Masked Knight

Chapter 273: Guileless Manipulator (2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The air was calm and peaceful. It was as if the other person did not refute those words.

Rody was on alert and taking precautions. He could tell that the other person was using a high ranked stealth sorcery that was similar to the vampires' Blood Escape. It was something that even Sky, who was a powerful Domain Master, was unable to analyze. It was also like the stealth technique used by Diane.

Rody remained motionless and slowly expanded his domain. He held the handle of his sword and coldly laughed, "Why have you stopped speaking? Am I right? You don’t want me to speak anymore?"

His tone changed and he started to speak faster, "I was wondering why the dwarfs became everybody’s target. Right now, the Roland Continent is in a state of unrest. However, everybody is so anxious in fighting the dwarfs. Naturally, it must be for that thing that could threaten the Temple. Am I right? The Sauron Kingdom wants it. The Temple also wants it! So…"

Before Rody finished, the voice finally replied, "So you believe the Temple is secretly manipulating this fool?"

Rody coldly said, "It feels like this is the only explanation. The reason is simple. After all, the Temple wants this thing. I don’t think the Temple doesn’t want it."

The voice sighed and lightly said, "Not bad. Sounds reasonable. If it was on normal days, that thing could be left with the dwarfs. But the situation right now is tense. It is not reassuring to leave such things in someone else’s hands."

Rody laughed and replied, "Yes. When I came to the Hakone Kingdom and found out about the existence of this thing, I have already started to feel puzzled. I felt like this is a matter the Temple would not ignore. When I saw Nobunaga and Koichi at the shogunate’s meeting hall, I understood this."

The voice sounded surprised, "You understood at that moment? How did you find out at that point in time?"

"Murderous aura!" Rody lightly replied, "Only those experienced on the battlefield has this kind of murderous aura. A warrior’s body cannot control their aura emanating when preparing to kill. Hmph. It is a gathering for a discussion but they carried murderous aura with them. I would obviously feel skeptical."

After a long silence, the voice sighed, "I have learned a lot! The next time I do this, I will remember your warning." The voice laughed and said, "It is best to just avoid you."

Rody moved to Koichi’s side and vigilantly looked around. He said, "I am done speaking nonsense. I am going to take this person back with me! If you have any ability, you better come out!"

The voice still sounded very gentle and somewhat regretful, "How unfortunate. You are the strongest human I have ever met. I do not want to be enemies with you right now…However, since I know you are taking him back, I will not let him open his mouth for you. No matter what, the Temple is a symbol of light. I cannot allow this animal tarnish that light."

Rody slashed an empty space as he sternly said, "What do you mean light? If you keep doing such dark things, no matter how much you flaunt the light, it is just a lie!"

There was silence.

Rody suddenly raised his sword and knocked Koichi on the head. Koichi fainted without even groaning. Rody then gritted his teeth and carried him up. He then rushed towards the capital.

At that moment, the air changed.

A large spiral blade of light appeared and flew towards Rody. It whistled as it moved towards Rody’s chest. Rody sneered. He did not bother to raise his sword and coldly said, "Break!"

The space around Rody suddenly distorted and the large spiral blade of light dissipated. However, a net made out of light suddenly appeared from the sky.

As the strange net fell onto Rody, he quickly slashed out a cross. A vertical and a horizontal light were shot towards the sky.

With a loud noise, the net also disappeared.

"Still being sneaky!" Rody shouted. The domain shrank vigorously, forming a cyclone. As expected, a groan came from within the cyclone. Rody raised his eyebrow and slashed.

A rainbow Half Moon Slash flew out whistling. It created a white wall, Guardian Boundary, cast from the Light Series Sorcery.

"You won’t be able to stop it!" Rody sneered and slashed several more times. Like lightning, the blades of light struck the Guardian Boundary at the same time.

The space distorted again and Rody's blades of light vanished at the same time. Rody was startled. "How is this possible!?"

"Of course it is possible!" The voice appeared beside Rody and quickly said, "This is because I am also a Domain Master!"

Rody felt an ice-cold palm on his back behind his heart. A cold force then pierced through him.

Rody did not have the chance to groan as his body violently shook and flew away. Koichi had also been grabbed away by his opponent.

Although Rody flew away after he was hit, he managed to restore his balance in the air. His knees fell to the ground and he spat out blood.

This was the first injury Rody had received since getting Domain Powers.

His eyes suddenly burst into a dazzling light as he swung his sword horizontally.

Fast!

This was the only word that could be used to describe it.

When looked at, the bright light did not look dazzling as if it was not there. However, at that moment, the entire space was locked by Rody’s aura. A circular slash flew towards the opponent. After that, there was a groan.

For a split second, Rody saw the figure of his opponent. A slender figure had flashed at a distance. From a distance, it could be seen that he was tall and he wore an ordinary white robe from the Temple. The white robe looked old but on him, it looked luxurious, sacred and impressive. His long black hair was tied behind his head with a silk sash.

The thing that gave Rody a profound impression was his face. He wore a silver mask that covered his face and his nose, exposing only his mouth. His lips seemed to be raised as if he was always smiling.

