The Weeping Paladin

Demon?!

Soren's leaping figure suddenly stopped. He turned to look at the distance; the fire had spread to the point of almost being out of control. He didn't have any detection Spell, so he couldn't see what was happening behind him. However, after hearing shouts, he noticed that the army of the City of Wealth was gathering at the rear, and some priests were also rushing to appear. The Wealth Cleric, who had originally intended to stay out of the fray, were finally about to step in to quell the chaos.

"Wrong!"

Soren leaped onto the chimney, then frowned and said, "Demon don't have such a large-scale operation! This is clearly someone instigating and escalating the conflict! Could there be Devil lurking here?!"

Only Devil could be this powerful.

These guys love to manipulate people's hearts. If they take advantage of the appearance of the Paladin and use Suggestion like Spell to incite the Dark Faction and the Grey Domain, it could easily escalate into a war. The Evil ones who are unwilling to surrender will unite and fight back. Once they fight desperately, the scale of the battle will escalate, potentially dragging others into it, and ultimately turning into a chaotic Slaughter.

"Where's the Legendary?!"

Soren stood on high ground, gazing at the entire city, and murmured, "Why haven't the Legendary Professional made a move yet? Will they just let things escalate to this point?"

Where is the Silver Hand?

"He's not a stupid person! Where is he now?"

The unrest is spreading.

The City Legion clashed with the summoned Demon, which in turn summoned even more. One Glabrezu Demon, with a Spell-like Ability, managed to summon dozens of Dretch Demon. A Four-Armed Marilith, with a class level exceeding four and approaching Legendary, rampaged through the city. Its serpentine form moved at astonishing speed, its four greatswords slicing through the air with dazzling light, leaving a trail of corpses in its wake. Aside from Legendary Professional, almost no one could stop it!

The Four-Armed Marilith has CR of 18, which is already considered Mid-tier or higher Demon.

Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater Multiattack, Great Cleave, Improved Sunder, Moderate Spell Resistance, Moderate Damage Reduction, Poison Immunity, Greater Acid Resistance, Expertise, Combat Reflexes!

A series of Feat abilities dramatically increased the danger of the Four-Armed Marilith, making it practically a highly mobile Slaughter machine!

Soren stopped advancing.

The situation is getting out of control; it's becoming extremely dangerous here.

Knock knock knock!

Soren suddenly swayed, nearly falling off the roof. His heart inexplicably began to race, his heart rate increasing by half again as usual. Blood surged through his body, exposing his veins to his skin. A familiar sensation returned: Soren's body temperature gradually rose, blood vessels appeared in his eyes, and his pupils dilated noticeably. This sensation lasted for about three minutes. Then, Soren gradually recovered.

Vivian!?

Soren seemed to sense something and murmured, "She's here too?!"

A sound of crying came from the alley ahead.

Soren frowned, glanced around, then landed lightly and looked in that direction. That one glance made him involuntarily take a half-step back, then he reached for his Scimitar, for before him stood a young Paladin. The paladin wore silver-white Knight Armor, bearing faint traces of damage. A faint aura of holy power swirled around the blade, and drops of blood trickled down. The young Paladin seemed oblivious to Soren; his body trembled slightly as he planted his Longsword in the ground, and as if shaking, reached out to lift a small, delicate corpse.

She was a little girl who was at most ten years old.

She was a victim of this chaos, an innocent and pitiful little girl who died in the chaos.

Faint sobbing could be heard.

The young Paladin trembled as he cradled the little girl's body, his eyes vacant, his face filled with regret and helplessness. He let out a suppressed, silent roar, murmuring in a sorrowful voice, "Why did this happen!...?"

"Why did it turn out like this?!... Weren't we upholding Justice?... Why did so many people die?!..."

"Why!!!"

Tears streamed down his face. The Paladin before him wept like a child whose hope had been shattered.

Perhaps he really wasn't that old; judging from his appearance, he was at most twenty. The paladin, Sauron, vaguely remembered him—he was the young paladin who had spoken first during the day. Now, the holy light emanating from him was swaying, flickering like a candle flame, as if it might be extinguished at any moment. His faith was wavering. If he couldn't strengthen his resolve, he would lose his paladin's power and become just an ordinary warrior.

His faith was on the verge of collapse.

