Soral refused his companion's helping hand, walking down from the ring alone and returning to the camp of the Flowing Water Country.
"Soral, those so-called saviors of the Holy Spirit are too weak, they couldn't even last half a minute under you. If it were me, I'd knock them out with one move."
A knight carrying a long spear walked up to Soral. He was Gun Knight Kermo, one of the three major knights of the Flowing Water Country, and Soral was the Sword Knight, another of the three.
The three major knights of the Flowing Water Country symbolized the highest level of martial skill in the entire country, and they were a source of great pride for the Flowing Water Country.
"You can go up and try it yourself."
Soral removed his helmet, revealing a somewhat stern square face, and did not show a friendly expression to the frivolous Gun Knight.
"With the childish fighting style of those saviors, let alone one, I could handle three in a row without a problem."
In the eyes of the Gun Knight, the fight between Soral and Cha Ye was like an adult fighting a child. Cha Ye only had flashy swordsmanship and skills, but in front of the battle-hardened Soral, he was far inferior in terms of combat awareness, seizing opportunities, and application of moves.
"Then why don't you go?" Soral asked again.
"Because you are injured." The Gun Knight knelt down slightly in front of Soral, observing his old friend. "I'm curious, that savior's weapon hit your body no more than four times, but by the end of the fourth battle, you looked extremely weak, as if suffering from severe... internal injuries."
"That swordsman possessed a strange power." Soral pondered for a while but finally decided to share his experience with the Gun Knight. "Every time his sword hit me, I felt a portion of my... life force draining away."
"Life force?" This was the first time the Gun Knight had heard such a term.
"It's the only way I can describe it. It felt like his sword could devour life, and no matter how I blocked it, every hit made me feel a bit of my life force slipping away," Soral said, feeling a shiver of fear as he spoke.
The recent battle was just a sparring match, but if it had been a real fight, just the unreasonable ability to 'ignore armor and blocking, directly cutting into one's life force' would have been enough to nearly kill Soral.
In real combat, armor could completely negate enemy damage as long as the enemy's blade couldn't cut through it. However, to the player, Soral's armor only provided a defense bonus.
"Sword Qi?" The Gun Knight thought of an ancient term. "I saw that savior conjure a sword blade made of Magic Power with his other hand. Maybe he learned a kind of Magic that directly erodes the body?"
"It's not Sword Qi. It's a power I can't describe. Every one of those beings called Holy Spirits... possesses it." Soral was certain that whatever was draining his life was not some form of Magic.
"Is this special power the reason they are considered saviors?" the Gun Knight asked again.
"It's not just this power. Some of their attacks have special abilities. Like that upward slash just now, how did that slender longsword make me float in the air... and if I didn't counterattack, I would have stayed in the air for a long time," Soral said, increasingly finding the combat abilities of the Holy Spirits to be eerily terrifying, entirely defying the laws of physics.
"But their combat awareness is as childish as a child's."
The Gun Knight still believed that the combat prowess of the Holy Spirits was nothing to be concerned about. Just looking at Cha Ye's performance, one move from the Gun Knight would be enough to kill him.
"So, Lord Kermo, it's your turn to test the strength of the Holy Spirits."
The old Mage approached the two knights. His pupils had already turned a light gold color. The two knights performed a knight's salute as soon as they saw him, though Soral's internal injuries made his movements somewhat twisted.
Pale golden Magic Power flowed from the old Mage's fingertips into Soral's body, and Soral felt his lost life force and battle fatigue quickly recover.
"This is a friendly exchange, but you need not hold back. I will heal the wounds and fatigue of you and your knights. If you think you are stronger than the Holy Spirits, show them what you've got," the old Mage said as the rest area outside the Tower of Trial began to tremble slightly, and fifteen rings slowly ascended.
"Very well, I hope there are warriors among these great saviors who can excite me," the Gun Knight said as he walked towards the ring where Soral had just fought.
And at that moment, players in the Tower of Trial received a quest notification.
'Trial Quest: Provocation from the Otherworldly Knights. This is a challenge letter from the Otherworldly Knights. They believe the Holy Spirits are too weak. Great Holy Spirits, use your strength to crush the arrogance of these Otherworldly Knights. Quest Reward: Different numbers of Magic Stones based on the knights' levels, and the Magic Stone Jackpot System will be unlocked.'
