Chapter 262

She swung the chain in one direction, the air crackling with the force of the friction, the chain suddenly enlarged, and slammed to the ground with a thud.

It's unclear what she hit, but she swung the chains again, following a certain trajectory to launch an attack.

The power attached to the chains was terrifying; with just a casual swing, the earth and buildings along the way crumbled and collapsed. Magic Power surged out along the chains, creating a series of alarming explosions in the space.

Her aura was terrifying; Ryan even felt that if Kachina wanted to, she could easily destroy the entire City of Sin.

But.

Where is the enemy?

He looked for a long time but still couldn't see who Kachina was hitting.

However, as the virus continued to spread, those who were consumed by desire began to lose their minds and turned into something akin to zombies.

However, the power of desire within these 'zombies' is also at play, because it was released by Ryan through the Pot of Greed. In terms of level, this is definitely at the level of God-Chosen, so even the Chaos Virus cannot completely dominate.

The Chaos Virus controls external actions, while the Power of Desire controls internal emotions.

Suddenly, the virus-infected zombie transformed into a lustful zombie, twisting its body as it moved forward while forgetting to release its desires with other zombies. This bizarre scene left Ryan somewhat stunned.

Or should we throw in some more Power of the Blood God and see how it goes?

Then the people of City of Sin will become zombies infected with the virus, shouting "Kill! Kill! Kill!" while engaging in lewd acts.

"They must be the shamans, but those guys don't usually show up easily. Could it be that they're using this place as a sacrificial site?"

Ryan used the power of the demon spirit to protect himself and conceal his presence. His wife's Character Card still had more than ten minutes left, enough time for him to check the situation. The Blood Knight's Character Card couldn't be used casually; it was a life-saving item.

Ryan didn't intend to confront the witch's people head-on; he just wanted to take this opportunity to check on Kachina's situation.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."

While thinking this, the Recording Crystal recorded Kachina's current situation, which she would study later.

Suddenly.

Kachina swung the chain toward him.

Ryan quickly stealthily retreated, but Kachina was even faster... no, someone was coming towards him!

It was a figure lurking in the shadows, moving in a manner almost identical to the stealth of the Silent Nun, constantly dodging Kachina's attacks with a serpentine gait.

The other person was very fast, and in that brief moment of eye contact, Ryan was certain that the other person had spotted him, and then deliberately sped up.

Indeed, among a group of lewd virus zombies, Ryan's existence is like an anomaly. However, the fact that he could still be seen through even under the protection of the demon spirit shows that the opponent's strength is quite formidable.

Whoosh!

She was dressed in black, wearing a hood and a mask with white, chaotic stripes on her face, leaving only her right eye to observe the outside world. Ryan's image was reflected in her dark pupil, and she reached out to grab Ryan.

But at that moment, a milky white light burst forth between her and Ryan, accompanied by the ticking of a clock traveling through space, and Ryan's low growl came from within the pale white light.

"Go back!"

The Gate of Time opened in an instant, forcibly pulling the attacker back to the exact spot where Kachina's chains had been pulled.

Boom!!

With a loud bang, Ryan saw the man being sent flying.

"Serves you right, you still wanted to mess with me."

Although using time reversal on that guy was a stretch, that stretch just happened to coincide with Kachina's attack. All I can say is thank Janus. From now on, I should go to the Church every day to take out a few copper coins to lighten God's burden.

However, after the man was sent flying, Kachina's chain strike missed its mark. Ryan sensed Power of the Janus Path flash by, and then the attacker vanished.

Magic Scrolls?

Ryan wasn't surprised. High-level Supernatural Being usually carry this thing to save their lives. Of course, low-level Supernatural Being also want to carry it, but firstly, they can't afford it, and secondly, they can't buy it.

Just then, a strong gust of wind swept around him, and Ryan felt a blur before his eyes as Kachina appeared in front of him almost in a flash.

The golden wings behind him gradually retracted, and his pink plum blossom eyes held a scrutinizing air.

"Uh... Your Majesty Kachina." Ryan casually put the Recording Crystal into his backpack, his expression changing from shock to delight. "Thank goodness you're finally here! If you hadn't appeared, I'm afraid I would have died!"

"Is he the Rider you mentioned, the messenger of the Earth Goddess?" 'Kachina' asked.

Ryan: "?"

