I was a knight in the Middle Ages

Chapter 323 The Pope's Conspiracy, Arthur's Dilemma

"Knight Athena, my sister, I never thought you would break through. It's a miracle!" Julius was in his prime, with a sturdy body and terrifying strength. Facing the weak Athena in front of him, his eyes were filled with contempt from the superior to the inferior. His voice was deep and powerful, as if every word carried an irresistible majesty.

Athena didn't want to see the man's face. Even though they had the same father, they had no family affection. Her eyes were firm and cold, as if to say, "I have nothing to do with you." Her voice was calm and resolute: "Grand Knight Julius, if you are just here to laugh at me, then I will go back to the Church and take responsibility."

Julius smiled slightly, seemingly not caring about Athena's attitude. His eyes were as sharp as a knife, staring directly into Athena's eyes: "Why do you have to be so distant? I will ask you a few questions as the Grand Knight. First, what is the current situation in the city of Alman? What is the situation of Grand Knight Arthur?"

Athena knew that Julius' real purpose was not to care about the fate of Alman City or Arthur. They only cared about power and status. She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound calm: "We broke out at four in the morning. At that time, the enemy had completely suppressed the Knights of Light, and the situation was very dangerous. Now we don't know the specific situation, and I don't know whether Grand Knight Arthur died in the battle."

Julius nodded, and seemed to be dissatisfied with Athena's answer. After all, Arthur's situation was unclear. He continued, "Knight Athena, you must know that we are the Pope's direct descendants. If our Edward family loses the position of Pope, then our enemies will definitely wipe us out. Now the Pope can only be produced from our five major families. The first and second families have died out, and only Arthur is left in the third family. As long as Arthur dies in battle, our fourth family will not have any competitive pressure."

Julius' words revealed a hint of helplessness and anxiety. He knew that this generation of popes, that is, his father, had done many things that went against common sense. The conditions promised to inherit the Arthur family's pope position and re-occupy the top of the continent had not yet been fulfilled. Moreover, there was a trend of intensifying and declining status and strength, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction within the church.

Athena listened to Julius' words silently, but her heart was already in turmoil. She knew that this game of power was far more complicated and cruel than it seemed on the surface. But she also knew that she had to remain calm and rational, because only in this way could she survive in this world full of conspiracy and betrayal.

"I know what to choose. You don't need to remind me." Athena's voice was calm and firm, even though her heart was as unstable as duckweed in the waves. In fact, the choices she faced were extremely limited. If the Edward family lost power, her fate would be even more difficult; even if the Edward family regained power, Athena's situation would not improve much.

Julius stared at her coldly, his tone full of unquestionable majesty: "Knight Athena, I now give you two choices: one is to follow me to the city of Alman and join our united front to fight against Knight Arthur together; the other is to go find the legendary ninth ring and take your little man with you." There was no room for negotiation in his words, and he obviously did not intend to give Athena any chance to remain neutral. Once she stayed, it meant that she had to stand on the side of the Pope and become a member of their camp.

In fact, Grand Knight Julius did not have much chance of winning against Arthur alone. After all, Arthur climbed up step by step with his military exploits, and even the Pope's slight embarrassment did not stop him. It can be said that among the nine knights, Arthur's strength was second to none, and no one dared to claim to be the first.

"When we capture the city of Alman, that will be the moment for you to make your final decision." Julius raised his voice, trying to force Athena to yield through threats. "Don't blame me for not warning you in advance."

Julius's eyes were as sharp as a knife, as if he had seen through all the hesitation and struggle in Athena's heart. However, facing such pressure, Athena still maintained her rare calmness and strength. She knew that no matter what was waiting for her ahead, she would bravely meet the challenge.

Alpha and others were sent to the battlefield again without meeting Grand Knight Julius. After all, Alpha was only a bronze knight. In the eyes of the Holy See, his identity and status were not enough to make him qualified to meet the Grand Knight.

However, if Alpha appeared in his other identity, the leader of the Ninth Knights, the situation would be completely different. In theory, this identity was equal to that of Grand Knight Julius, but in reality, due to the lack of sufficient strength, this identity was not recognized at all within the Church and was instead regarded as a burden.

"Lord Alpha, are we going to enter the City of Alman through the passage now, or kill our way in directly from the outside?" Gilliana asked in a low voice, her voice full of fear and uneasiness about the unknown.

Alpha pondered for a while, knowing that they were now faced with a difficult choice. If they chose the secret passage, they could avoid direct conflict, but they might also miss the best time to attack; and if they chose to attack directly, they could deal a greater blow to the enemy, but at the same time they would also increase their own risks.

However, Alpha had a strong premonition that the arrival of Grand Knight Julius would disrupt all the original plans, and what he was most worried about was the situation of those innocent people.

If Grand Knight Julius chooses to continue the holy war, then Alpha must prepare for the worst. He decided that once the battle began, he would immediately let the people in the city flee so that he could stay and continue fighting with peace of mind. He knew that this was a war with no retreat, and he had to do his best to protect those innocent lives.

"Wait until the battle is over and let the people in the city leave immediately. We can't wait." Alpha said firmly, his eyes full of determination and courage.

Alpha knew that he couldn't give all the initiative to the Church, as that would only put him in a very passive position. By then, there might not even be time to evacuate the people. Therefore, he had to act as soon as possible, for the sake of those innocent lives, and for his own beliefs and dignity.

……

"Great Knight Arthur, we meet again." The voice of Dark Knight Luciferia echoed in the empty battlefield, with a hint of coldness and provocation. His eyes were like sharp blades, tightly locked on Arthur opposite. This time, the two stood on opposite sides again, and the air was filled with tension and oppression.

