Chapter 95: Chapter 78: Necklace of the Goddess of Fortune

The Undead Knight charged toward the bushes where Baron was hiding, his shimmering silver Great Sword in hand. The blade scraped along the damp, muddy ground, kicking up emerald sparks.

Baron tried to calm himself, to convince himself this was all his imagination. After all, that group of young Hunters had crossed paths with the Undead Knight and walked on by as if he wasn’t even there.

Clearly, they couldn’t see the Undead Knight, and the Undead Knight didn’t want to pay them any mind.

’No, if he didn’t want to deal with them, why does he want to deal with me? Is it just because I’m that unlucky?’

A sliver of doubt flashed through Baron’s mind.

The Undead Knight’s Great Sword was already raised high overhead, its blade warping the very air around it.

Before the blade even fell, Baron was assaulted by a thick stench of blood and decay. It smelled like the morning after a battle—rain soaking bleached bones, the morning wind blowing over drying blood.

Baron felt as if he were standing in the middle of a battlefield, surrounded by enemies. Their long, fluid blades flashed like silver ribbons, yet he had no will to fight. He only prayed that when the swords tore him apart, his blood wouldn’t stain the wild grass.

’The grass... Since when is grass worth more than my life?!’

The realization snapped Baron out of his stupor. He rolled through the bushes just as the Great Sword slammed down, gouging a deep pit in the earth. The resulting blast of Sword Qi lashed out, scraping his face. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

’If I’d been a step slower, that would be my corpse lying in that pit!’

He gritted his teeth and saw his own reflection in the sword’s blade, gritting its teeth right back.

He looked up and met the Undead Knight’s spectral green eyes. They stared right at him, radiating a terrifying, malevolent aura.

A faint amber hue within them was fading away.

It was by looking directly into those eyes that Baron had been trapped in the illusion!

No, it wasn’t quite an illusion. While Baron had been playing the role of himself, the enemies surrounding him had all been manifestations of the Undead Knight.

It was an authority that demanded submission from the depths of one’s soul, capable of conjuring an illusion in a mere instant.

Promise: Lion’s Eye

Just like Dragon Knight Baron’s Dragon Flame, this was a Power of Promise exclusive to Lion Knights.

Any foe who met these eyes would face the imposing might of a lion, until the Knight either rested his blade upon their neck or they dropped their weapon, unable to withstand the pressure.

If not for his fear of death, Baron likely would have been completely enthralled by the Lion’s Eye!

The Undead Knight seemed somewhat surprised that Baron hadn’t submitted to the Lion’s Eye. A flicker of emotion crossed its ancient face, which looked as if it had been drained of blood and left to molder beneath a coffin lid.

But that emotion vanished in the next instant as Baron sprang up like a cheetah, drew his twin pistols, and pulled the triggers. The spinning cylinders unleashed a torrent of bullets at the Knight.

The Knight lifted its heavy sword, letting the Alchemy Bullets pass harmlessly through its body. It swung its blade once more—a silent, soundless, lonely attack.

It was a devastatingly powerful swing. If Baron hadn’t reacted in time—tossing aside his empty pistols and using a small knife to slice his palm, letting the blood congeal into a Blood Blade to parry—he would have been instantly decapitated.

But as the blades clashed, the immense, surging force that traveled up his Blood Blade made Baron cough up a mouthful of blood.

The droplets of blood passed through the Undead Knight’s body just as the bullets had. He was like a mist, flickering between solid and ethereal. You could see him, but you couldn’t hit him, while his attacks were like a creeping fog, seeping into every corner of your body.

With every breath, the very air seemed to turn damp and sticky.

It also carried the stench of something burning.

’The stench of something... burning?’

Baron looked at the Undead Knight again. Now that he was closer, he could observe it in greater detail.

Indeed, the vast gray swathes on the Undead Knight’s armor weren’t part of its design as he’d first assumed. It was the dead, ashen gray of metal that had been scorched by fire!

He looked again at the Undead Knight’s face and his heart lurched in horror. The face had changed!

It was now a face of rot, decay, and burns, with bulging veins and blood seeping from its eyes, nose, and mouth!

"It’s Mad Blood! He’s a Mad Blood Knight, infected with the Blood Madness Disease!"

The cry of alarm came from the old Priest at the other end of the road!

He must have heard the sudden eruption of fighting. Worried about the four who had insisted on pushing past him earlier, and concerned they would be a burden to Baron, he had come to investigate.

And just as he arrived, he saw the truth hidden beneath the Undead Knight’s monstrous features!

’Blood Madness Disease... It’s actually the Blood Madness Disease... Goddess, please protect Yan Nan, please protect Gillian...’

The old Priest whispered one last prayer before collapsing.

’Blood Madness Disease? Isn’t that an affliction unique to the Mad Blood Faction of the Blood Church? They say those infected with Mad Blood are trapped in a constant state of Madness, seeking only pure blood for their prayers... Oh no!’

Baron’s heart sank as he saw the Priest collapse.

The blades disengaged, and just as Baron feared, the Undead Knight charged toward the fallen Priest!

Without hesitation, Baron followed, brandishing his Blood Blade and Short Dagger. As the Knight swung at the old Priest, Baron thrust with both of his weapons.

And just as he’d expected, they passed right through the Undead Knight’s body.

He was still completely untouchable.

’In that case, I don’t know if it’ll work, but there’s only one thing left to try.’

In a flash, Baron dismissed his Blood Blade. His Blood Eye turned a shade of Gold, and Dragon Flame erupted from the Short Dagger still lodged inside the Undead Knight’s body.

The flames roared.

The Knight’s swinging form froze in the fiery glow, then slowly began to dissipate like ashes stirred by the wind.

This stunned Baron, who had been bracing for a fight to the death. ’Is Dragon Flame really that incredible?’ he thought. ’It caught fire that easily?’

But he immediately leaped back cautiously as the Knight suddenly turned.

Its face—now ancient and seeping blood, unlike when he first saw it—wasn’t staring at him, but rather at something behind him.

For the first time, an expression crossed the Undead Knight’s face—one of half-terror, half-relief. "It was you who killed the Red Dragon!"

After a moment of silence, it spoke again. "So you people really do exist!"

Then, it crumbled like dust.

It didn’t wait for a wind to blow, simply sinking into the shadows as the moon continued to rise.

’Killed the Red Dragon?’

’Wasn’t the Red Dragon killed by Carmen on the Inner Side? Why would Prole’s spirit know about that? Is Carmen the one he meant?’

’And "you people really do exist"? Is he referring to a group that kills dragons? Carmen and her Dragon Eater Association?’

’Or is it some other, undiscovered organization?’

Before Baron could fully process the Undead Knight’s dying words, he saw something glinting in the ashes. He picked it up. It was a necklace.

His Glimpse of the Mysterious Crystal revealed the necklace’s origin.

Necklace of the Goddess of Fortune: A C Level Taboo Object. Infusing it with Spiritual Power brings a period of great luck, at the cost of double the bad luck afterward.

A relic from the Golden Era, created to commemorate the very first prayer for luck.

’The Necklace of the Goddess of Fortune? So it boosts my Luck Value for a while, but the price is a period of double bad luck afterward.’

’Functionally, isn’t this way better than those Bad Luck Dice?’

’This Undead Knight even dropped loot?’

Baron hung the Lucky Goddess Necklace on his belt next to the Chain of the Imitator.

He had everything he needed now.

He scanned his surroundings, confirmed no one had seen what he’d done, then hoisted the unconscious Priest over his shoulder and carried him back to the Blood Church.