This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 261: The Lost Priest

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: The Lost Priest

Chen Ke emerged from the side of the bridge pier, where the building’s roof was within reach. The pointed brick arch had been blackened by fire, and there was a big hole on the one side.

He estimated the distance from the bridge pier to the roof’s big hole to be about three to four meters—jumpable with his athletic ability.

Below the bridge pier, he could still see pedestrians running on the street, dressed in ancient attire, shouting in English that Chen Ke could not confirm the exact meaning of—possibly a lost type of English with a unique accent.

Chen Ke hoisted the longsword onto his shoulder, stepped back a few paces, and mustered his emotions. It would have been more certain to jump without anything in hand, but carrying a sword made it questionable.

"Hiya!" Chen Ke gritted his teeth, powered his thighs, and began to run, taking a six-step lead before leaping on the seventh, drawing an arc in the air and landing on the wooden floor with a loud "clang."

There was still some distance from the sharp roof to the inside floor, and since it was not clear at night, Chen Ke misjudged the height difference when jumping in, nearly twisting his ankle. Luckily, nothing serious happened, allowing him to calmly survey his surroundings.

Chen Ke was unsure how many floors there were in the building, but judging by its height, there were probably four or five, each about 3 meters high.

The room was not large, probably less than 50 square meters. It might be bigger below, and it was surrounded by many bookshelves, though all were askew with books scattered across the floor.

In the corner, Chen Ke spotted a large black iron ball. Following the rolling indentations on the floor back to the hole in the roof, he suddenly realized that it had been shot in by siege equipment.

Could it be that they were in the middle of a siege battle? Was Fan Hede being surrounded by enemies?

Chen Ke summoned his Priest mask and covered his Asian face. Since there were people on the streets in this timeline, he was unsure if Fan Hede had any Asians, and he was not certain of the aggressors’ race, so caution was prudent.

Chen Ke descended the spiral wooden staircase, hearing the terrifying sounds of heavy objects falling and buildings being smashed on the street. The siege outside was raging fiercely—it seemed he had arrived at an inopportune time.

Medieval sieges were massive undertakings that could last a long time.

Siege attackers usually surrounded the castle completely, cutting off its supply routes. Some would even poison the upstream rivers flowing through the city or dig new channels to divert water, causing the city’s rivers to dry up and lose their water supply.

After small-scale conflicts outside the city, engineers would use catapults to hurl dead bodies into the castle, causing plagues to break out within, thus wearing down the defenders’ will and morale with disease and thirst.

But considering the current situation, the attackers seemed rather hurried.

The entire building was deserted, and Chen Ke had deduced that it was a library.

He picked up books scattered on the floor and flipped through them briefly. The luxurious, complex handwritten fonts on yellowing parchment, combined with intricate illustrations in the footers, impressed Chen Ke with their exquisite craftsmanship.

In the Middle Ages, scribes were the ancestors of the modern middle class. In eras before the invention of printing, books were reproduced exclusively by these copyists, making books a luxury for the nobility.

Of course, Chen Ke was also unclear about the era in which Fan Hede existed. Additionally, the hardcore artistic fonts made it impossible for Chen Ke to understand what was written in the books, so perhaps the medieval period he knew was different from Fan Hede’s.

The library’s single door was open. Chen Ke stepped onto the street where flames reached up to the sky, turning the night sky red. The city was on fire, indicating that the enemy was still launching tar-soaked fire barrels.

Just as he thought this, a fireball dropped from the sky, hitting the bookstore’s third-floor window with a loud explosion. The barrel split open, and the burning tar—or perhaps something else—splattered out.

Startled, Chen Ke dove toward the street as burning tar splashed down like raindrops. A direct hit would surely burn through flesh.

He lay on the ground, his blue robe now muddied. Looking back at the library, the front three floors had been hollowed out by a large hole, and as the fire intensified, the upper levels of the building began to burn.

"Damn, if I had been any later, I might have burned to death inside..." Chen Ke wiped the fine sweat from his forehead; it wasn’t from fear, but because the city was too hot.

He was about to get up when suddenly he felt his arm being grabbed, and the other person helped him to his feet.

Faralis’s Unyielding Fury still lay on the ground, and Chen Ke’s muscles tensed up—this was his first contact with someone else in the Great Void.

"Priest! What are you doing here?" A knight clad in shining silver armor stood next to Chen Ke and asked in surprise.

At that question, Chen Ke realized he was wearing the robe of the Black Ring Sect, and the other had mistaken him for a Priest. He went along with it, pulling his hood over his head and stealing a few glances at the knight.

The knight was a head taller than Chen Ke, his streamlined silver armor stunning to behold. The helmet was not a barrel or a sallet but one with slender openings and wing-shaped ornaments on the sides, topped by a white cloak flowing from the back.

Even though Chen Ke had no knowledge of European Medieval armoring techniques, he could tell that the armor was exquisitely crafted; the breastplate was almost a single mold, and the joints at the arms, elbows, and gloves were tight, reflecting a red glow in the firelight.

The skirt armor was designed with overlapping plates, with a layer of chainmail underneath, providing excellent protection for the pelvis without hindering mobility.

Conversely, the knight’s weapon was a triangular, silver shield held in his left hand, featuring the engraved patterns of Fan Hede, and a silver longsword quick at his waist.

This armor looked heavy, and wearing such armor indicated that the knight was no ordinary person.

"I am..." Chen Ke didn’t know what to say and ended up trailing off.

"You should seek refuge in the church. Can you make it there on your own?" the knight asked.

Chen Ke nodded. He didn’t sense any hostility, but he couldn’t let his guard down and stayed ready to summon the "Sun Spear Hammer" at a moment’s notice.

The knight’s accent was unfamiliar to him; having been in this world, he had heard several accents of English, including the standard American accent spoken by Diana, Sleery, Pankia, and Hall, the distinct accent of Black People like Sam, Priskin’s Russian accent, Pihom’s British accent, and the Latin accents of Hainerd and Lucina.

But this knight’s accent was something he had never heard before, and it differed from the fleeing pedestrians on the streets. Chen Ke guessed it was a unique noble accent belonging to the upper "Class" or nobility of Fan Hede.

In the Medieval period, knights were also a "Class."

"Your sword, Priest," said the knight, bending to pick up Faralis’s Unyielding Fury and extending the hilt toward Chen Ke.

The guy had some skill... Chen Ke struggled to hold it singlehandedly, yet this guy did it with such ease...

He took the sword and planted the tip into the ground.

"I must go now, Priest. Long live the Black Ring!" the knight said and clenched his fist to his chest.

"Long live the Black Ring." Chen Ke responded and gave a bow.

The knight nodded, pulled his longsword from his waist, and ran towards the other end of the street.

"Shit... what am I supposed to do now..." Chen Ke watched the knight’s retreating figure and sighed deeply.