The Hidden Trump Card

"Very good."

Angela narrowed her eyes upon hearing Kaite's answer.

"These are the words I've been waiting for."

As soon as she finished speaking, Angela's figure disappeared.

If it weren't for the reflexes honed by years of combat, that single blow would likely have been fatal for Kaite. The instant Angela vanished, Kaite instinctively sensed impending doom. He raised his sword to his chest, barely managing to deflect Angela's near-fatal attack. Even so, the moment the sword clashed with Angela's hand, Kaite felt an immense, heavy force savagely transmitted through the weapon. Then, with a piercing clang, Kaite slid five meters backward before coming to a stop. Beneath him, two distinct cracks appeared on the hard stone slab, a horrifying sight.

Such speed, such power!

The sacred longsword trembled slightly, and Kaite gritted his teeth. He had barely managed to block the attack, but his hand had been torn open, and the knight's specially designed protective gloves had shattered, revealing a huge gap. This was beyond human capabilities—just who was this girl?!

"That's all it is."

Angela, having failed in her first attack, did not immediately strike again. Instead, she stood leisurely in front of Kaite, a mocking smile on her face.

"I thought it would be something special, but it's nothing special..."

As Angela spoke, a pair of jet-black, bat-like wings appeared behind her, while a faint, pale killing intent materialized from beneath Angela feet, slowly spreading outwards. Although there was a protective barrier, everyone still felt the bone-chilling cold and killing intent. Even the paladins couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

This was the first time they had faced such a terrifying aura of death, so powerful that it penetrated the holy power of the paladins and entered their bodies. These paladins were not particularly strong to begin with; those who were worthy of mention had all died in the war for the Federation. Now, these paladins had neither prestige nor power; otherwise, the Temple would not have relied on Walast to rebuild its strength.

Kaite was equally stunned. He had prepared himself mentally when he agreed to Li Lin's proposal, but the aura of death emanating from Angela was completely unexpected. It was as if God of Death had descended, leaving no chance whatsoever. Just being enveloped by this aura was enough to instill despair, as if no matter how hard they tried, they could not escape the pursuit of death.

Angela disappeared once again.

The crowd could no longer see what was happening inside; all they could see were the clouds being torn apart by the high-speed movement, the occasional sounds, and Angela's haughty laughter. Clearly, Kaite was not gaining the upper hand. Li Lin stood on the sidelines, leisurely enjoying the battle, seemingly with no intention of joining in.

"Quickly! Knights, attack that evil mage now!!"

Just then, a priest spoke up, hastily casting a protective spell against the undead on himself and everyone else, and then gave the order. But before he could finish speaking, Walast's roar rang out.

"No one is allowed to move! No attacking!! Put down your weapons!!"

Upon hearing this command, the paladins were all taken aback. They stared at Walast in confusion, not understanding his meaning.

It's important to understand that within the Southern Sect, Walast was a figure deeply loved and revered by the knights; he was their role model and their goal. But now, Walast had issued an order that no paladin could believe. Not only had he failed to be the first to step forward against evil, he had even hindered the other paladins' attack?!

"Lord Walast, what do you mean by this?"

The pastor's expression immediately darkened.

"Didn't you see these undead creatures?"

Walast looked around at the undead creatures.

"Once you attack the Arcane Mage, these undead will immediately launch an attack, which we can withstand. But what about the innocent civilians? Can they also withstand the onslaught of these undead?"

"This is for justice! Lord Walast!!"

The pastor clearly did not choose to back down.

"The Arcane Mage is right here. If we kill him, we can destroy the evil Magic Empire. Shouldn't we make sacrifices for this noble cause?!"

"No."

Walast stared intently at the priest.

"No one is allowed to lay a hand on me. I have already given the order!!"

"Don't listen to him, brave knights! Now is our chance to make a name for ourselves! The Arcane Mage is there!! The murderer who slaughtered the people is there!! If we muster our courage, we can kill this blood-stained demon king!! Holy knights, muster your courage and charge forward!!"

"Shut up!!"

Walast's face grew increasingly ashen.

"Don't you understand? That's not an opponent we can fight! Do you want the entire town to perish with them?!"

"If we can kill the Arcane Mage, then it will all be worth it!!"

Perhaps the priest's words were too tempting, because some paladins who had already sheathed their weapons slowly drew their longswords again. They cautiously watched Li Lin's back and began to silently gather their holy power.

