"What have you done to me? This is...... My body ......! ”

His voice became unusually weak, and with each faint breath, his chest rose and fell like pulling a bellows.

"I didn't do it."

The black-robed wizard replied softly.

"Howard Nuren ......!"

As if thinking of something, Joan said through gritted teeth.

"Not bad."

Richard nodded.

"Don't forget, he's a dark wizard, but he hasn't used his own school of magic until now."

Yes, this phenomenon is not a curse, but a "plague" - rather, a virus of some kind of acute contagion. It invaded the knight's body at incredible speed, paralyzing it functionally.

"You ..... When did they join forces? ”

Joan Borgia frowned.

He suffers from the triple trauma of "backlash", "curse", and "plague" at the same time, and every inch of muscle and bone marrow has become a battlefield where foreign magic and internal magic are tug-of-war, and several distinct and incompatible forces compete for control of the body.

For a moment, Joan was almost speechless in pain, and she only felt like she was in hell. Not to mention gathering the remaining strength in his body, he couldn't even move.

And the legendary magic unleashed in the last sneak attack was like a heavy shackle, making a cardinal completely lose its original brilliance.

Joan Borgia looked embarrassed, and the previous heroism and righteousness were all gone, and all that was left was weakness.

That beautiful face like a woman was covered with dust, and if it were seen by the noble ladies and ladies in the kingdom who adored and admired him madly, they would surely feel distressed and hard to breathe.

"I'm sorry, but I gave this task to Mr. Howard from the very beginning."

Richard is talking nonsense with his eyes open.

He knew very well that Howard Nullen must have other intentions and purposes, otherwise he would not have agreed to his terms so easily; In addition, if the other party hadn't taken the initiative to contact him just now, it would have been difficult for him to even judge whether the other party was dead or alive under that earth-shattering space-based blow......

Richard picked up Joan Borgia's fallen sword, and asked the Enchanted Lord to pick up the young knight.

"Either way, you've failed. From this moment on, you are my captive. ”

Joan didn't answer. His consciousness was blurred, his eyes were slightly closed, and he only felt that his eyelids seemed to be weighted, and he could no longer hear any sounds from the outside world......

*

I have to admit that thanks to Mr. Howard's help, he was able to solve this battle easily.

As for why the other party took the initiative to choose to help him......

The reason is simple, not the friendship of being a "co-conspirator", but the fear of the dominant Joan Bolkiah to kill him, so he tries to drag someone who seems to have been on the sidelines from the beginning into the water.

Howard couldn't guess Richard's purpose, and he didn't know that he wouldn't leave until at least one of the two had been captured; The old man did his best to grasp the last straw.

Although, based on what she had just observed, Joan seemed to be planning to leave the place as soon as possible, and had no intention of cleaning it up...... But Howard's old bones really can't stand the toss, and if the other party digs up three feet into the ground and whips the corpse, he will be completely dead.

A wizard who can live for hundreds of years cannot put the hope of survival on the enemy; He is cautious and cunning enough, and as for face and self-esteem, it is naturally not worth mentioning in front of life, so Howard will contact the only person who may pull him along.

Richard thought of the deliberately flattering attitude of the other party when he contacted him through the magical communication of the "reverse cross", and then thought back to the lofty face that had been revealed in his words in the past...... This kind of condescending performance made him laugh.

Of course, as a good young man of the 21st century who inherited the traditional virtues of respecting the old and loving the young, Richard would not force a poor old man struggling for his life for the sake of a momentary pleasure.

He just responded very calmly:

"Your Excellency the Hanged Man, it seems that there is still another deal between us."

In other words, it means "hurry up and hand over the money for my life".

Thereupon......

"Your Excellency, thank you for the 'little gift' you gave me."

When Joan was completely unconscious, Richard smiled, and as he played with the small bottle that slipped from his cuff, he turned around and stared at the empty space in front of him.

The bottle in his hand was the top-level alchemy item that infected the plague to Qiong'an in just a few seconds.

- In the other person's mouth, it is called "Red Death in a Bottle".

*

There has always been a saying among the Dark Wizards, who have traditionally lived in isolation, that "forbidden creations" are not a ranking of a person or group, only items that have actually caused great disasters are eligible for this title.

There are a total of twelve "forbidden creations", each of which is unique, and can be called the "treasure" at the bottom of the box even among the notorious black magic schools that once left a clear mark on history......

"Red Death's Bottle" is one of them.

According to Howard, there is the magic accumulated over decades by generations of members of a plague school that caused extinction near Greenwich City and was wiped out by the Red Dragon Knights two hundred years ago.

For dark wizards who specialize in the plague realm, this small bottle is a treasure; Even if it is used by ordinary wizards, it can release 2~3 times of plague magic of different types of legendary ranks; And if the magic contained in it is allowed to spread endlessly, it is enough to cause a huge catastrophe that engulfs an entire country, and devastates the lives of hundreds of thousands of miles of land.

"Why, aren't you going to meet with your partner?"

For a while, there was no response.

Richard stood still, patiently waiting, and after a few moments, only a fat, white bug emerged from the dirt.

It is clear that this is the "messenger" controlled by the hanged man.

It seemed that the dark wizard was really frightened, and he didn't dare to come forward when Joan was unconscious...... Or was he worried about Richard's turn?

But Richard really didn't plan to kill him, after all, the two could barely be called the same camp now.

"You can do it now. I'm willing to give you a bottle of potion to ensure that no one will see the truth about his death afterwards......"

The old and frail voice echoed in the night.

The assurances given by a dark wizard who specializes in the study of life and the human body are indeed very convincing.

But Richard just smiled.

"Don't worry, Mr. Howard, leave this matter to me, don't worry too much."

“...... You're not going to kill him? ”

"You have given me the Red Death Vial, and you will fully support my next move; And I'm going to take care of this person and this thing, and I won't let anyone, mainly the 'Holy See', come to your trouble, that's my deal with you, isn't it? ”