He didn't understand how things had turned out this way, he didn't understand why so many people had died, and he cried like a child.

Because he was merely a young Paladin.

He may be kind-hearted, and passionate, but he is still too young.

He was crying, not out of weakness, but out of sorrow.

He may not be afraid of bloodshed, Evil, or death, but he is afraid of everything he sees before him. All of this is because of them. Their actions in upholding Justice have sparked a Slaughter war, plunging the entire city into chaos and causing many innocent people to lose their lives in this war.

He lost his way; he didn't know if the Justice he firmly believed in was still Justice at all!

Soren fell silent.

The young Paladin's radiance grew dimmer and dimmer; he was on the verge of losing the power of his faith, and holy power was slipping away from him as his heart was filled with confusion.

"Because you are not strong enough!"

Soren suddenly spoke, startling the Paladin before him. However, the paladin did not pick up his weapon, but merely stared at him blankly, still holding the little girl's body.

Soren looked at him with pity and said slowly, "Because you are still too weak. You have no ability to destroy Evil, yet you have started a war between Justice and Evil!..."

"Your ignorant actions will only bring Slaughter and death, disrupt Order, and kill more innocent people."

"What do you have to fight Evil with? You are not as powerful as the Demon! You are not as cunning Devil! Those Evil ones have countless insidious and treacherous methods. Unless your power can completely crush them, the Justice you have always believed in is nothing but a joke! The Fallen used you to start a war. They achieved their goals, but you have been burdened with sin!..."

The radiance on the young Paladin faded.

His eyes were filled with endless pain and regret. He held the little girl's body tightly in his arms and let out an angry roar.

This young man has lost the power of Paladin.

A strange light appeared in Soren's eyes as he stared at the young man before him and said in a deep voice, "You are not strong enough, you are not cunning enough, you don't even know what Evil is, so what do you have to protect Justice?"

"If you are powerful enough, more powerful than Legendary, you can stop what happens tonight and annihilate those Fallen with overwhelming force."

"If you are cunning enough, more cunning than the Devil, you can eliminate them by other means. They will have no chance to Intrigue, let alone stir up chaos and Slaughter."

"You're nothing but a pathetic puppet, an idiot who thinks he can change the world just by believing in Justice."

You'll only make the world worse!

Each word was like a sharp blade piercing his heart. The young Paladin trembled all over. He seemed to be struggling, but gradually he understood something. His silver-white armor dimmed, and the holy power on the knight's sword beside him dissipated, gradually revealing an eerie aura. He reached out and slowly grasped the hilt of the sword, whispering in a hoarse voice, "As long as I am stronger than them, more cunning than them, I can destroy them?"

Soren's expression was rather amused, and he said in a deep voice, "Yes."

"This is just the beginning of chaos; the world will only get worse! You can't do anything without power. Abandon those pathetic beliefs. If you truly believe in Justice, then you must fall into Evil."

Only Evil can fight Evil!

"Go and find your own path, young man. There is a group called the [Holy Avenger] who will guide you!..."

Soren's figure vanished into the darkness, leaving behind only a young man who had lost his Paladin powers. He slowly lifted the little girl's cold body, then drew the Longsword, which exuded an eerie aura. The Paladin's power seemed not to have disappeared, but rather transformed into another kind of power. He turned and walked into the darkness, his silver-white armor becoming mottled in the darkness. The holy power that once clung to it had vanished with the dissipation of his faith. Darkness enveloped this silver-white armor, perhaps leading him to fall into Evil and become Blackguard, or perhaps leading him to find a new Justice.

He has fallen.

But it doesn't seem to have fallen into depravity either.

This is a war of faith and will, a war without bloodshed. Winners will become Legendary of the future, while losers will lose themselves.

This is the Paladin that Soren wanted to see, the same Paladin fought on the front lines back then.

Three million Paladin upheld the backbone of the world. They could not change the world, but they did prevent the Gods from shattering it.

Welcome to Lawful Evil.

You are qualified to become Holy Avenger!

Perhaps the glory of Paladin will never return to this world, but Soren hopes to see the Holy Avenger again in these Time of Troubles.

It's time for them to show up.

Good and Evil are not so important; chaos is the real disaster!

(P. S.: The plot has been slow to write lately, and I need to revise it from time to time. I'll be guaranteeing at least two chapters a day for now.) (To be continued~^~)