"Don't lay a hand on me!"

Left with no other choice, Walast strode up to the knights and blocked their path.

"Anyone who wants to lay a hand on me will have to step over my dead body first!"

"Lord Walast..."

Faced with this completely unexpected turn of events, the paladins exchanged bewildered glances. They hadn't expected that Walast would not only forbid them from attacking but would even personally protect the evil Arcane Mage. What was wrong with him? How could he make such a decision? Of course, under Walast's repeated intervention, some of the initially hot-blooded paladins gradually calmed down. They looked at the spectators surrounded by undead creatures on the sidelines, and at the terrifying aura of death, and hesitated. Indeed, as the priest had said, if they could kill the Arcane Mage, then making a sacrifice would definitely be a worthwhile thing to do.

But right now, none of the paladins are confident enough to kill that Arcane Mage.

Angela's aura of death was as terrifying as a lurking venomous snake. These young, low-ranking paladins had never faced such a horrifying scene before. Could they really defeat the Arcane Mage? Could they really defeat these two? Not a single paladin could give a confident answer. They trembled with fear and felt heavy-hearted with unease in the face of this aura of death. They simply couldn't convince themselves that they could destroy that Arcane Mage.

Finally, one of the paladins sheathed his longsword and took two steps back.

His actions, in turn, became a signal.

One paladin after another chose to give up. They stopped advancing and formed a defensive formation, watching the undead army around them. Indeed, no one was confident of defeating these undead creatures and Arcane Mage, but at least self-preservation was the best they could do. Of course, in conventional terms, this would be considered cowardly and weak. But now... you see, obeying orders is also a virtue of paladins, no matter how absurd the order.

Noticing the paladins' actions, Walast sighed inwardly. He looked at the priest who had spoken earlier, only to see the priest's face ashen, glaring fiercely at him. Walast shook his head helplessly. He knew that if he did this, the treatment he would receive in the future was almost a foregone conclusion.

However, if he didn't stop them, Walast naturally understood what would happen next. He knew very well that these paladins were no match for Li Lin and the Book, nor for Angela. Once they made their move, the consequences were predictable. Walast was not a cowardly paladin. As he had told Li Lin, he never minded sacrificing his own life, but not at the expense of innocent civilians. No matter how conflicting the conflict between justice and evil might be, those civilians had no reason to lose their precious lives.

Now, only... Kaite remains.

Walast turned his gaze back to the arena, his expression grim.

At this moment, Kaite is suffering unprecedented torment.

Although Angela had a million ways to kill him, right now, Angela was clearly toying with him!

With each surprise attack, Angela would inflict a cut on Kaite, but not fatally. Sometimes she would even deliberately let Kaite become aware of her attack direction, then knock her away head-on. Like a cat playing with a ball of yarn, she used all sorts of tricks to torment the poor, unlucky knight before her.

On the other hand, Kaite persisted, fully aware that Angela was toying with him. However, the young knight did not break down; he gripped his longsword tightly, waiting for his opportunity. It wasn't time yet; he was waiting for a chance that would be fatal. Moreover, the young knight had already realized the problem.

"Bang!!"

Finally, after another head-on confrontation with Angela, Kaite's body flew out again and crashed heavily to the ground. But this time, he didn't get up as quickly as before. Instead, he slowly stood up, seemingly too weak to support himself.

"Stupid piece of trash!"

Angela charged at Kaite again, but just then, Kaite suddenly moved! The spot where Angela had sent him flying was right in front of Li Lin, and for Kaite, this was exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for!!

Right now!!

Ignoring Angela, Kaite suddenly leaped up like a cheetah, gripping his sacred longsword tightly. He and the sword transformed into a streak of cold light, piercing towards Li Lin's heart!

To catch the thief, first catch the king! Kaite took advantage of the opponent's arrogance and pride to launch her attack.

However, Angela saw this as a foolish and ignorant act. She was fast enough to pierce Li Lin's heart before Kaite could even reach him. Therefore, Kaite's desperate attack was simply idiotic and foolish.

But then, an accident happened.

Just as Angela's hand was about to pierce the young paladin's back, a white light suddenly flashed. Then, Angela felt as if her hand had touched something incredibly hard, and she involuntarily slowed down. At that moment, she saw clearly that a shield about half a person's height had appeared behind Kaite at some point, floating in the air and steadily blocking Angela's attack.

