Chapter 240
Following Ryan's orders, 'Vainay' withdrew Burning Covenant's patrols, allowing the Blood Cult and the Eye of Dawn to enter.
Ryan had no intention of secretly watching these people. Given Creed's cautious nature, he might immediately abandon the operation if he were discovered, and only his part of it, and then without hesitation abandon the Temple of War to cause a ruckus in Baron City.
Anyway, that's just how the Blood Cult are. When these people cause trouble, they might even be willing to prove their bravery to the great Blood God by choosing to fight the Imperial army head-on, or they might simply cut off their heads as sacrifices and offer them to Doklodus.
And you know what, given the level of madness of the Blood Cult, it's entirely possible.
As for the Eye of Dawn, their numbers are far inferior to those of the Blood Cult. Even though high-level Supernatural Being make up the majority, the true core members cannot directly participate in the battle. At most, they can only send out some brainwashed Abyssal Cultists.
After all, given the cunning nature of those old foxes, who rarely even show their faces normally, how could they possibly risk going into battle?
Moreover, 'Vainay' has secretly taken control of the location of the Eye of Dawn's stronghold. She originally wanted to send people to destroy it, but Ryan did not do so. He planned to nurture it for a while and wipe it out when the plan was executed.
Therefore, on the surface, the Eye of Dawn's combat power won't be too strong. The key lies in the Demon Legion of the Blood God's Space and the arrival of the Hand of Darkness, which Creed is hoping for. If Magana truly wants to seize the throne, then the various forces will engage in a grand melee in Baron.
When 'Vainay' is killed, the imperial power will lose its support. The Augustus Empire will absolutely not be able to withstand the blow of losing an emperor twice in a row. The great nobles in various places and the generals who hold military power may tear the empire apart under the conspiracy of the Eye of Dawn.
At this time.
Inside a two-story detached house on Baker Street.
Even in the chaotic marketplace, some people can still live a carefree life. Creed bought this detached house for one gold coin. In a bustling place like the Imperial Capital, one gold coin is definitely not a high price. However, because Baker Street is so chaotic, the house price has never gone up.
The real estate developers were also having a headache. On the one hand, they couldn't go against Empress Your Majesty's mercy and drive away these poor people. On the other hand, because of the chaos, it was impossible to establish a stable order. Rich people wouldn't want to buy houses here, and the price of a house was often just the beginning, because you weren't even sure when someone would sneak into your house and pack up your valuables.
If you calculate it this way, the various additional expenses may far exceed the house price itself.
But Creed wasn't worried. So far, three groups of uninvited guests had disappeared forever on Baker Street for various reasons.
"... Creed, just as you said, we were not hindered by the Burning Covenant, thanks to you this time."
Appearing before Creed was a middle-aged man dressed in a dark red robe, with short dark gold hair and eyes that were grayish-red, giving him an eerie appearance.
He had a detached expression, rarely smiled, and had four dark red stripes on each side of his face.
Horton Manholmes, one of the core members of the Temple of War.
His eyes gleamed crimson as he spoke.
Suddenly, Horton's expression turned ferocious and crazed, and his facial muscles contorted in visible pain.
"But Creed! The offerings you promised are still not ready. The sacrifice is just one step away from completion. It must begin tonight no matter what!"
Creed bowed slightly, displaying great humility, but spoke in a calm and unhurried tone, "I am truly sorry, General Horton. I persuaded Ryan to temporarily lift the guard on the Burning Covenant, but the Empress is still suspicious. She has been secretly hunting down the Eye of Dawn since last night, and even destroyed two of our strongholds. As a result, all the sacrifices were taken away."
"This isn't what we agreed on, Creed... you cunning clown, the lackey of the Lord of the Bizarre, don't try to outsmart me." Horton roared, his blood-red power suddenly erupting, casting a huge shadow behind him—a colossal demon with its jaws wide open, as if about to devour Horton.
Creed lowered his head and said, "General, don't worry. Although the sacrifices are gone, the blood and heads of the Blood Cult can easily open the passage to the Blood God Space and allow the Demon Legion to descend."
