150: Rebirth (4,000)

Chapter 148: Rebirth (4K)

It was a tall temple made of vegetation and rocks, but it had long since collapsed into ruins.

Behind the moss-covered ruins was an open space where various plants grew according to some mysterious pattern, as if guarding the giant Wolf in the center.

The four beasts from before were gone.

Ever since Arthur stepped into this forest, he hadn't smelled that decaying odor again, only the metallic scent of blood lingered in his nostrils, refusing to dissipate.

The pitch-black giant Wolf lay weakly on the ground.

The green-robed man reappeared, his face completely obscured by his robe, impossible to discern.

“You found it,” the green-robed man said.

Despite having many questions, Arthur suppressed them all.

He asked the most crucial one: “How do I rescue you?”

The green-robed man walked to the giant Wolf's side.

Although the Wolf was asleep, its expression was filled with pain.

Arthur noticed the massive wound on its chest, from which blood continuously gushed, transforming into various plants the moment it touched the ground.

The green-robed man pointed at Arthur, “You can save him; only you can find the way.”

Arthur stepped forward and reached out to the giant Wolf.

He wasn't sure if he could still draw upon the power within the Holy Tome.

Ever since entering this place, he had been unable to sense any magic.

No matter how hard he tried, the Holy Tome remained unresponsive, and the Goddess's power never answered.

The green-robed man patiently guided him: “You are the Son of the Wolf; the blood of the Wolf Pack flows within you.”

Arthur didn’t understand what this meant and could only lower his head in thought, trying to recall everything related to the Wolf Pack.

Amidst his jumbled memories, he caught some clues, and gradually, the threads of the matter began to become clear.

He remembered that among the subordinate deities who served Shanteya, there was indeed such an existence.

More and more information flooded his mind: in the tribal era of humanity, people worshipped the Wolf Pack, offering flesh and blood, praying for successful hunts.

And the Evil Wolf Family had always been the descendants of the Wolf Pack.

So that was it; that was why one could only enter this dream after death.

This was a sacrificial ritual.

Arthur suddenly understood; he put down his scepter and said to the green-robed man, “I have already offered my body.”

The green-robed man took a bone dagger from his Pregnant: “Now offer your blood, and awaken him.”

Arthur cut his wrist with the dagger, letting his blood drip.

The moment his blood mingled with the giant Wolf’s, the giant Wolf slowly opened its eyes and looked at him.

“Then, believer, we shall walk with you,” the green-robed man’s voice had just fallen.

His form began to dissipate, eventually turning into a wisp of smoke and merging into the giant Wolf’s body.

As if some seal had been broken, Arthur once again felt magic.

The power within the Holy Tome erupted, the ley lines were re-ignited, pure energy began to repair the corrupted land, and the wound on the giant Wolf’s chest gradually healed under the nourishment of positive energy.

He extended his head towards Arthur: “Come onto me, believer. Before death takes your soul, I will bring you rebirth.”

Father Dragan raised his holy emblem, his longsword pointing directly at the woman who had broken into the church, and loudly chanted an exorcism spell.

Olivia chuckled.

She casually tossed the corpse in her hand aside and slowly walked towards Father Dragan and the fervent believers.

“Save your breath, little Father. These things might work on other lesser vampires, but they don’t affect me.

“Look at you all, playing house in this godless place.

“Tell me, Father, has your God answered you?”

Dragan shouted scriptures as he charged at the vampire.

He had to protect Arthur's body; according to Brussian’s estimations, this self-sacrificing brother was very likely to be reborn.

The female vampire easily dodged Father Dragan’s attack, then avoided the longswords of the other two.

Her figure was elusive, her magnificent red dress swaying with her movements, as if she were performing a deadly dance.

The four fanatics guarding Arthur tried their best to block her path, but her speed was astonishingly fast, too quick for the naked eye to follow.

One fanatic had his throat slit by the vampire’s claws, blood gushed out, and Olivia drank deeply with satisfaction.

The blood drove her into a terrifying frenzy; she became like a red whirlwind, assailing another fanatic.

Seeing this, Father Dragan turned and ran deeper into the church.

The vampire flew to the rafters with her prey, and after draining the man's blood, she looked at the remaining two.

She disliked the expressions in these people’s eyes—no fear, no despair, only a resolute willingness to die.

“What are you still holding on for, mortals? Even the Father ran away.”

