Chapter 92: Blessing of the High Shepherd
Alarm bells were ringing in Ian's mind. He had already lent his Valyrian steel sword to Kes, and his longsword had been lost in the previous battle. He picked up a mace from the corpse of a nearby gold cloak, staggered to his feet, and faced the approaching foe.
The gold cloak ignored Ian's weapon, raised his mace, and charged at Ian.
Seeing his foe wouldn't dodge, Ian sought a preemptive strike, bringing his raised mace down on the knight's head.
Unexpectedly, the knight reached out with his left hand and struck the wooden shaft of the mace, deflecting the hammer head that was rapidly falling under the combined force of Ian's arms and gravity, then swung his right-handed mace toward Ian's head.
Ian wasn't as resilient as his opponent, so he immediately released the mace and tried to dodge.
But the injury to his head slowed him down, and his evasive movement seemed to unfold in slow motion before the knight.
The hammer approached, its flanged ridges, illuminated by the firelight, quickly filling Ian's entire field of vision through the slit of his visor.
Suddenly, a flash of pale green appeared before Ian's eyes, blocking the hammer's reflection.
Roel, charging from the side, suddenly intercepted Ian's attacker. He grasped his sword with his left hand on the unsharpened portion about a foot from the tip. With his right hand gripping the hilt, he thrust upward in a half-sword technique, aiming for the knight's armpit where his armor plates met.
The knight had no time to dodge, and the two exchanged blows. Roel's sword pierced through the gap under the knight's armpit, penetrating his chainmail liner and burying itself in his shoulder. The knight's hammer struck Roel's breastplate, denting its entire curved surface.
A second later, a powerful impact struck Ian's chest. He felt as if he had been knocked down by a heavy weight, pinning him to the ground less than two feet from the temple entrance.
Opening his eyes again, Ian saw through blurry vision that the 'heavy weight' pressing him down was clad in pale green plate armor. He realized then that it had been Roel who had shielded him from the blow.
Suddenly, Ian felt warmth on his face, and then he realized it was Roel's blood seeping from the gaps in his visor, dripping onto his face.
Suddenly, Ian found strength, grabbing Roel and desperately dragging him backward.
Soon, the two of them were at the temple entrance.
The gold-cloaked knight was still hesitating whether to pursue when Bronn, having escaped the gold cloaks' encirclement, suddenly appeared behind him and attacked with his sword.
Unfortunately, Bronn's groin-targeting slash was caught in the gold-cloaked knight's armored tassets, preventing him from landing a solid blow.
Most plate armor Bronn had encountered lacked such extensive protection, so he'd chosen to attack the vulnerable gap. To his surprise, the gold-cloaked leader seemed overly cautious, truly armed to the teeth.
The gold-cloaked knight attempted to seize the opportunity to counterattack Bronn, but as soon as he put pressure on his wounded shoulder, he felt sharp pain, forcing him to kick at Bronn's head instead.
Bronn, seeing this, immediately abandoned his trapped sword and dodged the kick with a leap, deftly drawing the two daggers from his belt.
The gold-cloaked knight didn't bother continuing the fight, seizing the opportunity to turn and retreat toward the gold cloaks who had arrived to support him. Seeing their leader no longer pressing the attack, the remaining gold cloaks naturally didn't want to foolishly face Kes and Bronn head-on, and consciously slowed their assault.
Kes, Bronn, and Dorian all took the opportunity to disengage and retreat into the temple with the remaining sellswords and sailors.
The gold-cloaked knight didn't try to stop them, knowing that this approach would trap the enemy. He didn't even need to storm the temple; simply guarding the exit would seal their fate.
As Ian reached the stairs leading down into the temple, he saw several sellswords and sailors who had already fled and were hiding below, not having participated in the battle.
But he also knew that now was not the time to discipline them. In the current situation, harsh words would only lead to mutiny.
"Come and help carry them, get us down below," Ian ordered, ignoring the deserters' cowardice.
Several deserters looked at each other, then stepped forward to help Ian and Roel down the stairs.
Since there was no conflict between them regarding their early retreat, they were still Ian's men and had no reason to refuse his orders.
Soon, they were back in the Stranger's shrine. Ian, by the light of a Black Falcon sellsword's torch, laid Roel flat on the ground and lifted his blood-stained visor. "Roel, how are you? Are you badly hurt?"
"Not dead," Roel grinned weakly. "He didn't even... hit me square. Ugh, cough, cough!" Roel coughed violently, spitting out another mouthful of blood. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out.
Looking at Roel's bloodless face, Ian knew he was on the verge of death.
"He's dying," Bronn's voice came from behind Ian. "He needs medicine and maesters now, but we're trapped here. He's done for. Of course, we're not much better off. The enemy could attack at any moment. Even if they just choose to lay siege, we won't survive more than three days here."
Ian didn't hear Bronn's last words. The words 'he's dying' echoed in his mind.
"Can he be saved?" Ian looked at Kes for confirmation, hoping for a different answer.
But Kes only shook his head.
Ian felt his heart suddenly constrict, a wave of grief, guilt, and rage washing over him.
Though Roel was far inferior to Kes in combat prowess, he was the person Ian had spoken with the most since arriving in this world. He could even be considered Ian's only friend, his greatest support, and the source of his every sense of security.
And now, Roel was gravely injured and dying trying to save him.
The 'Blessing of the High Shepherd'! Ian suddenly remembered the item in the tier-two shop: a miraculous potion that could quickly heal the wounds of the dying!
Having purchased clues worth 15 points, he had already met the requirements to unlock the tier-two shop.
Suppressing the trembling in his body, Ian closed his eyes and accessed the system.
There seemed to be a new message in his inbox, but Ian ignored it. He clicked directly into the points shop and quickly locked onto his target.
[Blessing of the High Shepherd (a miraculous potion created through secret methods by the high priests of the High Shepherd's temple. It possesses powerful life force and can quickly heal the injuries of a dying person. Each person can only use it once): 20 points]
This time, Ian didn't consider whether this was truly a life-saving miracle drug or an elaborate trap.
He wanted to save Roel, and he had to take the gamble. Even if the final result wasn't what he hoped for, he would accept it.
(End of Chapter)
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