Two things.

One is a crown shaped like a thorn and made of white jade.

The Holy Crown of Thorns is said to be a test specially tailored by God for certain special believers. Wearing it will cause a bloody head and a lot of anguish.

Even so, you must not change your faith, only then can you be considered to have passed God's test.

One piece is a long black spike.

It is also called the Holy Nail.

According to folklore, a certain god's incarnation on earth died from having a holy nail driven through his heart.

At this time, the two items flew out of the package by themselves, and there was a trace of breath wafting out of them.

The aura spread into the fragments of the divine realm.

The fragmented space also began to expand.

at the same time.

Source quality: 0.6. The two items brought Carl 0.6 source quality, which means an increase of 0.3 in adding points.

The city guards occupied the entire Black City, and the items they regarded as treasures must be good things.

This is obviously a pleasant surprise!

Carl waved his hand to summon the data panel.

Name: Carl

Constitution: 1.47 Mental Strength: 1.92 Essence: 0.6 Occupation: Knight Squire, Intermediate Wizard Apprentice

The changes were minor, except that he had gone from a junior wizard apprentice to an intermediate level, and his source essence was no longer zero.

Carl stroked his chin.

He did not intend to keep the source essence for later use, but he was struggling over whether to add it to his physical or mental strength.

Increasing mental power will undoubtedly be more beneficial to the practice of the wizard's path, but it is difficult to effectively convert it into strength for the time being.

Add physical fitness...

It is beneficial in the short term, but not cost-effective in the long term.

"Increase physical fitness!"

Carl's eyes narrowed, and the value in the physical fitness column jumped slightly, rising directly from 1.47 to 1.77.

We’ll talk about the future later.

What happened in Heicheng has proved that for him now, improving his physical fitness will ensure his safety.

“Hmm…”

The warm air flow kept rushing through his body, and the enhanced strength made Carl subconsciously clench his hands.

“This power…”

"It can definitely crush ordinary knights!"

Even if facing a knight who has mastered the fighting spirit, Carl is now confident that he can defeat him.

in addition……

Life potion!

He took out three bottles of life potion and placed them on the table one by one. Then he turned around and found a crystal ball and walked over.

The Crystal Ball is a low-quality enchanted item.

Can perform analysis three times.

Holding the crystal ball in his hand, Carl urged his mental strength to utter syllables: "謌...莿..."

“Swish!”

As the voice fell, the crystal ball emitted a soft white light, and the halo fell, covering the three bottles of life potion.

Carl narrowed his eyes and looked at the life potion through the crystal ball.

White light!

Three balls of white light swayed slightly, some were larger, some were smaller, and one of them was mixed with black lines.

"Impurities?"

The life potion mixed with black lines means that the materials were not handled well during the refining process, resulting in a small amount of impurities in the finished product, which will inevitably affect the efficacy of the medicine when taken.

The size of the light ball and the intensity of the light represent the quality of the medicine.

There are no other colors, which means that there is no tampering with the potion, such as poisoning.

Picking up the best quality life potion among the three bottles, Carl stepped to the place where he practiced in the past, raised his head and swallowed the potion.

Without hesitation,

No hesitation.

He actually chose this time to break through.

"My current physique is much stronger than that of an ordinary knight, and I have perfect control over my body with the fragment of the divine domain. There is no reason for me to fail in the breakthrough."

Carl exhaled a long breath, got into position, and silently practiced the Giant Breathing Technique.

"call……"

"suck!"

"call……"

As the breathing continues and the method is practiced, the life energy hidden deep in the body is stimulated little by little.

The life potion that entered the body turned into countless warm currents, flowing from the stomach and intestines to the limbs and bones.

In Carl's perception.

His entire body was like a reciprocating life force field, and the core of the force field...

It's the heart! "Plop!"

“Plop!”

With the continuous infusion of life energy, the heart beats stronger and the blood flows more vigorously, like a rushing river.

"Congeal!"

As his mind focused, the giant's breathing method changed accordingly, and a huge suction force emerged from his heart and swept across his body.

Countless life energies suddenly gathered inward.

