Chapter 348: A favorable situation
"I was once a lecturer at the Imperial Academy, dedicated to researching the history of the First Epoch."
An incomparable yearning appeared in the priest’s eyes as he reached out with both hands as if trying to grasp something invisible.
"It took only one year. One single year to destroy the world. It’s beautiful. The power is beyond comparison. Do you even know how many Divine Chosen of Destruction there were?"
"Ten thousand?"
Phield answered immediately.
"Cough... bullshit."
The answer nearly made the priest choke.
"There aren’t even twenty in the entire world!"
he snapped.
"We searched throughout Griffin, Silver Wings, and Fralanvia and found no traces at all. The only thing we uncovered was a World-Ending Scroll!"
"Fewer than twenty people... destroyed the world?"
Phield rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe you didn’t dig deep enough. Or perhaps you should search farther east. But then again, if you manage to resurrect a Divine Chosen of Destruction, I’ll be able to see for myself."
"Exactly. That’s the answer I wanted to hear."
The priest nodded in satisfaction and pointed toward the scroll floating in the center.
"This is a special item on the level of a racial legacy. A World-Ending Scroll. It can only form after a Ninth Tier Divine Chosen of Destruction dies."
He smirked.
"You probably can’t comprehend something like that."
"I can."
Phield instantly thought of his own Appraisal Book, the precious Divine Artifact capable of directly appointing someone as a Divine Chosen.
"Nobles always pretend they understand things they don’t."
The priest waved dismissively.
"You can’t possibly understand. This scroll is the key to resurrecting a Divine Chosen of Destruction. It contains fragments of their soul and their accumulated knowledge. Theoretically speaking, as long as this exists, it should be possible to create a new Divine Chosen of Destruction."
The priest grew increasingly excited, gesturing wildly as he spoke.
"We’ve followed the guidance and calculations left by the True God and attempted the ritual multiple times. Every attempt ended in failure."
Phield frowned.
He disliked the sect’s methods.
"Why not just bring in an ordinary woman and use it on her directly? Why insist on human sacrifices?"
His own Appraisal Book worked that way.
With a single thought, he could appoint someone as a Divine Chosen of Wisdom.
The only reason he hadn’t used it was because he planned to maximize its value by controlling a noblewoman and extracting greater benefits.
"That won’t work."
The priest shook his head.
"We’ve already tried. Calamity-type Divine Chosen are completely different from those of ordinary systems. They won’t stop until they’ve killed something."
He paused.
"More importantly, the laws of the world itself no longer permit the existence of a Divine Chosen of Destruction."
"I see."
Phield nodded.
His Appraisal Book belonged to the Wisdom path.
Possession by a Wisdom Divine Chosen would naturally be far gentler.
Besides, Divine Chosen of Wisdom still existed within the Empire. They weren’t extinct.
"We possess enormous quantities of Divine Chosen blood, flesh, artifacts, and even hair."
The priest’s expression grew increasingly frustrated.
"And yet we still can’t revive one. Every attempt destroys countless rare artifacts. Tell me, what’s missing? Only fate itself."
He spread his arms dramatically.
"Reviving a calamity is an act of defiance against the world."
Phield raised an eyebrow.
"A soul, perhaps. You said it yourself. It’s only a fragment of a soul. Maybe it also needs a lord."
The priest immediately cut him off.
"Enough. As a rigorous scholar, I refuse to listen to random speculation."
"Then continue your ritual."
Phield shrugged.
"I’ll come watch before it begins."
The priest tilted his head.
"You’re interesting. Most people would try to stop us. Yet you’re allowing us to continue our experiments."
His gaze sharpened.
"Aren’t you worried about the possibility that the world could be destroyed by your own hands? The idea that a Divine Chosen of Destruction can be contracted is only a hypothesis. They may be like Corrupted Divine Chosen, humanoid in appearance yet impossible to control."
"It doesn’t matter."
Phield already had two Corrupted Divine Chosen under his command.
"Oh, right."
He suddenly pulled out a bottle and handed it over.
"Jamie left this behind. Blood from a Divine Chosen of Destruction."
"Blood?"
The priest looked baffled.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Four entire epochs have passed. Where would such blood come from?"
He uncorked the bottle and sniffed it.
His face immediately twisted.
"That’s..."
For a moment he seemed speechless.
"It’s her menstrual blood. Jamie collected it to make potions. Why are you giving it to me? It’s disgusting."
The priest stared at Phield with a strange expression.
"...What?"
Phield stumbled backward.
His vision nearly went black.
"Good. Very good."
He almost laughed in disbelief.
"She nearly fooled me completely. Her acting skills were impressive. She didn’t die unfairly."
In her desperation, Jamie had mixed truth and lies together and relied on exceptional acting to deceive him long enough to survive for several extra days.
"Whatever."
Phield spread his hands helplessly and glanced at the sect scholars.
"I hope none of you end up following Jamie’s path."
After climbing back to the surface via the spiral staircase, he assigned a squad of beastkin soldiers to watch over them and casually sealed the entrance behind him.
"My lord, can those suspicious people really be trusted?"
Ashina asked.
"No."
Phield answered immediately.
"But the potential reward outweighs the risk. It’s worth trying."
His tone became serious.
"Those shattered Divine Artifacts and those rare magical beasts alone are enough proof that they aren’t joking."
More importantly, every one of them appeared gray on the minimap, indicating they held no hostility.
"Understood. I trust your judgment completely, my lord."
Ashina nodded repeatedly before a worried look appeared on her face.
"Should we intercept Richard? If he reaches Nightfall Domain, the war will destroy everything we’ve built."
"Not yet."
Phield thought for a moment.
"They’re the ones at a disadvantage now. Nightfall Domain’s environment is far harsher than snow-covered mountains or rainforests, and Richard doesn’t know the routes."
Ashina finally relaxed a little.
"I’ll inspect the fortress and make sure there are no vulnerabilities."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Phield smiled.
"When you entered the city, I’d already released a Black Crow. It’ll return to Nightfall Domain and investigate the situation there. There’s no need to worry too much."
The Corrupted Black Crow sped through the gray mist.
After more than half an hour of high-speed flight, it finally located Richard’s army.
"Why is Richard moving so slowly?"
Wave after wave of corpses attacked his forces without end.
Bodies littered the ground around them, both human and Corrupted.
The demoralized serf soldiers formed the front line while the knights and mages mostly stood back and watched.
Richard sat calmly atop his warhorse, quietly observing the battlefield.
A textbook example of aristocratic warfare.
"Oh."
Phield chuckled.
"I almost forgot. Richard doesn’t have a minimap. He can’t predict the movements of the corpse tides."
He laughed to himself.
Traveling through Nightfall Domain had become second nature to him, so he never worried about the undead hordes.
In reality, the routes he now knew so well had originally been mapped through countless sacrifices.
Many slaves and soldiers had died discovering them.
"At this pace, it’ll take them more than half a month to get there. Pathetic."
His smile widened.
"I wonder what Richard’s expression will be when he realizes there’s no road back."
The crisis that had once kept him awake now seemed almost laughable.
"The greatest threat is still the Shadow World Sect’s other armies."
No longer interested in Richard, Phield directed the Black Crow to turn around and fly back toward the Grand Manor.
