209: Long live

Thinking of this, John's sword-wielding hand trembled.

As a Hero Rank Professional, killing two apprentice Knights was not difficult for him.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Mike and Eve were both brought up by him, like his students.

Just yesterday, the two of them were celebrating his birthday together.

And it was this one second of hesitation that the Skeleton Soldiers swarmed in.

The Skeleton Mages hidden among them even unleashed one Undead Fireball after another.

John was unable to dodge and was hit repeatedly head-on.

The purple Undead Fire instantly engulfed him.

This type of flame could inherently scorch the Soul.

The fireballs unleashed by "Vengeance Tier" Undead were even imbued with strong negative emotions.

Hit by this flame, John only felt his Soul shattering, his chest instantly filled with malevolence, and his consciousness uncontrollably sinking.

If nothing unexpected happened, he too would be possessed by a phantom and become a member of the Undead army.

"Damn it..."

John's eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

But his Hero Rank strength and the will of Holy Light still supported him as he swung a sword: "Holy Light Great Cross Slash!"

A massive cross of Guanghui slashed through the air, striking the Skeleton Soldiers and emitting a dazzling white light.

Bang, bang, bang!

The three Skeleton Soldiers in the front row instantly turned into shattered bones.

However, John still shook his head in despair.

What harmed the Skeleton Soldiers was his Sword Qi, not Holy Light.

Otherwise, his attack would have been enough to eliminate all the Skeleton Soldiers.

But if Holy Light didn't work, he was just a regular swordsman with slightly higher attributes, completely without an advantage against this high-Rank Undead Sea.

Boom, boom, boom!

More than a dozen Undead Fireballs struck again.

"Holy Light Barrier!"

John quickly mobilized his Holy Light power, intending to cast a spell to defend, but a prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Skill failed, Holy Light power desecrated by Undead Qi.]

"What?"

John was stunned and tried casting a different skill.

"Invincibility!"

[Skill failed, Holy Light power desecrated by Undead Qi.]

... John felt like the sky had fallen.

The Undead Fire that had hit him earlier...

It even had the effect of sealing Holy Light power?

Was it Holy Light restraining the Undead, or the Undead restraining Holy Light?

If he couldn't cast skills, he could only use basic attacks!

In his panic, John didn't know how to fight anymore, and in his distorted movements, he let the Undead Fireballs bombard him.

His Soul was burned, negative emotions expanded, and his consciousness accelerated its descent.

John could already hear the whispers of the dead.

Soon he would be possessed by a phantom.

"I cannot be possessed, nor can I be enslaved!"

In his blurry consciousness, John thought to himself.

As a Hero Rank Professional, once successfully possessed, he would become a powerful minion of the Undead.

At that time, countless people would die by his hand.

And even if he committed suicide, he would be resurrected and enslaved by Undead magic.

The best solution was to leave the enemy with a broken corpse that could only crawl!

Thinking of this, John's eyes sharpened.

He suddenly turned around and charged towards his two students with his sword.

Swish, swish!

One strike each.

Mike and Eve's legs were both cleanly severed by John.

This way, even if they were possessed by phantoms, they wouldn't have much combat power.

"I'm sorry."

Seeing his students struggling in a pool of blood, John's face was filled with sorrow, but his eyes were resolute.

"Holy Knights are born to protect Holy Light, and must never become servants of the Undead."

John murmured, then swung another sword at his own legs.

With a whoosh.

Blood splattered, and both legs were severed.

John controlled his body to fall backward, simultaneously tossing his longsword into the air.

After his body hit the ground, the longsword also flipped and fell, aiming directly for his heart.

"May Holy Light guide my Soul."

John sighed and closed his eyes.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"Supreme Golden Crow."

Buzz!

Accompanied by a clear and melodious cry.

Dazzling golden light once again bloomed in the corridor.

Immediately, screams of agony rose.

In just an instant, the swarming skeletons were reduced to ashes in the boundless golden light.

"What kind of power is this!?"

John, lying on the ground, was suddenly stunned.

He clearly perceived that the Undead Qi in his body had been annihilated by a force.

But this power was not Holy Light.

Holy Light was gentle and pure.

Yet this power was mighty and overbearing!

After the brilliant divine light dissipated, the corridor became quiet.

A figure appeared in John's vision.

Looking up from John's perspective, he felt the other person was as majestic as a god.

He was holding the falling longsword in a reverse grip, the tip of the sword only one centimeter away from his heart.

"I'm saved..."

John took a deep breath, feeling both relieved and incredibly regretful.

Holy Light! I was too hasty!!!

If he had just held on a little longer, he and the two apprentice Knights could have saved their legs.

Now look what happened.

His life was saved, but he was crippled.

It was fine for him, being old.

But Mike and Eve were so young... Thinking of this, John felt worse than death.

And at this moment, the person who saved him spoke.

"Stand up."

What?

John was stunned.

With his legs like this, how could he stand?

As John wondered.

A golden light descended, enveloping his body.

John's body trembled slightly, feeling as if every cell in his body was wrapped, and the comfort made him let out a hum.

At the same time, a tingling sensation came from the wounds on his legs.

As a Paladin, he knew very well.

His severed legs were being healed.

"This is super-speed healing ability."

John was greatly shocked.

This tingling sensation of bodily regeneration must have been caused by a super-speed healing ability.

Although Holy Light skills focused on healing and enhancement.

To talk about growing flesh from bones or regenerating severed limbs, it wasn't something that could be easily achieved.

In the entire Holy City, only two people possessed such an ability.

One was the Pope, and the other was the Holy Temple Knight Order Captain.

And from this person's voice, he was clearly neither the Pope nor the Captain.

Who was he?

A moment later, John found that he could feel his legs.

He immediately propped himself up, stumbled to his feet, and looked at his rescuer.

It was a handsome man with an Eastern face, his eyes as deep as the starry sky.

He was not old, yet he exuded an aura of majesty that made people instinctively want to submit.

John's mind wandered for a moment before he realized he was being impolite.

Without time to ponder how the other party possessed such means, John immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving my life. How should I address you?"

"Long Live," the person replied.

"Long Live?"

John was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted.

A week ago, the Knights Templar received a secret letter.

The content of the secret letter was very simple.

Only three words: Be careful.

The signature, however, was "Long Live."

The person before him was the one who issued the warning to the Knights Templar!

...[Retired Emperors: Daily greetings, happy weekend~]