But We Are Temple Knights!

Not a chance!

Zhen Jin and Zi Di hid near the cave entrance, watching the beasts slaughter one another outside.

Throughout the battle, the Scaled Horn Black Panther Group remained busy but orderly, keeping the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear firmly surrounded at the center.

The moment the boy and girl left the cave entrance, they would expose themselves to those beasts.

If they risked rushing out, their chances of survival would be slim. Unless driven to the brink, neither of them would make such a move.

The longer Zhen Jin watched, the more alarmed he became.

In the struggle between the two sides, the Scaled Horn Black Panthers ultimately held a slight advantage. There were simply too many of them.

"Although leopards do not live alone, they usually survive and breed in family units. It is practically unheard of for so many leopards to hunt in a pack. On this island, not only have life forms undergone terrifying mutations, but their habits have changed drastically as well."

Zhen Jin had his own suspicions about where these Scaled Horn Black Panthers had come from.

He remembered that while fleeing from the Fire Poison Bee swarm, he had encountered an attack from a mysterious beast resembling a leopard.

That beast had most likely been a Scaled Horn Black Panther. After fleeing in defeat, it had likely returned to its group, called upon the other black panthers, and followed the scent trail left by Zhen Jin and Zi Di throughout their escape until it finally arrived here.

"Rather than seeking revenge against the Fire Poison Bees, these black panthers are more likely here to hunt Zi Di and me."

"By that reckoning, this Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear took the disaster meant for us."

Yet Zhen Jin felt no gratitude.

The Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear had first driven off the Fire Poison Bee swarm and was now fighting the leopard group, buying Zhen Jin and Zi Di a chance at survival.

But if it won and returned to its nest, it would still attack the boy and girl.

All of this was merely coincidence.

Roar!

The black panther leader suddenly leaped onto the brown bear's back. Opening its jaws wide, it bit down on the bear's neck.

The Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear flew into a rage and shook its body violently.

But the black panther leader clenched its jaws tight. Its body was nearly flung away, yet its teeth remained firmly embedded in the brown bear's neck.

The brown bear's thick flesh protected it for the moment, though blood streamed profusely from the wound. It extended its two ape-like paws, and its sharp claws pierced through scales, sinking deep into the black panther leader's body.

The black panther leader refused to release its bite. At the same time, the other black panthers pounced as well.

One black panther after another landed atop the brown bear, pressing it down to the ground.

"An opportunity!" Seeing this, Zhen Jin made a swift decision and immediately grabbed Zi Di, pulling her out of the cave.

But at that moment, the remaining black panthers spotted them. One immediately let out a roar and pounced toward them. Several others stirred restlessly as well.

Forced back by that Scaled Horn Black Panther, Zhen Jin and Zi Di could only flee into the Mountain Cave again.

The black panthers did not pursue them inside, because the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear erupted.

Its two paws radiated scorching heat. Its black-iron claws, sharp and hard, turned crimson, like steel heated within a furnace.

The brown bear rolled madly across the ground, flinging most of the black panthers off its body.

Then its two sharp claws plunged deep into the black panther leader's body. As the leader struggled frantically, great gushes of blood sprayed from its mouth and nose.

Rip!

The next moment, the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear violently tore the black panther leader in half!

Its claws had turned red-hot and gave off a searing aura, as though steel had been tempered in a furnace and pulled out at once.

Those red-hot iron claws could easily pierce through black panther scales. With the brown bear's immense strength behind them, they became weapons of slaughter!

In an instant, nearly ten black panthers were massacred, their corpses strewn across the ground!

The Leopard Group collapsed in complete rout, suffering grievous losses.

Though the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear was the final victor, it was in a miserable state. Its right eye had been clawed blind, and wounds covered its body, blood dripping everywhere. Several injuries on its legs and arms were so deep that bone showed through.

Its most severe wound was on its neck, where the black panther leader had bitten it. The wound was deep, and it seemed that an artery had been ruptured.

Fresh red blood continued to pour from the wound.

The Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear had suffered such severe injuries that after driving off the Leopard Group, it did not pursue them at all. Instead, it immediately headed back toward the Mountain Cave.

With no other choice, Zhen Jin and Zi Di could only keep retreating.

An injured beast was often even more terrifying!

Fortunately, the brown bear was badly wounded. It did not run, and its pace as it walked back into the Mountain Cave was not fast.

The boy and girl were forced deeper into the cave.

If the Mountain Cave had only one passage, they would eventually have to face the brown bear and fight it to the death.

But Zhen Jin had no confidence at all.

He had once possessed a longsword, but he had lost it by the campfire. Now, the only weapons he had were two daggers. One was on him, while the other was in Zi Di's hand.

The boy and girl retreated again and again.

For the two of them, the best possible outcome was for there to be another passage within the cave.

However, something unexpected happened.

The Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear stopped halfway through the cave and did not continue forward.

It halted, dug ores from the cave wall with its claws, and continuously swallowed them.

It was eating those scorching ores!

Zhen Jin observed in secret, his pupils shrinking slightly. To his surprise, after the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear swallowed more than a dozen chunks of ore, the wounds on its body gradually stopped bleeding. The bear's previously weak and disordered aura also slowly stabilized.

Zhen Jin finally understood.

"So these ores are the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear's food!"

Earlier, he had discovered many claw marks on the cave walls and thought the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear had been sharpening its claws. Now it seemed those marks had been left behind while the bear dug for food.

The Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear's condition was rapidly improving.

Zhen Jin and Zi Di exchanged a glance, and each saw the other's expression turn incomparably grim.

They now had two choices.

