Chapter 107

"Where is this?" 'Shally' asked.

The Singer lowered his head and said, "This is the Silver Peak City."

Silver Peak City?

Ryan quickly flipped through the map and found the location of Silver Peak City. It turned out to be right next door, and it was even under the jurisdiction of Count Lanster.

If it were just that, Ryan wouldn't think there was anything wrong with it. But the Grand Duke had just told him about the Chaos Space yesterday, and now seeing this group of Blood Cult's minions, it's hard not to suspect the relationship between the two.

However, even if the Blood Cult were behind it, they couldn't have made such a big fuss without support. The Empire isn't new to cracking down on heretics. Not to mention Gate of Janus, the Burning Covenant isn't just sitting idly by either.

While she was pondering, 'Shally' had already begun to wander around the altar.

She wanted to see if she could send it back, otherwise it would be too much trouble to run back to Kells from Silver Peak City.

Meanwhile, the pagan Singer were talking amongst themselves with their heads down.

This was a ritual of considerable scale; otherwise, the Blood Hand Butcher wouldn't have been summoned, even if it was just an avatar... no, it should be said that it could only be an avatar. Such a Great Demon could not be easily summoned into reality.

Firstly, there aren't many Singer with that kind of awesomeness. Secondly, because the real world is different from the Inner World, it's extremely difficult to descend from the Chaos Space into reality. The stronger you are, the greater the difficulty. Otherwise, the Outer Gods wouldn't have gone to such lengths to promote their faith and cultivate followers.

The ability to summon killer clones indicates a considerable scale. If the summoned killers are even more powerful, their levels will increase, and their strength will surge accordingly.

"Lord Yasa, is she really the Blood Hand Butcher? One of the Great Demon under the command of the Blood God Doklodus?"

"Is that a lie? First of all, she came out of the altar; secondly, we summoned the Blood Hand Butcher; and thirdly, the words she just said, I've seen in the Sacred Canon, those are the words that the Blood Hand Butcher Barton often says!"

"Yasa, the leader of the Singer, said with great certainty."

His rituals are never wrong; both the incantations and the formations are flawless. This time it was in perfect condition, so how could there be any mistakes?

"But she looks like a human, not a demon at all," the subordinate said.

Yasa sang. "The Sacred Canon of the Blood Order record that the noble Great Demon descended to earth, born from blood, transforming into an invisible shadow that shrouded all fear in the world, and then war ensued. Wherever He passed, the rain turned to blood, and even the priests accompanying Him could not glimpse His true form..."

"This is the power that God-given the Great Demon. He can transform into countless forms. This is the mortal world. What's wrong with appearing in human form?"

The men suddenly realized what was going on.

In terms of sacrificial qualifications, they were far inferior to Yasa.

Could the records in the Sacred Canon be wrong?

"She seems to be looking for something?" Someone secretly peeked and saw 'Shally' pacing back and forth on the altar.

Yasa knelt down and cried out, "Great Blood Hand Butcher, what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for the gate to the Chaos Space," 'Shally' said.

Yasa was bewildered.

That kind of thing... I've never heard of it.

"My birth originated from chaos, and I God-given. My power to descend here is too weak. You have done a very bad job, and I am very dissatisfied," 'Shally' continued.

Yasa and the others hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"Noble Blood Hand Butcher, please forgive our weakness. If you need more food, we will prepare it for you right away!"

"Blood can only satisfy the most basic killing. If I want to become powerful, the Blood God will bestow his power upon the Chaos Space. I need that power."

"Ah?"

Yasa raised his head, looking bewildered.

What does this mean? The power of Chaos Space? We don't have that.

"You have no way to make me stronger?" 'Shally' raised her hand, and suddenly a Singer let out a shrill scream, her body exploding with a 'bang'. The exploding blood gathered into streams that flew towards 'Shally', eventually coalescing into a Blood-colored Greatsword in her hand.

She raised her greatsword and said arrogantly, "Foolish mortals, what use are you?"

"Noble Blood Hand Butcher!" Yasa shouted, "We have a way! We are willing to become burning firewood to adorn you with blood! But please understand our will to dedicate ourselves to Doklodus. When we die, please tear apart the void, let chaos descend upon this land, and let war ravage the earth!"

"Lord Asa!"

"Lord Asa!"

When the people around him heard that he was going to be killed, they immediately became anxious.

"What are you all hesitating for?!" Asa glared angrily at everyone. "The task His Your Majesty has entrusted to us must be completed. Everything is for the Emperor's will. Any voice of dissent will be considered a betrayal!"

