Chapter 346: Capture the Fortress, a New Artifact
"How brutal."
Rosalia covered her mouth and circled Broken Wing’s corpse twice.
"Siege warfare is truly horrific. Even a Corrupted being with such incredible vitality couldn’t survive."
"No wonder Agnes told us to stay away from city walls."
Ophelia wiped the sweat from her brow.
"I used to think she was timid. Looking at it now, she was absolutely right."
"Regardless, the fortress belongs to us now."
Phield shrugged.
"And of course, the Divine Artifact belongs to us too. A win-win situation. We win twice."
He removed Broken Wing’s Divine Artifact. A crystal-clear insect wing rested in his hand, radiating powerful corruption energy.
"It’s yours. No need to be polite."
He handed it to Rosalia and gave her an approving look.
"Huh?"
Rosalia held the artifact, her cheeks unconsciously flushing red. With both hands pressed against her chest, she looked unexpectedly girlish.
"You actually give all the good stuff to me first. I... I’m touched."
Then her expression twisted into a familiar grin.
"As long as I keep tempting you a little harder, you’re not far from becoming my personal foot servant. Hehehe. Submit beneath my feet."
"Why does every conversation somehow end up becoming weird?"
Phield’s vision darkened.
For a moment, he had genuinely thought she was moved.
Instead, she immediately relapsed into madness.
"Damn it. She beat me to it. I wanted to make Phield my slave too."
Ophelia angrily swished her tail.
Nearly passing out from frustration, Phield raised his hand and smacked both women on the head.
"It took so much effort to create a normal atmosphere, and you two ruined it instantly. Rosalia, hurry up and absorb the artifact. Let’s see what skill you get."
When a Divine Chosen absorbs an artifact, they gain a temporary skill, and the effects are often extremely powerful.
"Fine."
Rosalia pouted.
As divine power flowed into the artifact, it dissolved on its own and transformed into streams of light that merged into the Greatsword of Gluttony.
Immediately, a new skill appeared on Rosalia’s status panel.
Swift Insect Wings
(Third Tier Passive, Temporary Divine Skill): Divine power manifests as insect-like wings, greatly increasing movement speed and evasion while granting short-distance low-altitude flight.
"Holy shit."
Phield’s heart skipped a beat.
"That’s a perfect fit."
Rosalia’s greatest weakness had always been her speed, and now it had been dramatically improved.
"Huh? It’s not an offensive enhancement?"
Rosalia looked disappointed.
"It doesn’t seem that useful."
Divine power flowed into the skeletal wings on her back. Thin, nearly invisible insect wings slowly emerged alongside them.
"They’re pretty, though."
Phield nodded in satisfaction.
Originally, he had worried that adding another pair of wings to her corrupted skeletal wings would make her look like a character from a cheap online game.
Unexpectedly, the two sets of wings blended together perfectly without the slightest sense of awkwardness.
Rather than looking like a Corrupted creature, she now resembled an elf.
"How is speed not useful? You get beaten up every day. Have you developed an addiction to it? Pursuit and escape capabilities are important to everyone."
Rosalia folded the wings away.
"Not bad. This way I can step on you as much as I want, and you still won’t be able to catch me."
Phield automatically filtered out everything Rosalia had just said.
"What a shame. The skill granted by the artifact is only temporary. Once you reach Fourth Tier, it won’t be useful anymore."
Climbing onto the fortress wall, he looked out over the area beyond the stronghold.
After Broken Wing’s death, no new enemies emerged from Nightfall Domain.
The corpses outside the fortress gates had been blasted into pulp by the defensive weapons.
"That’s enough. Shut down the outer defensive weapons and stop wasting energy."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Open the fortress gates and let our people in."
Through a Corrupted Black Crow, Phield contacted Ashina and ordered her to bring Nightfall Domain’s First Army into the fortress.
Before long, Ashina arrived with the army, utterly bewildered.
Not just Ashina. The soldiers of Nightfall Domain, Fierce Stallion Baron, and all of his retainers stared with wide eyes at the sea of corpses and the now-open fortress gates.
Ashina stepped into the fortress in shock.
The bodies covering the ground, the shattered puppets, and the scattered remains of Corrupted creatures left her speechless.
Annie Rui opened his mouth, only to find no words coming out.
In his eyes, Phield had always been a complete coward and opportunist who had even been exiled by his own family.
Yet this very "piece of trash" had captured the border fortress.
Back then, Annie Rui had never even dared to entertain such an idea. He had only dared to flee with his family by jumping from a high place.
His expression became complicated.
Intense jealousy and unwillingness churned violently inside his chest.
The glory of conquering a fortress renowned throughout the world should have belonged to him.
Yet it had been seized by the cunning coward standing before him.
"M-M-My Lord, how did you do it?"
Ashina’s wolf tail wagged wildly while her ears flattened against her head.
Her eyes were filled with admiration.
"Please tell me. If you don’t, I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight."
"This is simply the result of my strength. I chopped my way in."
Phield sat atop a pile of corpses with a lonely expression, gazing forty-five degrees toward the sky like a peerless expert burdened by greatness.
"Don’t listen to the trash lord’s nonsense."
Ophelia rolled her eyes elegantly.
In truth, she had already become impressed by Phield’s strategic planning, but she simply couldn’t stand watching him show off.
"We first reduced the number of soldiers inside the fortress. Then my lord intensified the conflict between the Corrupted and the defenders, causing the cultists, the border troops they had absorbed, and the Corrupted creatures to slaughter one another."
"After that, we seized the opportunity, rushed in, occupied the core areas, and captured the fortress."
"Sounds simple, doesn’t it? The fortress was always the objective. Along the way, we just happened to capture an arsenal and recruit another Divine Chosen."
"It’s not simple at all. Lord Phield is incredible."
Ashina secretly thought:
I absolutely have to pass on my lord’s excellent bloodline. Letting it go to waste would be a crime.
"Hiss... why does my waist suddenly feel cold?"
Phield looked around suspiciously.
"Could there be an assassin nearby? I’d rather not have my head blown open."
"I’ll thoroughly inspect the surrounding area and make sure there are no threats left."
Ashina immediately promised.
"Good. Then let’s stop chatting and get back to work. We can talk after things settle down."
Phield summoned Haiky, a temporary commander from the border troops who had suffered minor injuries.
After being incorporated into the army, the officer had performed fairly well.
"From this moment onward, you are no longer border troops, nor the Empress’s army."
Phield looked directly at him.
"You are Nightfall Domain’s Second Army. You are my personal army, and I will pay your wages."
"Ah? O-Of course... Lord."
Haiky’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
He had originally been a soldier recruited by the Empire, yet the Baron was openly claiming him for private service.
But when he remembered Phield’s terrifying Divine Chosen powers and the fact that he had successfully captured the fortress, Haiky immediately chose to accept.