"Your achievements will leave a glorious mark on the path of war once the power of the Blood Hand Butcher erodes Baron. At that time, the erosion of the Blood God's power will become an aid for you to break through the mortal realm and ascend to become Great Demon."
Let the power of the Blood God descend upon the Rhea Continent!
This is something every member of the Blood Cult wants to do.
This is also something the Outer Gods have always wanted to do.
Of course, Horton had another purpose: to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the arrival of the Blood God's power to stabilize the increasingly uncontrollable Magic Power within him, break through the shackles in one fell swoop, and ascend to become a demon!
The path to the extraordinary requires qualifications.
Each Supernatural Being also has their own limit on the amount of Magic Power they can withstand.
As they walk the Faith Path, their spirit and body are constantly eroded. Some, with strong talent, can almost ignore this influence. Others, with lower talent, experience a gradual descent into madness and loss of reason due to the side effects of the Magic Potion's power forcibly pushing them past their limits when they advance.
In reality, the number of existing Supernatural Being is far less than the number of people who attempt to enter the superhuman realm, and those who fail either suffer mental breakdowns and become insane demons, or simply die, silently embracing death.
When Horton broke through to the seventh level, he experienced unimaginable pain, and finally managed to reach this level by sheer luck.
But his mind was constantly tormented. Whenever he closed his eyes and tried to rest, he would hear strange whispers in his ears, as if demons were speaking.
This forced him to force himself to stay awake, and he would only rest when he could no longer bear it. But each rest meant a relaxation of his mental and physical strength, which would allow the erosion to take advantage of the situation.
He is now on the verge of a mental breakdown, and the only way to survive is to ascend to become a demon and officially become a servant of the Blood God.
"Ah, those sacrificers, they..." Horton's crimson eyes stared at Creed, "They can, but it's not enough. I need another batch of sacrifices to offer their blood to the Blood God, to open the Demon Realm and unleash the power of the Blood Hand Butcher. If you don't agree to help, I'll come find you right now and twist your head off with my own hands!"
"General Horton misunderstands. How could I be unwilling?" Creed said calmly. "Actually, I have a backup plan. The sacrifices will be sent over soon. It is their honor to offer their lives for the great Blood God and witness the descent of the Blood God's power."
"That's for the best. Creed, I know your plans. I don't care what happens to Augustus, I just want to achieve my goal, understand?"
Horton stared at Creed with a dangerous look. If he hadn't been unable to bear the mental torment, he would never have bothered to cooperate with a bishop with the Eye of Dawn.
The fate of Emperor Kahn is a case in point, but he knows what Creed is up to and won't follow the same path as the foolish Kahn.
Moreover, the Chaos Space is changing, and the influence of the Outer Gods on the mortal world is becoming more and more serious. If we lend a hand at this time, we might really be noticed by the Blood God!
This way.
As planned, Ryan called 'Shally' back from the Southern Territory Front.
Then, 'Shally' took 'Vainay's' orders and found Holman, from whom she took 30,000 men. Using the War Fog, she concealed her whereabouts and temporarily hid outside the city.
Meanwhile, the Burning Covenant was also ready as ordered, their mission being to create an isolation zone around the castle and minimize the impact on ordinary people.
The method is to set up Mana Barrier and apply spells to disperse the crowd. This way, most of the influence can be isolated. If there are still unlucky people who are affected, there is nothing that can be done. In a world where supernatural powers exist, sometimes death is just a matter of a moment.
Even worse, if the barrier cannot withstand the Chaos Space's Power, or if they cannot resolve this matter, then the entire Baron City will be corrupted by the Will of War, and everyone will either die or become monsters.
After all, the Mental Power of ordinary people is very fragile and cannot withstand the erosion of the Chaos Space. Therefore, the greatest threat is not the troublemaking Heretic, but the impact of the collision between the power of the Blood God and the present world at the moment the Chaos Space opens.
Therefore, Ryan arrived at Janus Church ahead of time and found the person in charge there.
