Chapter 245

'Shally' ignored it, and the Blood-colored Power on her body grew stronger and stronger, like a tangible stream of water surrounding her. The enhancement time of the summoning ritual was limited, so she had to attack now.

"You bastard!"

"Grand Duke!"

Ryan quickly approached the battlefield.

Um?

Magana turned around, saw Ryan, and tilted her head slightly.

Their eyes met in the rainy night, Magana quickly retreated back to Ryan's side.

What are you doing here? Are you out of your mind?

You're just a lowly Tier 3 Transcendent? Blood Hand Butcher could kill you with a single fart!

"Let Shally fight the Blood Hand Butcher," Ryan said.

"Huh? Send that guy? Isn't that just sending him to his death?"

"Who cares? That's what the Empress demanded, saying it's Shally's fate." Ryan shrugged. "If she fails, it's fine if she dies, then we won't have to seek revenge. If she succeeds, at least we'll resolve the projection of Barton's power and also draw the hatred of the Blood God Demon Legion. Either way, we'll make a huge profit."

Magana thought so too; it was a win-win situation. Although she was a little unhappy about giving such a rare opponent to 'Shally', she didn't believe 'Shally' could really win.

"And then," Ryan's tone shifted, "After 'Shally' is beaten and runs away in terror, then you, Your Grand Duke, can take care of Barton. Then no one will question your bravery."

Magana's eyes lit up.

"Very good, Ryan, we'll do as you say!"

The Grand Duke was easy to appease. Ryan smoothed out the ahoge (cowlick) and then turned his gaze to Haino in mid-air, who also looked suspicious.

Barton's Shadow is powerful, and the three of them only have a chance if they join forces, so she doesn't understand why Ryan called Magana away.

Ryan didn't explain to her, but instead, the arriving 'Vainay' called Haino back. After all, it was Her Your Majesty the Empress's will, and it was more appropriate for her to step in.

Otherwise, people would think that Ryan was deliberately making things difficult for 'Shally' and that he had more power than the Empress.

At this point, with Magana and Heno withdrawing simultaneously, only 'Shally' and Barton remained on the main battlefield.

Barton's Shadow clearly possessed a clear consciousness; it seemed to know that 'Shally' was its enemy and was unconcerned about the departure of the other two.

"The power of Doklodus is manifested in you, yet you aid humanity and prevent the descent of the Blood God." Barton's rotting eyes rolled, and his voice seemed not to come from his mouth, but rather resounded directly in the space.

"Then you should ask why Doklodus bestowed power upon me." 'Shally' raised her greatsword with one hand, pointing it at Barton's Shadow, her expression arrogant and confident, a faint dark red glint appearing in her deep black eyes. "But before that, I will kill you once to complete my trial!"

"Ignorant humans."

Whoosh~

The barbed chain was flung out by Barton's Shadow, and the barbs enlarged in mid-air, transforming into a giant chain scythe that swept across the location where 'Shally' was.

The latter leaped high to dodge, spun in mid-air and fell, using the force of inertia to slash fiercely. This sword struck Barton's cleaver, and the shockwave from the impact shattered the earth, causing the ground to sink significantly.

Then came the almost uncountable sounds of weapons clashing. The clash between the greatsword and the cleaver did not produce sparks; instead, it was the continuous explosion of two forces, both belonging to the Divine Path.

Ryan was slightly surprised and shielded Magana in front of him.

"Strange." The Grand Duke didn't pay attention to Ryan's actions, but frowned. "That Shally, her power is a bit strange."

Ryan stood behind her and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You should know that Magic Power has different qualities. Even among Supernatural Being have gone through the same path and are of the same rank, the quality of their Magic Power will differ. This depends on the strength of their Magic Power talent and their advancement. During the advancement process of Supernatural Being, the increase in Magic Power intensity is not only in 'quantity' but also in 'quality'. The higher the rank of the Supernatural Being, the stronger the quality of their Magic Power."