The Singer's expressions hardened, and their resolve hardened.

"For His Your Majesty!"

"For His Your Majesty!"

Asa turned his head and said proudly, "Your Excellency, Great Demon, please grant our request!"

"You don't need to tell me that. War will inevitably sweep across the land as the will of Doklodus." 'Shally' transformed the blood sword into a blood sphere, flicked it lightly, and the crimson color exploded like fireworks, taking away the lives that had vanished.

"I can feel the raging fury on this land... Doklodus once said that only great wars bring Him pleasure. Mortals, what wars have you started? For glory? For a mission? For slaughter? For a task?"

Asa bowed his head respectfully and said, "This will surely be a great war. The emperor of the ancient kingdom will offer his eternal life to Doklodus in exchange for endless life. Only the songs of blood and slaughter can give him a brief moment of pleasure from the torment of death. This will also be an endless war, and the will of the Blood God will forever hang over the skies of Augustus."

"..."

"..."

"This works?!"

Ryan was stunned.

Good heavens, 'Shally' actually managed to scare us into revealing a shocking secret.

Ryan had been thinking that if Creed was a member of the Eye of Dawn, then Keisha in Berman City was probably arranged by him.

Berman City's ultimate goal seems to be a ritual that promotes war. If the Old Emperor was manipulating everything behind the scenes, then it was the Old Emperor who craved war itself.

"Could this be the way he found to prolong his life?"

Those gods certainly have ways to grant mortals longer lives, but the price must be terrible.

A profession is merely a way of walking along this Faith Path, drawing power from it. What corrupts people is the will of the Outer Gods, not the power itself. Therefore, even for Supernatural Being who Faith Path of the Four Great Outer Gods, apart from some special professions that may cause physical harm, most are no different from those in normal professions.

However, it's different if you choose to voluntarily offer your soul to Outer Gods.

Such a person must first be Supernatural Being corresponds to the Faith Path, and then sacrifice their soul through special channels. Even if they succeed, they may not necessarily become a god, but once they succeed, they can obtain power far greater than that of ordinary Supernatural Being.

Correspondingly, the side effects may be beyond imagination. It's not just that you might die, but you might also drag a whole group of people down with you.

Why are the Chosen of the Gods considered noble?

Because they don't have to suffer these side effects when they receive God-given power; it's simply because God 'likes' them.

However, it is said that gods who follow normal paths in life would not accept such things. Janus, for example, did not do this. That's why the four great gods are called Outer Gods or evil gods. If they do too many annoying things, their reputation will naturally be ruined... Oh, or maybe the gods don't care. They just want to have some fun.

In conclusion, it seems that the Old Emperor chose to live rather than fall into depravity, and since it was through the Divine Path, the price was probably not small.

"Hiss... Why does it smell like 9's shit? Could Old Deng have been used?"

Because of the appearance of people with the Eye of Dawn, Ryan felt that something was wrong no matter how he thought about it.

"Forget it, it's none of my business anyway. Let the Old Emperor take his own shit and fall down his pants. His reputation is definitely ruined now."

The strength of the Augustus Empire is undeniable, and the Old Emperor deserves much credit. It's a pity that he couldn't resist temptation in his dying moments. Such an idiot doesn't deserve the loyalty of my Master Ryan.

Ryan, his gaze fixed on the game interface, where Asa and the others began their ritual again.

They were willing to give their lives for the war!

"A bunch of lunatics."

That being said, these guys were damn loyal. Ryan was even a little ashamed of himself, knowing that he had never lost to anyone in this regard.

Whoosh!

The crimson beam of light was relit in the underground space. One by one, the Singer stood up, their gazes resolute as they walked toward the altar, only to be killed by the power released by the array. Their blood mingled with the altar, making the Bloodlight even more dazzling.

These Singer are all quite powerful; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to summon the Blood Hand Butcher, especially Yasa, whom Ryan suspects is a Fourth Tier Supernatural Being.

When even Yasa finally stepped into the sacrificial array, the altar's power was activated once more, and crimson power merged into 'Shally's' body.

Your level has increased to lv33.

Your level has increased to lv34.

Your level has increased to lv35.

The three messages in a row made Ryan's eyelids twitch.

This sacrifice upgrade is so awesome!

"It's probably because the offerings are of high quality. I think it was like that before too. Anyway, it's definitely much faster than normal cultivation."

No wonder so many people like to engage in shady and unorthodox practices.

However, Ryan felt that 'Shally' was acting on behalf of God.

