The Despairing Bronze-level, an Unexpected Turn

Whoosh! Without his shield, Colin was even weaker than a Black Robe Walking Corpse.

Parr felt as though he were cutting down an ordinary Walking Corpse. The sharp Black Short Sword sliced smoothly through Colin's body, from his crotch to his head. Without even leaving behind a final word, Colin dropped to his knees with his arms spread wide, then pitched forward and collapsed face-first.

Bang! Beep, absorbable Life Energy Points detected. Absorb? Beep, absorbable Mental Energy Points detected. Absorb? Beep, absorbing...

Beep, absorption complete. Obtained 10 Life Energy Points and 11 Mental Energy Points.

Life Energy Points: 31
Mental Energy Points: 47

Huff... Parr sheathed his sword and slowly exhaled a foul breath, smiling in satisfaction at the figures on the Status Panel before him.

"There are two left!"

Closing the Status Panel, Parr rushed toward the remaining two Black Robe Walking Corpses with his sword before even wiping the sweat from his forehead.

For some reason, the two Black Robe Walking Corpses had gone completely still after Colin died.

"Parr, Walking Corpses controlled by cultists go rigid for a while after the cultist dies. Hurry and use this time to save Old Man Rottus."

Old Man Jack's reminder came from behind him, answering Parr's doubts.

"Huh?"

But at that moment, Parr's eyes widened. Beside Old Man Rottus, there were somehow three Black Robe Walking Corpses now. No! That wasn't it! The extra one was not a Black Robe Walking Corpse, but a Black-Robed Man—a cultist! "Why is there another one? Why didn't I see him earlier?"

No sooner had the question surfaced in Parr's mind than he saw the suddenly appearing Black-Robed Man raise an arm and spread his palm toward him.

"Parr, if you see..."

At that moment, Parr recalled Old Man Jack's earlier warning. Although this newly appeared Black-Robed Man was not wearing anything on his hand, nothing good could come of it. Parr pushed off hard and leaped to the side.

"Hehe."

The newly appeared Black-Robed Man chuckled. His open palm suddenly clenched, and a cloud of Gray Mist appeared around Parr, who had just leaped into the air. It restrained him in midair, and...

"This thing is draining my Stamina!"

Parr could clearly feel his Stamina being absorbed by the Gray Mist. The sensation of his body gradually being hollowed out was unbearably unpleasant. When he opened the Status Panel, sure enough, in just two seconds, his Stamina had dropped to one point. It shocked him greatly.

"What kind of method is this?"

Fortunately, once Parr's Stamina fell to one point, it stopped dropping. The Gray Mist carried him toward the newly appeared Black-Robed Man. When he reached the man, the mist vanished, and Parr fell to the ground before him.

"Hehe."

Just like Colin before him, the newly appeared Black-Robed Man walked over without a care, then reached for Parr's neck.

"Now!"

Beep, consume 1 Life Energy Point to restore 10 Stamina? "Yes!"

Life Energy Points: 30
Mental Energy Points: 47

Without hesitation, Parr used his cheat ability to restore his strength. He flipped to his feet, ready to attack.

"Heh!"

But with the Black-Robed Man's scornful chuckle, the Gray Mist that had just dispersed instantly reappeared. This time, it formed sturdy chains that bound Parr tightly.

Bang! This Grey Mist Chain was much thicker than the one Colin had released earlier. With Parr's Elementary Knight Apprentice strength, he could not break free at all. Even the Black Short Sword fell from his hand, and the Stamina he had just recovered was absorbed again.

"Little brat, don't try such petty tricks in front of me. Do you think I'm that idiot Colin?"

The Black-Robed Man bent down, grabbed Parr by the neck, and lifted him up, curling his lip in disdain.

Only then did Parr see the face beneath the man's hood. He was a skinny old man, incredibly skinny. No beard, no eyebrows—if he had no hair either, he would have looked like an underdeveloped boiled egg. The difference was that this boiled egg had facial features, especially those gray eyes that glimmered faintly.

The instant Parr saw the Black-Robed Man's eyes, he felt as though he had been stripped naked and exposed to public view. Front and back, left and right, up and down, inside and out—he had been seen through completely.

But this was not the time to worry about that. Parr's life was on the line. This time, the Gray Mist had drained his Stamina completely, reducing it to zero. The Black-Robed Man's grip around his neck was so tight that he could not breathe in even a trace of air. The HP on his Status Panel began to drop slowly, then faster and faster.

"He's a Bronze-level cultist!"

Everything had happened too quickly. Only now did Old Man Jack, the "off-field commentator," cry out and reveal the Black-Robed Man's strength.

As the vague information about Bronze-level from his memories surfaced, the dying Parr rolled his eyes. Old Man Jack, you should have said that earlier! If I'd known he was a Bronze-level cultist, I wouldn't have charged in. I'd have run as far away as possible.

Bronze-level was the rank above Apprentice-level. Parr was an entire major rank below Bronze-level, not something that could be made up for by suddenly gaining a minor level.

Because anyone who reached Bronze-level underwent a qualitative transformation and could finally be called a true professional.

