.

Meanwhile, Anastasia, the Holy Maiden of the Church of Darkness, greeted the Darkness Knight and explained how she had been guarding the seal. Now that the Darkness Knight had arrived, her mission was complete.

Auston nodded slightly before shaking his head. Now wasn’t the time yet. He didn’t have enough power. While he could guard the seal, he would end up failing to meet the demands of suppressing it like Anastasia.

Anastasia expressed her understanding. While Auston was training, she would remain at her post. She was only here today to greet him and tell him about the future handover.

Her tone was detached and almost devoid of emotion. Even though Auston was meeting her for the first time, he sensed her negative outlook on life.

She wanted nothing but to be liberated as soon as possible!

Auston frowned but didn’t dwell on it. He couldn’t be bothered to since it had nothing to do with him.

Having met the Darkness Knight and accomplished what she had come here to do, Anastasia slowly turned to leave. Senna watched her with sympathy, turning to Wayne sadly.

Wayne ignored her. He was pondering how he could approach the Moonlight Knight and the Sun Knight. For the power of the Sun, he had only touched the knight’s medal last time rather than the knight’s actual artifact, Dawn Doctrine. The

Book of Greed

hadn’t eaten its fill yet; there was still a large piece of cake to be enjoyed.

Thinking of the Sun Knight, Leo, Wayne felt a headache brewing. How would he explain to Moula once they met, and he was revealed as the Sun Knight’s successor? That the goddess had sent him to infiltrate the Church of Sun as a spy?

Perhaps that would work. After all, he had successfully infiltrated the Church of Death. There was nothing wrong with going undercover in a few more churches.

However, the lie might work on Silvia and Veronica, who were willing to be deceived and wouldn’t pursue the truth, but it wouldn’t work on a chosen knight. They could call their goddess directly and expose the undercover story as false.

Even if the chosen knights cooperatively fell for the lie, wouldn’t he have been a spy working for the ancient gods by exposing his undercover work and causing trouble for the goddesses’ side?

He stared at the frosty woman, resigned.

“Ahem!”

A fragrance wafted to him. Without turning around, Wayne responded by transmitting his thoughts, “What? Can’t you see that I’m thinking?”

“I think you should think about your fiancée, Master,” Senna said sardonically.

Wayne knew exactly what she was insinuating. Lamenting how he was always misunderstood, he explained, “I wasn’t looking at the beautiful lady, Master Senna. I’m looking at the bow. You know me. Just give me a chance, and I’ll obtain the Moonlight Knight’s power. Also, stop calling me ‘master’.”

“Yes, Master.”

Senna didn’t take the order seriously. If Wayne didn’t want to hear her address him as ‘master’, he would’ve restricted her with his thoughts. Since he hadn’t, he obviously had a kink.

Soon, the second round of one-sided beating began. The Darkness Knight was abused once again, unable to put up a fight.

Wayne worried in secret. Auston was growing fast, ridiculously so. Facing Moonlight, Darkness was improving at an unreasonable speed. At this rate, if Wayne ever played another game of soccer with him...

Auston might not be the ball!

Four hours later, Darienne stopped her one-sided assault and looked down at Auston as Megan dragged him like a dead dog. “You’re too weak. Don’t come tomorrow. Seek out Sun Knight Leo instead. He’ll be in charge of your training.”

After the Moonlight Knight had her fun, it was the Sun Knight’s turn. They would take turns enjoying Auston to infinity and beyond.

Auston nodded, expressing his gratitude.

Although he had been beaten badly, he had found another way to understand pain. If he succeeded, his wife and daughter would be safe. He had to thank Darienne both for personal reasons and the greater good.

His simple yet earnest words annoyed Darienne. She said with a frown, “Don’t thank me. I have no fondness for Darkness, and if not for the seal, I wouldn’t be helping you grow. Even if I did, it would be for my selfish desires.”

“You make a good punching bag, Darkness Knight. We’ll continue the day after tomorrow.”

With that, the silver-haired knight waved dismissively, telling the Darkness Knight to leave at once and not disturb her rest.

Wayne couldn’t find a chance to strike up a conversation. He left for the camp with Senna and, with a dark elf’s guidance, found his way to the two-story cabin he would be staying at temporarily.

Inside, Veronica slumped on the sofa in exhaustion, gasping for breath.

Wayne asked about it curiously. When he learned that she had done some extra training today, he nodded and praised her ambition.

“Wayne, what about the Darkness Knight? Dead yet?” Silvia asked irritably.

“Probably not. The black dragon dragged him away. They’re staying in another place. Unlike this one with multiple rooms, they probably only have one bedroom.”

Wayne immediately said something that made Silvia feel like a green cap was weighing her head down. “Oh, and the Darkness Knight is trying hard to get stronger. He’s found a way to endure more pain and improve quickly...”

“Maybe it’s because light and darkness are natural opponents that he’s grown so quickly. I don’t really know. Anyway, he’s made significant progress today. At this rate, you may not be his match when the Darkness Knight causes chaos in Londan again. Better be careful!”

“Oh, right. The Moonlight Knight is beautiful. She kept praising the Darkness Knight for being humble and diligent, and she said that his perseverance is admirable, making him an excellent knight...”

“There was more, but alas, as a member of the Church of Nature, I don’t want to praise the Darkness Knight. I can’t bring myself to say it.”

(눈‸눈)

No need. That’s more than enough!

Silvia’s displeasure was clear on her face. After a moment, she said, “The Darkness Knight had a harsh lesson, didn’t he?”

“Hm, he was nearly beaten to death. He probably doesn’t even have the strength to eat on his own tonight. Someone will need to feed him.”

Silvia’s eyes twitched. She suspected that her son was intentionally provoking her. She said, “The Darkness Knight has only lasted one day, and he’s already... already...”

Wayne sighed. “Who knows? I’m not the Darkness Knight. How would I know what he’s thinking? Perhaps he has an urgent need for power so that he can awaken as a true chosen knight.”

Silvia felt a mix of satisfaction and resentment. With a huff, she dropped the topic. She was about to start another conversation, perhaps asking how beautiful the Moonlight Knight was, when she noticed her daughter and master locked in a staring contest.

How interesting. As expected of her son, he was popular!

From an objective point of view, Silvia found the show entertaining, but no, she had to say something.

Due to her personal grudge against her master, Silvia dreamed of the day she could have Senna drink the water she had washed her feet in with unlimited refills, but with Veronica being one of the parties involved, she could only reluctantly give up that fantasy.

“Wayne, Veronica is tired. Carry her back to her room and take care of her tonight.”

“No problem,” Wayne said readily. “Leave it to me.”

Veronica blushed when her mother entrusted her to Wayne. Normally, the tsundere girl would’ve pulled back and insisted that she could take care of herself, but today, she lifted her chin triumphantly at Senna instead.