Jiang Qiao had turned this trial quest into a gamble. Players could put the Magic Stones they won into the jackpot when challenging a knight.
The different levels and difficulties of the knights had different odds. The odds for defeating the Gun Knight Kaimo'er, now standing in the ring, were 2.3 times, and beating him would also earn an additional 500 Magic Stones.
An additional 500 Magic Stones were enough to exchange for a regular costume from the fairy merchant, which would normally take players four to five days of grinding.
Such a generous reward naturally immediately caught the attention of the players outside the Tower of Trial.
"Did the developers release this quest because we were grinding so hard?"
"Honestly, I've always thought the Holy Spirit devs had a conscience."
"Conscience my foot! I haven't slept for five days for the rainbow unicorn headpiece! Not to mention the rainbow unicorn outfit. Wait, you can bet on this quest?"
"I smell a conspiracy. I won't gamble. If I do, I'm a dog."
Jiang Qiao watched as a group of players gathered around the Gun Knight's ring. A bubbling dark purple Magic Stone jackpot had already appeared beside the ring.
Players needed to put their Magic Stones into the jackpot, and after winning against the Gun Knight, they could get a 2.3 times reward of Magic Stones...
These cunning players wouldn't bet easily, since their Magic Stones were hard-earned over the past few days. The jackpot was obviously a trap by the developers to trick players out of their Magic Stones.
But the players were also gamblers, or rather, all players were gamblers. While the hardcore grinders were still hesitating, a player named Silver Bullet threw a hundred Magic Stones into the jackpot and then immediately got onto the ring.
"Damn! Silver Bullet! Didn't you say you'd be a dog if you gambled again?" Silver Bullet's friend cursed when he saw him get onto the ring, realizing he couldn't challenge the Gun Knight now.
"A dog it is. Unlike you, who grind and pay, I'd rather gamble and win big! Besides, this NPC doesn't look as tough as the last one."
Silver Bullet wore a black trench coat and a black hat. His class was the elegantly flashy Wanderer Gunslinger, a subclass focused on gun-fighting techniques. He summoned two revolvers as he stepped onto the ring.
The first thing he did was buff himself. The Wanderer Gunslinger had a buff called Death Revolver, which slightly increased physical damage. Silver Bullet snapped his fingers, and a buff progress bar appeared on his forehead.
Gun Knight Kermo wasn't a dumb NPC. He entered combat mode the moment his enemy stepped onto the ring, still wary of any terrifying moves this Holy Spirit might have.
But who knew Silver Bullet would expose himself, doing a cool pose? The Gun Knight didn't miss this opportunity. He gripped his long spear tightly, red runes appeared on its surface, and in the next second, he threw it, piercing Silver Bullet's heart just as he finished buffing himself.
"Damn it." The Gun Knight hadn't expected the Holy Spirit to have no defense at all. Despite their weak combat awareness, they were supposed to be saviors. Killing one by mistake would be... troublesome.
He had indeed pierced Silver Bullet with his spear. A damage value of -1389 appeared above Silver Bullet's head, and his body couldn't withstand the spear's force, being pushed out of the ring.
Gun Knight Kermo was victorious.
A giant rune appeared on the ring.
That was all it took to win? The Gun Knight couldn't believe it. Were these guys really called warriors? They had no battlefield awareness!
While the Gun Knight was lost in thought, Silver Bullet, who had been pierced through the heart by his spear, stood up. The spear still protruded from his chest.
But even in this state, Silver Bullet started chatting and laughing with his friend.
"This NPC doesn't play by the rules! I was just buffing myself when he used his killing move," Silver Bullet complained.
"Do other players give you time to buff in the PK arena? And why is the spear still in your chest? Do projectiles stay on players this long? Weird, it even has physical collision." His friend touched the crimson spear.
"It feels real. Can I use it to hit people?" Silver Bullet, being casual, even spun around, swinging the spear at his friend's face.
The Gun Knight watched this scene, his forehead twitching. Their hearts were pierced, yet they chatted casually. Were these Holy Spirits monsters?
Monsters or not, they were still too weak.
With a flick of his hand, the crimson spear turned into particles and returned to his grip.
This spear was one of the sacred artifacts of the Flowing Water Country.
"Next!" The Gun Knight loudly called out to all the watching players below.