I was going to die.
Bound to the stake, the young girl's face was pale, and she trembled uncontrollably. Beside her were the dismembered, brutally murdered corpses—they had once been her guards, her attendants, but now, they were just speechless cadavers.
"Offer noble blood to our Lord, and awaken it from its ancient seal! Great ancient god, please heed my call—appear!" Not far in front of the young girl, a masked, black-robed figure raised his hands high, chanting evil and blasphemous incantations. At the cost of innocent flesh and souls, he sought to release the evil demon sealed there. All she could do was stare blankly.
It was terrifying. She wanted to escape, but at this moment, the young girl had completely lost her strength. She could even feel her power slowly draining from her body, the flame of life beginning to flicker, and a chill creeping in...
"—————!!!"
However, just then, a shimmering light suddenly appeared in the dim sky. The young girl instinctively raised her head and looked towards the heavens. Then, she saw a burning fireball descending from the sky, and then... it fell in front of her.
"Boom—————!!!"
An almost suffocating high-temperature airflow, mixed with dazzling light, rushed towards her, causing the young girl to instinctively close her eyes. For a moment, she even thought she would be burned to death. But soon, the high temperature dissipated, and cold air swept over her again, making the young girl involuntarily open her eyes and look forward.
Then, she gasped.
Just a short distance in front of her, the arrogant Evil God Priest had completely vanished, leaving only a massive, scorched pit that covered everything. In the center of the pit, raging flames still burned.
"Clang... clang..." However, before the young girl could react, she heard strange clanging sounds. Immediately after, a tall, dark figure strode out from the flames.
What was that?!
Seeing this scene, the young girl widened her eyes in astonishment. In front of her was a person even taller than an orc, covered from head to toe in heavy, massive black armor. The shoulders were covered with semicircular plate pauldrons, adorned with white skulls and cross emblems as decoration. At the same time, his hands held a black, ferocious-looking mechanical warhammer. Moreover, his helmet style was quite terrifying; within a circular indentation, a grotesque helmet swayed from side to side, and his eyes emitted a crimson glow.
Could this be the terrifying demon summoned by those evil god cultists?
Could it be the legendary Hell Knight?
However, just as the young girl was filled with fear and unease, those evil god cultists suddenly began to clamor.
"He killed Lord Priest!"
"Kill this guy who's obstructing the ritual!!"
Accompanied by roars, the young girl saw the evil god cultists pick up their weapons one after another, chanting incantations, and charging towards the black knight.
"You're looking for death!!"
Facing the charging evil god cultists, the black knight roared, raising his warhammer with both hands. As he moved, dazzling lightning glow erupted from the black warhammer. Then, the black knight gripped his warhammer tightly and swung it down forcefully at the evil god cultists rushing towards him!
"Boom!!!!"
As the warhammer landed, whistling lightning instantly raged, turning the evil god cultists who rushed toward the black knight into charred, smoking human figures, which then turned into ashes and dissipated in the explosive gale.
"Quick, kill him!!"
Seeing the black knight's bravery, the evil god cultists screamed in terror. They raised their hands high, chanting blasphemous incantations, and rushed toward the black knight.
Seeing this scene, the young girl gasped. She knew how terrifying the evil arts of these evil god cultists were; her guards had died resisting their attacks.
So, could this black knight withstand the attacks of the evil god cultists?
"Boom boom boom!!!"
The evil god cultists' attacks struck the black knight's armor, but it did not explode as the young girl had expected. Instead, the black knight suddenly raised his left hand, and then the young girl saw a cylinder above the black knight's heavy gauntlet suddenly flash with light.
"———————!!"
In the next moment, dazzling flashes and almost deafening blinding sounds erupted among the evil god cultists. For a moment, the entire world seemed to have completely lost its sound. The evil god cultists' bodies trembled and swayed. But the black knight was not affected at all. He once again gripped his warhammer with both hands and strode toward the evil god cultists behind him.
"—————!!!"
