The gray morning was extremely cold.

Ballerus stood in front of the closed gate of the Salamander Tavern, alone.

He stared at the horizon in the distance, and the world outside the walls of Mokou Town looked so empty, as if there would never be his place to stand.

But he knew that it would be useless for him to wander here, and he had to leave here.

"Maybe their concerns are right." Ballerus sighed softly and murmured to himself.

Because he was also worried that one day he would not be able to control his anger and would bring violent trials to the entire town.

He subconsciously looked at the rock bunker in Mokou Town, and flags with black iron fists clenched with green light fluttered in the wind.

He still remembers deeply that it was once the castle of the Lord of Mokou Town, and the purple dragon flag was planted in the wind, and the purple dragon knights and warriors who were guarding the town were stationed inside.

Now it has become a settlement of the Sanlinta Society, living in the brutal army and evil worshippers of the tyrannical god Bann.

He couldn't help but think that if Mokou Town was completely ruled by Angus, the heron knight of the Sanlin Tower Society, and then funded by the richest man Graal, it would become even stronger...

One after another, the illusion that made him uneasy began to bother him, making him afraid to continue thinking.

There was a moment.

Ballerus seemed to see Angus, the Heron Knight, leading a dark knight, holding a battle flag painted with the tyranny God of Bann, and singing a song of victory that celebrates their gods.

Wherever the magnificent black war horse's iron hooves went, the unbelievers' army was about to collapse, dead bodies were everywhere, and the dying people groaned and wept on the battlefield soaked in blood.

This scene made his inner kind face activate.

"Never!" Ballerus whispered firmly: "I must never let such a thing happen again in Mokou Town."

Because he had already made this disaster happen once, he thought bitterly.

Ten years ago, he led his own adventure team to believe false news from Sanlinta to massacre an adult evil red dragon.

No one can resist the temptation of the Dragon Slayer's glory, as do he and several of his companions.

However, when they broke into the dragon's nest, they found that this was not an adult dragon at all, but an ancient red dragon that had lived for thousands of years.

The anger brought by an annoyed ancient red dragon is undoubtedly quite terrifying.

On that day, all the brothers who had been born and died with him and the lovers who guided him on the Paladin path were killed, leaving only him and another warlock companion.

In a panic, they fled to Mokou Town.

A terrible disaster happened.

The territory of Mokou, which originally belonged to the Kingdom of Cormier, was under the rule of the priest lord who believed in knowledge, Ogma, and was in a mess. It had already developed into the most prosperous town in the Enoak Desert, but was destroyed by the ancient red dragon they attracted to.

More than half of the population of the entire town was killed or injured in the dragon flame. Although the priest lord of Mokou Town led the Purple Dragon Knight and the war mage to seriously injure the red dragon, they all died because of this.

The crazy dragon was picked up by the Sanlin Tower Association and the Dragon Baikong Cult that followed.

It seemed as if they had already agreed that the Dragon Bergian Cult obtained the corpse of the dragon, and the Sanlinta Club gained the rule of the town.

In that tragic battle, he saved many innocent civilians from the burning flames, but for him, he could never make up for the sins he had committed.

He was a paladin who had made a vow of devotion, which meant the highest part of the concept of justice, virtue, order. Following this vow, the paladin, all devoted himself to order and kindness, and regarded his creed as the standard of devotion.

But what he did trampled on the oath he had made, like a house swept by the flames of the red dragon, completely destroyed.

Therefore, he lost the sacred oath of the priest, and the service he personally recognized to exist beyond his ideals.

It was this painful memory that made him lose the power of the paladin and the swordsman at the same time, and became a disabled old man after the double blow of his body and soul.

Now, he has nothing, and even his own place of standing.

"I can't leave, I have to stay." Ballerus kept whispering, stressing: "I belong here, and no one can drive me away."

After saying that, he turned around without hesitation and pushed the door in.

"What are you still here for?" The moment he entered the tavern, a slightly cold voice came from the darkness he had not yet adapted to.

The cold sound made the hair behind Ballerus' neck stand up. Without thinking, he stretched his hand to his waist, but found that it was empty and there was no sword to hold.

It seemed that he realized today that his sword and right leg had been interrupted by the Red Dragon Rebellion ten years ago, becoming the last straw that crushed him, causing him to fall into deep despair and self-blame.

"I belong here, even if I die, I will die here!" Ballerus replied firmly.

He didn't know who the speaker was. Although he could see the uninvited guest just by looking up, for some reason, listening to his slightly cold questioning, he subconsciously wanted to escape and dared not confront him.

"I just want to stay here and do something within my ability." He added unwillingly, "Is this not possible?"

"Whatever you can?"

The door of the tavern slammed and closed automatically, and the figure in the dark smiled contemptuously.

“What you call the best of your ability is to repair leaky ceilings, repair the creaking hinges on the doors, or clear the drainage facilities in the kitchen?”

"I am just a slacking old man in his twilight years. What can I do except these?" Sarcastic words hit the deepest pain point in Balleus's heart.

Yes, what can he do?

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! He lost the power of the Paladin and the Sword Saint, and also lost his final fighting will.