Time seemed to have stopped.

Carl's consciousness also fell into a daze.

At some point.

Like the rapid roar of spring thunder, all things begin to sprout.

A breath symbolizing vitality emerged from Carl's body, and the abundant breath of life washed back and forth through his limbs and bones.

Seed of life!

The location is where the heart is.

Carl opened his eyes, thinking.

"The so-called seed of life is actually the heart. The blood flowing through the heart brings nutrients that strengthen the seed of life."

"The life force contained in the life seed will also nourish the knight's body as the blood flows."

"The two complement each other until the seed of life receives enough nutrients to take root and sprout in the body, and then it becomes a great knight."

"If the roots of the seed of life extend to every part of the body and complete the true evolution of life, then you should be a legendary knight."

The so-called knight training.

It is the process that allows life to evolve.

Carl stopped his movements and stood up from the ground, and as he stretched his limbs, crackling sounds were heard.

The sound was like firecrackers at first, and then gradually became like thunder.

Until...

"boom!"

The invisible aura pushed away the surrounding air, and Carl's clothes shook rapidly and made loud noises.

Fighting spirit!

The fighting spirit can increase the knight's attack power, improve his defense, and even threaten invisible beings such as the undead and ghosts! Only knights with strong vitality and a certain degree of mastery of breathing techniques can stimulate the fighting spirit.

Many knights never master this skill in their lifetime.

now.

Carl had just condensed his life seed and became a formal knight, but he was already able to release it.

This is also normal.

Although he had just advanced, his vitality was inherently stronger than that of an ordinary knight. In addition, he had perfect control over his body due to the fragment of the divine domain and his training of breathing techniques was meticulous, so it was natural for him to stimulate his fighting spirit.

“Swish!”

Carl grabbed the broadsword beside him and swung it casually.

The heavy sword was as light as straw in his hand, and when its speed reached a certain level, it even made a sharp whistling sound as it broke through the air.

Waving fighting spirit.

In the blink of an eye, the area several meters around him was almost completely covered by sword shadows.

What once required a huge effort to achieve can now be accomplished with almost no effort.

"Bang!"

The broadsword slammed heavily on the ground. If this wasn't a fragment of the divine domain, it would have created a shallow pit even if the bottom was made of rocks.

"Cool!"

Carl just felt his muscles and bones relaxed, and his endless energy was difficult to release, so he couldn't help but shout.

Then he waved his hand to summon the data panel.

He felt like he had been reborn after becoming a knight, and his strength should have improved significantly.

Name: Carl

Constitution: 2.1 Mental Strength: 2 Essence: 0 Occupation: Knight, Intermediate Wizard Apprentice

"Um?"

Carl's eyes changed slightly:

“Such a big change!”

After advancing to Knight, his data panel changed dramatically.

The occupation column changed from Knight Squire to Knight, and the physique increased directly from 1.77 to 2.1.

Even the mental strength increased from 1.92 to 2.

"It's normal for the physique to improve after condensing the life seed and completing the evolution of the body, but the increase is so great..."

Carl thought thoughtfully: "It should be due to the Giant Breathing Technique!"

The Giant Spirit Breathing Technique is said to be a practice method passed down by the gods themselves to loyal believers, used to protect their own kingdom of God and resist the invasion of foreign gods.

It is clearly written that this breathing method can greatly improve physical fitness, especially strength.

It can allow mortals to possess the power of ancient giants!

And mental strength...

"If the body is strong, the spirit will be strong, not to mention that the evolution of the body already includes the mind."

"It's understandable if it's a little bit stronger."

"all in all."

Carl moved his arms and said, "I am so strong now that ordinary knights would fall down after just a few strikes from me."

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a while, he looked at the clock beside him, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Two days have passed already?"

The clock not only recorded the time, but also the date. It had been two days since he took the life potion.

It feels like it only takes a moment.

* * * The grass swayed, and Carl's figure appeared out of nowhere.

"Um?"

As soon as he returned to the other world, he noticed that the atmosphere around him was different, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the Black City.

The Black City is shrouded in gray fog all year round.

