Chapter 166: Section 167: Finally Meeting the War Merchant
The corpse of this Holy Domain powerhouse was clothed in blood-red robes, with iron gauntlets on its hands and iron boots on its feet. An iron helmet and iron mask obscured its face.
On the front and back of the blood-red robe, a white-gold, nine-pointed star was depicted.
This was the attire of the Blood Light Sanction Court. Sёarch* The N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
The Blood Light Sanction Court…
The name of this organization was like thunder piercing one’s ears; it was also known as the “Whip of Gods,” an entity used by the gods of the Holy Bright Empire to chastise their divine enemies.
Some of the Empire’s dukes, all its grand dukes, and the Emperor were living deities.
...
These gods each had their domains of expertise and sectarian powers, influencing and directing every aspect of human society. They supported and constrained each other, intertwined like the roots of an ancient tree.
An entity that could become the enemy of these gods, even if it couldn’t confront a god head-on, possessed extraordinary abilities to hide, disguise, or flee. And the gods, lofty and preoccupied with myriad tasks, seldom took action themselves.
To facilitate the pursuit and extermination of these divine enemies, without interference, the gods joined forces to establish the Blood Light Sanction Court.
The Blood Light Sanction Court didn’t have many members, but each one was exceptionally powerful. They came from the various major forces of the Holy Bright Empire and were truly strong in their own right.
The Blood Light Sanction Court wielded immense power, with authority to issue continent-wide warrants, make on-the-spot arrests and executions, and act first and report later, towering above the Holy Temple Knights, Holy Temple Mage Group, various sects, noble families, the Mage Alliance, and so on.
The official members of the Blood Light Sanction Court could freely enter any area of the Empire, access most of the hidden information, and had the right to urgently mobilize almost any imperial garrison.
“It seems that the Grand Duke of All Magics has dispatched his mount, the King of Flame Dragon, Flame Mountain, into the Blood Light Sanction Court. Flame Mountain must also be a member of the Court!”
“I thought it was the Grand Duke of All Magics who was going to make a move against the War Merchant.”
“It’s strange, why does the Blood Light Sanction Court attack the War Merchant? The War Merchant is not an enemy of the gods.”
“Perhaps he committed some blasphemous act against the gods in secret.”
“I think it’s possible that the Empire requires the War Merchant’s technology for transforming magical beasts. Think about it, if the Empire mastered this technology, how many sacrifices from the Human Race could be reduced when confronting the Beastman.”
Everyone discussed among themselves.
“Then, who might this Holy Domain powerhouse be?”
Someone curious wanted to approach the corpse and lift the iron mask.
“Don’t touch!” This action immediately triggered a stern warning from Jia Sha.
After uttering this warning, Jia Sha looked toward the Guardian Knight, Xiong Dun, at his side.
Xiong Dun lifted his foot and kicked a pebble beside him.
The pebble flew and struck the Holy Domain corpse, immediately turning into gold.
“According to the information I hold, the War Merchant’s spell ‘Golden Hand’ had long since reached Legendary status. This member of the Blood Light Sanction Court is killed by this spell.”
“His clothing completely covers his skin, but with Divine Arts observation, one can see that he has entirely turned into a gold statue.”
Jia Sha’s timely guidance caused the would-be mask lifter to turn pale with fright.
Their own strength was too weak; even the corpse of a fallen Holy Domain warrior was not to be touched carelessly.
Cautiously, they skirted around the corpse and continued on their way.
They then encountered even more signs of intense combat.
People saw fresh blood spilled by someone unknown, severed limbs, and fragments of golems, magical tools, and weaponry.
Jia Sha analyzed, “In the earlier Magma Battlefield, the War Merchant and the Blood Light Sanction Court’s squad clashed head-on, sealing the Flame Mountain but also suffering serious injuries.”
“He evacuated in haste, with the Holy Domain warriors in hot pursuit.”
“Soon after, the War Merchant was overtaken, retreating while fighting.”
“In this process, a Holy Domain warrior was killed—the very corpse we had seen earlier.”
“The rest continued their pursuit, each side paying a heavy toll.”
This was why, as they arrived here, they hardly encountered any defensive forces.
“Let’s move on; I feel the central hub is not far now!” Jia Sha’s voice was slightly excited.
Zi Di’s eyes also sparkled with anticipation.
The further they went, the wider the passageway became.
Before long, they all stopped before a massive door.
The surface of the door was as gleaming as if it were new, but the lower left corner was missing a piece. Through this gap, they could see beyond the door. The gap was small, just enough for a normal cat or dog to squeeze through.
“What a sturdy door!”
“Look inside, it’s very different; the space is extremely vast.”
“So many coffins!”
“The floor is practically covered with the corpses of magical beasts!!”
Through the gap in the lower left corner, everyone peered inside and exclaimed in astonishment.
The light inside was dim, and the scene was chaotic, littered with the corpses of transformed magical beasts such as bat monkeys, Scale-Horned Black Panthers, and Blue Dog Fox Wolves, clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle.
“The Blood Light Sanction Court’s powerhouses pursued their enemies all the way in, and this door failed to stop them in time,” someone speculated about the past battle.
“Perhaps, this is a trap the War Merchant set for the Blood Light Sanction Court.”
