Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1613: Chapter 340: You Still Haven’t Worked Hard Enough!

The one who sounded the alarm was a male Paladin. Having risen from a reserve trainee to a full Paladin, he could already be considered a veteran of the Holy Church Paladin Corps. In his ten-year career as a Paladin, he had wiped out an unknown number of dark creatures.

The Holy Light fluctuations around him were quite intense. He wielded a pair of peculiar metal-made cross Treasured Swords, while his Armor was the standard issue Glory Armor of the Paladin Corps.

The Glory Armor was a product of the Divine Workshop under the Holy Church, following a technique system similar to enchantment. A single set of Glory Armor often required more than ten different Holy Church Divine Arts inscribed upon it; it could truly be called a fusion of offense and defense in one.

First, he drew a cross sword from his waist. The male Paladin stared in the direction of the disturbance, then drew the other cross sword as well, assuming a guarded stance.

Just then.

“Your vigilance isn’t bad.”

The sudden voice made the male Paladin involuntarily shiver… He still didn’t know who the other party was, but just from that voice alone, he already felt a chill in his gut!

He followed the sound with his gaze.

From within the forest, a man in a wrinkled white casual suit, his face somewhat haggard, walked out slowly… empty-handed, his steps relaxed, looking like an ordinary person.

But how could you casually run into an ordinary person in the Unhuman Domain?

The male Paladin frowned, intending to sternly halt the man’s approach—this area was technically under the Holy Church’s jurisdiction. While the Holy Church’s influence in the Unhuman Domain wasn’t large, that was only within the Unhuman Domain itself. Given the Holy Church’s influence in the present world, even Non-Humans of the Unhuman Domain wouldn’t dare easily trespass.

This territory had gone without patrols for years, yet there were still few petty villains who dared break in at will.

“Who are you? Do you not know this is Holy Church territory, and you may not intrude at will?” The male Paladin was still relatively polite and did not immediately drive him off with force.

But after sizing up the male Paladin for a moment, the man in the white suit suddenly asked, “How old are you this year?”

He had never expected someone to ask him this the moment they met, and he couldn’t help feeling a flicker of anger. Yet when his gaze met the other man’s eyes, his heart inexplicably tightened, and he replied instinctively, “39…”

Thirty-nine was not a particularly high number in the Paladin Camp. On the contrary, from thirty to fifty was the period when a Paladin’s combat power was at its peak. This male Paladin considered himself to be in his prime.

But the man in the white suit only shook his head in disappointment. “Thirty-nine, and only at this level… Your potential is already spent. Even if you improve in the future, it won’t be by much. A pity. If you were twenty years younger, you’d be good material.”

When had he ever been looked down on like this?

“It seems your visit is not as simple as paying respects to the monastery, is it?” This male Paladin still had his manners. Even though he was furious, he forced it down, merely looking at the man coldly as he said, “The monastery is not open to outsiders today. Please leave… Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself. I hope you don’t bring ruin on your own head.”

The man in the white suit gave him another rather surprised look, then shook his head again. “Your temperament is not bad. But you’re still too old, with little potential left… time won’t wait for you.”

Who could stand this?

The male Paladin was instantly enraged. They Paladins were not desk-bound clerks chanting scripture every day; they were forged in life-and-death struggles—blood and guts were never in short supply!

“Where did this brute come from, daring to cause trouble on Holy Church land! Leave, now!” The male Paladin struck out in anger, but he still did not truly aim to kill, only planning to knock this ignorant fool back.

One strike, at half strength, his movement as swift as the wind; the cross sword slashed out, stabbing directly toward the white-suited man’s shoulder.

But the other man didn’t even move his feet. He just casually raised a hand, and his index finger and thumb clamped eerily onto the tip of the cross sword. As if caught in an iron vice, the male Paladin could not pull it free!

He was shocked!

The man in the white suit gave his hand an offhand flick. The male Paladin, who had been gripping the cross sword hilt with all his strength, was violently flung away, crashing straight into a tree and snapping its trunk.

The Glory Armor protected his outer body well, but the impact churned his internal organs and left him in extreme discomfort!

“Your body hasn’t been tempered enough.” The man in the white suit glanced at him casually and said calmly, “If you want to keep improving, then within one month, complete one million Level 5 Divine Burdened Squats. You still have a small chance to raise your potential a bit.”

The male Paladin almost spat blood on the spot!

