Four Split Personalities

As of now, two combat sequences and the first support sequence had altogether eliminated over sixteen hundred mutants, yet the enemy kept pouring in endlessly.

...

Game Time PM14:27

The primary stage mage ’Asia Mei-Disk’, having exhausted her magic points, was throat torn open by a mutant that had broken through the front lines, and she fell in battle.

Thus, the second combat sequence totaled forty-three severely injured individuals and twenty-five fatalities.

...

Game Time PM14:29

The middle-rank mage ’Gambadie’ used an item resembling a "Magic Scroll for Short Distance Teleportation" to transport himself into the midst of a large group of mutants and by unknown means turned a twenty-meter radius area around him into a blazing sea of deep blue flames, perishing along with nearly three hundred mutants.

...

Game Time PM14:35

In the middle of Hordir Mountain Pass, A1 slope

A low-level paladin from the Sun Sect, Kay Darke, anxiously pulled down his metal visor and rode to the forefront of the team, to the figure even shorter than his own thigh, and asked in a serious tone, "My lord, when can we finally charge?"

"As soon as we receive the order, we can charge."

The high-level paladin of the Justice Sect, Gerbin Keynes Pdke, casually replied, then turned his head to look back at the young knight who stood at least two hundred twenty centimeters tall with horns protruding from either side of his head, and exclaimed: "My goodness, you’re tall."

Kay smiled awkwardly and bent forward, saying, "Thank you for the compliment, but we have been waiting here for a long time, and everyone in our combined force is bleeding below, while we..."

"We are also part of the combined forces, Mr. Kay," Gerbin interrupted, wearing a suit of red gold plate armor smaller even than his opponent’s shoulder armor, his golden cape billowing behind him, shorter than a hand towel, and he was holding a ninety-centimeter mini cross sword that looked downright comical.

"Therefore, we must obey the commander’s orders," he finished seriously.

Kay frowned and said in a low voice, "I do not think the Black Vatican Priest would make an erroneous judgment, yet standing by idly as our comrades are slaughtered goes against the knight’s spirit."

"Aha, you just said it, it’s the Black Vatican Priest’s judgment~"

Gerbin shrugged his shoulders, his light green eyes intently focused on the direction of the second enemy contact area, and he casually added: "So the one going against the knight’s spirit is him, not you, right?"

Kay’s frown deepened, and with a tone of respectful frustration barely concealing his irritation he said, "Lord Gerbin, I don’t think this is an appropriate moment for jokes. As a significant force in the combined forces, the Knight Order should take on the most critical responsibility—to protect the lives of our comrades. Yet here we are, standing around, unable to do anything!"

This sentiment was shared by many; almost all of the four hundred and fifty-two holy knights present were at their boiling point, but none had directly volunteered themselves for questioning the acting group leader like Kay had.

As one of the most formidable forces in Misha County, the Knight Order had been stationed here for nearly two hours. During this period, Princess Xia Lian and a Rune Creation named Cordova were engaged in a bloody battle afar, Saintess Forget Yu and the princess’s bodyguards ran great risks to lure over ten thousand mutants, the first and second combat sequences had already lost hundreds in the front lines, and even the civilians were contributing their strength to this battle. Yet, they were merely standing by, ordered only to watch, not to act.

For any knight with sound moral principles, this was an immense agony and torment.

It was not until he visually witnessed a female mage diving into the group of mutants and self-destructing that the low-rank paladin named Kay could no longer hold back his indignation, and he directly confronted his improperly shaped superior.

Perhaps this newly arrived justice paladin was unfamiliar to everyone, but Kay and others had been members of the combined forces from the start. Although most of the paladins were not sociable, this did not mean they didn’t value the comrades who had shared life and death with them over this period.

Therefore, Gerbin’s attitude was understandably infuriating to Kay.

If it had been three years ago, before he had converted to the Sun God, he would have spat and angrily cursed, ’This damned dwarf!’—even at the cost of being beaten half to death afterwards.

"Hehe, it seems I was mistaken. It appears, Mr. Kay, that you think this is not an appropriate moment for jokes," said Gerbin, smacking his lips before finally shifting his gaze from the front line to face the impassioned young knight, "Since that’s the case, let’s have a serious talk then."

Kay bit his teeth, "I don’t think now is the time..."

"Shut up, youngster."

Gerbin furrowed his eyebrows and abruptly interrupted the other, "Aside from joking time, a low-rank knight has no right to ’feel’ anything in my presence. Now, tell me, what is the spirit of a knight?"

"Humility, honor, sacrifice, bravery, mercy, honesty, justice, soul."

Kay answered without hesitation.

"Correct."

Gerbin raised an eyebrow and, with his free hand, cleaned out his ear, "Then tell me, what is the definition of a slaughter?"

"Slaughter is... uh..."

Kay suddenly choked up.

"There are many interpretations of slaughter, but personally, I don’t believe any slaughter occurred in Misha County today." Gerbin turned his head towards the distant mountain path and chuckled lightly, "Yes, in the two hours we were ordered to stay here, many people died, bravely and honorably, but it wasn’t a slaughter because every victim resisted to their last breath and made the enemy pay a significant price before dying, whether they were knights or not. We must admit, they received the farewell any knight would dream of, and you, Knight Kay, labeled it a slaughter."

Kay shook his head with sweat dripping down his back, "I..."

"And what about the indispensable force in the allied troops? Supposed to take the most critical responsibilities?"

Gerbin coldly interrupted him, scoffing, "Think carefully about these words you yourself have said, recall the knight’s spirit you just recited, and tell me, where is your ’humility’?"

For a moment, all the holy knights on the slope, including Kay Darke, shivered subconsciously, as if stepping into an ice cellar.

"Whether it be the Black Vatican Priest or the comrades at the front, even us temporarily stationed here, everyone has their duties and needs only to fulfill those duties." Gerbin looked deeply at Kay and said in a grave tone, "No one should negate the value of others, nor forsake their own duties and promises."

Kay dismounted and bowed deeply to Gerbin, "This subordinate acknowledges his mistake."

"Remember, neither your own strength nor the God’s Badge on your armor should become a reason for your arrogance."

Gerbin waved his hand and snorted, "I sincerely hope you are just dissatisfied with me, a knight of the Justice Sect and a temporary leader shorter than your leg, rather than truly believing these thoughts. Now get aside, control your emotions, and let them burst forth at the right moment."

Kay silently nodded, rode back to the others, and hung his head in silence.

A moment later

"Senior!"

"Instructor!"

Snow Mane, Fire Tongs, and that Elf Knight appeared by Gerbin’s side, greeting him respectfully, "We’re here."

The latter nodded slightly, "So when can we finally make our move?"

"Patience, my Lord Knight."

The Lizardman Knight following Snow Mane shrugged helplessly, "But no orders have arrived yet, which means the heavy interception group has not reached the destination, so we absolutely cannot move!"

"Can I go out alone and lend a hand?"

"No!!"

Chapter 437: The End