Chapter 48

The sword's glow slashed through, dispersing the formation of the holy knights. A slender figure advanced with the sword's glow, rushing to Mad's side and swinging the sword horizontally.

Mad raised his sword to block, but it was as if he had been struck by lightning. His long sword was pushed aside by the immense force contained in the horizontal slash, leaving him wide open.

Mad's face turned ashen, but his gaze remained resolute. He knew his chances of survival were slim. From the sword's glow, he could tell that the attacker was a Sword Saint, likely a beginner-level one, but already beyond his ability to resist.

Mages are ranked from low to high as apprentices, beginners (levels 1-3), intermediates (levels 4-6), advanced (levels 7-9), great mages, arcane mages (high mages), and truth mages (divine mages).

Swordsmen are also ranked as apprentices, beginners (levels 1-3), intermediates (levels 4-6), advanced (levels 7-9), and beginner and advanced Sword Saints.

Their ranks correspond to each other. A beginner Sword Saint is roughly equivalent to a great mage in difficulty, but their combat capabilities have different focuses.

For example, on the battlefield, a great mage can toy with a Sword Saint, bombarding them with spells until the Sword Saint has no chance to fight back.

However, in restricted terrain or when in close combat, a great mage is like a chick in the hands of a Sword Saint, easily dispatched.

Therefore, mages must have followers to prevent close-combat classes from getting too close, while also being able to block and attract enemy attacks, allowing the mage to cast spells calmly and obliterate the enemy.

If mages can recruit followers, can swordsmen recruit mages to protect them and allow them to focus on fighting?

Theoretically, it is possible, but swordsmen are generally poorer. Mages, with their wealth, can afford to support followers, but what can swordsmen offer to support mages? Therefore, it is usually only mages who are surrounded by followers, while swordsmen are often alone.

The combat style of holy knights is similar to that of swordsmen but with many more auxiliary abilities, excelling in team battles but not in solo combat.

Mad is a level 7 holy knight, equivalent in strength to a level 7 swordsman. However, the enemy is a beginner Sword Saint, with a three-level difference in strength, which is insurmountable.

If they had horses and a well-organized formation, they might have a chance to fight, but now they have nothing, not even their weapons. What can they use to defend themselves?

Their firm resolve!

"Break through with all your strength! I will hold him off! Sacrifice!" Mad's body erupted with a brilliant holy light, enveloped in blazing holy flames, making him look like a glowing fireman. He punched toward the enemy.

The other holy knights were aghast, wanting to turn back and fight, but the handsome holy knight shouted, "Go! The captain is burning his life. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain!"

Under the handsome holy knight's urging, the other holy knights ran as fast as they could, but the path ahead was already blocked by undead creatures, and the encirclement was closing.

The handsome holy knight accelerated to the front, leaped toward the encirclement, and slammed his fists into the ground—Holy Shock.

The ground trembled, and the surrounding skeletons and zombies wobbled, unable to stand. The handsome holy knight took the opportunity to summon a holy shield in front of him and charged forward—Holy Collision.

With two consecutive skills, his companions realized what he was doing, and their eyes turned red. Such a selfless effort meant that even if he broke through the encirclement, the handsome holy knight would have no strength left to escape. He was sacrificing himself to clear the way for everyone.

Any more words or hesitation at this moment would be futile, wasting the sacrifices of Mad and the handsome holy knight. Everyone gritted their teeth, swung their swords silently, and followed the handsome holy knight out of the encirclement.

After breaking through the encirclement, the handsome holy knight indeed ran out of strength, slowing down. His companions, in pain, passed him by and ran farther away.

The handsome holy knight stopped, turned to face the surging undead, and smiled cheerfully, revealing a row of white teeth. He swung his long sword fearlessly until he was overwhelmed by skeletons.

The slender Sword Saint dodged Mad's attacks, having read records about holy knights. These holy knights, after burning their lives and activating 'Sacrifice,' could not be stopped by any severe injuries until their lives were completely consumed.

Rather than risk a hard fight, it was better to let them burn themselves out, but unfortunately, the other holy knights had escaped.

Two minutes later, the holy flames on Mad's body grew weaker and finally extinguished. He remained in the position of his last punch, his eyes losing all their light.

The Sword Saint sighed, stepped forward, closed Mad's eyes, and laid him down gently.

Phyllis and the others approached and greeted, "Greetings, Lord Lofen."

The Sword Saint returned the greeting and looked at Mad's body on the ground, saying deeply, "They broke my Ice City and killed so many of my people, but I can't help but feel a bit of respect for these worthy opponents."

"Brother!" Anna's long-suppressed scream finally burst out. From the moment the Sword Saint appeared, Anna recognized her brother, Luther Lofen, by his posture. But she had been afraid to disturb him during the battle, so she had suppressed her excitement until now, flying toward him.

Luther, who had been deep in thought, showed a look of disgust, pressing her head to prevent her from jumping on him: "What are you doing? So many people are watching. Hugging and cuddling, what does that look like? You're ruining my image. Do you have any food? I'm starving."

At this moment, everyone noticed that Luther's body was steaming, and steam was rising from his head, indicating he had undergone intense exertion.

"Looks like this holy knight was quite strong. You had to put in a lot of effort to take him down," Phyllis remarked.

Luther is a recognized prodigy of Ice City, breaking through to a beginner swordsman at the age of eight and reaching the level of a beginner Sword Saint at twenty. He is the only one in a thousand years to have broken through to a Sword Saint, and even such a powerful person had to put in so much effort.

"No, no, I ran from twenty kilometers away, and I was just tired. When I saw a white light flash, I knew these guys would be here," Luther explained.

White light? Everyone looked at the angel skeleton.

Luther was puzzled. Why did everyone look at a skeleton when he mentioned the 'white light,' and why did this skeleton have two bones sticking out, looking a bit deformed?

"Right, does anyone have food? I'm starving. I always get hungry after a fight. Get me something to eat."

Swordsmen are high-energy-consuming professions, and at the level of a Sword Saint, it's even more so. One sword swing could burn the calories of several bowls of rice, so the higher the level of the swordsman, the more they need to eat.

Who would bring food on a mission to set up an ambush and encirclement? Especially since there was only Anna, a living person, here. In the end, everyone looked at Ang.

Food? Ang tilted his head. Unhusked grain is inedible; the little zombies died of hunger because of this. Apart from grain, the only thing he had to eat right now was this.

Seeing what Ang pulled out, Luther and Anna's eyes lit up, and Luther's eyes sparkled as he exclaimed, "Beets, are these beets?"