Warden

Soren trailed far behind.

The opponent's strength is no longer what it used to be; getting too close might result in being discovered.

The Paladin had barely left the city when Soren noticed someone galloping away. This person had openly killed a member of the Skeleton Sand Bandits within the city, and they appeared to be a leader. Leaving the city now without facing retaliation was virtually impossible. Desert Bandits were the most notorious of all mountain bandits, their ferocity not far off from that of pirates. Pirates were known for their strong desire for revenge, and since this city had sheltered the sand bandits and allowed them to sell their stolen goods, it was highly unlikely that only one member was present.

The Paladin left alone.

There's an over 80% chance they'll catch up with us and retaliate outside the city!

That's why Soren secretly followed them.

He didn't particularly like helping others, but he didn't want the Paladin to die here, so he decided to follow behind and see if the other party was a match for those sand bandits, then he would intervene.

but.

Judging from the Paladin's composed departure, he seemed to be quite confident as well.

The sandstorm has gotten stronger.

The Paladin wasn't moving very fast, which made Soren wonder if he was deliberately slowing down to let the sand bandits catch up with him.

Really!

About an hour later.

The sound of horses' hooves came from afar, followed by dozens of masked sand bandits gradually approaching from the side of the sand dunes, splitting into two groups to surround and block the Paladin's retreat.

"Kill!"

The cold-blooded and ruthless sand bandits uttered no superfluous words; there was virtually no possibility of them sitting down and talking with the Lawful Good good Paladin. Under the command of what appeared to be their Boss, the other Desert Bandits roared and charged forward on horseback. Some accelerated, brandishing their swords as they charged downhill, while others drew their bows and aimed at their targets. There were nearly forty sand bandits in total, resembling a bandit gang. Such a number would be somewhat troublesome even for Legendary.

"Looks like he's in trouble." Soren narrowed his eyes slightly, but made no move.

He had to determine whether the Paladin were throwing their lives away.

If he didn't even anticipate the situation before him, then he was simply courting death, and such a person wasn't worth saving.

Because in the end, everyone will die.

--"charge!"

With a clang, the young Paladin tossed aside the sand bandit's corpse he was carrying, then gripped his greatsword and charged forward, roaring, "You are guilty! Evil must be eradicated!!!"

If a tangible holy radiance appears.

The Paladin seemed to be enveloped in some kind of energy. He charged forward, wielding his Two-Handed Greatsword, and in an instant, he swung his sword horizontally, killing a sand bandit along with his horse, accompanied by the mournful cry of a horse.

"Justice be with me!"

--"Torm's Hand!"

The Paladin pressed his palm down on the Two-Handed Greatsword, and suddenly the seemingly ordinary Two-Handed Greatsword split in the middle, becoming two One-Handed Greatsword. He gripped the hilts and leaped into the air. In an instant, two more sand bandits were killed on the spot.

"Dance of Death!"

The whirlwind created by the One-Handed Greatsword was even more astonishing than Soren's sword Sword Momentum: Whirlwind Dance, practically tearing all the enemies caught in it in half.

Blood, corpses, severed limbs.

The violence displayed by the young Paladin at this moment seemed to possess an aura of Tyranny!

This is the ' Holy Avenger ' from Soren's memories.

Clang!

The arrow struck the Paladin's body, but failed to penetrate his tattered silver armor. He used his Scale Bracers to block an oncoming arrow, then suddenly accelerated towards the archer in front of him.

"Justice! Holiness! Courage!"

The young Paladin placed his hand on the sand, and the cunning sand bandits immediately turned their horses around and retreated upon noticing his approach. It would be difficult to catch up with these enemies on foot alone. However, the Paladin seemed to activate some special ability in the next moment, and a holy white light formed Summoning Circle. A tall, white steed charged out from within it.

"Greater Summon Mount!"

--"Celestial Charger!"

A white steed burst forth from the Summoning Circle. The Paladin leaped onto its back, and without any prompting, the Celestial Charger automatically pursued the enemy, guided by Telepathy. This was a warhorse from the Upper Planes. Only a very few professionals could summon it, and the Paladin was one of them. They Toughness and more intelligent than the warhorses of the Material Plane, being creatures of the Upper Planes with a CR of 10 or higher.

Blood splattered!

The Paladin charged into the bandit horde with unstoppable force, and soon one by one, the enemies were cut down from their horses.

Clang clang.

The young Paladin was like a ruthless reaper, showing no mercy to the other Paladin. His moves were fierce, ruthless, and merciless, even more domineering than Soren's attacks when he reaped his enemies.

Almost none of the enemies who died by his greatsword survived!

