Chapter 71: The First Strongest Under the Starry Sky

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  From every angle, Hussein is absolutely not a good companion.

  Duvie and he had been together for a whole day. They prepared everything, Duvie cut down some branches with a knife, made a makeshift snowboard, and put the unconscious Dadaniel on it - don't expect Hussein to pull the board, that's impossible. The knight himself was all injured, and his body was of unknown material, Duvie just took a few glances and couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea!

  Those wounds were really too horrible! Many places had flesh and blood turned over, exposing the white bones inside! There were also some wounds that emitted a smelly smell, which was only tightly wrapped with layer after layer of cloth.

  The most frightening thing was the location of Hussein's lower abdomen, where there was a black fist-sized wound, and it was unknown what kind of object had caused it, probably some kind of magic. The muscles around the wound had completely turned black. Even those black muscles were slowly squirming, healing bit by bit... But as they healed, tiny crackling sounds like "pi pa pi" could be heard coming from within the muscles!

  The wound healed repeatedly, only to burst open again! It's imaginable what degree of pain this is.

  Hussein only explained it briefly while bandaging the wound: This injury was left by the trial of that temple, a kind of magical corrosion. Even holy water can't cure it. To be cured, a great magician must spend a lot of magic to cast top-level healing spells on him.

  The power of the Temple's Judge was not to be underestimated, and the wound he left behind almost took Hussein's life. If it weren't for Hussein's strength being close to that of a Holy Knight, allowing him to heal the wound to some extent using his aura...

  This is what caused the knight's immense suffering. He had to constantly stimulate his chi every second to heal his wounds, while the wounds themselves were also corroding and bursting open every second due to the magical damage.

  This created a delicate balance that left Hussein in "fresh pain" every moment.

  A man, with a terrifying scar on his body, has been walking in this godforsaken icy land for so long, enduring pain that could drive someone mad... yet Hussein's face remains expressionless, except for the occasional flash of pain in his eyes. He doesn't even let out a groan. When he walks, he straightens his back as much as possible.

  This person's temperament is unusually tough.

  In this case, he is a bit more irritable, which is also understandable.

  Even in his past life, Du Wei would occasionally get irritable and short-tempered when he had a toothache. How could this knight endure such suffering all the time without collapsing mentally? It was already impressive that he could bear it without losing his spirit.

  Du Wei tried his best not to provoke this hot-tempered guy, he quietly pulled the sled and followed the knight walking in the snowy ground.

  They went north along the Great Round Lake, and as they went further north, the wind grew stronger and more violent. Du Wei had already raised the collar of his fur coat and put on a fur hat, covering most of his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, which were still almost unable to open due to the strong wind.

  He couldn't even open his mouth to speak, for as soon as he did, a blast of icy wind would blow into his mouth along with snowflakes.

  Almost entirely on instinct, Du Wei followed closely behind Hussein's back, Hussein's tall figure blocking some of the wind for Du Wei.

  Walking in the snowy ground is particularly exhausting. The two of them rested twice in between, and both times Du Wei took out his knife to chop down trees to start a fire for warmth. Throughout this time, Hussein didn't say a word, he just sat there silently with his eyes closed, occasionally circulating a thread of aura around him.

  Du Wei knew that this knight was using his internal energy to suppress his injuries while warming himself up.

  This is a case of drinking poison to quench thirst. Even if Du Wei wasn't a doctor, he was after all a learned magical pharmacist, and he could see that the knight's injuries were extremely severe, his physical condition almost on the verge of collapse. Using internal energy to forcibly suppress the pain would only be able to hold out for a short while, but it would cause the injury to continue deteriorating.

  But what can be done about it?

  "Why don't you use holy water?" Du Wei sighed: "I still have a bit here, left by the old man when he was leaving."