Divine burden training was indeed a standard method used in the Paladin Camp to train reserves, and it was very effective… but they usually only used Level 1 to 3. Level 5 was already twenty times one’s own body weight!

One million reps in a month? At one rep per second, he’d have to train nearly ten hours a day to meet that goal in a month! Even if a Paladin’s body were made of iron, after a week he’d probably be scrap!

“Are you screwing with me?!” Even someone known in the Knight Order for his good temper couldn’t help swearing at this point… If only he could beat this guy!

In truth, he’d already been stunned by the other’s terrifying Power!

“You don’t understand.” The man in the white suit shook his head. “If your talent isn’t enough, you have to work harder than others. If the gap between you and a genius is a hundred, then you must work a hundred times harder than that genius to make up for it. I’ve said all I can; the rest is up to you.”

With that, the man in the white suit strode toward the monastery ahead.

The male Paladin clenched his teeth and struggled to his feet. His duty was to patrol, to guard, to ensure that the people of the Holy Church could safely pass through the Coordinates. How could he allow an unidentified intruder to enter at will now?

But in the next second, the moment his gaze fell instinctively on his cross sword, he froze on the spot!

The blade of the cross sword was now covered in cracks, and just as he lifted it, the blade… shattered outright!

The male Paladin drew a sharp breath… He recalled how this mysterious man in the white suit had only pinched the blade with his fingers, yet had already crushed this Treasured Sword to pieces!

Before despair could fully set in, a new hope ignited within him, because he saw a figure descending from the sky… It was one of the five Descending Angels that had come to the Holy Church this time!

“Angel Denis!” The male Paladin was instantly overjoyed!

But the Two-winged Angel Denis who appeared in the air seemed deaf to the male Paladin’s shout. He merely lowered his head, looking down at the white-suited man walking calmly below.

The man now raised his head, meeting the gaze of this Two-winged Angel Denis, thoughtful, then frowned slightly. “An Angel?”

“A Life Force so strong it’s a little unexpected.” Angel Denis also frowned. “Your sins are as deep as the sea… Human, from your Life I hear countless wails! Ahead lies holy ground; you must halt. If you wish to enter, then let me purge the sin from your body!”

“The sins on my…” The man in the white suit lowered his head, then looked up again, his tone indifferent. “You can’t wash them away, and I don’t care to let you. Let’s leave it at that. I can choose not to go in; let the people inside come out instead. Let me see how many are useful—I’m going to take them with me.”

“Hmph!”

This Angel Denis clearly didn’t have the same good temper as the male Paladin… or rather, he was extremely repulsed by the sin radiating from this man’s body, and with a wave of his hand, a powerful Holy Light spear shot out.

The man in the white suit simply reached out and pinched the high-speed beam spear right in his hand, then closed his palm and actually snapped the spear in two. “Holy Light Power, nothing more than this. If Angels are only at this level, that’s really disappointing.”

A faint flame of Anger flickered in Angel Denis’s eyes… perhaps influenced by the personality of the host he had descended into, perhaps shocked by the strength the other side had just displayed!

But the man in the white suit hadn’t finished speaking.

“However, I don’t know how you Angels are supposed to Cultivate, so if you want to get stronger, you can only rely on yourself.” he said firmly. “But as long as you work hard enough, getting stronger is guaranteed.”

“Arrogant human!” Angel Denis’s voice was extremely suppressed. At this moment his two wings of light spread open, and with a gesture he summoned a Holy Light cross sword, then dove down swinging at him.

But the Angel’s rapid sword swings were easily dodged by the man in the white suit… the Angel’s sword actually couldn’t touch the man’s body at all, not even graze the corner of his clothes!

The male Paladin watching from the side already felt stormy waves crashing in his heart!

“Swordsmanship, huh?” The man in the white suit nodded and said bluntly, “If it’s only at this level, I can give you a bit of guidance… this straight thrust is barely decent; do ten thousand thrusts a day, and in about half a year you’ll improve.”

Damn!

The male Paladin instantly wanted to curse. Was this deadpan guy’s training units all in tens of thousands at the minimum?

The male Paladin already had the urge to cough blood, let alone Angel Denis who was bearing the brunt of it… humiliation, he could feel the naked humiliation coming from the other side!

Surging divine power burst out of his body, almost like blazing fire… Angel Denis’s speed instantly increased by at least fifty percent, yet he still couldn’t land a sword strike on his opponent.

