Volume Four: Withering in the Mortal World, Chapter 285: Logging In, Exploring the Map, and Running Dungeons (Part One)

The Torres Ecclesiastical Province, located in the western part of the continent, faces the sea to the west and is also the location of the port we arrived at.

There are several estuaries here, and the currents are gentle, so you can easily go upstream by taking a special motorboat. After passing through a few checkpoints and completing the formalities, you can reach Torres City, the core city of Torres Ecclesiastical Province.

Of course, that refers to the normal situation.

"Halt! Who are you? This area is now under lockdown—"

"Form 107-1 - Crooked Sky!"

Boom!!!!

The river gate's blockade was kicked open, sending debris flying everywhere. The swiftly reacting guards immediately lowered the second gate, but the Qipao Girl following closely behind the white-haired girl raised her sword, a dazzling silver rune flashing on its surface—

"Silver Moon, Scattered White Moon!"

In an instant, the world turned into a black and white inversion, and the silver light of the false moon illuminated everything again. When the inverted world collapsed, all inanimate objects shattered like glass. The iron gates, walls, and soldiers' equipment at the checkpoint were all destroyed in a single blow!

Then watch mine--

"Crystal Sea Beast Plains!!"

The Blood Energy that had been accumulating to its limit erupted, crystallizing the moment it surged out of my body. The writhing, enormous blood crystals crushed the remains of the river pass and all the soldiers like a tsunami, while also forming a wide and flat road. The army of Blood Beast that emerged from the Blood Pool broke through numerous obstacles, and Haoyue and Xiao Wu, who had attacked earlier, returned to my side and rode with me on the same flying Blood Beast.

"All cleared, go go go!!"

At my command, all the Blood Beast roared to the sky, forming a crimson torrent that swept through the enemy ranks as I marched on them. No enemy force that stood in our way lasted more than five seconds. We quickly broke through all obstacles and entered the battlefield!

Ah, that feels so good...

At this moment, I finally fully understand the thrill of mowing down enemies in Dynasty Warriors. Ever since I swallowed the Serpent's Egg and gained the ability to create Blood Beast, I've only used them against one person, the Sick Spider. Now it seems that the true value of this new ability lies in group battles on the battlefield. It doesn't show its power at all when dealing with just one person!

"Xiao Ye is really stealing the spotlight!"

"Why don't you just say she stole the spotlight...?"

Haoyue, Xiao Wu, and I are now sitting on this giant eagle-shaped flying Blood Beast. Givinia uses teleportation for transportation, while Dorothy and her subordinates sit on one of the back. Although these Blood Beasts are objectively unsightly, they are absolutely perfect as a means of transportation. This is why we were able to reach the battlefield so quickly.

"Speaking of which, all these things you made... smell so strong, the bloody smell is overwhelming."

"That's true to some extent."

"Xiao Ye prefers these 'extraordinary' pets to us pretty and fragrant ones..."

All three of them wrinkled their noses, their expressions quite subtle... You guys are all too much! They're so cute!

On the flying beasts behind--

"They're all so amazing..."

Dorothy was deeply impressed. She now had no doubt about the strength of the Blood Emperor's successor and her companions. Moreover, their simple and brutal tactics of crushing the enemy army with large amounts of blood, crystals, and monsters were very similar to those of the Blood Emperor recorded in the old books.

In that case... maybe we can really turn the tide!

"Alright everyone, now disperse and get to your respective tasks! We'll regroup after we've finished!"

Not long ago--

"Now let me explain the intelligence we've gathered. The Blood Blade Knights Master Nid, and Chief of Staff Loxue, personally led nearly 100,000 Revolutionary Army, employing clever tactics to try and capture Torres City. However, just as they were about to succeed, they encountered enemy reinforcements, whose strength far exceeded the expectations of the Bradwich siblings, causing their efforts to fail at the last moment."

With some distance to go before the finish line, Givinia had already finished gathering intelligence, which we were used to, but Dorothy and the others were dumbfounded.

So... the key lies in that reinforcement?

"The Papacy's reinforcements consisted of the Fifth Seat of the Templar Knights, along with over 1,200 high-ranking Divine Spellcaster and high-ranking Shield Knight. They utterly routed the Revolutionary Army's assault force that was about to storm Torres City..."

"The Fifth Seat of the Templar Knights!?" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Is that person very strong?"

"The first four Templar Knights are responsible for protecting the Goddess and the Pope, and they stay in the Holy City Gloria year-round. That means the Fifth Seat is... the strongest among the Templar Knight who can move freely! And then there are those high-ranking Divine Spellcaster Shield Knight. Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only about a thousand of them; together they could easily destroy a small country!"

"""Oh."""

"That's all the reaction you're getting?! Those are Templar Knight! The Fifth Seat at that! And the Imperial Guard of the Cathedral of the True God too!"

Even if you say that...

Even if you say that, I don't really have a concrete understanding of it. My knowledge of the Divine Law Cult is limited to the documents I read on the ship that brought me here... I have no idea how powerful those Goddess and Templar Knight really are...

We were the ones who defeated the organization's Special Class Combatant, while the strongest Heavenly Law Goddess, was only on par with the higher-ups. Apart from the top few Templar Knight, the others couldn't possibly be stronger than Special Class Combatant.

"Anyway, as long as we can defeat that group of Saints quickly, is that all that matters? Can't your Grand Commander do it?"

"How could the commander-in-chief launch an attack so casually!"

"Ah, yes, uh."

As a commander, it's impossible for him to personally lead the charge against the enemy so easily. After all, if he loses, everything will be over. Moreover, since the other side dared to come, it means they were prepared to face the commander-in-chief. If Nid were to go and challenge Alan to a duel at this point, he would be a fool.

