Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence

Dietrich's face completely fell as Rong En aired his dirty laundry.

Now, as the esteemed Patriarch of the Sharyar Church in the Black Forest, he was dignified, handsome, and charming. However, in his youth, he had indeed been unrestrained, and now that Rong En had revealed all of this, he felt his image was utterly shattered, and he might as well die.

Isn't life just like that? Now that it's come to this, what else is there to hold onto?

Rong En felt as though he had finally gotten his revenge. Even the shoe print on his face seemed to perk up along with his eyebrows as he reported.

"Lord, Lord Dietrich is right. The remaining two religious statues belong to our Radiant Goddess Church. One of them is engraved with the ability of Swift Strike. Normally, knights can cast this divine spell on themselves, greatly increasing their agility for a short time, allowing them to attack twice as fast as before."

"However, under the gaze of this religious statue, knights can maintain this Swift Strike state continuously. Therefore, this religious statue is also used by many forces, religions, and temples. It stands in tall marble temples, where the guarding knights and Templars can unleash combat power far beyond the ordinary when defending the religious holy land."

"When my strength recovers to the Chosen level, I can borrow the divine power of Her Majesty Violet to build a religious statue dozens or even hundreds of meters tall for the territory. With such a large statue standing in the territory, gazing upon the guard legion, the Radiant Goddess Church's knight order can maintain the Swift Strike ability at all times during war!"

Hearing this, Su Li was both surprised and regretful.

The surprising aspect was undoubtedly the power of this ability. A religious statue hundreds of meters tall would stand unyielding in the territory. Even if it wasn't built in the city but on a high slope outside the city, it would still stand tall.

Ordinary armies simply couldn't topple such a massive religious statue, especially when her divine grace descended, and the golden longsword in her hand would illuminate the entire central plain.

On the battlefield within a dozen miles, the members of his own church knight order would be bathed in the divine grace of the Radiant Goddess.

At that time, even if they fought a field battle against the enemy's main legion in the wild, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

The regrettable part was that this religious statue definitely couldn't be built in the battle against the Green Dragon's眷属.

Then, Su Li asked, "What is the second religious statue?"

"It is Mind Reading," Rong En led Su Li into the bathhouse and pointed to the religious statue placed at the skylight at the highest point of the bathhouse. The Valkyrie Violet sat on a throne made of marble, her longsword placed horizontally on her lap, her body slightly leaning forward, her gaze focused and deep, as if meditating, using meditation to understand the enemy's heart.

"This is a divine spell that our Radiant Goddess Church knights cannot use in battle. It is an ability that can only be obtained through the religious statue, allowing the knight below the statue to understand the enemy's weaknesses and ensure that every attack hits the enemy's flaws, causing fatal blows."

Su Li looked around the bathhouse. After the addition of the statues, it looked even more magnificent, especially the statue of the Radiant Goddess, which made the incoming moonlight as bright as sunlight, preventing any darkness and shadows from hiding within the bathhouse.

Seeing this, Su Li couldn't help but ask, "This combat power is guaranteed, but isn't this too much of a spectacle? What if it alarms the ratmen and they detect the ambush in advance and don't sneak in here?"

Ordinary bathhouses wouldn't be built so dazzlingly. Those great lords' bathhouses might be magnificent and very luxurious, but they would never be so sacred, with divine grace and light permeating everywhere.

Ratmen are a very timid race. If they discover anything unusual ahead, such as rat traps, they might choose to take a detour.

Rong En said frankly, "We have already considered the ratmen assassins' [Cowardly Vermin] characteristic, so we avoided setting up various witchcraft traps that they could sense. But these religious statues really couldn't be spared any further, and they were hidden in various reasonable locations within the bathhouse. If we spared any more, Marshal Orstein and Chief Steward Hild might be in danger of falling in the face of an encirclement by four ratmen Chosen assassins."

Su Li looked around. Some of the four statues were hidden in the ventilation windows at the top of the wall, some were used as decorations for the bath and fountain, some were hidden in murals, and some were shrines. They were indeed integrated relatively perfectly.

When they were all activated, this bathhouse would be like a sacred place, shrouded in dazzling golden light. The Chosen knights within would unleash combat abilities far beyond the ordinary.

All of this was a powerful effect created with money, especially the large religious statues, each costing more than 200 gold crowns.

Rong En and Dietrich had done everything they could as priests. The rest was up to fate.

At this time, Oliver took the initiative to speak, saying, "I can help you further refine this ambush, Lord. As a Chosen of the Goddess of Justice, I can add a [Guardian of Balance] trait to the knights here. When they fight their target, their strength and speed will increase depending on the number of opponents surrounding them."