This only shocked and infuriated Angel Denis even more; the divine flames on his body flared higher and higher… looking more like some burning demonic fire!

“What’s going on, aren’t you Angels supposed to have pure Minds?” The man in the white suit frowned. “What have you been eating, that you can’t even handle a tiny setback? Ever heard of ‘feel shame and then be brave’? Look at your movements now, lots of Power but no agility. That straight thrust looked decent just now, now it’s a complete mess! Your divine power is strong but unstable, all bluster with no substance. You’re really a pretty lousy Angel! I kindly point things out to you and you don’t even realize it, you’re wasting my time!”

“I… will kill you!” That was the sound Angel Denis squeezed out from deep in his throat!

Cold… filled with hatred, even tinged with a hint of madness!

Those bright, pristine wings of feathers were dyed black in an instant… the Angel’s gaze likewise turned pitch-black, his divine power instantly twisting and mutating, at this moment spilling out from his surface like clumps of disheveled hair—evil!

A twisted Will!

Having spent almost half his life dealing with dark creatures, the male Paladin was far too familiar with this kind of twisted Will—precisely because of that familiarity, his heart was already filled with boundless terror at this moment!

Heavens!

What did he just see!

A Descending Angel of the Holy Church had actually been forced… into corruption, just like that, by a few casual words from this mysterious man!

An enormous killing intent spread out from Angel Denis’s body… the previously indifferent man in the white suit, as if stimulated by this killing intent, suddenly had his gaze sharpen!

A killing intent far more terrifying than Angel Denis’s erupted into the sky in an instant.

A shadow flashed— the man in the white suit moved!

At the same time, a streak of light shot over at extreme speed from afar. Before it even arrived, a voice had already come, “Spare him!”

That was Angel Hamaliel Lord’s voice—the male Paladin recognized it immediately!

Only, although this Angel Hamaliel had already made a move, he was ultimately a step too late… at the moment Angel Hamaliel arrived, he saw Angel Denis’s body already frozen in place.

The next second, Angel Denis suddenly raised his head, but with that tiny motion his entire body split open… the cracked body collapsed straight to the ground…

A Descending Angel had actually died just like that!

Silence!

An irregular, eerie silence!

On the grass in the forest, the man in the white suit finally let out a slow breath. Looking at Angel Hamaliel, who was glaring at him, he said expressionlessly, “By the time you opened your mouth, he was already dead… so you were too late.”

“You… how dare you!” Angel Hamaliel’s expression was iron-cold, the wings behind his back slowly spreading… four wings!

As the captain of this Angel squad descending into Sub-world No.003, at least a mid-lower-ranked Four-winged Angel was required for the job. Even though there was such a thing as Limit Power in this Sub-world, even if they were all restricted to Limit Power, the gap between a lower-ranked and a mid-ranked Angel was still enormous!

This wasn’t a difference in quantity, but a qualitative change!

The fluctuation of divine power was on the same scale as the divine power Angel Denis had mobilized in his fury, yet the feeling it gave was completely different!

Just from the pressure alone, the male Paladin felt Angel Hamaliel’s Anger was several times heavier!

But the man in the white suit said at this moment, “There’s no such thing as ‘daring’ or ‘not daring’. I’ve already killed him; no matter how mad you get, it’s useless. Besides, a perfectly good Angel can’t withstand the slightest setback and even falls so easily—he’s practically a black sheep among you Angels, isn’t getting rid of him better? As for you, not bad, your Power is condensed and not hollow. Since you’re a Descending Angel, then contribute something to this mainland; stay here and fight those Devils together with me!”

As he spoke, the man in the white suit reached out and grabbed.

Angel Hamaliel, who was in a state of rage, his Power constantly surging upward, was snatched out of the Void like a chick in an instant, then heavily slammed to the ground.

“Don’t waste your strength! And stop flying into a rage over every little thing!” The man in the white suit now spoke solemnly. “You Angels seem to get angry way too easily and then fall, looks like your ‘heart cultivation’ is nowhere near enough. Starting today, you’ll do meditation training, meditate every day for… hmm, twenty hours! Work hard, you can do it!”

Angel Hamaliel at this point wasn’t angry… but terrified!

The male Paladin at this moment wasn’t terrified, but relieved—he’d almost thought this guy was about to say something like ‘meditate several tens of thousands of hours a day’ again…