"Ugh..." the unknown Iron-Blooded Knight let out a painful groan.
He tried to reignite his body but was interrupted by faint whimpers and cries in his ears. His body went numb, his blood seemed frozen, as if possessed by a Wraith or evil spirit, making it difficult for him to react effectively. He could only watch death approach, feeling his vitality drain away at an accelerating pace.
From the bronze Door, countless skeletal arms, slimy tentacles covered with baby faces, and thick vines covered with evil eyes stretched out, dragging the sleeping, defenseless Intis soldiers one by one into the underworld behind the door.
In the manor on the north bank of the Paz River Valley, streams of complex yet pure information surged from the void, rapidly converging and reconstructing Leyton's body.
He held a metal mask decorated with white feathers in his hand, his body exuding a strong aura of death. His hair had turned significantly white, and his skin was pale and translucent, faintly revealing distorted, shimmering starlight beneath it.
Exhaling a long breath, he placed the mask in his hand into the golden box that Bernadette had previously used to hold the pale death, and re-established a layer of Wall of Spirituality.
This was the "pale death" he had re-forged. Although it lacked a characteristic of the Death Consul, this did not affect the Sealed Artifact's effectiveness. He had just used this item to visit the underworld, influencing that battlefield through the bronze Door opened by Mr. Pulak Eggers.
"It's a pity that there are too few Gatekeepers above Demigod level. Otherwise, with the concealment and transit of the underworld, I could quickly move between various battlefields..." he lamented.
As he sighed, Leyton sat down in a nearby armchair, gently rubbing his fingers, creating brilliant starlight around him, scattering clear and pure rays of light to Purify the aura of Death on him and adjust his own state.
Moments later, the aura of death that had permeated his body was completely Purified, his hair returned to golden, and his skin regained its color.
"The underworld opened by Gregrace is indeed extraordinary. Apart from angels of the Death domain, other living creatures cannot adapt to its environment. Even if I can simulate and change my own state and aura, I still can't completely isolate the influence. Fortunately, mythical creatures are almost not limited by lifespan, otherwise, if I went a few more times, I would simply die of old age."
As he sighed, Leyton's eyes suddenly lost focus, becoming extremely deep, like the sea before a storm, clearly unfocused and vast.
In his mind, scene after scene floated by. Some were of the Paz River Valley and the Northern State coastal areas, others were near the Star Plateau and the Ancient Forest regions.
Different places were all engulfed in War, some held on, some did not.
After receiving the information, Leyton let out a long breath. The outcome of the War was not ideal.
"Primordial Moon and Mother Tree of Desire have also started to intervene. The Numinous Episcopate's reaction is somewhat unexpected. The royal faction is still observing. The Artificial Death faction has provided some assistance. Is this the influence of 'Night'?"
"We need to contact the Church of the Earth Mother and the Sanguine to help us counter the followers of Primordial Moon and Mother Tree of Desire. This way, we can free up extra strength to forcefully occupy the Ancient Forest and expel Feysac."
As his voice fell, he directly leveraged the aura of the Gray Fog on him, establishing contact with Klein who was above the Gray Fog.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein rubbed his forehead as he looked at the sudden surge of red light before him, saying helplessly, "Your actions are like an uninvited guest, not even knocking on the Door."
With Klein's tacit approval, the crimson light rapidly condensed, revealing Leyton's figure. He smiled and said calmly, "If you mind, I can make up for the missing procedure."
"Help me tell Mr. Moon that I want to meet one of their Sanguine big figures."
"Cooperation?" Klein asked.
Leyton nodded, his tone calm, "The followers of Primordial Moon and Mother Tree of Desire are taking advantage of the situation. We need some external forces to balance them."
Klein hesitated, "The more forces there are, the harder the situation is to control. Aren't you worried that things will get out of hand?"
Leyton shook his head and simply explained, "What truly determines the outcome of the War is the final War of the Gods, and now, it's just each side shaking the other's anchor, affecting the other's state, and hindering the other's progress."
He paused, then looked at Klein and chuckled, before explaining in more detail, "The True Creator needs a sufficient number of normal anchors, and I need a grand ritual."
"This is why the Eternal Blazing Sun and Steam of Intis are so eager to start the War. By disrupting our rhythm, They are confident in initiating the War of the Gods."
