Angus was dead.

The great knight of the North, renowned throughout the empire, who had spent decades establishing stable towns across the northern frontier and protecting hundreds of thousands of people, was gone.

Silence, as if merging with the snow and wind, fell upon every knight across the northern border.

All the knights in the entire northern region were plunged into endless sorrow.

They mourned silently towards the sky.

Mourning this great knight who had guarded the northern frontier.

Indeed, he had accomplished his mission of safeguarding the peace of the northern border.

This snowy plain had been protected for over thirty years, nurturing batch after batch of powerful knights.

In the hearts of all the knights in the North, Angus was like a teacher and a father.

Strict, but fair.

Sorrow and anger suddenly flooded the entire snow plain like a tidal wave, filling the knights' hearts with mixed emotions.

At this moment, the knights standing in front of the fortress of the Delin family all removed their helmets and lowered their heads.

For several minutes, the wind and snow seemed to intensify, the air became more oppressive, and time seemed to turn slowly like a gear, ticking away bit by bit.

Gwen raised her head again, looking at Jaxu, her voice calm:

"He was still alive just now."

"Just a moment ago, Father stopped breathing."

Jaxu's calm voice sounded, with seemingly little grief in his tone.

"Besides, even if he hadn't died, do you think Father in that state could be called 'alive'?"

After engaging with Viktor once, Angus had become dazed and even lost his most basic rationality.

If he couldn't recover for a long time, that could no longer be called 'living'.

But even so, everyone knew clearly in their hearts.

Being alive and being dead were two different concepts.

If Angus were alive, then Viktor had merely injured Angus.

But now Angus was dead.

Regardless of the true cause of death, the accusation of intentionally murdering an imperial meritorious official would definitely be pinned on Viktor's head, difficult to remove.

Jaxu's appearance had driven another nail into the coffin of Viktor's crime of murder.

Angus had indeed done some immoral things.

However,

Respect the dead.

Moreover, from the true meaning of duty, Angus had not done anything heinous,

He had merely disregarded the lives of useless residents.

At this point, no matter what reasons were given, they couldn't compare to Angus's 'death'.

The man was already dead, even if people would find his crimes.

Angus's death was already a fact.

Jaxu slowly spoke.

"The news has spread throughout the entire North, and it won't be long before all the knights under the domain arrive."

"Gwen, do you really want to continue sheltering that criminal?"

Gwen listened to Jaxu's words, biting her lip, frowning, her eyes fixed on Jaxu.

How Angus actually died, whether he was truly dead or feigning death.

She couldn't tell.

Gwen stared into Jaxu's eyes, seeming to see a hint of a victor's smile in his gaze.

But...

"Have you said enough? How about letting me say a few words?"

A cold voice came from behind Gwen, accompanied by the howling of wind and snow, yet it reached Jaxu and the knights' ears clearly and distinctly.

Although the distance was great, that intense piercing chill penetrated to the bone.

The white giant bird transformed into a whirlwind, turning into white runes that re-inscribed themselves on Viktor's coat.

But he didn't land, instead standing steadily in mid-air.

The air beneath his feet seemed to swirl and coil, carrying white crystals to form steps under his feet.

One step, two steps, like a dancer gracefully exiting in the wind, he walked forward.

He stepped past Gwen, past the knights.

Before the knights could react, Viktor had already walked in front of Jaxu.

Countless knights saw Viktor appear behind them.

At this moment, he had already penetrated deep into the knights' encirclement.

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As if suddenly reacting, they all drew their blades.

"Protect Young Master Jaxu!"

With a shout, the knights raised their weapons, treading on the faint snow and wind, surging towards Viktor.

But Viktor didn't move at all.

A wind barrier suddenly whirled up around him, and the white beneath his feet was also raised by this huge storm, blocking the knights outside.

The wind barrier was transparent, and even through the specks of white stars, the knights could still see Viktor.

But they just couldn't break through and enter.

All the knights could only watch, watching Viktor and Jaxu face off.

The knight behind Jaxu who was pushing the wheelchair had long been frightened and sat on the ground, trembling all over.

Viktor looked at Jaxu's eyes full of smiles and slowly spoke:

"Let's not discuss how Angus actually died, but you seem to have forgotten one thing."

A gleam flashed in Viktor's eyes, as if Death had already raised his scythe, just waiting to fall.

"Have you forgotten that I am a mage?"

The badge on his chest symbolizing a mage councilor began to glow, carrying a magnificent magical aura.

But Jaxu remained calm, looking at Viktor, narrowing his eyes.

In an instant, a blue light suddenly flashed in Viktor's eyes.

Suddenly, the ground was covered by a huge magic array, lighting up with a thick black color, and even the fine snow and wind stopped with it.