  Hussein hugged the tree trunk, closed his eyes and said coldly: "I can't touch the holy water. I'm a traitor of the temple, I've been cursed. The holy water of the temple is indeed a good thing for healing wounds, but because of the curse on me, not only will it not heal me, but my skin will rot as soon as it touches the holy water! This is the consistent way the temple treats its traitors."

  Du Wei thought for a moment, then pulled out some medicine from his bosom. Some of them were left by the old magician, while others were made from magical plants he had collected on the way with the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group in the Ice Forest.

  Although I dislike this guy, after all, we are now companions. In this ghostly place, if we encounter danger, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on him to protect ourselves. Du Wei took out some of his own wound medicine.

  Hussein's face slightly softened, but his tone remained icy: "Thanks, but no thanks."

  He returned those medicines to Du Wei and continued to meditate with his eyes closed.

  "Why?" Du Wei furrowed his brow: "This is something I concocted, made from the powder of Frost Moss and the juice of Chikere Grass. It can heal wounds, and it's also the only medicine for injuries that can be found in this forest."

  Hussein opened his eyes: "No, I said thank you, but no need."

  He paused for a moment, then the knight added: "The wounds on my body were caused by a 9th-level knight's destructive aura, and this kind of injury contains the opponent's aura power, which cannot be healed by ordinary medicine. Unless there is a powerful magician who uses top-level healing magic to dispel those auras and curses, I can recover; otherwise, your medicine will only increase my pain."

  Du Wei was silent.

  Let's think about it... Think about the experience of this knight. He took down two knights of the Temple's Holy Knights, two of the Temple's top knights, and a judge! Plus an eighth-level knight, and several high-ranking holy knights!

  This is a dazzling victory that inspires awe, but it's not hard to imagine how severe the injuries on his body are after going through so many fierce battles!

  "Perhaps this will be of some use to you." Du Wei suddenly rummaged through his chest and pulled out a small, white fruit-like object.

  It looks like an ice cube in appearance, but it's covered with fine lines on the surface. Holding it in your hand, you can feel a cool sensation spreading through your skin, and there's also a faint, subtle fragrance... just like the peppermint leaves Du Wei knew from his past life.

  But this thing is not something fun to play with. To many people, it's even more terrifying than a demon!

  The name of this thing is:

  Ice pop!

  It's the kind of thing that can be used to make hallucinogenic drugs, like narcotics. (Solzhenitsyn had once considered whether this stuff could be used as a stimulant for human spiritual power, but later gave up on it.)

  " Sherbet?" The knight's face showed a hint of surprise.

  "Yes, it's Ice Poppy. Du Wei smiled: "This thing is hard to find, I also found one on the road by chance. You should know what this thing is, it has hallucinogenic ingredients... but if you take a little bit of it, it can be used to relieve pain. You can try it, just bite a little bit and swallow it, it can reduce your pain a bit."

  It's just like... opium. Du Wei added in his heart, in the previous life's world, both opium and morphine were poisons, but they were also used as painkillers.

  Things themselves have no distinction of good and bad, the key is how you use them.

  Hussein was a connoisseur, this time he didn't refuse, perhaps the days of day and night non-stop suffering had already tormented him to unbearable, he took over the ice pop, lightly used his fingernail to open it a little, put it into his mouth...

  "This wonderful thing is indeed useful, and in a short while, the knight's tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief, opened his eyes with a hint of comfort, and his voice was much softer: 'Thank you... I feel a bit more comfortable now. This damned pain has been tormenting me for days, making it impossible for me to sleep.'"

  Houssain paused for a moment, then looked at Du Wei: "You also study potion magic? Nowadays, few magicians will spend time studying potion magic. Most magicians put their energy into magical experiments, while potion magic... only those who can't learn magic would go and research it."

  Du Wei smiled: "So you're right, I'm a magical pharmacist. In fact, I don't even have the qualifications of a magician."

  Hussein didn't think it was strange either, and said lightly: "Oh, what's your relationship with that old immortal?"

