Chapter 242: Reason Buried Deep Under Water, Madness Hanging High in the Sky

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

The Mecha Unit continued to pour firepower into the sky, yet the number of Scarlet Parasites was simply too vast; looking with the naked eye, there was no sign of them decreasing at all.

Even as a Transcendental, Leinuode could only rely on the protection of the Mecha Unit at this moment to observe the situation before him.

Were those Scarlet Parasites all cultivated by Bishop Land? With such a large number, where did they usually hide?

Why did the Guard Hall not have any news at all?

Countless questions surged in his heart, but summarized, they actually amounted to only one sentence.

Damn it, that bunch of trash at the Guard Hall!

He began to curse in his heart, yet regarding the current situation, he had no way to deal with it.

Although every Guard had been equipped with two vials of Immunity Agent, which could ensure they would not be parasitized after being attacked by Scarlet Parasites, the number of enemies was simply too great; even if they were not parasitized, relying solely on the flesh and blood of the Guards, without the protection of Steam Mecha, they would still be torn to shreds.

But if things continued to stalemate like this... A look of worry flashed through his eyes.

"How much ammunition do we have left?" He picked up the Communication Device in his hand and asked the captain of the Mecha Unit.

"We can probably hold out for about two hours," the other party replied immediately.

"Two hours, huh..." Leinuode muttered to himself, and after pondering for a moment, he said, "Hold out for another hour, kill as many as you can, then break through toward the direction of the Guard Hall; the supplies in the underground warehouse should be enough to use."

"Also, send an elite squad to find the Fifth Mechanized Infantry Regiment; they will surely come to support once they notice the situation here."

"Tell them not to let ordinary soldiers without mecha protection enter, and also to try their best to rescue ordinary citizens."

After finishing his words, a look of distraction appeared on Leinuode's face.

He looked at the endless Scarlet Parasites in the sky, holding a pessimistic attitude toward the question of how many Survivors could still be in the city.

Fortunately, before the operation, they had already evacuated the residents of the streets near the Church; this could at least be considered a piece of good news.

It was just that he didn't know how things were over at the Church; although they were trapped here, those High-level Transcendents who came from Winter City shouldn't be blocked by these guys.

And Captain Edward, Lita... "Sigh." He let out an imperceptible sigh.

He hadn't expected that after so many years, this sense of powerlessness when facing matters far beyond his ability to handle would still be biting tightly at his heels.

"Captain must have... felt this way too back then."

"Damn it, it's too hard to push forward."

Inside a furniture store, Edward held a long sword, his whole body covered in blood as he leaned against the wall.

Beside him, Sixin held a Paintbrush, and the expression on his face was not very good either.

And inside the furniture store, besides the two of them, there were also Lita and nearly a hundred Survivors.

Neisen and his daughter Tina were among them.

"How much further is it to the Painter Association?" He asked Sixin, who was at his side.

"Three more streets away," the other party responded without even thinking.

The two of them were originally supposed to participate in the operation to encircle and suppress the Church, but after the Scarlet Parasites appeared, they were asked by Bishop Muse to protect the ordinary citizens in the city.

The reason was also very simple: because the two of them were not Transcendents of the Church, it was relatively difficult for several people to coordinate.

A lineup of one Champion and three Masters was already very luxurious; adding two more Masters wouldn't actually have much of an effect.

It was better to let the two of them go into the city to save more people.

Edward naturally had no objections to this proposal; this made it even more convenient for him to protect Lita.

As for Sixin, this guy was originally dragged into this by force, so he naturally agreed very happily to such a task with little danger.

And afterwards, it was also based on his suggestion that Edward decided to take the remaining Survivors to the Painter Association.

Because that building had been specially designed; it was not only very sturdy, but all doors and windows could be sealed, and there were enough food reserves in the basement. Most importantly, there were many low-level Transcendents in the Painter Association; if nothing went wrong, there should still be many Survivors there.

However, the problem now was... "Three streets away, huh."

Edward glanced at the Survivors in the room; not to mention the adults, those who could remain calm like Neisen were fine.

However, most people had expressions of Fear and panic on their faces; besides that, among these hundred-plus Survivors, there were over a dozen children, the youngest six years old and the oldest fourteen.

Even a mere graze from the attacks of those parasites would result in being parasitized, and he and Sixin were not skilled at protecting others.