No one answered.

The one-armed woman spat at her.

“Then die,” the vampire descended from the sky.

The last two took Olivia a bit of time.

These two had some skill; she toyed with them for a while, and when she lost interest, she decisively killed the man.

Then she grabbed the one-armed woman, lifting her with one hand. Even at this moment, there was no fear in the woman’s eyes.

“Are you not afraid of death?” the vampire asked.

The woman laughed: “I have already died once.”

The vampire let out a soft hmph and twisted her neck.

She walked towards the altar, wanting to see what kind of baron these people were risking their lives to protect.

Just then, she saw the Father who had run away earlier, rushing out with his wrist slit, and behind him was a group of frenzied Beastmen.

Olivia frowned; she detested Beastmen even more than humans.

Father Dragan had released the Beastmen from the basement, using his blood to lure the hungry beasts here.

Regardless of how effective this strategy would be, it was all he could do.

“Come, eat my flesh and blood, and defeat our enemies!”

Father Dragan knelt on the ground, giving up on escape.

The Beastmen rushed forward and tore him to pieces.

Then, they turned their gaze to the vampire.

The giant Wolf galloped through the forest, Arthur struggling to maintain his balance on its back.

They returned to the small hill, where the temple with the white dome still stood.

“What exactly is that?” Arthur asked.

“A trap set by the Dark Lord,” the Wolf Pack replied, “Everyone who came before fell into it; you are the first to pass the test.”

“What about those three beasts?” Arthur asked again.

“Those are manifestations of your own desires.

“They cannot harm you; they will only relentlessly entangle you, prevent your progress, or lead you down the wrong path.

“I know you have many questions, but now, hold on tight!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire world began to tremble violently.

The gigantic trees came alive, waving their branches, trying to block the Wolf Pack.

The giant Wolf paid them no mind, directly smashing through the trees with its body.

As it ran, and as positive energy flowed, its body grew larger and larger.

The entire world was tearing apart behind them, like a shattered cage.

“It is time, believer, return!”

Finally, everything turned to nothingness, and Arthur felt only darkness before his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to reality.

He felt a wave of weakness, and the strong smell of blood assaulted his senses.

He sat up and looked towards the church, seeing bodies strewn across the floor; the four guards who had accompanied him were all dead.

Father Dragan was nowhere to be found, only his robe remained on the ground.

And the Beastmen, who should have been locked in the basement, had all been released; they hid in the shadows, staring fearfully at the woman in red, drenched in blood.

“How interesting,” Olivia suddenly appeared before Arthur, “You clearly had no heartbeat just now.”

Before Arthur could make sense of it all, the female vampire grabbed him by the neck: “I forgot to introduce myself, Baron.

“I am Olivia, the bride of the Dark Lord.

“Given your heretical actions here, I have no choice but to kill you.”

Arthur tried to break free from the vampire's grasp, but her strength was astonishing.

Olivia reached out with her other hand, gently caressing Arthur’s face, and said with a smile, “Of course, you can also abandon your faith and become my slave.

“A look like yours would be very popular where I come from.”

“Never!” Arthur squeezed out a word.

The vampire showed a cruel smile, “Then it’s a shame for this pretty little face.”

“Hey, you idiot, did you—did you hear that?”

Olivia looked confused: “Are you playing tricks on me?”

“No, listen closely, your death knell has rung.” Arthur smiled.

As soon as he finished speaking, a long howl of a Wolf echoed.

The Beastmen hiding in the shadows became increasingly agitated, and the female vampire also sensed something was wrong.

Just as she was about to ask what was happening, a surge of immense energy burst from beneath the church.

The vampire shrieked, her body, struck by the positive energy, ignited like dry tinder.

She released Arthur, revealing her true form—an ugly, humanoid bat monster.

Arthur stood up from the ground and gave the finger to the vampire engulfed in flames: “Surprise, Motherfucker!”

The monster spread its wings, attempting to escape the church, but the power was too immense; it crashed back to the ground as soon as it took flight.

“The city gate has been breached!”

Vanka heard a shout from the distance to her right.

A panicked voice, for some reason, sounded exceptionally loud amidst the din of battle.

The sound spread quickly, and soon, people on both her sides heard it.

“The city gate has been breached!”

One soldier turned to another, ignoring Vanka, his expression suddenly becoming fearful: “By the Gods, that monster has broken down the city gate!”

