The altar

The Dark Church's headquarters, Eternal Night City...

Pope Affleck's palace stood in the center of Eternal Night City, an enormous jet-black building shaped like a demon with its wings spread. Inside, the lights were dim.

Affleck sat on his throne, tapping his fingers against the armrest. Before him, Gaius, Morgan, and Sylvia knelt on one knee, all three looking grim.

"The mission failed," Gaius said in a low voice, a trace of resentment in his tone.

Affleck stopped tapping his fingers. The hall fell so quiet that the crackle of burning candles could be heard.

"Speak." The pope's voice was soft, but the anger it carried made all three bow their heads even lower.

Gaius recounted the battle at Dead Silence Ridge in full.

"Even together, the three of us couldn't defeat him quickly," Gaius concluded. "If we'd kept fighting, at least one or two of us would have died. So I chose to retreat."

Affleck remained silent for a long time.

Of course he knew Gaius had made the right choice. Saint-level Peak experts were among the strongest fighters anywhere. Losing even one or two would deal a severe blow to the Church's overall strength. An Baruch could be killed later, but if the Three Giants died, they would be gone for good.

"An Baruch." Affleck spoke the name with bitter, bone-deep hatred. "He destroyed Shadow Valley, killed Moulton, and brought down six angels. Now even the three of you together can't kill him. A Dragonblood Warrior not even thirty years old, and he's already this powerful."

Affleck rose and paced along the steps. His long robe dragged across the floor with a rustling sound.

"Shadow Valley was an important part of the Sacrificial Magic Array. With its core destroyed, we've lost at least three months of preparation. If this causes us to miss the blood moon night, I'll obliterate his soul." Affleck stopped pacing. "An Baruch knows our plan. Will he tell the O'Brien Empire? Will he join forces with other powers to stop us?"

He turned, sweeping his gaze over the three. "From this day forward, Eternal Night City's defenses will be raised to the highest level. Anyone entering without permission is to be killed on sight. You will remain in Eternal Night City as well, until the sacrifice succeeds."

"Your Holiness!" Gaius raised his head. "Are we just going to let him go?"

A cold smile curled Affleck's lips. "Let him go? No. I'm merely postponing his death. Once the sacrifice is completed on the blood moon night and the God of Darkness bestows his divine grace, all of us will become far stronger. Then we won't fear even the War God himself, let alone An Baruch."

Gaius's eyes lit up.

"So now is not the time to hunt down An Baruch." Affleck's voice grew stern. "Your task is to protect Eternal Night City and ensure that nothing happens to the Sacrificial Magic Array. I want no more mistakes before the blood moon night."

"Yes, Your Holiness!" the three answered in unison.

Affleck waved a hand, dismissing them.

Left alone in the hall, the pope walked to the window and looked out at Eternal Night City's gloomy sky. Dark clouds churned overhead, with occasional flashes of lightning threading through them and bathing the ground in a ghastly white light.

"An Baruch," Affleck murmured. "After the blood moon night, I'll kill you with my own hands."

Meanwhile, in a secluded valley in the western Luo'ao Empire.

An stood at the valley entrance, looking at a cave covered in vines and shrubs. Without the marker Elena had left, he would never have found it.

"Come in, Lord An," Elena's voice called from inside.

An ducked into the cave. The interior was surprisingly spacious, clearly enlarged by hand. Several glowing magic crystals embedded in the walls lit it as brightly as day.

Elena sat beside a stone table with a parchment map spread across it. More than a dozen people stood beside her, men and women, young and old.

"Lord An, you've arrived." Elena stood and bowed slightly to him.

An nodded, sweeping his gaze over the group. Two were at the Saint Realm Middle Stage; the rest were eighth- and ninth-rank experts. These were all trusted followers Elena had gathered over years of careful work.

"Senior Elena, who are these people?" An asked.

Elena indicated the two elders at the Saint Realm Middle Stage. "This is Elder Aldous, and this is Elder Cecilia. Both are longstanding elders who oppose the sacrificial plan, and both have spent many years building their positions within the Church. The others are their disciples and confidants. They may not be especially powerful, but every one of them can be trusted."

An nodded to them in greeting. Aldous was an elderly man with graying hair and a kindly face, though his eyes were sharp. Cecilia was a tall, middle-aged woman with a stern face and a slender sword at her waist.

"Lord An, thank you for everything you did in Shadow Valley." Aldous stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Without you, Moulton and his people would have grown even more brazen."