  What's with this "old but not dead" thing? Du Wei thought this title was quite interesting.

  "What about you? What's your relationship with him?" Du Wei didn't answer, but instead asked a question back.

  Hussein fell silent for a moment before speaking in a light tone, "Nothing much, just that he barely qualifies as my senior fellow disciple. Our powers come from the same master."

  Senior brother?

  Du Wei couldn't help but laugh and said: "I heard you're only thirty years old? That old guy is probably several hundred years old... You..."

  "No, I'm thirty-one this year. That old guy... heaven knows how old he is! Hmph." Hussein seemed reluctant to continue the topic: "He and I are just nominal sworn brothers, but actually I don't like him very much." He paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "And you? You look like you're not even fifteen years old. Who are you? Why have you come here?"

  "It's not that I'm not fifteen, but I'm not even fourteen." Du Wei shrugged: "I am from the Luo Lin family. Why did I come here... you should ask the old man about this question. He is the one who caught me."

  "Rolin's family..." Hussein thought for a moment, suddenly smiled, he actually really smiled, this guy with a face full of murderous aura, his eyes gleaming with pleasure, looking at Du Wei: "Ah! I think I've heard of you. You're quite famous in the Imperial City. The idiot son of the Rolin family, a few years ago, the entire noble circle in the Imperial City was talking about you."

  "You've heard it too." Du Wei didn't mind the idiot's words at all.

  "Yes." Hussein seemed to be immersed in his memories: "The uncle of Luke Knight was a noble, and I was once invited to attend his banquet... At that time, Luke told me that the biggest news recently was that the son of Count Raymond was an idiot, and his uncle had originally planned to marry into the Rolen family, but after hearing the news, he was so scared that he didn't dare mention it again. I remember Luke..."

  As he said this, Hussein suddenly shut his mouth, and a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.

  Du Wei didn't dare say anything, he just quietly looked at this knight.

  "Luke... was killed by me."

  After a long time, Hussein suddenly said in a low voice:

  His icy voice carried an indescribable, bone-deep sorrowful tone. A deep pain flashed in the knight's eyes as he shook his head forcefully: "Yes, Luke was killed by me, and so was Cavalry Captain Kayle. They both died under my sword."

  Du Wei didn't speak, but Hussein had already shifted his gaze to the distance. His voice was as if he were muttering to himself: "Oh... Lord Luke, Lady Kaili... and Geffort, poor Geffort, who was just like me in age, we trained together in the temple when we were young, passed the assessment together and entered the Holy Knights' Order, he was just like my brother... my brother... But I personally pierced his heart. Let me think, who else... Ah, yes, Strath, that passionate southerner, whenever he prayed, he always had a thick southern accent, we even mocked him when we were young... Oh, I cut him in half with one sword! And..."

  Du Wei suddenly saw with surprise that a teardrop slowly rolled down from Hussein's cheek.

  "They were all my friends, my brothers, my comrades-in-arms. We trained together, learned martial arts together, practiced together, rode horses together... Now they're dead at the end of my sword..." Hussein's eyes began to go wild and he suddenly shouted loudly: "Why! Why!! Do you know why!!"

  He suddenly stood up, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Du Wei, growling: "Do you know why?! Do you know?!"

  "...I don't know." Du Wei furrowed his brow, realizing that the knight's mental state was somewhat off, and cautiously retreated a step back.

  "Because... Hahahaha...!" Hussein suddenly burst out laughing unconsciously, his laughter carrying a hint of madness: "Because! Because His Holiness the Pope! Damn it, His Holiness said 'Oh, this is God's will!' and then, he wants us to shed blood, he wants us to die!! Everything is because of that damned phrase! That damned 'God's will'!!!"

  "Hussein Knights." Du Wei said in a low voice: "You're too excited, sit down first."

  Hussein looked at Du Wei deeply, his eyes still very strange, as if with a hint of... disorder.

