Chapter 214: Amplifying the Magic

Rod wasn’t worried that the magic would hit him. With such a powerful spell, the female mage wouldn’t dare unleash it recklessly after noticing her teammates—otherwise, both of them would surely die.
Watching her hesitate, using excessive mental energy to alter the spell’s trajectory and turn pale from the strain, Rod smirked coldly.
“Boom…” Just as the holy light missile was about to hit him, its path finally changed. It flew past him and struck a rock nearby. With a loud explosion, the rock shattered into pieces and vanished, turning to dust as a cool breeze swept through.
The immense power left Rod stunned. He thought to himself that this girl was indeed ruthless—if his own magic had hit him, there wouldn’t be even a trace left.
“You… devil! What do you want?” Elena shouted, looking at Kevin and Luke, who were under Rod’s control. She was largely responsible for this situation. If not for her eagerness to eliminate those damned demons, she wouldn’t have cast such a powerful spell. If not for her desire to prove herself, she wouldn’t have forgotten her teammates. Gritting her teeth and panting heavily, she yelled loudly.
“Hmm, not bad. Pretty decent, though a bit too weak!” Rod said mockingly, looking at Elena with a sinister smile as he scanned her body. He tightened his grip, preventing the struggling pair from moving, leaving Kevin and Luke no chance to resist.
“You… I’ll kill you, you scoundrel, devil!” Embarrassed by Rod’s taunting gaze and his words, Elena froze for a moment before reacting instinctively. She covered her chest and cursed loudly. Her flushed cheeks added a touch of innocent charm.
“Hey, to be honest, I’m just asking for trouble. Life is hard. What can I do? My only flaw is being honest. If you don’t like it, then don’t listen. If you want to kill me, see if you can. Heh, I think you’d better focus on your teammates first. You know very well that with just a little more effort from me, those two could immediately join your great Light God! Do you think I should do that?” Rod said to himself, lightly touching his nose with his free hand and smiling faintly.

“You… how dare you! You can’t do this! Otherwise, the Church won’t let you off!” Elena cried anxiously upon hearing Kevin and Luke’s screams as Rod exerted a little force.

“Won’t let me off? Heh, will you let me off now? If you answer my questions honestly, I might spare these two novices. Tell me, how many people did the Church send to hunt us this time? Who are they? What’s their strength? How did you know where I was? What about the others? What’s your plan?” With a cold expression, Rod threw a series of questions he wanted answered at Elena, giving her the impression that she had to respond.

“You… fine, I’ll tell you. I’ll give you what I know, but you can’t hurt Kevin and Luke!

This time, the Church sent six small teams to hunt you, each led by an archbishop. Each team has five members, and every team includes at least three holy knights, with one team having a crown knight! There are also scattered pursuers—exact numbers unknown—but as long as you reveal your location, they’ll all come after you, and each of them has the strength to kill you!

You’re now the highest-priority target for pursuit within the Church, listed on the Holy Book’s death list as the most dangerous person. That’s all I know. Please release them quickly!” Forced and unwilling, Elena took a deep breath and reluctantly told Rod everything she knew.

“Six archbishops leading six main teams? Heh, quite an effort! There are also holy knights and crown knights… Tsk tsk tsk… Since when have I become so famous, Knight Rod?” Rod sneered upon hearing Elena’s words.

Archbishops are high-ranking figures in the Church. Each archbishop is capable of ruling a region of the Church, ranking just below the pope, the cardinal vicar, and the twelve cardinals. To become an archbishop, one must first possess strength at least at the imperial level, along with high prestige. With such requirements, in reality, almost all archbishops are holy-level powerhouses. That’s the key. As for knights, there are four ranks in the Church: ordinary church knights, followed by rose knights, then holy knights, with the highest rank being crown knights.

Saint Knights are those outstanding Rose Knights who have made significant contributions and reached the Imperial rank, promoted from there. Saint Knight officers are the most powerful forces within the entire church and one of the most terrifying forces on the continent, capable of standing against the demons—each of them being an elite among elites! Crown Knights are even higher-ranking figures; it is said that there are no more than twenty such knights in the entire church, each possessing strength above the Saint level, with some even approaching the quasi-divine realm! They are the most secretive members of the church and only appear in critical moments.

