With his feet on the ground, he gathered the two-color glow that lingered around him, and rested for a while. When his spiritual fatigue was restored, he once again activated the "Heart Gu Dance" to lift himself up and rush towards the headquarters of the Last Kingdom.
"Grand Elder! Grand Elder Julian!"
An urgent voice, accompanied by messy footsteps, suddenly came into my ears.
Julian turned his head and saw a young man dressed as a soldier running towards him in a hurry:
"Great Elder Julian! Urgent news from headquarters!"
"explain."
Julian suddenly felt an ominous premonition in his heart and frowned.
"Whirring whirring……"
The soldier ran up to him at nearly a sprint.
Without even taking a rest, he panted heavily and took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his coat. On the envelope was the "Pure White Gate" logo representing the final official document of the Holy See, as well as a special wax seal.
"Great Elder, please have a look!"
The sweaty messenger soldier held the envelope with both hands.
Julian took the envelope, deftly scratched the sealing wax with his thumbnail, and took out the strictly formatted letter paper inside.
"An urgent message from headquarters...?"
He unfolded the folded letter, his dark eyes swept left and right, and read all the contents in one glance.
“…What…How is it possible!?”
His expression froze for a moment, and that face that seemed to be forever cold finally couldn't hold itself together. His eyes widened in shock, almost popping out.
"Grand Elder Julian, the elders of the Holy See finally request that you return as soon as possible—"
Before the messenger could finish his words, Julian took off into the air.
Surrounded by thick pink and dark green mist, the great elder flew into the distance like an arrow shot from a bow, and in the blink of an eye he disappeared among the layers of building ruins and gray trees.
On the letter from the Final Vatican, there was only a short sentence, a sentence that contained a lot of information:
"The 'Pure White Gate' has bestowed its blessing. The sixth generation of 'Pure White Pope' is the senior deacon of the Seventh Parish Church of our headquarters, 'Requiem Master' Otilia."
Chapter 488: Training in Actual Combat
"Dawn of Flame - Sweep!"
In the dead gray forest, a clear and loud shout pierced the silence.
The red-orange flame twisted into a strand, like a powerful whip, and swung out horizontally at a horizontal angle.
"Crack!"
The air made a crackling sound like frying beans, and wherever it passed was licked and burned by the scorching flames. The gray grass and trees quickly withered and turned yellow, and even turned into ashes.
The flaming whip hit two evil spirits five or six meters away with overwhelming force, knocking them flying on the spot.
A hideous gap suddenly appeared on the part that was hit, and there was a pungent smell of burnt carbon black. The scar was like a ravine and rift that almost cut the bodies of these rust monsters in half.
After repelling the evil spirits with one blow, Hill immediately raised one hand and pressed hard on the two evil spirits that had not yet landed on the ground:
"Thunder!"
"Boom boom boom!!!"
As soon as the two evil spirits landed on the ground, a huge fireball exploded from the ground beneath them, instantly engulfing their mutated and twisted bodies, and it was still rising and expanding.
By the time the fireball completely dissipated, the two evil spirits had been bombed beyond recognition and lay on the ground in a sticky mess. The waves caused by the hot air surged in the surrounding space and did not subside for a long time.
"Purification..."
Hill stood there and observed for a few seconds. After confirming that the two evil spirits were dead and their corpses began to evaporate into reddish-brown smoke, he used his other hand to pull out a ball of white-gold and red-orange flame from the inner pocket of his coat and began to recite in a low voice.
The platinum light bloomed, but its brightness was much weaker than before.
But it was more targeted. It was no longer released in all directions without reservation. Instead, it was precisely fan-shaped and covered the corpse of the evil ghost, like a searchlight.
After destroying the reddish-brown haze that represented the "Rust Plague" curse, Hill retracted the platinum light and looked down at the small flame in his hand with a hint of surprise:
"It has actually become easier to control..."
"So I'll just say it."
A light and pleasant voice floated in from the distance, and the divine messenger Yao Lingwu, dressed in a simple black cloak, watched everything that had just happened:
"To better exploit its power, you must abandon your preconceived notion of it as some kind of 'tool' and instead view it as part of your own power.
“You have to work hard to believe that you are not ‘digging’ but ‘digesting’. You are just ‘recovering’ the abilities that originally belonged to you.”
Hill nodded in understanding at her "teachings", put the flame into his pocket, and then encouraged his own spiritual power to sense the changes in his body:
"Moreover, my spiritual power has also significantly improved... At this rate, I may be able to truly enter the level of a mid-level... or even a high-level righteous mage when I return to the Last Kingdom."
Of course, as a citizen of the Last Kingdom, your spirituality is naturally active, and by the standards of the Order World, you are a genius with a very high talent for cultivation.
Now that he is fighting continuously in actual combat without sleep, it would be unreasonable if his strength level did not improve quickly...
Qi Ji thought so in her heart, and then she flipped her right hand, and the holy emblem of "The Twelfth Authority·Utopia" - the pattern of "Tree of All Things" flashed by, and then a ball of emerald green light appeared in her palm.
"Yes, this is the 'supply' that my Lord has granted you."
"Thank you for your generosity, 'True Creator'..."
Hill immediately lowered his head and bowed reverently, then walked up to Qi Ji and took the green light with both hands.
With meticulous attitude, crush it hard in your hands.
"Porphyrin porphyrin..."
After being squeezed into pieces, the green light turned into green spots, blended into her skin, and quickly disappeared.
"What a miraculous power... As expected of you, the 'True Creator'..."
Feeling his physical fatigue and hunger being swept away by some strange and mysterious power, and his spiritual state quickly restored to perfection, Hill sighed silently from the bottom of his heart and bowed to the air.
Having been a charlatan for so long, Qi Ji has become accustomed to receiving excessive flattery and respect from others. Faced with this situation, she no longer showed embarrassment on her face, and even seemed to enjoy it.
"My Lord is not a superficial God who only cares about giving gifts and generosity. He always adheres to the trading principles of 'equal exchange' and 'each taking what he needs'. Any exchange will be clearly marked with a price, and there will never be any cunning calculations hidden."
Qi Ji frowned and spoke slowly in a very sincere tone.
"...Indeed, free things are often the most expensive." Hill nodded immediately, agreeing with him.
What 105 said is also one of the important reasons why Hill still trusts the "True Creator" so much:
When faced with a great being whose realm level was far beyond hers and whose purpose and origin were completely shrouded in mystery, and who had been giving her benefits unilaterally without taking any advantage, she would start to worry whether the other party had other intentions.
The "True Creator" was quite frank in this regard. Every time he gave her benefits, he would basically clearly state the compensation and price. Even if he temporarily claimed that it was free, he would emphasize that she should repay him in the future.
This two-way "exchange" is actually more reassuring.
And now, through the suggestion of the divine messenger 105, she has once again reached a deal with the "True Creator".
A long-term deal.
"As long as I 'hunt' a certain number of filthy ghosts, He will give me a 'life crystal' that can instantly replenish my physical strength and spirituality...
"And I must use my own spiritual power to kill him. I cannot use the power of 'purification' casually..."
Thinking of this, she turned her head to look at Yao Lingwu standing beside her. According to the oracle of the "True Creator", Yao Lingwu acted as both the "supervisor" and "trader" in this transaction.
"I don't know what the significance of hunting down evil spirits is to the 'True Creator'... I killed them all, what benefit can He get?"
Recalling the content of the "deal", Hill couldn't help but feel doubtful, but he quickly shook his head and threw the doubts out of his mind:
"…Forget it. A great being of this level must have his own ideas and methods. Mortals like us should not speculate rashly."
"Assuming we travel 40 kilometers a day, it will take us about two weeks to get back to the nearest long-term camp in the Last Country... a bit long... but not unacceptable."
Qi Ji was thinking in his heart:
"I just have to postpone Meili's meeting. I hope she can find a suitable new guard."
When she first arrived at the "Iron City", the capital of the Star Confederation, she made an agreement with Mary, the female captain of the "Challenger", who gave her a ride, that she would return to the dock of the Iron City to meet her in three days.
It would be today, but it was obvious that he did not plan to leave the Gray Forest today. There were still many things that had not been dealt with, and many things that had not been developed.
All I can say is that plans cannot keep up with changes. Who could have thought that so many things would happen all of a sudden after coming here?
So I had to stand her up...it shouldn't be a big problem anyway.
The Iron City is full of talented people, so it is not difficult to recruit adventurers who can handle conventional risks. Besides, when Mary and her group came here, they made a lot of money for various reasons, so they probably won't worry about the remuneration.
Qi Ji easily accepted the fact of being stood up without any psychological burden, and walked slowly through the gray forest behind the forward Hill.
Chapter 489: Desolate Road
I should be able to update twice today, but I may not be able to finish it before midnight.
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A sunny and orderly world, human civilization, within the territory of the Krestos Dynasty.
"What on earth is happening in this country... Is it famine? Why do I always see refugees..."
In the low-key but spacious four-wheeled carriage, the vampire girl Bernice observed the widespread misery outside through the glass side window splashed with mud, feeling sympathetic but also confused.
On both sides of the road, which was created by repeated ruts, there were occasionally groups of refugees, staggering along.
They were all ragged, pale and thin, with dry and dark skin with scars or frostbite everywhere. They walked with a limp and looked extremely weak.
Some people even fell to the ground, motionless, and it was unknown whether they were dead or alive.
The well-staffed convoy of horse-drawn carriages rumbled past these dying refugees, but did not elicit any reaction from them. Most of them just kept on going in silence, without even glancing at them.
On the dirty face, there was only a mask-like numbness, but no grief or sadness.
It was as if they were no longer living people, but just lifeless objects, moving unconsciously under mechanical mechanisms, without emotions or purpose.
Bernice looked at these tragic scenes with a gloomy expression. Although she could see such scenes almost every time she looked out the window in the past few days, she still felt uncontrollable shock and sadness.
A heavy look appeared on her pretty face.
"Miss, it is said that a disaster has occurred in the north. It seems that a high-level alien species is wreaking havoc."
The waiter sitting opposite her said in an uncertain tone:
"But don't worry, young lady. This convoy is fully equipped with security. Neither the alien monsters nor the refugees can pose a threat to us."
"That's it..."
Bernice nodded thoughtfully, turned her gaze away from the window, and drew the blackout curtains to block out the annoying sunlight.
"I'm a little sleepy... let me sleep for a while." She rubbed her forehead with her hand and frowned.
It was broad daylight now, and according to the vampires' daily routine, they should have stopped the car to rest. However, since they were passing through an area with a large number of refugees, the surrounding environment was too complicated.
For safety reasons, the team leader suggested that they ride as fast as possible through the area before making plans to rest. The mother and daughter thought there was no problem with it and agreed.
But it was difficult to fall asleep in a bumpy carriage, so Bernice had to stay up late during the day when she should have been sleeping.
Her eyelids had been fighting for half a day, and now she couldn't bear it any longer and wanted to take a short rest as much as possible, even if it was just to close her eyes and rest.
"Okay, I'll slow the convoy down a bit."
The waiter nodded with perfect manners, then turned around and gave a few instructions to the coachman through the small window. Soon, the speed of the entire convoy slowed down significantly, and the shaking inside the car also stabilized a lot.
Bernice managed to take a short nap to recover her spirits. But within a few minutes of closing her eyes, she suddenly remembered something and opened her eyes abruptly, her eyes looking anxiously:
"Wait, mother hasn't slept yet, right? Her mental state is so bad, it would be better for us to stop and rest here for the whole morning..."
Due to some unknown reason and error in personnel deployment, there was no "out-of-stasis" favored person in the reception team to take over the sealing "preservation" work of her mother Lilith, resulting in her having to barely hold on to continue to maintain the activation of the "Ancient Moon" divine grace.
After a few days, the "Blood Senator" of the "Guige" bloodline was already very tired mentally. He had to spend nearly two-thirds of his day sleeping, otherwise he would not be able to bear the burden of God's grace.
In order to prevent Lilith from being disturbed, the convoy purchased an additional four-wheeled carriage when passing through a town of the Krestov Dynasty. It was simply converted into a "motorhome" with a single bed for Lilith to rest alone.
So now the mother and daughter were not in the same carriage, and the carriage carrying the mother followed behind Bernice.
Now should be the time for a good rest, but the caravan is still on the road...which means it is difficult for Lilith to get enough sleep!
It was because Bernice realized this that she immediately asked the convoy to stop.
"Miss, what you said makes sense."
