About to enter the Netherworld, Knight Gray seemed to actually obtain the blessing of the Gods, letting Fang Yuan find the antidote successfully from Jamal's corpse.
Only, as he was applying treatment, his face had already turned black and his entire body had a slight fever.
"Damn Jamal!"
Gray's spirit was still relatively decent. Perhaps it was due to a warrior's physique, the antidote worked quickly. Within a short while, he was energetically cursing and scolding. "If he was still alive, I'd explode his brain! I swear!"
"Mmmm."
Fang Yuan happily drank his meat soup.
Although Howl Manor had lost the villa and many of interior documents, the warehouses were still intact and the goods they contained were plentiful.
These were all his treasures.
"This isn't good!!!!"
Instead, it was Gray who nearly wanted to jump up after suddenly thinking of something after his bout of dizziness. "The baron's in trouble! We need to immediately assist him!"
Since Knight Frey had already prepared beforehand, and even set traps on one of the lands under his jurisdiction, the baron's main force was naturally even less optimistic.
"I know. However, it's a shame that this incident has already happened."
Fang Yuan made a regretful expression and passed over a letter. "A raven just sent news that the baron met with a massive failure. Even Mattus died!"
…
Time moved slightly backward.
Frey Territory, on a piece of flat land.
Baron Shawshank brought three knights and an army comprising of nearly a thousand, while Sorcerer Heim covered his face and followed behind.
This formation was being used to only suppress a small knight was practically like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Nobody believed that anything could go wrong.
Unfortunately, sometimes destiny enjoyed playing jokes on mortals.
Receiving intelligence beforehand, Knight Frey had long gathered all the forces under his command, obtained the assistance of a mysterious force, and set many traps.
Furthermore, on the flat plains, more than seven hundred soldiers had assembled.
This number and formation had already exceeded Baron Shawshank's predictions.
"Damn Haital! Even your family's private soldiers are being completely used by them!" Baron Shawshank held onto a monocular and looked at the army formation not far away, seeming a little hesitant. "Heim, should we retreat for now and wait for the other knights to arrive? Especially Luhn, his ability will be very useful."
After all, he was a baron that grew up in a peaceful era. The usual small battles were still acceptable for him, but at this moment of deciding his destiny, it was inevitable for him to worry about personal gains and losses.
"Definitely not, Lord Baron!"
Although Heim was a sorcerer, he also knew the ludicrousness within. "How would we withdraw a thousand people and ensure that the enemies won't chase us? Even if we leave successfully, next time you'll become very passive."
If a baron was so frightened by a knight that he escaped, it would definitely become a huge joke.
Furthermore, it would even humiliate the nobles.
In a joint conference with the nobles, even Grand Duke Stan would sometimes face difficulty in giving orders.
If the winds changed, confusing right and wrong, or even getting labeled as traitors, was completely possible!
"Right now, we can only try our best to defeat them."
Heim said gravely, "They only have seven hundred people, while we have nine hundred with reinforcements on the way. This is our advantage! Even if we're in a stalemate, after waiting for the knights to clean up the other bases, the opponent's camp will be in shambles."
"Also… I will unleash my magic to aid the army!"
It went without saying that many of the sorcerer's suggestions were not random utterances.
It was only that he was overestimating the baron's abilities and neglecting Frey's strength.
This combined difference was not something that a mere sorcerer could change.
"Attack!"
As the battle formations on both sides blew their horns, the knights urged their warhorses. While they were preparing to charge, Heim was also preparing the only large scale magic spell that he knew: Wild Wind!
This spell could raise gusts of strong wind that blew sand and stones. Most importantly, its range was sufficient to cover the entire battlefield!
Once enemies met with winds blowing the opposite direction and were blinded by wind and sand while still having to deal with enemy swords, how difficult would it be for them?
Thus, this was a spell that could change the outcome of the small-scale battle. Heim had also relied on this spell to be accepted as a court sorcerer.
Accompanying his chants, the surrounding breeze started flowing, and just as his spell was about to accumulate and materialize…
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a ray of pure holy light appeared in Knight Frey's camp, directly charging into the Wild Wind spell.
"Counterspell? Pastor!"
Heim's face changed and he howled, falling directly from his horse.
In this realm, only a pastor could use this magical skill of disrupting another's spell.
Of course, most importantly, in order to disrupt a high-level spell such as Wild Wind, the pastor's rank could not be too low!
As for Heim suffering from the countercharge, it was not strange at all.
For a spell with such a huge range, how great would the resulting damage be if forced to stop? If it did not cause him to directly plummet, it was because of his willpower being sufficiently strong and firm.
"Pastor?!"