  But he still sat down, this action made Du Wei slightly relieved.

  "Hey, kid, do you know why I'm being hunted down by the Temple? Why did I become a traitor to the Temple? Me, Hussein! From when I was thirteen years old, everyone in the Knights' Order looked up to me as the pride of the Temple! They thought I was the greatest knight in a hundred years! Even they thought that I would definitely become the leader of the Holy Knights' Order in the future! Only a Holy Knight can become the leader! The Holy Knights' Order hasn't had a leader for a hundred years! But I was sure to become a Holy Knight! I would be the leader of the Temple's Holy Knights' Order! Haha! But now, I'm being hunted down like a rat! In hiding!!"

  As he listened to Hussein's tone becoming increasingly violent, his eyes growing more and more disordered, Du Wei felt a growing sense of unease in her heart.

  Suddenly, his heart moved!

  It's terrible!

  Look at the knight's hand holding that bitten popsicle!

  Du Wei understood where the problem lay!

  Ice poppy!! The dose of ice poppy taken is probably too much! The knight's spirit has been disrupted by this magical plant, just like the state of mental confusion people get after taking drugs!

  Bang!

  A crisp sound, Du Wei found that the tree branch held in the knight's hand had been pinched to pieces in his palm!

  "Do you know... if everything could be done again... I would absolutely not choose to enter that damn temple! Damn... temple!!" Hussein gritted his teeth.

  Cathedral?

  Du Wei knew this name, Sheng Tang was a temple where the badges of deceased holy knights were stored.

  All deceased Holy Knights have their coats of arms stored in the chapel where they receive blessings from the gods.

  "It was just two years ago, before I became the third Knight Commander... His Holiness the Pope, following tradition, appointed me as the Guardian of the Temple for a year." Hussein's voice trailed off, his mind completely immersed in memories:

  "The Guardian of the Sanctuary. This is a process that every Knight Commander of the Holy Knights must go through before taking office. When I was given the title of Guardian of the Sanctuary, everyone knew that I would become the Knight Commander... But I never thought that it would be the beginning of my nightmare!! The beginning of my nightmare!" Hussein suddenly burst out laughing, his laughter echoing in the icy snow, shaking with the fierce wind, like a ghostly howl...

  "Little one, do you know that since the Temple's history, who is the strongest and most great Holy Knight?"

  "...... Uh ...... is it you?" Du Wei replied cautiously, he thought the knight had gone mad, his mind was a bit abnormal at this moment, and it's better not to provoke him.

  "What am I? What am I worth! Compared to that person, I'm nothing but an ant!" Hussein's tone suddenly became one of utmost reverence:

  "For hundreds of years... no, even for a thousand years! The continent has seen countless strong individuals emerge, such as the Continent's First Warrior, the Continent's Strongest Knight, the Continent's Strongest Magician, the Continent's First Magician... and so on. For hundreds of years, many such strong individuals have appeared... but there is only one title that has been obtained by only one person in a thousand years!"

  "What title?"

  Hussein took a deep breath, and a sickly red flush appeared on his cheeks: "The strongest under the starry sky!"

  The strongest under the starry sky?

  This title is indeed more impressive than something like "First Warrior of the Continent".

  "Who is this person?"

  "This man was once a Holy Knight, and his Holy Knight emblem is stored in the temple." Hussein shook his head: "Unfortunately, it has become my nightmare."

  Du Wei had already hung up his stomach and carefully guided Hussein to say with gentle words: "This person is..."

  "The Great Emperor of the Roland Empire, the great founder of the empire... The only person who has been qualified to be called the strongest under the starry sky for thousands of years... Aragon Roland! His strength lies in that no one can replicate it! Because he is not only the top first-class magician! But also the strongest knight at that time..."

  "Holy Knight! The founding Emperor himself was once a member of the Holy Knights! He possessed the Holy Knight emblem, which is stored in the sacred temple! That emblem... has become my nightmare!"

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