Then, dazzling lightning and thunder enveloped everything.
A moment later, the ground was scorched earth.
Duanmu Huai held his warhammer and strode forward. In front of him, a half-dead evil god cultist looked at him in terror.
"Don't come over! Don't come over! You damned blasphemer, you cannot stop the great will...!" However, before he could finish his words, Duanmu Huai raised his warhammer and swung it down heavily. The black warhammer smashed the evil god cultist's head into pieces. His body twitched violently like a fish, and then became still.
[Inquisitor Level increased to LV5, Specialization Point +1, Attribute Point +1]
[Unlocked (Material Displacement) (Space-Time Stasis) (Warp Energy Redirection) (Attack Weakness) Specialties. Please choose a specialization.]
"Choose Material Displacement." Duanmu Huai made his decision with just a glance. Among these specialties, (Material Displacement) was armor penetration, (Space-Time Stasis) was slow, (Warp Energy Redirection) automatically absorbed and restored shields, and (Attack Weakness) increased critical damage.
Previously, Duanmu Huai had chosen the same for his soft girl character. As a family heirloom, the Inquisitor's power armor had quite good defense in the early stages, so Duanmu Huai chose (Material Displacement), which came with "armor penetration."
After all, offense was the best defense.
As for the two attribute points, Duanmu Huai hesitated for a moment, then directly added them to Strength, bringing it to 10 points.
Although he had considered whether to add to Charisma, but...
Charisma was locked. He couldn't add to it.
Was fate playing a trick on him? Could even the system not change his appearance?
Silently cursing, Duanmu Huai turned and walked towards the young girl tied to the stake. The young girl was still bound to the stake, her face pale and filled with sorrow. However, Duanmu Huai didn't care about such trivial matters. He easily reached out and tore the ropes binding the young girl's hands and feet, releasing her. Then Duanmu Huai stared at her and spoke.
"Civilian! Report the situation!"
"Eh? What? What do you mean?"
However, the young girl in front of him did not immediately respond with specific phrases like in a game... This was understandable—after all, this was no longer a game, but reality.
Cough, cough. He'd played too many games.
Duanmu Huai's old face flushed, but fortunately, he was wearing a helmet, so the other party couldn't see it.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
"I-I am..."
However, before the young girl could finish speaking, suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. Then, streaks of crimson lines emerged from the ground. Immediately after, a blood-red glow erupted not far away, and then, a massive figure appeared from the altar's magic circle.
"It's—it's a demon!?"
Seeing this scene, the young girl screamed in fright. Duanmu Huai turned his head and immediately saw a strangely shaped monster emerging nearby. It was nearly three meters tall, its upper body resembling a humanoid demon—entirely crimson, with sharp fangs and claws, and crimson eyes burning with a fiery glow.
Below its waist, it had three pairs of long legs that looked like mechanical spider limbs. The monster held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, exuding a tyrannical and terrifying aura. It stood in front of Duanmu Huai and the young girl, blocking their path.
"Ah, mortals... such interesting souls, perfectly suited to be my first meal in this world..." The demon looked at them with a sneer, swinging the shield and long sword in its hands.
"Hehehe... let me savor the taste of your fear and death. I believe this will be a very delicious meal..."
At the same time, its information appeared in Duanmu Huai's eyes.
[Tyrant Demon (Elite)]
[Level: LV10]
So that's it. This guy was the BOSS. Speaking of which, those evil god cultists went through all that trouble just to summon this thing?
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai made a decision.
"You hide. I'll deal with this guy!"
"Ah, yes!"
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai's command, the bewildered young girl hurriedly nodded and retreated. At the same time, Duanmu Huai gripped his weapon and once again faced the enemy in front of him.
It was just an LV10 elite. Although he was currently only an LV5 Inquisitor, he wasn't completely unable to fight!
"Come on...!"
Duanmu Huai stared at the Soul Grinder, his eyes slightly cold.
Let's see who's stronger!
(End of this chapter)