Chapter 125

When Ryan switched to the character interface of 'Shally', he found that this war god of the Southern Territory was buying things from a Gilded Merchant.

Silver Peak City is a well-known major city in the Southern Territory, so it is often home to Gilded Group, unlike Berman City where they only come once in a long while.

"Demon Blood, Corrupted Shards, Sage Dust, Dragon Crystal... Holy crap, what's she going to do with all this luxury stuff? This spendthrift woman!"

Upon seeing 'Shally's' exchange list, Ryan's lips twitched violently. So many items had instantly spent all the Soul Jade that 'Shally' had earned from fighting monsters during this period, and she had also lost two decent but useless relics.

'With these, the sacrifice can proceed... The Holy Blood Legion's combat strength is too weak; I need to inscribe this name with blood, so that all soldiers of the Holy Blood Legion may bathe in the glory of Doklodus.'

The screen displayed 'Shally's' inner monologue.

"Sacrifice?"

Ryan's eyelids twitched.

The Holy Blood Legion's combat power is substantially enhanced through sacrifices. This enhancement is not only for the existing soldiers but also for the entire Holy Blood Legion Battle Group. In other words, even soldiers recruited later will be affected by the power.

Is it possible?

This sounds like something out of the ordinary.

Although Ryan can control 'Shally', he cannot perfectly integrate into 'Shally's' feelings and is uncertain about the specific situation of the Chosen of the Gods. However, since 'Shally' has made such preparations, it means that there is at least a possibility of success.

Looking at 'Shally's' materials list, Ryan realized he was still missing some. He rummaged through 'Lin Qi's' backpack and found quite a few Demon Horn.

This thing dropped when I changed jobs and hunted elite demons. I've kept it in my backpack ever since, not knowing what's inside, since I don't have an alchemist here.

However, many of the materials used in the rituals are actually quite similar to those used in alchemy, which is why some people say that the Singer is also a half-alchemist.

"... Let me see, besides the Demon Horn, there's... Hmm? Star Tear Grass? Lightwing Moth Scale Powder? When did I get these?"

He rummaged through a huge pile of random things, many of which Ryan didn't even recognize and had no idea where they came from.

Finally, he threw everything into Shally's backpack and let Shally choose for herself.

Then he looked up and saw that 'Lin Qi' was tilting her head and looking at him with a question in her eyes.

"Oh, Shally wants to hold some kind of ritual and needs materials, so I've taken them over for her to choose from."

Lin Qi hummed in agreement.

Then, out of the blue, a sentence suddenly popped out.

"Be careful not to get caught."

"Well."

Although the tone seemed fine, Ryan felt it was like a 'curse', so it was best not to set such a flag.

Looking at 'Shally' again, with 'Lin Qi's' financial support, all the materials have been gathered.

'Hmm... we still need 8888 more offerings.'

"Damn, I knew it."

Ryan cursed under his breath.

How could sacrificing to the Blood God only require some materials? What the hell is this called Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God?

In the worship of the Blood God, it seems that there is no ritual that does not require blood sacrifice. Therefore, within the Blood Cult, the practice of worshipping the Blood God is also called 'Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God, skull offering to the skull seat'.

However, the fact that he started with 8888 made Ryan a little nervous.

Although there are enough Crimson Tiger Guard, the prerequisite is that you can kill them.

Killing a thousand enemies while losing nine hundred and ninety-nine of your own, this business is really not feasible.

Just then, I saw 'Shally' take a map of the area near Silver Peak City, circle a few points on the map, and finally summon her men to kill the bandits!

It's true, the Silver Edge Territory is vast, but its governance is chaotic. This is because there are many merchants here, and where there's money, there are bandits, and many bandits at that. And Lanster is the kind of guy who only cares about himself and doesn't care about the lives of others. Otherwise, why would Caslathdi have said that the Fourth Prince recruiting Lanster would ruin his own reputation?

These areas within 'Shally's' circle are all hotspots for bandits, and it's conservatively estimated that the total number of these bandits could be one or two thousand.

In addition, Silver Peak City is also in turmoil. The noble faction led by Lanster has exploited its people to the extreme, using gang forces to rob money openly and covertly. The situation is several times worse than in Berman City.

These are the thieves from Silver Peak City.

Kill the traitors within, and quell the bandits outside.

'Shally' first prepared all the materials, then chose a place in the castle to draw a sacrificial array, using her own blood as a power guide, and then activated the sacrificial ritual with the help of Soul Jade and a large number of precious materials.

This process was actually performed by the Singer, but 'Shally', as the chosen one, skipped the Singer's so-called sacrificial chanting. In the most straightforward terms, it was 'Blood God, time to eat.'

