บท 152: Spoils of War

In the woods in the northwest area of Backlund, Spellsinger of God, Ace Snake, watched helplessly as the Rose School of Thought demigod Zatwen escaped into the spirit world, but he was powerless to stop him.

Furious, he landed on the ground and released a gust of wind, sweeping the Possession Puppet on the ground not far away in front of him.

"As expected… it's already an empty shell!" With just a glance, Snake's face turned even uglier, and he smashed the puppet onto the ground.

"What's wrong?" a man with black hair and golden eyes asked after picking up the puppet.

He was a demigod from the Loen military. He had been attracted by the commotion caused by the battle at the demigod level. It was also because of his arrival that Zatwen had decisively retreated.

"1-025 broke through the seal once again. It secretly abandoned this' vessel 'that sealed it when I was too distracted. I wonder what it possessed to escape!" Seeing the military demigod's question, Sneck's expression eased as he explained slightly.

"What? A Grade 1 Sealed Artifact has been lost?" The military demigod jumped in fright when he heard that. One had to know that Grade 1 represented extreme danger. It was a terrifying existence that could destroy a city. Even with the means of the Church's seal, they could only make limited use of it. And now, it was completely out of control. What did this mean? Just the thought of it made his scalp tingle.

"I'll get someone to report the details to you later… I have to rush over to see how Kuhn is doing." After nodding at the military demigod, Snake leaped up and flew towards the spot where the Timed Disaster had activated Lightning Storm.

…

In a house in the North Borough of Backlund, Wraith Steve flashed out of a piece of glass hatefully. Due to Sharron's entanglement, he didn't have the time to rush to the location designated by Lord Zatwen. And Lord had already sent him a message, asking him to wait at this stronghold.

At that moment, Zatwen, who was wearing a black glove on his left hand, came out of the spirit world. His expression was cold and terrifying. Without needing Steve to explain, he asked, "Sharron stopped you?"

"I'm sorry, my lord. I tried my best to get rid of her, but I didn't succeed…" Steve lowered his head in fear and apologized.

"Cough, cough. There was the Blood Moon just now. How could Sharron still have the ability to hold you back?" Zatwen coughed twice as his face turned pale. Just now, the military demigod had suddenly sensed that he had given a mysterious decree that had weakened, causing him to be injured by God's Songster's Lightning Arrow.

"I'm not sure… but I saw Sharron drink a potion during the battle," Steve said after a moment's thought.

"From the looks of it, a Scarlet Scholar is helping her… Cough, cough, cough." Zatwen coughed violently again before instructing Steve, "Thankfully, the outcome isn't too bad. The cursed item has escaped the control of the Church of Storms… It shouldn't be too far away. It must still be in Backlund. In the future, find someone to ask around and see if there's any horror stories that suddenly spread in the city."

"Yes, my lord," answered Steve quickly and respectfully.

"In addition, find where Sharron and Maric are staying as soon as possible."

…

In a somewhat dilapidated manor in the northwest suburbs, Captain Asenov, Judy, and the Sword of the Goddess, Crestet Cesimir, took turns to enter a Cogitation state after setting up a simple guard to recover their exhausted spirituality.

As for Captain Kuhn? He was still unconscious.

Speaking of which, this was the manor that Ebner and Xio often came to practice guns on. It was later bought by Mr. Caron, a shareholder of Coim Company. Since Mr. Caron hadn't started repairing it, only two servants were left to guard it. And they didn't notice that an uninvited guest had come to the manor.

Cesimir's expression suddenly changed as he became vigilant. He picked up the white bone sword again… because he realized that he had been pulled into a dream.

Almost at the same time, Judy realized something was wrong.

She was the daughter of a Manipulator, and the mystical item in her hand recorded various powers like Dream Traversal. How could she not notice that she had entered a dream?

Only Captain Asenov did not understand what was going on, but seeing that his companions had reacted, he naturally silently added "protection" to them.

At this moment, an old man slowly walked in.

He was wearing a black clergyman robe with red ribbons, and he had five Dark Sacred Emblems on his chest. His face was clean, and he didn't have a beard. His eyes were deep, dark, and serene.

Upon seeing him, everyone, including Captain Asenov, was stunned. Then, they bowed respectfully to the old man and said,

"Your Excellency Saint Anthony."

This elder was Saint Anthony Stevenson, one of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of Evernight!

He was the person in charge of the Backlund diocese, a true high-ranking member of the Church of Evernight.

He first greeted the two Forsaken Ones amiably and eliminated them, mainly because of the fear in Judy's heart. As the Bishop of Terror, Saint Anthony's existence alone brought about "fear." Furthermore, the stronger one's spirituality was, the clearer one could feel it.

Then, he turned to ask Cesimir, "What happened?"

At this moment, Cesimir had already confirmed that the person was indeed the archbishop. He hurriedly reported everything that had happened, and finally added, "Earth Mother Church's Cullen has already gone to pursue that Demoness of Afflictions. I don't think she can escape."

"Being stabbed by the Sword of the Goddess will definitely result in 'misfortune.'" Saint Anthony nodded in thought.

