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Chapter 123: The Scarlet Commander's Shield

Holy Light Strikes!

Wrapped in holy light and raging flames, the Fist of Verrigan slammed into Whitemane's shield of holy light.

"Boom!"

The shield trembled violently, but it still held. Forseti then swung the warhammer again, another Holy Light strike.

"Boom!"

Under the combined force of the warhammer and the flames, Whitemane's shield finally collapsed and dissipated.

At the same moment, Commander Durand teleported over, his blood-red sword slashing at Forseti. He had just swung the hammer and couldn't dodge in time, taking a blow to the back and letting out a cry of pain.

Fortunately, his body's strength had significantly improved after awakening, and he wore dragon armor for protection, so the injury wasn't serious. Before, this sword might have broken his ribs.

Durand retreated immediately after his strike, and Whitemane took the opportunity to fall back as well, raising another holy light shield around herself.

Forseti unleashed a Faith Healing spell on his wound while slamming the warhammer into the ground. The Sword of Justice thrust up from the ground between Whitemane's legs, striking her shield.

The sword of justice, composed of holy light and flames, quickly consumed each other at the point of contact with the shield, emitting a dazzling light.

Whitemane's shield was strong, at least as robust as the Shield of Holy Light, and it wrapped around her body without gaps. It couldn't be broken with just one strike.

Forseti had expected this. He swung a backhand hammer, striking a Judgment and forcing Commander Durand, who was about to attack again, to retreat. Then he charged at Whitemane once more.

After several exchanges like this, Forseti finally broke through Whitemane's shield while Durand was repelled and struck her again with the Holy Light.

"Crack!"

Whitemane hurriedly blocked with her staff, but it was no match for the warhammer and snapped immediately. The warhammer's flames burned her hands, causing her to scream and retreat hastily.

Seeing this, Durand rushed up again, teleporting beside Forseti and slashing at him with his blood-red sword.

Forseti's divine power was severely depleted from the battle, and he couldn't maintain the flames around his entire body. He activated the Divine Protection technique while dodging and pursued Whitemane with Judgment.

If Whitemane wasn't killed first, her Resurrection spell would make the fight much harder.

In fact, this was Forseti's last chance. After prolonged combat, he could no longer cast spells or maintain flames.

Durand's sword severed Forseti's left hand, but the Hammer of Judgment managed to strike Whitemane in the chest before she could raise her shield again.

"Mograine..." Whitemane gasped, slumping against the wall and disappearing before she could finish her sentence.

With Whitemane defeated, the final battle between Forseti and Commander Durand commenced.

Forseti, now missing a hand and bearing multiple wounds, faced a similarly battered Durand, who was extensively burned and had lost one eye.

"I-I'm a legend!!" Commander Durand roared frantically, charging at Forseti.

With no teleportation left for Durand and Forseti's divine power and mana exhausted, they engaged in a brutal melee.

Whitemane's death seemed to have driven Durand to madness, slightly boosting his strength. Despite this, the two were evenly matched, leading to hundreds of back-and-forth exchanges.

Finally, Forseti found an opening and struck Durand on the forehead with his hammer.

"Boom!"

Commander Durand's body exploded into mist, and the drop list slowly descended.

Forseti, utterly spent, collapsed to the ground and looked over the list, his eyes passing over the common items and focusing on the unique ones.

He obtained the [Forging Blueprint: Scarlet Commander's Shield], [Divine Shield (Shard)], and the [Book: History of the Scarlet Crusade].

He exited the experience space, calmed his emotions, and then carefully examined the three items.

The Divine Shield shard, in particular, caught his attention.

---

**Scarlet Commander's Shield**

**Item Level: Level 5**

**Main Materials: Iron Ingot, Heavy Leather, Malachite**

---

It was a shield, and its quality was impressive.

Looking at the forging blueprint of the Scarlet Commander's Shield, Forseti couldn't help but glance at the Fist of Verrigan in his hand.

After awakening, he had grown over twenty centimeters taller, and his stature had increased significantly. This warhammer, which he had used for over twenty years, suddenly felt small.

Originally, Forseti had planned to replace the Fist of Verrigan with Conn the Beheader or Ojin Axe. But now, another option presented itself: using the Fist of Verrigan as a one-handed hammer and adding a shield.

This idea was appealing mainly because of the high construction cost of both the Aojin Axe and Conn the Beheader.

The Aojin Axe required no explanation, and Conn the Beheader was also costly.

The main material for Conn the Beheader was black iron, a precious metal in World of Warcraft. Though slightly inferior to Orkin, it was still used in many famous weapons.

Forseti had searched for black iron in this world and found a similar material: Immortal Steel, used in Asgard.

Hela's sword was also made of Immortal Steel, though it had additional magic that made it sharper than ordinary Immortal Steel weapons. This indicated that in Asgard, Immortal Steel was a valuable material.

To create the talent mixture, Forseti had spent nearly half of his fortune on practice materials and pharmaceutical tools. Constructing Conn the Beheader might bankrupt him.

Though the Fist of Verrigan felt small, it was durable and matched his divine power with its flame enchantment. It could serve as a one-handed hammer for a while.

Poverty grounds a person.

After reviewing the Scarlet Commander's Shield blueprint, Forseti began considering his professional future as an anti-rider in Asgard.

The last item dropped was the [Book: History of the Scarlet Crusade], a history book detailing the extremist organization of the Scarlet Crusade, intended as a warning to Paladins.

Forseti closed the holy deed and recalled the battle.

Though the process had been thrilling, he had defeated the Whitemane combination. From Hogg to the Scarlet men and women, his progress was clear.

According to the holy deed's grade evaluation, he was now a level five monster.

With the end of Whitemane's book of experience, Forseti was one step closer to unlocking the next level of spells.

As he reflected, a sudden scream of battle rang out nearby.

"Kill them!" came the shout in troll language.