Seen from outside, the city looks like a giant beast entrenched on the earth, with an ominous gray aura all over its body.

The thick fog lingered and refused to dissipate.

now.

A gray gas column connecting the sky and the earth appeared in the center of the black city, and countless gray smoke dissipated in all directions.

Just like...

Countless tentacles wrapped in thick fog expanded towards the surrounding wilderness and forests with the Black City as the center.

Wherever it passed, all life in the area covered by thick fog withered.

With the naked eye, one can see patches of green forests withering and flocks of birds falling, and one can imagine the situation in the city.

I’m afraid…

It's hard to escape!

"boom!"

"boom……"

Waves of wind, like tsunamis, surged in from the center of the Black City.

The trees in the surrounding mountains and forests were shaking, the beasts were running away in panic, and even the clouds in the sky were pushed far away.

"what happened?"

Karl’s face turned pale and he subconsciously took a step back.

At this moment, Heicheng was like an angry beast, unscrupulously releasing the anger that had been suppressed for a long time.

Even though they were far apart, the invisible pressure still made Carl feel uneasy and as if he was facing a formidable enemy.

Look closely.

At the edge of the thick fog, there were many black spots desperately fleeing, trying to get away before the fog expanded.

City guards, merchants, miners...

No matter what their identities were before, they are now panicked escapees.

Those who escaped slowly were enveloped by the fog, fell to the ground with screams, and died in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, the fog did not expand very quickly, so if adults ran faster, they still had a chance to escape.

However, human power is limited, while the fog is tireless, and more and more people are still being drawn into it.

“Gurgle…”

Carl's throat rolled, and he turned and ran backwards.

Such divine power was beyond human power to resist, and the confidence that had just risen in his knighthood disappeared in an instant.

This place is far away from the Black City, so there is no need to worry about being caught up by the fog for the time being, and you can also see a few people walking on the road.

Those who escaped came in groups or alone, and no matter who they were, they were very wary of each other.

No one said anything.

They are all running wildly.

After running for a distance, he heard a chaotic sound in front of him. Carl looked up and his eyes moved slightly.

But I saw two teams fighting at the edge of the woods.

One side had both men and women, all of them ragged, pale and thin. They must be the people fleeing from the Black City. Although they were numerous, they were clearly at a disadvantage.

Most of the other party were fully armed and could advance and retreat with confidence, but they were actually city guards.

"Sir, can't we just leave all the stuff behind?" Someone started to yell, "You guys only want stuff, there's no need to kill people!"

"snort!"

The rider on horseback waved his spear and snorted coldly, "It's too late to say it now!"

Before the voice fell, the rider suddenly clamped his legs together, the horse under his crotch instantly accelerated, and the spear in his hand used the force to stab out.

"puff!"

The spear pierced through the chest of the man who was speaking, was lifted high up by the rider, and then fell heavily to the grass.

After landing, his body twitched and there was no sound.

"Sixth Brother!"

Some people among the people shouted in grief and anger: "Fight them!"

"kill!"

"Killing one is no loss, killing two is a profit, don't be afraid, brothers, let's go together!"

Although the crowd kept cheering and boosting morale, it could not make up for the gap in strength between the two sides.

The city guards had several knight squires, including one who was a top expert among the knight squires.

The resistance was suppressed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“Swish!”

"puff!"

A city guard was waving his sword and was about to chop down a man, but his body suddenly stiffened and he fell limply to the ground.

Blood and brain matter were gushing out from the back of his head; it was obvious that his skull had been smashed by something.

"Lu!"

The nearby city guards' expressions changed drastically upon seeing this, and their gazes turned to Carl on the outskirts of the battlefield.

"Is it you?"

He pointed the knife and rushed over.

"Oh……"

Carl chuckled.

At the same time, he gently waved his arms, and glowing arcane missiles flew out one after another.

The power of arcane missiles is no less than that of powerful arrows. Once they hit the vital points, even the knights and squires will have no chance of escape.

It is even easier to deal with ordinary soldiers.

"when!"

An arcane missile knocked the weapon away.

"Bang!"

