This time, I won't be the devil.

Most of these clergymen are around level 10, with a small number exceeding level 15.

Unlike the Holy Knights, these clergymen are not good at fighting. If they were asked to fight against the Phantom Thieves, they would be asking for their own deaths.

But most of these clergy who graduated from the Priest Academy have mastered some light-attribute magic.

Therefore, Frey divided them into the general reserve.

At this moment, these hundreds of people released magic together.

From the 1st level [Flash] to the 2nd level [Light Shield] to the 3rd level [Light Barrier], although the magic levels that can be used are different, after Frey's micro-manipulation, their light magic intertwined into a huge light net on the streets outside the Judgment Hall, making it impossible for Jacob to retreat by lurking in the shadows.

This is step four, [Light up the stars].

Chapter 29 Field Expansion

At this moment, the low-level guards outside the courtroom who were there to make up the numbers had retreated, and the remaining 30 Holy Knights formed a semicircle and stood in front of Jacob.

Immediately afterwards, the 20 knights from the Xianglong Squad and the Dihu Squad in the room immediately climbed out the window and came behind him, forming a siege with 50 knights.

At this time, Jacob had lost his waist bag containing props and the prosthesis on his left leg. The only thing he could use in his hand was a dagger.

Seeing this scene, two young men who had just joined the Knights Templar immediately drew their swords and rushed forward. This was a good opportunity to make a contribution.

Faced with such an embarrassed cripple, they felt they had a sure win.

A knight pushed his legs hard against the ground, performing a downward leap.

But just as the attack was about to hit, Jacob's pupils contracted, and he accurately judged the landing point of the sword. Then he curled up and leaned to the left to avoid it.

But at the same time, another knight had already launched a horizontal slash from the left.

While Jacob quickly leaned back to avoid the attack, he quickly flipped his left wrist, and the dagger pierced through the gap in the armor and then immediately pulled it out. He then used one leg as a fulcrum, and his whole body spun like a top, stabbing the knight who had just landed after launching a jump attack.

In a flash, the two knights who stepped forward first were paralyzed to the ground.

The knights were surprised to find that after losing his prosthetic limb, the one-legged thief's movements became even more agile.

If they fight alone, they are obviously no match for this thief.

But the greatest strength of the Holy Knights is their tacit cooperation.

"Forming array number 5!"

As the order was given, the Holy Knights began to form a formation. Among the remaining 48 knights, the eight who were best at close combat raised their glowing cross shields and stood in front of Jacob, forming an inner circle.

Another 28 knights formed the middle circle, serving as a second barrier to prevent Jacob from escaping.

The last 10 knights skilled in magic retreated to the outer circle and began chanting magic, preparing for long-range attacks.

After the magic chanting was completed, the knights in the inner and middle circles instantly dispersed, creating a gap.

"Third-level magic, light laser."

"Second-level magic, Fireball."

"Third-level magic, lightning strike."

"..."

Facing the magical attack, Jacob kept swinging his body, sometimes jumping sideways, sometimes rolling, moving around like a dancer.

But no matter how agile he was, it was impossible for him to completely dodge the attacks coming from 10 different directions. During this wave of attacks, a beam of light brushed past his shoulder, leaving a bloody mark.

After the magic attack ended, the knights in the front row immediately gathered around, and the knights in the back row began to chant again, preparing for the second wave of attack.

As long as they maintain their formation, the Holy Knights can trap the Phantom Thief.

Jacob obviously realized this, so he began to take the initiative to attack, intending to break through the encirclement, but the eight shields in front of him were not so easy to break through.

Time passed by minute by minute, and Jacob and the knights fought to a standstill.

Ten minutes later, Jacob's dagger knocked down the eight shield-bearing knights who were originally in the inner circle one after another, but every time a knight in the inner circle fell, the knight in the middle circle would immediately replenish him.

Under rounds of magical attacks, Jacob's body was covered with scars and his physical strength was greatly depleted.

If this trend continues, Jacob will fall to the ground exhausted before breaking through the encirclement.

His defeat seemed to be only a matter of time.

But after taking a look at the street in the distance, Jacob whispered under the mask:

"The wind has stopped."

As he said, the duration of Tidoris's magic, air flow manipulation, has expired.

Not only that, during his fight with the knights, the light on the street had dimmed a bit.

After all, these clergymen have limited magical power and cannot maintain light magic for a long time.

"We can't delay any longer, we'll launch a general attack in the next round!"

After receiving the order, the knights in the outer circle gathered their magic power and chanted their strongest magic.

At the same moment when the knights released their magic, Jacob threw all the remaining smoke bombs in his sleeves to his feet.

Magic and smoke bombs exploded around Jacob at the same time, and a cloud of black mist enveloped him again.

The knights stared at the black fog intently. A moment later, accompanied by the sound of grappling hooks firing, a black figure shot out from the fog like an arrow and flew into the window of the courtroom.

