Chapter 49: When the Art Style is All Wrong, It’s Right!
“You will control the fate of the loser!” An invisible whisper appeared beside his ear, and Colin felt a sense of control over Li Chou. As long as he willed it, he could make Li Chou die instantly. Furthermore, Li Chou could not defy him or do anything to harm him.
At this moment, aside from his thoughts, Li Chou’s status was almost like that of a slave to the system, or even worse. Reflecting on the recent events, Colin seemed to understand something.
“Mr. Colin, are you injured?” As soon as she appeared, Sanna immediately used her Holy Light Healing technique to envelop him.
“Protect the Lord!” The servants quickly surrounded Colin, forming an impenetrable barrier. They had just witnessed the battle in a blur, only knowing that the two had clashed, and it ended abruptly.
“Phew, the fight was dangerous, but I’m fine, just a bit shaken…” Colin exhaled in relief, making a small gesture with his fingers. “It seems I might be just a tiny bit stronger.”
Hearing this, Sanna and the others were relieved. Except for Number Two, they had never seen Colin in action and were unsure of his strength. But it seemed he was indeed unharmed.
On the other side, a few survivors looked at Li Chou, who was continuously vomiting blood under Li Hang’s feet, and their mouths twitched uncontrollably. Then they looked at Colin, who wasn’t injured at all…
His followers were so biased! This was a completely one-sided battle! Especially since Li Chou’s chest armor was completely smashed—how could an ordinary person do that? Where was this “just a tiny bit stronger”?
At this moment, they realized deeply that it wasn’t just Sanna who was a monster, but the survivor himself was also a monster!
Seeing Li Chou’s condition, they couldn’t help but feel sympathy, grateful that they had surrendered early.Meanwhile, Colin walked toward the fallen Li Chou, and Li Hang immediately became flustered. After all, this incident was due to his mishandling. Who would have thought someone would hide something important outside rather than in their inventory? Or that such a mysterious item even existed in this world?
Fortunately, Colin simply reassured him not to worry, patting his shoulder without saying much else.
“This item is good, and now it belongs to me.” Colin smiled as he looked at the triangular shield on the ground called “Shield of the Just Knight.” He knew very well how formidable this item could be when used properly.
He walked up, bent down, picked it up, and examined it, clearly sensing it was no ordinary item. Despite its rusty appearance, Colin couldn’t damage it even when applying force.
As soon as he touched the shield for just three seconds, a repeating whisper echoed in his ear: “I crave a ‘fair and just’ battle…”
Colin suddenly had the urge to find someone to duel with and glanced at the unconscious, bleeding Li Chou on the ground. He seemed the most “qualified” for a duel… Duel instincts seemed to prioritize those weaker than oneself.
Fortunately, this thought was easily suppressed as soon as it arose. But as time passed, this urge would grow stronger.
“It seems he didn’t always carry this thing,” Colin muttered, checking its information.
[“Shield of the Just Knight”]: You can use it to make a declaration that forces any enemy within 30 meters to fight you. The winner will control the loser’s fate.
Basic Rules: No escape, no external assistance, maximum fight time of one hour.
Active Rules: The shield bearer gains a home-field advantage and can impose three rules that must be followed by both parties, as long as they are widely regarded as fair.
Note: This item has negative effects. Specific details must be explored and understood personally.
“Generally recognized as fair…” Colin complained inwardly and then focused, activating the hint.
[A palm-sized shield, its two corners curved, full of copper rust, with lines faintly outlining a balance symbol representing justice. You think it might come from the power of a strong entity, possibly the ‘King of Knights,’ representing the virtue of ‘justice.’]
[Note: Daily contact time should not exceed one hour, or you may become a duel maniac.]
“‘King of Knights,’ huh. If this is how shameless ‘justice’ is, I can’t imagine how twisted the other virtues are.” Colin muttered and noticed Sanna staring strangely at the shield in his hand.
“Do you recognize it?” he asked, curious.
Since her arrival, Sanna has shown a great deal of unfamiliarity with this world, whether it was the Church of Suffering or the mutants. She seemed unaware of these concepts. Colin had heard her talk about her past, which seemed to come from another world entirely.
“It seems familiar… May I see it?” she asked.
“Sure.” Colin handed over the shield. Sanna took it and glanced at the recovering Li Chou before quickly suppressing her absurd thoughts.
“It should come from the mysterious items associated with the ‘Justice’ virtue among the Eight Virtues Knights. The negative effects don’t seem strong and don’t need sealing. I remember our church learning some of their techniques…” Sanna frowned, struggling to recall.
“Are they from the same world as you?”
“Probably…” Shana hesitated but nodded.
For some reason, thinking of Shana’s unusual personal attributes, Colin suddenly found this plausible…
When the art style is all wrong, it’s right.
“Do you know what the other ‘virtues’ can do?” Colin asked, curious about how else the art style could be twisted.
Sanna tried to recall but seemed stumped. She started to speak but then paused, eventually shaking her head. “I don’t know. I… I feel like I remember, but as soon as I try to say it, I forget.”
It seemed that special character cards had sealed memories…
Colin speculated inwardly.
Not thinking too much about it, Colin shook off the sudden influx of random thoughts, tossed the rusty triangular shield in his hand, and looked at the other survivors, his lips curling up slightly.
“How about a 1v1 friendly match?”