As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

The mere presence of that black figure brought a suffocating sense of oppression to the entire scene.

Gray felt the terrifying pressure emanating from the black-armored knight in front of him and unconsciously narrowed his eyes.

He had heard Moen mention that the Archbishop had an execution squad called the Shadow of Judgment, but he never expected that any one of them would possess such formidable combat power.

The person before him was clearly not yet at the Celestial Realm level, yet his divine power was innate in every gesture, which was obviously due to the training he received from the Church of Judgment from a young age.

Arya jumped down behind the black-armored knight, but her movements looked very stiff, and her once lively eyes were now empty and lifeless.

On her smooth forehead, a twisted golden mark slowly lit up—the spiritual imprint planted by the archbishop, as François had mentioned in his letter.

Gray had no time to think. His figure vanished instantly, leaving only a shattered stone slab in his place. In the blink of an eye, he appeared above the black-armored knight's head.

He raised his heavy sword high with both hands and brought it down with tremendous force!

However, faced with this thunderous attack, the black-armored knight merely raised his right hand slightly, and his hand, encased in black iron, directly grasped the blade of the greatsword.

Immediately afterwards, the knight flicked his wrist, and an irresistible force erupted, sending Gray flying, sword and all.

But it's not over yet.

Just as Gray lost control and flew backward, the black-armored knight was even faster than him!

He caught up like a black lightning bolt, stomped on Gray's chest, and pinned him to the ground, carving a furrow more than ten meters long into the stone slab!

"Pfft!" Gray spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling the pain of his sternum shattering.

"Did the archbishop send you to do this?" François, who was not far away, clutched his chest as he watched the scene unfold.

The black-armored knight stepped on Gray, his face hidden in the shadow of his helmet, his expression unreadable, only his emotionless voice rang out: "You think the Archbishop is unaware of your little tricks?"

"You were doing a great job, but unfortunately you took the wrong path."

"Oh."

François scoffed dismissively: "You, a puppet who only knows how to obey orders, dare to talk to me about what is right and what is wrong?"

"Then let me tell you... what's right."

François slammed his scepter to the ground, and a startling light flashed in his previously cloudy old eyes.

[Law - Absolute Expulsion]!

A dazzling golden light burst forth from the top of the scepter, transforming into a gigantic hand of light that slammed down on the black-armored knight.

The black-armored knight was slightly startled. He hadn't expected that this old fox, who had always been trying to survive by hiding his true nature, would betray him so decisively at this moment.

Faced with this fierce attack, he had no choice but to draw the black sword behind him and block it in front of him.

The enormous hand of light collided with the black sword, and the terrifying shockwave blew away all the surrounding snow.

Although the black-armored knight blocked the attack, he was also thrown away by the enormous force, and his foot, which was originally standing on Gray, was forced to let go.

Gray struggled to his feet, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood mixed with pieces of his internal organs.

He knew that François was at his last gasp after that attack, but it wouldn't have been able to hurt the black-armored knight at all.

Gray looked to the other side, where Arya was like a puppet, activated the [Judgment Scales] that exuded a holy aura, protected by several Judgment Knights.

A deep sense of sorrow welled up inside me. Perhaps I had not only acted rashly, but had also dragged that kid into the mess. I hoped that if he heard the commotion here, he would run away quickly.

"Old man, why didn't you call me when there was a fight?" Just at this moment of despair, a nonchalant voice suddenly rang out from the roof.

Everyone looked up and saw a man sitting on the roof, playing with a sword in his hand.

As Morne appeared, several shadow servants controlled by Sylvie sprang out from the shadows.

A large number of smoke grenades were detonated, and thick smoke instantly enveloped the entire square. The black-armored knights were about to make a move when they felt their vision obstructed.

"A trivial skill."

The black-armored knight snorted coldly, and a dazzling golden halo shone around him.

The black sword in his hand shimmered with golden light. With a sudden swing, a crescent-shaped golden sword aura instantly tore through the smoke and headed straight for Moen.

At the same time, the black-armored knight's voice resounded throughout the entire area: "Everyone, listen to my command! Stop any traitors from approaching Lady Arya!"

The elite knights of judgment, who had been somewhat shaken by François's fall, immediately reformed their ranks like puppets upon hearing this command imbued with divine power, surrounding Arya completely.