Of course, it can't be too blunt; there has to be some invocation like, "Great Doklodus, I offer my sacrifice..." and so on.

Once the ritual was activated, Ryan discovered that a new "Blood Sacrifice Mission" had appeared in 'Shally's' personal list.

[Offerings: 0/8888]

This familiar number almost made Ryan break down.

'Shally' was used to it. With a single order, in order to maintain the security of Silver Peak City, this Viscount decided to wipe out all those thieves!

Then a bloodbath began, targeting both inside and outside Silver Peak City!

Silver Peak City is more than twice the size of Berman City, and is entrenched by dark forces. If you include the Heretic, they could easily muster two or three thousand.

However, although they have a large number of members, their combat strength is not as good as that of the Earth Fire Gang. This is because the Earth Fire Gang has been integrated and strengthened, while the gangs in Silver Peak City are chaotic and mixed, with most having only two or three hundred members. The strongest gang is a group called the 'Skull Gang', which has more than seven hundred members.

In one night, 'Shally' personally led the Holy Blood Legion into battle, and with the help of the Blood Minions, they almost wiped out the entire underground forces of Silver Peak City!

When the sun shone brightly the next day, the blinding crimson had already covered the entire Silver Peak City. To the astonishment and bewilderment of the citizens, 'Shally' began to attack the Silver Peak City Municipal Office once again.

What the hell is this called a bloody regime?

There is evidence, but a trial is not necessary.

I am armed, and you are guilty—isn't that a coincidence?

When Ryan arrived in Berman City by train, the internal cleaning of 'Shally' was almost finished, and the efficiency was astonishing.

Arrest people, behead them, massacre them, and confiscate their property!

Completed in one go.

Vacancies in municipal positions are filled by personnel personally selected by 'Vainay' to ensure the normal and orderly operation of Silver Peak City.

This bloody operation truly terrified the people of Silver Peak City, but at the same time, they were certain that this was not a massacre targeting ordinary citizens like themselves, and the order in Silver Peak City had indeed improved.

With this foundation, while it may not immediately shift public opinion in Ryan's favor, things will certainly improve over time.

"This efficiency is simply amazing. I used to be on tenterhooks just to capture a minor nobleman."

Ryan shook his head.

Jonathan, that idiot, he's really useless, old boss.

'Shally's' bloodbath not only solved the internal problems of Silver Peak City, but also caused the number of people to be sacrificed to soar to more than two thousand. This almost wiped out all the evil forces in Silver Peak City, leaving only some deeply hidden heretical strongholds.

However, Ryan estimated that these people wouldn't dare to show their faces for a while, since even cultists would be terrified and shout "cult" when they encountered 'Shally'.

But 'Shally' remained silent, only focusing on taking down enemies.

After killing all the dogs in Silver Peak City, we'll go kill the pigs outside. Anyway, Magana's operation hasn't started yet, and even if it does, we can send 'Vainay' with her men first. The Crimson Tiger Guard aren't 'Shally's' target. We should pick on the weak. Blood God isn't picky, as long as we get a head.

If it weren't for the fact that pig heads are useless, 'Shally' would have liked to slaughter thousands of pigs to offer as a sacrifice to the Blood God.

Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God! Skull offering to the skull seat!

Well, never mind, to avoid being beaten to death, 'Shally' decided that taking a head is the better option.

"If we can clear out half of the offerings, the rest will be easier to handle."

Eight thousand eight thousand. If we can achieve half of that by killing bandits and suppressing thieves, then we can pile up the remaining half.

After finishing the bandit suppression mission, Ryan closed the game and returned to Berman City. The first thing he did was go to the military camp to check on the new recruit recruitment.

After excluding those who were taken away by 'Shally', Berman City still had a thousand soldiers left. During this period, recruitment continued, and another thousand people were recruited.

However, Berman City is a small city, and even with the recent influx of people, it cannot sustain continuous recruitment.

Moreover, the problem caused by continuous recruitment is that the quality of new recruits will become worse and worse. The good ones have already been picked up, so the remaining ones are naturally of poor quality.

Therefore, Ryan halted the recruitment efforts in Berman City and instead ordered the transfer of soldiers from Kosotoya and Nade City.

Kosotoya and Nade City have always been governed by loyal subjects selected by 'Vainay'. Although their development has been slow, their military training has not lagged behind.

The two cities each gathered two thousand men, whose fighting strength was stronger than that of Berman City.

These people were all sent directly to Silver Peak City by Ryan. The four thousand reinforcements could join the Holy Blood Legion. First, we need to increase the number of people. Since there isn't enough time for training, we can only improve through actual combat.

