Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Now We Begin

The Overseer was deep in his thought. The room and the throne he sat on were trembling, emitting searing noises, crumbling under the power of assimilation. Their metallic compartment snapped into flaming shards, sending electricity flying. In front of the Overseer was a necklace, the emergency energy supply of the Legacy Ground.

Occasionally, he would wave his hands and suppress the disintegration of the Legacy Ground. His power reversed the destruction of the control room, but he could not prevent the assimilation; he could only delay the inevitable.

It doesn't matter. The Puppeteer Legacy Ground exists for the imperial family. If its fall is necessary for our resurgence, so be it. Now that the end is nigh, sacrificing everything is the right move, no hesitation, no regret, all for our continuation, all for our revenge.

The Overseer clenched his fists and commanded the Legacy Ground. A spark of electricity intensified in front of him, generating a model of each Floor of the Legacy Ground, showing all tests, all Monster Girls, everything.

Since the destruction of the energy source, the Legacy Ground had been crumbling. The orderly structure of the inner worlds had shattered into a chaotic mess, drifting out of their designated place, wandering between Floors. Aside from the faint dots of the weak Monster Girls, a bright flickering dot was moving in a test that strayed into the Third Floor.

The Overseer focused on the dot and received the real-time information of Iris and her friends. They were discussing their next course of action, seemingly unaware of the Overseer's prying eyes. Unlike before, the Overseer frowned. The signal he received from the Legacy Ground was weaker, more uncertain than before. On the screen, Iris, a mere Transformation Phase Monster Girl, had turned blurry, her silhouette hiding underneath a short blue dress.

"Cloak of Destiny Obscurity," the Overseer said, his eyes flashing. He spread his four arms and manipulated the model of the Legacy Ground, gently arranging the inner worlds around where Iris was. "Not Sword of Nightbreak, not Ring of Astral Projection, but Cloak of Destiny Obscurity? What did your destiny tell you, Iris?"

The Overseer knew what lay inside the imperial treasury, though he could not retrieve them. The imperial family had decreed such. The Overseer, the representation of the common will, could not go against the rules directly. It would have been the worst case if Iris had taken the two legendary artefacts capable of leaving the Legacy Ground at will, but she didn’t.

"Iris, you will save them all, and that way, you will save us." The Overseer sneered and snapped his fingers. An ancient scroll manifested in front of him. "No matter what you choose, you can't escape your fate."

The scroll unfolded, revealing a magical engravement on it. At the top of the page was an emblem of royalty, though not of the imperial family. It was not a decree, but a transaction, a promise. The imperial family didn't only make a deal with the Foreign Existences.

They couldn't completely trust the Foreign Existences. They could not trust anyone, for all had their agendas, which may or may not align with each other.

The Overseer was certain that Gulia and Lilith had made their arrangements regarding Iris, which raised his vigilance. Now, the battle shifted from Iris and the Overseer to the supreme beings and the imperial family.

"Why must you betray us, Lady Quasi?" The Overseer waved his hand, activating the scroll, sending the signal deeper underground. "What broke your conviction? Are we destined for failure?"

...

Purpalus, the Redemption Archbishop, walked towards the edge of the tower. He looked down, gazing upon the Crusade. The paladins placed their hammers and swords beside them, standing in rows, facing the Sinking Dark Forest, watching for any sudden movement. Behind them were the priests and the mercenaries, some hired by the churches, others raised by the churches.

Encompassing the Sinking Dark Forest was a faint wall of golden light, stretching into the sky, resembling a golden dome. When a remnant of the Sinking emerged from the forest, the dome would emit holy energy and purify the all-corrupting power.

Everything was going as planned, but Purpalus had a strange premonition. He didn't take his unreasonable feeling lightly; he knew a little about Destiny and Fate. As an Archbishop, he was akin to the Condensation Phase Monster Girls, below only the Cardinals and the Pope. Though he couldn't understand the trend of the world, he could glimpse at it, vaguely feeling something.

"How is the progress?" Purpalus said. A few Bishops and priests behind him looked at each other. No one wanted to bear the bad news.

Silence persisted until a mercenary couldn't stand it. He shook his head and stepped forwards, firmly pressing his feet against the creaking floor.

"Lord Purpalus, the progress has been slow but steady," the mercenary said, shivering. "Some . . . some of the divisions we sent have vanished. We might have lost them to the Corrupted Races."

Purpalus retracted his gaze and turned around.

"How many divisions have we lost?"

The mercenary fell silent. Despite his rich experience and his strength as a Master, he could not stand up to the Archbishop, an existence rivalling the strongest of the Grandmasters.

"At least seven. At most," the mercenary said, "sixteen."

The air stagnated, turned cold, and vanished into nothing. The temperature fluctuated between freezing and scorching. Purpalus swept his gaze across the room, tracing all the Bishops and the priests and the mercenaries.

"Sixteen divisions? That's enough to cripple the foundation of a small church, big enough to crash the operation of a branch of the great churches," Purpalus said. "How many locations?"

