Chapter 143

Because the power generated by those sacrifices is rapidly converging on him, isn't it a supreme honor that these lowly people can extend his life with their own lives?

"Creed, my child, I can feel my body growing stronger," the Old Emperor's deep voice rang out.

"Father, congratulations, our plan has succeeded," Creed said, standing outside the altar.

"It's a success... but it's too weak. The blood obtained through the sacrifice of ten thousand people may have only extended my life by half a month. Is there a faster way?"

"Yes, it exists, but..."

"Explain."

Creed lowered his head and said, "According to the secret technique I found, the effect of the sacrifice can be further enhanced, but at the same time, the extent of the sacrifice must also be increased."

How much do you need?

"Millions, tens of millions... or more. This is a war, and the Blood God will bestow honor and power upon the true victors, the ones who will walk the path to becoming Chosen of the Gods."

"Chosen by God!" The Old Emperor's withered eyes brightened. "Ah, what an alluring word! Why am I not the chosen one? Even that woman Magana, she became the chosen one, why am I not? Child, my beloved child Creed, go and prepare the sacrifice for me. No matter how many people there are, I will prepare them!"

"Your will... is merely that of Father. The people of Gate of Janus have arrived in Baron, and they seem to be secretly investigating the blood sacrifice. Furthermore, the Iron Blood Legion of the Western Territory is invading, Caslathdi ... is also attempting to usurp your throne."

"Caslathdi ... Hmph! I shouldn't have agreed to let her go to St. Gero City in the first place. I know exactly what that bitch Haino is thinking. But don't worry, I've already brought her here. I will promise her the position of Crown Prince. As for the people of Gate of Janus, one day I will completely wipe them out of the Empire!"

"My empire, my people, can only have faith in their emperor! Those who dare to disobey, they must all die! They must all die!!!"

The Old Emperor roared as if in a frenzy, the Blood-colored Power around him growing stronger with each sound, casting a massive demonic shadow upon him, all of which the Old Emperor remained oblivious to.

Creed lowered his head, his eyes filled with an icy indifference.

"That old bastard was definitely up to no good."

Aster, inside the castle.

Ryan opened the character interface of 'Lin Qi' and found that the delegation of Gate of Janus was still arranged to stay at their residence. Two days had passed and the Old Emperor had no intention of summoning them. Instead, he urgently summoned Caslathdi Di back.

Using the position of crown prince as bait, the Her Highness the Princess will most likely go. Although she knows the Old Emperor is definitely plotting something, the allure of the crown prince position is too great. It can directly help her break the deadlock and gain the support of the nobles and even the Senate.

Moreover, with the crown prince's position confirmed, everyone thought the Old Emperor was finally willing to abdicate and pass the throne to a more capable person, which unexpectedly made the old man's image seem more noble once again.

However, the blood sacrifice did not stop. In the past two days, the people of Gate of Janus have been secretly investigating and have discovered many clues.

For example, there are hardly any prisoners left in the prisons in the Imperial Capital.

Those homeless people in the Imperial Capital have almost all disappeared these days.

You see, while Baron is a good place, there are still crimes and vagrants. There aren't many of them, but you could easily find ten or twenty thousand. It's just that few people care about their disappearance.

"It seems we need to take another step first."

This old man is trying to stall for time. Anyway, Lin Qi doesn't intend to negotiate. It just so happens that Caslathdi is about to arrive in Baron. According to the message from Vainay, the Princess only brought Haino with her.

Hainuo, hey~ if we can win her over, this will be a huge profit.

Come on, cow!

"It should arrive tomorrow. Then... watch my micro-management."

Although Ryan isn't in Baron, 'Lin Qi' is. The latter is definitely not good at this kind of thing, so Ryan plans to use his long-unused Manual Control to personally operate it for Haino.

While pondering, Ryan switched the interface back to 'Motis'. His five wives had been farming and developing their strength these past few days. The day before yesterday, they even discovered an Inner World and entered it alone to level up quickly. Today, they had already reached level 20.

You can advance to the next level.

This speed is the fastest in history; if those Supernatural Being knew, they would probably want to kowtow to their deaths.

However, Ryan couldn't hold back any longer when he saw the advancement requirements.

[Slaying cultists or demons Faith Path: 0/100]

No wonder he's embarked on the path of revenge; his advanced level now specifically targets old perverts!

Although there are far fewer of them than 'Shally', where can Ryan find so many old perverts?

Demon?

Can anyone tell me where the Demon Legion of the God of Desire is in the Chaos Space?

At least in Inner World spaces Ryan has discovered, he hasn't seen a single lustful demon.

And so, the King of the Wild Hunt's promising future was put on hold.

"Perhaps I could try using the Pot of Greed?"

Ryan had a sudden inspiration.

Since the Pot of Greed is currently sealed with lust, the plan to attract old lechers to resurface through lust is theoretically feasible.

The number of followers of desire is no less than that of war. The Blood Cult are always causing trouble. Even if the main area of activity of the people of the City of Desire is not here, they can still muster a hundred or so people from the entire Aster City.

Thinking of this, Ryan immediately gave Motis the order to find an opportunity to see just how many old perverts were hiding in the city once she arrived.

"But we need to keep it under control, lest the whole city become a sex hotspot, or that would be a real problem."

Imagine if the whole city did nothing but engage in sex all day long, wouldn't that be... wow~ wonderful? Oh Janus, I must have been influenced by the God of Desire just now, that wasn't my thought at all.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Lian Ryan."

Amabena has arrived.

"Oh no! The Aster army has been defeated!"

"Did they lose?"

