"Take this, Crusader Strike!"
Robbie roared, and a faint golden light flashed. A feather fell from the Lunarfall Raven and drifted through the air.
"It's all right, let's try again!"
Another faint light flashed. The Lunarfall Raven was as energetic as ever and completely unharmed.
Delvar Ironfist said unhappily, "Look, with that gear and those skills, you'd better stop wasting your time. Go watch the luggage over there and get dinner ready while you're at it."
Damn, his colleague looked down on him.
Robbie refused to accept it. The damage from his gray-quality Power of Indestructibility was too low to penetrate its defenses, so he had counted on the Holy Light he had just grasped to add damage with its holy power. Now it seemed that wouldn't work; there was too little Holy Light he could control.
Since he couldn't deal enough damage, he would use a control skill.
"Take this, Hammer of Justice!"
A faint light flashed.
The Lunarfall Raven gave Robbie a puzzled look, reached up with a wing to preen the feathers on its forehead, and continued fighting Delvar Ironfist.
Robbie covered his face. Even a monster looked down on him. How humiliating! He couldn't show his face anymore.
Why were his Paladin skills so weak when he used them as described in the Holy Light Codex? Could the book be wrong?
Ascetics had a natural affinity for the Holy Light. Yet if they wanted to wield its mighty power, they were like strongmen trying to become martial arts masters: they still had a long road ahead of them.
Vanessa exclaimed behind him, "I thought it was just a legend. This book really does exist!"
Robbie turned at her words and saw Commander Vanessa leafing through a book. Its cover was made of Chromatic Dragon scales, its four corners were encased in Arcane Crystal, and it radiated a dense power of Holy Light. Startled, Robbie asked, "Commander, that book looks awfully familiar."
"It's yours!" Vanessa said naturally. "It's made of such precious materials, so be careful not to lose it. I'd better keep it safe for you."
He always kept the Holy Light Codex on him. How had she stolen it without anyone noticing?
He had almost forgotten that this lovely commander was a rogue.
"Commander, please don't! I'm counting on that book for my Paladin training!" Robbie pleaded at once.
Vanessa looked slightly smug. "If you want what's written in it, the royal library will make you a copy for five gold coins. Before the Orcs invaded Azeroth, this book was everywhere. It's an introductory book for ascetics, not worth much."
Robbie was stunned. He had thought it was a peerless secret manual, but it turned out to be common as dirt. Only the materials it was made from were valuable. After thinking it over, he asked in some confusion, "Wasn't Arthas the author?"
Vanessa smiled faintly. "Legend has it that some idiot copied the ordinary Holy Light Codex into a book made from all kinds of epic materials, then claimed to be its author. I thought it was a lie, but it really happened. Of course, Arthas made quite a few changes to the contents and added some insights of his own."
"Arthas's insights?" Robbie immediately picked up on the key point.
Arthas had studied under Uther, the great Paladin and leader of the Order of the Silver Hand. Before he fell and became the Lich King, he had been a powerful Paladin. His insights probably weren't too bad.
Vanessa tilted her head and thought for a moment, then carefully read through the Holy Light Codex again, examining the cover and spine in detail as well.
"Aside from all the wild boasting and the typical edgy nonsense, there's nothing worth paying attention to," Vanessa concluded.
Robbie had to agree.
Besides explaining Paladin training and skills, the book contained the author's edgy comments, such as "Fight for the world," "Pathetic humans will never understand," and "Magic is filthy; only the heart is pure." It was thoroughly embarrassing.
"Huh? What's this?" Vanessa seemed to have discovered something. She gently rubbed the cover with a fingertip and studied it closely.
"I see. Double-layered pages and an invisible cross-shaped magic lock. It's an incredibly ingenious design, and the technique is masterful. It almost fooled me." Vanessa's slender fingers moved rapidly, as swift as flashes of light and lightning, too fast for the eye to follow.
With a crisp click, the Holy Light Codex fluttered open. Mysterious runes leaped one after another from its pages, glittering gold like shining stars.
With a snap, Vanessa quickly closed the book. She looked slightly puzzled, her expression shifting.
"Commander, what's wrong?" Robbie was eager to get the Holy Light Codex back and asked tentatively.
Vanessa grew serious. Her cold, sharp eyes flashed as she suddenly demanded, "Robbie, what did you see?"
"Some golden runes!" Robbie said at once.
"Do you know how the runes work?" Vanessa asked.
"No," Robbie answered honestly.
"Using the power of runes to wield a Paladin's Holy Light was clearly the key to Arthas's spellcasting." Vanessa's eyes flickered. "But these runes are too profound. They'll do you more harm than good. I'll return the book when you truly understand how runes work."
"But my Paladin training..."
"Knowledge is power. I brought plenty of books on runes." Vanessa pondered for a long moment. "Here's what I'll do. I'll form a Universal Holy Light Rune for you first. It should be enough to get you through the battles ahead."
A golden rune appeared at Vanessa's fingertip. Robbie offered no resistance and let it fly into his chest.
Robbie could clearly feel the mighty power of the Holy Light.
"Crusader Strike."
A blazing golden light flashed, scorching half of the Lunarfall Raven's wing. The aroma of cooked meat wafted through the air.
This Holy Light is so powerful!
