Chapter 483, Section 482: Sacrifice and Wrath

The entire city wailed in flames, black smoke coiling like a giant python around the crumbling spires.

Amidst this chaos, an unusual army is marching in orderly fashion through the ruins of the streets.

The leading knight held high a banner embroidered with a golden lion, followed by soldiers clad in gleaming blue armor with outstretched eagles carved on their breastplates. Their faces beneath their helmets were like stone carvings, and they seemed oblivious to the corpses lying dead along the way.

In the center of this elite force, a middle-aged man dressed in marshal's armor rode a six-legged warhorse covered in black scales.

As his gaze swept over the charred corpse curled up by the street, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Your Majesty, there are still remnants of the Fourth Prince's forces stubbornly resisting in the Eastern District," the general beside him reported in a low voice.

"My good-for-nothing brother abandoned the city and ran away, yet there are still loyalists inside?" The middle-aged man, addressed as the king, chuckled and waved his hand casually. "Leave that to the follow-up troops to clean up. We'll head straight for the palace."

Just as the faint smile on Elias's lips had not yet faded, the general beside him suddenly sprang up, grabbed the eldest prince from his horse, and pulled him backward.

The courtyard wall on the right shattered into pieces with a deafening roar, and countless thick thorny branches, as thick as giant pythons, burst out of the wall and swept across with overwhelming force.

Before the silver-armored soldiers could even raise their shields, they were instantly engulfed by the sudden green tide, and the entire elite force was reduced to wreckage in the blink of an eye.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Xi Rui'an slowly emerged from behind the collapsed courtyard wall.

The elf's robes were spotless, and his emerald eyes coldly stared at Elias, who was being protected behind the general, his tone clearly impatient:

"Time is of the essence, can't you just obediently let yourself be killed? Elias, Arthur's eldest son."

Despite the shock, Elias remained calm and instead scrutinized Sirion with interest: "I've never seen you in the palace before. Are you an accomplice sent by my good brother? No... you address Father by his first name, who are you?"

"What's the point of talking to a fake like you from the Mist?" Sirian sighed, a pale green halo swirling around his fingertips.

"A fake?" Elias laughed. "It may be a mist, but what makes you think I'm a fake, while you yourself are the real one? It's a true memory, a true will."

"What kind of living person is this that doesn't even have a soul?"

Elias, who had remained composed until then, vanished, his handsome face instantly turning grim: "Kill him."

The general who had always protected him stepped forward in response, and a terrifying pressure burst forth like a landslide and a tsunami, causing the stone slabs beneath his feet to crack inch by inch.

Xilian simply stomped his foot lightly, and countless tender green buds sprouted from the cracks in the stone slabs, instantly giving rise to countless tender branches.

The horrific battle leveled the entire street in an instant.

The battle lasted a long time, and when the thorns finally pierced Elias's chest, this imposter who claimed to possess a true will shattered into pieces before incredulous eyes.

The surrounding mist began to churn violently, then dissipated rapidly like a receding tide.

Sirian stumbled and landed in a forest.

He gently pulled down his sleeve to cover his already woody arm.

Looking around, a hint of worry flashed in her emerald eyes: "I hope Vera and the others are safe and sound..."

...

"Vera? What...what happened to you?" Lucia's trembling voice sounded particularly helpless.

She knelt in the pool of blood, unable to believe that the wounded and dying warrior before her was Vera, who always smiled at her, her last ray of hope.

Just recently, the fog that was about to engulf Golden Valley City suddenly receded at the last minute, leaving the city in chaos.

Lucia found the badly wounded Vera at the edge of the receding fog.

Vera's lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't utter a single complete syllable.

Lucia hurriedly tore off the hem of her clothes and clumsily tried to bandage the deep, bone-revealing wounds.

"I...I'll go find someone to help right away, Vera, you have to hold on!" Her voice was choked with tears as she ran quickly toward Golden Valley City.

However, the soldiers and civilians in the city, who had just been frightened by the fog, were already in complete chaos.

Lucia ran and cried for help in the chaotic crowd, but was only met with indifferent shoving.

Some people even punched her in the face several times without any politeness because of her identity.

When she returned empty-handed, the ground beneath Vera was soaked in blood, and her chest was no longer rising and falling.