If 'Shally' didn't have the ritual aspect, Ryan wouldn't be in such a hurry; he would have continued training for two more months as required by the Iron Blood Army.

But now that we can strengthen ourselves through sacrifice, why not increase our numbers first and let 'Shally' lead them in the fight? This kind of enhancement effect of extraordinary power might become the mainstream of future wars.

When Ryan returned from the military camp, Caslathdi also came to the mayor's office.

Lin Qi explained to Caslathdi that she had invited Ryan to help, and the latter did not doubt it. After all, who would doubt a Saintess of Janus?

Nun don't lie!

"Ryan, Lin Qi invited us to St. Gero City, what do you think?"

What are Your Highness's thoughts?

"I originally planned to go there, but the situation in the Southern Territory is tense right now, and it's a critical time... Also, my father has issued an urgent decree ordering me to return," Caslathdi said, frowning.

"Does Your Highness intend to go to St. Gero City or return to Baron?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Caslathdi shook her head. "Ryan, you should know that once I go back, it will be difficult for me to leave Baron again. Even with my teacher protecting me, my movements will be subject to many restrictions. Now that the war in the Southern Territory has begun, why should I be subject to my father's control? Recently, many Imperial Capital the capital have been secretly contacting me, and they all have the idea of supporting me."

"Oh?"

The old guard in the Imperial Capital is starting to waver, but isn't it a bit too fast? Although the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince are currently in decline, Princess Caslathdi may not actually have the upper hand.

Or is it...?

"What happened in the Imperial Capital?" Ryan asked.

"Yes." Caslathdi took a deep breath. "Father's emotions are becoming increasingly unstable. Two days ago, he ordered the massacre of a nobleman's entire family of more than 100 people. Afterwards, he ordered the killing of nearly 2,000 people related to that nobleman, all because this nobleman suggested that Father should decide on the heir apparent as soon as possible."

"Is that really true?"

Ryan was surprised. It seemed that the Old Emperor's 'illness' was getting out of control and he had already started a rampage.

Although Old Deng voluntarily offered his soul to the Blood God in an attempt to gain endless life through 'war', this path is theoretically feasible, but that's just theory... Either there aren't enough wars right now, or the Blood God dislikes Old Deng.

Ryan felt that both possibilities were possible.

This small-scale skirmish in the Southern Territory is all bark and no bite; the casualties so far have only amounted to around ten thousand. How could that possibly satisfy the Blood God?

This killing speed is even slower than 'Shally' alone!

"That nobleman... he was from my second brother's faction. It's likely that my second brother sent him to test the Emperor's attitude, but unfortunately, this is the result. Even my second brother was punished by the Emperor for this, and some of his rights in the army were taken away."

"Father has changed. In order to stay on the throne, he has lost his mind. Losing an emperor should have given him more decisiveness and courage. According to the teacher's deduction, he probably used some kind of blood Divine Path sacrifice to exchange for lifespan. If he continues like this, the Augustus Empire will be dragged into an endless abyss sooner or later!"

Caslathdi clenched her fists, looked at Ryan, and said solemnly, "Therefore, I have decided that once the Southern Territory is unified, I will recruit subordinates in the name of serving the emperor, gather strength, and lead troops to the Imperial Capital to force my father to abdicate!"

After the Second Prince's incident, Caslathdi has completely given up on returning.

What are we going back for?

The best outcome is losing one's freedom; the worst outcome could be losing one's life.

Rather than having to figure out how to get Hainuo to help her escape later, it's better not to go back at all.

"Ryan, what do you think?"

"Ah, I think... well, Your Highness, your idea is very good, it shows great courage and determination."

Ryan clicked his tongue. What the hell is going on? The wind has changed again.

The Old Emperor's secrets are about to be exposed, which is good, but the Princess has suddenly become assertive again, even wanting to come to the emperor's aid. Half of Frostmourne is now showing in her sleeve.

"However, Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. We may not be able to handle it on our own. The Southern Territory is too weak and we don't have enough time."

"Don't worry about that." Caslathdi's eyes flickered slightly. "I've discussed it with my teacher. As long as we can expose the matter of my father's blood sacrifice, she can use her connections to mobilize at least 20,000 paladins from the Gate of Janus. And Cardinal Andeni of the Gate of Janus has also clearly stated that he will publicly support me."

"Religious interference in imperial power?" Ryan frowned. "Won't this cause problems?"

Since ancient times, imperial power and religion have easily been at odds. Although Janus was powerful, Augustus was not to be underestimated.

If the Gate of Janus were to intervene, there would be objections within the Empire.

"Therefore, I can only take advantage of the situation. The paladins cannot be deployed casually. What I need is to use this momentum to gather strength and force my father to abdicate."

"That... is feasible."