Southern Continent, West Balam, Star Plateau.
The dark gold mist before Astolfo dissipated. After a moment of contemplation, his crimson eyes flickered towards Reinette Tinekerr, who emerged from the void, and he asked concisely, "How is it?"
Reinette Tinekerr's gloomy, elaborate long dress billowed slightly, and one pale, illusory arm after another extended from behind her, dense like a forest.
Mummies wrapped in bandages and various Beyonder materials stained with faint greenish hues were dragged out. Reinette Tinekerr bowed slightly and replied, "Apart from the tangible waves of curses, only these corrupted materials remain at the cult's headquarters. Barranca and the remaining hedonistic remnants are nowhere to be found."
"Moreover, all the altars related to the 'Chained God' that the Rose School of Thought had previously set up at the headquarters have been completely destroyed."
Astolfo nodded silently, as if he had anticipated this. His crimson eyes turned into a vortex, swallowing the corrupted materials, and he muttered in a hoarse, muffled voice, "Feysac has already gone to war with Loen. Duke Aaron hopes that we can open a battlefield in the Southern Continent, taking the opportunity to attack Feysac's colonial area in West Balam, and tie down the Church of the God of Combat or the high-level Beyonders secretly hidden by the Einhorn family."
The blood-red in Reinette Tinekerr's eyes flickered. She looked thoughtfully towards the southwest of Star Plateau, where the outline of a city was faintly visible under the dim yellow light: "This is an opportunity. The Highland Kingdom has been submerged in the dust of history for too long. It's time to make them remember."
As she spoke, points of light emanated from Reinette Tinekerr's body, and the surrounding void rippled again. Many members of the Temperance Faction, led by the two Demigods, Sharron and Maric, immediately appeared.
As the rich Spirit World faded, Astolfo's body gradually grew taller. Surging black thorns, like a tide, enveloped Sharron, whose face was slightly pale. Greenish-black colors outlined several distorted and mysterious symbols beneath the Puppet's feet.
Thin, blackish-brown lines emerged from Astolfo's body, resembling intertwined arms and vines, connecting the array formed by the symbols.
Sharron looked around at the black array patterns that obscured her vision with some confusion. The Disciple of Silence characteristic, granted by the "Abyss of Ferrying" in her embrace, was pulled by a vast power and instantly turned into specks of light.
After merging with a deep black viscous fluid, it plunged into Sharron's glabella. A muffled whisper, as if suppressing pain, simultaneously sounded: "'Disciple of Silence' was anciently called 'Cursed Item.' The essence of advancement is to allow spirituality to merge with curses through the release of desires, transforming from a Puppet into a true 'Cursed Item.' This is also one of the foundations for becoming an Ancient Bane."
"Open your mind. I will use high-level curses to cleanse your spirituality and help you advance. Cherish this opportunity and comprehend it deeply."
"Once you successfully advance, you will be the Governor of the Highland Kingdom!"
Casually bringing Sharron into his body, Astolfo looked at Reinette Tinekerr, his thoughts conveyed along with the spiritual fluctuations: "I will go and probe. With my Sequence, They won't be able to keep me without special preparations. You hide in the shadows and guard against Intis or the Psychology Alchemists."
His giant-like body expanded again, and the evil vines entwined around him emitted a dense black mist, directly transforming into clouds that blotted out the sky, blown by an invisible cold wind towards the southwest.
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West Balam, Akselban, Yuris City, closest to Star Plateau.
In the non-stop forging factory, a cold wind swept through, causing the scorching high temperature to suddenly vanish.
One by one, the weary, weather-beaten faces of the workers numbly looked up, watching the thin black mist pouring into the factory.
The next second, they discovered in horror that the originally arrogant Feysac overseers, after being enveloped by the black mist, strangely deformed into various animals with blood-red eyes and rapidly dissolved, making the black mist even denser.
The same scene appeared in various corners of the city-state. An extremely evil and mad aura rapidly spread but did not harm the native residents of West Balam.
At the center of the city-state, the Church of the God of Combat erupted with a brilliant twilight glow, but it was instantly submerged by the black mist.
Maric, who had been a Demigod for some time, led many members of the Temperance Faction into this city-state, appeasing the residents with various thoughts.
After drawing a clear line between themselves and the Highland rebels on Star Plateau who believed in hedonism and engaged in burning, killing, and looting, Maric quickly plundered the Beyonder materials and Sealed Artifacts, taking away the native residents who were willing to contribute to the restoration of the Highland Kingdom.
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West Balam, the Governor's Mansion of the Feysac colonial area.
Noel Kam, the Archbishop of the Church of the God of Combat's West Balam Diocese, a Sequence 3 Silver Knight, looked at the Royal Family's Demigod Governor in military uniform opposite him and spoke in a low voice: "The Great Shepherd's meaning is this: if necessary, we can sacrifice some colonial interests in exchange for the Intis people's intervention. Those few in the Royal Family have also tacitly agreed to this…."
Before he could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed drastically. A Silver Knight is extremely sensitive to evil and corrupt auras. Dark green symbols appeared in his pupils, reflecting the tide of black mist that was quietly spreading under the cover of night.
An Angel! How dare He….
Feeling his spirituality frantically warning him, Noel Kam cursed inwardly and roared at the somewhat bewildered Iron-Blooded Knight opposite him: "Quickly awaken the Sealed Artifact! Immediately ask the Royal Family's Angel for help…."
A silver-white light, like a miniature Sun, flashed by. Noel Kam, whose protective power had materialized into silver full-body armor on his surface, used the light to quickly return to the church by stealth.
Without any hesitation, he retrieved a half-broken horn, inscribed with unknown symbols, from behind the Sealed Artifact door underground.
After absorbing a large amount of the Silver Knight's blood and spirituality, a desolate horn sound, as if from ancient times, slowly emanated, forming an invisible barrier that temporarily blocked the surging black mist tide.
Taking advantage of this gap, Noel Kam, whose spirituality and even life force were being drained by the terrifying Sealed Artifact in his hand, his face turning pale, hastily chanted the honorific name of Larrion, the Great Shepherd of the Church of the God of Combat.
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Underground Sonia Island, in the ancient and magnificent hall, three figures sat quietly. The aura, enough to make living beings tremble, was blocked by array patterns, not leaking out in the slightest.
Among them, the most burly figure, completely covered in silver armor, was Liam, the leader of the Church of the God of Combat's Pontifical Chasers, a Sequence 2 Glory.
He sat at the very center of the hall's array patterns, cooperating with the array and the auras of the other two Angels to suppress the "Trunsoest Brass Book," which was in a semi-sealed state in his hand.
Behind this giant was Awatoma Einhorn, who, after destroying Pritz Harbor, had quietly returned to the underground palace of Sonia Island with the aid of a Sealed Artifact.