"Doklodus above, in accordance with their last wishes, bring war here."

The upgraded 'Shally' drew her Blood-colored Greatsword, ready to wipe out the Heretic in this stronghold. These were all Singer; there were definitely more Blood Cult outside. She couldn't let these experience points slip away... she couldn't let these Heretic wreak havoc on the world.

'Shally' went to fulfill the last wishes of Asa and the others. Ryan switched to 'Lin Qi' and saw that the Nun was cutting a melon—a group of demons from the Blood God Legion rushed out of the Inner World, and the paladins were busy dealing with these guys.

The news of demons descending upon the world has slowly spread throughout the Western Territory.

Ryan was somewhat worried about the Loli Grand Duke. The Iron Blood Legion had suffered heavy losses, and the Western Barbarian Army was still occupying the Talma front and had not yet withdrawn when the Demon Legion arrived.

"We still need to develop our military strength."

Berman City currently has only three thousand people, and they are still in training. If they were to encounter the Demon Legion, they would definitely not be able to withstand it.

As Ryan was pondering this, his worst fears came true. Ina quickly came to report that the soldiers patrolling outside the city had discovered a rift in the Inner World, where demons were already roaming.

Fortunately, the scale was not large, and the city's defense forces were able to handle it for the time being.

Ryan called Jonathan and asked the investigator to go and check the situation first. If the power inside was stable, they could slowly eliminate the Inner World by clearing out the Demon Legion.

After informing Jonathan, Ryan summoned Gruk and asked him to help train the troops in Berman City, and to train them according to the standards of the Iron Blood Legion.

Ryan was really craving the Iron Blood Army, but unfortunately, the Grand Duke himself was short of money. This time, all he gave him was a hundred cavalry. Given the Grand Duke's prideful nature, it was surprising that he could even offer such a generous gift, which showed just how strapped he was for cash.

Since the Grand Duke can't send him off, Ryan plans to train on his own, since Gruk has nothing else to do here anyway.

What? People are saying that Caslathdi colluded with Magana?

Oh, so what?

Ryan was a little worried before, but now? Heh~ Let's see if the Old Emperor cares or not.

The Old Emperor was eager for Ryan to quickly strengthen the Southern Territory's power, so that the Princess and the Grand Duke would mistakenly believe that he had the upper hand, and then turn against Ryan at the crucial moment.

This is exactly what he wants Ryan to do, so there's no need for Ryan to pledge allegiance. After all, the contract is equal, and in the Old Emperor's eyes, only Magana is a true rival; Caslathdi is just a side character... As for Ryan? Ha~ What can a foreign vassal with no power do?

The Old Emperor had complete confidence in Ryan. "Ryan, you just fly, leave the rest to me."

The Iron Blood Army is taking a while to develop. Ryan isn't short of money right now, but training experience is something money can't buy, so he can only let Gruk grind it out slowly.

Without troops, it wouldn't work. Ryan quickly called 'Shally' back. She had just destroyed the Blood Cult's stronghold in Silver Peak City and rushed to the train station without stopping, carrying the train back overnight.

"Sigh~ We're starting to run out of manpower again."

'Lin Qi' and 'Vainay' are both developing outside. Usually, things are fine, as 'Shally' is enough. But now that the Demon Legion has begun invading Augustus, it's likely that peace will be hard to come by in the future.

Ryan opened Ina's character interface. Although many days had passed, Ina's level was only 11, and she hadn't even changed jobs yet.

The main problem is that the secretaries are all busy with work, and the mayor is busy from morning till night. He has no time to level up, and there aren't many good jobs to choose from. Does he really have to become Soul Eater?

"I remember there was a pretty good hidden class early in the game..."

Oh right!

Ryan racked his brains for a while before finally remembering a profession— the Holy Spear Master.

This item represents an advanced level of the Gunslinger, following the path of Janus Faith Path. Compared to a regular Gunslinger, it deals more damage and enhances survivability, as the Holy Spear Master possesses a skill that grants invisibility, similar to Jack's ability.

Moreover, since it's a hidden class obtained early on, it's not difficult to acquire.

Ryan took out a map and studied it, confirming that the location should be at the border of Kells and Romagnil, a place that the main storyline of the game will pass through when heading north.

When the Kainter army attacked Berman City, Caslathdi borrowed a thousand men from Romagnil. Ryan vaguely remembered that it was at some ruins, but he still needed to find out the exact location.

He sent Ina with five hundred men to try and find the ruins.

Changing jobs shouldn't be too dangerous; the main issue is whether you can find a suitable job.