Who made him a paladin?

Chapter 17 The Legend Begins

As the morning sunlight streamed down, Xia Nan's figure flickered in and out of the light as she walked along the stone path.

However, Xia Nan could sense that the streets today lacked their usual languid and leisurely atmosphere, and a strong sense of bleakness permeated the air.

Groups of two or three city guards dressed in dark blue uniforms and wearing black helmets were constantly checking passersby.

Whether it's a gentleman in a tuxedo or a laborer in overalls.

After all, the news of the princess's attack last night has spread throughout the city.

A portly city guard wanted to investigate Xia Nan, but after seeing the paladin armband that Xia Nan had tied with a rope and was swinging on his fingers, he had no choice but to give up.

However, Xia Nan's mood was completely out of sync with the tense atmosphere.

Last night, after sending Silvia back to the Vatican to rest, he received the crimson ore he had been longing for this morning.

A full 10 jin (5 catties) is enough for Xia Nan to repair the broken sword.

Xia Nan originally didn't want to owe this favor and planned to exchange it for money.

But when he learned that a fist-sized piece of crimson ore was priced at a whopping 65 gold coins, he promptly abandoned the idea.

10 in total, 650 gold coins.

This huge sum of money was enough to buy five acres of hunting grounds and a manor villa, and then live a life of retirement in the countryside with maids serving him.

Xia Nan figured that even if he sold himself, he still wouldn't be able to pay off this debt.

However, if he were sold to the royal family and became a carefree nobleman, he could endure the pain of eating fresh abalone every meal.

Fortunately, in consideration of Xia Nan's two acts of saving her life, Sylvie gave him this batch of ore as a token of her gratitude.

Besides the red ore, Xia Nan also brought back three thick books from the Vatican.

These are "Introduction to and Mastery of the Common Language", "The Paladin's Code of Conduct", and "The Laws of the Pasar Empire" with a gold-embossed cover.

For Xia Nan, who has suffered countless losses, improving his literacy is just as important as becoming stronger.

As for the code of conduct and the law, his original intention was to find a way to make money from them after he learned to read.

In a hurry, Xia Nan arrived at today's destination—Karl's Equipment Shop.

Ding-dong—

Pushing open the wooden door, the familiar sound of a brass bell mixed with the scent of tung oil wafted out.

The short, stout Karl was sitting at the counter, intently fiddling with gears that resembled a steam engine.

Good morning, Mr. Carl.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Karl looked up with a smile.

He wanted to respond politely, but his gaze was drawn to the burlap sack that Xia Nan had placed on the counter.

"This is……"

Xia Nan untied the bag and showed the other person the dark red ore inside.

Karl, looking surprised, stretched out his finger, carefully picked up the crimson ore, and brought it close to his eyes to examine it closely.

Those small eyes first showed shock, then turned into deep confusion.

He didn't understand why Xia Nan was able to obtain the royal monopoly.

Was it stolen?

No, it doesn't seem like it.

Although this young man was a bit of a chatterbox and did things in an odd way, his eyes were clear, unlike goblins who were full of thieving air.

As his thoughts wandered, Karl recalled rumors circulating in the city that the princess had been attacked the previous night and rescued by a black-haired young man in a black suit.

Karl looked Xia Nan up and down, and the more he looked, the more he felt that they matched.

Aside from this astonishing hypothesis, he couldn't think of any other way Xia Nan could obtain these ores.

"Mr. Carl?" Xia Nan waved.

"Sorry, my dear friend, I was just a little distracted." Karl put the ore back in his bag. "So, what are you planning to do now...?"

"Fix it."

Xia Nan pointed to the broken sword not far away.

The two then stopped dawdling. Karl first took out the repair scroll from deep inside the counter and unfolded it under the broken sword.

Then all the materials were neatly arranged, giving the impression of performing some kind of mysterious ritual.

In Karl’s words, since the repair spool is to be used, the step of melting ore in the casting iron process can be omitted.

Once everything was ready, Karl recited the incantation to activate the scroll.

In an instant, the scroll undulated like waves, and its surface shone with a brilliant golden light.

All the repair materials seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, disappearing into the scroll.

A miracle happened.

The broken sword began to tremble, then floated into the air, the rust and grime covering its blade peeling away inch by inch.

In just a few breaths, the broken sword revealed its true form.

The cross-shaped handguards extend to both ends, curling into menacing spikes.

In the center of the handguard, a strange, diamond-shaped eyeball covered in blood vessels materialized out of thin air.

Karl couldn't help but gasp.

"How...how could this sword be like this?"

Before he finished speaking, flame-like patterns shot out from his eyeballs, spreading down the blade and finally gathering into a scarlet liquid at the break, dripping onto the scroll.

Just when Xia Nan thought Sadako would crawl out of the scroll—

The original-colored metal block floated out of the scroll and then flew towards the broken sword.

