One after another, the illusory clones were dragged out of the air by Rosetta and thrown into the blazing brazier like firewood being thrown into a bonfire. Some of these clones were lifeless, some were alive, some were silent in the blazing flames, some were cursing madly, and there were even some that let out roars that humans could not understand or make. Those sounds could make the bravest warrior tremble and ordinary people fall into madness. But no matter what they did, they could only be thrown into the brazier without any resistance, causing the flames of the brazier to gradually be dyed a metallic color and burn even more vigorously.
Finally, the phantom of Malcolm Dumont appeared in the flames. The phantom became more and more real, and it shouted loudly, "Let's go!"
"Rosetta! I curse you! You degenerate who has betrayed God! You won't have a good ending! Going against God won't have a good ending! "
"Stop, stop! You're destined to be futile. How can the great God be manipulated by mortals? Your arrogance will consign you to eternal damnation … Stop! Your blind confidence is baseless … "
"What's the point of doing this? You've worked so hard to make an empire strong, only to push it into the abyss at this time? Look at what you're doing … You've ruined so many people who were once loyal to you … "
The voice in the flames was sometimes furious, sometimes sad, sometimes condemning righteously, and sometimes softening its attitude and begging. However, Rosetta only carried out his actions unhurriedly. It was only after a dozen or so clones were thrown in that he looked up at the flames. "Do you know why so many of your clones were captured by me?"
"You …"
"You trust your God too much, but God isn't as invulnerable as you think. The Augustus Family and 'God' have been dealing with each other for two hundred years. I can smell the stench of 'ascended' possessing mortals even with my eyes closed … After realizing the influence you exerted on Ferdinand and separating the first 'clone' from him, all your actions in Typhon were completely exposed to me."
"You …" In the depths of the flames, Malcolm Dumont's phantom suddenly widened his eyes as if he had just woken up from a dream. He finally exclaimed, "It's that curse … The curse that haunts the Augustus Family … You actually compromised with 'Him'?!"
"No." Rosetta looked at the flames calmly as another Malcolm Dumont clone condensed in the air and was pushed into the brazier without hesitation. "This is just a deal."
"A deal … A deal …" Malcolm Dumont's projection in the flames suddenly lowered his head and mumbled. This mumble quickly turned into an uncontrollable sneer. "Haha, haha … A deal! Rosetta, you've finally walked down this path! You think you can get benefits from a deal with God, but there's nothing more ridiculous than this in the world! You, and your ancestors who fell one after another in the past two hundred years, you're all equally arrogant and stupid … Rosetta, it seems like you're nothing special … "
Rosetta Augustus did not seem to hear the sneers coming from the flames. He just quietly dragged out the last Malcolm Dumont clone he had captured from the air and threw it into the brazier unhurriedly. Then, he walked to a long table at the side expressionlessly and reached out to pick up something on the table.
It was the iron scepter that once belonged to Malcolm Dumont, the symbol of the Popes of the God of War.
The moment he saw the scepter, the Malcolm Dumont in the flames suddenly quieted down. He finally understood Rosetta's plan, but he did not continue to curse or sneer. Instead, he said in a sorrowful tone, "Are you really going to take this step? Rosetta … We were once friends. Even if we took different paths, we were once very good friends, weren't we? I was the first to understand your ideals. When you were questioned by the nobles and religious leaders, the Church of the God of War was the first to stand up and support your coronation. Even your weakening of the church's position over the years was also because of my cooperation … "
"Yes, Malcolm Dumont was once my friend." Rosetta returned to the brazier with the scepter in his hand and stared blankly at the phantom in the flames. He then raised the scepter slightly. "So, you, who don't know what you are, have no right to continue being noisy here with his face!"
Before his voice trailed off, the scepter was already covered in a layer of sacred brilliance, and the flames in the brazier suddenly blazed up. The grey colour of iron filled the flames, and all of Malcolm Dumont's words were swallowed up by the flames of his own faith. The next second, Rosetta slammed the scepter on the ground. The iron scepter hit the carpeted stone floor with a loud bang like a hammer hitting a shield!
* Boom! *
The entire Winter Castle seemed to have heard the loud bang, and then the illusory sound of bells and horns suddenly rang through the sky!
