The Players and the Protagonist Want to Kill Me – Chapter 59

Chapter 60: You Must Protect Her Well (Epic Chapter)

Within Winter Fort, everyone was fast asleep, save for the patrolling guards, when they were suddenly awakened by a thunderous roar.

“Insects! The great Sarken will burn you to ashes!”

“Tremble! Woe! Volcanic Eruption!”

“BOOM—”

The entire Winter Fort shook, waking Xi Wei and Loli, who were nestled together.

They went to the window and saw that where the fountain once stood in the public area outside the castle’s main hall, a small, raised volcano now resided.

The volcano was continuously spewing lava, as eleven figures dodged the scattered molten rock while fending off the Hellfire leader.

The glow of their Qi illuminated the public area as brightly as day.

“Can anyone tell me why the Lord of Eagle Territory’s castle has a lava creature?”

“The Intelligence Department are all useless! His Holiness the Pope should burn them all!”

“Balda above, quick, dodge those erupting lava streams!”

The Templar Knights, while evading the Hellfire leader’s molten attacks, grumbled in annoyance.

The colossal fiery stone figure before them was incredibly sinister. Not only was it powerful, but the greenish flames emanating from it corroded their Qi. Even a single touch caused them immense pain.

As they spoke, one Templar Knight, under continous heavy punches from the Hellfire, showed an opening and was doused in a spray of molten rock.

The eerie green flames clung to him like a shroud, and he immediately cried out, rolling on the ground in agony.

Sarken, with a ferocious grin, seized the opportunity and obliterated the rolling Templar Knight into a bloody pulp with a single punch. The entire Winter Fort echoed with his deafening laughter.

“Pain! Fear! Supreme Delicacy!”

“Keke…”

Xi Wei, however, couldn’t laugh. Sarken was undoubtedly a powerful subordinate, but if they continued fighting like this, his Winter Fort would be torn apart.

He instructed Loli to stay hidden in their room and, under the little maid’s worried gaze, grabbed his greatsword and leaped from the balcony.

Sensing the terrifying oppressive aura from above, the Templar Knights looked up, unable to contain their shock, and cried out:

“Another Sky Knight!”

“It’s the Lord of Eagle Territory! Our assassination target! But wasn’t he a Great Knight?”

“This time, the intelligence is a complete mess. If only we could get back…”

“Don’t think about anything else, fight for your lives!”

The Templar Knights reached a consensus. As if a switch had been flipped, and with a surge of blood mist, various changes began to occur on their bodies.

Most of them had bloodshot eyes, their bodies inflated slightly, and their speed and strength greatly increased, their reaction times becoming incredibly sharp.

A few transformed into monstrous beings with beast heads and human bodies. Dropping their longswords, they raised their steel claws and charged towards Xi Wei and Sarken.

But their desperate counterattack was destined to be futile.

Empowered by Dragon Vein energy, Xi Wei, with his immense strength, was like a rampaging dragon, catching up from behind.

With his greatsword held horizontally, he powerfully pushed forward. With a muffled “bang,” a beast-headed Templar Knight who had lunged close was sent flying, his orifices bleeding, like a tattered sack.

His flying body crashed through a section of the castle wall before he rolled to the ground, spitting blood, twitching twice, and then falling still.

A single strike to kill left the surrounding Templar Knights in awe.

They weren’t inexperienced in fighting Sky Knights.

But a Sky Knight who could kill a Great Knight-level Templar with one sword strike had to be one of those old monsters who had been a Sky Knight for many years, right?

Yet, how old was the Lord of Eagle Territory before them? Was he even twenty-five?

“Where are you looking?”

Xi Wei sneered and swung his sword vertically at a Templar Knight who hadn’t recovered from his shock.

The greatsword’s strike carried immense momentum, like a collapsing mountain. The Templar Knight was terrified, his spirit fleeing, and he hastily raised his sword to block, but it was merely a death throes.

With a deafening “boom,” after the dust settled, he lay pathetically in a sword pit, his body mangled by the heavy sword momentum.

In the nearby battlefield, the Hellfire leader Sarken, with a sinister grin, continued to chase five Templar Knights, unleashing molten attacks.

Not far away on the ground, three human-shaped ashes testified to the ferocity and power of this demonic creation.

In the castle’s main hall, Bane Bloodhoof, along with the Bloodhoof Clan and Clemon, also arrived in a hurry.

Seeing the growing crowd, including the presence of two formidable Great Knight-level auras, the remaining Templar Knights felt a desire to retreat.

They were not afraid of death, but they could not accept such a meaningless sacrifice.

Each of them was an indispensable force in the impending plan.

Returning to the Royal Capital to report to His Holiness the Pope and request stronger elite Templar Knights was the better course of action.

“Retreat! Rendezvous with Lord Wade. This mission has already failed.”

The Templar Knights exchanged glances, suddenly turned, and fled the castle in different directions.

