Chapter 315: Bribery and Coercion (Part 1 of 46K)

"Join us!"

"Unleash the deepest desires of your heart!"

Stilla extended her hand toward Herbert beneath the tower, her voice earnest: "Herbert, wake up! Open your eyes!"

"Do not be deceived by those hypocrites!"

"Everyone has desires!"

"Every life's desire must be set free!"

Her voice grew higher, more fervent, brimming with seductive power.

Stilla's pale fingers brushed through the hair of the skull in her arms; her blood-stained nails glowed with an eerie violet sheen in the dim light of the lantern as she fixed her gaze on Herbert.

"Herbert, why continue to endure? Why pretend to be above it all?"

"Don't deny it—you, as a Holy Knight, surely have your own desires."

"Destroying evil, upholding justice, protecting the weak… aren't these also desires?"

"Aren't you yourselves also killing? Aren't you also forcing your arrogance upon others' destinies?"

Here, she paused, observing Herbert's expressionless face, then smiled with delight, her eyes crinkling.

"Still holding back? Heh. Hypocritical Holy Knight."

"We face our desires head-on, while you mask yours beneath a false veneer of righteousness, justifying your actions under the guise of justice."

"Justice? Hah."

Hss…

"Herbert, the ritual has begun. This is now my Lord's domain. Nothing that happens here can be seen by anyone—not even other gods!"

The God of Sinful Desires, though mad, possessed formidable power and was among the high-tier deities no one dared provoke.

He forcibly descended his consciousness to this city in the Shadowlands to perform a blood sacrifice, a dangerous omen that would surely cause great trouble.

But because he was not to be trifled with, even the evil god occupying this territory would not deliberately intervene at this moment.

From this instant the ritual began, Maragas City could be regarded as his divine realm on earth—no outsider could perceive what transpired within, utterly severed from the outside world.

"…"

Herbert's brow furrowed deeper, his expression even more blank, revealing nothing of his true thoughts.

"Heh."

Herbert's subtle expression shift did not escape Stilla's eyes; she laughed more wildly.

"That's right. No need to endure anymore."

"Speak! Say it out loud!"

"Boy, what do you desire?"

"Whatever it is—everything, all things in this world—my Lord can grant it all to you!"

The God's mortal emissary laughed freely, offering a reward beyond ordinary imagination.

"Wealth?"

"Become my Lord's believer, and this city is yours outright!"

Stilla swept her right hand across the sky above the entire city.

"The Moore family's millennia of accumulated wealth can be placed entirely in your hands!"

Herbert narrowed his eyes.

What Stilla proposed was an insane, extravagant gift.

Though Maragas had become a breeding ground for the descent of an evil god and its population had vanished, the city's value had not diminished much.

This evil city-state, standing for thousands of years in the Shadowlands, had amassed vast wealth over its long history.

Yet Herbert's heart remained unmoved.

His early life of luxury as a nobleman had left him with little craving for money in this lifetime.

A gentleman loves wealth, but acquires it by the right way.

Even if he desired gold, he would never accept it as a gift—he had his own means of earning it.

"Not enough?"

Stilla saw Herbert's calmness, shook her head with a smile, and continued: "Then what about me?"

"I, too, become your possession."

"Rest assured—I may carry the blood of traitors, but under my Lord's restraint, I can never betray you."

"A beautiful, powerful, loyal slave—don't you desire that?"

This time, Herbert's brow twitched.

To be fair, Stilla was indeed beautiful; though resembling Svania, she exuded an entirely different allure.

A stunning, venomous beauty, her aura of corruption elevated her charm to another level.

But… desire?

Do I desire that?

Upon hearing this, Herbert blinked, then instinctively turned his head toward the vampire Young Lady beside him.

?

Elisa noticed his gaze and frowned in confusion.

Why are you looking at me now?

After seeing her puzzled reaction, Herbert slowly nodded, said nothing, and returned his gaze.

He said nothing—but somehow, he said everything.

Elisa:???

At this moment, the vampire Young Lady seemed to understand something, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all.

Herbert had no mood to flirt with the vampire at this time; he turned his head back and continued to stare at Stella with a "blank expression."

Speak.

Whatever other conditions you have, name them all.

