Alien Knights

The morning sun drove away the long night, and the Rongka Fortress ushered in a new day.

The original majestic city wall has become a pile of ruins. The corpses of the dead covered the entire battlefield.

"This is the last stronghold of the Kingdom of Ulster in the south." Sitting on a big rock, Evie said to Alfonso beside her while she was sharpening her weapon with a whetstone.

The knight carrying the great sword stood on top of the ruins like a statue, without saying a word, looking at the huge tyrant in the distance.

More than a dozen soldiers knelt in front of Todd, put their foreheads on the ground, and listened to the words from above their heads without moving.

"Some of you are gladiators, some are children of the tribe, and some were once captives." Todd said to these people with his huge monster body on a collapsed city wall, "But today, with your performance on the battlefield, you have earned yourself the qualification to go to God's Domain!"

Dozens of bone spurs stretched and bent from the tyrant's arm, piercing into every warrior's head. A few seconds later, along with crying and praying, everyone used their loudest volumes to praise everything in God's Domain.

"I saw it! I saw it!"

"Asgard accepts my soul!"

"Gods above!"

Todd waved his hand to let these warriors who were falling into religious fanaticism be taken down. He retracted the bone spurs that had changed and motioned for Alfonso and Evie to come over.

Looking at his two subordinates, Todd asked, "Have you seen the official documents of the Holy Ministry sent by the church to Muxi City?"

Alfonso nodded.

Evie said: "The Muxi Kingdom has been removed from the diocesan kingdoms, and the Muxi Knights have been deprived of their titles. As for you, the king, you have not only been deprived of your church membership, but have also been defined by the church as a 'devil in human skin'."

Todd laughed dryly, and seemed not worried about such accusations at all: "These are not surprising, the key lies in what kind of military action the church will take against Muxi Kingdom next."

Evie expressed her puzzlement: "Your Majesty, when things have come to this point, why don't you simply abandon some heavenly father and raise the banner of the gods? Use war to completely conquer all parishes?"

"No, this method is not suitable." Todd pondered for a while, and explained: "The Diocese of Heavenly Father includes multiple kingdoms. If we can use the method of division and absorption to resolve disputes, we will be able to avoid many unnecessary troubles. After all, what we lack most right now is time."

Evie didn't continue on this topic, but instead asked: "We have conquered the last southern stronghold of the Kingdom of Ulster, what should we do next?"

"Jonca Fortress is the last obstacle between the capital of Ulster and Froststone Camp. In the next war, there will never be such a strong fortress." Todd looked at Alfonso and Evie and said, "In the next battle, I intend to hand over the command of the army to you."

Evie frowned and asked, "Hand over command? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Kingdom of Shadows."

Todd's answer made Evie's eyes widen, and she asked anxiously, "The rumored kingdom of the dead? The dark gate that connects to the underworld?"

"I've been there once, and I'm no stranger to the people there. I went this time to seek an answer, an answer related to my future."

Evie tightened the sword in her hand: "I'll go with you!"

"No, Alfonso is in charge of commanding the ground troops, and you, Evie, are in charge of aerial reconnaissance. The two of you should cooperate with each other on the battlefield, and one is indispensable."

Todd raised his head and looked to the north: "Expand the source of troops, attack towns, and expand the territory. Remember, every time you capture a place, let the shaman in the clan spread the belief of the gods and increase our believers."

Alfonso's deep voice came from under the armor: "Your Majesty, as you wish."

Standing up from the collapsed city wall, Todd shook his scales and left the marching camp amidst the worship of the soldiers.

Riding on the back of Henry the Griffin, Todd, who had regained his human form, fell into deep thought as he watched the sea passing by below him.

These days, Todd uses the form of a tyrant to show people. He can detect the tyrant virus in his body. It has never stopped evolving. His body is getting bigger and bigger, his bones are getting harder and stronger, and his physical strength is getting stronger. All this reminds him all the time that the tyrant virus is accelerating the fusion of cells and heterogeneous bacteria in his body. After gaining a series of powers, he began to worry about whether his body would be alienated or even collapsed one day.

For example, in the past month, when Todd fell asleep in human form, he must be in the form of a tyrant when he woke up again; when he transformed into a tyrant, although the maintenance time was getting longer and longer, it would take longer to turn back into a human being than before.

All of this indicates that a series of unpredictable changes are taking place in his body. He doesn't know what the end point of this change is, and he doesn't dare to guess.

But he knew that there was a place where the answer might be found, and that place was the Kingdom of Shadows.

It is still the small misty island and the dilapidated temple.

When Todd fell from the griffin to the ground, the first thing he saw was Meredith smiling at him.

Meredith, who was wearing a crow feather, was holding a piccolo-like instrument in her hand. The first thing she said when she saw Todd was: "I guess it's about time for you to come back."