"Urgh..."

Trapped in a hopeless situation, Parr could only focus on the Status Panel and watch his HP plummet. If his HP fell below the critical threshold, he would have to use Life Energy Points to restore it. By then, he estimated he would only be able to live a little longer.

"Why is there a Bronze-level existence here?!"

"Heh!"

When Parr's HP dropped to half, the Black-Robed Man, who had been watching him, sneered and released his grip. Parr fell to the ground.

Bang! "Little brat, I've seen through your secret." The Black-Robed Man's words immediately froze Parr, who had been about to restore his Stamina and HP.

But the Black-Robed Man's next words made Parr breathe a sigh of relief. His secret as a transmigrator had not been exposed.

"You have a Talent that restores some of your strength every so often, don't you? And you can control this Talent yourself. I have to say, you really are a little genius."

The Black-Robed Man's words made Parr relax inwardly. He hurriedly used 1 Life Energy Point to restore 10 Stamina, confirming that the man's words were correct.

Life Energy Points: 29
Mental Energy Points: 47

"An impressive Talent."

The Black-Robed Man praised him after noticing Parr's recovered Stamina. Then, with a twitch of his finger, the chains formed from Gray Mist began absorbing the Stamina Parr had just regained. This time, they did not drain him dry, leaving him one point so that he would still have enough strength to breathe.

Then the Black-Robed Man crouched in front of Parr. He forced a ghastly smile onto his boiled-egg face and said in what he believed was a kind tone, "Little brat, your Talent is quite good, and your Mental Power is high too. Join our Death God Cult!"

"..."

Parr did not answer. He only glared angrily with wide eyes, perfectly matching the behavior expected of a brat his body's age.

The meaning was roughly this: You fucking killed so many people in Haystack Village, and you still want me to surrender? As if!

"Hehe."

The Black-Robed Man had expected Parr to refuse, but it did not matter. He had plenty of patience and plenty of ways to make Parr agree.

"Bring him over."

The Black-Robed Man beckoned to the two Black Robe Walking Corpses behind him. He could actually command the Walking Corpses Colin had controlled! His strength truly surpassed Colin's by who knew how much.

Thud, thud, thud...

The Black Robe Walking Corpses hauled over Old Man Rottus, who still had one breath left and was too weak to resist. Their footsteps traveled through the ground to Parr's ears.

"Looks like this Black-Robed Man wants to use Old Man Rottus to threaten me. I should glare at him with hatred, hesitate for a long time, then compromise and go with him. With my cheat ability, as long as I don't die today, I'll kill him someday."

Knowing full well that he was no match for the Black-Robed Man, Parr's thoughts raced as he considered how to survive this deadly situation. At the same time, he imagined what he might suffer in the future.

"Could it be that after being reborn, I'm destined to become a bad person? Being bad isn't scary. What's scary is that once I'm branded a cultist, I'll have to hide everywhere for the rest of my life. How would I have time to explore this fantasy world? To see sights different from those of my previous life?"

Parr's thoughts ran wild, and he was already leaning toward saving his own life first. As long as he stayed alive, with the Status Panel, he would eventually be able to kill the man. But just then, another unexpected event occurred.

Whoosh! Suddenly, a Red Crescent flew from the roof of the Haystack Village Grain Warehouse, striking directly at the Black-Robed Man crouching before Parr.

"Hm?"

Parr saw the Black-Robed Man furrow his eyebrowless brows. Then he abruptly rose to his feet and looked up at the incoming Red Crescent. With a slight movement of his fingers, a Grey Mist Shield appeared before him.

Bang! The Red Crescent slammed into the Grey Mist Shield. After a lengthy stalemate, it suddenly split in two, turning into two smaller Red Crescents that bypassed the Grey Mist Shield and the Black-Robed Man. They severed the heads of the two Black Robe Walking Corpses escorting Old Man Rottus before dissipating into the air.

Bang! Immediately afterward, a handsome Red-Haired Man jumped down from the roof of the Haystack Village Grain Warehouse. His features were deep and sharply defined, his face handsome enough to be striking. He had a pair of dark red peach-blossom eyes and short, needle-like red hair standing upright. He wore a set of brown Shell Sheepskin Armor and held a Dark Knight One-Handed Sword, its blade still glowing red. It seemed that he had unleashed the Red Crescent just now.

"A Bronze-level Knight. Is he a Church Knight? No! He bears no crest representing a family or lord he serves, nor does he carry the disgusting aura of a Church Knight. Then he must be... a Wandering Knight."

The Black-Robed Man's eyes shifted as he first discerned the Red-Haired Man's strength, then determined his identity.

"..."

After landing, the Red-Haired Man first wiped the sweat from his forehead and steadied his ragged breathing from rushing here. Only then did he loudly provoke him, "Cultist, what are you looking at? Come over here and die!"

"Hehehe..."

The Black-Robed Man first let out a harsh, unpleasant laugh, then threatened in a sinister voice, "Wandering Knight, I advise you not to interfere in the affairs of our Death God Cult. Otherwise..."