Chapter 251: Forgot to tell you, I am a god

Sizzle

The black water formed from the corpse of the goat-horn demon whose head was blown apart by an explosive arrow also became clear, as if purified.

When an otherworldly demon that has come to the real universe, or a creature whose soul has been plundered and whose body is occupied by a demon, is physically destroyed, it turns into a puddle of foul-smelling black water.

Even if its body is physically destroyed, it's no big deal for a demon.

This approach merely banishes them back to the otherworld, unable to completely destroy their essence, and under certain conditions they can return to the real universe.

Unless Sui Bian personally performs spiritual energy plunder.

But the unusual behavior shown by the goat-horn and snake-bodied demons when physically destroyed is due to a special explosive arrow called 'Moonlight'.

The warhead of the Moonlight explosive arrow contains Round Moon Water, which can purify the filth coming from otherworlds, hell planes, and the like.

Round Moon Water can also severely wound demons; those banished back to the otherworld need an extremely long time to recover to their original state.

This is why the blood demon and Samael that invaded Earth regarded Artemis as a thorn in their side.

The Round Moon Lake originally located in Bulgaria, with its giant crystal at the lake bottom, had already been moved by Umbrella to Titan, the moon used exclusively for training Grey Knights and Ghost Agents.

This move amounted to destroying Artemis's former residence, the Moonlight Divine Temple, as well as Round Moon Lake.

But this move was carried out with Artemis's full cooperation.

That huge crystal is now placed in the northern hemisphere of Titan Star, at the center of that vast azure lake.

Therefore, the lake's name is also Round Moon, after all, the key to producing Round Moon Water is that crystal and Artemis.

After dealing with the two demons, Artemis glanced at the warehouse hiding civilians, but paid it no further heed.

She gripped her small-caliber explosive arrow gun, walked toward the end of the one-way street, and said, 'Sweep away the demons.'

'Yes.'

'Thud, thud'

The sound of magnetic boots stepping on the ground grew fainter and faded away completely down this one-way street, leaving behind the airborne warehouse whose door was automatically closing.

As for the civilians inside the warehouse, they had no idea what was happening outside, and out of fear, no one dared open the gate to go out and check.

Grey Knights are an existence even more secret than Ghost Agents, with most company employees never having learned of them.

All that is known is that Titan Star is an exclusive training planet where even A-rank employees must submit an application to land, and the UNSC and UEG have no right to visit, let alone the civilians hiding in the warehouse.

This does not mean Grey Knights will slaughter innocent civilians for secrecy's sake, but if they determine that otherworldly contamination has reached a certain level, they will still take necessary measures.

For now, Arcadia remains under Artemis and her team's control, so they will not resort to extreme measures.

Leaving the one-way street.

Artemis and five Grey Knights used Moonlight explosive arrows to 'purify' any demons whose situation remained unclear.

Their efficient cleansing of impurity continued until they reached the Area 11 main road.

Here remained more than ten uncorrupted UNSC Army soldiers.

The soldiers used the strength boost from their mechanical exoskeletons to push and move the wrecked vehicles, forming a simple barricade at the center of the main road.

Relying on this barricade, the soldiers are engaged in a fierce battle with a mob of fanatical believers and a red-skinned bull-headed demon wielding a bone hammer.

However, that demon, swollen to about five meters in size, has no intention of joining the fight.

It sits on the roof of a bus, avidly watching the believers and soldiers slaughter each other, enjoying a 'visual feast' of human carnage.

'Second Lieutenant! We can't hold out!'

'Yesterday the unit mutinied, today we're facing a bunch of lunatics, and damn it there's a demon too! What the hell is going on with this world!'

Among the hundreds of fanatical believers are mixed in sheriffs and special squads who originally believed in Samael but have now turned to embrace that bull-headed demon.

The huge numerical disparity and dwindling ammunition make the soldiers' situation miserable, with the constant possibility of being overwhelmed by the fanatical believers.

'Damn it!'

The second lieutenant in charge of these remaining soldiers cursed loudly, swapped the last magazine into his pistol, turned to look at a soldier carrying an anti-tank rocket launcher, and shouted:

'Sanchez! Don't hold onto that cannon—we might die, but we're taking that bull-headed monster with us!'

'Yes! Second Lieutenant!'

The soldier named Sanchez threw his gun aside, shouldered the anti-tank rocket launcher on his right, aimed at the bull-headed demon, and pulled the trigger.