Todd patted Henry's neck, beckoning him to leave first, and then looked at Meredith with a bit of doubt in his eyes: "You know I'll be back?"

Meredith combed the feathers with her hands, turned around, and said as she walked, "Come with me, my master—the Queen of Shadows has been waiting for your arrival."

In Todd's mind, the stunning queen with purple hair reaching her waist, and her pair of emotionless and red eyes appeared, and asked: "About the trial of fate and the door of darkness, you have something to hide from me, right?"

Meredith walked forward and said in a low voice: "It's not a concealment, because there are some things that my master and I only know a little about."

Following the woman in the ruins of the temple, Todd looked around and asked Meredith in front of him: "I remember that there is another person who passed the test here, who seems to be called..."

"Cuchlain."

"That's right, that's the name, what about others?"

"He has completed a year of training and returned to the Kingdom of Ulster." Meredith let out a long breath after saying this: "Thank God, that little bastard is finally gone."

Regarding Cu Chulainn's identity and ability, Todd wanted to ask a few more questions. The shadow queen Scathach on the temple terrace made him choose to remain silent.

"My teacher, Todd Fischer, the master of Muxi City, is here."

Meredith's words surprised Todd. He remembered that he had never revealed his true identity in the Kingdom of Shadows.

Scathach turned around slowly, and a trace of incomprehensible emotion flickered in his cold eyes for a moment: "Todd, I know you have seen Leviathan..."

Scathach's words surprised Todd again. Before he could ask, the Queen continued: "All those who passed the test of fate were given the same mission by Leviathan himself, and that is to find the best balance between species and fate."

Todd chewed on Scathach's words carefully, and finally said with a confused face: "Sorry, Queen of Shadows, I really don't understand how this sentence should be understood."

Scathach closed his eyes and shook his head gently: "It's not just you, after so many years, no one really understands the meaning of this sentence, but at least we have learned something through constant attempts..."

"Issues?"

Meredith turned her face to Todd at this time, and said, "Before continuing this topic, you need to transform into a demigod first."

Todd glanced at Meredith, who looked very serious, and finally he changed into a tyrant according to her words.

Seeing the huge creature prostrated on the ground with a length of more than ten meters, Meredith covered her mouth in shock: "Gods! It hasn't been long, and you've changed too fast!"

Scathach looked at Todd in front of him, frowned and said: "Your current state is somewhat beyond my expectation..."

Todd, who turned into a tyrant, looked at the two women in front of him and said in a deep voice, "Can you explain?"

Meredith and Scathach looked at each other, and they nodded. The former began to say slowly: "Anyone who passes the test of fate will meet Leviathan after passing through the dark gate. The latter will give him the opportunity to become a demigod...that is, the transformation into a tyrant that you mentioned before. After repeated use of the transformation ability, the human body will gradually degenerate, and the form of the tyrant will gradually replace it. The most direct manifestation is that it is becoming more and more difficult for people to control the time and place of transformation, and the power after transformation. Getting stronger and stronger..."

Todd looked down at his thick iron claws, and said to Meredith: "I guess, what you are going to say next should not be a good thing."

Meredith sighed: "It's mixed. With the increase of strength, the body changes more and more, and the tyrant will gradually enter the second form..."

Todd interrupted Meredith: "Wait! You said the second form? What's that?"

"The tyrant of the second form will completely eliminate the appearance of human beings, and will always appear as a transformed form at ordinary times."

Todd's golden eyes widened: "You mean... I will keep this ghostly look for the rest of my life?! There is no way to change back?!"

Meredith rolled her eyes at Todd: "You keep calm first, I haven't said the worst part yet."

"What? There are worse things?!"

"In the middle of the transformation from the first form to the second form, the physical changes will bring enormous pressure to the human soul."

Meredith's words immediately gave Todd a bad feeling: "Huge pressure?"

The former added: "You might as well think about it, if you let the soul of an ant control the body of an elephant, what will happen in the end?"

Todd murmured: "The soul collapses, the body enters a long sleep, and finally both return to nothingness."

Meredith spread her hands and said, "Yes, that's it."

Todd growled angrily at this time: "Damn it! What's mixed?! Looking at it this way, no matter how you go, it's a dead end!"

Meredith stretched out a finger, shook it and said to him: "Don't worry, what I'm going to talk about next is how to control and prevent the soul collapse caused by the second form. After years of our attempts, there are actually two methods. The first one, never try to enter the second form of the tyrant."

Todd asked, "Never try to go into a second form? What should I do?"

"Reduce or stop using transformation, let the human form gradually control the initiative of the body."

"What about another method?"

"Abandon the human form completely, and take the initiative to enter the second form of the tyrant. Before that, use training or other methods to enhance the power of the soul to avoid the soul collapse caused by the second form."