With that said, he suddenly clapped his hands, and the dream shattered. Before Cesimir and the others woke up, they vaguely heard Saint Anthony's voice. "His Excellency Spellsinger of God's has come… He's actually even slower than me…"

…

In the courtyard of the Elk Manor, Demoness Ray's head suddenly exploded, and the headless corpse collapsed weakly on the carriage window. The black eyeball that seemed to be embedded between Ray's breasts also fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ebner, you're very rough with a lady who's plagued by lust… But I like it."

When Daly's ethereal teasing voice reached his ears, Ebner saw cracks appear in the surrounding void, shattering like glass.

Then, he felt a sense of reality. He clearly knew that he had returned to the real world.

After turning off the Machinery Hivemind, Ebner noticed that the servants in the yard had suddenly become more spirited. They were even sizing up Daly and himself frequently as if they did not understand why the two of them were circling around a carriage. Generally speaking, didn't people go on dates to admire the moon and admire the flowers?

Ebner carefully came to the carriage window and examined it with the Eye of Pure White. After confirming that there was no danger, he silently pushed Ray's corpse back into the carriage and opened the door to board it.

As for Madam Daly, she picked up the eyeball and wrapped it with her spirituality. After temporarily sealing it, she followed Ebner into the carriage and closed the door behind her.

"The smell of blood sure is pungent… I'm afraid this car can only be used after it's completely purified." Madam Daly sounded disgusted, but her expression didn't change much. As a former Corpse Collector, she was already used to dealing with various corpses.

Although Ebner also found the smell of blood pungent, his attention wasn't on it. Instead, he looked at the strange symbol painted with blood in the car, as well as an altar that was temporarily made on the seat. On the altar was an emerald-green fruit… Through the analysis of the White Eye, he knew that it was a Beyonder characteristic.

As expected, the Demoness still had a backup plan! If I hadn't decisively detonated her "desire," she might've really delayed it until the ritual was completed. This seemed to be a ritual to sacrifice to a mysterious existence… However, these symbols weren't directed at the Primordial Moon. Through the Forsaken One and the Sanguine's "Feast of Blood," Ebner gained a lot of understanding of the Primordial Moon.

However, this Beyonder characteristic seems to be Harvest Sacrifice… Could it be that Dr. Leonardo?

Ebner had some guesses in his heart, but he didn't dare to easily go back in time. Be it the Beyonder characteristic or the Demoness herself, they were certain that she was related to the Primordial Moon. He didn't dare to seek death now.

Daly had already looked over the Demoness's body. She had no place to store anything because she was naked when she died. Daly only took one ring from each of her hands as a result.

At first glance, it's clear... This is the most wild corpse I've ever seen." "The Beyonder characteristic and 2-001 will definitely be handed over to the Church," Daly said as she handed one of the rings to Ebner. These two rings are our spoils of war, though I'm not sure which church will take them. "We can divide them."

Ebner wasn't being unreasonable. He had lost a Sequence 5 trump card in order to kill the Demoness, so he had to make amends.

After receiving the ring, he used the White Eye to analyze it and knew its effects.

"Name: Ring of Light.

"Appearance: A pure gold ring with a white gem.

"Effect: It can make the wearer an envoy of light, a servant of the Sun. It is immune to many diseases and possesses the Light of Sacredness. The wearer can summon a magnificent and pure blazing beam of light. It can use most of the Sun domain spells of the Solar High Priest and Notary. It can use the Halo of Purification to purify the undead within a fifty-meter radius. It's the bane of such creatures.

"Through this ring, those who are recognized by the wearer will be raised. Those who disagree will be weakened.

"Negative effects: If the wearer frequently uses it, he will gradually become a believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun. He will slowly abide by the teachings from the bottom of his heart and praise the Sun.

"Suggestion: Use it when activating the Eye of Pure White. It can completely avoid the negative effects."

This… This is a Beyonder item with the domain power of a Sequence 5 Light Sacrifice! If Ray still had the strength to activate it just now, she could've just casually given me a Holy Light, and I would've fled.

I remember that after the incident at the headquarters of the Daily Observer, the Mandated Punisher who monitored me, named Evan, had mentioned to me that Lieutenant Berner, who had become fertilizer for the giant flower, had once mortgaged his garden house in West Borough and raised 8,000 pounds to buy a powerful item from the Sun domain in a vain attempt to escape the Demoness's control… Could it be this Ring of Light?

At that thought, Ebner slipped the ring onto his finger. Since it had entered his hand, there was no way he could return it. He was in need of a trump card for self-preservation.

"I didn't expect you to be the first one to give me a ring…" Daly could not help but smile and shake her head when she saw that he had no intention of being modest. She also wore the other ring that she had obtained from the Demoness.

And the first ring I gave was Xio… even though it was a reward for helping my teacher pass it over.

Ebner grumbled in his heart and prepared to get out of the car to return to the manor's main house. He and Daly had come out for a walk in the garden and then entered the carriage together… If they returned a little later, there was no telling what rumors would spread.

He didn't care about rumors, but even though Madam Daly didn't seem to care, Ebner knew that she actually cared about similar things being heard by Dunn again. Otherwise, she wouldn't have liked to put on her old-fashioned makeup and no longer get too close to other men. All that was left was a bit of a joke to deliberately show that she hadn't changed noticeably.

An awkward crush… Should I incite Klein to reveal Daly's crush on Dunn in advance?

While Ebner was letting his imagination run wild as he opened the car door, illusory uniforms suddenly passed through the window and quickly formed Cullen's figure on the seat.