"At the same time, Her Majesty Verena is also the Goddess of Learning and can use Wisdom Blessing to temporarily allow the target to seize the wisdom of the surrounding creatures. This will make the target, deprived of wisdom, reckless and more likely to fall into your pre-set trap."

Su Li smiled upon hearing this. Wasn't this the so-called debuff aura?

Once the target was affected by this aura, even if they were hit by a divine spell, they wouldn't notice it and would instead act more recklessly and impulsively.

Su Li looked at the time. It was 8:15 PM. The clock tower had already chimed eight times. Continuing to make major changes would only further alert the enemy.

So, the preparation time could only end here. Su Li said, "With the three of us Chosen, plus the blessings of the three churches, and with prior knowledge of the ratmen's movements and plans, if we still can't successfully ambush them, then we can only say that we are stupid enough to deserve to die here."

"Let's prepare everything according to the current plan. We will quietly wait for the ratmen to enter the ambush."

Orstein, holding the banner in his left hand and the warhammer in his right, said boldly, "Lord, all three of our churches are known for their wisdom and tactics. Such a high-level ambush carefully designed by so many Chosen is sure to be a great success! You can supervise the battle on the castle and watch us crush the four vermin."

Su Li patted him on the shoulder and said, "My marshal, I look forward to your glorious victory. Tonight, you will become famous throughout the border."

Orstein nodded heavily, then tidied up his wine flask and the [Blood of the Earth] and [Tears of Mercy] potions, and walked into the bathhouse. He sat behind the screen on the north side of the pipes. As soon as the ratmen appeared, he would plant the crimson banner and, under the fluttering banner, launch a fierce attack on the ratmen.

With the laurel gemstone and two powerful healing potions, he wouldn't fall easily even if he faced an encirclement by four vermin.

Hild, on the other hand, carried two witchcraft traps, ready to cut off the monsters' retreat.

Within Black Forest Castle, she didn't bring the Soul Well, which had overly strong killing power and corrosiveness, but instead brought [Petrifying Gaze] and [Rusting Disaster]. This was a metal-based trap that would cause the enemy's armor to rot and fall off in cloud-like small fragments, causing the enemy's joints to rust, thereby greatly reducing their movement speed and reducing the power of their charge.

As the Chosen ones completed their deployment, the territory entered a state of relaxed exterior and tight interior. Apart from the Chosen ones ambushing next to the bathhouse, no large number of guards were stationed elsewhere.

Instead, a large number of high-level direct subordinates were stationed around the study at the highest point of the castle, and all the territory's champion knights gathered here.

In case the ambush failed, if the ratmen wanted to enter the study, they would have to forcibly break through this iron-barrel-like defense.

To prevent the ratmen from infiltrating using the [Infiltration] trait, the door to the study was not closed, ensuring that Su Li and Phyllis could be seen by the guards.

Inside the room, Freya and Tiberos stood guard close to Su Li.

The ratmen assassins' fearsome reputation was still beyond Su Li's expectations. Under this threat of death, he had no mind to think about these things. The prepared red rope, low-temperature wax, and brass bells were not used.

Of course, if they successfully ambushed the four ratmen assassins, then all of this preparation would become the revelry of tonight's victory celebration.

Freya, this ice beauty, would melt and succumb in the ultimate stimulation.

Therefore, Su Li couldn't help but ask Freya, "Are you looking forward to us winning?"

Freya glanced at him indifferently and said, "If you're nervous, go vent with your female courtier. Don't say such boring nonsense here."

Nervous?

Of course, Su Li was nervous. After all, they were the legendary terrifying ratmen assassins who could infiltrate the archmage's study through layers of guards and skin and behead him.

So, Su Li couldn't help but want to say something to divert his attention.

Phyllis nervously and guiltily clutched Su Li's sleeve and said to Su Li, "Lord, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be taking such a big risk. Why don't you let me stay here alone, and you and Commander Freya go to another room to rest for a while."

Hearing this, Su Li lowered his head and looked at this weak girl, patted her hands, and comforted her, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is called 'If you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight.' This is the path I chose, how can I blame you? Just stay here with peace of mind and watch us crush the ratmen. And watch how I melt Freya, this ice beauty, tonight."

Hearing Su Li say this, Phyllis felt a little relieved. She turned her head and looked at the time. It was almost 11:20. The long night had dragged on until now, and it was finally coming to an end.

Su Li also glanced at the time, then took the brass telescope and looked down from the window of the study. The magnificent castle was shrouded in the shadows of darkness, looking a bit stern and solemn.