The Lunarfall Raven shrieked in pain and pecked at Robbie with its sharp beak.
"Damn raven, that's for looking down on me! Hammer of Justice!"
Looking at the fallen raven and feeling the Holy Light within him, Robbie's heart surged. He had finally obtained the power of the Holy Light he had pursued so desperately.
How exactly did Holy Light Runes work? Robbie liked getting to the bottom of things and had enjoyed tackling difficult problems on his own in college. He silently vowed to figure it out.
Every time he used a Paladin skill, a trace of holy power fused into his body, improving his physique and driving away his fatigue.
Even so, after killing ravens for most of the day, Robbie and Delvar Ironfist were exhausted.
"I'm beat. That was the twenty-eighth, right?"
"Wrong, twenty-five." Dwarves really were honest.
The Lunarfall Ravens were stronger than expected. Of course, Robbie wasn't weak either; the problem was that his equipment was too poor.
If he had a set of powerful epic equipment, it would be easy... Alas, he could only dream.
The biggest headache was that the Lunarfall Ravens were fairly intelligent. After the three of them ambushed a few that had strayed from the flock, the beasts actually learned to forage in groups, leaving them no chance to strike.
"This isn't going to work!"
The surrounding garrisons had already been built. They had to catch up as soon as possible.
The sun was setting in the west, and evening was approaching.
"Let's stop here for today. We'll deal with it tomorrow!"
Vanessa showed no sign of concern, her expression calm and composed. She really was someone destined for great things.
That evening, the three stayed at the neighboring dwarf auntie's garrison and pitched a tent. Vanessa stewed a large pot of raven meat. It tasted quite good and was mouthwatering; she claimed her cooking skill had already reached the grandmaster level.
After dinner, Delvar Ironfist found a cool spot, dug a hole, and buried himself. Supposedly, this was a training method exclusive to dwarf Death Knights, using the power of the earth to restore their strength.
The fellow had been a little dim in the head since becoming a Death Knight. He had nothing to worry about: he ate, slept, and fought when he woke up. How enviable.
There were even more Lunarfall Ravens than expected, perhaps two or three hundred. If they didn't hire help...
Robbie pondered for a long while and looked at Vanessa, who sat by the fire reading the Holy Light Codex, looking completely relaxed. He couldn't help asking himself, Why am I worrying? Is this what they mean by being too concerned to think straight?
Robbie stood up and decided to go out and gather information.
"Are you going to the tavern? While you're there, recruit a follower for me."
"No commander can build a level-two inn yet... All right, I understand."
Under Vanessa's commanding gaze, Robbie decided that from now on, he would resolutely forget the game's rules.
"Take this. It's a token. Once you reach the tavern, someone will come to meet you."
It carried Vanessa's scent, but the problem was that it was a red silk face veil. Robbie felt as though he had boarded a pirate ship.
Quite a few commanders had built inns in Lunarfall, and business was booming.
Robbie went to more than a dozen inns in a row, but couldn't squeeze into a single one.
Why are there so many people with nothing to do? This isn't normal.
At an inn that wasn't quite so crowded, Robbie finally managed to order a cup of morning dew wine. Just then, a figure wrapped up from head to toe, with small eyes darting about, walked over, pointed at the veil in Robbie's hand, and then pointed at the door.
The fellow was quite muscular and broad, standing a full 1.9 meters tall. Robbie couldn't tell what race he was.
Could this be the follower the commander wants to hire?
Robbie followed him out of the inn and into a secluded place, where the man suddenly vanished.
A gust of wind whistled behind his head.
Robbie quickly made a judgment. Damn it, that's the sound of a lot of teeth slicing through the air!
It was too late to turn around; his head would probably disappear. Robbie acted decisively, thrusting the Power of Indestructibility sharply behind him. A gruesome sound followed. When he looked, the wooden hammerhead was gone, leaving only the broken handle.
Robbie was horrified. Could this be the legendary god-tier skill: catching a blade with a bare mouth?
"Ptooey, ptooey! Doesn't taste good." The attacker spat out the chewed-up hammerhead and lunged in for another bite.
Robbie quickly ducked, circled behind his attacker, and raised the wooden handle to strike him hard on the back of the head.
"Huh? Shadowstep and Sap? Not bad!"
The attacker was thick-skinned, his hide as tough as sheet iron. The blow had no effect at all and instead numbed Robbie's right hand. The attacker quickly turned around and revealed two enormous claws, their sharp nails like daggers.
Robbie ducked beneath a claw as big as a winnowing basket and stuck out a foot to trip him.
Fortunately, the attacker's footing wasn't steady enough, and he hadn't properly controlled the force of his forward lunge. He fell to the ground with a thud.
"Whoa, that's the hunters' long-lost skill, Trip!"
Robbie grumbled inwardly. This guy was another one with an edgy streak, treating everything like a skill for no reason.
The attacker quickly got up, shook his thick neck, and came at Robbie with bared teeth and claws, attacking like a raging storm.
Robbie circled the attacker, doing his utmost to dodge. The fellow wore no armor, but his hide was as protective as fine-quality plate armor. This was bad. He was clearly no match for him. Where was his weak point, and what should he do?
Wait. Sharp claws, a huge bloody maw... From Robbie Capor's memories, this fellow was...