[Silver Hand]

"Something terrible is about to happen!"

Soren stood in the distance, beside a dimly lit attic, near a gathering place for prostitutes. He silently watched the Paladin in the distance and the poor kneeling before them, and immediately sensed an impending storm. Every appearance of the Paladin meant the beginning of a Slaughter, which could eventually escalate into a Destruction catastrophe, leaving the entire city a river of blood!

Because Paladin cannot tolerate Evil, yet Evil is a part of the world.

Paladin are a unique group among professionals. Firmly believing in Lawful Good, they possess immense willpower and faith. Becoming a Paladin is far more difficult than becoming Wizard. This is not merely a matter of talent, but more importantly, whether one truly believes in Justice and goodness. Without faith and Justice, Paladin will quickly fall, their power will vanish, and they may become an ordinary Warrior or Dark Paladin.

Pursue kindness, uphold Justice, and eliminate Evil.

These are the three tenets of Paladin. Few can achieve the faith, courage, and kindness required to become Paladin. Therefore, the number of Paladin in this world may be even fewer than that of Wizard. The vast majority are knights who lean towards the Good Alignment, at most advancing to the realm of temple Temple Knight. These Temple Knight may be kind, brave, and believe in Justice, but they are not as extreme as Paladin and are not so fanatical as to be intolerant of any Evil.

They were a great group of people, but also a pitiful group!

Soren respected all Paladin, even those who might become his enemies, because he himself had almost joined the Paladin Alignment.

Unfortunately, he ultimately chose another dark path.

Paladin's primary faith is Justice and goodness, and their secondary faith is in the Deity. Therefore, when the Silver Hand uttered the words, "As long as the Paladin live, Justice will endure," Soren realized a great purge was about to begin. The Silver Hand likely already harbored plans to turn against the Church the Goddess of Wealth, and he would mercilessly kill anyone who stood in his way of pursuing Justice and goodness!

The Paladin actually killed a lot of people.

This profession is extremely powerful, possessing the abilities of Warrior. They can cast Divine Magic, are protected by Divine Energy, are forever immune to disease, and are immune to all fear.

Paladin are naturally immune to fear-based Spell and disease-based Spell, and can cast healing Divine Magic.

This is the only class that can summon mounts from Outer Planes, and has the potential to summon Pegasus (male) and Unicorn (female), which can be easily ridden.

Every city has its share of criminals.

Dark organizations, gangsters, Gray Zone, officials and nobles, and so on. Let alone this world, even in Soren's previous life, if Paladin were allowed to freely cleanse Evil, a large number of people would be executed. Corrupt officials, judges who treat human life as worthless, Deception and swindling merchants, counterfeit medicines, poisonous food, and so on. Those who, under the law, would at most receive a prison sentence, are, in the eyes of Paladin, heinous criminals who have harmed countless people, deserving of immediate execution.

This is City of Wealth.

Few of those in power in this City of Wealth are clean; corpses can be found in the Gold Daler every day, and the air here is thick with the stench of blood and filth.

Paladin rarely venture out, but their presence always signifies a major purge.

Because one of the Paladin's tenets is, "We cannot ignore Evil, chaos, and sin; even at the cost of our Hit Points, we must stand on the side of Justice and good."

If they die, their souls will return to Upper Planes, whether it's the Mount Celestia of the Seven Heavens or the Twin Paradias of Bytopia. These noble souls will be welcomed. In other words, Paladin are generally not afraid of death; they are destined for Mount Celestia after death. Even if they die from Evil rituals or their souls are desecrated, as long as their faith remains steadfast and they have not committed any sins, the Legendary Holy Spirit of Celestia will personally come to guide their souls.

It's difficult for people to judge Paladin.

Some people admire them, seeing them as Avatar of hope and embodiments of Justice; others hate them, wishing they would disappear forever!

For every person who loves them, there is just as many who resent them.

The deeper the love, the deeper the hate.

Soren maintains a Neutral stance towards Paladin, unlike other members of the Evil Alignment who would love to kill them. He believes that where there is Evil, there is Justice, and the world needs such a group of people. As long as the Paladin don't foolishly throw out their Detect Evil, Soren might even bow slightly in respect when he sees them.

But if you throw ' Detect Evil ' randomly, Soren will draw his sword in an instant!