In the corners of this magnificent castle, four ratmen figures should already be hiding. The target must have already infiltrated the castle at this time and is very likely sneaking towards the bathhouse.

Tiberos, carrying a huge battle axe on his shoulder, stood by the window and said, "Lord, you must be careful of the ratmen's assassination. Standing by the window is very dangerous. The ratmen have ranged weapons."

Su Li waved his hand indifferently and said, "The ratmen's target is not me. If they shoot at me, they will only reveal their whereabouts."

Moreover, he was wearing a cloverleaf amulet of fate. If he was really attacked, he would be blessed with inspiration and lucky enough to avoid the first three attacks, so he was not very worried about the ratmen's remote sniper team.

Tiberos thought for a while and felt that what Su Li said made sense, so he said, "Lord, don't worry. If the ratmen don't have ranged weapons, their combat power is actually not worth mentioning. The gods are fair. They gave the ratmen dimension stone weapons and Skaven magic, and their ability to fight head-on is extremely weak."

"They can successfully assassinate because they sneak into other forces and succeed when the target's defenses are lax. And our territory has your intelligence guidance and is fully prepared. Even without Marshal Orstein's ambush, these ratmen would run into our well-prepared defenses and would not be able to succeed."

"If they really need to engage in close combat, if they expose their whereabouts in the study, even I am confident that I can chop up a ratmen Chosen assassin."

"That's right," Freya nodded and said, "There are seven champion-level knights in the corridor outside. If the ratmen really want to fight their way in, they would probably be dead before they even touched the threshold."

This was her strong confidence as a knight. No matter what strong enemy they faced, they would not be afraid of challenges and would dare to show their swords.

When narrow roads meet, the brave win. This is exactly what the ratmen are not good at.

As the few were talking, the sound of dogs barking suddenly rang out in the castle.

Avril's eyes suddenly lit up and she said to Su Li, "Lord, it's Jinya's voice."

Jinya was Su Li's lion mastiff beast. After more than half a year, even if it grew naturally, this golden lion mastiff beast had grown very mighty and strong. It could already take on the responsibility of patrolling the castle. Several ranger knights and free mercenaries who had entered the castle had been bitten by it.

It can be said that any unfamiliar aura that sneaks into the territory cannot escape its nose.

Jinya's mad barking immediately opened the tense and bloody prelude to tonight. Soon, fierce barking also came from the bathhouse.

This was Marshal Orstein's war pet. This territory commander with a tough beard always carried a warhammer and appeared with his powerful war pet, the lion mastiff beast.

As the sound of barking rang out in the bathhouse, dazzling golden light immediately erupted in the bathhouse. The brilliant light was like a round of blazing sun rising in the night sky below the castle. The round light illuminated hundreds of meters around.

Then, the clear neighing of the hippogriff resounded throughout the castle. A huge figure appeared in the darkness with dazzling golden light, blocking all the retreat routes from the bathhouse.

Seeing this majestic and powerful divine general figure, the knights patrolling the castle immediately cheered. Cheers from all directions quickly resounded through the clouds. Teams of iron-clad knights, holding high crimson banners, quickly surrounded the bathhouse from all directions.

Freya stood by the window, looked at the battlefield with fierce fighting in the distance, clenched her right fist excitedly, and said, "Great, the ambush was successful."

Before she could finish her sentence, the outer wall of the bathroom was smashed open, and a pitch-black figure shot out like a cannonball, splattering blood across the night sky, turning it crimson.

Seeing this, Dogrin immediately raised the ancient artifact, the Prospector's Sniper Telescope, and roared, "Snipe, volley fire!"

Hundreds of thunder muskets fired simultaneously, white smoke filled the entire position, and a large number of bullets directly pierced the Skaven's corpse.

But the target didn't react at all, because this was just desecration! The golden warhammer had already smashed through the monster's entire chest, crushing all the organs inside. The broken bones pierced its back, making its fur riddled with holes, beyond dead.

At the same time, the breached wall revealed bright light, allowing Su Li to see the scene inside through the gap.

The scene through the telescope surprised Su Li. Inside the spacious bathroom, the numerous Skaven were on the defensive. An Eshin Sorcerer, holding a brass bell staff, hid in a corner of the bathroom. Two Skaven Assassin Lords, holding daggers, crouched, defending in front of him.

Orschstein's war dog, a Lion Hound, strained its limbs, roaring madly at the three rats, ready to pounce and bite through their throats.

