The Black Dragon’s body shrank, morphing into a half-dragon humanoid form, and donned a Black Robe and Face Armor woven from Dark Power, standing behind the Dark Knight.
The body continued to shrink, revealing a slender figure that indicated she was a female.
As for Dark Knight Austin, facing the adoration of the elf maidens, he neither rejected nor responded, not out of lechery, but because he was new and concealing his identity, he had to establish a distinctive persona.
Austin had not fully awakened, and his power was insufficient. He knew he was no match for the Naturalist, Sun, and Moonlight God-chosen Knights, so he dreaded the possibility of losing his life to them and hence had never dared set foot on the Icebound Continent.
Now that he was here, it was essential to establish a solid persona, revealing his weaknesses to those with an eye for them.
Having weaknesses implies desires, and those with desires are easier to manipulate and target - this held true everywhere.
Before arriving, Austin had prepared several personas and dove in headfirst, only to be astonished to find that The Sealed Land was home to many beautiful Dark Elf maidens.
He promptly discarded his previous imperfect personas and readopted the playboy persona he had during his time in Lundan, a part he played effortlessly, no acting required.
Embarrassingly enough, he was quite skilled at playing the playboy - an old actor in the role!
When it came to establishing a persona and pretending to have weaknesses, Wayne also favored the lecher persona.
The difference was, some people stopped pretending after a while and even claimed to be aggrieved, saying they were too deep into the role to get out.
Megan, clad in a Black Robe and seeing the raven-skinned beauties drawing ever closer, with an air as if they would offer themselves to him tonight, stepped forward to Austin’s side. A faint draconic presence arose, barely enough to clear out the area.
Although this was the correct approach and exactly what she had requested, in this moment it somehow felt off.
She hoped she was just overthinking it.
Wayne was ecstatic, voicing a perfectly neutral opinion: "The Dark Knight is really popular, coming to the Dark Church’s stronghold is like coming home. Mr. Mula, he seems to be quite the philanderer, and the elf maidens won’t reject him. Forgive my bluntness, but will he still have the energy to partake in battle?"
A vein throbbed on Hefei’s forehead, unable to tolerate such provocation.
"Wayne, do not underestimate any God-chosen Knight. The Dark Knight is not a man of lust; he’s doing this deliberately. You’re falling for it if you believe otherwise."
With a slight smile, Mula said, "It would be best not to face the Dark Knight directly. I’ll go and have a word with him. There is no need to be wary; this isn’t the God-chosen Continent, and there is no strife over beliefs here."
Now that the God-chosen Knight has arrived on the Icebound Continent, the primary task is to guard The Sealed Land, everything else comes secondary.
As he spoke, Mula strode forward, clad in white Naturalist Armor, which immediately drew the attention of Austin and Megan with its distinctive appearance among everyone else.
Upon closer look, Austin spotted the expressionless Hefei in front of the wooden hut and the schadenfreude-filled little trash can.
How did they get here so early?
Austin thought himself unluckily, feeling fortunate that he had just held back his acting; otherwise, if Hefei had seen him being embraced from both sides, even if he had later clarified the situation, a beating would have been inevitable.
Acting or not, it all comes down to whether you touched or not!
"Naturalist Knight Mula, it is an honor to meet you here."
Mula passed through the Dark Elves and extended his hand in welcome to Austin’s arrival.
"Dark Knight, Mr. Mula, I have long heard of your great reputation." Austin extended his hand, and two gauntlets, one black and one white, clasped together.
Mula did not take the opportunity to probe anything and, with a smile, said, "There’s no need to conceal your identity here. The Icebound Continent has no faith conflicts, and we share common enemies."
And what after the common enemies are vanquished?
Austin shook his head. The mask was not only to protect himself but also had great significance in protecting his family. Regrettably, he could not trust Mula.
Without pressing further, Mula exchanged a few simple words with Austin and, citing important matters, dismissed the star-struck Dark Elves surrounding them. Then, stepping aside, he said to Austin, "Dark Knight, you may regard this as a probe, but I must ask clearly, to what extent have you mastered Twilight Deadlock?"
"Don’t rush to answer. This is critical. The seal the Goddess has established has five key regions. I, along with the Sun and Moonlight Knights, guard our respective areas. I want to know your true ability to ensure that the seal is secure at the final moment."
Austin remained silent. From a strategic perspective, he slowly said, "I’m afraid I will disappoint you. I haven’t had Twilight Deadlock for long and am unable to utilize its full power. The Goddess is also quite dissatisfied with this."
"May I feel your power?" Mula extended his hand.
The two shook hands again, and the energies of darkness and nature collided swiftly. Unlike Austin’s powerful surge of black light, Mula’s presence was light and breezy, with the Life Armor maintaining its color no matter how the black light attempted to consume it.
Austin, having been expedited in his growth by a Divine Envoy, had come to understand pain, and his own strengths had significantly advanced, although he had not yet awakened. But still, he was much stronger than before.
Even so, a substantial gap remained between him and Mula.
After a moment, Mula released his hand, his brows tightly furrowed. Austin was weaker than he had expected, and this generation’s Dark Knight seemed to lack ambition.
Without showing his disappointment, Mula turned and said, "The Sun and Moonlight Knights have crossed swords with the former Dark Knight several times and know each other well. You can seek their counsel. It’s about the seal of the Ancient God’s Kin, and they will certainly help you master the power as much as possible."