In that split second, that figure was forever engraved in Rody’s mind.

That person’s expression did not change but blood flowed out of the corners of his mouth. After that, Rody’s blade of light dispersed and the figure disappeared.

Rody vigilantly stood up. He carefully determined that there were no enemies around him before walking over.

There were bloodstains on the ground where the figure was standing earlier. His blood had already mixed with the dust.

It seemed that mysterious person had not done well either and was even injured by Rody.

The voice appeared again. But this time, the voice sounded far away and barely audible. "Domain Master, if you want to get that thing, you better think twice. It cannot meet the sky, it cannot meet the earth, and it cannot meet people. These words…Cough…Cough…"

After the voice coughed a little, it disappeared. It would seem that the injury caused by Rody was not light.

Once Rody had determined that the other person was gone, he staggered and almost fell. He could feel a burning pain in his back. A strange power in his body surged back and forth. His stomach boiled as if it was about to explode. Half of his body felt cold, the other half felt hot.

He bit his lip and tried to manage the pain. At the same time, when he looked at Koichi slumped on the ground, he found Koichi already dead.

Koichi’s eyes were wide open. His eyes were dull and lifeless.

Rody sighed and used hellfire to burn the body, not even leaving dust behind.

Rody wiped the blood from his mouth. He had exerted too much energy earlier and spat out another mouthful of blood.

Rody then sat on the ground and bitterly laughed, "This is a huge tumble. I don’t even know what he did and I received such a serious injury. Hmph. Looks like having domain powers doesn’t make a person invincible."

He then lay down. His hands held his head as he looked up.

'It seems like that guy’s injuries are as bad as mine. However, I did not expect that there was someone in the Temple more powerful than the Paladins. Then who could it be?'

A name immediately appeared in Rody’s mind.

'Prometheus!'

'Hmph…Cannot meet the sky, earth, and people. What does it mean?'

Rody lied down for a while until his body recovered a little. He then cursed softly and, with difficulty, returned to the capital.

It was already dark by the time Rody reached the capital.

After all, he was still healthy and powerful when he left the capital and had run very far away from the capital. However, when he returned he was severely injured and walked slowly without hurrying. If it was not because he could still manage to jump over walls, he would not even be able to enter the capital.

He would definitely not need to return to the shogunate’s meeting hall. By that time, it was likely that the discussions had ended. Rody casually asked someone for the location of Kikukawa Yukinari’s residence. However, that person only looked at him coldly and ignored him.

Rody became angry. He made a vicious expression and pulled a person over. That person saw his ferocious expression and honestly answered.

It did seem that the dwarfs really only respected fierce people. It was a preposterous nation.

Yukinari’s residence was far away from the shogunate. It could be seen from afar and was an elegant place. It occupied quite a large place. The green walls were also surrounded by rows of trees.

At that moment, there was a group of soldiers walking back and forth outside, looking extremely busy.

From afar, Rody could see Nedis waiting and he immediately walked over.

Nedis was feeling anxious. When she saw Rody finally return, Rody had an awkward expression. Rody was staggering and his body was unstable. His body was also covered in dust, his face was pale, and traces of blood could be seen at the corners of his mouth.

Nedis had always considered Rody invincible since she knew him. She had never seen him in a difficult position before. She walked over and supported Rody. She asked in surprise, "What happened to you?"

Rody sighed and replied, "Let's speak after going in."

Nedis nodded and whispered, "After you left, at the shogunate, the Shogun announced that the reason for these events is to be investigated by Yukinari. Yukinari has never received such an important position before. The Shogun also gave the command of the capital’s guards to Yukinari. Look at all the soldiers going in and out. Yukinari has already dispatched people to check Koichi’s residence."

When she saw Rody’s inquiring eyes, Nedis hurried added, "The old sorcerer is following him. You do not need to worry."

After that, Nedis whispered, "They are expected to return soon. Let me help you in to rest. The Shogun will summon us later!" When she saw Rody’s expression, she continued, "You have warded off an attack earlier. It is possible that he wants to thank you for saving him."

Rody was escorted by Nedis into Yukinari’s residence. The arrangement in the residence was very refined. It was obvious the owner was a refined man of letters. However, Rody was not interested in that right now.

He was helped into a clean room and immediately fell onto a soft couch. He took a while to catch his breath and then laughed bitterly. "We lost big today. I ended up fighting with someone and was not able to capture Koichi."

Nedis made sure there was nobody and then closed the doors. She then asked, "So what happened? How did you get so severely injured? Is there anyone who could harm you in the Hakone Kingdom?"

"Even if the Hakone Kingdom does not have anyone that could, there is always someone in the world that could." Rody laughed and then softly said, "If I am not wrong, the person who injured me was Prometheus!"

"Ah!" Nedis turned pale.

Rody waved his hand and lightly said, "Things are not so simple. If the person who injured me was Prometheus, I am more worried about the safety of another person."

"Who?"

Rody showed a strange expression and lightly said, "One of my friends…Paladin Fielding!"