Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 228 - 1: Holy Knight_2

Chapter 228: Chapter 1: Holy Knight_2

No one doubted the power of the Holy Temple Knights.

They could even split rocks and walls!

Buzzing!

It was an imperceptible sound.

Like gears stuttering, malfunctioning, as if everything had stopped, frozen in place.

The seven Holy Knights focused intently on the two witches...

The next second!

They were struck from the side, without any forewarning, solely because the spell was unbelievably fast.

By the time they realized it, the tremendous force followed suit.

In an instant, all seven Holy Knights were knocked away!

Two of the Knights even broke the marble pillars upon impact, and as they scrambled to their feet coughing blood, they had clearly been struck hard.

"What happened?" they cried out in fear.

"It’s time... a witch has slowed down your time, saving them... you didn’t realize your movements were as slow as an old man," the Knight Commander said.

"Her power is of a limited range, but she can slow time only within a small area. We must fight separately!" another Knight Commander added.

"Those damned witches are nearing the Holy Temple!"

"Quick, guard His Holiness the Pope!"

"They are digging their own graves!"

The Holy Knights said with loathing.

"Protect the Holy Seat! Protect the Holy Seat! Do not let these filthy rats disturb the Holy Seat!" This was the oath they took when becoming Holy Knights.

"With Lord Holy Knight by the Holy Seat, those old rats won’t succeed!"

The host of Holy Knights quickly regrouped to defend!

The Holy Temple was also the Pope’s residence.

The Pope is the human furthest from mankind and closest to the All Gods.

The Pope also held titles like the Near-God, the Guardian of the All Gods, the Holy Seat.

Now all the Holy Knights realized.

Those damned witches were heading for the Holy Seat!

How dare they!

How dare they!

...

The Holy Temple Knights had a total of 330 members.

The regular military strength of the Holy City was nearly two thousand Holy City Guards, the full contingent of Holy Knights, and one reigning Holy Knight.

The guards were responsible for the ground level, the knights for the middle, and the Holy Knight for the Holy Temple itself.

And on the witches’ side, there were more than five hundred.

They had disguised themselves as various identities and infiltrated the Holy City.

This represented the core strength of the Witch Forest, all possessing strong casting abilities.

They had previously hidden in the dark, unknown to all, but now their lethal and sharp fangs were exposed,

Even though the Church Court quickly reacted, they could not stop more than five hundred seasoned spellcasting witches from storming to the highest level of the Holy City.

The Holy Knights were assembling quickly to guard the Holy Seat.

The Holy City Guards, their steps disordered, rushed up the stone stairs.

Right now, as the witches reached the front of the Holy Temple and paused, not bursting through.

Because someone stood in their way.

The Holy Knight stood in the way of the witches.

Even as more witches rushed up.

They were still stopped.

Because more than one Holy Knight stood here.

Five Holy Knights stood in front of the Holy Temple.

These men stood tall and radiated light, forming a wall of light.

Their height and builds differed, but their attire was strikingly uniform and fitted snugly to their bodies.

Clad in shining golden armor with capes white as milk, Golden Swords were held aloft by silver gloves, standing upright on the white stone floor.

Mande Mage was the reigning Holy Knight.

He stood one meter eighty tall, not like a knight nearing forty, more like a young lad,

With golden hair and eyes, a lucid gaze, a fair complexion, a tall figure, and a radiant appearance, the spitting image of the heroes in ballads and legends.

Mande stood to the far left, his right side was the former Holy Knight Danny Philip.

To the right of Knight Danny was the Holy Knight from two terms ago, Marcus.

To the right of Marcus was the Holy Knight from three terms ago, Quintus.

To Quintus’s right was Olus, from four terms prior.

There could only be one Holy Knight per generation, with a term of twenty-five years.

To this day, Olus, from four generations ago, was roughly 160 years old.

His body was large, nearly two meters tall, with age etched deeply into his face, an old yet robust frame, showing no signs of decay.

"You should not have come here, the Holy Temple is not your place," Olus said to them.

"The witches have no escape; if not here, then at the cliff’s bottom," Mona’s voice drifted ethereally.

"You were not there during Silent Valley," Quintus remarked.

"Should we have revealed ourselves then, your defeat would have been even more dismal!" the purple-eyed Thunder Witch snapped.

Her face was rugged as if chiseled, her demeanor tough and commanding.

"When the Conqueror perished in the Nether Sea, you did not all appear, rumors say you were stained with the Conqueror’s blood," Marcus retorted.

"The Church Court has no right to speak thus. Were it not for the Church Court distracting His Majesty’s focus, he would still sit upon his throne today, and those traitors would die in wailing and guilt."

"We are no traitors; we are Holy Knights," Danny stated.

"Holy Knights have always been noble in conduct!" the youngest Holy Knight finally spoke up.

His voice was pleasant but also resolute.

Holy Knights did not marry, beget children, hold personal titles, and devoted their entire lives to honor, untainted by any stain, or else they were no Holy Knights.

"Then you should move the statues of the All Gods, and stand in their stead," said the Thunder Witch, "only stone bears no stain."

"The Holy Knights of the Church Court from five generations ago—Lord Arthur Miesel went and never returned," Quintus pointed out.

"Lord Arthur was beyond reproach, impeccable in life," acknowledged Mona, "As his successors, you do not qualify."