Ryan wasn't too surprised. The Augustus Empire's army had crossed the border into Ast three days ago, and just yesterday, this imperial army of eight thousand men was stationed less than five kilometers from the city, clearly preparing to attack.

Even with the strength of the Aster army, they might not be able to hold the city, because Augustus's army was a border garrison, a proper imperial army, not a local noble army.

As for Aster, it only had less than four thousand men, and a large portion of them were newly recruited this year and had not experienced war.

Defending the city would likely be difficult, and a direct confrontation would be even more futile. So Angiya made a decision—she personally led two thousand men to raid Augustus Army's granary overnight.

She did succeed, but unfortunately her army was entangled by the Augustus Army. Currently, the enemy's eight thousand men have forced Angiya to a secluded mountain, forming an encirclement.

The officers remaining in Aster City are holding an emergency meeting.

It must be said that these people are quite well-mannered; facing the imperial army's attack, not a single one of them even thought of running away.

"Sir Ryan, what do we do now?"

"Don't worry, I've already sent people to rescue you."

"People? Where are they from? I don't see them."

"It's the fire support I mentioned before." Ryan smiled slightly. "Your Majesty, the time has come for our counterattack."

It is located three kilometers west of Aster City, on the mountainside.

A deafening, chilling sound echoed through the woods as a squad of sword-and-shield soldiers charged up the mountain.

"My lord! My lord!"

"They're attacking!"

The officer from Astir, who was blocking the way halfway up the mountain, shouted anxiously, "Lord, we can't hold the line down here! You and your men should break out from the back of the mountain immediately. We'll draw their attention to the front!"

In the crowd, Angiya, clad in armor and wielding a greatsword, looked down the mountainside and said coldly, "I will not abandon you."

"But my lord, if this continues, we will definitely not be able to hold out. It doesn't matter if we die, but the Aster City still needs you to defend it!"

"Aster City..."

A flicker of despair crossed Angiya's eyes.

In the years since she took over the management of the city, she has increasingly felt what 'powerlessness' means. Although she had repelled the attacks of the Augustus Empire several times, the frequent wars had also brought the city's development to a standstill.

War consumes money and manpower, but where do so many resources come from on the border? The Augustus family, with its vast wealth, is naturally not afraid, but what about her? She can't even see any support from the kingdom.

Perhaps... this is the final battle.

She looked in the direction of Aster City. Before she came out, she had made arrangements that if she couldn't return, the primary task of the officers left behind would be to escort the people in the city out.

"Um?"

Angiya looked down.

Suddenly, it appeared that a battle was taking place at the foot of the mountain.

The Augustus Army, which had been advancing orderly up the mountain, suddenly became disorganized.

"Reinforcements?" Angiya's first reaction was not joy, but anger. If the reinforcements came from Ast, they would be useless. Moreover, once the city defense forces arrived, it would mean that no one would carry out her order to retreat.

Etc.

It's not the city defense troops, what's going on? Augustus Army is retreating, are they retreating up the mountain?

The battle-hardened Angiya immediately sensed the situation and shouted, "Hold on, everyone! Our reinforcements have arrived!"

"Reinforcements?!"

Do we have any reinforcements?

"Look, that group of Augustan soldiers is in disarray!"

Kill! Kill! Kill!

A chilling shout rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a cloud of blood filled the air!

Even the Aster soldiers, who had just been excited about the arrival of reinforcements, couldn't help but shiver and instinctively retreated, moving away from the blood mist.

"This is... extraordinary power?"

Angiya was stunned. Something was wrong. Was this the Blood God's Power? And below them were a group of Heretic?!

Thinking of this, Angiya did not act rashly. Everyone stayed in place to build a defensive formation. Just by hearing the screams coming from the blood mist, one could tell how tragic the battle inside must be.

The battle lasted for nearly half an hour, and the screams finally gradually stopped. Angiya gripped her greatsword nervously. She saw a group of shadows appear in the blood mist. They were too far away to see their faces clearly, but they gave her the feeling that they were demons who had come out of a blood-soaked hell!

In such a short time, the Augustan army was defeated?

How many people actually came to the foot of the mountain?

Angiya was a little confused; she didn't remember that a large number of Blood Cult were lurking in Aster City.

Finally, the other party approached, and she could see them clearly—thankfully, they were people first. Angiya breathed a sigh of relief; she had heard about the Demon Legion breaking into the Inner World and attacking humans.

"Are you Angiya?"

'Shally' walked over, her dark eyes sweeping over the officers around Angiya, who were terrified by the Blood Intent emanating from her.

The Holy Blood soldiers around 'Shally' were also covered in blood, their faces solemn, like killing machines.

"I... I am." Angiya swallowed. "May I ask who you are?"

"We have come to your aid on the orders of His Your Majesty the King."

"Your Majesty?!" Angiya was bewildered. Which king? Oh, Queen Amabena. So she secretly harbored such a powerful army?

"It's safe now, you can go back to Aster City first."

"Okay... and what about you guys?"

"Some of those Augustian soldiers have already retreated. I'm going to kill them." After saying that, 'Shally' turned and left.

Only after the Holy Blood Legion left did Angiya and those around her breathe a sigh of relief.

"It scared me to death... When she came over just now, I even thought it was a demon summoned by the Blood Cult."

"Yes, were these people actually sent by His Your Majesty the King?"

"Great! It's the King! We're saved!"

"How many people do you think the king sent?"

"The battle ended so quickly, there must have been at least tens of thousands of people down the mountain."

Angiya breathed a sigh of relief and waved to stop their conversation.

"Alright, let's go back first."