Xi Wei let out a cold snort and pursued with his sword.

Sarken grinned sinisterly, unleashing a barrage of molten strikes, sending massive lava blocks wrapped in eerie green flames towards the nearby Templar Knights.

One or two knights, too focused on escaping, failed to dodge. Their bodies ignited with the greenish flames, but they dared not stop, enduring the burning pain with clenched teeth as they fled with all their might.

“Keke…”

The eerie green flames in Sarken’s eye sockets flickered twice. He did not follow Xi Wei in pursuit but turned back and stood within the fountain, once again becoming a burning stone statue.

His mission was to guard the castle. As for pursuit, as long as Xi Wei didn’t say anything, he wouldn’t overstep his bounds.

Xi Wei, relying on his speed, consecutively caught up to several Templar Knights and slew them. He knew without even thinking what these Templar Knights, averaging level 45, were here for.

It was simply because he had disrupted the Pope’s grand affairs and affected the production of the next batch of Templar Knights, so they had come to settle the score.

Through the chase, Xi Wei killed the Templar Knights down to three remaining. The group had already reached the outer city of Winter City. Xi Wei acutely detected another surge of powerful Qi conflict.

He focused his gaze and saw intermittent flashes of Qi light in the distance, with Qi sword slashes flying everywhere. The streets of the outer city looked as if they had been ravaged by a tornado.

A figure covered in blood was being besieged by three Templar Knights. It was none other than Old Parker, whom he had met before.

However, Xi Wei was slightly puzzled. The last time he saw Old Parker, he was just an ordinary person.

How could he be alive now under the siege of three Templar Knights?

Out of curiosity, Xi Wei focused his gaze on Old Parker.

[Name: Parker Lute (Life Overdrawn)]
[Identity: Grand Alchemist]
[Strength: Sky Knight Level 51 (Temporary)]
[Skills: Advanced Potion Crafting, Intermediate Fire Elemental Mastery (Unavailable), Basic Swordsmanship]
[Equipment: Lycena’s Sword (Fine)]
[Kolon Empire Reputation: 121 (He was once a nationally renowned alchemist, but now he is a pitiful soul who lost his wife and is living in hiding for revenge)]
[… ]
[Eagle Territory Reputation: 102 (Many in Winter City are grateful to the kind Old Parker)]

“He actually used a special method to overdraw his life, forcibly raising his strength to Sky Knight?”

Xi Wei murmured to himself. He knew Old Parker was likely not going to survive, despite his great fondness for the old man.

“Number five, seven, eleven, why are you back? Is the mission complete? Where are the others?”

Wade was currently toying with the weakened Old Parker along with two Templar Knights.

They were like valiant bullfighters, and Old Parker was the clumsy, strong but foolish bull.

Unexpectedly, he caught sight of the three Templar Knights fleeing from Xi Wei’s pursuit.

“Lord Wade, retreat quickly! The Lord of Eagle Territory has advanced to Sky Knight, and our intelligence is completely wrong!”

“And there’s a powerful lava creature in Winter Fort, at least a Sky Knight-level existence.”

“What!?”

Wade was stunned and suddenly felt an astonishing killing intent lock onto him.

He turned his head and saw a sword light, enveloped in golden Qi, descending upon him.

Wade, being an experienced Great Knight, instantly judged that this sword strike was irresistible. He immediately dodged to the side, but he couldn’t evade the following powerful elbow strike.

With a loud “clang,” despite the protection of his Qi, Wade’s chest caved in under the terrifying brute force. His eyes bulged, and he stumbled back a few steps, kneeling on the ground with his sword planted firmly, his entire aura gradually weakening.

Seeing their captain incapacitated with a single blow, the remaining Templar Knights fled without a word, forgetting about the frenzied Old Parker.

Old Parker lunged like a mad dog, grabbing the legs of two Templar Knights, refusing to let go no matter how much they kicked and beat him.

Although he lacked the combat experience of a Sky Knight and refined knightly skills, with the boost of Qi, he could still hold onto two people.

Seeing this, Xi Wei did not delay. With two swift slashes, he severed the heads of the two Templar Knights, then quickly pursued the rest, killing them one by one.

When he returned, he found Old Parker collapsed on the ground. Beside him lay the dismembered remains of Templar Knight Wade.

Old Parker was dying.

His body was covered in wounds, not a single part intact. Yet, his eyes remained bright, gazing intently at Xi Wei as he approached.

“Lord…” Old Parker’s voice was weak and breathless. “I heard… I heard you also have a Demi-human girl you particularly like. Is it true?”

Xi Wei looked at Old Parker with a complex expression and nodded affirmatively.

“Heh heh…” Old Parker chuckled, his eyes hazy as if recalling something beautiful.

Tears of blood streamed from the corners of his eyes. Looking up at the starry night sky, he spoke, as if to Xi Wei, as if to himself:

“Then, you must… you must protect her well…”