Volume Four: Withering in the Mortal World - Chapter 333: The Opening

The calendar turns to a new page.

The time has come.

Beautiful moments and lovely scenery are fleeting.

The passage of time diluted the last joys, and the intense fighting spirit replaced the desire for a peaceful life.

The third night arrived as scheduled.

Day 3, 21:07--

In the presidential suite, I took one last look at the Boundary Breaking Armor Sub Core and Little Butterfly's cocoon, then sealed them separately and packed them into my luggage.

What a wonderful Holy Spirit Festival, and I've ended up spending the last few days holed up in my room.

Today I can finally break free from being a shut-in... Just kidding.

Haoyue still wore the same white cheongsam as always, only the pattern on it had been changed to a spider web, giving it a dangerous edge to its beauty.

At first, I wanted to change into something like a bodysuit that would allow for more movement, but after so long, I finally realized something—once you reach a certain level of strength, what you wear during battle becomes irrelevant; in fact, being naked is the best attire for me.

Of course, my sense of shame isn't strong enough.

"Virgo Saintess's residence is in the grand hall in the city center. After the Revolutionary Army storms in, she and her knights will definitely flee in panic. I will then block their retreat and easily capture her."

"Anyway, you actually want to discipline her, don't you? Poor Torres Saintess."

"Don't put it so harshly, that's ecological research on canines, you know."

"I'm not going to argue with you... I'll cooperate with the Revolutionary Army to deal with the garrison in the city. Although teleporting the army directly into the city can bypass the garrison outside, but—"

"However, the inner city also has a large number of elite troops. If we cannot deal with them in time, we may find ourselves in a situation where we are attacked from both inside and outside the city."

"Loxue also said that this is actually a risky move. If it goes smoothly, we can advance straight in and win, and minimize the number of casualties. But if the team members don't coordinate well, we will suffer a crushing defeat."

"I don't care who wins or loses, as long as Xiao Ye is safe, it doesn't matter how many others die."

"What's with this question...?"

Day 3, 22:20--

"Is everyone ready?"

"Ready!"

Just one kilometer from the large teleportation array, within the underground drainage system, the entire Seventh Division was fully equipped and ready for battle. Around them lay vast stretches of corpses—the Vatican's guards and patrols, who had previously spent considerable effort clearing the area.

"In a few hours, at dawn on the fourth day, Lord Nid will send a signal—this is it."

At Sasin's signal, Dorothy picked up a bronze plaque with the symbol of a bleeding sword, a device used to send simple messages.

"Upon receiving the signal, we will immediately launch an attack on the large teleportation array to ensure complete control over it. Ideally, we should destroy it entirely, but the teleportation array's core is built upon spiritual veins, making it impossible to locate and destroy it in a short time."

"So we have to settle for second best. After all, the prerequisite for using a teleportation array to send things is that both arrays on both sides must be activated. Otherwise, it's all just empty talk. We just need to guard that place and make sure no one can activate it."

"The guards will be dealt with by us and Xiao Wu. The key is speed. We need to take them down as quickly as possible while Lord Nid's army is attacking and the garrison is in disarray. If we are any later, the Holy See's large reinforcements may be able to get in."

That being said...

Dorothy looked around at everyone, tilting her head in slight confusion.

"Why hasn't Miss Xiao Wu arrived yet? We're almost past the scheduled meeting time."

Day 3, 22:30--

"Phew... finally, I'm done shopping..."

Xiao Wu couldn't help but feel a strange sense of accomplishment. They had actually managed to visit all the main booths in two and a half days, without repeating any, and... they had also spent most of the money Ye had given them, so she felt a little apologetic...

"Hmm, that's right... gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle"

Beside her, Sin Annihilation was happily eating grilled squid in his left hand and freshly squeezed juice in his right.

"But—" she gulped down a long squid tentacle, a strange expression on her face, "—why did Xiao Wu bring me here? There isn't a single stall..."

"Well..."

Indeed, there isn't a single stall here.

It's not even on the ground.

This is the underground shelter of Sadington City.

When the Divine Law Cult unified the continent, it spent huge sums of money to build massive shelters under every strategic city to cope with various natural and man-made disasters. Although they played a great role in wartime, too long a period of peace always erodes people's will. Over the past thousand years, even the maintenance of the shelters has been neglected, so the shelters are now almost indistinguishable from ruins.

Even so, it still has the most basic protective functions.

"Hey, Sin Annihilation, are you having fun?"

"Happy." That was the answer without hesitation.

"Hmm... as long as you're happy."

Xiao Wu frowned slightly, as if she was troubled by something, and finally lowered her head as if giving up.

"Since you're having a good time... it's time for us to part ways here."

"... Eh?"

"I'm sorry... To be honest, if I could, I really wanted to find you Orphanage or something so you could live in peace. Unfortunately, there are so few people I can trust these days, and more importantly... this city is no longer safe."

"Unsafe?"

"It's not convenient to explain, but believe me, staying outside might get you caught up in something, and the Boundary Protection Saint Domain will preserve the appearance of anyone who passes by, so I can't send you outside the city... I'm really sorry, but the best solution I can think of is for you to stay here for now."

"Stay here..."

"At least this is the safest place by comparison. Listen to me, Sin Annihilation, as long as there are still any strange noises coming from upstairs, you absolutely must not go out! Here—this is for you."

Xiao Wu handed her a large paper bag, which Sin Annihilation took and saw was full of dried meat and water.

"This is some dry food I prepared for you, enough to last a few days, so--"

"Wait, Xiao Wu!"

"--I'm sorry, I have to go now. Hope we meet again someday."

Forcing herself to ignore the cries of the Sin Annihilation, Xiao Wu waved her hand, leaped into the darkness, and disappeared without a trace.