'Whoosh—!'

The small anti-tank missile shot out of the tube, tracing a white path as it surged toward the bull-headed demon.

'Boom——!'

The missile successfully struck the demon, triggering a violent explosion; fire and thick smoke rose rapidly, the shockwave knocked down nearby believers and shattered the glass of surrounding buildings.

This commotion successfully stalled the believers' frenzied attack; they turned around to look behind, fearing their new master might also suddenly vanish.

'Hahaha!'

However, their new master emerged unscathed from the smoke, letting out a cheerful laugh, his red-glowing eyes fixed on the soldiers as he said:

'Not bad, not bad—humans really are an interesting species!'

'My devout children! Capture these brave and fearless soldiers alive, make them our companions—go!'

As the bull-headed demon's words fell, the believers' bodies actually emitted a visible scarlet light.

'For blood!'

'For slaughter!'

Feeling the 'Blessing of God,' the believers could not help but shout loudly, continuing their frantic charge, determined to capture these clueless soldiers alive for their master.

'Splat! Splat!'

'Pfft! Pfft!'

But the Moonlight explosive arrow easily tore apart the bodies blessed by 'God,' causing the believers to explode in rows.

Immediately afterward, Artemis and the five Grey Knights swiftly crossed the barricade of wrecked vehicles and plunged straight into the believers.

One believer hadn't even reacted to what had happened when he saw a flash of silver before his eyes, his field of vision

No, it should be said the whole body, as if split in two by some kind of sharp blade.

Then the two halves of the body were enveloped by a pale blue flame, quickly scorching them to ash, leaving only a few bone fragments.

This follower died by the "Revenge Goddess" Power Halberd.

The high‑energy field surrounding the halberd, extremely "smooth", sliced the follower in two.

And the field, saturated with the Gray Knight's Spiritual Energy, would scorch the follower's body and the demon‑corrupted soul alike into ash.

The Gray Knight's appearance directly reversed the soldiers' forced corruption, and with an attack speed imperceptible to the human eye, erased the chaos gathering on this main thoroughfare.

And at the very front was Artemis, the smallest and thinnest, even wearing dedicated Power Armor, standing less than 1.9 m tall.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Her small‑caliber Explosive Arrow Gun continuously "purified" the degenerate scum.

Click!

When the magazine ran empty, she also rushed to the front of the Bull‑Head Demon.

Watching Artemis calmly replace the magazine, the Bull‑Head Demon showed an extremely surprised expression.

Is Artemis human?

Or a counterpart from its other dimension?

What about the Gray Knight that slaughtered its plaything (the follower)?

The Bull‑Head Demon couldn't understand, and it was too lazy to figure it out, so it immediately swung its ton‑heavy bone hammer at Artemis, bellowing:

"Die!"

"Clack—bang—!"

However, the scene the Bull‑Head Demon expected—a single hammer blow turning Artemis into mush—did not occur; instead, a faint yellow‑glowing energy shield shattered its bone hammer.

"How is this possible?!" the Bull‑Head Demon shouted in terror.

"How could it not be possible?"

Artemis said, attaching the reloaded Explosive Arrow Gun to the outer plate of her right thigh, taking the "Transparent Jar" from her waist with her left hand, and, with a seemingly effortless fist, swung forward.

Thud—!

The skinny Artemis landed a punch that knocked the five‑meter‑tall Bull‑Head Demon to the ground.

Pfft!!

Black, viscous blood spurted from the demon's mouth.

Artemis then walked slowly to the side of the Bull‑Head, pulled the pull‑ring of the Transparent Jar, released the safety, and tossed it into the bleeding mouth.

Boom~! a muffled blast.

!!

The low‑intensity explosion inside its body made the Bull‑Head Demon writhe in silent agony.

Sizzle.

Accompanied by a harsh corrosive sound, the demon's blood, flesh and bones rapidly turned into a clear pool of water.

Seeing the water flowing to his feet, Artemis readjusted her Explosive Arrow Gun, shrugged, and said with a hint of self‑mockery:

"Scum, I forgot to tell you, I am a goddess. Though I have a day job, I'm not a being you kind of scum can contend with."

After speaking, the Gray Knights that had eliminated all the followers also gathered on her left and right.

"Continue sweeping the next urban district's demons," Artemis said.

"Yes," the Gray Knights replied in unison.