Arthur did not respond, but silently tightened his grip on the holy sword, his eyes gleaming with determination. He knew that this battle would decide everything, life or death. The two sides stopped testing each other and started a fierce battle. Every swing of the sword and every block was full of strength and determination, as if the whole world was holding its breath for this moment.

Luciferia took the lead in attacking. His figure moved as fast as a ghost, and the dark sword in his hand cut through the air, bringing gusts of cold wind. Arthur, on the other hand, remained unchanged in the face of change. With years of experience and skills, he cleverly resolved the opponent's offensive and looked for opportunities to counterattack. The two swords intertwined in the air, creating dazzling sparks, and every collision was shocking.

As time went on, the battle became more intense. Luciferia seemed to be getting more and more impatient and began to use more violent force to try to overwhelm Arthur; but the latter remained calm and responded to every challenge with wisdom and courage.

"Arthur, I'll give you one last chance. All of this is just a conspiracy of the Pope. They just want to eliminate you, the obstacle to the Pope's privatization. If you follow me to the dark world and become a dark knight like me, your achievements will never be lower than mine." Dark Knight Captain Lucifaria reminded loudly, with a hint of temptation and threat in her voice.

Luciferia's words were like a poisonous snake entwined in Arthur's heart, trying to shake his faith. However, Arthur's eyes remained as firm as before, without the slightest wavering. He knew that he had the mission of protecting light and defending justice, and must not be deceived by darkness.

"Even if I can't kill you, do you think you can still survive in the Vatican? Your existence has no meaning at all." The Dark Knight Captain Lucifaria continued, trying to break down Arthur's psychological defenses.

To be honest, the Dark Knight Captain Lucifaria's absolute strength was not as good as Arthur's. He just took advantage of the fact that Arthur had been fighting for three days and three nights to fight Arthur on equal terms.

However, Arthur will not back down. He is a knight of light, he will be loyal to the church, loyal to light, and will not coexist with darkness. No matter how many difficulties and challenges there are ahead, he will move forward bravely and never succumb to the power of darkness.

"If you are stubborn, don't blame me for being rude." Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, the Dark Knight Captain Lucifaria's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. He knew that it was not wise to confront Arthur head-on, after all, the power of darkness was strange. So he decided to take a more cunning approach to deal with Arthur.

"Dark Knight Master Malcolm, it's your turn." With this low and majestic command, Malcolm, who had been hiding in the shadows and almost blending into the night, finally took action. He walked out of the darkness slowly, and every step seemed to step on people's hearts, making people feel an indescribable pressure and fear.

Malcolm's appearance immediately attracted the attention of everyone around him, and the air was filled with an ominous atmosphere. He gently raised his right hand, and his fingertips flashed a dark and mysterious light. Suddenly, the whole area was shrouded by a powerful and strange force, and the sky became extremely dark, as if even the sunlight could not penetrate this thick dark barrier.

Then, the brave but unfortunate knights who had approached this powerful enemy began to experience unprecedented horrific changes. Their bodies began to tremble violently, and then they quickly withered as if their life essence had been drained away by some invisible force. In just a few seconds, the once brave and fearless warriors fell one after another, becoming shrunken corpses, losing all vitality and energy.

The whole process was full of oppression, and people could not help but feel a deep fear of the wizard known as the "Dark Knight". Malcolm stood there, watching all this happen coldly, with no emotion in his eyes, only absolute control of power and a ruthless attitude towards the enemy.

"Light dispel." At this moment, the magic of the Light Priestess rose in the rear, like a dazzling barrier, stabilizing the rear front line like a solid wall of steel.

"Barnes, you have to think carefully. Our target is only Arthur. If you interfere, you will become our enemy." The dark knight leader Luciferia slowly approached, with a hint of threat in his cold eyes. If there was no knight to protect him at this distance, Barnes, a magician, would surely die.

"Don't worry about me, Barnes. Go rescue the other knights." Arthur said firmly, regardless of his own safety. At this time, he did not have the energy to protect Barnes, so he could only ask him not to directly participate in this conspiracy battle.

It was not known whether it was because of Arthur's reminder that worked, or because of Barnes' inner fear that his magic did not cover the entire battlefield, but at this moment the darkness could no longer harm the Knight of Light.

"Arthur, this is the dark formation we prepared for you. You can only exert 50% of your strength at most. Now you have lost your holy sword. You have been fighting for three days and three nights. What can you use to fight me?" All the advantages were on the side of the Dark Knight Captain Lucifaria. The other laughed triumphantly, as if he was sure of victory.

"Light dispels all darkness." Arthur recited the spell firmly, casting a powerful auxiliary magic on himself. This light was like the dawn, instantly dispelling the dark curse that permeated the surroundings.

However, such consumption was also huge for Arthur. He felt his magic power was rapidly draining away, and his body began to become weak. Despite this, Arthur gritted his teeth, panted, and prepared to fight the enemy to the death.

However, the enemies around him seemed to have seen through Arthur's intentions. Instead of fighting him head-on, they adopted a more cunning strategy - delaying time.

These dark creatures knew that as long as they could continue to consume Arthur's magic power and prevent him from exerting a stronger fighting spirit, the final victory would definitely belong to them. Therefore, they kept wandering around, occasionally launching some small-scale attacks, with the aim of exhausting Arthur's last bit of physical and mental strength.

Now the outside world is dominated by werewolves. The entire city and the entire outer space are controlled by these evil creatures. For them, time is the most abundant thing. They can wait until Arthur is completely consumed.

For Arthur, every minute and every second was extremely precious. If he could not find a breakthrough as soon as possible to break the deadlock, an extremely tragic ending would be waiting for him.