Everyone was surrounded by this huge black magic array, and an extremely strong and profound magical aura constantly emerged from the ground.

Black mist gradually overflowed from the array, as if with consciousness, creeping towards the huge silver fortress strand by strand.

Countless patterns slowly began to construct under each knight's feet, and runes also slowly appeared on the edges.

Jaxu was in the center of the array, unperturbed.

"Are you showing me your strength?"

"You can kill me at will, kill everyone present."

"The news will spread, and everyone will remember you as the demon who harmed the loyal and good."

Viktor sighed, blowing off the snow flakes on his body.

"You're really delusional."

"Loyal and good? Are you worthy?"

On the magic array, black flames suddenly began to spread, those terrifying flames like vengeful spirits gradually crawled up everyone's bodies, and also gradually completely covered the castle.

But... no one could feel the heat brought by the flames.

The black flames were like phantoms, and perhaps their only function was to let the group of knights' gaze feel shocked.

"You think you're not afraid of death, so I can't do anything to you?"

Viktor was still speaking, but Jaxu wasn't afraid at all.

Until Viktor suddenly revealed a smile.

That smile, in Jaxu's eyes, seemed to stretch to his ears, extremely creepy.

He suddenly froze in the wheelchair, watching Viktor walk towards him leisurely.

At his heart, it felt as if something was gripping it, causing him unbearable pain.

He shouldn't have such pain.

Viktor slowly bent down, leaning close to Jaxu's ear, speaking in a voice only he could hear:

"Disguising as a human—"

"Is it fun?"

Suddenly, Jaxu's eyes widened.

The constantly spreading blackness collectively rolled forward, flying off the knights' bodies and into the distance.

The knights watched that black mass fly towards the Delin mansion, their gazes involuntarily turning there.

At this moment, the entire fortress seemed to be swallowed by an even larger black beast.

The flames burned fiercely, as if it was the greedy chewing of a giant beast.

Inside the castle, a painful cry suddenly rang out, bursting forth from the depths of the blackness.

Viktor stepped back a few paces, a smile appearing on his face.

It was the smile of a victor.

"Found you."

"[Believer of the Goddess]"

As soon as the words fell, Jaxu's body rapidly collapsed like a burnt-out twig.

Black smoke was constantly released, the white bandages on his body gradually fell off, Jaxu's body seemed to be hollowed out like flesh, leaving only a human skin slowly falling.

Everyone widened their eyes, seeing this extremely shocking scene before them, immediately feeling nauseous.

They looked back at Viktor.

In the knights' eyes, it was as if Viktor had used magic to extract Jaxu's flesh and blood.

Otherwise, how could this scene before them be explained?

At this moment, knights rushing from the town quickly arrived, riding horses, treading through the snow.

They also took in this scene.

This naturally included Kevla.

She watched as Jaxu's body suddenly withered, finally turning into a human skin, collapsed in the chair.

Instantly, Kevla's mind went blank.

But this was just the beginning.

The magic array under Viktor's feet suddenly erupted with a huge burst of energy.

The sun ignited in the sky, completely burning and melting countless snowflakes.

A heart-piercing scream constantly emanated from that huge Delin mansion, violent wails echoing in all directions.

Everyone's gaze was completely drawn to that black flame.

In the black flames, a huge monster suddenly broke out, its body constantly burning.

Accompanied by the breaking of steel and the crushing of wood, a black mass of flesh slowly squeezed out.

The huge body was covered with tentacles and eyes, and green slime dripped from the trembling mouthparts.

It was like various organs jumbled together, making people feel incredibly absurd.

The tentacles all over its body constantly danced, and even though it was continuously burned by the flames, the huge mouths on it were still craving for something, constantly trembling.

The knights looked at this unknown thing before them, immediately scared back dozens of meters.

They stood there, looking at the sky in disbelief.

Kevla was even more dumbfounded, she couldn't believe that this creature, more terrifying than demons, would suddenly emerge from the Delin family mansion.

"What... what is this..."

Gwen looked at the black monster, drew her blade, stepped forward, and stood beside Viktor.

"Vik—tor—"

A howl like a dying gasp constantly sounded slowly from the sky, rumbling like a giant drum being pierced.

"Vik—tor—"

"Why—do—you—know—"

At this moment, the sun was high in the sky, and extreme heat constantly invaded everyone.

Viktor's coat fluttered wildly.

"Did Angus tell you before he died that he had recently changed his faith?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot he couldn't speak."

He spread his hands, with a confident smile even in the corners of his eyes.

That demonic crow on his shoulder revealed an even more cunning light in its single eye.

As if the final winner on the chessboard.

"Checkmate, your move."

....

To Be Continued..