An waved a hand. "I only did what I should. Sacrificing a million lives is an atrocity."

"Pope Affleck has gone mad," Cecilia said coldly. "He'll do anything for power. A man like that has no right to be pope of the Dark Church."

Elena sighed and motioned for An to sit. Pointing to the parchment map, she said, "Lord An, you already know what happened in Shadow Valley. But there's something I didn't tell you before."

An frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"The array in Shadow Valley was only part of the main formation." Elena lowered her voice. "The true Sacrificial Magic Array isn't in Shadow Valley. It's beneath Eternal Night City."

An's pupils narrowed slightly. Eternal Night City was the Dark Church's headquarters, Pope Affleck's stronghold. It had the tightest defenses and the most powerful guards.

"The array in Shadow Valley was meant to draw outsiders' attention," Elena continued. "If anyone came to destroy it, all they'd destroy was the decoy. Construction on the real altar began three years ago. It's now essentially complete, waiting only for the blood moon night to activate."

"The blood moon night?" An asked.

Elena explained, "The blood moon night is a celestial phenomenon that occurs once every sixty years. The moon turns dark red, and the concentration of darkness elements between heaven and earth reaches its peak. Activating the Sacrificial Magic Array on such a night produces the best results. It might even draw divine grace directly from the God of Darkness himself. The next blood moon night is in six months."

An fell silent for a moment.

What a clever diversion.

"What are Eternal Night City's defenses like?" An asked.

Elena's expression grew grave. "Eternal Night City has been the Dark Church's headquarters for thousands of years. Its walls are magically reinforced and can withstand a full-power attack from a Saint-level Peak expert. There are thirty-six Magic Towers in the city, each equipped with a Magic Crystal Cannon and at least one ninth-rank mage. The city garrison numbers two thousand, all warriors of the sixth rank or higher."

"And there are the Dark Three Giants," Aldous added. "Gaius, Morgan, and Sylvia are all Saint-level Peak experts, and they've fought together for years. Their coordination is flawless. Then there's Pope Affleck himself. He rarely takes action, but no one doubts his strength."

An nodded. Having fought the Three Giants at Dead Silence Ridge, he knew how formidable they were. Against all three, he could barely protect himself. With the pope and the other guards added to the mix, he had no hope of breaking through Eternal Night City's defenses alone.

"That's why we need to infiltrate the city," Elena said. "And destroy it from within."

She took a yellowed scroll from inside her clothes and spread it across the table. It was a detailed map marking every corner of Eternal Night City: walls, gates, palaces, Magic Towers, underground passages, and secret chambers.

"This is a map of Eternal Night City's underground passages." Elena pointed to a dotted line. "There's an ancient drainage channel beneath the city, dug when it was first built. The channel was abandoned after the city expanded, but the passage remains. Its entrance is in a dry well three li outside the city, and it runs all the way beneath the palace."

Aldous continued, "Cecilia and I have spent years working within the Church, and we've secretly explored this passage. Some sections have collapsed, but most are still passable. The end of the passage is less than a hundred meters from the altar housing the Sacrificial Magic Array."

An studied the map carefully, committing every route to memory.

"Who will take me there?" An asked.

Cecilia stepped forward. "I will. I know Eternal Night City's underground layout best, and I've been near the altar several times. Everyone else should stay here. If we fail, they'll still be able to preserve our strength."

Elena looked at Cecilia, a flicker of worry in her eyes. "Cecilia, be careful. The pope's spies are everywhere."

A rare smile appeared on Cecilia's stern face. "My lady, don't worry. I've already cheated death once. Even if I die in Eternal Night City, it will be worth it."

An stood and put the map into his interspatial ring. He looked at Elena. "Senior, Elder Cecilia will come with me. Everyone else should remain in the valley and await orders. If we haven't returned within three days... leave the Luo'ao Empire and go to Chiyan City in the O'Brien Empire. Find my elder brother, Linley."

Elena nodded without another word.

Cecilia walked over to An. They exchanged a glance, then headed out of the cave together.

The night was dark, and thick clouds hid the moon and stars. An and Cecilia moved swiftly through the mountain forests toward Eternal Night City.

Cecilia was fast. Though she could not match An's Wind Element movement technique, her speed was exceptional among those at the Saint Realm Middle Stage. As they flew, she quietly explained Eternal Night City's layout and the precautions they would need to take in the underground passage.

"An Anti-Air Magic Array is attached to Eternal Night City's walls. Anyone flying over them will be targeted and attacked," Cecilia said. "So we can't enter by air. We have to use the underground passage."

