The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 252: Baron Basker (4)

“Entire army, halt.” Baron Basker’s charismatic voice rolled across the plains.

At his command, his soldiers froze in place like machines with drained batteries. It was hard to believe such well-trained troops served under a mere baron.

There he comes.

Baron Basker smiled faintly as he watched the adventurer priest, or rather Kakoon in disguise, approach him.

Hehe, if I provoke him just right, he’ll play along now.

This wasn’t the first time he had worked together with Kakoon. By now, their teamwork was seamless, almost instinctive.

Baron Basker tugged his horse’s reins and moved forward. “I am Baron Basker, lord of the Basker barony.”

“Kai.”

“Ahem. You must know why we’re here.”

“Hm.” Kai, folding his arms and putting on a sullen expression, nodded. “Judging by how you’ve marched over with a full force, it doesn’t seem like a friendly visit. A territorial battle?”

“Bahaha, you got it.”

Even as Baron Basker spoke casually, he discreetly winked.

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However, the more he acted this way, the stiffer Kai’s expression became.

What is with this guy?

A man coming to propose a territorial battle was grinning and winking. It was behavior far beyond Kai’s understanding.

He’s definitely not normal.

Shaking his head, Kai said, “I’ll accept the territorial battle. What are the terms?”

“Hm. No need to drag things out. How about a captain’s duel?”

A captain’s duel. It was one of the methods for resolving territorial battles: each side sends three knights, and the side that defeats all the opposing knights wins.

“Simple and clean. I like it. Let’s go with that.”

“Ahem, a-alright then.”

Despite Kai's casual and informal tone, Baron Basker couldn’t show any resistance. He merely expressed a hint of doubt.

Why is Kakoon’s acting so unconvincing today?

Normally, Kakoon would address him with the respect befitting their roles. Yet here he was, speaking so informally and naturally.

He must be having an off day.

Determined to avoid upsetting him, Basker gestured with his hand. In response, his three most skilled knights stepped forward.

Hehe, this is actually pretty funny.

All of his knights were dark knights provided by the Church of Muldine. They were monsters so powerful that even ten ordinary knights wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

“Hm?”

As the baron directed his forces to clear the field for the captain’s duel, something caught his eye.

He turned to Barton and asked, “What’s with all those people—no, adventurers—gathered over there?”

“I-I’m not sure. Perhaps they came to watch since there’s a territorial battle happening?”

“Hehe. Then today’s events will spread far and wide through their mouths.”

“Your name will be known across the continent.”

Baron Basker puffed out his chest with pride. Of course, the adventurers watching him had entirely different thoughts.

“Ah, so that’s what a lunatic looks like.”

“I heard some idiot challenged Unknown to a territorial battle, so I came to see for myself, but...”

“And it’s not even a full-scale war, just a captain’s duel? What’s going on?”

They could only offer their condolences for Baron Basker’s unfortunate decision.

***

[The territorial battle between Arkan territory and Basker territory has been confirmed.]

[The style of the battle is a Captain’s Duel. The side that defeats all three of the opponent’s knights wins.]

[Victory in the territorial battle grants complete ownership of the opposing territory.]

Crack, crack.

Kai slightly stretched his neck, feeling the stiffness in his joints and muscles leaving.

Hmm. It’s been a while since I last held a sword.

In truth, it hadn’t been that long. At most, about a week. But in the past few months, every time Kai logged into the game, swinging his sword had been a daily routine. Because of that, even a week-long gap felt quite long.

The levels of the opponent’s knights are...

Kai’s gaze shifted to the numbers floating above their heads.

[Basker territory Dark Knight. LV.352]

[Basker territory Dark Knight. LV.348]

[Basker territory Dark Knight. LV.355]

Do regular knights even have classes like that?

The names made Kai tilt his head, but it wasn’t something that required much concern.

So they’re about level 350.

Kai’s own level had already surpassed 400. There was a saying in the game that levels were power, and it was true. The stat difference created by a 50-level gap was overwhelming. Moreover, Kai was a Solaric Cleric. With countless Benevolence stats and special titles, his abilities were inflated several times over.

“Is a captain’s duel usually done one by one, in turns?” Kai asked.

At Kai’s question, the dark knights exchanged glances. They whispered something to each other with serious expressions, then rushed over together.

“Are you really Kakoon?”

“Huh?” Kai just blinked at their question.

Kakoon? What’s that?

The name sounded vaguely familiar, but...

When Kai tilted his head in confusion, the dark knights simultaneously drew their swords.

“As we thought. You are not Kakoon.”

“How dare you impersonate him!”

“We found it suspicious when we couldn’t sense the holy energy of the Church...”

The knights said incomprehensible words, suddenly charged forward.

“We’ll take you down and interrogate you about his whereabouts!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but...”

Furrowing his brows, a dragon’s aura began to emanate from Kai’s entire body. It was Dragon Fear!

Though just for a moment, it caused the movements of the opposing knights to slow down.

“Judging by all this talk about the Church, it seems you’re from the Church of Muldine. You’ve messed with the wrong person.”

Kai’s body began to move like lightning.

[You are blessed by the Wind God.]

[The Wind Witness effect increases all speeds by 50%.]

[You are blessed by the Wanderer God.]

[The Wanderer Witness effect increases skill proficiency growth rate by 50%.]

.

.

.

Until recently, Kai had been a player with extraordinarily high stats. While his class and equipped items were impressive, his true power stemmed from his stats. Now, however, he wasn’t a player with just high stats—he had become a player that had high stats and also something else.