"Xiao Wu..."

Watching Xiao Wu's disappearing figure, Sin Annihilation suddenly collapsed onto the damp floor of the shelter, instinctively clutching the large paper bag.

Suddenly, I felt a void in my heart.

Day 4, 5:00 AM --

"Call--"

Nid took a deep breath and secured the Greatsword to his back.

"Ha--"

Then exhale deeply to calm your restless heart.

Was the restlessness in his heart excitement, agitation, or fear? Nid could no longer tell.

"Nid ..."

Loxue's fair and slender hand brushed against Nid's dark red military overcoat, straightening his collar and smoothing out the wrinkles, just like a wife seeing her husband off as he was about to leave for work.

"Hmm... my bangs are still a bit messy..."

Her hand brushed across Nid's cheek, tidying his slightly messy bangs. Nid immediately felt his face burning and quickly focused his attention on the cold touch of the Greatsword behind him to calm himself down.

"Hmm, that's good now, as handsome as ever, Nid."

"Thanks, sis..."

He took one last look at his sister, imprinting that warm smile on his retina. No matter what, as long as that smile remained, he could never lose.

"I'm going!"

Gently press the switch in your heart.

From this moment on, he was no longer the dull boy, the late-blooming younger brother, or the former deserter Nid.

Instead, he was Nid Bradwich, the revered leader of the Revolutionary Army who spearheaded change and was the Blood Blade Knights.

The doors of Torres Cathedral leading to the main square slowly opened, and the young leader emerged.

A handsome young face with a resolute expression.

Deep and sharp heterochromatic eyes,

A steady, unhurried yet powerful stride.

A tall and slender figure with golden ratio proportions

A dark red trench coat fluttering in the wind and disheveled gray hair.

The simple Greatsword that had slain countless enemies on his back

Like a model of excellence, every move he makes exudes a charismatic leadership that captivates both the military and the people.

Before him, the vast square, including the streets beyond, was entirely stained a dark red.

Tens of thousands of soldiers gathered here, each dressed in a uniform dark red military uniform, standing tall and straight, with piercing eyes. This was an absolutely perfect army that anyone who saw it would praise.

"Gentlemen."

Before this perfect army, the leader spoke.

Even this army could not match his overwhelming presence.

"We have walked this thorny path for far too long."

"What we, the people, pursue is nothing more than a world of equality and beauty."

"However, even such a simple wish is being trampled on, and compromise and forbearance will only lead to more severe oppressive tyranny."

Truth without power is mere rhetoric; contests without the backing of force are child's play. Truth is forged not by words but by flesh and blood; a happy future is not brought by beautiful fantasies, but by our own hands and the weapons in our hands!

"And today marks another hurdle on our path of struggle, the strategic city of Sadington —this is our target! Glory lies beyond victory! Now, gathered here are fearless warriors, brave men willing to shed their blood for a noble mission! The blade of blood will never break, the road to the future will be paved with the blood of our enemies! Long live the revolution!!!"

"Long live the revolution!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Looking at the tens of thousands of soldiers in jubilation, even Nid, in his leader mode, felt a surge of emotion.

That's right...

My older sister is behind me.

As long as she's still watching over me, I will never lose.

Rewind a little,

Day 3, 9:40 AM --

A carefree man and a girl wrapped in a cloak, after overcoming numerous hardships and dangers, finally arrived at their destination.

"This... this is the Holy Spirit Festival!!!"

The girl was extremely excited. Her bright black eyes darted around under her cloak, as if she wanted to take in all the wonderful sights. There were so many fun things to see that she didn't know where to begin!

"Don't get too excited, it's only the morning of the third day, you still have a day and a half to play!"

The man, with an expression that said "I really can't do anything with you," followed behind the girl with a grin, while also closely observing the surrounding situation.

"Ah, Spirit Sacrifice-chan, go to the left."

"Huh? Okay--but?"

"Don't ask, just go left, you can smell the grilled fish over there."

After pulling the sacrificial spirit away, Yu Jie glanced back in the direction they had originally gone.

In a dark alley, you could vaguely see several children who looked like beggars being harassed by a ferocious-looking man, all of them trembling with fear.

"... I'm sorry, but it's too early for the innocent Spirit Sacrifice-chan to know the dangers of the outside world. She won't be able to handle it—we're in for a lot of work now."

Muttering to himself, Yu Jie lightly tapped the ground with his heel. A flash of black light disappeared into the ground.

In the alley--

"Huh? You dare to cower here without knowing who I am? You're all tired of living?"

The man kicked a skinny little boy hard in the face. The boy screamed and flew backward, the profuse blood from his nose indicating that his nose had been broken.

The other children trembled with fear, too intimidated by the man's lewd power to move an inch.

This man wasn't a patrolman, a robber, or a bandit; he was a scoundrel who lurked in the shadows, bullying others and bribing the patrolmen for safety. The children had only wanted to find a place to hide from the people chasing away beggars, but they had inexplicably angered this man.

"Believe it or not, I'll hand you all over to the patrol team right now! And those little brats, believe it or not, I'll strip you naked and pin you to the ground—"

However, he didn't finish his harsh and foul language.

A sudden bulge appeared on the wall behind him; it was a stone spike wrapped in liquid-like blackness, which pierced his head without missing a beat.

The splattered blood and brain matter signaled the end of his life.

The terrified children pretended not to have seen anything and hurriedly fled this dangerous place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nid: I'm going to prove to Ernest that I'm a master of showing off!

Yu Jie: You're too naive! That's how you show off!

Nid:... You just silently killed a minor character, didn't you?

Yu Jie: Naive! The so-called great way is formless, and the most deadly form of showing off is the formless one.

I was a bit rushed today and didn't proofread carefully. Please forgive any errors.