"Tch, so what if there are more people?" Moen chuckled and snapped his fingers on the roof.

Then, a strange blizzard suddenly swept across the square.

The wind and snow quickly condensed in the air, turning into several crystal-clear ice mirrors. Then, several Judgment Knights reflected in each mirror emerged.

Everything around them became bizarre and surreal. The knights, who had been obeying orders, suddenly found their comrades swinging their swords at them.

The sight before them triggered their survival instincts, allowing them to break free from the black-armored knight's control.

"Ah! Who are you?!"

"Traitor! Die!"

The scene instantly descended into chaos, and the knights were caught in a hallucination of killing each other.

"Illusion?"

The black-armored knight's eyes gleamed with golden light, instantly seeing through this low-level trick.

His gaze was fixed on the little girl in a Western-style dress on the rooftop in the distance; she was the caster of this spell.

Just as the black-armored knight was about to leap up and kill Sylvie with a single sword strike, a blood-red afterimage blocked his way.

Gray rallied and charged forward, a massive phantom of a blood wolf formed from condensed blood energy appearing behind him.

With each subsequent attack, the blood wolf behind him would open its gaping maw and tear the enemy apart!

For the first time, the black-armored knight's usually calm and collected emotions wavered.

These annoying flies are impossible to kill.

"roll!"

Upon hearing the shout, Gray felt a violent dizziness, and the flow of magic and blood became as sluggish as a swamp.

Fortunately, Sylvie was standing far enough away that the sound only had a faint impact on the distance.

Despite his serious injuries, François still raised the scepter.

"【Lawful Purification】! 【Swift Protection】!"

Two beams of light fell on Gray, instantly dispelling his dizziness and visibly increasing his speed.

Gray glanced at his old friend sitting on the ground, said nothing, and simply sped up again.

"cut!"

The greatsword, accompanied by the howl of a blood wolf, forcefully cleaved the black-armored knight from mid-air!

The black-armored knight was somewhat annoyed after being struck down by a holy-marked knight.

The moment he landed, the black sword in his hand plunged into the ground, and a terrifying golden shockwave exploded outwards from him.

Gray was sent flying, and the phantom of the blood wolf behind him vanished in the holy light.

On Moen's side, he ignored the black-armored knight and went straight for Arya.

The ritual will be interrupted if Arya's process of infusing divine power is disrupted.

But just as Moen approached, a golden barrier suddenly appeared around Arya, and Moen's continuous slashes against it had no effect whatsoever.

"Overestimating one's abilities."

The black-armored knight noticed Moen's movements but didn't even bother to turn around.

Arya had already set up a [Divine Protection] around her, and even he couldn't break through that golden barrier in a short time, let alone a mere kid.

However, the next second, a scene that shocked him occurred: the seemingly indestructible golden barrier actually developed countless tiny holes and gradually crumbled after Moen stopped attacking.

Moen seized the opportunity and crashed directly into Arya.

The immense impact sent Arya flying, slamming her against the wall and creating a large crater before she was knocked unconscious on the spot.

"What?!" The black-armored knight could hardly believe his eyes.

Arya fell into a coma, and the ritual was interrupted.

The scales of judgment, which had been suspended in mid-air, lost their divine power and began to sway precariously.

"Since that's the case..."

A ruthless glint flashed in the black-armored knight's eyes.

He charged at Moen, deflecting Moen's sword as it struck the scales, and then channeled a massive amount of divine power into the scales.

Arya has already fainted, but she still remembers activating the scales. As long as the scales are activated and Gray is killed, the result will be the same.

With a humming sound, the balance scales started.

A beam of light connected Gray and the black-armored knight.

The sins of the two were placed on opposite ends of a scale, and the scale suddenly tilted toward the black-armored knight.

At this moment, the black-armored knight took out a black weight from his pocket and placed it on the end representing Gray's sins.

That is the "judgment scale" used by the Church to force the judgment of those who cannot be convicted, and it is also a sacred object accompanying the "judgment scale".

The scales instantly tipped to Gray's side.

The trial was established.

A colossal golden phantom appeared in the sky, wielding a spear formed from pure light, its immense divine power locking onto Gray, who had just gotten up.

"Get out of the way!!!" Moen roared, but was cleaved dozens of meters away by the black-armored knight's sword, with no time to help.

