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This is an abandoned manor where the once bustling scenes have vanished. The ruins and debris speak of its former prosperity and current desolation. Looking around, the once fertile fields are now covered by ice, snow, and withered grasses. The low houses and barns have mostly collapsed, and the fences and walls show signs of fracture and damage everywhere.
The wilderness is haunted by ghouls, fierce beasts, and terrifying undead. In this dreadful world, if the dead are not properly buried, they will transform into fearsome undead at night, wandering forever outdoors, harboring both a longing for life and hatred for the living.
It was still daytime, and a tremendous noise erupted within the manor.
"Boom!" The sound of a heavy object crashing against metal echoed within the empty manor, followed by the roars of beasts and human shouts: "Come on! Beast! Taste my strength!"
"Careful! Afu! Don't be hasty!" Another voice shouted: "Teresa, it's heading your way!"
"Got it!" a calm female voice responded, then she shouted: "Frost Freeze Technique!"
"Beautiful, now it's my turn! Divine Judgment!" A white flash, and the beast roared in pain.
This finally allowed everyone to see what was going on.
In the barren and ruined fields, three humans were fighting a massive beast.
Leading them was a man in full plate armor, holding a large rectangular shield in one hand and a standard paladin one-handed longsword in the other. With golden hair and blue eyes, sweat trickled across his forehead. The white light of the God of Justice's divine power flashed continuously. He struck his shield forcefully with his sword: "Come on! Beast!!!" Official source is novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Clang clang clang!" The sound of metal clashing made the demon extremely irritable.
The tall White Wolf Knight, armored in chain armor and chest armor, took the opportunity to aggressively attack the demon's right side, inflicting significant damage with every strike.
"Laine, watch out for its poison stinger!" In the distance, a female sorcerer, dressed in black leather attire and holding a Magic Staff, chanted spells while moving.
The stones and collapsed ruins started merging under the sorceress's magical guidance, gradually forming a two-meter-tall golem composed of stones and wood. Covered in thick frost, the golem stumbled forward under the sorceress's command towards the demon.
The full form of the demon was now revealed before the three.
It was a gigantic creature resembling a lion, with a fierce wolf-like face, fiery red mane, enormous fangs, and wings bristling with spikes. Its most notable feature was its long tail ending in a spiked tip.
This demon was the fearsome Scorpion-tailed Lion!
Even among Chaos constructs, the Scorpion-tailed Lion is notoriously fierce. With an inherently stubborn and combative nature, it fights any enemy for its territory. Whether encountering a Giant Eagle, Griffin, or even Dragon Emperor, the Scorpion-tailed Lion responds the same: by roaring and charging at its foe, engaging in a brutal and bloody battle until one is dead or alive. If its enemy isn't vastly larger or stronger, the victor is often the Scorpion-tailed Lion. They stand on cliffs, howling, showcasing their strength and determination.
"Damn, I didn't anticipate the Scorpion-tailed Lion being this troublesome!" Paladin Alfred cautiously moved sideways, looking for an opportunity to strike.
The Scorpion-tailed Lion was incredibly agile, constantly dodging the paladin's attacks and quickly countering.
The paladin's occupational traits are inherently slow-moving, with low attack capabilities but high defense. Faced with the Scorpion-tailed Lion's assaults, Alfred frequently found himself unable to exert full force.
That beast's tail was annoyingly bothersome, its venomous stinger, soaked in green poison, kept swinging near his head, always trying to pierce his helmet. When Alfred's helmet was struck out of shape and flew away, the paladin had to cautiously retreat to the second line.
The Scorpion-tailed Lion's poison is fatal upon contact, leading to certain death for ordinary people.
"Afu, do you want to retreat?" Laine shouted from the side, carefully dodging the incoming stinger. Seeing the Scorpion-tailed Lion spread its wings, attempting flight, Laine promptly hammered it back to the ground: "Don't push yourself, you're already eligible for a glorious retreat!"
Glorious retreat, one of the teachings of the Justice Church.
Because paladins often lost control in their quest for justice, the God of Justice established this doctrine. When the enemy's strength is thrice or more that of their own, retreating isn't a disgrace but a glory, termed as a glorious retreat.
Since this doctrine was announced, paladins' mortality rate significantly decreased.
"No need, I haven't used my Holy Shield Skill today!" Alfred shouted.
"Alright, suit yourself." Laine stopped talking.
The Holy Shield Skill and Holy Light Skill are known as the paladin's two major guardian skills. Once Paladins advance to Temple Guardians, like Alfred, they can use the Holy Shield Skill once per day, granting them a brief period (around six seconds) of near-invincible combat under the divine blessing of the God of Justice.