I never expected that not only would Saint Knights be deployed this time, but even Crown Knights would be involved. It seems the church truly intends to use its ultimate tactics.

“You’re not the ones chasing me, haha. Then why are you here? And where are your teams now?” After being secretly shocked, Rod continued to ask Elena.

“Elena, don’t tell this devil! Run away! The great Light God will protect us and punish this despicable devil!” Struggling desperately, Luc beneath Rod’s feet shouted loudly.

“Ah…” Before his words could finish, a scream came immediately. Rod applied more pressure, hearing a faint crack of bones: “If you want to live, shut up! Remember my advice—don’t rely on that so-called Light God. If he could save you, he would have shown up long ago! If he could save humanity, why would the Dark Kingdom still rule a thousand years ago? Ridiculous!” Rod found their superstitious beliefs utterly laughable—like a monk on the verge of death, with a bowl of meat right in front of him that could save his life, yet he refuses to eat it, chanting Amitabha instead, only to die of starvation in the end.

“You… you bastard who insults the gods! You will be punished!” Luc shouted angrily, and Kevin also cursed loudly. No one dared insult their most revered being in front of them.

“Stop talking nonsense and confess quickly!” Applying more force, Rod pressed again after hearing their screams.

“We… we came out for trials. We happened to pass by here and saw you. You looked very similar to the person in the portrait, so… that’s why… I really don’t know where those bishops are. I didn’t pay attention to that! I really don’t know! I’ve told you everything you need to know. You should let them go now!” Elena pleaded, looking anxiously at Rod. The screams and pained expressions of Kevin and Luc broke her heart.

“Mm, just like that! Hehe, come here!” Since he had already obtained all the information he needed and the danger was now gone, Rod decided to tease these novices. Lately, he had either been fleeing for his life, fighting, or hiding from pursuers—he was tired of it all. Now that he finally had a chance to relax, he wasn’t going to miss it.

With a sinister smile, he watched Elena. After some hesitation, she reluctantly approached him cautiously, which made him secretly laugh. Rod knew this girl before him was no ordinary person. She seemed to be only eighteen or nineteen years old but was already a mage master. Her status in the church must be high, yet her lack of experience clearly indicated that she had been pampered in a protected environment! As for these two idiots below, they were already twenty-four or twenty-five years old, yet as imperial-class members, they had no social experience at all. It was hard to understand what kind of monsters they were. Could the church really cultivate such fools? If so, the Light Church was probably on its way to collapse. How could such a church remain at the top of the continent for long?

Still, he had to admit the church produced many talented people. An eighteen or nineteen-year-old mage master—how could Rod feel special in her presence? She seemed even more talented than him; at least he wasn’t at her level yet. Even the talent of those two idiot warriors wasn’t inferior to his, which frustrated him greatly.

“You… what do you want? Do you plan to break your promise? I knew you were a devil…” Seeing Rod’s sinister smile, Elena stepped forward and started cursing worriedly. Then she saw a spell flying toward her in an instant.

“Trivial trick! Hmph!” With a cold snort, Rod simply slapped the incoming basic light spell apart dismissively. Then, taking advantage of Elena’s stunned moment, he suddenly reached out and pulled her to him. Amidst screams and curses, Elena was already in Rod’s arms!

“Mm, quite fragrant. Hehe, novices, remember this lesson. I’m happy today, so I’ll spare you. Next time, don’t get in my way, or I won’t care who you are. Hehe, I’ll take both your money and your body!”

“And you two, tell the church to pull their people back immediately. If they continue to pursue me, they’ll bear the consequences. When I, Rod, have time, I’ll definitely go and confront that old pope to see if he really has any divine power!” Amidst furious curses and intense struggles, Rod relished the moment, feeling Elena’s soft breasts rubbing against his chest, and smelling her faint scent of purity, his heart skipped a beat! After a moment of distraction, he slapped Elena’s buttocks hard and said with a sinister smile. As soon as he finished speaking, his Dark Dragon sword retracted, and in an instant he vanished from sight, leaving the others standing there in shock.