Witness titles gained from meeting various gods.

As long as Kai held the overpowered special titles that only he possessed in this world, there were few who could keep up with his movements.

The Silent Longsword of Frost pierced through the chest of one knight. The act involved no elaborate techniques. It was simply the result of overwhelming power.

“Kugh...!”

“There are three of you, so two should be unnecessary, right?”

When Kai entered combat, his movements became swift, and his actions bold and fearless. That was especially true when his opponents were affiliated with the Church of Muldine.

Whooosh!

Kai dodged the attacks of two knights swinging from behind him without even glancing back.

Left shoulder, right hip.

He had reached a level where he could discern where and how an attack was aimed purely by sound.

Good. Taking a week off didn't dull my instincts.

Pleased with himself, Kai smiled as he dodged the two swords aimed at him. At the same time, his leg swung out.

Thwack!

His kick directly struck the end of the longsword’s hilt, still embedded in the first knight’s chest. Naturally, the knight let out a groan of pain that seemed to come from deep within him.

That’s one down and out of the fight.

As soon as he confirmed this, he grabbed the sword’s hilt with his left hand and yanked it with all his might. Of course, he didn’t simply pull the blade out.

“Flood of Blades.”

The sword lodged in the knight’s chest twisted violently as it was withdrawn. The Dark Knight was dull to pain after the Church of Muldine's intense brainwashing, but even he screamed in agony.

The two remaining knights hesitated, flinching at the sound of their comrade’s scream—something they had never heard before. To Kai, this moment was yet another opportunity.

“Summon Holy Sword Prius.”

A white holy sword appeared in Kai’s right hand. At the same time, searing heat radiated from his entire body.

“Supernova.”

He no longer needed to worry about conserving his Holy Power. True to the name of his special title, his Holy Power was inexhaustible.

Whooosh!

Recovering their senses, the dark knights swung their swords once more, but Kai was already gone.

Let’s take down one more first.

The holy sword plunged into the armpit of another knight. As the blade reached a certain point, Kai twisted it and sliced downward.The sword entered through the armpit and exited through his side.

“Krrrk...”

The knight trembled like a leaf in the wind before collapsing backward. Based on the fountain of blood pouring from his body, the excessive bleeding debuff was a given.

“I've thought this before, but the skills of the dark knights that the Church of Muldine is so proud of are quite bad.”

“I-if the Inquisitors were here...”

“Oh, they’re not much better either.”

Though, they were better than you guys.

Kai took advantage of the remaining knight’s stunned state to hurl the Silent Longsword of Frost.

The blade flew like a dagger and pierced the knight’s left thigh.

“Agh, how cowardly!”

“Cowardly? Says the guys who attacked three-on-one. What a three-star performance.”

Amused by his own wordplay, Kai dashed forward and swung his sword. The knight, slashed deeply across the chest, coughed up blood and fell face-first to the ground.

Now then, the only thing left is...

He needed to figure out why the Church of Muldine’s dark knights were here.

His gaze naturally shifted toward Baron Basker.

“Holy Chains.”

Shh-clink.

A holy chain shot out from Kai’s left sleeve. It reflected the noon sunlight as it flew swiftly through the air.

“Huh, wh-what?”

The distance between Kai and Baron Basker was about fifty meters, but that distance was meaningless. Holy Chains was a skill that extended as far as the amount of Holy Power infused into it. With Kai’s Holy Power, even a distance several times greater was no problem.

“B-block it!” Baron Basker shouted as he saw the Holy Chain approaching.

However, the Holy Chain was much faster than the dark knights.

Whoom, whooom!

The chain wrapped around Baron Basker’s neck three times.

“Heup!”

Kai’s biceps bulged as he pulled hard on the chain, securing his prey. The chain grew taut, and Baron Basker was dragged through the air as though he were flying.

“Unsummon the holy sword.”

Kai dismissed the holy sword in his hand, then grabbed the baron by the throat mid-air and slammed him into the ground.

“Kugh...”

“I think we’re ready to have a conversation now.”

“K-Kakoon, why are you—gahhh!”

The Blue Plague. Ironically, the infamous toxin created by the Church of Muldine was now being used to torture Baron Basker. Once injected, the Blue Plague rapidly spread throughout the victim’s body. Blue veins surfaced across Baron Basker’s skin, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

“Answer my questions properly, and I’ll give you the antidote.”

Baron Basker quieted down like an obedient child. From the way his eyes darted around, it was clear that his silence was a sign of agreement.

“Who is this Kakoon you keep mentioning?”

“...H-he’s the commander of the sixteenth assassination squad of the Church of Muldine. Last night, he went to assassinate you.”

“Me?” Kai blinked at the unexpected answer. “That guy never came... Oh?”

As he searched his memory, something suddenly came to mind.

Could it be that fly I caught last night?

He remembered squashing a fly and receiving some curse about an assassination leader. At the time, he had brushed it off as a trivial incident.

“Maybe he did show up.”

“Th-then what happened to Kakoon...?”

“Sorry. I thought he was just a fly and killed him.”

Baron Basker’s jaw dropped in shock.

Kai scratched his head as he looked down at the baron’s dumbfounded expression. “Sigh. Anyway...”

He had gotten involved with a strange group and ended up in an unnecessary mess. And to make matters worse...

Ding!

[You have won the territorial battle.]

[All ownership of the Basker territory has now been transferred to you.]

“Another one, huh.”

Another burdensome piece of baggage had been added to his collection.