Orschstein, clad in Mithril rune armor, held a dripping warhammer, approaching the monster step by step with immense pressure. Faced with his towering figure, the Skaven couldn't exploit their ubiquitous nature to retreat through a pipe. The two Skaven assassins cautiously watched him, retreating step by step.

In fact, the battle had been raging for a while. Before Su Li saw this scene, the Skaven weren't initially on the defensive. They had tried to launch a fierce attack to eliminate this lone knight.

Three assassins ambushed Orschstein, while the Eshin Sorcerer was chased around the room by the Lion Hound, even having its tail bitten off.

But to their horror, the Skaven's repeated assassinations failed. This valiant knight didn't dodge or evade. The knight, known for his defense, attacked even more fiercely than the assassins. He was willing to be seriously injured to forcibly trade with a Skaven assassin.

The results were self-evident. The Skaven's first three attacks failed to hit him. The next three attacks, one pierced his chest, Orschstein barely avoiding his heart. The Skaven's green plague-ridden dagger pierced his entire lung, just 2 centimeters from severing his heart. One pierced the artery in his thigh, and one cut open his abdomen, causing his intestines to spill out.

But even with such severe injuries, Orschstein's attacks didn't stop for a moment. The Skaven's attacks failed to hit vital points, but Orschstein's attacks, blessed by religious icons, all hit the Skaven's weaknesses. So, before the Skaven could forcibly kill Orschstein, he relied on the blessing of maintaining balance, his strength surged, and he forcibly killed a Skaven assassin first.

Then, under the powerful [Tears of Mercy] healing effect of the Shallya Church, it was as if a god had descended, rapidly healing most of the wounds on his body with Shallya's tears.

This forced the Skaven to change tactics. If they continued to wear him down, they didn't know if the knight would die, but the Eshin Sorcerer would really be bitten to pieces by the Lion Hound.

In this situation, being defeated one by one would guarantee the mission's failure.

So, they could only guard the Eshin Sorcerer, waiting for the sorcerer to use sneaky magic to resolve the situation. These muscle-bound humans with brains full of muscle had to witness the power of magic.

The Eshin Sorcerer hid in the corner, shaking and chanting rapidly like a shaman: "Damn human thing, how can you have protection of balance! That woman from the Church of Justice is interfering! This is a trap, a trap!"

The Skaven's misunderstanding made Orschstein's eyes light up. Of course, he wouldn't explain. He wanted the Skaven to transfer their hatred to the Duke of the Sudenburg province.

So, Orschstein didn't give them time to think, raised his warhammer, and roared: "You scum from the dark corners, you're caught in a trap and an ambush, go to hell!"

The Eshin Sorcerer screamed anxiously, raised his staff, and shouted: "Human thing, die! Die! Die! Withering!"

With his shout, a stream of green, filthy energy shot out from the rat head on the staff, directly hitting Orschstein, who was smashing down like Mount Tai.

This was an important method for the Skaven to weaken their opponents. By chanting from the Book of Woe, Skaven sorcerers could unleash diseases that caused people to wither and weaken.

Skaven magic is similar to the magic used by Tzeentch sorcerers, necromancers, black mages, and witches, all of which are repulsive, extremely evil, and aimed at spreading pain and death to enemies.

Faced with this human knight who had been strengthened in all aspects, the Skaven had to weaken his strength and slow down his movement speed to reduce the fatal risk to themselves, and then find a way to eliminate him.

But a shocking scene occurred. The Skaven's filthy green spell hit the knight, but the knight, as if unaffected, shone with brilliant golden light, dispelling all the green curses, raised his warhammer, and continued to smash down.

The Skaven Assassin Lord had to face this terrible offensive with his small body, two daggers blocking the golden warhammer.

The next moment, a devastating sound came. The Skaven's weapons couldn't stop the dwarf-forged rune warhammer at all, and shattered directly. Then, the warhammer's force didn't diminish, smashed the Skaven's arms, and then hit the Skaven's head hard, smashing its entire head and neck into its chest.

Just as the Skaven Sorcerer was shocked, a holy guiding arrow, with a shining golden light, flew from afar, directly piercing his body. The golden arrow, tens of meters long, carried a terrifying force, nailing him hard to the wall.

The Skaven were too focused on Orschstein in front, which allowed Hild to calmly hit from a distance. Without the sorcerer's sneaky magic, the Skaven couldn't hide and sneak, and completely lost their threat.

Su Li put down the monocular telescope and said with an excited smile, "The victory is decided! Go down and clean up the Skaven's corpses and corruption. So many Chosen, they must be carrying a lot of good things."

"Freya, tie your hair up!"