Letting the two of them escort these Survivors was truly a bit difficult.

"If only that Faceless One were here," Sixin sighed from the side. "If he were here, he should be able to make everyone eliminate their sense of presence."

"Aren't you from the Painter series? Hurry up and think of a way," Edward complained beside him.

"Painters aren't omnipotent; what way could I have?"

"..."

The two argued slightly for a while and rested to recover their strength.

Seeing that the breathing of everyone in the room had mostly recovered, Edward picked up his long sword.

"Disperse the Barrier; this time we must rush to the Painter Association in one go."

"Alright." Sixin nodded, and a Supernatural Painting appeared behind him.

"Damnable Scarlet Messenger, I must kill her!"

On a street outside the Church, Bishop Land, his whole body writhing with a large number of scarlet tentacles, walked out of an alley with a disheveled expression.

Even though his body had been cut into several segments, he did not die; after all, from the perspective of bodily structure, he no longer belonged to humanity at all.

The ultimate form of the Scarlet Parasite lived within his body, forming a symbiotic state with him; as long as the former's life force was not exhausted, he would not die.

However, he was injured quite heavily this time; he needed to replenish himself well.

"Must avoid the Mecha Unit of the Guard Hall, and the Fifth Mechanized Infantry Regiment..."

Feeling the information transmitted by the parasite, Bishop Land pondered for a moment and walked toward the direction of the Painter Association.

He had already sensed the abundant blood-food there.

"Boring little tricks."

Natavia arrived deep within the rooms of the Church; all the clergy she encountered along the way had already been slaughtered by her.

She could feel that the Anchor Point of her God was right behind this room.

It was just sealed off by an extremely complex Barrier and magic locks; even for a Champion-level Transcendental, it was unrealistic to break it open with brute force in a short time. But it didn't matter; she had her own ways.

Natavia placed one hand flat against the barrier-covered gate and then pushed with force! The power of the Scarlet Outer God was instantly poured into the Barrier. In just ten seconds, the originally sturdy gate was corroded into a pitch-black, porous structure resembling coal. A light tap caused it to crumble into residue and fall to the ground.

The power of the Scarlet Outer God was fundamentally far stronger than the power that constituted the Barrier; after just a casual scouring, the latter was eroded until not even dregs remained.

Stepping over the damaged gate, Natavia walked into the depths of the room, where she immediately saw a Stone Coffin engraved with magnificent patterns on its surface.

And when she walked closer, a female with smooth, long golden hair, wearing luxurious attire and with her hands folded over her abdomen, was lying quietly inside the coffin.

If Yun Mu were to appear here, she would certainly be surprised by the appearance of the female in the coffin.

It was not the appearance of Lucy that she usually saw, but rather her appearance after using the Transformation skill to turn into a Blood Clan form.

"Hoo."

"Just like when I was young, you are still so beautiful." Natavia reached out to touch the face of the person lying in the coffin, memories flickering in her eyes.

"The first and also the last Queen of the Scarlet Court, and at the same time, the only Anchor of my God in the human world, Her Excellency Lucy Pumelas."

A heart-palpitating power descended from the sky. Bishop Muse and the others had only just arrived at Natavia's location when they saw a fair palm reach out from the luxurious stone coffin.

Subsequently, the golden-haired female opened her eyes, revealing a pair of cold, scarlet pupils.

"Hmph, the dog noses of the Dark Night Church; you all arrived a bit slowly this time." 'Lucy' looked at the hurriedly arriving Bishop Muse and the others, speaking in a mocking tone.

"." Ignoring the other party, Bishop Muse lowered his voice and ordered his three subordinates beside him: "The avatar of the Scarlet has descended into the body of the Anchor. I will deal with Him; you three hold back that Scarlet Messenger."

Tonight is the Sacred Night, and the abilities of the Dark Night Church's Transcendentals will all be enhanced; it is not a difficult task for three Masters to hold back a Champion-level being infused by a god.

As for him... Hmph, a mere Outer God avatar—since Muse began serving as the Bishop of Winter City, he has defeated at least three!

The Scarlet descending with the help of the Anchor Point's power is just right; as long as He is defeated, this guy won't be able to make a comeback for at least a few hundred years! "I'll just treat this old body of mine as paving the way for those who come after."