"Ritual… Ascension ritual?" Klein murmured, his tone suddenly shocked, yet he also felt it was natural.
"Yes and no." Leyton shook his head, not explaining further.
After a brief exchange, Leyton withdrew his consciousness from above the Gray Fog, then arranged a ritual to summon Bernadette's messenger, handing her messenger the golden box containing the "pale death."
After the messenger left, he also transformed into a torrent of information, rapidly surging towards the Harvest Plain.
Backlund, just after leaving Rus Báthory's villa, a dense Gray Fog suddenly surged before Emlyn, and a deep red light rapidly rose, then quickly receded, condensing Leyton's figure.
Leyton's voice echoed in Emlyn's ears: "Help me tell Mr. Moon that I want to meet one of their Sanguine big figures."
After repeating it twice, the Gray Fog before Emlyn quickly receded.
He muttered, somewhat bewildered, "Want to meet our Sanguine big figures… Is this something I can just meet or arrange whenever I want?"
He paused, then continued to himself, "Duke Full Moon Olmer should still be in Backlund, but how can I meet Him? I haven't even completed the trials and tasks He assigned."
"Go find Marquis Nibbs? That also needs a suitable reason…"
After thinking for a while and not coming up with any good ideas, Emlyn shook his head, hailed a carriage, and prepared to return to the Harvest Church in South of the Bridge first. He hadn't done his volunteer work today.
On the second floor of Rus Báthory's house, in a room with closed curtains, a tall, slender, and exceptionally upright figure stood calmly by the window with his hands behind his back, looking through the curtains in the direction Emlyn had left.
His hair was light, almost silver, his eyes were bright red, like hidden blood, and his demeanor was extremely noble.
With a creak, the door behind him was pushed open, and Rus Báthory walked in, stopping two meters away from him. He bowed respectfully and said, "Count Mistral, I have already sold those two items you entrusted to me to Emlyn White."
"Very good." Mistral, who was addressed as Count, nodded slightly in response.
Rus Báthory's expression hesitated for a moment, but he finally couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "Count, what does the force behind Emlyn White want to do by collecting items from the Trunsoest Empire?"
"I'm not sure. This is Duke Full Moon Olmer's intention. Perhaps it's related to the treasures left behind by the former Trunsoest Empire."
Mistral shook his head and briefly explained. Then, his body transformed into a swarm of vampire bats, hovering between reality and illusion, and flew directly out of the room.
Hatis city, at the easternmost edge of the Harvest Plain, apart from an increase in foot traffic, remained largely unchanged from before, seemingly unaffected by the intense War in the Paz River Valley and Northern State.
Streams of complex information surged from the void, circling twice above the city, then disappearing into the Church of Nature, which was enveloped in flowers and green plants.
In the prayer hall, Archbishop Martina sat quietly at the very front of all the seats, closest to the Holy Emblem of Life.
She wore a priest's robe embroidered with patterns of flowers and wheat. As soon as Leyton appeared, she turned her head to look, her expression calm, as if she had long anticipated this scene.
Leyton walked directly to her side and sat down in the seat separated by one. The passing and praying believers in the hall seemed completely oblivious to this scene, all ignoring him.
Before he could speak, Martina, the Archbishop of the Church of the Earth Mother, spoke first, "Recently, Hatis has seen many new faces. They are not quiet and frequently contact those who hide in the shadows."
Leyton nodded calmly, not continuing the topic, but instead asked, "Are you interested in spreading the Mother Tree's glory in a brand-new domain?"
"A brand-new domain?" Martina asked curiously.
Leyton smiled, then nodded, "A world that is both true and false, a world simulated and woven from countless pieces of information, imitating reality. It can be understood as a vast, interconnected, special dreamscape."
"As an information world, it doesn't have as many restrictions as the real world. Communication between people is not affected by distance, the flow of knowledge is extremely convenient, and everyone can enter it to learn, communicate, and even conduct some theoretical experiments…"
"I wonder if the Church of the Earth Mother is interested in participating. Once this world officially operates, you can complete some experiments there that lack mature conditions in reality, and you can also proclaim the preciousness of life and the joy of harvest."
Martina was silent for a moment before exclaiming, "I have some understanding of the Moses Ascetic Order's belief that all things are numbers, but I never thought such a world could truly be created."