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On the north bank of the Paz River Valley, near the Inpace City waterway.
Tucker stared blankly at the somewhat worn cloth doll in his hand; the doll's original floral dress had turned gray and black at some point.
He murmured in confusion, "How could it be so fast? This shouldn't be happening?"
He could even feel that the cloth doll in his hand was damp, as if a pool of dark liquid could be squeezed out with a slight press.
In his ears, the constant, teeth-grinding creaking sound, like metal friction, echoed. In just a few breaths, the headless knight, which had only been oozing thick black liquid from its severed neck, underwent more bizarre changes. A large and two smaller gap opened up again in its chest and abdomen, as if a distorted, ferocious face had grown there.
Martina frowned slightly and quickly reacted, reminding them, "This area has a problem; some unknown influence has accelerated the awakening of 1-92."
"You all retreat further; he's about to lose control."
As she spoke, she pulled out a handful of black seeds, the size of fingernails, from her clerical robe, which was embroidered with wheat, flowers, and clear springs, and scattered them around the headless knight.
The seeds immediately took root and sprouted upon landing, growing rapidly upwards.
Thick, dark green vines with strange patterns sprang up from all directions, carrying a hazy, dreamlike sensation. They quickly bloomed into palm-sized pale yellow flowers that exhaled pollen capable of inducing sleep.
The patterns on these vines shimmered with dim yet strange light, intertwining to create an atmosphere of peace and tranquility in the surroundings.
Clap~ Clap~
Crisp clapping echoed in the quiet environment, and Tucker and Dennis immediately looked warily towards the river.
A figure in a dark robe stepped onto the river surface under the gradually darkening sunset and the already visible Crimson Moon. Beneath his feet, the river water seemed to come alive, intimately supporting him, and waves tinged with red brushed against his insteps.
Martina, standing on the bank, exchanged a calm gaze with the other party, then mused aloud:
"Sorik the lunatic, who claims to be a Blessed of the Primordial Moon, leads a group of half-human, half-monsters towards so-called glorious evolution, creating countless tragedies. Hundreds of people have died, either directly or indirectly, because of you."
"Heh, this isn't a claim; it's a fact."
Sorik chuckled, correcting Martina's words, then continued on his own, "A total of two thousand and thirty-one people have died because of me over the years, but their sacrifices are great. The death of a small number of people can be exchanged for the benefit of the majority, isn't that a concept also recognized by the major churches?"
"Humans are flawed creatures; only through continuous evolution can we perfect ourselves, for example, by becoming Beyonders. But the quantity of potions is limited, and most potion Pathways are controlled by those false gods."
"For this, I must research an evolutionary path different from potions, to make humans perfect beings. All sacrifices before this are necessary."
"What an incomprehensible lunatic," Tucker muttered under his breath, glaring at the figure that had appeared on the river, somewhat gritting his teeth.
Martina watched Sorik slowly approaching on the river surface and said in a heavy tone:
"Be prepared for battle. If necessary, we can abandon 1-92."
"Abandon? But this is an extremely dangerous Tier 1 Sealed Artifact. It doesn't even need to be fully awakened to easily wipe out all life in this vicinity."
Dennis's tone sounded somewhat anxious, and the veins on his hands, gripping the greatsword, bulged.
"For us, a fully awakened 1-92 is also a combat force. Although uncontrollable, he can completely tie down a combat force close to an Angel."
As she spoke, Martina's tied-up hair fell like a waterfall, shimmering with a greenish luster, full of vitality.
Sorik's figure, slowly stepping on the river surface, suddenly paused, and even the surging river water around him became still, as if a scene had been frozen.
"Heh, that was fast!" Sorik mused expressionlessly.
His body instantly exploded, completely destroyed, scattering crimson pieces across the river surface, splashing waves.
"...This?" Tucker looked at this sudden scene, somewhat stunned, then turned his head to Martina behind him.
"The Sanguine have arrived."
Martina murmured softly, and at her feet, emerald green vines sprang up, swarming and reaching into the river water.
The twilight, not yet fully vanished, was suddenly replaced by a full Moon. The crimson moonlight enveloped the entire Paz River Valley, and a series of changes occurred around them: spirituality proliferated, intuition strengthened, and death became more potent.
Under a tree shade on the opposite bank, Leyton and Bears, who had lost his left eye, quietly appeared. He turned his head to look at Bears beside him, who was called "Crimson Eye..." and probably understood how he got that title.
Bears squinted at Leyton with his remaining right eye, his tone somewhat suspicious, "Hmph, you seem to be thinking something very rude."
Leyton chuckled, not taking his bait, and instead said, "The area covered by the full Moon is very wide. Has Duke 'Round Moon' made a move?"
"Of course not. Grand Duke 'Round Moon' would not easily make a move. This is an effect created by a very important Mystical Item within our Sanguine, temporarily wielded by Matthew."
"The appearance of the full Moon means they have already engaged with the Primordial Moon's minions."
Bears tilted his chin slightly, speaking calmly yet with a hint of pride.
Leyton nodded gently, no longer speaking. The full Moon only provided positive benefits to the Followers of the Primordial Moon, with no negative effects, so this could not be a method the Sanguine used to deal with them. Was it covering something? Or was it conveying information?