The Transparent Jar had been filled with Moon Water, which allowed purification at extreme speed.

And the Bull‑Head Demon, expelled back to its other dimension, will continue to feel a burning pain for at least several hundred years, unable to plague the real universe for a short time.

The reason it was knocked down by a single punch is simple.

As Artemis said, she is a goddess; even though Sui Bian stripped her of divine power, her physique far exceeds that of ordinary humans, even Astate.

Even without Power Armor, her skin alone can withstand standard Explosive Arrow attacks.

Only energy weapons or Spiritual Energy attacks can harm her; she ranks second only to Sui Bian and the ten OriginalBodies within Umbrella's combat power.

Otherwise, merely producing Moon Water would not make her the chief instructor of the Gray Knights.

At this moment.

The soldiers standing by the wrecked vehicles widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and stared in disbelief at Artemis and her companions who had already retreated.

After a pause, a soldier sighed: "Those… are Astate?"

"Much fiercer than imagined, like a humanoid tank."

"I always feel they could smash a tank as well."

Two soldiers echoed.

"Guys," the soldier firing anti‑tank missiles knocked on his helmet, spread his hands, and, utterly confused, said:

"Didn't you hear? That woman said she's a goddess! A goddess!"

"Calm down, we already have demons; seeing a goddess is hardly a surprise anymore."

The recovered Second Lieutenant, indifferent, turned his pistol, addressed his subordinates:

"Since we can see Astate, the first wave of support has arrived; soon UNSC and Umbrella's main fleet will reach Arcadia.

Thus our mission is to keep protecting civilians, eliminating the remnants raging in District 11, and don't forget the goddess is on our side."

"Yes! Lieutenant!" the soldiers shouted enthusiastically.

Next.

From a bird's‑eye view of the whole urban district, the armor‑clad Gray Knights reflected silver light, becoming silver silhouettes that physically purified all chaos.

The retired veterans who sensed the situation changing, as well as the UNSC and the security officers who had not been corrupted, also saw their morale become extremely high.

The remaining Krig, however, has no notion of morale levels and continues to methodically deal with demons and traitors.

When the location of the metropolitan area shifts from dawn to noon…

Outside the atmosphere.

Nearly forty vortex‑like jump portals of varying sizes, emitting blue light, suddenly appear in low Earth orbit above the northern hemisphere of Arcadia, allowing the UNSC's 3rd Fleet to enter Rift Space.

One by one, the jump portals dispatch one Phoenix‑class flagship, two Heroic‑class super‑heavy cruisers, eight Marathon‑class ships, twenty‑four Azure Eagle‑class vessels, and two large supply ships.

This is the size of a UNSC main fleet, sufficient for a planet‑scale, even a stellar‑system‑scale operation.

After exiting Rift Space, the fleet begins to disperse, heading toward the metropolitan area and the major cities of Arcadia.

Inside the corridor of the Phoenix‑class flagship.

Sui Bian, having changed into his dedicated nanotech suit, walks toward the large machinery chamber at the end of the corridor together with two artificial intelligences and his two OriginalBody sons.

The Red Queen reports to him: "Sir, the Third and Sixth Legions are ready and will coordinate with the UNSC 3rd Fleet for post‑operation work."

"Sir." the White Queen adds in time: "The engineering ship the doctor (plague doctor) is aboard is expected to arrive at Arcadia in three hours."

"Hmm."

Sui Bian nods lightly and enters the machinery chamber.

There is no platform here for conveniently donning the Mechanical exoskeleton, but the ceiling of the bay is equipped with numerous robotic arms to assist UNSC soldiers in wearing Mechanical exoskeletons and individual gear.

In the area nearest the hatch, a group of technicians belonging to Umbrella is present.

Seeing Sui Bian approach, the technicians begin preparations, attaching the Mechanical exoskeleton components stored in the large equipment crate to the robotic arms.

Sui Bian walks to the center of the area, where the technicians help him don his dedicated Mechanical exoskeleton.

Soon, Sui Bian is clad in a Mechanical exoskeleton that is primarily black, with gold‑colored trim along the edges and armor seams.

"Black‑Gold Armor."

This armor, forged by Hephestus, helps Sui Bian better control Spiritual Energy and quickly alleviates the fatigue caused by its consumption.

Of course, the Mechanical exoskeleton also enhances Sui Bian's strength and reaction speed.

However, this enhancement is extremely marginal for him at present.

(End of Chapter)