A Warning of Doom

In the end, Duanmu Huai still accepted the mission. After all, he didn't want Novice Village to explode on the spot. Besides... he wasn't completely without a clue about how to resolve this mission.

In fact, during the mid-to-late game, players had posted several discussions speculating on whether, if they had noticed the danger threatening Novice Planet at the time, there would have been any way to go back and help complete the mission.

The final conclusion was... it really could be done.

Because, looking at the entire End Times event, although Chaos ultimately emerged victorious, the Chaos Legion actually appeared the least often during the End Times. The ones truly causing trouble everywhere were mainly four races—the Greenskin Orcs who loved shouting WAAAAGH across the entire continent, the Ratmen who loved digging tunnels everywhere, the necromancers who intended to rule the world through death, and the vampires who acted under the banner of the Empire's legitimacy.

This was also why players generally hadn't been very alert at the time. Most of the monsters they faced were these things, giving them the impression that they were simply fighting ordinary invasion and defense battles.

For example, protecting the Empire from the vampires, protecting Bartonia from the Greenskin Orcs, protecting Zhendan from the Ratmen...

Who could have known that the Chaos Legion would suddenly make a dazzling entrance and blow up the entire planet with a single "BANG"?

What the hell was the difference between that and fighting World War II on Earth, only for the Zentradi to suddenly arrive at the end and destroy the planet?

Who could have seen that coming?

To put it simply, countless alien races were causing trouble like mad, each setting out with the goal of conquering the world—the Greenskin Orcs were the exception, since all they wanted was WAAAAAGH—leaving the various forces that protected order across the continent exhausted from rushing everywhere. The Chaos Legion, meanwhile, secretly caused trouble while they were too busy to pay attention elsewhere. In the end, it successfully opened the Third Chaos Gate, tore the planet apart, swallowed it into Warp Space, and became the victor that had profited from the struggle between the mantis and the cicada.

So, looking back now, the best solution for stopping all this would be to take down those annoying Greenskin Orcs, necromancers, and Ratmen, reducing their threat as much as possible, and then prevent the Third Chaos Gate from opening...

The most important thing among them was the relic beneath the Temple of Ulric in Middenheim. Rumor had it that the Chaos Legion had only performed the ritual to destroy the entire planet after obtaining this relic.

Therefore, for players, the most cost-effective method would be to rain Justice from the Heavens down on the Temple of Ulric and blow it to pieces, relic and all, before the Chaos Legion reached it. If they couldn't destroy it, they could simply take it away. At least that would prevent the worst-case scenario.

Although Duanmu Huai wanted to go and take that thing away right now, the Temple of Ulric had not yet changed hands, and Ulric's followers were still very capable fighters. If he charged over now, he would probably be pinned to the ground and beaten until he couldn't take care of himself, so he decided to improve himself first and worry about the rest afterward.

Fortunately, the End Times were still several years away. At least they hadn't begun yet, leaving Duanmu Huai with plenty of time to strengthen his cards and level.

In this regard, the Lady of the Lake was quite generous with her information.

A powerful necromantic artifact—the Skull Staff—was sealed within a monastery in Montfort. It could enhance a necromancer's power, and rumor had it that a necromancer had recently begun coveting this artifact.

Amid the ruins of Todtheim was a Crown of Sorcery containing the will of an evil necromancer. The lingering will of some legendary necromancer remained within it. Anyone it bewitched would become a puppet controlled by the Crown of Sorcery.

On a glacier in the Miragliano region, a powerful Chaos Champion had once been personally slain by Sigmar. The Chaos Tomb Sword it left behind remained frozen beneath the glacier. This demonic sword devoured the souls of all those it slew, binding them within itself—Hmm? Why does this sound so familiar?

Could that Chaos Champion have been named Arthas?

In short, the Lady of the Lake explained the situation to Duanmu Huai. Most of it—or rather, nearly all of it—involved the locations of artifacts aligned with Chaos and evil. She said that since Duanmu Huai could completely destroy these artifacts—well, it seemed she knew that the Holy Grail had already been dismantled—she hoped to borrow his strength to find the other artifacts and dismantle them as well. Once these evil artifacts were gone, darkness and Chaos would no longer be able to wreak havoc across the continent.

How should I put it... you're not even trying to hide the fact that you want to set me up.

Although the Lady of the Lake made it sound grand, Duanmu Huai understood. This was really just sending him out to draw aggro. If he seized these artifacts, he would inevitably incur the hatred of alien races such as vampires and orcs. At that point... Huh?

That doesn't seem any different from now.

As an Inquisitor, was he supposed to let these people smash his face until it bloomed like peach blossoms, or perhaps become sworn brothers with them and drink together?

In that case, never mind.

And so, Duanmu Huai and the Lady of the Lake happily carried out a shady deal—the other party needed him to strike at Chaos and evil, while for Duanmu Huai, striking down and destroying Chaos was simply the duty of an Inquisitor.

Besides, he had at least taken the Holy Grail, and the Lady of the Lake hadn't pursued the matter. He couldn't go too far, could he? The more friends, the more paths. Of course, when it came to these native friends... he still had to be somewhat wary of them, lest he be sold off and end up counting the money for someone else.

In return, the Lady of the Lake not only permitted Duanmu Huai to obtain those artifacts, but even specially bestowed upon him the title of "Grail Knight." Strictly speaking, only those who drank the water from the Holy Grail could become Grail Knights, but Duanmu Huai was far too wary, and the Holy Grail had already been taken away. Thus, the Lady of the Lake had no choice but to bless him in another way, giving Duanmu Huai a small token of compensation.

Duanmu Huai didn't care either way. As long as it wasn't something he had to drink, he could be somewhat reassured.

But anything that entered his body had to be treated with caution.

Then... it was time to act.

Duanmu Huai wasn't sure how many of the artifacts she had mentioned would be recognized as Holy Relics by the system, but regardless, since he had already accepted the mission, he had no intention of abandoning it, did he?

If any of the artifacts were recognized as Holy Relics, all the better. That way, Duanmu Huai could raise the Space Station's level in the shortest possible time and activate Justice from the Heavens mode. When that time came, dealing with these people would be a piece of cake.

Regardless, after accepting the mission from the Lady of the Lake, Duanmu Huai had finally pinpointed the specific locations of the suspected Holy Relics.

And from there, he only had one thing left to do.

Go and take these things... back!