Rosetta Augustus looked up, and the illusory and hollow 'God's Eye' appeared behind him. His gaze penetrated the thick stone dome, and fearlessly stared at the slowly opening door in the sky, the unfurled flags, and the illusory formation of spears. A giant covered in iron armor had walked out of the door, with a maddening posture and delirious ravings. Step by step, he overlapped with the phantom of the giant that had been wandering between heaven and earth.
"The noble sacrifice of the pope can be used as the ultimate sacrifice to perform an extraordinary 'God's Descent', and if God has the will to go to the mortal world, then He can even come to the mortal world with his own body …" Rosetta said softly as if he was talking to himself. "What a rigid 'rule' … As long as the pope is sacrificed, it doesn't even need the consent of the person involved."
"These rigid rules form the cornerstone of God's operation. We are powerful because of them, but also prisoners because of them." The illusory hollow eye trembled behind him and said in a low voice. "The avatar you have captured is not all of Malcolm Dumont, but more than half of it … enough to pull the God of War to the mortal world."
"After the fall of the God of War, will Malcolm Dumont's avatar disappear with him?" Rosetta asked without looking back.
"You are already thinking about what will happen after your victory? How positive and optimistic … "The hollow eye seemed to sneer, but still answered the question directly." You don't have to worry about that. Your poor old friend is now relying on the power of the God of War to maintain his half-dead, chaotic state of depravity. As long as this power disappears, he will naturally disappear completely and no longer be a threat to this world. In a sense, he will also be free. As for now … you should pay attention to what you are going to face. The existence that you have taken the initiative to challenge … He is already here. "
"I will face him myself. You just have to do your job."
"Of course, this is part of the contract."
…
The ringing of bells and horns that reverberated between heaven and earth gradually became clear from some kind of chaotic state, and gradually became a burst of almost deafening roar. The clouds split open, and the sky seemed to have opened up a hole. The wind howled and raged with rain and snow, and the miracle of a snowstorm had been formed in an instant. The miracle of divine magic that originally required a large number of high-ranking priests to perform with all their strength had become a wave casually rolled up by the arrival of the gods.
Beyond the edge of the snowstorm, the prayers in the large assembly hall were still layered and showed no signs of stopping. The priests, who had completely lost their human minds, swayed their bodies around the iron-gray sacrificial flame and chanted a hymn to the God of War in unison. Their bodies resonated with a buzzing sound, and some strange, mutated organs were chanting something even more obscure than human voices. Around these priests, at the edge of the assembly hall, the Obsidian Imperial Guards in black armor had drawn their swords. Every soldier was nervously watching the subtle movements of the commander.
The distant bell rang for the seventeenth time. The commander glanced at the mechanical watch in his hand, and then at the sky outside the window. He saw a huge, hazy, giant-like shadow emerging from the snowstorm. He felt as if his heart was being squeezed. In the next moment, he shouted, "Kill all the clerics! Quick! "
Blades were drawn out of their sheaths. Under the iron-gray flames, the swords danced and pierced into the bodies under the black robes. The mutated priests quickly lost their vitality one after another. The Obsidian Imperial Guards carried out the killing mission silently and coldly. Until the moment they were killed, the priests who were chanting in a low voice did not resist. They were completely immersed in the summoning ritual that had gone out of control, and they no longer had the emotions and fear of humans.
In the entire Winter Castle area, between the plains, hills, and valleys, the same thing was happening in the assembly hall of the God of War.
The whistling war drums and horns in the sky suddenly became shrill, as if a large scale of noise had mixed into the normal military music. The snowstorm swept across the land, and the huge shadow that was constantly solidifying in the snowstorm suddenly shook. It seemed to be attacked by something, and its breath weakened a little, as if it was about to be exiled to another world. But the weakening only appeared for a moment, and in the next second, it entered this world even more firmly.
Finally, even the ordinary people could see the huge shadow in the snowstorm. It was so huge, so terrifying, but so sacred. It moved in the snowstorm like a mountain, as if it contained an endless attraction that attracted the attention of all living beings. Around Winter Castle, in the hills and camps, countless soldiers and officers almost subconsciously looked up in the direction of the snowstorm.