Alchino Rex.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Earl Ryan."
Alchino is a Fifth Tier Transcendent who serves as a bishop at the Gate of Janus. Perhaps after a few more years, when her strength breaks through to the Sixth Tier, she will be qualified to be promoted to cardinal.
At this moment, Alchino was wearing a cream-colored bishop's robe, with an hourglass embroidered on his chest, symbolizing the mystery of time. Within the Gate of Janus, there were two factions: 'Time' and 'Space.' Although both were followers of Janus, they competed for power and advancement.
Time and space do not represent ability, but rather represent two research directions within the Gate of Janus. The analysis of Janus's power and interpretation of his will are often proof of a senior Janus Cultists.
She was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with an elegant and noble demeanor. Her light gray hair fell down on both sides, and her smile was full of gentleness and charm, giving Ryan a sudden feeling that 'this is what Saintess should look like'.
In fact, Alchino was quite famous in Baron, and many counts and even marquises wanted to curry favor with her in order to get closer to the Gate of Janus. Although Alchino didn't particularly like these nobles, she always greeted them with a smile. The Gate of Janus needed to maintain friendly relations with all countries, and the key to good relations lay with these nobles.
Many of the Janus Cultists were nobles, and they would contribute a lot of gold coins to the construction of the Church and the promotion of their faith. Otherwise, where would the Gate of Janus get so much money to build the Church on its own?
In the Rhea Continent, faith is a form of currency; it can buy many things, including gold coins.
"I received orders from the Saintess; she instructed me to fully cooperate with your operation." As Alchino spoke, her pale blue eyes curiously scrutinized Ryan. She had already heard about the relationship between the Saintess and Earl Ryan, which seemed to be more than just ordinary friendship.
Many believers, including herself, initially thought it was a rumor, but now it seems... the Saintess has a very high level of trust in this count.
Handing over the Janus forces within a main city to someone else is actually against the rules, but because of the Saintess's orders, Alchino doesn't mind obeying them... After all, this is Baron, and she will need Lin Qi's support when she is promoted to cardinal.
"Archbishop Alcino, I need your help."
Ryan explained his idea.
Using the Great Divine Grace of Janus to counteract the influence of the Will of War, and completely compressing the battle within the barrier, can be considered as the second layer of protection that Ryan made to protect Baron.
"No problem, then may I personally lead this ceremony? Along with some sorcerers skilled in divine grace." Alchino tried his best to seize the opportunity to show off.
Although Ryan is only an earl, everyone knows he is highly valuable. With Magana backing him up, who would dare to touch him? Not to mention his connection with the Saintess.
Now that Alchino has gotten involved, he naturally wants to do things perfectly and try to improve his chances of gaining favor with Lin Qi.
"That would be wonderful." Ryan smiled. "May Janus bless you. Thank you for the bishop's efforts. I will definitely talk to Lin Qi about it after it's all done."
"Praise Janus." A smile appeared in Alchino's eyes; she had been waiting for Ryan to say this. "Then there are nearly thirty more Supernatural Being. I will arrange for them to come over and await Ryan's orders."
"Great! The time is 7 p. m. tonight. Please don't forget."
After leaving Janus Church, Ryan closed his eyes and sensed that Creed's location was still on Baker Street and had not moved.
In the past two days, he has not attempted to assassinate Creed, nor has Creed sent any assassins... Ryan is not worried about this, because it would be pointless for Creed to kill him. If something happens to him, Magana will definitely go crazy, and then the plan will be difficult to carry out.
Even so, Magana still insisted on secretly following Ryan, and if Creed dared to make a move, she would rush out immediately and twist his head off.
Ryan looked around but couldn't see the Grand Duke anywhere.
He then boarded a carriage and headed towards the castle.
On the way, I checked on the situation of 'Motis'. The rifles he had previously provided were already in production, but the progress was worrying. As a hastily assembled federation, it was difficult for any single country to simultaneously meet the technical requirements for rifle production. This meant that 'Motis' would have to source from other countries and piece together the necessary components to meet the basic requirements.