Now, what else is in his mind?

His hair was half white. It used to be shining with sacred light, but it was already shiny and black. It was no longer shining. It lost its vitality and looked messy. The blood-colored face was full of wrinkles of time, and its body became skinny.

All he has is collapse and despair, humiliation and discouragement.

"You really can't do anything, because this world is like this." Black Shadow's tone seemed to feel his mood at the moment, and he relaxed a lot, and said slowly:

"As long as you travel frequently, you can see all kinds of interesting things, such as two farmers fighting to the death for a piece of land. On the next day, the land was flattened by the two counts' subordinates, and these entourages continued the fight.

People were hung on trees by the roadside, and robbers cut the merchant's throats. In the town, every step they took could be tripped by corpses from the slums. Even in the magnificent palace, whenever the blade pointed at, someone could fall under the dining table with a blue face every minute at the banquet. Can you maintain any unfortunate thing?"

"I can't do it." Balleus still did not look up, answered truthfully, and said solemnly and firmly, "But as long as the paladin does not die, justice will last forever."

He didn't know why he suddenly said this sentence he had been proud of and gradually despised.

He suddenly felt that when he said this, a string in his heart was touched, and his skinny body seemed to have gained strange power, just like a confused person seeing a glimmer of hope.

This is what is called longing for redemption, he thought.

Not all souls can be redeemed...Lemrik's terrible words burned in his mind like poison.

"Indeed, no one can protect it all, and you let the disaster happen before you and you can do nothing, because you are not strong enough. Only by gaining the power to crush everything can you keep the justice in your heart."

The tone of the black shadow spoke was surprisingly calm, which made Ballerus feel a soothing force, and he listened quietly.

"So I only believe in my own power, only in powerful power. This is a world ruled by the gods, and it is also a world that combines great power. Only when we have the power to crush everything, in the face of any evil organization, evil race, or even the demons in the bottomless abyss and the devils of the Batto hell, will we not have such despair and helpless disasters."

"You are too weak. Facing an ancient red dragon, you have no ability to destroy it, but you overestimate your ability to provoke a war between justice and evil. It is precisely because of your ignorant actions that brought killing and death to Mokou Town and killed many innocent people."

When the past was mentioned, Ballerus recalled the tragic scenes in his mind again, and a deep sense of powerlessness and despair spread throughout his body at an extremely fast speed.

Only by having the power to crush everything can one keep the justice in his heart, guard Mokou Town, and complete his own redemption.

The old man struggling in pain trembled all over and suddenly realized some ideas.

"If you don't have the power to eliminate evil, what you call justice is just a joke. Do you think that as long as you believe in justice, you can save the world? In my opinion, only an idiot will believe it!"

"The real strong man dares to face the bleak life and face the blood, but you? You don't even dare to face this little difficulty, so you are not qualified at all!"

"You are a body that has lost its soul, a walking dead, as a paladin, you have not yet understood what true justice is, what purest justice is. So your fall is not worthy of sympathy and mercy."

"If not, why would the gods create sheep so that the evil wolf will not starve, and create the weak to fool the strong."

"The real paladin will protect the weak and protect the good." Ballez, who was gradually enlightened, felt these words as sharp blades piercing into the heart. He gritted his teeth in pain and firmly argued.

"The real paladins and gods seem to exist, but they never exist." The figure in the dark said with a sniff:

"If a person cannot defend himself, he will be dead and must give way to others. Don't you understand that even under the gaze of the gods, the world is still ruled by swords and power."

"Your remarks are so terrifying." Ballerus said in a trembling voice.

"It's not me who is terrified, but this world. It's because it's too real, which makes people feel scared. So, the most terrifying thing about a world is not the rampant evil, but the silence of the good. Are you talking about it, Balleus?"

Ballerus felt these words roaring in his eardrums, as if he had lost his thinking power, but they were clearly and deeply imprinted on his consciousness. He looked shocked, raised his head suddenly, looked at the figure in the darkness, and asked in a trembling voice:

"You...who are you?"

As soon as the words finished, a dazzling light burst out in the dim tavern.

He saw Brian, an adventurer who had once met him, appear before him.

This half-elf wizard with a cold face exudes a majestic and confident temperament.

His eyes were deep and bright, and his black hair was faintly shining. An inconspicuous black cloak draped over his body was automatically windless, and it was as dazzling as an obsidian statue under the scorching sun.

What made him most incredible was that the light source of all this actually came from a sparkling hot lightsaber.

"Remember, any soul can be redeemed."

Brian threw the legendary weapon "The Messenger of Dawn" in his hand and inserted it in front of Ballez, saying coldly:

"There are shadows in the brightest light, and there are always fearless people who are brave enough to dispel darkness in the darkest shadow. This depends on whether you are willing to receive this kind of redemption. If you have thought about it, pick up this sword and follow me to bring light and hope to Mokou Town."

"Buzz!"

As Brian finished speaking, the lightsaber inserted in front of Balleis suddenly appeared with dazzling light and made a trembling sound.

Balleus looked at the lightsaber, looking at it like a devil, for a moment, as if he was disgraced by anything he loved.
To be continued...