Swords, magic, and martial arts

The priest on the altar summoned three earth elementals from another dimension, which entangled Waver and the female knight.

The three earth elementals' attacks weren't very strong, but Webber and his companions attacked for a long time without inflicting any real damage on them.

Neither Weber's poisoned short sword nor the female knight's two-handed sword burning with golden flames could kill the earth elemental. Even if they were split in two, the earth elemental could absorb the soil beneath its feet and restore itself to its original form in a few breaths.

Weber tried to use his speed to bypass them and head straight for the dancing priest on the altar, but he failed each time. These earth elementals could teleport within a small area, and each time they managed to block Weber's path.

"This won't do. If his ritual is completed, not only will the innocent residents go to meet his damned god, but we won't escape either," Waver said. "Only magic can fight magic. We should find Rhodes or Baron to deal with them. You go and help them finish the battle. I can handle these three earth elementals by myself."

The female knight agreed without hesitation. She glanced back at the situation and decided to help Rhodes and Hammer first.

Her sword pierced the assassin who was parrying Rhodes' attack, then she turned and ran a few steps to plunge the sword into the throat of the assassin on Hammer's side. Blood flowed down her sword, and she ran towards Baron.

Her decisive actions surprised Rhodes, who hadn't expected the gap between himself and this female knight to be so large. After a moment of stunned silence, he also went to help Baron.

After the female knight interfered with Baron's battle, the werewolves chose to approach Baron, preparing to launch a fatal attack from different directions at the same time.

Baron remained calm in the face of this situation. Red flames ignited on his axe, and in the instant the werewolves launched their attack, he used several Whirlwind Slashes in succession, cutting the four werewolves that pounced on him into pieces. Before the blood could even gush out, it was dried by the flames.

Everyone present smelled the aroma of roasted meat. When Rod saw Baron's Whirlwind Slash, he was reminded of the Counter Spiral from a certain game.

Baron turned to look at the last werewolf. The werewolf, having witnessed the previous scene and seeing Baron looking at it, took a few steps back in fear and bared its teeth at Baron. Baron drew a throwing axe from his waist and threw it, hitting the werewolf directly in the head and killing it. Then he turned around, took the axe, and strode towards the altar.

Baron's fluid and skillful fighting style amazed Rhodes. When will I be able to be as strong as him? He said the throwing axe on his waist was just for decoration, but I didn't expect him to use it so well. He must have secretly practiced.

Seeing that they were all heading towards the altar, Rhode immediately ran to the werewolf's corpse to retrieve his throwing axe and also ran towards the altar.

Not far away, he saw that Baron's axe had reignited in flames and was striking the earth elemental. Upon contact with the earth elemental, the axe caused it to crack rapidly, eventually turning into chunks of dried soil that fell to the ground. The female knight's golden flames had not produced such an effect.

He glanced at the female knight, who was looking at Baron. Perhaps her eyes were already sparkling inside her helmet, Rhodes thought to himself. If she really was all muscle, she would be a good match for Baron, who was also all muscle.

Soon, Baron had taken care of all three earth elementals that Webber and his team found troublesome.

That priest didn't seem to be very strong in melee combat, so this rescue operation should be over soon. It turned out to be much simpler than I imagined. It's just a pity that Harvey was unlucky; his death is entirely my fault...

The priest, who had been gesticulating wildly, stopped when he saw that all his minions had been dealt with, and stood straight up, looking down at Rhodes and his men from the altar.

"Lost sheep," he began, his voice gentle like that of a soothing pastor, "you have caused my companions to return to the Lord's embrace prematurely without fulfilling their mission. You have lost the liberation that your instincts could have given you, and you must continue to suffer in this hell."

"You're scared, aren't you? If you touch the magic on those innocent people and beg for mercy, we might consider handing you over to the local lord for a fair trial. Otherwise, we'll give you to this little girl to take you back to their knightly order," Baron said.

"Ignorant lambs," the priest sighed. He turned and removed the grotesque, blood-red mask bathed in a crimson glow, placing it on his head. With a gentle wave of his hand, Rhodes felt as if he had witnessed the most terrifying thing in the world.

He lay on the ground, sweating profusely and trembling, barely managing to lift his head with all his might. He wasn't alone; everyone in the group was trembling and deathly pale.

Baron could barely stand with the support of his giant axe, while Hammer and Weber could only kneel on the ground. However, only Rhodes and one other person were in such a sorry state that they could only lie on the ground. The female knight was constantly emitting golden dust, which allowed her to stand with her sword in her hand.

She shouted and used all her strength to walk forward step by step, using her sword as a crutch to struggle up the steps of the altar.

The priest watched the female knight's actions without making any move, simply watching her climb step by step. Rhodes, seeing her movements, also began to struggle, but the fear from the deepest part of his heart made his limbs weak and he couldn't muster any strength.

The female knight finally climbed onto the altar. She struggled to raise her sword, her hands and legs trembling violently. Before her sword could fall, the priest swiftly stabbed her with a dagger.

"Since you are so eager to return to the Lord's embrace, I can mercifully let you bear the punishment you have not yet received in advance," the priest said, his voice as gentle as before, though it was impossible to tell how old the person under the mask was.

He had barely spoken when he pulled the dagger out and plunged it in again from a different spot. The female knight was in excruciating pain and could no longer hold on; the sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

She knelt on the ground, blood flowing continuously from her wounds, her hands still struggling to support herself.

"Do you want to bleed slowly or do you want me to release you directly? If I had to choose, I would choose to bleed slowly, as this better reflects my deep repentance for my sins. Although I also long to return to the Lord's embrace, please forgive me for still needing to fulfill the mission entrusted to me by the Lord," the priest said calmly.

The female knight remained silent. The people below the altar were seething with hatred, but they lacked the strength to control their bodies and kill him.

Baron roared, and red flames surged from his body, roaring like a giant dragon.

He walked towards the altar step by step, just like the female knight had done before, but each step was more difficult and heavier, and the flames on his body grew dimmer and dimmer.

As Rod lay on the ground, he hoped that Baron could, as before, save everyone from danger...