Chapter 696: Shadows

Legend has it that the "Shadow Legion" were also believers of a god.

But that was perhaps not a benign deity.

In the northeastern reaches of the Orc Kingdom lay a tranquil border town.

It was already evening, and the setting sun seemed to carpet the paths between the ridges with a deep crimson.

A few young children at the entrance of the village still played untiringly, while a butterfly gently alighted on the fence overgrown with morning glory vines.

The busy villagers were returning home one after another, finishing their day's work.

A middle-aged herdsman hummed an unfamiliar ballad, driving herds of cattle and sheep across the fields.

There were hunters too, returning from the forest after hunting magical beasts, carrying a massive grey wolf upon their shoulders, talking and laughing as they came back.

Suddenly, as if in a dream, a black wind swept across the earth, and thunder that rent the heavens and the earth shattered the tranquility of the entire town, as a slender, demon-like silhouette stepped out from the darkness.

Beside him followed another figure, draped in a wide, black mage's cloak, but beneath the cloak, only a dark void could be seen.

As they walked, they seemed to bring with them a terrible death.

"You... you are...?" the farmer asked, frozen in place, his heart trembling with apprehension.

"Ah... we need some... sacrifices."

"Do you mean these cattle and sheep?" the farmer looked at the terrifying figure before him with a mix of ignorance and dread.

"No."

Within the dark shadow, some monster seemed to open its massive maw.

Immediately after, only a succession of incomparably shrill shriekings could be heard; those screams did not dissipate for quite some time, but rather sounded as though someone were enduring an unceasing, cruel torture, growing hoarse yet never breaking off.

Blood splattered all over the ground.

Everyone in the town, whether commoners or warriors, cried out in terror and fled frantically as if driven mad.

"Do not waste time," the other figure wearing the black magic robe spoke.

"No," the slender figure said, watching the agonizingly struggling crowd, "it is quite amusing, is it not?"

"No... do not advance any further!" two knights drew their longswords and shouted in reprimand.

"You... are not fleeing?"

"Do not think we are afraid of you!" the two knights trembled violently, yet they still stood their ground, a drop of cold sweat falling from them, as if they might turn and run at any moment.

"Your target... is me, is it not." Just then, a middle-aged knight stepped out from the crowd.

"You are..." The two knights looked closely at this man whose face was so covered in a thick beard that it resembled a lion's countenance, seemingly unable to believe their eyes, and confirmed it once more, "The Lionheart! It is the Tier 9 Knight, Lord Lionheart Sutifarl?!"

"Fall back!" the middle-aged knight revealed a grave expression.

But in the next instant...

"Ugh..." Only a groan of pain was heard as this Tier 9 knight looked down in horror at his own chest, gaping wide, his heart seemingly vanished unaccountably! Only a pitch-black claw remained.

"A Tier 9... knight?" the slender figure sneered, tossing the knight's corpse away like piece of trash, "What rubbish?"

It was as though countless terrifying monsters and demons broke free from the darkness, as screams and wails echoed through the town that had been peaceful and serene just a moment before, now reduced to a hell of blood and death.

"We... truly only need a tiny bit of sacrifice..."

...

No one knew what was happening on the other side of the vast continent.

Canglan City remained just as bustling and prosperous.

It was worth mentioning that back in the era before Fang Qi crossed over, during the World of Warcraft version 6.0, every class had its own class quests every 10 levels, unlike later times when skills were learned automatically.

It narrated a class's code of conduct, the beliefs they ought to uphold, and the meaning of their existence; it let the players know that each class was not merely a simple name or a couple of characters.

It was like a history book; turning each of its pages, one could feel the heavy weight of generations of class practitioners blowing against one's face.

The quest of several Golden Gryphon Knights had reached this stage, and the last person requiring their redemption was a dwarf; the dwarf receiving treatment in the cathedral told them that they had previously been ambushed near Stonecairn Lake to the east of Elwynn Forest because they had overheard a conspiracy of the Defias Brotherhood, and when they rushed up to stop it, his brother Henze had sacrificed himself on the spot to hold back those Defias mages.

Arriving at Stonecairn Lake, the breathing of the several knights from the Golden Gryphon Knight Order grew increasingly hurried.

"Can we really use this..." Commander Evan was still somewhat apprehensive at this moment, holding in his hand the Symbol of Life handed to him by the most outstanding Paladin in Stormwind City, "Can this really bring someone back from the dead...?"

An icy rain was falling over Stonecairn Lake, and the Defias thieves had already been driven away, leaving only a cold corpse lying in the center of the small island.

It was a robust dwarf, his clothes completely soaked by the rainwater, a large amount of blood washed away by the rain, having clearly been dead for some time.

"Use this?" Under the watchful eyes of the other knights from the Golden Gryphon Knight Order, Commander Evan held the Symbol of Life in his hand and activated it using the Holy Light energy within his body.

Soon, his palm and his entire body were enveloped by a warm glow.

The golden light seemed to transfer onto the corpse of the dwarf, and immediately following that, the dark clouds in the sky parted as a shaft of golden light that pierced heaven and earth poured down upon the dwarf's body.

Next, they actually witnessed that "corpse" slowly regain consciousness and climb up from the ground!

"A miracle! This is a miracle!" The few knights witnessing this scene were filled with shock and emotion; they had seen a miracle under the Holy Light manifest with their own eyes!

This terrifying ability, this dreadful miracle, was this what a Paladin was?!

No! One must know that even a Saint could not resurrect the dead; this seemed to have touched upon the taboo of the gods!

Their hearts were both excited and thrilled at this moment; they could actually... truly bring a life that had been dead for a long time back to vibrant life.

They felt as if they had grasped a shocking and monumental secret, and they felt... that there was probably no greater miracle in the world than this!

"Thank you." Just as the dwarf stood up, the injuries on his body were almost completely healed, "Thank you for saving me. The Symbol of Life is not something just anyone can use; that you could activate it shows you possess sufficient faith."

"Oh! Is that so?!" Commander Evan looked left and right, still seemingly finding it hard to believe.

"I also feel that Lord Evan is a humble and friendly person."

"Oh hahaha! Does this mean I can learn this ability now?" Commander Evan said with immense excitement.

...

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