Another skeletal arm reached over the parapet from behind him, gripping his unprotected back tightly.

Vanka leaped, slashing down with her sword, sending yet another climber tumbling into the pile of corpses at the base of the city wall.

She grabbed the soldier and pushed him back into position.

“Damn it!” she yelled, “Don’t worry about the gate, worry about the wall!”

The Undead continued to surge towards the city wall, their figures everywhere on the stone wall—gnashing limbs and gaping jaws forming a living tableau of horror.

A gaunt climber scrambled over the edge and fell onto the parapet.

Flora punched it, sending it stumbling backward, then swept her leg, kicking off its head.

The severed head flew down towards the town below, and Flora kicked the remaining corpse to the ground, then looked at Vanka, her eyes filled with fury.

Though exhausted, she was still fighting.

“He will come,” she said, “Hold on!”

The rescued soldier, however, said weakly, “They have already opened the city gate.”

As if, by doing so, everything they had done on the city wall became meaningless.

Vanka lopped off another newly appearing hand before daring to glance at the edge of the city wall.

Perhaps her night vision was better than the soldier’s, or perhaps she hadn’t spent as long in despair.

So much so that every new development seemed like an imminent omen of doom.

“They’re coming,” she said.

The Undead, led by that terrifying monster, surged into the town, and were quickly blocked by the fanatics guarding the streets.

Crowds poured out from all parts of the streets; even in the dark, Vanka could see their ferocity as they charged.

They threw themselves at the enemy, crashing into the invaders like a surging river, sweeping away everything in their path.

The people were chanting, their voices noisy, chaotic, and roaring, yet they easily drowned out the omnipresent murmuring of the surrounding Undead.

The fanatics temporarily held back the Undead.

Jessica charged at the front, riding her horse and cutting down the Undead. The cavalry formed by veterans commanded these fanatics, preventing them from delving too deep into the enemy ranks due to over-excitement.

At Jessica's command, the halflings on the rooftops along both sides of the street threw Blazing Fire Glue. The Undead were forced back, and the giant monster was also ignited.

It roared as it retreated, trampling many Undead, and some fanatics as well.

It quickly locked its target on Jessica, charging despite the flames on its body, smashing and destroying everything in its path.

Two cavalrymen tried to block it but were directly flung away by its terrifying brute force.

Jessica pulled on the reins, spurring her horse deeper into the town, hoping to use the narrow terrain to trap the monster.

However, corrupt bats, blotting out the sky, assailed them from above. The untrained horse was startled and reared up.

Jessica decisively abandoned her horse and jumped down, hearing an impact behind her—the monster had directly smashed the horse aside with a hammer. It roared and charged at Jessica, intending to crush him directly.

Just then, brilliant light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire Mist Town as if it were daytime. The monster was blinded by the light, and Jessica seized the opportunity to evade the deadly impact.

The re-ignited ley line power surged outwards like a tide in all directions.

The observing higher vampires screamed and flew high into the sky, while the lower vampires and their servants, who couldn't fly yet, were instantly engulfed and ignited by the energy.

Deacon, with lingering fear, asked his enemy: “What is this?

“Why is there such power? This—this is impossible!”

Elizabeth also looked terrified; she stared disbelievingly towards the church, then flew in that direction the next second.

Deacon, unwilling to be outdone, followed closely behind her.

The power of the ley lines and the Wolf Pack removed the curse from the Beastmen, and the giant Wolf’s massive body burst through the entire church.

Among the ruins, Arthur cradled the one-armed woman, closing her eyes.

He looked up at the sky, and the vampire leaders who had arrived at the scene were also looking at him.

Elizabeth’s fear was visible to the naked eye. “This—this is impossible!” Deacon shrieked, “The—the Wolf has resurrected!”

“Get out of here! We need to discuss cooperation!” Elizabeth turned and fled.

The giant Wolf howled at the sky, its entire body glowing brightly.

Deacon dared not hesitate and quickly turned to flee for his life.

“Those guys will return,” the giant Wolf told Arthur, “They will soon realize that my power is not yet fully restored.”

“Let’s focus on what’s in front of us first,” Arthur replied.

He stood up, looked at the people freed from the Beastkin’s curse, and said, “Pick up anything that can serve as a weapon, and cleanse your sins.

“Today, we will liberate Mist Town!”