It's tough on Motis. The Northern Federation looks big, but it's all just an empty shell. In every aspect, it's far inferior to the Augustus Empire, making it very troublesome to manage.
On the other hand, under the arrangement of 'Vainay', Augustus has already started building a parts factory overnight, and it is expected that mass production can be achieved within a month. This type of repeating rifle far surpasses muskets in terms of speed, accuracy and power.
In fact, the Augustus Empire had the basic conditions to produce rifles; the difficulty lay in the design concept of the rifles.
Take, for example, the Revolver used by the Security Officer. The Revolver originated from a ritual, and the designer referenced the weapons used by Supernatural Being. However, due to the lack of core technology and design concepts, the product produced was completely different from what Ryan envisioned.
Neither its lethality nor its range was as good as the firearms used by the army, so it was not promoted to the army. Instead, it was used by Security Officer for their daily use, since it was indeed easy to carry and could kill people.
Then Ryan came to a conclusion... the entire technology tree of this world is crooked.
Snap.
I glanced at my pocket watch; it was 11 a. m. Now I could just wait patiently.
Night falls, around 6 PM.
Dark clouds hung over Baron City, and a light rain began to fall at five o'clock. By six o'clock, the drizzle had become continuous, eventually turning into large raindrops that fell in a pattering melody that became the music of the world.
The crowds leaving get off work grumbled and ran through the rain, while the wealthy leaders either hailed horse-drawn carriages or rode in cars, leisurely watching the cattle and horses running around them.
In the northern part of the city, the crowds on the outskirts of Queen's Street were scattered. As the territory covered by the castle, there were not many people to begin with. Most of them were members of the royal family. Occasionally, a nobleman's carriage would pass by, but they were in a hurry. They were dispersed by an invisible force and rushed out of Queen's Street.
Soon, the entire Queen's Street was basically filled with patrolling guards.
The streetlights, covered by glass domes, emitted a pale yellow beam of light in the rain, providing a sliver of illumination in the rainy night as darkness fell.
Bang bang bang!
A gunshot suddenly rang out in the rainy night.
The gunshots seemed to trigger a signal, and soon after, battles of varying degrees broke out one after another on Queen's Street.
"Quickly! Protect the castle!"
Outside the castle, an officer quickly mobilized soldiers, forming a defensive array of thousands at the entrance.
Soldiers holding shields blocked the way at the front, lowering their large shields, with Musketeers standing ready behind them.
The raindrops made the already dim sky even darker, and all the soldiers stared at the main road leading to the castle, watching the raindrops splash and spread the mist on the ground.
Then, the mist gradually turned red, and soon it turned into a large patch of blood-red mist, completely obscuring all vision ahead.
"Captain, is this the power of Supernatural Being?" a soldier asked nervously.
"Don't get distracted, stay alert!"
Among the crowd, the officer holding a knight's sword had a stern expression. "Whether human or ghost, no one will get past here today!"
Call out!
A blood-red arrow shot out from the mist, piercing through the large shield in the hand of the front-line soldier and penetrating his entire body.
The arrows continued their relentless advance, killing three soldiers in succession before finally stopping.
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Musketeers!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Fiery red rays shot from the muzzle, piercing the blood mist like fire snakes. After a round of musket fire, the front-line Musketeers quickly retreated to reload, and were replaced by those in the back, taking turns in rotation.
Muskets are powerful, but their reload speed is extremely slow. The advantage of this alternating firing method is that it keeps the firepower continuous, which is more effective than firing all at once.
Soon, the water on the ground was stained blood red.
The smell of blood and gunpowder mingled with the rain, settling into the ever-deepening night.
Da da da da.
Just then, a group of figures dressed in dark red clothes with blood-red patterns painted on their faces rushed out from the blood mist.
A crimson Magic Power shield materialized around these people, blocking the power of the muskets.
In the crowd, the officer frowned. He knew these people were Supernatural Being, but he didn't panic. Instead, he took out a pre-prepared signal flare and fired it into the air—whoosh!