"Ahhh! Noo! Stopp!!"

The last knight standing roared on the ground as his body burned from the inside. He wasn't standing any longer.

"WE DID IT!" Some slaves had tears running down their faces, some were smiling tiredly, while some just lay on their backs, relaxing.

Kael's face cracked with a smile, too. It was finally over! He took a heavy breath filled with the strong scent of human waste and dead bodies. It was the most pleasant smell he had ever inhaled. The smell of a hard-earned victory.

But before he could be too happy, his vision blurred, the burning pain in his arm becoming a hundred times worse as his body limped, falling forward against his will.

"Adrenaline has finally calmed down, huh?" He was caught by someone, a firm hand placed on his chest, stopping him from falling forward.

"You fought well, lad." It was Shen. Flashing a weak smile, Kael tried to stand up and reply, but he realized he was unable to speak in his normal voice, only squeak in whispers.

"You lost too much blood, don't even try." Shen shook his head softly, but his eyes were tense.

"I–I, we are not out yet…" Kael managed to whisper with a horrified face, the realization he had from Shen's eyes prompting Shen to sigh tiredly.

The fact was, they needed to get up and start moving.

"Lads! Anyone of you good with healing arcana? Or with skills?" Seeing no hands rise, Shen's fist clenched. It would be almost impossible for everyone to get out besides the strongest handful.

"Um…" Shen noticed a short hand very close to him trying to get his attention. It was Sasha.

"What's wrong, little girl?" She seemed to be in the healthiest condition in the group besides Shen. Everyone, even though regarded as criminals, had been protecting Sasha.

"I can heal!" Sasha's green eyes were burning with determination. "I am only a novice, but I will try my best!"

Shen's lips parted before his face brightened. "That would be perfect."

Sasha instantly rushed to Kael's side as other slaves also began lining up toward her with expectant smiles.

Her small hands glowed bright gold as she placed one gently on Kael's cheek, the other on his missing arm. The light hastily traveled from her hands inside his body as Kael smiled encouragingly.

Sasha's eyes were squinted, lines all over her forehead.

"Just focus on closing wounds, okay?" Shen patted her head. "Saving their lives matters more than getting them to perfect health." He had noticed she was trying to regrow Kael's arm. This was something even an Ascendant, a rank just below Saint, would find difficult to do.

She nodded apologetically. In a few seconds, Kael's arm, which had been a bloody wound, looked completely fine, though very ugly, as it was just the elbow head after his bicep, no forearm.

In just three minutes, Sasha rushed from one person to another, closing all their open wounds, including Ren's wound on the waist.

They had begun with three hundred people; only a hundred were alive now. Sasha needed to help only sixty of them, as others had injuries on the manageable side. But it was still too much for a novice-rank, inexperienced healer.

As Sasha let go of the beautiful gray-haired girl's soft hand, she instantly fell to the ground with a thud.

The girl frowned, rushing to pick her up, but Kael had already appeared at her side. "Sasha? Sasha?" He softly slapped her plump face repeatedly. "Are you okay?"

She glanced weakly through a blurred vision, barely opening her eyes.

"Hm, extended too much Arcana… I will carry her," Shen said softly.

"No, Shen… Can I handle her? I don't want to limit you." Shen was stronger than him. And each of his clones, which were limited to a total of six at a time, had the ability to defeat one Kael.

Kael wasn't nearly as effective as before with his hand gone, so it was a logical suggestion. And he felt a bit responsible for her condition. She had spent too much Arcana trying to heal his arm back, and even closing that wound was very taxing.

If only he wasn't careless, she would still be standing.

"Okay. I will clear the way then. Stay in the center." Shen nodded without hesitation, but just as everyone was starting to move, Shen's pupils dilated as he instantly turned back.

He glared at the empty dark hallway with only the bodies of slaves and knights, everybody looking at him with confusion, even Kael, only for him to freeze completely the next second.

Tap! Tap!

A lone man walked leisurely toward them, adorned in thick holy knight armor, but it was golden rather than silver. He wasn't wearing a helmet either, letting his long, silky pink hair flow freely to his shoulders.

His right hand was resting on the sheathed longsword tied to his hip.

"I am Cardinal Alyndra Dareth from the church. A pleasure meeting everybody." He flashed a polite smile.

No one among the slaves could even move a muscle. Even though Alyndra hadn't put any sort of Arcana pressure on them, the title of his name alone sent chills down their spines.

"The strongest of Overload rank… the Cardinal who played a huge role in the defeat of the Queen of Vampires." Shen was the most shocked out of the group.

"Aw, stop. You're making me blush!" He waved his hand in front of his face as if imitating a schoolgirl.

His eyes grew colder while the smile still appeared bright. "If I remember correctly, you're a high-ranking figure in the military of the Adore Empire? Pleasure meeting you." Alyndra smiled again, getting closer and closer to the group.

"Shen…" Kael looked worriedly toward Shen, tightening his grip around Sasha on his back.

"You're correct. I was a legion commander turned spy. Not very good, though, as you can see. I got caught. Now, should we get going? My friends need medical attention." Shen said through a bitter smile, both his hands raised. Six identical clones spread around the shivering slaves in a similar posture.

"Ah, right. There's just so much work pushed on my lone shoulders." He sighed as his jewel-like blue eyes glowed unnaturally. After a few seconds of silence, he scratched his chin. "I should save my Arcana then…"

Alyndra raised his right hand high. Instantly, the narrow hallway began to tremble violently as his hand began glowing bright purple.

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