"Snort!!"

Angela reacted with incredible speed. The instant she sensed something was wrong, she used the recoil from her shield to launch another attack on Kaite. This time, the shield, which had been floating in the air, slid along a strange trajectory, still managing to block Angela's attack! In those less than three seconds, because of Angela's delay, Kaite roared and thrust out her longsword. The holy blade burst forth with a bright, dazzling light, easily piercing through Li Lin's magical defenses and heading straight for his heart.

Then it stopped.

"Why?"

Kaite then stared wide-eyed in surprise at the longsword in her hand.

He discovered that no matter what he did, he couldn't move the longsword in his hand even an inch!

This wasn't due to any obstacle or constraint, but rather because the sword itself clearly had no intention of advancing any further!

Only then did a smug smile appear on Li Lin's lips.

He had been waiting for this moment.

In fact, before fighting Kaite, Li Lin had already sensed that he possessed the Power of Manipulation; otherwise, this young paladin wouldn't have been able to wield Holy Wrath without any problems. Moreover, the ability to manipulate the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys indicated that his Power of Manipulation was extremely profound, a level that ordinary people could not contend with. Therefore, Li Lin also devised his own strategy.

That is to deplete the opponent's strength.

Power of Manipulation can actually be considered a variant of mental power. Just as a mage cannot accurately control the magic they cast when severely fatigued or mentally exhausted, Power of Manipulation is also affected. The reason Li Lin had previously adopted a defensive strategy was to disrupt his opponent's formation and deplete their mental energy. Once mental energy is insufficient, Power of Manipulation weakens. Moreover, Kaite is a paladin; he has not studied magic and has not sensed the existence of Power of Manipulation. He is using it instinctively, unable to control its consumption or store it.

That is his weakness.

The previous battles, and the games after Angela, were all designed to ensure this, weakening his power both physically and mentally. This would weaken Kaite's control over the Holy Protection, giving Li Lin a better chance to seize control. The reason Li Lin stood motionless on the sidelines was to secretly regain control of Holy Wrath. Li Lin was very confident and certain that this man couldn't possibly possess only this one Weapon Spirit.

Li Lin hadn't missed the unwavering determination in Kaite's eyes during the fight. In fact, the fact that he hadn't despaired despite Angela's incredible speed meant that this young paladin must have some special trick up his sleeve. And among the methods Li Lin knew, there was only one that could completely block the little guy's attack and allow for a counterattack.

That is an immovable city wall that can block all attacks and turn all power into nothingness.

The seventh of the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys – Fate's Protection.

Considering that Fate's Protection previously underwent the same irreversible change as Holy Wrath, there are two possibilities.

First, this paladin possesses both Holy Wrath and Fate's Protection.

Secondly, there is another Magic Controller possesses the Fate's Protection.

The odds were fifty-fifty, and Li Lin clearly made the right bet.

If Kaite needed to use both Weapon Spirit, his Power of Manipulation would inevitably be weakened, and Li Lin seized this moment of weakness to completely take control.

"What... what's going on...?"

Staring in astonishment at the longsword in her hand, Kaite was at a loss for words. Just then, Li Lin extended a finger and lightly flicked the tip of the Holy Wrath sword.

Suddenly, a burst of silver flame erupted, sweeping towards Kaite. Kaite hurriedly withdrew his hand, narrowly avoiding being struck by the backlash of his own weapon. When he looked up again, he was stunned. At that moment, beside Li Lin, a longsword and shield floated intertwined around him, like Li Lin guardians.

"How is this possible...?"

Kaite didn't finish her sentence before a tremendous force slammed her to the ground, while Angela, standing on the young paladin's back, watched the man beneath her feet with a cold smile.

"Useless is useless. He falls for any trick his master plays, he's as stupid as a pig."

"Finally..."

Gazing at the floating weapons before him, Li Lin reached out and gently stroked them.

"Finally, I have gathered my weapons, my men, my servants..."

As Li Lin touched it, the longsword once again flashed with a pure white light, while the shield, which was half a person's height, also emitted a faint, sky-blue light.

"Answer my call, Holy Wrath! Fate's Protection! In the name of the Arcane Mage, I command you to revert to your original forms and appear before me!"

A burst of light erupted.

The dazzling light caused everyone to close their eyes. When they opened them again, they were surprised to find two people who had not been there before standing in front of Li Lin.