"Interesting!" Perched atop his horse, John spoke, his voice tinged with a sinister laugh, "Dragging oneself into danger to buy time for others to escape—how long has it been since I've seen such a person?"

HEH HEH... Carl's actions, in his view, were utterly foolish. If the Gods hadn't fallen, such character might have had a chance to enter the Divine Domain and serve the deities. Now, it was simply a pointless death!

"Elder!"

"Elder Carl!"

The members of the Dragon King Chamber of Commerce were dazed, their faces filled with sorrow. They could only watch helplessly as Carl's figure was engulfed by the mist.

By the time the treacherous fog dissipated, no one remained. He had presumably been torn apart and devoured clean by the sea people.

"Elder Carl."

Quincy was dumbfounded. He knew Carl's strength. Had he died so easily? How could it be possible?

He instinctively looked towards Conni.

Conni's brow was deeply furrowed, his eyes reflective.

"Continue!" John waved his hand. "Send another fifty men. Choose a different direction."

The crowd from the Sea God Assembly stirred, but ultimately, fifty people obediently stepped forward.

「Night fell.」

The people from Jiliu City gathered together once more.

"Today, over thirty people died, including Carl," Hawke said beside the campfire, glancing at Conni.

He didn't believe Carl was dead.

Conni, his face expressionless, changed the subject. "It seems the Death Knights are determined to reach the City Lord's mansion. We still have much to do."

The others nodded in agreement.

"The Death Knights' goal is to enter the City Lord's mansion, and we need to lure away nearby threats," Conni said. Holding a dry branch, he casually drew a few strokes on the ground that astonishingly resembled the nearby terrain.

As a Legendary captain, sketching terrain maps was, naturally, a basic skill.

He mused, "Six hundred men... even if we manage to lure away the threats, I'm afraid not many will survive. Perhaps they never considered our lives at all."

The crisp CRACKLE of the campfire echoed, yet no one spoke.

They were only on the outskirts of Freedom Port, and it was already so perilous; a moment's inattention could cost one's life.

Luring out the sea people from deeper within meant sacrificing lives!

But just as Conni had said, the Death Knights likely never considered their survival at all.

"What are you doing?"

A sudden roar interrupted everyone's thoughts. They stood up and looked in the direction of the sound.

Several Death Knights had appeared among the injured, dragging out one severely wounded person after another.

Death Embrace!

The Death Knight who appeared to be the leader stretched out a hand, gripping a person's skull, his eyes emitting an eerie glow.

As strands of black mist emerged from his hand and entered the other's skull, the severely injured person's body convulsed.

Once the Death Knight released his hand, the severely wounded person stood up as if healed, their face stiff and eyes lifeless, standing motionless.

"Death Embrace," Quincy said, fear in his eyes. "It's a special Dharma Seal unique to Death Knights, capable of turning people into puppets under their control."

"Puppets?" Conni's expression shifted slightly. "Living or dead?"

Quincy hesitated. "Dead."

Regardless of whether they were alive or dead before, once turned into puppets, they were certainly dead.

"What are you doing?!" a man burst from the crowd, shouting at the Death Knight casting the spell in the center. "What have you done to my brother?!"

"Stop!"

His roar ignited the anger hidden in the others' hearts, and they surged forward, shouting as they surrounded them.

SWOOSH!

THUMP!

In the darkness, several shadows flashed by.

A Death Knight's long spear shot out, piercing through several of the shouting men and lifting them high into the air.

With a flick of his wrist, the bodies fell to the ground.

"It seems you haven't understood your place yet." John, who had arrived at some point, paced back and forth on his robust steed.

"Die!" John declared. "Or obey orders! Those are your only two choices. Pick one."

CLANG! CLANG!

Three hundred mounted Knights moved as one. Their whips and long spears were pointed towards the six hundred people, their gazes still imperious.

Perhaps they hadn't understood before, but now it was clear: they were seen as nothing more than slaves.

Slaves to be driven at will!

Or rather, livestock!

Conni smiled bitterly. Indeed. They had failed to understand their place, daring to try and bargain with Death Knights.

Seeing that the people from Jiliu City had finally recognized their position, John turned his horse and gestured to another Knight.

"Joseph, how are your preparations?"

"I've detected Great Divine Grace in four locations," Joseph, wearing a wolf-head mask, replied respectfully. "I will collect all of it."

John nodded. "Mm. Do a good job. Don't disappoint Lord Mevia."

Great Divine Grace! This was something that could awaken the Divine Blood—something both the Duke and Lord Mevia needed.

"Guardian," Yana spoke softly, "I believe traveling with the Death Knights would be safer for you."

As a Desecration Knight herself, she had to admit that the Death Knights, especially the Divine Blood warriors, were formidable.

"Safe?" Carl shook his head gently. "That's not necessarily true."

His powerful spiritual power as an Advanced Wizard Apprentice allowed him to clearly perceive the cold indifference in the hearts of John and the others. Traveling together didn't necessarily make them allies.

"SHH..." Carl put a finger to his lips, signaling them to slow their pace as he approached a chaotic ruin ahead.

This area was originally under the control of the Sea God Assembly.

He had come here first because the information Hawke provided was most detailed regarding the Sea God Assembly.

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