However, the attack was aborted.

The monster stopped in front of the girl, its axe hovering in mid-air, refusing to fall. As if remembering something, the humanoid creature began to tremble slightly.

Still shaken, Todd turned to look at Karin. A glittering pendant that had fallen from her chest caught his attention. It was a semi-transparent piece of glass, hand-polished into a round shape and suspended by a thin rope.

In a flash, he suddenly remembered what it was...

That was their first failed attempt at making optical glass when they first met. They had always thought it was gone, but this silly girl had kept it with her like a treasure.

All thoughts flashed by in an instant. Looking at the axe blade less than thirty centimeters above Karin's head, Todd's mind went blank. He activated his "Weakening" ability, rushing between Karin and the monster, his hands firmly supporting the thick arm wielding the giant axe. Black gas emanated from his palms, seeping into the enemy's body, causing her arm to go limp, and the axe to fall to the ground nearby.

Then, Todd stopped using his "Weakness" ability, picked up Karin, and used his "Speed" ability to run to a relatively safe place.

To his surprise, Alfonso and Leslie didn't offer any help from beginning to end; instead, they looked at him with disbelief.

The monster picked up its axe again, turned towards Karin, paused for a moment, then began to back away, seemingly having lost its will to fight and wanting to flee the area.

The knight, regaining his senses, looked away from Todd, moved forward, raised his greatsword, and blocked all the enemy's retreat routes.

The enormous humanoid creature scooped up the blood flowing from its wound and splashed it towards the fourth winch. The blood, which should have hit the ground, instead firmly wrapped around the iron chains on the winch.

Moments later, the blood spontaneously combusted, and the flames that rose were not the usual red and yellow, but rather faintly tinged with a purplish-black color. The iron chains were heated until they turned red-hot and gradually deformed.

Alfonso was stunned; he was faced with a choice.

Todd and Karin were no match for the monster, and Leslie was too far away. He had two choices: either extinguish the flames on the winch and let the monster carrying the "Sutherland Relic" go, or continue to entangle the enemy, but the chains might melt and break, the drawbridge would be lowered, and the northern barbarians would invade the castle.

After a few seconds of thought, the knight chose the first option.

Just as he turned to run toward the winch, a giant axe suddenly attacked from behind, catching him off guard. His armor was shattered, and the axe pierced his back.

Having landed a successful blow, the monster did not pursue, but instead glanced at Karin one last time before leaving the battlefield.

"Boss!" Leslie, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, extinguished the flames on his body and, seeing the knight severely wounded, crawled on the ground toward Alfonso.

The latter used his greatsword to support his body and walked step by step to the winch. He placed his palm on the dark purple flames, and the blazing heat was absorbed into his body. The iron chains slowly cooled down and returned to their original color.

Todd put down the girl in his arms and quickly ran to the knight's side, rummaging through his pockets for medicine bottles.

To his utter surprise, Alfonso, with his last ounce of strength, reversed his greatsword, the blade pointing at his throat, and weakly said, "Father Todd, please forgive me, the successor of Sutherland must die..."

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Gazing at the fierce battle between the defenders and the barbarians in front of the Watchtower Bridge in the distance, Hougu sat on a rock with his legs crossed, leisurely sipping a sip of warm ale.

Seeing the worried look on Master Myris's face beside him, he said easily, "If I remember correctly, that was the third chain, right? We're not far from success..."

The old man tucked his hands into his sleeves, his hunched body remaining motionless.

The young man paused, then continued, "When Mr. Byrne was being hunted down by the Inquisitors while transporting the 'Sutherland Relics,' no one expected that he would choose to swallow a copper tube and use his body to hide the relic in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Church."

"The judge's blade pierced the copper tube in his stomach, and the relics entered his body, including his head, before he died. He was the first person to 'survive'... no... nearly survive after coming into contact with the relics. This provides our 'Relief Society' with a new direction in how to use the relics."

Upon hearing this, Master Myris's body trembled slightly.

In the distance, a huge figure leaped off the castle wall, but the fourth sound of chains breaking was delayed, and the drawbridge remained unlowered.

Adam's apple furrowed as he took another sip of beer, then sighed, "It's cold..."