"Simply put, when a high-level transcendent fights a low-level transcendent, even using the same level of Magic Power, the high-level transcendent will steadily suppress the low-level transcendent. The Chosen of the Gods represent the ultimate expression of Magic Power talent. The highest rating in a regular talent test is S, but the Chosen of the Gods are an exception. They might be SS or SSS, but at this level, it doesn't matter anymore. Because they are chosen by the gods, some gods are generous, while others may not care, which leads to a difference in Magic Power intensity that can be even greater than between ordinary Supernatural Being."

"In other words..." A hint of doubt appeared in Magana's eyes, "It seems that Shally is particularly valued by the Blood God."

Ryan thought to himself, "This is the only Chosen of the Gods, so shouldn't we value him more?" He asked, "What's so strange about that? After all, he's the Chosen of the Gods."

"No, even if she is Chosen of the Gods, the quality of her Magic Power is too high. Can you tell? Shally's Magic Power strength has surpassed that of Barton. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to sustain this for so long with her strength."

"So?"

"Idiot! Who is Barton? He's Great Demon from the Chaos Space, with a true strength of at least the seventh rank. Logically speaking, he's one of the beings closest to the power of the Blood God. How could Shally possibly surpass him?"

Ryan exclaimed in surprise, "Does that mean Shally is a monster? Even you, Grand Duke, can't compare?"

Magana didn't speak, but Ryan noticed her delicate face puff out slightly.

It's obvious that they can't compare. 'Shally' is in a special situation right now. But after hearing Magana talk about this issue, Ryan is also thinking about it. Logically speaking, even if the Blood God values the Chosen Ones, they shouldn't surpass the Great Demon under his command, right?

Because there is a very real problem: 'Shally' is not like those lunatics from the Blood Cult who shout 'Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God' every day, hoping that the Blood God's Power will descend upon the Rhea Continent.

Even more, 'Shally' would personally tear those Chaos Demon apart.

By doing this, isn't Doklodus only making things more difficult for his own arrival?

Ryan might think that either Doklodus' will is too pure, so pure that he values 'Shally' as a warrior, and is still willing to give her his power even though he knows she will hinder the Demon Legion.

Or perhaps Doklodus was indeed helping Himself by doing this, but that would be strange, because the Demon Legion should be on His side no matter what.

Or perhaps Doklodus doesn't care about anything at all and just wants to be happy.

Ryan recalled Creed's dying words, "The Blood God is in Hell." The word Hell was abstract because it didn't exist on the surface of the Rhea Continent.

"We're going to lose."

"It's something, "Magana said suddenly.

Ryan looked up and saw 'Shally' being knocked away by Barton. Her greatsword was stuck in the ground and flew dozens of meters away. Looking at her health bar, she only had one-tenth left.

"That's strange, how come she didn't get hurt?"

Magana stared intently at 'Shally,' trying to find even the slightest sign of injury on her, but she failed.

Just as Ryan was about to explain, he heard Magana mutter to herself, "Is this the characteristic of the Blood God's Chosen? A madman who only cares about fighting."

Ryan wholeheartedly agreed, "Indeed, the Blood God is a madman."

As he spoke, Ryan took off the Ring of Death and put it on 'Shally'. It seemed they couldn't win now, but they absolutely couldn't die. If they couldn't complete the mission, they wouldn't be able to.

'Shally' downed a bottle of recovery potion, but instead of activating invincibility, she charged out again.

The Bloodlust effect combined with Blood Return instantly restored her health to more than half. However, the cooldown of Blood Return was not short and was not enough to sustain 'Shally' in her fight against Barton.

Seeing his health bar almost empty again, Ryan raised an eyebrow, hesitating whether to let Magana and Haino intervene.

But 'Shally' showed no sign of stopping, completely disregarding her health, only attacking relentlessly! Attacking! Attacking! With each swing of her greatsword, streaks of blood energy were unleashed, the interplay of sword light and Magic Power permeating the entire battlefield, and soon crimson blood gushed forth, staining everything red.

Blood mist spread out of nowhere, turning the earth, sky, and even the air into a deep, dark red hue. At this moment, 'Shally' perfectly demonstrated the abilities and madness of a Blood Divine Path's Supernatural Being.

"She might die." Magana frowned, her delicate brows furrowing. "No, she definitely will die."

Crimson sword energy swirled into a terrifying storm within the blood mist. Within the storm, 'Shally's' sword movements were too fast to see clearly, but Barton's counterattack was equally swift. Ryan couldn't even imagine that such a bulky body could be so agile.

