183: Chapter 183 Battle Damage Makeup

The wind on the wasteland gradually picked up, whipping sand and gravel against their armor with a crisp, rustling sound.

Lin Mo walked at the front. The dragon scales on his body had completely receded, revealing his naturally pale skin. The deep, bone-exposing cut on his palm was jagged and gaping; although the bleeding had stopped, blood droplets continued to seep from between his fingers with every step he took, staining the charred earth and creating small, dark pits.

"Let me see." Shen Yi hurried forward a few steps and grabbed his wrist without waiting for an answer.

Lin Mo tried to pull away but couldn't. He glanced at her helplessly. "It's a minor injury."

"Minor injury?" Shen Yi's voice rose by half a pitch. She pointed at the wound that almost spanned his entire palm, its edges still marked by the lingering, silvery-white erosion of divine magic.

"You caught a ship-cutting blade with your bare hands, not a pair of chopsticks. If it had gone even a fraction of an inch deeper, your hand would have been ruined."

Ji Wuchen limped along behind them, chiming in immediately upon hearing this. "Exactly! Lin Mo, can you not be so reckless next time? It makes my liver tremble just watching. Do you know how fast that blade was? I saw it slice through the concrete of the air-raid shelter like it was cutting tofu."

"You talk too much." Gu Yunting said coldly, though his gaze carried a heavy weight as he looked at Lin Mo's left hand.

"I'm just caring for a comrade." Ji Wuchen replied indignantly, then grinned, pulling at the bruises on his face. "But seriously, that move—catching a blade with bare hands... it was really cool, but it must have really hurt, right?"

Lin Mo ignored him and simply allowed Shen Yi to retrieve bandages and medicinal liquid from her storage ring.

The pale green liquid poured onto the wound, emitting a "hissing" sound and a wisp of blue smoke—the sound of the residual divine magic being purged. Lin Mo finally furrowed his brow, his knuckles turning white from the intense pain, but he didn't even let out a groan.

Shen Yi's movements became even gentler. She kept her head lowered, her long hair falling to cover her side profile, but Lin Mo could see her lips pressed tightly together.

"I'm fine." Lin Mo said softly.

"Mm." Shen Yi acknowledged, but her hands didn't stop. She skillfully bandaged the wound and then took out a warm medicinal pill, placing it into his hand.

Lin Mo followed her instruction and held the pill under his tongue. A cooling sensation instantly spread, suppressing the burning agony in his meridians.

Behind them, Old Zhou and Feng Ping were dragging the unconscious Aiken.

This once arrogant Temple Knight was now in a miserable state. The wound where his arm had been severed was crudely cauterized to stop the bleeding, and he was bound tightly, being dragged across the wasteland like a pig waiting to be slaughtered, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.

"Captain," Feng Ping trotted a few steps to catch up, his face still flushed with the excitement of having survived. "Is this guy... really from the Holy Temple Knights? One of the Twelve Knights?"

"Mm."

"Good heavens..." Feng Ping swallowed hard. He looked at Aiken, then at Lin Mo, the awe in his eyes thick and unshakeable.

"I've been in Ironwall City for five years, and this is the first time I've seen a Temple Knight. They don't seem like much, after all!"

Old Zhou used his only arm to pat Feng Ping on the shoulder, his single eye squinting into a slit. "Why are you acting like you were the one who caught him? Learn something properly. Look at how he uses a blade, and then look at you—you can't even hold a wrench steady."

"I was just nervous..."

"Shut up and save your energy for the road." Old Zhou scolded with a laugh, but when he looked at Lin Mo's back, his single eye was filled with solemnity.

...

Ironwall City, West Gate.

Han Xiao stood under the city gate arch, leaning on the metal staff that never left his side. Behind him were Yan Yue and a group of high-ranking officers from Ironwall City.

Everyone was gazing at the end of the wasteland, watching the shadows stretched long by the setting sun.

When Lin Mo's figure appeared on the horizon, the tense atmosphere on the city walls seemed to relax for a moment.

But when they clearly saw what Lin Mo was dragging behind him, that relaxation instantly turned into deathly silence.

Two.

To be precise, two human-shaped objects.

One was Ji Wuchen, supported by Shen Yi; although disheveled, he was clearly still alive.

