Chapter 6: The Curse of the Plague Goddess!

When they reached Glow Town, nine magical hours had passed, and the death toll among the knights had risen to three.

The torrential rain and muddy roads severely hindered the team's progress. The knights could only abandon the supplies they were carrying, and lead their horses forward by themselves. The soaked belongings became abnormally heavy, so Felix had no choice but to leave behind his spacious and luxurious carriage. Riding a black steed in the rain, he was led by the central knight Yaxi.

Every three magical hours, another knight would suddenly die, with no warning.

The cursed would fall without a word, their heartbeats and breaths ceasing instantly. Even when Felix took a risk and used dark magic to investigate, he couldn't sense any abnormal elemental fluctuations. He couldn't even find traces of the souls of the dead remaining in this plane!

A strange smile adorned the faces of all the deceased—a devout, humble, and eerie smile.

"Is it a curse or a sacrifice?"

Felix tightened the cloak around him, but it did little to dispel the chill that enveloped him. He didn't know much about the Plague Goddess, but the little that he did know from the legends mentioned this:

"The Plague Goddess left the seeds of death in her temple. Her followers, fearing that someone might bring the 'Black Death' back to the world, sealed the temple with a mysterious curse. Intruders... become... sacrifices for the ritual..."

This passage was originally recorded on a parchment scroll, kept by a dark magician. However, the magician suddenly died of unknown causes. The parchment was then damaged, and some of the final words were erased by magic.

Word got out, and the legend of the Plague Goddess spread among spellcasters—the temple, the seeds, the mysterious ritual...

No one knew who would die next, or when the 'ritual' would end.

The knights rented the entire tavern and expelled all the customers. Their aggressive behavior drew the attention of the lord of Luoxia Town, a portly middle-aged nobleman. The lord arrived with his own guards and knight escorts, intending to assert his authority. However, he quickly learned to submit under the weight of Yaxi's greatsword.

The unpredictable deaths made the knights restless, and even the central knight who had entered the "Silver" domain had a ferocious look about him.

When they reached the rank of Grand Knight, they entered the "Silver" domain and faced a choice of faith. They would break free from the bonds of the "Eight Great Virtues," simplifying their beliefs into a purer form of faith.

The central knights believed in "Honor" and "Sacrifice." They weren't afraid of dying nobly in battle but loathed dying from plots and schemes, for such a death wouldn't let their souls rest in peace.

A knight's faith is peculiar, distinct from a warrior's will to survive. It often involves complexity and grandeur. Aside from the "Eight Great Virtues," there are many branches of faith for knights. However, upon entering the "Silver" domain, a knight's faith becomes more focused.

Fight for God! Fight for the Empire! Fight for love! Even fight for oneself!

The power of knights stems from protection—protecting the staff of God, the glory of the Empire, the purity of love, and the place of their faith!

Upon entering the domain of Grand Knights, their physical strength reaches a limit, as their training in human physique approaches a saturation point. After dissecting the remains of many high-ranking knights, dark magicians concluded:

Once their faith is defined, knights can form a new "Lever" similar to a "Magic Network Channel" during prayer. Using the quality of their faith as a fulcrum, they can leverage the elements from the outside world, releasing 'physical magic' with "Elemental Effects."

(Note: Spellcasters are proud, classifying all uses of elemental power as magic.)

The knights with the most devout faith can even integrate elemental power into their bodies with sheer will, achieving an "Elemental Transformation" similar to the "Immortality" that Grand Magicians gain!

This is true for the Holy Temple Knights of the Church, the fallen Death Knights, and the Dark Knights dwelling in the abyss and serving the gods.

...

At noon, another knight died, his death sudden and without warning.

The knight who had died was standing right next to Felix. This relatively rational knight had been assigned by the central knight Yaxi to protect Felix from the other knights, who had become irritable due to the fear of the unknown deaths.

The death of the calm knight gave no indication until he fell, and only then did others realize that he had already stopped breathing.

No one knew who would be chosen next. Unpredictable deaths were making the knights more uneasy than an unbeatable enemy. Some had already started taking out their anger on the tables and chairs inside the tavern.

"There was no sense of any abnormality, as if a deity had taken his soul..." The discovery of the steady knight's death came about two seconds after it happened. During this time, Felix had maintained his elemental sense. He hadn't sensed any abnormal fluctuations. If anything, the life fluctuations of the steady knight had suddenly disappeared, even his soul imprint was gone! It was as if he had never existed in the elemental world!

"I think we are not cursed, but have become the offerings in some kind of ritual!" Felix stood on the bar counter. He looked out of place among the burly men due to his youth. He cast a "Sonic Blast" spell to attract the attention of the others.

"This is an evil soul offering that was sealed in the temple of the plague goddess. Our intrusion triggered the terrible offering ritual. The ritual has begun, and it will choose sacrifices from among us and take their souls."

Felix wasn't sure if his guess was right, but he knew that if he didn't say something like this, the knights, whose faith had not yet equaled the value of their lives, would quickly collapse. Then, he would be in danger.

"I have a way, perhaps, to alter the ritual..." Felix walked up to the central knight and took out a parchment inscribed with magical runes.

..................

Alchemists were most adept at metal transmutation, while Gamma practitioners were best at equivalent exchange.

Under the command of the central knight Yaxi, the agitated knights donned heavy armor and sped toward the mountains to the west. There lay a bandit stronghold, which had grown in size as the lord of Glow Town was unable to muster forces to crush it.

On the way, the fifth chosen one appeared.

This time, it wasn't a knight who died, but Felix's servant, the nephew of the rigid old butler.