"Yes, it's him, hehe~ Isn't he cute?" Kachina said with a grin, "He's exactly the Prince of my dreams."

"Really? I didn't see that coming from him. He's a bit dull, but he looks alright. However, I always feel like there's a very peculiar smell about him."

"That's the power of the Earth Goddess, which is why we feel close to her. That's normal."

"Why can't it be the power of desire? This feeling is so familiar."

"Impossible! I saw with my own eyes that he was summoned by the power of the Earth Goddess. Would the Earth Goddess bestow power upon a believer in desire? The possibility of that is as high as me randomly grabbing a Prince on the street."

"Um..."

"Alright, alright, Kachia, I'll talk about Rider when I get back. That Spirit of Chaos Supernatural Being has escaped; she has a secret."

"This is definitely a ritual. Upon closer inspection, the forces of the Spirit of Chaos are surely lurking in the City of Sin... Hmph! I haven't even gone after them yet, and I've already stumbled upon them."

"That's what I was thinking too, but... it's such a hassle. Do I really have to check it all? I'm all alone."

"Then let's just destroy the city. It won't be difficult for you anyway."

"But we haven't found any clues about the dwarves yet. How about this, you send the main force of the Empire over as soon as possible. They need them at the front lines anyway, right?"

"Very well, the Watcher Legion has completed its reorganization."

"Hehe~ Fifty thousand Watchers soldiers, this is our empire's secret weapon. I want to see if the Moonlight Knight Order of Veldja can withstand it."

"Kachina, don't talk nonsense about the Watchers!"

"Huh? There are no outsiders here."

"..."

"..."

Ryan: "???"

Looking at Kachina, who was playing two roles, Ryan had many questions.

If he hadn't known Kachina's twin identity, he would have thought this woman was schizophrenic, as she was quite strange and reminded him of Zixia Fairy from A Chinese Odyssey.

However, he seems to have just received some important information.

The Watchers are about to strike.

Contrary to Elvian's prediction, the Watchers was not 40,000, but a full 50,000!

"It seems that these Twin Empresses have been preparing to conquer the Northern Continent for a long time. Back then, the Augustus Empire was still embroiled in a civil war. The Old Emperor deserves to die; such a large empire has produced nothing."

Thinking about it this way, the Augustus Empire really isn't that great. No wonder it's the starting location, and it's not even a DLC starting location.

In fact, the Royal Guards was quite famous, but unfortunately, after the expansion of the Augustus Empire stabilized, the Old Emperor's attention shifted. Otherwise, if he had continued to build and reform the army, even if it did not reach the level of an extraordinary army, its combat power would have been much stronger than it is now.

While pondering, Kachina and Kachia finally reached an agreement. The former decided not to bomb the city for now, but the Spirit of Chaos forces would definitely need to be investigated. If all else failed, they would wait for the Empire's main force to arrive. Kachia had already prepared the supplies and set off overnight, arriving in Kazar in less than two days.

"Rider." Kachina walked over.

Although it was Kachina's face, Ryan could tell from her eyes and demeanor that it was definitely not her, but Kachia.

"Are you the Chosen of the Gods?" Kachia asked directly.

Ryan nodded. "Yes."

Kachia raised her hand, and a golden light appeared in the air. Within the light, an eye gradually opened; it was a relic.

"Hey! Kachia, what are you going to do to my Prince?!"

"Don't be nervous, this is just a test of truth and lies, don't you know that?"

"Even so... the power of this relic is so strong, Rider can't withstand it."

"No, you should know why only the Chosen of the Gods can reach the Eighth Tier. It's because they possess sufficiently strong 'divinity.' If he really is Chosen of the Gods, this relic cannot harm him."

What does it mean that only the Chosen of the Gods can reach the Eighth Tier?

This was the first time Ryan had heard of this claim.

However, he knew that the advancement of Supernatural Being was a process of integrating into the Faith Path. The deeper the integration, the stronger the power. But this integration would be eroded by the power of the path. The murmurs and whispers that rang in his ears all the time were a kind of mental torture.

This kind of torment cannot be resisted by sheer mental strength, because even the strongest mind has its limits. Perhaps this is where the 'divinity' that Kachia mentioned is needed to offset the side effects of advancing from the seventh to the Eighth Tier.

Just then, the eye in the golden light opened completely, and Ryan felt as if his soul had been locked, with a powerful sense of oppression coming over him.