As thoughts flickered, his intuition was suddenly touched. His figure flickered, instantly appearing above the river, dragging a handful of ancient-style long spears, from tip to hilt, burning with clusters and specks of blood-red Darkness.
Below the river surface, a giant red flesh orb, sewn together from countless limbs, chunks of flesh, and souls, was dragged out of the water by thick, emerald green vines.
On the flesh orb, many hands, feet, and heads of various sizes and skin tones distorted, like the legs of a millipede, dense and numerous. Even without trypophobia, Leyton felt a psychological discomfort looking at this scene.
Without hesitation, he directly threw the dark red long spear in his hand. It transformed into a dark red stream of light in the air, falling directly and sinking into the giant flesh orb.
A gaping, deep hole appeared on the flesh orb. The twisting, writhing limbs and heads on the giant flesh orb all froze for an instant, then splayed out like boneless minced meat, flowing and swaying freely with the river water, even those thick vines could no longer restrain it.
With a clang, a bright white light burst forth from where Leyton had just been, as if even the void was being cut by this light, emitting a grating, piercing sound.
Leyton's figure, however, seemed non-existent, completely unaffected. He chuckled as he looked to the side of the opposite bank, his lips moving silently, saying, "I see you!"
The next moment, his figure instantly became transparent, like a statue formed from countless starlight. The statue immediately shattered into specks of starlight, surging and rushing into the Spirit World.
"Heh, he left quickly." Bears, who remained in place, scoffed. The flesh around his left eye had already begun to squirm, recovering.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sounds of several slender objects cutting through the air rang out. Almost simultaneously, three blood-red long arrows pierced his heart, forehead, and neck respectively.
The long arrows sank into Bears's body. His body instantly flew backward, without a single drop of blood spilling. His figure rapidly thinned and became brittle in mid-air, finally transforming into a paper doll, as if condensed from crimson moonlight, and quickly shattered.
The next moment, his body solidified in another direction. A swarm of vampiric bats, between True and illusory, surged from all directions, laping towards him.
"Hmph! A boring trick."
With a soft snort, Bears took a step forward. A dense black mist surged from behind him, and at the same time, the surrounding shadows and Darkness rapidly wriggled, condensing into illusory but solid dark shackles, weaving into an exaggerated black giant net in mid-air, trapping all the bats.
Then he took out a bottle of pale gold potion from his coat pocket, infused it with a bit of spirituality, and threw it into the air.
Crash!
The sound of glass shattering instantly rang out. The pale gold liquid rapidly ignited, emitting a strong but not irritating golden light. This light flowed like water, spreading in all directions.
As soon as the trapped vampiric bats touched this light, they let out piercing screeches, and a puff of green smoke rose from their bodies, gradually disappearing.
Bears's movements did not stop at all. A dense black mist condensed into a pair of illusory bat wings behind him, briefly granting him the ability to fly. With a flap of the giant bat wings, his body instantly turned into an afterimage and vanished from its original spot.
The next moment, his figure abruptly appeared on a treetop, his hands forming claws. His fingernails grew an extra section with mysterious symbols and patterns. Two vampiric bats hidden on the treetop tried to flap their wings and escape, but he tore them apart, one with each claw.
On the opposite bank of the river, after seeing Leyton's figure disappear, Martina decisively controlled the emerald green vines that had surrounded the headless knight, throwing the temporarily controlled headless knight into the river.
Having done all this, she turned her head to Tucker and Dennis, who were intently on guard, and said:
"You two go and assist the Sanguine in clearing out those Primordial Moon Believers who are showing themselves. I will stay here to monitor 1-92, prevent it from attacking indiscriminately, and incidentally resolve the problem here."
"Yes, Your Excellency Martina!"
"No problem!"
Tucker and Dennis responded simultaneously, then turned and headed towards the place where the crimson moonlight was most intense.
Martina glanced in the direction they left, then stepped directly towards the opposite bank of the river. Beneath her feet, thick, emerald green vines emerged from the ground, like a verdant long bridge, effortlessly supporting her body as she moved towards the opposite bank.
Hoo~ Hoo~ Hoo~
Beneath her feet, the vast expanse of flesh, composed of various limbs and heads, emitted chaotic, hoarse, meaningless syllables.
These sounds were like a constantly tuning radio, searching for the correct rhythm, attempting to establish contact with an unknown existence.
Without the restraint of the vines, the flattened mass of flesh began to occupy the entire river surface, constantly spreading upstream and downstream.
This situation did not last long. The river water suddenly turned into a bottomless, abyssal black, as if it could swallow even light. The chunks of flesh floating on the river surface also became distorted, gradually losing their color.
The heads growing on the flesh became listless, and the constantly swaying limbs gradually stiffened, like rusted machinery. At the same time, thick, dark liquid began to secrete from the folds of the flesh.
Fallen, madness, and mutation filled the entire river.
Martina ignored the changes in the river surface beneath her feet. After controlling the emerald green vines to transport her to the opposite bank, her body suddenly swelled. Her fur constantly thickened, and coarse, stiff brown short hairs grew on her previously smooth skin.
In an instant, her body had expanded into a terrifying giant bear, easily five or six meters tall.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments