Chapter 33: The Young Fox of the Paladin

“What should we do… Well, perhaps we should introduce ourselves first, shouldn’t we?” Vinygo suddenly suggested.

How amusing—after all that fighting, and even after striking someone with a sword, to ask for names now seemed almost absurd.

“Swordmaster. Goldeneye,” the wiry man actually replied.

“Dark Priest, Yaga,” the elderly priest also nodded slightly, a gesture of moderate respect toward a formidable opponent.

“Dark Mage, Redice.” The mage with the obscured face under her hood spoke with a clear, feminine voice.

Goldeneye and Redice were clearly codenames, but having a designation to call one another by was sufficient.

“Guardian Knight, Holy Shield,” Vinygo reported without a hint of shame, giving a false name.

“Sophie.” Sophie, on the other hand, was much more honest, giving her true name without embellishment.

“And I’m little Honey, Father.” The little girl giggled as she popped out of the carriage.

Yarorel remained silent; she jumped down from the carriage, raising her hand as a bolt of Fire Bolt spell shot directly towards Goldeneye.

“So it’s you,” Goldeneye grunted. “Hand over the Sacred Emblem, and I won’t kill you.”

“The Sacred Emblem?” Vinygo turned to glance at Yarorel in confusion.

“An ancient relic, infused with a trace of divine power—often possessing mysterious abilities,” Yarorel explained softly. “We found it during an adventure in a certain underground ruin, but—”

“Possessing a treasure is a crime in itself, is it?” Vinygo muttered in his own tongue, then looked up with a smile. “So, gentlemen, is this why you left earlier?”

“The enemy was too strong, so we decided to split up, hoping to increase our chance of escape. This… is very important to us,” Yarorel replied earnestly.

“So you really trust me, Sister Yarorel, to tell me this now?” Vinygo chuckled.

“In a situation like this, what does it matter if I trust you or not?” Yarorel retorted with a hint of annoyance. “Will you help me?”

“We dealt with those three’s companion last night—the one with the bloodthirsty greatsword,” Vinygo said lightly.

Yarorel nodded slightly. No wonder the big brute was missing—it all made sense now.

So, there could be no reconciliation between them. Battle was inevitable.

“Honey, stay behind me,” Vinygo ordered.

“Understood,” Honey replied obediently, immediately raising her hand and casting a beam of light at Goldeneye.

Berserk!

To most warriors, Berserk was a double-edged sword. It granted tremendous destructive power, but at the cost of reason—making a fighter reckless and indiscriminate toward friend or foe. In this particular situation, Berserk would be more harmful than helpful to Goldeneye; with only a priest and a mage at his back, going berserk would be disastrous.

Fortunately, the spell failed. Control spells were never easy to land, and although Honey was gifted, her opponent was clearly a master with a strong will, making success unlikely.

Even so, the divine spell made Goldeneye take the little girl seriously. He immediately sidestepped Sophie’s sweeping greatsword and pounced toward Honey.

“Guard!” Vinygo called out, and as if moved by some unseen force, his body appeared miraculously in front of Honey, sword raised to block and push Goldeneye back.

Vinygo couldn’t learn the martial skills of this world, but he could use the abilities that came with his character build—paladin swordsmanship, though not exquisite, boasted defensive strength that ranked among the best here.

The Holy Sword Technique—it was not “holy” in the sense of transcendence, but holy in the sense of sacred power.

By channeling sacred force into the sword, the technique granted impressive defensive and resistant abilities, and allowed the user to protect vulnerable allies with powerful shielding skills—just as Vinygo was doing now.

But Vinygo’s movements were so strange that Goldeneye misjudged his strength.

“These footwork… this defense…” Goldeneye thought to himself. “Could he be another swordmaster?”

With a clear cry, Sophie charged at Yaga. Goldeneye’s assault had failed to achieve its purpose and instead left Yaga and Redice exposed—in such a moment, Sophie would not let the opportunity slip by.

But rather than attacking Redice, she targeted Yaga.

A Dark Priest was even more troublesome than a Dark Mage.

Both served the gods, but unlike ordinary priests, Dark Priests not only mastered healing and spells of the mind and soul, but could also learn mysterious and powerful dark arts—among them, devastating spells like Dragon’s Breath.

However, unlike mages, some priests, though few, were also adept at combat. Priests excelled with maces and staves, able to channel their faith into these weapons and swiftly knock out opponents. Their proficiency with shields rivaled that of most warriors.

Unfortunately, unlike warriors, priests rarely studied systematic weaponcraft or physical training, being more inclined to meditation.

Clang—a small round shield appeared in Yaga’s hand, blocking Sophie’s greatsword as he retreated two steps. Blue light flashed, and a dazzling ice lance shot in from the side, interrupting Sophie’s pursuit.

It was Redice.

Though a dark mage, she was surprisingly proficient in water spells.

But Vinygo would not underestimate Redice. Dark magic was formidable and versatile, and even if she favored water spells, she would not have neglected those highly practical dark skills.

In that instant, Yarorel retaliated—an intense burst of fire shot straight at Redice. Like Redice, Yarorel preferred quick-casting, low-tier spells.

Fire Bolts and Ice Lances crisscrossed, sending waves of magical energy rippling through the air—mages, after all, could not rely on muscle to withstand attacks like warriors. The excess magical energy in their bodies could, to some degree, mitigate damage.

Otherwise, with the delicate frames of mages—especially elven ones—even a wooden stick could be fatal.

Meanwhile, Sophie unleashed a flurry of attacks at Yaga. Her goal was simple: if she could not kill him quickly, she would at least keep him too busy to cast spells.

Thus, Goldeneye had to fall back to support Yaga against Sophie.

With Goldeneye retreating, Vinygo immediately pressed forward, and Honey cast another Berserk at Goldeneye.

Vinygo again used his Guard skill, this time for Yarorel. All the ice lances meant for Yarorel were intercepted unceremoniously by Vinygo.

Yarorel was momentarily startled, but quickly realized what was happening and unleashed even fiercer spells.

With Vinygo shouldering the attacks, Yarorel did not hesitate to cast higher-level spells, her voice rising in incantation. Neither Goldeneye’s sword nor Redice’s magic could come near her.

All because of Vinygo.

This young man stood before Yarorel like a mountain, shielding her.

At this point, Honey was left unprotected, but Goldeneye, Yaga, and Redice had no strength to spare for her.

From their perspective, attacking Honey would be pointless.

At last, Yarorel completed her spell: Scorching Flame Orb—a mass of hellfire, dark red and crackling, floated slowly but inexorably toward Redice.

Redice did not retaliate, but closed her eyes.

Had she abandoned resistance? No—she was still chanting!

Yaga silently sidestepped, raising his shield. Without a sound, the Royal Shield, imbued with four elemental resistances, was utterly dissolved by Yarorel’s Scorching Flame Orb!

Yaga’s hand was instantly engulfed in a torrent of scorching metal, and the intense flames threatened to consume his whole body in a flash. At that critical moment, Redice suddenly opened her eyes wide and uttered the final word of her spell.

Dark Shield!

This power of darkness instantly increased resistance to the four elements, and granted the effects of Feather Fall and Witch’s Eye—a life-saving spell for Dark Mages and Dark Priests, greatly enhancing their chances of survival.

This timely spell saved Yaga’s life.

Their coordination rivaled that of Merak’s own team.

Yaga immediately cast a healing spell on himself. His burned left arm swiftly recovered, and the flames on his body faded.

“Well done,” Vinygo praised.

Though their method had neutralized a deadly blow, Redice was now likely unable to cast spells for a while—Dark Shield, though practical, drained her mental strength, which would take some time to replenish.

If she were a master of darkness, the recovery might be faster. But Redice specialized in water magic, and her dark arts were not as refined.

This window—these few minutes while Redice was incapacitated—was their chance.

Vinygo stepped forward, charging into the flurry of Goldeneye’s sword, parrying the longsword with his own. Sophie, understanding without a word, lunged at Yaga, swinging her sword down.

“Not so fast!” Goldeneye roared, charging at Sophie, but Vinygo’s Guard skill once again shielded her.

The two swords clashed—Goldeneye unleashed a blinding flurry, seven strikes in an instant, all striking Vinygo.

“Fast, but… too light,” Vinygo grunted.

His chain mail was of fine quality, enchanted with agility magic that did not hinder his movement and offered excellent protection. Coupled with the paladin’s emphasis on defense, Vinygo now resembled an iron tortoise—solid as a rock.

Paladin—Vinygo!