“These coffins are closely arrayed together. Although many are destroyed, a very few remain intact. What exactly were they used for?”
“This might not be the central hub, but it’s definitely a critical place!”
Everyone was both excited and tense.
Divine Arts—Detect Magic.
Divine Arts—Detect Traps.
Using these Divine Arts repeatedly, Jia Sha finally confirmed that the massive door was harmless, merely a door on its own.
“Break down this door!” Jia Sha commanded.
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However, all four Guardian Knights returned without success, and Zong Ge’s Bone Hammer failed to leave even a slight dent in the imposing gate.
Jia Sha furrowed his brow, blessing everyone with Divine Arts, but still could not cause any damage to the gate.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Jia Sha used offensive Divine Arts himself, the radiance of the spell colliding with the gate only to shatter into countless points of light, achieving nothing.
“This must be a gate forged from legendary material!” Zi Di said with a heavy voice.
“What can we do now?” Hei Juan asked helplessly; even when he tried using his thin sword Silver Lightning, it left only a faint scratch.
“We should have brought that cannon with us,” Cang Xu sighed.
During their rush across the Magma Battlefield, they had abandoned the exceedingly heavy Alchemy Cannon in their haste to flee.
“Are we really going back to retrieve the cannon?”
The suggestion made many shake their heads.
The Magma Battlefield still held defensive golems and invisible exterminators; going back for the cannon would be a death wish.
“Zhenjin, perhaps you can give it a try,” Jia Sha looked at Zhenjin, a slight smile on his face as he encouraged him.
A jolt shot through Zhenjin’s heart.
“Yes, my lord, if you pray successfully, the power of a Divine Favored Knight might break through this gate,” Hei Juan called out.
In a moment, almost everyone’s gaze focused on him.
Zhenjin’s breath caught slightly.
Expressionless, he approached the gate with heavy steps, then turned his back to the crowd and lowered his head in silent prayer.
After a long while.
He turned around, his face filled with disappointment: “I’m sorry, my lord did not respond to me.”
The crowd sighed, but no one blamed Zhenjin.
“My lord, do not force yourself too much. The Holy Emperor surely has his reasons,” Zi Di consoled.
Zhenjin nodded and rejoined the group.
Jia Sha gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing as he stared at the gate: “To use legendary material for this door, surely what lies behind must be the central chamber. Damn it! We are actually blocked by a door.”
Everyone was at a loss and gradually fell into despair.
“Maybe there’s another way.”
“Yeah, there can’t be just one path to the central chamber, right?”
Someone proposed looking for an alternate route.
It was at this moment that the Big Guy suddenly shouted: “I’ve got it, I’ve thought of a good method.”
“What method?” They asked, with little hope in their hearts.
“Let me try,” the Big Guy said confidently.
He rushed to the front of the gate and grabbed onto a gap in the bottom left corner of the gate.
“Does he intend to squeeze through?” Someone laughed.
But the next moment, the Big Guy gritted his teeth and pulled hard at the gate with all his might, trying to move it aside.
At first, the gate didn’t budge, but after a few breaths, it trembled slightly and then slowly moved to the right.
Many people were stunned.
Jia Sha laughed loudly: “Hahaha, well done, good job!”
Their thinking had not adapted, while the Big Guy, with his simple mind, employed the most straightforward method to move the door.
Of course, if the Tower Spirit had been around, and the place had not been damaged by battle, this gate would have been locked tight without such an obvious flaw.
The Big Guy quickly lost his strength, but the gate had already opened up wider, enough for someone of smaller stature to get through.
Zong Ge, Zhenjin, and the four Guardian Knights, with the blessing of Jia Sha’s Divine Arts, continued to pull at the gate.
After much effort, they were all drenched in sweat but finally managed to open the door halfway, enough for even the Big Guy to barely squeeze through.
The gate now revealed the inside.
Behind it was a vast expanse of space, the walls curving like a dome to create an arena-like environment.
Hundreds of coffins were arranged and laid out like seats in an arena, closely encircling the area.
Many of the coffins were opened or destroyed, and it appeared they originally contained blood. Many coffins remained intact.
The destroyed coffins and the numerous corpses of magical beasts vividly depicted the route of the Blood Light Sanction Court’s strong assailants.
They had charged straight from the gate to the central Mage Tower.
Indeed, within this large underground space stood a Mage Tower.
Unlike most Mage Towers, this one was short and stout, with only four floors.
The first floor of the Mage Tower was severely damaged, and from a distance, they could see a small hill’s worth of magical beast corpses, along with massive chunks of golems.
Jia Sha’s heart skipped a beat, and with certainty, he said, “This is definitely the heart of the Alchemy Factory!”
Everyone fell into a mix of excitement and tension.
Advancing through the battlefield that resembled ruins.
No accidents occurred, and they smoothly arrived at the base of the Mage Tower.
Crossing over the mountain of magical beast corpses, they entered the Mage Tower.
Several humanoid corpses came into view.
Three corpses of Blood Light Sanction Court’s Holy Domain powerhouses, and one goblin.
This goblin wore an exquisite gold magic robe and lay prostrate on the ground, the faint trace of legendary Life Breath remaining on his body which revealed his identity beyond doubt—an Alchemy Grandmaster—War Merchant!
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