There was once a story about a Paladin who entered Adventurer's Adventurer and immediately silenced it. The young Paladin suddenly had a brain fart and threw a ' Detect Evil ' spell. In an instant, a third of the people drew their swords, a third prepared to run away, and a third looked surprised and uneasy.

Among the ideal lovers in the eyes of noblewomen, Paladin rank first!

but.

In their eyes, Paladin ranked last among potential husbands, even lower than Barbarian. Noblewomen desired such lovers—trustworthy, brave, steadfast, and unwavering—and some even considered seducing Paladin a testament to their charm. However, very few women were willing to marry Paladin, much less wish for their husband to be Paladin.

It's quite ironic.

A significant number of Paladin remain unmarried throughout their lives and are not easily tempted by women, for temptation can easily lead to corruption. [They enjoy adopting orphans, teaching them Justice and kindness, raising them to adulthood, and training them to become Paladin from a young age.]

The fact that a Paladin could be corrupted was something noblewomen often talked about with great interest.

Therefore, Paladin are actually very rare.

City Hall.

A furious roar erupted, causing the roof to tremble slightly. Inside was a burly man, gleaming with gold from head to toe. He wore a vast array of gold jewelry, an incredibly expensive necklace, and six out of his ten fingers adorned with rings of astonishing value. He was roaring at a row of people standing before him, shouting angrily, "Bastards! Idiots!"

"Why didn't you idiots stop them?!"

"I want to twist your heads off!... You bunch of pigs!... How could you so easily believe that those Paladin just here to track down the Fear God Child!... Don't you know that wherever Paladin have appeared, disaster has followed?!...

"What do we do now?"

"Those lowly bastards have all gone to complain!... When the Paladin a massive Detect Evil!... You idiots will all be slaughtered!..."

A group of officials and nobles stood in the hall, sweating profusely. One of them, a portly man, hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Your City Lord! We can't stop them! This time it's the Silver Hand!..."

Clang.

The burly man smashed the chair down, leaving the obese official covered in blood and nearly killing him.

"Asshole!"

He roared in anger, shouting, "What do we do now? If those stubborn fools are determined to Purify Evil, the City of Wealth will become City of the Dead!"

"You! Sir Carlos, your fleet has certainly engaged in plenty of piracy, hasn't it?"

"And you! Baron Moseley. You've been pocketing tens of thousands of Gold Daler a year from the City of Wealth's illicit profits, haven't you? Your son recently drove a mother and daughter to their deaths, hasn't he? And you, you, you! Which of you doesn't have a blood debt on your hands? Which of your successors or subordinates hasn't taken a life? If you Detect Evil, you'd all be covered in blood!..."

"Damn it, this is the City of Wealth! Not the City of Holy Light!"

"Every single Gold Daler here is stained with blood! You bunch of idiots actually let Paladin into the city!... Don't you know they're all lunatics?..."

A middle-aged man dressed as a nobleman hesitated for a moment, then his expression turned cold and he said in a deep voice, "Or perhaps we should take all these Paladin..."

At this point, he made a throat-slitting gesture.

Clang!

The burly man grabbed another chair and hurled it at them, roaring, "You idiot! What do you think the Silver Knights are? Pigs to be slaughtered? That Paladin squad couldn't have been defeated by less than three hundred elite soldiers! Do you want to start a war in the City of Wealth? Not to mention the Silver Hand is here!"

"Are you fucking trying to start a Legendary war?"

"You think the Silver Hand got his reputation from?!... In the southernmost kingdom, this guy even beheaded the King!... You're just a Baron, what are you?!... Unless the Temple of Wealth intervenes, he could wipe us all out by himself!..."

Southern Duchy.

Since the Destruction the Arcane Empire, no powerful empire has emerged in the south for thousands of years. It is more like a city-state system, except that it is called a kingdom and contains many smaller duchies. There are quite a few Royal Family members within the human kingdom, but their control within the kingdom is limited to their own territory, which is further divided among their subordinates. Nearly half of the cities in the entire southern region are controlled by local nobles, councils, and temples, and they are all intricately connected.

The match that made the Silver Hand famous.

He single-handedly took on an entire kingdom, nearly killing a Lawful Evil and cruel tyrant, and forcing him to abdicate in favor of his kindest and youngest son.

After this battle, everyone knew the Silver Hand!

...(To be continued~^~)