"I'm sorry to have troubled you for the sake of the light, my good disciple."
A cold, longsword pierced through his chest.
Kane stared incredulously at the end of the sword hilt, at the face he held in the highest esteem.
Light, the leader of the Knights of Light.
His face, which usually wore a kind smile, was now filled with coldness and greed.
"Why..." Kane coughed up a mouthful of blood, his voice hoarse.
"Because I need the corpse of a genius to exchange for His Holiness the Pope's favor." Wright's lips curled into a mocking smile as he suddenly drew his longsword and kicked Kane in the chest.
The feeling of weightlessness came over me instantly.
Kane's body plummeted like a kite with a broken string into the abyss below, where thick, purplish-black mist swirled.
Cursed Swamp.
The most feared forbidden area on the continent, where even high-ranking knights would not survive.
The wind whistled in my ears.
Grief, resentment, and despair gnawed at Kane's heart like venomous snakes.
Born into poverty, he worked tirelessly to become a knight's apprentice. He upheld the faith, dreaming of becoming a true knight and protecting his childhood sweetheart, Lilia.
But now, it's all a joke.
"thump!"
The cold, foul-smelling muddy water instantly engulfed Kane.
The excruciating pain was tearing at my nerves, and my life force was rapidly draining away through the bloody hole in my chest.
It's so cold.
My vision gradually blurred.
Just then.
In the darkness, something seemed to wriggle slightly.
A tattered, rough piece of black iron armor lay silently half-buried in the mud. As if sensing something, its surface glowed with a dark red light.
"hiss..."
A hoarse, ancient, and seductive voice exploded directly in Kane's mind.
"This is such a delicious kind of despair..."
Kane shuddered and struggled to open his eyes.
There was nothing around, only endless darkness and suffocating mud and water.
"Who..." he asked weakly in his mind.
"Who I am is not important. What's important is whether you want to live?" The voice seemed to possess a kind of magic, piercing straight to the depths of one's soul.
"Live...to live..." Kane's obsession roared madly.
"Very well. Equivalent exchange, that's the ironclad rule of the world." The voice carried a hint of mockery. "Give me your most precious possession, and I will grant you new life."
"I... have nothing left..."
"No, you do." The dark red light on the black iron armor intensified, as if countless invisible tentacles were probing into Kane's soul.
"How about trading it for the joy you felt when you first tasted candy?"
candy?
Kane recalled the cheap candy Lilia bought for him when he was seven years old, with the copper coins she had saved up for half a month. That sweet taste was the only bright spot in his impoverished childhood.
"Make a decision quickly, little one. You're bleeding dry."
"I... will switch!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
An extremely cold and evil aura suddenly burst forth from the mud, instantly enveloping Kane.
The rough black iron armor turned into a pool of black liquid, which seeped into the wound on his chest.
"Ahhh!"
The pain was indescribable, a hundred times worse than being pierced through the heart by a long sword.
Kane struggled frantically in the muddy water.
But then, a miracle happened.
The fatal wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving no scar.
strength.
A violent, primal force surged through my veins.
Kane sat up abruptly, panting heavily.
He survived.
He touched his chest; it was ice-cold to the touch.
It was no longer soft skin, but a rough, black iron breastplate that seemed to be embedded in the flesh.
"Contract established. Pleasant cooperation, host." The voice sounded again, tinged with satisfaction.
Kane sat there, stunned.
He tried hard to recall the taste of that candy, to remember that joy.
But.
There was nothing there.
The memories remained, the images remained, but he could no longer feel even the slightest bit of joy. It was like looking at a faded black and white photograph, terrifyingly empty.
He lost his happiness.
"What kind of monster are you?" Kane gritted his teeth.
"You can call me Taotie," the demonic armor said lazily. "Of course, you're too weak right now; I can only barely stop your bleeding. Do you want more power?"
Kane ignored it.
He struggled to his feet and looked up at the cliff shrouded in thick fog.
"Wright…" He gritted his teeth, his eyes surging with an unprecedented chilling killing intent.
He wanted to go back alive. He wanted to tear that hypocrite's mask off in front of everyone!
He took a deep breath and began to struggle through the waist-deep swamp.
The surroundings were eerily quiet.
Sudden.
"rustle..."
In the mist, several pairs of scarlet eyes lit up.
A nauseating, fishy smell wafted towards us.
Three abyssal wolves, each the size of a calf, drooled as they slowly approached.
Kane's pupils contracted.
Even if he were in his prime, let alone now that he's unarmed, he would still be no match for an Abyss Wolf.
"Danger is approaching." Taotie's voice was full of schadenfreude. "Looks like you're going to die again."
The wolf growled and pounced.
Bloodshed and carnage are imminent.