Roland didn’t comment, but he thought, the great experts always think the one with the better skills will win the fencing duel, and perhaps Carter’s perception was right, but if they had the same equipment the situation would have dramatically changed. Assuming that the prisoner was also wearing heavy armor, with a helmet and a two-handed sword, Carter wouldn’t have necessarily won so easily.
The pills didn’t only bring a large power upgrade, they are much more multi-faceted. They can even carry stronger heavy armors and weapons, can burst out, run faster and have a much longer endurance on the battlefield. Roland felt he had to correct the assumption he had made during his time in Longsong Stronghold, Similar to adrenaline? No, this pill was much more terrifying than adrenaline, hormones only stimulated the body’s own potential, but this red pill had clearly allowed the prisoner to break through his limits. Especially the speed and momentum he showed as he tried to flee, it was almost comparable to that of heavy cavalry.
The black pill was just as effective; his ribcage was nearly cut open but he didn’t show any sign of it hindering him at all. If he was only a normal person, he would have long since lost his will to fight due to the extreme pain.
If a civilian with only a strength upgrade and pain reduction was already this powerful, then what would a group of trained knights using it look like? Roland had a feeling of uneasiness when he thought back to the offer the High Priest had made.
“Your Highness,” exclaimed Nightingale suddenly, “look at his skin.”
The skin of the prisoner’s hand had turned from its former red to ash-colored, while at the same time it had a large number of folds, looking just like a snake after it shed it skin. When Roland poked against it with the handle of his knife, he discovered that the skin was no longer solid like a muscle, it was rather totally empty to his touch. After cutting the skin, he saw that the subcutaneous fat had completely turned into mucus and it followed with the muscle atrophying.
“It looks just the same as when someone swallows a God’s Stone of Retaliation,” Nightingale turned to look at him with a serious expression on her face. “The pill is made from the same components as the stone.”
It’s unlikely that just swallowing a stone would result in such a growth of power,
Roland thought, so how were they able to do that?
It seems that the pills have very strong side effects, and until now it’s unclear if it’s permanent or if it can be restored, Roland himself was more inclined to the former. If it was the latter, this enhanced version of a drug out of morphine and adrenaline could be called the “God of War”, as long as they were able to recover and took it in batches, it wouldn’t be surprising if the world was dominated by the Church.
Even if the pills only lasted for a short time, and even if the pills have side effects, it’s still better to be on the alert, Roland thought. If the Church begins to support Timothy or Garcia with these, I would have to face an army of drugged fighters.