Another arcane missile took the opportunity to hit the armor, and a crack was instantly created in the fragile iron armor.

"puff!"

The last arcane missile found a gap and flew in.

The soldier's body trembled, and he fell to the ground following his companions. The whole process took only a few breaths.

"Sign?"

"careful!"

"He can't post it many times!"

The city guards started shouting when they saw this, and they were filled with fear and anger. Two of the riders turned their horses around and rushed towards Carl.

Such a powerful seal is very rare.

But no matter what kind of seal is used, it will consume energy and it is difficult to perform continuously in a short period of time.

In their simple understanding, there are no exceptions.

Carl raised his hand.

Fire seal!

Fire seal!

Arcane Missiles!

…

Fireballs the size of washbasins flew out one after another and exploded in the air. The flames frightened the horses so much that they screamed and raised their front hooves high.

In chaos.

Arcane Missiles are like a dagger in the hands of an assassin, piercing the rider's throat and quickly taking his life.

Carl moved forward while casting spells, using arcane missiles and fire seals in turn, and the city guards fell to the ground one after another.

Long range attack.

There are Arcane Missiles.

Medium distance, with fire mark.

Melee.

He was even more fearless! A team of more than a dozen city guards, with several war horses, had no power to resist Karl alone.

even.

Even running away is not an option! The speed at which a horse can turn around is far slower than that of an arcane missile, and turning around and running away would expose one's weak points.

This was a one-sided massacre. It was not a group of city guards surrounding and killing Carl, but he alone slaughtered the city guards.

"boom!"

The fireball hit the warhorse and exploded with a loud bang. The powerful explosive force tore the horse and the person on it into pieces.

The next moment, blood and flesh flew everywhere.

'really!'

'Wizards kill people faster, just like the Grim Reaper mowing down the grass, and they don't need to get close to each other, so they are safer.'

'Even if a regular knight comes, an elite team of more than a dozen people will have to temporarily avoid the sharp edge. Even if they can win in the end, they will inevitably be injured, and it is impossible to annihilate them completely.'

'But the wizard...'

'But it can be easily solved! '

When he took action, Carl even had the mood to think.

"In general, in a one-on-one situation in a relatively small space, the knight has the advantage, while in other situations, the wizard is stronger."

“Hmm…”

"Whether a wizard is powerful or not is related to the witchcraft he has mastered, as well as the magic items and potions he carries."

"And the knight's strength is even purer."

In just a few moments, the city guards who had been so arrogant before were either dead or injured and fell to the ground.

Carl walked toward the crowd.

"Don't be nervous."

He noticed the nervousness of the group of people, stopped in front of the team, and asked, "I just want to know what happened in the Black City?"

"Knight... Sir Knight."

A middle-aged man walked out of the crowd and stammered, "Thank you for your help. You can take whatever you want from us."

Although Carl had never used any martial arts, in their opinion, such a strong man must be a knight, and it would not be wrong to call him Master Knight.

"I did."

Carl shook his head:

"I just want to know what happened in the Black City?"

"Yes, yes."

The man nodded repeatedly and said:

"We don't know what happened either, we just know that there was a sudden eruption of negative energy in Pit No. 2."

"In a very short period of time, the entire Black City was shrouded in yin energy, and many people underwent abnormal changes on the spot."

Thinking of the situation at that time, everyone in the field couldn't help but show a deep fear on their faces.

"At that time, the city was in chaos and the city gates were damaged, so we took advantage of the chaos to leave the city. Later, we heard that a negative energy erupted in Pit No. 2 again."

"Now……"

He looked in the direction of the Black City and shook his head slightly:

"I'm afraid there are no living people left in the entire Black City!"

"Master Knight, we don't know exactly what happened, we just know it has something to do with the stuff under Pit No. 2."

Hearing this, Karl nodded slowly.

Under the No. 2 pit? Not surprising! "Then..." The man said cautiously: "Master Knight, can we go now?"

"Let's go."

Karl waved his hand, turned around and came to a seriously injured city guard, squatted down and said slowly: "Now, it's your turn."

(End of this chapter)