"Hehe~"

The ones involved are confused, but the onlooker sees clearly.

Stella, watching Herbert's entire interaction with Elisa from earlier, couldn't help but laugh at this moment.

"What you mean is, in your heart, I still can't compare to her?"

Question marks popped up over Elisa's head.

Hm?

What are you saying? What do you mean by "I still can't compare to her"? Am I really that bad!?

And Herbert pressed his lips together in silence, simply staring fixedly at Stella.

Everything was conveyed without words.

What do you think?

Do I really have to spell it all out?

"... You holy knight, you really are greedy."

Stella sighed, the smile at her lips fading, and said slowly: "If none of these are good enough for you—then, what about power?"

Young man, do you not desire power?

"A power so strong it could defy fate itself—you don't desire that!?"

And when it came to this temptation, Herbert's expression finally changed noticeably; he looked toward Stella with curiosity.

How about you say a little more?

"When I was still a child, I already understood one truth—everything in this world, all of it, is built upon strength."

"With power, you can obtain everything, take from others whatever you need."

"Without power, you will lose everything; even what originally belonged to you will be cruelly taken away by others."

"Power is the foundation of everything!"

"The weak will only be plundered by the strong, and deserve nothing but to be plundered!!!"

Stella roared somewhat agitatedly, her right hand slamming hard against the balcony railing and shattering it outright.

Crack!

After the great crash, Stella regained her composure and chuckled lightly: "Hehe, I got a little worked up."

"You may be wondering why I'm so angry... because I was once the one being plundered."

Oh?

Herbert raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Elisa, serving as his mouthpiece, asked very obligingly: "You? You were also plundered by someone?"

Doesn't look like it.

"Of course."

Stella smiled faintly and said softly: "My elder sister, Swanny—it was she who took everything from me!"

"The curse of being born as twins!"

"She took everything from me! Talent, strength, fate..."

As Stella spoke, Herbert narrowed his eyes, recalling the "fate of the twins" Swanny had mentioned earlier.

Swanny hadn't gone into detail at the time, brushing past it unwillingly to elaborate, but Herbert had taken it to heart.

He later looked into it carefully himself with the Wardens and obtained some rather shocking knowledge.

The Curse of the Twins.

In the traditions of some races, twins are not seen as a blessing, but as a deadly curse.

Legend has it that one of the two children will seize the greater part of the twins' talent, leaving the other an incomplete, defective remnant.

Therefore, in some tribes, they would actively kill one of the newborns to maintain balance.

And those twins who survived by luck would, in their future lives, constantly slaughter and plunder each other, until only one victor remained.

"The me of the past had no power, and could only be plundered again and again by her, who had the better talent! Humiliated by her over and over!"

"But later, hahaha, she offended the Saints and was imprisoned! And I... found my own power."

"The me of now is already different from the past."

"Completely different!"

With Stella's loud cry, the aura around her began to change.

It no longer seemed full of charm, but gradually fell toward a deeper darkness, exuding a powerful, sinister aura.

Obvious changes also appeared on her body; fine, dense scales surfaced on her skin, and her entire being seemed to transform toward a non-human form.

Hiss!

Accompanied by a light sound, her legs split apart and turned into a serpent's tail—but that tail was not a perfect transformation like Teresa's, but rather a skinned, blood-red serpent's tail.

Raw flesh made direct contact with the ground, producing a sickeningly slick sliding sound as she moved.

Hiss hiss hiss...

After the transformation was fully complete, her aura surged toward the peak of Legend, quickly breaking through Legend's boundary and approaching the realm of Epic!

But she still fell just short of that final step, not fully crossing into it!

Even so, this power completely exceeded the limit that Herbert and the others could handle!

Elisa, who had been somewhat contemptuous before, now wore an extremely Solemn expression, gripping Herbert's hand tightly, ready to seize any path of escape with him at any moment.

Damn, how did this guy become so strong!?

She now understood why her companion "Vilanea" had been so easily beheaded.

We can't beat it—this power is truly beyond what one person can handle.

"So what if it's the Twins' Curse!?"

Stilla, in her serpent form, felt the power within her body and sneered.

"Thanks to my Lord's gift, I have gained strength enough to defy that damned fate!"