"He's trying to hide indoors to stall for time, hurry up and chase him!"

The knights hurriedly chased into the courtroom, but when they saw the true identity of the black shadow, they all stood there in a daze.

The dark shadow that sneaked into the courtroom was not the Phantom Thief himself, but his windbreaker.

The thief fixed his windbreaker to the hook launcher and launched it into the judgment hall!

By the time the knights realized they had been tricked, Jacob, having taken off his windbreaker, had already rushed out from the black smoke outside the courtroom.

At this time, several low-level clergymen had exhausted their magic power, causing a gap in the light network on the street.

The knights quickly turned around to chase him, but Jacob, who only had one leg, ran very fast. Before the knights could catch up, he had already followed the gap and sneaked into the darkness again.

"Report to the Chairman, the target has fled the scene!" Seeing the thief escape, a knight quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and reported.

"How did he escape?"

"The Phantom Thief tricked us with a trick." The knight's tone was full of regret.

"This operation...we failed."

But on the other end of the intercom came Frey's smiling voice.

"Don't be afraid, I have a plan."

On a barren hill 8 kilometers away, after listening to the detailed combat report, Frey hung up the walkie-talkie.

The reason why the knights he had just spoken to thought the operation had failed was because Frey only told them the first four steps of the plan.

After all, if they knew the full plan in advance, these Holy Knights who were not professional actors would probably reveal their true colors during the battle and be discovered by Jacob.

From the beginning, Frey had not expected these 50 Holy Knights to be able to catch the Phantom Thief. The real purpose of the first four steps was to collect intelligence through battle and try to weaken Jacob. This goal has been achieved.

Through the knight's report, Frey had to admit that Jacob's combat IQ was extremely high, and he successfully broke through the many traps set by Frey in the Hall of Judgment.

Then he fell into a new trap.

"Step five, [Surround three and missing one], successfully completed."

Frey picked up the walkie-talkie again and contacted Noel who was waiting at point B, and the tavern owner Van Dam.

This point B is the breakthrough that Jacob found.

The reason why the optical network here first had gaps was naturally designed by Frey in advance.

The Dark Knight's shadow perception can detect Jacob after he sneaks into the darkness.

Frey's current maximum detection range is 3 kilometers, and although Van Dam's magic adaptability is far inferior to Frey's, thanks to his high level of 40, his detection range has reached 5 kilometers.

In other words, no matter which direction Jacob escapes, he cannot quickly leave their detection range. This is the real core of this plan.

"With my speed, I should be able to catch up with him. Do I need to take action?" Van Dam asked.

"No need, Boss, just keep tracking and report the location to me."

Frey has already figured out Jacob's frontal combat ability, and under his design, Jacob has lost his prosthetic limbs and props, and has many scars on his body. It can be said that he has been beaten to a low health.

But Frey still didn't dare to take it lightly, because according to his speculation, Jacob should have a trump card that he had not used.

Jacob's profession is the Hider. To possess this special job, he must obtain the blessing of the God of Chaos and the God of Joy, two of the three pillars of the demon race.

Through identification, Frey discovered that Jacob's race was still human.

Under normal circumstances, humans cannot obtain the blessings of the Three Pillars of Deity unless they possess demonic blood or have been brainwashed by a cult since childhood.

Since Jacob was once a member of the 86th Company, the possibility that he was a cultist can basically be ruled out.

In this way, there is only one truth left - he has received the [Gaze] of the God of Joy.

Among the three gods worshipped by the demons, the god of chaos and joy is the most special one.

Although the creatures on earth cannot directly observe the true form of the gods, let alone understand their thoughts, through some records preserved in the Demon King's City, Frey roughly grasped the behavioral principles of this God of Joy.

Unlike other gods who are high above and indifferent to the mundane world, the God of Joy will take the initiative to cast his gaze on those intelligent creatures that he finds "interesting".

The scope of this "interesting" is very vague. It can be nonsensical pranks, funny life experiences, or the deconstruction of authority and seriousness. There is no fixed rule.

But overall, the God of Joy seems to be more interested in the humor brought about by chaos and absurdity than stability and happiness in the traditional sense.

And if the God of Pleasure happens to notice you and thinks you're interesting, he'll give you some attention.

Those who have received the attention of the God of Joy are called "Actors".

The God of Joy's favorite thing to do is to play with the minds and emotions of the actors, so that they can give him more interesting performances.

As for qualified actors, the God of Joy will grant them blessings or protection to increase their strength.

However, the followers of the God of Joy are generally demons with higher intelligence, and it is difficult for him to influence humans who are protected by the Seven Gods.

As long as a person has sincere faith and strong will, the god of joy generally has no chance to take advantage of him.

Unless this person's mental state is on the verge of collapse.

Frey speculated that Jacob was on the verge of a mental breakdown when he was noticed by the God of Joy and became the Shadow.

Those who are blessed by the God of Joy will also gain the ability to use their own soul power to use mental shocks on others.