Chapter 7: The Queen's Protection and Sacrifice

The knights found the bandits' mountain stronghold at dusk and launched a surprise attack.

It was a one-sided massacre. The flimsy wooden gate of the stronghold couldn't even withstand one charge from the Central Knight, Yaxi! These knights, veterans of the jungle warfare, didn't wield fancy and ornate knight swords. They held Viking greatswords, each weighing 126 pounds, capable of easily cleaving an enemy in two, hailed as the "King of Bastard Swords" and the "Sword of Barbarians!"

A mid-tier knight in full armor, swinging a Viking greatsword, resembled a human steamroller. Even a pure steel shield couldn't withstand a single blow from him. Felix finally understood the immense gap between spellcasters and close-quarters combat professions before reaching the Silver domain!

Felix considered his available offensive spells and, with resignation, found that whether it was Corrosion or Psychic Shock, his current magic was even less powerful than a military crossbow – at least the crossbow was instant and could shoot three times in quick succession!

The knights gathered the captives in the stronghold's square and, following Felix's orders, killed the elderly, weak, and women. These knights, who had grown up in the poverty of the jungle war, had no sympathy in their eyes. As low-ranking knights, they exchanged their lives and blood for status and glory.

Knights who chose the battlefield often forsook the core belief of Mercy from the Eight Virtues, and instead focused on Valor and Glory.

"Excessive compassion will only cost you your life on the battlefield!" – The Knight's Code, War Section, Article One.

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In the end, Felix left 114 young and robust bandits. He ordered the knights to blindfold the captives and divide them into 57 groups, with two people in each group and one knight to watch over them.

Felix intended to use a magic known in the realm of shadow alchemy as the Queen's Protection.

The Queen's Protection was less magic than another type of ritual, an evil rite of equivalent exchange!

Here, it's necessary to mention the Shadow Queen, Christie, who is the highest achiever in shadow alchemy and the most successful godslayer on this continent. About 1,400 years ago, the Shadow Queen Christie opened the 'prison gate' to Hell. She ventured alone into the wicked Hell and challenged one of the devils, Asmontis. The two fought for a whole week, and the fierce shadow elements turned Asmontis's palace into a basin. In the end, the Shadow Queen Christie emerged victorious. As she retreated, she shattered Asmontis's scepter, and the furious devil mobilized all available power to hunt her down.

It was then that the Shadow Queen Christie earned the moniker of the 'Bloody Queen.'

As she left Hell, the Shadow Queen captured the 'Daughter of Plague'—Pandora, and perfectly fused with her. One hundred and sixty years later, the Shadow Queen Christie attained godhood and became a new deity in the shadow plane!

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Of course, this is just a part of the epic tale of the Queen.

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Time passed, and two magical hours went by.

The sixth chosen one had already appeared. The knights seemed extremely restless and irritable, venting their anger by brutally beating the captives. Three captives had already been beaten to death by the frenzied knights. The Central Knight Yaxi had to use harsh words to reprimand them, and took a small team of knights into the forest to search for escaped bandits, increasing the number of sacrificial offerings to 116 people.

The "Inverse Cross Gathering Spirit Array" had a total of 116 branch magical patterns. Excluding the 114 offerings and the two "blood eaters" reserved in the center of the magic circle, Felix had to find new items to support the magic circle's "spine," constructing the "Left Arc Crystal" and "Right Arc Crystal."

After going through his meager wealth, Felix had no choice but to bring out his heavy oak staff and take out the "Advanced Black Magic Course." Fortunately, the knights knew almost nothing about the vast and mysterious knowledge of magic and didn't realize how evil the magic book in Felix's hands was.

"We've become the offerings for some evil ritual in the temple of the Plague Goddess. This evil ritual has targeted us, and it won't stop until it has killed us all."

"Neither the gods of light nor the gods of darkness will have mercy on us, humble and insignificant as we are. If we want to live, we must seek the protection of the Shadow Queen."

Under the command of the Central Knight Yaxi, the knights herded the captives into the circle drawn by Felix and each poured their own blood into the crude altar in the square.

When the first moonbeam shone on the oak staff, Felix solemnly held up the "Advanced Black Magic Course" and placed it on top of the oak staff!

The "Left Arc Crystal" and "Right Arc Crystal" formed the magic network channel, drawing upon the shadow elements in the square. A moonbeam shone on the "Advanced Black Magic Course," and a page turned on its own.

The "Advanced Black Magic Course" connected to the external shadow elements and slowly floated up. For every twenty centimeters it rose, the magic book turned a page.

The ritual began!

Felix stabbed the first captive through the heart with a dagger, then raised the Viking greatsword and used all his strength to behead the second captive. Fifty-seven fountains of blood sprayed forth, and the blood flowing down was drawn by the inscribed magic patterns, slowly gathering at the base of the oak staff.

The first captive, stabbed by the dagger, was used as a substitute offering to pay for the evil ritual in the temple of the Plague Goddess. The second captive, beheaded by the Viking greatsword, was an offering provided to seek the protection of the Shadow Queen.

All the knights followed Felix, kneeling on one knee and chanting loudly:

"Shadow Queen, we offer sacrifices and seek your protection."

Felix stood up and slowly walked to the center of the altar. His lips moved rapidly, chanting a new "sacrificial text" in a barely audible voice.

"Noble Shadow Queen Christie, your humble servant Felix seeks your protection. I bring you a most 'bountiful offering' and choose to entrust my faith to you."

Felix finished chanting the new "sacrificial text" and then looked up at the increasingly floating "Advanced Black Magic Course," silently waiting for the response of Shadow Queen Christie.

Shadow Queen Christie was not a bored philanthropist. She was the highest achiever in shadow alchemy so far and held the title of "Bloody Queen" in the abyss! The "Queen's Protection" was expensive, and the queen's dictionary didn't include the words 'sympathy' and 'mercy.' To receive the queen's protection, one had to pay a corresponding price!

The offerings Felix prepared were not the 116 bandit captives, but the fifty-five middle-ranking knights and one central grand knight beneath the altar!