One was to keep retreating, search the Mountain Cave for another passage, and use it to evade the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear.

The second choice was to fight the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear. Strike while the enemy was weak and take its life!

Both choices carried considerable risk.

The first choice meant giving up the opportunity before them and allowing the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear to recover smoothly. If there was no other passage, they would still have to fight it.

With the second choice, fighting the brown bear, Zhen Jin had no confidence in the outcome. It was true that they would be seizing a chance to attack, but if there was another passage in the cave and he still ended up dying at the brown bear's hands, would that not be far too unjust?

Zi Di suddenly took Zhen Jin's hand. She said nothing, but her beautiful purple eyes had already revealed her intention—she would leave everything to Zhen Jin's decision!

For a moment, Zhen Jin was caught in a difficult choice.

This was a choice between life and death!

The crucial point was that it concerned not only his own life, but also the life of his fiancee, Zi Di.

A heavy responsibility weighed upon Zhen Jin's shoulders.

Zhen Jin's gaze flickered for a moment before determination quickly appeared in his eyes.

He squeezed Zi Di's hand, then released it.

He drew his dagger, began moving slowly, and quietly approached the feeding Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear.

Zhen Jin had no certainty about either choice. Nor did he have any reliable information to help him decide.

So he followed his nature—he preferred to fight, to try and seize fate by the throat!

Even though he had no longsword in hand, only a short dagger.

Closer, and closer still.

The distance between Zhen Jin and the brown bear steadily narrowed.

The bear continued feeding. Perhaps because it had returned to its nest, or perhaps because it was in such poor condition after the brutal battle, it seemed completely unaware of Zhen Jin's approach.

But at that moment, Zhen Jin's expression suddenly changed.

A memory surfaced in his mind.

"Damn it, at a critical moment like this!" Zhen Jin cursed helplessly in his heart, but he could only temporarily sink into the memory that had suddenly emerged.

Inside an old tavern, the lights were dim and the voices boisterous.

"We won!"

"Drain this cup!"

Zhen Jin found himself seated in a corner, surrounded by knights in gleaming armor. Naturally, he himself was one of them.

Fresh wounds marked the armor, cloaks, and bodies of this group of knights, yet every one of them was excited.

This appeared to be a victory celebration after a battle.

"Ura!" someone cheered. "I don't think there is anything in this world that can stop us Temple Knights!"

"Thinking back on it now, that battle just now was quite dangerous," someone else sighed.

Another stroked his wine cup, his tone still fearful. "I nearly lost control of my mount."

The Temple Knights' remarks drew a derisive snort.

"What kind of danger was that? Brats, you are still far too green." The voice drew the attention of Zhen Jin and the other Temple Knights.

The speaker was an old man.

He had a grizzled beard and a powerful build. He too wore Temple Knight armor, but the gold-and-silver engraved patterns decorating it were clearly different from those of the surrounding knights—more magnificent and imposing.

The Temple Knights offered no rebuttal. Instead, they looked at the old man with expressions of reverence.

The tavern's originally lively, noisy clamor quickly died down until there was nothing left.

"Captain. Tell us about it. I know you have taken part in many great battles, such as capturing Iron Flag Fortress, encircling the Blood Knight, and defending Griffon Cliff. Which battle do you think was the hardest?" someone asked.

The Old Captain chuckled but said nothing. He merely tilted his head back and drained every last drop of beer from his tankard.

The moment he set down his cup, a Temple Knight beside him brought another full tankard before him.

The Old Captain reached out and grasped the tankard's handle. This time, he did not drink deeply, only taking a small sip that nearly swallowed all the thick foam on top.

His remaining single eye reflected the firelight, revealing a look of reminiscence.

He said, "If we are talking about the hardest battle, it would have to be the one six years ago, in Jackalwolf Valley."

"I know that one—it was the annihilation battle against the Cold Cedar Knights!" someone said excitedly.

Quite a few others turned sharp gazes toward Zhen Jin.

The Old Captain nodded and continued, "Yes, in Jackalwolf Valley. Those southern nobles were almost all cunning scoundrels—despicable, shameless, and fickle!"

"Our Fifth Temple Knight Regiment had been marching for five days. After entering Jackalwolf Valley, we were betrayed by our allied army. Tens of thousands of Cold Cedar Knights launched an encirclement against us."

"Our Fifth Regiment had only just withdrawn from the front lines. When the first wave of attacks came, we were caught completely off guard. We lost thirty percent of our men on the spot, leaving just over a thousand, and almost everyone was wounded."

"The Cold Cedar Knights launched charge after charge. Using the remnants of our camp, we barely managed to hold our defense."

"We repelled the second assault, but lost three hundred men."

"After the third assault, we lost more than two hundred men."

"After the fourth assault, only a little over eighty of us remained."

"We had used up every Berserk Potion, had no supplies at all, and worst of all, the enemy had a powerful figure known as the Corroder. That spellcaster was exceptionally vicious. Under his spells, our weapons and armor suffered severe corrosion."

"We had nowhere left to go and were trapped in a desperate situation. Then the Cold Cedar Knights' commander offered to accept our surrender."

"We knew the southern nobles wanted to capture us so that they could gain an important bargaining chip to negotiate with the Great Emperor."

"Heh heh, but he underestimated us Temple Knights!"

"We discussed it for a short while, then launched a charge!"

"We had no swords, but we were Temple Knights."

"We had no armor, but we were Temple Knights."

"We had no horses, but we were Temple Knights."

"We had no supplies, but we were Temple Knights."

"No matter how numerous or powerful the enemy was, no matter how few of us remained, we would never surrender."

"Because we were Temple Knights!"