The other... was being dragged on the ground, wearing that signature black-and-silver inner lining. Although most of the armor had been stripped away, the dark golden cross emblem on the chest was so dazzling in the setting sun that it was impossible to ignore.

"Temple Knight..." A lieutenant beside Yan Yue said with a trembling voice. He rubbed his eyes vigorously. "City Lord, is that... the emblem of the Holy Temple Knights?"

Yan Yue's mouth hung slightly open. His gaze passed over Lin Mo and landed on the captive being dragged along, his pupils contracting violently.

Han Xiao took a deep breath, leaned on his staff, and walked forward three steps to meet the returning team.

Lin Mo stopped in front of the city gate, looked up at Han Xiao, and forced a very faint smile onto his pale face. "City Lord, we shouldn't have missed dinner, right?"

After saying this, he stepped aside, revealing Old Zhou and Feng Ping behind him.

Feng Ping was flushed with excitement. He kicked Aiken in the waist, sending the captive stumbling forward half a step. "Reporting! One member of the West Federation Holy Temple Knights, captured!"

Boom—!

The entire West Gate erupted instantly.

First, there was a deathly silence, as if everyone couldn't believe their ears.

Then, followed by a roar of cheers like a tsunami!

"A Temple Knight! They caught a Temple Knight!"

"What? Is it really a Temple Knight? Let me see, what do these guys actually look like?"

"The God of War! The God of War is back!"

The guards on the city walls threw down their helmets, nurses from the medical station poked their heads out of tents, and the spirit-mech technicians from the maintenance point climbed out from behind the turrets. Everyone was surging toward the city gate.

Everyone looked at Aiken, who was sprawled on the ground like a dead dog; they looked at Lin Mo's blood-stained robes, and then at his companions who had returned alive despite their injuries. An indescribable surge of heat rushed to everyone's heads.

It was the release of long-repressed grievances, the ecstasy of seeing a glimmer of light in the midst of despair.

Yan Yue walked quickly down from the city wall; his pace was so fast he was almost running.

When he finally stood before Aiken, looking at this enemy who had once existed only in terrifying rumors, the City Lord of Ironwall City remained silent for a full three seconds.

Then, he looked up at Lin Mo.

"You..." Yan Yue opened his mouth, finding his throat somewhat dry. "You captured him alive?"

"The other one, named Monroe, used a forbidden blood-escape technique and fled. Sorry, I couldn't keep him."

Sorry?

Yan Yue was almost choked by these two words.

To be able to capture one Temple Knight alive and force the other to retreat was already the greatest victory for Ironwall City in the last decade. And this person was still apologizing for not wiping them all out?

"Good... good!" Yan Yue let out a heavy breath. He suddenly stepped forward and, in front of all the city guards, forcefully patted Lin Mo on the shoulder. "Well done!"

With this pat, Lin Mo swayed, almost losing his footing.

Shen Yi immediately supported him and cast an annoyed look at Yan Yue. "City Lord, take it easy; he still has injuries!"

"Right, right! Medical team! Hurry!" Yan Yue came to his senses and waved his hand immediately.

Several medics rushed up with a stretcher, but Lin Mo waved them off. "No need, I can walk."

He looked at the frenzied guards around him, then at Han Xiao and Yan Yue, and said in a low voice, "This guy has a tough mouth. Interrogate him as soon as possible. His foundation of divine magic is destroyed, so he won't be able to withstand torture, but don't let him die; he still has value."

Han Xiao looked deeply at Lin Mo and nodded. "Understood. Leave it to me."

He waved his hand, and several personal guards stepped forward, lifting the unconscious Aiken onto the stretcher as if facing a great enemy, and sent him to the dungeon.

Only then did Lin Mo turn around and, supported by Shen Yi, walk step by step into the city.

Wherever he passed, all the guards automatically cleared a path, watching the young man pass with a gaze that was almost like a pilgrimage.

Ji Wuchen and Gu Yunting followed behind. Seeing the eyes of the guards on both sides, Ji Wuchen suddenly whispered to Gu Yunting, "I suddenly feel like following Lin Mo around is actually quite prestigious?"

Gu Yunting said coldly, "Wipe the blood off your face first before you say that."

"This is war damage makeup. You don't know a damn thing."