Even when one or two bandits were knocked off their horses and knelt down begging for mercy, he did not hesitate at all and directly swung his sword to cut off their heads.

The fierce battle continues.

The Paladin gradually sustained more wounds under the siege of the sand bandits, and even the incredibly Toughness Celestial Charger was now panting heavily, as it had been shot in the abdomen with an arrow.

--"The Lay on Hands!"

A holy light appeared, Paladin, after sensing the divine energy, could use it to heal his injuries. However, the healing effect could not compare to that of a priest. This ability could only be used once a day, but the Divine Energy for healing could be used separately. The Paladin did not heal his own serious injuries, but rather his Celestial Charger. He let out a low growl, suddenly leaped off the horse, and swung his sword horizontally.

His strength was waning.

Without advancing to the Legendary Domain, he cannot master powerful Legendary Feat such as [Plated Skin], [Legendary Toughness], [Legendary Combat Technique], and [Perfect Physique], which makes it impossible for him to have sufficient support for his explosive power.

The sand bandits suffered heavy casualties, but after discovering that the Paladin were weakened, they charged forward again.

"Sacrifice, glory, and unyielding spirit!"

The young Paladin remained resolute. He sheathed his two One-Handed Greatsword again, took a deep breath, and roared, "Judgment!"

--"Sword Momentum: Cross Slash!"

A ruthless and domineering sword light appeared, and the enemy who rushed in front of him was instantly cut into four neat pieces.

Soren's pupils contracted slightly, and his expression immediately turned somewhat surprised.

Advanced Swordsmanship!

There aren't many abilities in this world that can be called Advanced Swordsmanship. The complete White Raven Tactics is one of them, but Soren hasn't been able to truly master it yet because he hasn't obtained the complete learning manual. The Sword Momentum: Cross Slash is another Advanced Swordsmanship, originating from the extermination of heretics. The complete version should be called [Silver Cross Swordsmanship]. Such a Sword Momentum has transcended the realm of mortals and can even touch the realm of 'qi' like Swordmaster.

This 'qi' is difficult to describe in words, but it can be roughly illustrated with examples.

Swordmaster approaching Legendary Tier, while activating the Qi Slash, can swing his sword at a wooden stake five meters away, and although he doesn't actually touch the stake, he can instantly cleave it in two.

If I had to pinpoint what it is, perhaps I could interpret it as 'sword energy'.

This ability is very difficult to cultivate; basically, anyone who masters it has undergone a long period of arduous training. The difficulty is roughly the same as that of a sword Swordmaster Soren once saw cleave a stream in two with his sword. The young Paladin was not using the complete version of the [Silver Cross Swordsmanship], but the power of each strike was as fierce as that of Swordmaster using the ' Qi Slash '.

The more powerful the move, the greater the strain on the body!

Soren could tell that he was nearing his Heavy Crossbow, but just as he was about to secretly help the Paladin, he suddenly seemed to sense something and disappeared back into the shadows.

--"Judgment!"

Another incredibly imposing figure appeared. He was a very tall man, nearly 2.4 meters tall, looking like a small Giant.

He wielded a Warhammer in one hand and charged in like a tiger among sheep, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen sand bandits lay dead at his hands. This enormous man, carrying a heavy Warhammer in one hand and a thick, metallic-looking Codex in the other, Cruelty slaughtered the sand bandits before him with an expressionless face. Almost none of the sand bandits present could withstand a single blow from him; all were killed instantly, leaving no survivors.

Soren shuddered.

His gaze was fixed on the burly man in front of him, and he murmured to himself, "The Warden?!"

--[Warden]!

Legendary Paladin, mentor to the Holy Avenger, and their training instructor.

"Very good."

The Warden glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, then his gaze fell on the young Paladin, and he slowly said, "Although it was a little worse than I expected, it's already quite good considering your strength."

"Young people."

"You have passed my test here."

A Paladin of around level sixteen single-handedly confronting a Desert Bandits gang and killing two-thirds of the enemies is a remarkable achievement.

The young Paladin knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice, "Your Warden."

The burly man glanced at him, then his expression suddenly changed slightly. He said in a solemn voice, "Is that Rogue nearby? Please come out and meet me!"

Were we discovered?

Such powerful perception!

Soren stopped his retreating steps and slowly emerged from behind the sand dune.

The Holy Avenger have been hiding in the Gobi Desert region, and they are mostly active in the desert. Because they also belong to the Lawful Alignment, the Paladin of this organization have also adopted some training techniques from Eastern Monk.

This might be why he was able to find Soren! (He Listen to the Wind and Discern Position.)

...(To be continued~^~)