"I will ask you one more time, are you the Chosen of the Gods?"

"Yes, I am," Ryan replied, still asking the same question.

Kachia looked at the eye. If Ryan lied, his mental state would fluctuate, and even the slightest fluctuation would be detected by the eye. This was not something that could be controlled at will; it stemmed from something related to 'cause and effect'—'if you lie, you will definitely be discovered'. But at this moment, the eye did not react.

That's the truth.

Is it really the Chosen of the Earth God?

Kachia's eyes flickered slightly. The Chosen of the Gods of the earth had not appeared for many years. She had tried to pray to the Earth Goddess for a blessing, but she had failed.

This made her think that God was in some kind of state... In fact, there were rumors of this in those churches. Kachia specifically investigated and found that the era before the Golden Dawn, known as the third era after creation, was suspected to have been the time when a war between the gods took place.

After that, civilization was interrupted until the Golden Dawn of the Fourth Age, when the flame of human civilization began to burn again, and cities were rebuilt from the ruins.

Many of those ancient forces that spanned two great eras are nowhere to be found, but the Gate of Janus has been passed down to this day and must know a lot. Unfortunately, Kachia knows that the other party will never tell her.

"The faith in the earth has finally begun to revive, Rider. Come to the Imperial Capital with Kachina. I will bestow upon you unparalleled glory," Kachia said in an unquestionable tone.

"Sorry, I refuse." Ryan thought disdainfully, "What a load of bull! If they had found out I was lying, I would be dead by now."

Although Ryan wouldn't mind sacrificing himself for the country, he preferred to say 'no' to these self-important guys.

Even if I, Ryan, starve to death or die out there, I will never pledge allegiance to Kachia!

"Your Majesty Kachia, I have no interest in your so-called glory. I am a messenger of the gods, not your servant. If you wish to find servants, you can simply give the order. I believe there are many in the Arcadia Empire willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty."

"Are you sure you want to refuse me?" Kachia asked calmly.

"Yes, I refused you."

As Ryan answered, he opened his backpack. If anything seemed amiss, he would activate invincibility and use a scroll to escape!

Come on, you think I'm afraid of you? I'll have the Grand Duke beat you into a pulp later!

"Alright, alright, Kachia, what are you doing? Who gave you permission to speak to my Prince like that?" Kachina regained control, pouting, "Rider is my man, don't scare him."

"Kachina, I just wanted to..."

"Fine, I won't listen. I don't need your power anymore."

Before Kachia could say anything, Kachina took the initiative to dispel the shared power between the two, and then the golden wings behind her disappeared.

"Phew~" Kachina breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Ryan and said with a smile, "Don't mind Rider, that's just how Kachia is, she only ever thinks about things that are good for the Empire."

"I didn't care about that. To be honest, I really wanted to go through fire and water for the Empire, but I'm acting in accordance with the Goddess's will and spreading the faith of the earth. This alone requires my life's effort. I really don't have the energy to think about anything else." Ryan said with some heartache. "Your Majesty Kachina, you know me. Nothing is more important to me than this."

"Yes, I know." Kachina nodded with a smile. She wasn't in a hurry; she preferred the feeling of 'pursuing something' to something she could get immediately. It's that Kachia guy, really, he messed up all my plans.

It was supposed to be a romantic scene of a 'hero saves the damsel in distress,' but they had to say those jarring things. If you put a gun to someone's head and they say they're loyal to the empire, how can you expect them to be truly loyal?

Kachia doesn't understand people's hearts.

"Let's go, Rider. It's dangerous here. The witch's people could appear at any time. Let's leave first."

"Weren't we supposed to investigate the source of the Spirit of Chaos's power?"

"There's nothing we can do now." Kachia frowned. "I don't know who released this Power of Desire. There are probably some high-ranking officials from the City of Desire lurking here. Rider, don't underestimate this power. Even I get affected if I stay here too long... But why do you seem unaffected?"

"Praise be to the Goddess," Ryan said devoutly. "I heard the voice of God, and now nothing unclean can bother me anymore."

"Oh?"

Pure white and holy Rider, the Prince is so beautiful.

"Then can you use this power to protect me?"

"I can try to channel the power into your body, but I can't guarantee it will work."

"Give it a try, it's not like you'll die."

Kachina said very optimistically.

After receiving permission, Ryan activated the Earth Mark, channeling his power into Kachina's body.