"In short Blood Emperor, allow me to first contact the Seventh Division to inform them of your arrival, and then—"

"Hey Haoyue, how about I take care of Alan?"

"If Xiao Ye wants to do it, then go ahead and do it. What about Xiao Wu- chan?"

"Remove the sauce! If Ye is in charge of Alan... then I'll deal with those thousand or so elites."

"I... I'll go with Xiao Wu too."

"Oh, well then I'll storm into that Torres City and kidnap the Saintess there."

"I'll show you the way, and I can also help with Miss Haoyue's sudden appearance."

"Alright, it's settled then. I'll go take down the mini-boss, Haoyue will steal the tower, Givinia will control the battlefield, and Xiao Wu and Xiaoqing will handle the mobs. Let's start the map! Let's start the map!"

"Xiao Ye is saying things I can't understand again..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!!!!"

Dorothy was bewildered.

"What are you doing?"

"Rushing into the battlefield is too dangerous! We don't even know the specifics right now!"

At that moment, Givinia appeared, startling Dorothy, and said, "As for the specifics, I can see them clearly, definitely better than your scouts and messengers."

After all, my talent in this area is among the best in the entire organization—of course, she didn't say the second half of that sentence.

"But... but... it was all so sudden, fighting a battle we weren't prepared for..."

"An unprepared battle, that's always the case."

"..."

Dorothy was stunned.

We're telling the truth. Speaking for myself—the battles against the Desolate Beast, I. B., Payne, the Black Crystal, and the Sick Spider —every battle against these powerful opponents was an unexpected situation, suddenly starting without any psychological preparation. Rather, "prepared battles" would be the exception for me.

"But... but... you are the Blood Emperor —or rather, the Blood Emperor's successor! How can we just let you—"

"According to records, the former Blood Fiend —no, I mean the Blood Emperor— also took action, and his move was earth-shattering and awe-inspiring."

Although fragmented memories tell me that those few times Blood Fiend only agreed to act after the first Grand Master Francis's persistent pleas, and that his main purpose wasn't to help the Blood Blade Knights revolution, but rather to establish his authority as the revolutionary's spiritual leader—

To put it nicely, it's about establishing authority; to put it bluntly, it's about showing off.

I wonder what the revolutionary fighters of today would think if they knew what a terrible, unfaithful woman Blood Fiend.

"No objections now, right? Let's go!"

Listen to me!!!

On the edge of the battlefield, a force of dozens of Divine Spellcaster and hundreds of ordinary soldiers was advancing rapidly. A new battle report had just arrived— the Rebel Army were coalescing into several groups and fleeing in different directions, having completely entered retreat mode. The Papacy's army had now entered pursuit mode, and of course, they would kill as many of these routed Rebel Army as possible.

"As expected of the Imperial Guard directly under the Cathedral of the True God, they are incredibly strong. Under Lord Alan's leadership, they directly thwarted the Rebel Army's plot!"

A minor paladin commander sighed with admiration, but also felt somewhat frustrated— the Rebel Army's retreat was remarkably swift and well-organized, and the Papal army's pursuit had yielded little success.

"I was hoping to get a few more kills..."

"--Then use your own to pay for it!"

Click!

Before he could react, a short knife slipped into a gap in his armor and slit his throat.

The dagger was thrust towards the shadow of that junior commander.

A figure entirely in black emerged from the shadows and then disappeared again, so fast that no one could catch him. By the time the holy light bombardment from the Divine Spellcaster arrived, the figure had already vanished into the shadows.

"Retreat! Retreat! The leader of that small unit has been taken care of, and Lord Nid has just cleared an escape route. Now is the perfect opportunity!!!"

The commander of the Seventh Division, "Shadow Warrior" Sasin, emerged from the shadows beneath his horse, mounted, and led the way, followed immediately by dozens of men. Each of them concealed their faces, their clothing constantly shifting in color with the surrounding environment, making them virtually undetectable unless approached closely. Their horses were a hybrid of ordinary steeds and demonic beasts, their colors constantly blending with their surroundings, making almost no sound as they galloped.

This is the Seventh Division, the smallest of the Blood Blade Knights' twenty-seven divisions. Even when fully assembled, it numbers only about a hundred men, but every member is a master of stealth and assassination—such talent is truly rare. They participated in this operation, successfully eliminating several key figures and throwing a large number of enemy troops into chaos when cutting off the enemy's main force, earning them numerous merits.

But now, having suffered a defeat, they have no choice but to retreat in disarray.

"Boss, how far are we from the main force?"

"Still some distance... Ugh, those damned Templar Knight! If it weren't for those troublemakers, we'd already be holding the Archbishop's head and claiming our reward from Lord Nid! And Dorothy isn't here..."

Sasin's special ability is to infiltrate shadows and freely teleport between the shadows of different objects, making him a genius born for stealth and assassination. If he wanted, he could easily escape the battlefield by teleporting back and forth between shadows, but he couldn't abandon his subordinates, so he had no choice but to obediently ride away with his troops.

"With our stealth capabilities, we'll be safe as long as we don't encounter any overly advanced space-wide surveillance techniques... This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune..."

"Hey? Boss, what's that?"

"What is what?"

"In the sky--"

Sasin looked up and vaguely heard a chattering sound that seemed to be coming from a distance.

In the distant sky, several kilometers away, a vast expanse of crimson is taking over the sky.

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Good news! The author passed the CET-6 exam on the first try! I went to a classmate reunion at noon, so the update is a bit late.