"Only five. The rests are confirmed to be merely random landscapes. We suspect that the Monster Girls had set up a trap to reduce our number."

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"That only means we are mightier than them. The Corrupted Ones have to rely on the wicked method to protect themselves." Purpalus turned around, looking at the Sinking Dark Forest, gazing towards the tallest peak inside the forest, the Purple Cloud Peak of Mount Purple Cloud. "Send an elite division to each location. Let some of the mercenaries go with you. They know more than us."

While commanding, Purpalus frowned. Something is wrong. These problems can’t be what he sensed. They are too weak to threaten him and the Crusade. What are the Corrupted Ones hiding?

As Purpalus was about to send his colleagues off, a flash of black light emerged from the depth of the Sinking Dark Forest and expanded rapidly. A surge of Corruption Power engulfed the forest, tainting the believers in the surrounding. The intense beam lingered for a moment before vanishing, revealing a silver figure floating in the air.

"A Condensation Phase Monster Girl?" Purpalus mumbled, his heart palpitating. He turned to the Bishops. "Are our backup plans ready?"

The Bishops quickly nodded and left the tower. Clamours and panic resounded as the news spread across the army, but the Bishops and the priests suppressed them back to order.

Against the dome of holy light and Purpalus, one Condensation Phase Monster Girl wasn't enough.

"The place she came from, can anyone tell me if it's the location of the traps?" Purpalus said.

"It should be." The mercenary froze as a realisation struck him. "Does this mean?"

Four more rays of Corruption Power shot towards the sky, painting blackness onto the greenery, corrupting the nearby believers, driving some insane, turning some into Monster Girls. Though it was weaker than the Sinking, it was intense and concentrated, abrupt and unexpected.

After the black light faded, five Condensation Phase Monster Girls soared along the sky, heading towards the main defence of the Crusade. Below them, multiple Monster Girls dressed in various sexy armours and dresses followed suit, beaming with confidence that rivalled the Crusade.

"There are too many of them." Purpalus frowned and stepped forwards, turning intangible, moving through the tower, flying towards the sky. "The power inside the Sinking Dark Forest is indeed mysterious and far-reaching. This must be why it has stood tall for years immemorial."

As Purpalus stepped into the clouds, the Crusade cheered and roared their praises and chants, moving forwards, marching into the Sinking Dark Forest. Though weaker, the believers were more well-equipped and well-organised than the Monster Girls.

"This is the power of the weak." Purpalus smiled. "Only the Divine could persuade the great mass to unite as one. This is their power, the power which no one could overcome, no evil could topple, and no Corrupted Ones could resist!"

"You're as full of yourself as always, Purpalus," a cold voice resounded beside Purpalus. A young man cloaked in a purple robe appeared beside Purpalus, holding a delicate staff made of ice. "I've already sent the news to the main branch. Two more Archbishops are heading our way, but we still have to face them for the time being."

"Branim, are you questioning the arrangement of your Goddesses?" Purpalus glanced at Branim, who was playing with his staff. "If you can't even defend yourself against two of them with your Cold Arrival Staff, you should return it to the Pope and resign."

"It's ironic that you, a Redemption Archbishop, gave me no second chance to redeem myself. However, it's going to be me taking care of three while you struggle against two." Branim laughed. "I'm not doubting the arrangements of the Divine. Do not try to twist my words."

"Save the talk until you've done it. Even if I'm younger than you, I'm not someone you can look down. I'll become a Cardinal before you!"

The two Archbishops rapidly approached the five Monster Girls. They slowed down and assessed each other, wary of any hidden ambushes and unexpected reinforcement. In the battle of the strong, one miscalculated factor could lead to the outcome of life and death.

"Did you think that the two of you can take on us five?" Amplicia grinned. "I'm upset that there isn’t anyone cute or handsome. Old geezers aren't quite our taste."

The other four Monster Girls giggled. Their cute, charming voices echoed into the forest, rippling outwards like a whisper of the corruption.

"You do not have the qualification to greet the Cardinals, let alone the Popes and the Holy Maidens," Purpalus said. "The two of us alone are enough to keep you company. You cannot escape the grasp of the Divine. Now, kneel and pray for forgiveness, and your Faith shall purify your tainted soul. Only then shall you be reborn."

"And lost our freedom, our memories, our sentiments?" Amplicia raised her hands, creating rows of spell formations behind her. "We very much prefer our way of freedom, of endless pleasure, of precious dreams!"

The two Archbishops and the five Monster Girls shot towards each other, attacking with their various methods. The spell formations covered the sky and exploded into myriad lights, generating storms that swept across the forest below, destroying trees, shattering hills. The clouds spun away as the sky clear, revealing countless multi-coloured glares, like a scene from the legend.

It was like the stars had descended during the day, forming unknown constellations, concealing the sun, covering the sky. Despite their dizzy altitude, the impact of their battle was visible from all corners of the Sinking Dark Forest, sending quakes everywhere, announcing their epic battle.

The true Crusade had just begun.

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