They pieced together and merged like jigsaw puzzle pieces, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a complete, broadsword.

The temperature in the shop began to drop, and Xia Nan suddenly felt a tingling sensation all over her body.

Then, an eerie purple and red aura emanated from its eyeballs. They intertwined and coiled around the sword like two venomous snakes.

Xia Nan felt that this sword was not a sacred creation, but rather a calamity sword born from chaos, created solely for slaughter and destruction.

Another feeling is that it is long.

It's very long, extremely long.

This is the length a man should have!

"Moradin's beard!"

Karl stared in disbelief at the floating greatsword.

He's now kicking himself for it; if he'd known this would happen, he shouldn't have sold the greatsword in the first place.

But the dwarves' reputation cannot be tarnished; once something is sold, there is no reason to take it back.

What he was more curious about was whether Xia Nan was just lucky or if he possessed some kind of special magic that could identify weapons.

Karl looked at Xia Nan, who was equally surprised.

This man always manages to create unexpected surprises for people.

At the same time, Xia Nan reached out to touch the greatsword.

From the very first encounter to the decision to fix it.

The journey included encounters with goblin lairs, interrogating succubi, and protecting the princess.

All of this was for today.

But he withdrew his hand, deciding to examine the "new child's" talent first.

【Name: Ktugya Ashes】

【Quality: Red Legend】

[Durability: 240/240]

[Additional Attributes: Strength +3, Constitution +3]

[Passive: The sword absorbs sunlight, generating 1 [Crimson Soul] every hour (storage limit 5). Actively consuming 1 [Crimson Soul] increases weapon damage by 5%, stacking up to three times.]

【消耗5枚【红魄】，可将剑身30米範围内力量低于15的25个活体目标，强行拉至剑身1米範围，并造成3秒的短暂眩晕。】

The sword absorbs moonlight, generating 1 [Silver Soul] every hour (maximum 5). Actively consuming 1 [Silver Soul] shrinks the sword, up to the size of a finger.

[Releases stored Silver Souls within a 30-meter radius around the sword. The contractor can swap positions with any Silver Soul; each swap will cause the Silver Soul to disappear.]

Xia Nan thought this was a magical artifact tailor-made for him!

He had even mentally rehearsed the combinations of the moves.

If [Oath of the End] detects killing intent, it can consume 5 red potions to pull all the enemies out, and then follow up with [Blade Storm]. The scene will be so beautiful that it's unimaginable.

As for the shrinking sword blade of [Silver Soul], it is also a very useful skill.

For example, it can be used for infiltration missions or when going out in everyday life.

After all, carrying such a strange greatsword around would be a bit too conspicuous.

As for the position swap, Xia Nan understood it to be exactly the "Flying Thunder God" technique.

From now on, whether it's close-quarters combat or grappling, it will be a divine skill that can determine the outcome of the battle.

Xia Nan was secretly pleased.

With the current combined attributes from my equipment, I now have 14 points in Strength, 12 points in Constitution, and 11 points in Agility.

I'm one step closer to giving up beef.

However, the appearance of durability also reminded Xia Nan that this sword was not indestructible.

This is an unacceptable fact.

Xia Nan thought that if the [Greed] skill could drop an attribute that could offset wear and tear, it would be great to apply it to the greatsword; otherwise, every repair was a major problem.

Coming to his senses, Xia Nan reached out and grasped the sword hilt. It was icy cold to the touch, and then a feeling of connection to his blood arose spontaneously.

Carl then brought a ruler, and after measuring, the blade was found to be 13 cm wide, and the distance from the pommel to the tip was a full 1.68 meters.

The sword was dark overall, except for the flowing red and purple light and the eye in the center of the hilt, which added a touch of eeriness to it.

The weight might be due to the lingering effect of "laziness," but overall it's still as light as chopsticks.

"Mr. Xia Nan, as a friend, I must warn you," Karl's voice carried a hint of solemnity, "this sword looks extremely sinister. Especially that eyeball; it gives me the feeling that some kind of terrifying monster is sealed inside."

Xia Nan casually swung his greatsword.

"It's okay, I'll just poke it out."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Nan's mind stirred, and he used a [Silver Soul] to shrink the greatsword.

In an instant, after passing through layers of overlapping shadows, the sword shrank to the size of an arm.

It was at this moment that a dangerous signal suddenly flashed through Xia Nan's mind.

He frowned and looked toward the door, sensing a single, murderous target rapidly approaching.

"Click, click, click."

The sound of neat, heavy armor scraping against each other came from outside the door.

Then a dozen or so heavily armored paladins rushed in, completely surrounding the small equipment shop.

They immediately made way for him, and Linus emerged from the crowd with a somber expression.

After stopping, he raised his hand and took out the yellowed paper.

"Shanan Williams".

"The Vatican now suspects you of being involved in last night's assassination attempt on the princess. Please give up your resistance and come back with us to assist in the investigation."