“Vera? Vera!” Lucia shook his shoulders in disbelief.

Her cries did not awaken Vera, but instead attracted an uninvited guest.

Lucia was suddenly struck hard on the back of the head, her vision went black, and she collapsed softly next to Vera.

When Sirion found the place, Lucia was nowhere to be found nearby.

The elf crouched down and looked at the dozens of wounds of varying depths on Vera's body.

Judging from the wounds, Vera had been through a series of fierce battles, and the large amount of blood on the ground indicated that he eventually stopped breathing due to excessive blood loss.

But Cyril could sense that life had not completely vanished from Vera.

He sighed softly, his voice tinged with apology.

If it weren't for him, Vera and the others probably wouldn't have encountered such an extraordinary fog scene.

"Vera, don't die. At least... you shouldn't die because of me..."

Sweeping away the mycelium that was trying to spread to his body, Sirian dripped a drop of clear liquid from his fingertip and gently placed it into Vera's mouth.

A miracle then occurred: the gruesome wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, the pale face regained its color, and the dormant heart began to beat again.

If Lin Jun had been paying attention, she would have found the healing scene quite familiar. Unfortunately, Lin Jun's attention was entirely focused on the battlefield on Pink Puji's side and the upcoming feast.

Finally, Vera's breathing became steady, and she lay peacefully under the tree.

Meanwhile, Sirius's figure gradually transformed into an ancient wooden sculpture, quietly disappearing in the breeze, leaving only a few tender green leaves slowly drifting down.

[Judgment of Sacrifice in Virtue]

[Difficulty to obtain heroes reduced by 50% (×)]

Harvesting Phase (√), Salvation Points (√), Sacrifice Events (√)

[Passed]

[Achievement: Sacrifice of Virtue]

Vera's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.

Through his blurry vision, he saw Fei Ling and Fei Yin running anxiously toward him...

...

Lucia awoke in excruciating pain, the first thing she felt being the cold touch on her ankle.

A rough iron chain was firmly locked there, with the other end fixed to a wooden stake in the center of the camp.

A goblin noticed Lucia had woken up and grinned, its fangs bared, letting out a piercing laugh.

It picked up a pebble and threw it at Lucia's forehead.

She didn't dodge, or even raise her hand to block, letting the stone cut a bloody gash across her brow bone.

Warm blood slid down his cheeks, leaving a trail of blood on his pale skin, which was white due to malnutrition.

The goblin's expected screams did not come. Lucia simply sat there quietly, staring blankly at the ground, as if she had just been hit by someone else.

This reaction annoyed the goblin, who turned and left dejectedly.

Fresh blood dripped onto the soil, making a soft "drip-drip" sound.

Lucia's thoughts, however, had already drifted far away.

She remembered Vera, who died because she missed the chance to rescue her; she remembered the look of guilt in her father's eyes as he was beheaded in the square; she remembered the head maid shielding the pigmen with her body and being cleaved in two by the battle axe...

They are all dead.

Why?

This question kept echoing in her mind.

She had no choice at all, and she had never done anything wrong, so why did everyone who was good to her meet a bad end?

Why should I be the only one living in this malicious world?

With only nine fingers left, she covered her eyes. She no longer begged for help, no longer looked forward to tomorrow, and all that remained in her heart was hatred for the world.

"Humans and demons alike, may they all die."

"I wish I could have been killed along with the head maid."

[Judgment of Wrath in the Seven Deadly Sins]

[Difficulty to obtain heroes reduced by 50% (×)]

[Harvesting Phase (√), Hatred Level (√), Character Importance (×)]

[Judgment Failed]

A mist silently enveloped the camp.

The goblins looked around in panic, while the snake-man warrior raised his scales and hissed.

However, the fog grew thicker and thicker, soon engulfing the entire camp.

From within the mist, the sound of chains being torn rang out.

Before being separated, the hand with only four fingers grabbed the neck of the goblin and easily snapped it.

[Judgment of Wrath in the Seven Deadly Sins]

[Difficulty to obtain heroes reduced by 50% (×)]

Harvesting Phase (√), Hatred Points (√)

[Detection successful]

[Achievement Obtained: The Seven Deadly Sins' Wrath]

"Destroy them all..."

Dude, this is crucial plot, stop talking about filler.

(End of this chapter)