Even Count Palin Wintercastle, who was standing on the Wintercastle Mage Tower, was no exception.
He thought that he could resist the influence of God with his own willpower, but when God really entered the real world, he could not help but look at the snowstorm. In the next second, his entire vision, even his entire soul, was completely occupied by the huge and majestic shadow. He felt a huge amount of knowledge rushing into his mind, and countless thoughts that did not belong to him were growing and bursting in every inch of his nerves. His perception was being torn apart, and he began to come into contact with all the crazy secrets and darkness in this world. He was sliding into the abyss that the human mind could not understand. But at this moment, the brilliant starlight came into his eyes.
A strange scene appeared in the sky above Winter Castle. The snowstorm raged at a low altitude, and the wind rolled up rain and snow out of thin air, forming a continuous curtain of chaos. However, a vast starry sky suddenly appeared in the higher sky. The noon sky seemed to have been replaced by the night sky. The bright stars, which seemed to be very different from this era, were twinkling in the night sky. Every star was tit-for-tat against the crazy power in the snowstorm. And this strange scene was completely confined to Winter Castle. At the edge of the strange scene, the starry sky and the normal sky were clearly separated, showing a clear and sharp dividing line.
Palin Wintercastle, who had been sliding into the abyss of madness, quickly came to his senses. He knew that His Majesty, whom he was loyal to, had taken action.
The winter hunt had just begun.
Count Wintercastle strode to the messaging crystal in the Mage Tower. Powerful magic power directly drove the crystal, and his voice spread across the entire defense line.
"All units — start the predetermined plan!
"Defeat your fear, your weakness, and your instincts — attack!"
…
In the area controlled by Cecil, which was far away from the Wintercastle defense line, Gwen could also see the huge snowstorm and the strange scene above the snowstorm from the highest terrace of Winterwolf Fort.
He could not see the specific situation in the snowstorm, but Veronica, who was on the lookout mission not long ago, had issued a warning: the God of War had come.
Today was the first day of the Cold Month, the New Year's Day — Amber's judgment was correct.
Even at such a distance, it was still dangerous to directly see the gods, so Cecil's various mental defense units had been activated. But Gwen did not feel the presence of the gods' corruption from the snowstorm. According to Veronica's observation, it seemed that the starry sky above the snowstorm had some kind of suppression and filtering effect, directing the spreading gods' corruption to the depths of the starry sky.
The cards that Rosetta Augustus had hidden were being revealed one by one.
The intelligence from the frontline observation post was quickly gathered in Winterwolf Fort, and the signaller ran up to the terrace.
"Report! Signs of large-scale magic gathering on Typhon's side have been observed, their battlemages have begun to move! "
"Griffin Knight Regiment on Typhon's side have been observed to take off!"
"Abnormal magic surge at the edge of the confrontation area, frontline troops requesting instructions!"
After quickly processing a few orders, Gwen came to the command hall on the first floor of the castle, which was already busy.
The huge change in Typhon's area of control stimulated everyone's nerves. Even if they had calculated the date and made preparations in advance, in the absence of critical information, the commanders still had to carry out various plans according to the worst-case scenario. Philip was ordering the frontline armored troops to advance to Typhon's area of control. Maryland had already boarded the "War Citizen" armored train to the Wintercastle defense line, and further behind the airbase, several squadrons of dragoons and dragonborn mercenaries were taking off in order, ready to rush to the frontline.
But what they were doing now was just a gathering mission — whether to open fire, and who to fire at, still depended on the judgment of the highest command.
"Your Majesty," Philip noticed Gwen's appearance and immediately said, "the frontline scouts have just visually confirmed that a very large 'thing' has indeed appeared in the snowstorm, but the protective device against mental contamination did not respond."
Gwen nodded. "Typhon's people seem to have used another method to divert the target of the mental contamination — don't let down your guard, keep the protective system on, we can't say how long Typhon's' method 'will take effect."
Philip opened his mouth as if he wanted to continue reporting, but Amber suddenly jumped out of the air at this moment.
She jumped up to Gwen in a few steps and said, "We caught a Typhon outside the castle!"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