However, once Baron Shawshank saw this, his limbs turned ice cold.
A high-level pastor was not something that could be randomly created by a small Evil God cult.
The only possibility was that there was an actual God standing behind the opponent! Furthermore, it could perhaps be those official churches!
In the next instant, with the enhancement of the pastor's spell glow, the two armies viciously clashed together.
Without a doubt, the baron's large army was utterly defeated.
"The Gods made them braver! Made them fearless! Made them no longer fear death…"
Not far away, Daniel looked at this emotionlessly, without a trace of movement on his face.
His appearance in this battle indicated that the Church of Death was already standing opposite the ruling family.
Furthermore, it wasn't only the Church of Death. From what he knew, there were a few other churches that began interacting with a bunch of nobles opposing the ruling family like Frey.
By the time the Noether Kingdom's large army arrived, all of these relations would be brought to light.
Grand Duke Stan seemed to have perceived it, thus carrying out this mission.
Unfortunately, he overestimated his own power and the loyalty of the nobles under his command.
At this moment, with the miserable defeat of the baron, huge amounts of dead were produced and many souls appeared.
Seeing this, Bishop Daniel closed his eyes and prayed, "Praise you, Lord Hess. You control the Netherworld and is the home of all souls!"
Instantly, a realm void opened up and completely accomodated the dead souls.
This was the Netherworld, a place for the dead to rest in peace and where Hess' God Nation was.
Even though it was a God Nation with a True God, it only occupied a very small portion of the Netherworld. In the depths of the Netherworld, there were still many secrets awaiting adventurers to go forth to explore.
…
After Fang Yuan obtained the news and hurried back to the baron's castle, the situation was already at the stage of an irreparable defeat.
"Lord!"
In the castle, it was entirely full of wailing and despair. There were rumors everywhere that the Frey Army's arrival was imminent, and every sound brought about the suspicion of danger.
What was most worrying was the baron's body.
Ever since he faced this massive defeat and lost his successor, the baron was down with a serious illness and had not left his bed until today.
But Fang Yuan was ultimately not an average person. After reporting, he was granted an audience with Baron Shawshank.
"Luhn, Gray…"
Seeing these two knights, the baron laughed bitterly. "It's really good being able to see you…"
He had suffered massive losses this time. Two of the accompanying knights had died, and his power descended into the depths of a valley.
"I'm sorry, Lord Baron…"
Gray kneeled on the ground with one knee. "We were caught in the enemy's trap at the Howl Manor, and I also lost forty of my men!"
"There is already enough bad news… cough cough!"
Baron Shawshank seemed to want to crawl up, but this movement instead expended all of his energy, causing him to fall into a vigorous coughing fit. "At the noble conference, those people who bully the weak and fear the strong actually announced that I was 'chaotically commanding', while Frey retaliated through self-defense and was declared not guilty!"
Fang Yuan calmly gave a few words of consolation, and after seeing that Baron Shawshank had some intention of seeing him off, so he instantly stood up and bid goodbye. "Lord Baron, no matter what happens, please take care of your health first."
Inside the bedroom, there were only Knight Gray and the baron.
"Lord, the situation has already reached this stage?"
Knight Gray was a little dazed. Just a bit ago, they were clearly in a favourable position, so how did it suddenly become so terrible?
"In reality… it's worse off… cough cough… this mission was thwarted, and not a single goal of the grand duke's was fulfilled… cough cough…"
Baron Shawshank coughed violently, a huge dark red spot appearing on the handkerchief he used to cover his mouth. "Furthermore, a few churches have already changed sides. Even the grand duke compromising after being unable to withstand this pressure is a possibility!"
"Once such a situation occurs, we will become very passive…"
The look on Knight Gray's face was very unsightly. If this situation occurred, there was an eighty percent chance that they would be banished as scapegoats.
"We need to retaliate. At the very least, we can't succumb to such a bleak and hopeless situation!!" Knight Gray tightly clenched his fist and suddenly looked at the baron. "About Childe Mattus…"
"I have already decided to let Timo be my successor."
Baron Shawshank closed his eyes and half-rested on the bed. "Also, what do you think of Luhn?"
"Very strong… and he is good at governing."
Gray thought about Garce's group and added sincerely, "Furthermore, his abilities seem to have improved further and is undoubtedly the successor of Death Hands."
"I mean…." Baron Shawshank thought for a moment. "Tanya has already matured but still does not have a suitable candidate… They are very suited for each other, aren't they?"
"I understand. I will choose an opportunity to raise this with Luhn."
Knight Gray nodded.
At this moment, they indeed needed to unite all powers, especially to rope in this future Quasi-Legend!