Gray had taken a powerful stomp from the Black Armor Knight, and now his bones felt like they were about to fall apart, leaving him completely unable to move.

He opened his eyes wide and watched as the golden javelin, exuding an aura of death, hurtled towards him.

In a daze, he seemed to see his sister from forty years ago, the one who stood in front of him in the wind and snow.

"Thud!" The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out, and warm blood splattered all over Gray's face.

However, there was no excruciating pain as I had imagined.

Gray stared blankly ahead. François had appeared in front of him at some point, spreading his arms and using his broken body to block the fatal shot.

The golden spear tip pierced his chest, protruding from his ribcage and stopping just in front of Gray's nose.

François faced Gray, a relieved smile appearing on his wrinkled face.

"Old friend..." Blood gushed from his chest, staining the red robe that symbolized power. "Changing the church... my path is blocked..."

The divine power slowly dissipated after piercing François's body, and the phantom in mid-air seemed to be enraged by this act of taking the blame for someone else.

It did not disappear; instead, it raised its hand again and reassembled the second spear of judgment.

"No... let go..." François's words were cut short as his body went limp and he collapsed into Gray's arms.

Gray's face contorted in pain, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

He gently placed François on the ground and picked up the heavy sword beside him.

"Fuck your Judgment Church!!"

With a roar, Gray dragged his mangled body and charged headlong into the golden phantom in the air.

The black-armored knight standing to the side looked at this ant who dared to challenge the gods and found it all laughable.

"boom!"

Gray collided violently with the newly formed golden javelin in mid-air.

The terrifying explosion instantly engulfed him.

The black-armored knight shook his head; it was over.

But the next second.

"How is that possible?"

At the epicenter of the explosion, Gray was not pierced; instead, he fell amidst the light.

Although it seemed like it was on its last breath, the divine punishment was actually neutralized?!

[Received infinite, near-death damage]

[Passive Trigger: Calamity Core - Meltdown]

[Health Points Locked: 1]

[Trigger: Blazing Inferno (Reflects 50% of damage)]

A pillar of fire, even more dazzling than divine punishment, suddenly erupted from beneath the feet of that golden phantom!

"Ah!!!" The black-armored knight let out a scream.

Merely touched by the aftershocks of the pillar of fire, the terrifying energy instantly melted one of his arms, turning it into molten iron along with his indestructible black armor.

The phantom in mid-air let out a mournful cry under the impact and slowly dissipated.

The scales of justice were charred black and fell to the ground with a clatter, like a piece of scrap metal.

"Who?!" The black-armored knight clutched his severed arm, fear showing on his face for the first time.

Moen stood where Gray had fallen, surrounded by pure white ash.

His health was locked at 1 point, but his aura seemed invincible.

He slowly raised his hand, and countless blood-red thorns burst forth from the ground, instantly piercing the black-armored knight's armor and pinning him to the spot.

The surrounding knights of judgment had already fallen to the ground when the mirror shattered, and no one could come to their aid.

In the vast square, only Moen and the one-armed black-armored knight remained standing.

Water droplets condensed on Moen's body, mixing with the white ash and the gradually dissipating flames, forming a frost armor with a bright yellow-red hue.

The black-armored knight drained all the divine power within him, mimicking divine punishment, and condensed a golden javelin. He threw it with all his might, and the golden javelin sped toward Moen.

However, when the javelin struck Moen, it made a crisp sound and shattered into countless points of light.

Moen's figure disappeared from the spot.

In a second, he appeared in front of the black-armored knight.

He raised his longsword to the sky, and three mirrors of light condensed in the air.

Then, the longsword, wreathed in blood and shimmering with a glassy sheen, pierced straight into one of the mirrors.

Reflected by the mirror, the three sword lights floated down lightly, like feathers.

But the moment the feather touched the black-armored knight—

"Snap!"

The black-armored knight's armor was completely shattered, and three gruesome wounds appeared on his chest.

His eyes widened as he stared at Moen in disbelief. This insignificant little man could even erase the phantom of a god!

[Killed: Theodore Shaw, Shadow of Judgment, Lv.40]

Experience gained: 46534 + 126453 (kill against a higher-level opponent/impossible miracle)

Congratulations on reaching level 25!

The snowstorm stopped, and only that solitary figure stood tall on the battlefield.