Chapter 133: Deep Night

“So you also worship pain, then? Those trembling rats are the source of your suffering? Let me destroy them and release you from this tragic cycle!” Ambrio ignored the two who were surrounded by the dark figures and charged straight toward the 15 children in the relief home.

Meanwhile, Dikens, following Great Hero Moore Rona and a squad of Pseudo-Heroes, reached Alexius’s mansion.

“Report! The mansion is empty!”

“Report! I sense a faint smell of the Abyss inside the mansion using my Pseudo-Authority!”

Moore Rona touched the ice crystal short sword hanging from his left hip. The cool chill slightly suppressed his rage.

“Return to my residence. The Divine Descendants should already be gathered there. Whatever Alexius’s conspiracy is, as long as we hold out until dawn, the power of the shadows will be greatly weakened. We can then calmly dismantle their conspiracy!” Moore Rona quickly thought and made a swift decision.

They rapidly returned to Moore Rona’s residence. After a while, something seemed to surge out of Alexius’s mansion from the darkness.

“I was discovered by that old man Moore, wasn’t I?”

“It doesn’t matter. After tonight, the projection of the Great Lord of Darkness, Dorkabach, will descend. This place will be transformed into an Abyssal Projection. I will achieve an accomplishment comparable to Arason’s and successfully please the Abyss, becoming a Great Demon!”

Accompanied by Alexius’s whispering, the shadows behind him seemed to writhe with countless figures, wailing.

“Gather everyone. We will strike directly at Moore’s residence. He must have gathered people there.” Alexius commanded.

“Grand Leader, although the darkness strengthens our power, even with the projection of the Great Demon Lord, our strength is likely inferior to the fortress legion. Isn’t this like throwing an egg at a stone?” A hooded priest, hearing the command, suggested in a low voice.

“Heheheh. Your point is well taken. Come closer.”

The hooded priest smiled, thinking he had demonstrated both resolve and wisdom to Lord Alexius. He would surely be rewarded…

Pffft!

Shadow power pierced his chest. Black blood permeated the air, swiftly devouring him. He could not resist or question.

Alexius watched the priest’s soul twist. The pitch-black shadow behind him immediately expanded, engulfing the twisting soul, which let out a silent wail.

“I will gather all the faithful to attack Moore’s residence. Who agrees, and who opposes?” Alexius looked at the assembled crowd, his tone laced with amusement.

“We obey your will!” The hooded figures prostrated themselves. No one dared to object again.

Ambrio was charging toward the children in the relief home. He suddenly paused. Something was squirming and emerging from the shadows, handing him a letter.

He reached out, took the letter, looked at it, and immediately dissolved it with shadow power.

“How unfortunate. I cannot eliminate the root of your suffering for you now. But do not worry. We will have another chance to meet. At that time, I will fully release you from your pain.”

“Now, my audience, please excuse my early exit!” Ambrio retrieved the shadowy figures, bowed elegantly, and slowly sank into the shadows.

Ancestar and Arno looked at each other, confused by the sudden turn of events, yet relieved to have survived. They led the children from the relief home away quickly.

Elsewhere, Ambrio reappeared, moving quickly, following the rhythm of the shadows toward Moore’s residence.

An alluring scent of perfume hit him. A graceful figure materialized. Her voice was like a clear bell. Her red lips parted, whispering like a lover.

“Ambrio, you are truly a qualified dark priest now. But wearing a Mask of Pain, aren’t you afraid someone will discover your true identity?”

“Heheh. Respectable Lady Witch, if you do not speak of it, who could possibly tell?” Ambrio removed the twisted Mask of Pain, revealing an empty black void that faced the graceful Witch.

“I find this distasteful. Put on the skin of that priest. Is it not rude to face a lady like this?” The Witch seemed disgusted. She covered her eyes, her voice clear and seductive, like a lover’s scolding.

“Your wish is my command, Lady Witch.” The empty black void beneath the hood gradually manifested a pale, sickly human face with an aquiline nose and a sinister gaze.

“I am merely here to warn you: do not stand in the center of the stage. The grand performance is about to begin, and the bit players in the center are the first to be taken off the stage. I will depart now and watch your performance from the audience.”

Accompanied by the clear, seductive laugh, the Witch’s graceful figure vanished.

Ambrio, who had been bowing, straightened up. A morbid smile spread across his sinister, pale face.

At Moore’s residence, the Divine Descendant Heroes, Pseudo-Heroes, and Divine Awakened were all gathered, nearly a hundred people in total. They were discussing the situation anxiously.

“Where is Legion Commander Moore? Why hasn’t he arrived yet?”

“Vice Legion Commander Alexius also hasn’t arrived!”

“Calling us here in the middle of the night must mean something major is happening.”

“I was attacked by shadows of the dark worshipers on my way here. It seems they have infiltrated the fortress.”

“It’s highly possible. I was attacked too! Those damned dark worshipers!”

Just as the crowd was bustling with discussion, Alexius, dressed in military uniform, emerged from the shadows.

The mirror image Ace, transformed into an eagle, flew to a safer distance to observe. Thanks to the powerful concealment of the cowlick on his head, the people fighting could not detect his presence.

His eyes were reinforced to their limit, observing everything that was about to unfold. The cowlick, which housed the Spirit of the Book, trembled frantically on the eagle’s head, ready to record everything in real-time.

Alexius slowly walked toward the crowd. Many Divine Descendant Nobles loudly greeted him. No one noticed the slight upturn of his lips or the amused look in his eyes.

Kent Rona signaled the Heroes. They moved forward together.

Moore Rona’s secret order to Kent was to organize the other Heroes and immediately capture Alexius upon spotting him, using a surprise, non-verbal attack.

The two smiled as they approached. Just as they were about to embrace, they both violently struck!

The temperature instantly plummeted. Countless ice crystals appeared on the ground. Several Heroes of the Rona family burst forth from the ice crystals.

“Use the combination technique! Thousand Ice Chains!” Kent Rona roared.

Accompanied by his shout, the Heroes each condensed their Authority into ice crystal chains. Carrying extreme cold and biting sharpness, they rushed toward Alexius Rona.

Alexius’s face remained unchanged. He looked at the hundreds of ice crystal chains rushing toward him with a scornful smile.

“I am also part of the Rona family. Don’t you think you are underestimating me by using this against me?”

Crack!

Crack!

Dozens of ice mirror walls materialized around Alexius, blocking the chain attacks. The pitch-black shadow behind him writhed, and countless dark figures surged out, merging with the ice mirror walls.

Every ice mirror reflected Alexius’s image. They smiled bizarrely, then walked out of the ice mirrors, surrounding and attacking the Heroes.

Ace, the eagle, watched with an unwavering gaze. The Spirit of the Book’s cowlick shook wildly.

This is all knowledge! Hero-level martial arts and Authority! Even if I cannot see the complete rune structure, recording even a fraction of it is a huge gain. Seizing the chestnut from the fire—the time is now!

“What is this?” One Hero, wounded by the mirror image Alexius’s ice, found black flames scorching his wound.

“Be careful! These strange reflections possess not only the Frost power of the Ancestor God but also the evil power of the Darkness!” another Hero shouted loudly.