Both sides were purely clashing forces. Barton would love for 'Shally' to go head-to-head with him; if she flew around like Haino, it would be more troublesome for him.

As for 'Shally', Ryan is ready to Manual Control at any time. When that moment comes, he will not hesitate to activate the Invincible Effect and send Magana to support her. What is the Eternal Chosen of the Gods, what is advancement? Nothing is more important than his Second Wife's life.

But Magana's words were like setting a flag; 'Shally' was like a candle flickering in the wind, swaying in the Magic Power storm, but she never fell. Instead, she gradually showed signs of brightening and breaking through the darkness.

As time went on, the crimson light emanating from her grew brighter and brighter, and even Ryan could see that she was indeed becoming increasingly powerful.

A message flashed across the character interface: the system notification indicated that 'Shally' had activated a holy seal. Before Ryan could take a closer look, he heard Magana let out a soft gasp of surprise. He looked up and saw the battle in the distance freeze on one scene—Barton's cleaver was deflected, and 'Shally's' slanted slash extended from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, tearing open a hideous wound.

Patton staggered back a few steps, his bloated body revealing the flesh and blood at his wound site writhing and healing itself.

'Shally' gave him no chance to catch his breath, and the greatsword continued its attack.

The storm grew larger and larger, gradually forming a tornado that connected to the sea of blood in the sky. The tornado was red, and its crimson flames were as dazzling as a burning fire. Then the crimson flames began to burn the sky, and the giant waves of the sea of blood rolled. Ryan looked up and saw the real Barton, who let out a scream.

"Great Doklodus, why did you help a mere human being?!"

An angry, unwilling cry came from the sky. Barton, his face contorted in the sea of blood, raised his head and roared furiously, seemingly trying to break free from the Inner World, but he could not do so no matter what.

Finally, a giant dragon rose into the air from the blood-red tornado, spiraled upwards, and crashed violently into the sea of blood!

Boom!!!

With a deafening roar, the dragon shattered the sea of blood, causing the mirror image to crumble and collapse. Then, terrifying power surged from above! Magana hurriedly released her Magic Power to protect Ryan, and 'Vainay' was also protected by Haino. The Supernatural Being of Chasing Fire and Janus had already left, leaving only the followers of the Blood Cult and the remaining Demon Legion in this space, which were annihilated by the shockwave!

The giant wave came, leaving only devastation!

The crimson tornado dissipated, and Barton's massive body collapsed with a thud, shattering into pieces. At the same time, the enormous Space Rift also disappeared along with the sea of blood in the sky.

The entire rift space returned to calm, leaving only 'Shally' standing in the distance, holding the Sword of Ares. She raised her head, her body bathed in blood red, like a war goddess.

Through the game interface, Ryan could see that the number '8' had appeared on the back of 'Shally's' left hand.

[Sacred Seal '8': Legend has it that it is the condensation of the will of the Blood God Doklodus. When His believers chant the sacred number, the power of the entire Faith Path will surge. However, from ancient times to the present, the power of the Sacred Seal has been almost dormant, as if foreshadowing something.]

"Was that an effect from this thing?"

Ryan opened the quest list and found that 'Shally's' level-up quest was completed, and she had reached level 58. However, it was probably not a quest reward but a reward for killing Horton and Barton's Shadow.

?0ー⑵228⒊0⑼8

Is there any change...? Ryan looked through it and then noticed a switching option in the character portrait list. He clicked on it and was immediately greeted by a burst of crimson energy, though only in the virtual interface. Then, the crimson energy transformed into a giant 'egg' with blood spinning rapidly on it. A few seconds later, it exploded, revealing a new portrait of 'Shally' in the Bloodlight.

Her appearance and attire remained unchanged, but she had two Demon Horn on her head, blood-red wings spread behind her, a cold expression, and arrogant eyes, like a noble Queen, with swirling red blood around her feet.

Ryan was taken aback, captivated by 'Shally's' new artwork. How to put it? She had the feel of a blood angel, the horror and madness of blood perfectly blended with the holiness and nobility of an angel, presenting a completely new image.

Demon form.

Ascend to Demonhood!!!

However, 'Shally's' demon form can only be used after activating the power of the Holy Seal. It is currently uncertain how much it will improve her attributes, but judging from the description of the Holy Seal, this character's growth potential is definitely no lower than that of the four Great Demons.

The attribute panel above the character's portrait prominently displays a line of text: 'Blood God's Eternal Chosen of the Gods, Shally'

So cool!

Um?

Ryan discovered a buff in the 'Shally' character information.

[Power of Faith (Unsealed): The power of all sacrifices and faith made to the Blood Hand Butcher will be concentrated within you. Unsealing condition: Kill the true Blood Hand Butcher.]

"Depend on!"

Ryan couldn't help but curse.

"Ryan? What are you doing? You've been clicking away like that." Magana kicked him unhappily. "Shally won, and not only did she win, she looks like she got extra power."

She had been looking forward to seeing 'Shally' beaten half to death, and then the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke would step in to destroy the demon and save the Augustus Empire. At that time, the Empire's news agency would report her glorious deeds to the Southern Continent.

But it's all gone.

The valiant Grand Duke, his glorious deeds—all gone. Only that seemingly invincible 'Shally' remains. Damn it, how did a mere Fifth Tier Transcendent achieve this? That Blood God is insane!

"It's alright, Your Grace, let her be arrogant for a while." Ryan turned off the game without leaving a trace and laughed, "At least the matter of the Demon Legion is resolved, isn't it? The Imperial crisis is over, and Creed is dead. Other forces shouldn't dare to easily plot against the Empire for a while. As for Shirley, hehe, she only relied on the power of the summoning ritual. That doesn't change the fact that she's just a fifth-tier superhuman. No one will think she's stronger than Your Grace. When we achieve our great cause, Shirley and Veyrie will all have to kneel down and sing 'Conquer'."

Magana was still dissatisfied, but the Shadow of Barton had already been killed, and unless she could break into the Chaos Space and destroy the real Barton, that was obviously impossible.

"With Ryan gone, it's no fun."

After glancing at Vainay and the others who were heading towards Shally, Magana retracted her wings, her scythe transformed back into a battle axe, and turned to leave.

"Yes, Your Excellency Grand Duke."

Ryan glanced into the distance, then turned around with a smile.

There are still many things to do, but 'Vainay' will handle them naturally, so he doesn't need to do it himself.

Because of the rift space, the battle did not have much impact on Baron City, except for the scene of the Chaos Space tearing apart in the sky at the beginning. However, the next day, it was officially explained as an anomaly caused by the Empire's actions against the Heretic. Don't worry, everything is under Her Empress Your Majesty's control.

In addition, a large number of Blood Cult and Eye of Dawn Cultists were killed to stabilize public morale. Immediately afterward, news agencies in Baron City took the lead and lavishly praised Her Your Majesty 'Empress great achievements, and the entire Baron City was thriving.

Secretly, 'Vainay' convened an emergency meeting to intensify the empire's crackdown on heresy and announced the construction of Sun God in Baron City, as well as Church dedicated to the Sun God throughout the empire.

Although it was officially announced that the Sun God would be the deity to be worshipped, the preparatory work has continued until today before taking the next step. The convergence of faith in the gods is more conducive to resisting the invasion of heretics.

After all, people always yearn for divine protection in times of difficulty. If Augustus did not have his own god, they might have chosen to praise Janus or the moon god, or even, in extreme cases, the Blood God and the God of Desire.

In any case, most people would never think of saying something like "Empress bless you".

The more important reason for rushing to take this step is that the Eye of Dawn's infiltration into the Empire has been more severe than expected. Ryan found a lot of information about the Imperial nobles in Creed's storage bag, including many who had secretly joined the Eye of Dawn.

Among these people, none of them showed any abnormality. If it weren't for the conclusive evidence, Ryan would never have imagined that those thick-browed, serious, and loyal imperial officials were actually traitors.

Creed's method of manipulating them was simple: he would investigate each person's habits, find their weaknesses, and then take them down.

At first, they would cater to their preferences, using money and beautiful women to seduce them, and then seize on their weaknesses to threaten them... Beautiful lady, are you testing your cadres with this?