"Once this ritual ends, I shall fully ascend as my Lord's apostle walking the mortal realm!"

"I will kill Svania, and utterly end this revolting destiny!"

"I will kill her!!!"

After roaring like an oath, Stilla glared at Herbert and said in a low voice: "Herbert, believe me—you need this power too!"

"Don't you want revenge?"

"I know you killed many in Frostcrystal, but is that enough?"

"Your brother is dead, but isn't one guilty party still alive?"

"Your father! Isn't he still alive!!?"

Her golden slit pupils fixed on him, her piercing gaze like a sword piercing Herbert's body, her shrill voice stabbing into his ears like a long blade.

The Chosen of Miss Xie Shen relentlessly questioned the darkness deep within the Holy Knight's heart!

"He watched it all happen—he is the true sinner, isn't he?"

"Should you forgive him just because he's your father? Should you spare him?"

"Kill him!"

"What of blood ties?"

"Only by killing him can you truly find liberation!"

"Kill him!!!"

She questioned and tempted him again and again, urging him to resolve the root of the problem.

Kill him.

Everything will end.

Sever the root of bloodline, and all troubles will depart.

"…"

Herbert fell silent, his eyes slightly lowered, lost in thought.

His silence worried Lisa beside him; she gently squeezed his hand and whispered:

"Hey, you… are you okay?"

Elisa didn't know how to speak.

As a true "patricide," she truly didn't know how to console Herbert at this moment.

Tell him not to be swayed by Stilla?

But she had no right—because she had actually done it.

Stilla at most talked big about killing her sister, but Elisa had truly severed her "father's" head.

Besides, Elisa didn't fully understand the relationship between Herbert and his father.

Was it good?

But she remembered only one thing: the last time Herbert asked her how she felt after killing her father…

Was it bad?

If it was bad, Herbert hadn't killed his father either…

After a pause, Elisa said no other words of comfort—only repeated her answer to him once more.

"Once you truly do it, you'll only feel boredom."

"Herbert, no matter what choice you make, I only hope you won't regret it."

After hearing Elisa's unusually gentle words, Herbert's lowered eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly shook his head.

But he still said nothing.

And Stilla, after speaking of Herbert's father, shifted to another topic.

"Herbert, have you forgotten?"

"You have another enemy!"

"The woman who humiliated you, forcing you to hide in the monastery, has returned to the Witch's Guild!"

"And you remain cowering in that cold monastery."

She sneered at the silent boy, whispering in a seductive tone: "You know—she has a good mother, who grants her resources beyond imagination!"

"Before long, she'll cast you aside again—far, far behind!"

"You've already been humiliated once—do you really want to chase her again!!?"

Upon hearing this, Herbert made his most expressive face yet.

He raised one eyebrow and gave Stilla a serious, appraising look.

Are these things you say… true?

In your voice, do I sound like a dog beguiled by a wicked woman?

Huh?

Wait, friend—have you misunderstood something?

Even at the very beginning, wasn't I ever meant to be that kind of person?

Herbert gazed at Stilla with a strange look, tempted to explain himself thoroughly.

No, I mean, I really am not!

"... Heh, so even this can't corrupt you?"

Herbert opened his mouth but fell silent, torn over whether to interrupt her performance.

But his reaction was taken by Stilla as stubborn resistance; she softened her expression, studied him closely for a moment, then couldn't help remarking:

"Heh, truly worthy of being favored by my Master... your will is even stronger than I imagined."

Saying this, she suddenly smiled with delight: "But can you really keep holding out forever?"

Seeing this display, Herbert knew the forced invitation was about to enter its next phase.

Coercion and temptation—when temptation ends, what remains is only coercion.

"Look at this city."

"Think of those still alive—they place all their hope in you."

The blood ritual is slowly spreading outward from the center of the square, destined to engulf the entire city.

But for now, a few survivors still cling to life.

Like Teresa, and the companion she seeks to save, neither has yet become a Dead Sacrifice.

Stilla watched Herbert's solemn expression and smiled with pleasure, uttering the true killing blow against the righteous faction:

"You wouldn't want them to die horribly because of you, would you?"

"Oh, the virtuous Holy Knight... heh..."

(End of Chapter)