An nodded. "Where is the entrance?"

"There's a dry well three li outside the city. At the bottom, a horizontal passage leads beneath Eternal Night City." Cecilia paused. "But it's very long, with countless branches. Without a map, it's easy to get lost. Even with one, we have to be careful. There are plenty of mechanisms and traps left over from when the city was built. Some no longer work, but others are still active."

"Mechanisms and traps?" An frowned. "They put traps even in an abandoned drainage channel?"

Cecilia smiled wryly. "Eternal Night City was built thousands of years ago. Successive popes have installed defenses in that underground channel, some to keep enemies from infiltrating, others to stop traitors from escaping. We've explored it, but we can't guarantee we've found everything. Once we're inside, we must be careful at every step."

An asked no more questions. He picked up speed, and Cecilia followed close behind.

They traveled through the mountain forests all night. By dawn, they were approaching the outskirts of Eternal Night City.

From a distance, Eternal Night City resembled an enormous black beast crouching on the earth. Its walls towered high, with a Magic Tower every hundred meters. The dark-purple orbs atop the towers looked especially eerie in the morning light. Buildings crowded the city, the tallest of them the pope's palace, its spire piercing the clouds.

Cecilia stopped and pointed to a grove of dead trees in the distance. "The dry well is in that grove."

They flew into the grove and soon found the well. Dead branches and fallen leaves covered its mouth. Without the marker Cecilia had left beforehand, they would never have found it.

Cecilia jumped into the well first. An followed.

The well was about thirty meters deep, its bottom covered in dry earth and rubble. Cecilia felt along the wall for a moment, then pressed a loose stone. With a click, a crack appeared in the wall and widened, revealing an opening half a person's height.

"This way," Cecilia said, bending down and crawling inside.

An followed behind her.

The passage was so narrow that only one person could move through it at a time, bent at the waist. Mold and rot hung in the air, the walls were wet, and water dripped from overhead. An released his Wind of Perception, extending his senses a hundred meters ahead.

After they had traveled through the passage for about an hour, it gradually widened enough for them to stand upright. Cecilia took a magic crystal from inside her clothes and infused it with battle qi. It emitted a soft white glow, illuminating the way ahead.

Signs of excavation appeared on the walls, along with faded murals. Most depicted the Dark Church's history: the descent of the God of Darkness, the conversion of the first believers, and the Church's founding and expansion.

"These murals must date back to when the city was built," Cecilia said quietly. "Back then, the Dark Church hadn't fallen so far that it would sacrifice a million lives for power."

An offered no comment. He kept walking, his attention focused on the Wind of Perception.

Farther on, they reached a junction. Cecilia stopped, took out the map, and studied it carefully before pointing to the second passage on the left. "This way."

The passage sloped downward, taking them deeper underground. The air grew damp and stifling, and they could faintly hear water in the distance. After walking for roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they reached an iron door at the end of the passage.

The iron door was covered in rust, and someone had already unlocked it. Cecilia pushed it open, revealing a vast underground space.

An stepped inside, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

It was a circular hall nearly a hundred meters across and about twenty meters high. Dense darkness runes covered its walls, dark-red light flowing between them like blood through veins. In the center stood a circular altar roughly thirty meters in diameter, built from black rock. A huge six-pointed magic array was carved into its surface. At each of the array's six points was a recessed socket holding a fist-sized black gemstone that radiated dense darkness elements.

At the exact center of the altar stood a three-meter-tall black stone pillar. A heart-shaped socket was carved into its top.

Cecilia's voice trembled slightly. "This is the true Sacrificial Magic Array, the Dark Soul Altar. The black gemstones in those six sockets are Magic Crystal Cores from darkness-element Saint-level magical beasts. Every one is worth a fortune. The socket atop the central pillar holds the sacrifices' soul core. On the blood moon night, the array will activate, drawing the souls of a million living beings into those black gemstones. The array will then transform them into the God of Darkness's divine grace and bestow it upon the pope."

An walked to the edge of the altar and examined the runes up close.

"Can you destroy this array?" Cecilia asked.

"Yes, but I'll need time. And the instant I damage it, an alarm is bound to trigger. The pope and Affleck will arrive immediately."

An stepped onto the altar, drew the Azure Frost Sword, and aimed at the socket atop the central pillar.

Threadlike strands of azure sword energy sliced precisely into the seam between the socket and the pillar. The black stone pillar hummed, and every rune in the hall began to flash.

The alarm had been triggered.