The aura on Bishop Muse's body surged. In addition to the chains wrapped around his left arm and the metal-bound Holy Scripture, he also gripped a reddish-brown short stick in his right hand.

This was his weapon; besides being able to enhance his Spell Strength, the Holy Scripture could also be used as a mid-to-long-range weapon.

And this brown short stick, when striking an enemy, could cause a Disturbance to the opponent's Spirituality and the operation of Qi, rendering them silent for a short time and unable to release spells.

Judging from the aura, the Scarlet avatar was also of Champion-level strength; the silence effect would likely last for about 0.8 seconds.

Bishop Muse pondered, then decisively used a field skill.

【Nightfall】

Darkness far deeper than that of Bishop Land shrouded the room. Under his intentional control, this darkness would not affect his own teammates.

"We're going in!"

Bishop Muse's aura sank, and then he violently threw the Holy Scripture in his hand toward the Scarlet avatar.

"I remember you."

The Scarlet avatar stood still in place. He grabbed the cover of the Holy Scripture, ignoring the searing Burning sensation coming from his palm, and with his other hand, he grabbed the chain behind the Holy Scripture and pulled hard! "It was probably thirty years ago." Unsurprisingly discarding the empty chain in his hand, the Scarlet avatar's gaze kept scanning the surroundings.

Bishop Muse's darkness could not block His vision, only reduce visibility quite a bit.

Only by walking within a range of two meters of Him could He see the target.

"That was just one of my attempts; the person who destroyed the Ritual site at that time was also you."

"Bang!"

Blocking the reddish-brown short stick striking toward his head with his forearm, the Scarlet avatar looked at Bishop Muse's aged face.

"You have become weak," He said.

【Blood Pool!】

A large amount of fresh blood gushed out from under the Scarlet avatar's feet. Bishop Muse hurriedly made a Retreat, and while retreating, he also picked up his Holy Scripture.

"Blood Spear."

The Scarlet avatar raised his hand, and countless blood-colored spears shot out from the Blood Pool, striking toward the direction Bishop Muse had just retreated to.

He cannot perceive me in the darkness.

Bishop Muse analyzed in his heart while dodging the Blood Spears.

That Blood Pool looks like a move that combines attack, perception, and defense; if one wants to break it, one can only use violent means. 【Dark Bullet!】

A huge dark-black energy ball was pushed toward the Scarlet avatar standing in the center of the Blood Pool. As the Dark Bullet approached, the blood in the Blood Pool evaporated rapidly, and the opponent had to Dodge.

The power of the Dark Bullet was sufficient, but the speed was too slow.

Bishop Muse hid in the darkness, his attack plan gradually perfecting in his heart.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Natavia felt extremely irritable.

The Preacher Lienie, plus Kamal who was an Apostle, and the Conqueror Knight Daniel—the trio's combination of one healer, one damage dealer, and one tank kept her tightly entangled here.

Her Word Spirit would be Purified by Lienie, the blood-colored threads would be intercepted by Daniel, and that blue-haired Apostle Kamal...

His combat techniques were quite outstanding. Natavia had once accidentally let him get close for about three seconds, and she was nearly decapitated by the opponent.

If it weren't for the Word Spirit taking effect at a critical moment, she feared she would have already been separated head from body.

Fortunately, after a period of fierce fighting, Natavia had gradually become familiar with the three's tactics. Although it was difficult to defeat them under Bishop Muse's Black Curtain, self-preservation was not a problem.

Now it just depended on which side, Bishop Muse or the Scarlet avatar, would be able to achieve victory. "Is this a dream?"

Yun Mu, who was in a deep sleep, opened her eyes and found that she had returned to the illusion she had come into contact with last time.

Familiar architecture, the familiar scarlet full Moon, and that lake filled with blood-colored roses behind the building.

Actually, she didn't know if this was a lake, but that boundless blood-water and the unknown depth under the water made her think this was a lake.

She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that this time, the Moon in the sky was redder than last time.

【■■■■】

Babble that could not be parsed rang in her ears. In a trance, Yun Mu saw hideous flesh, bodies covered in blood vessels, and rotting, huge mouths revealing gums, all jointly constructing that scarlet Moon in the sky.

No, that is not the Moon! Yun Mu suddenly understood something.

That is the madness of the gods.

(End of chapter)