Chapter 134, Chapter Thirty-Five: The Lost Manor
The holy war was lost.
The people gathered in the chapel were initially bewildered.
No one knew the consequences of defeat.
What will happen to them? Will they die?
The ants were gone, and no one could answer the questions in their hearts.
Only half the people were in the chapel, and the atmosphere was unusually solemn.
The turning point was around 3 p.m.
At the start of the Third Holy War, everyone clearly noticed that the demons had become stronger.
At six o'clock in the morning, a breach appeared in the barrier, which was then suppressed by the third-place finisher from the previous round, who was holding millet.
However, less than two hours later, leaks appeared simultaneously in the southeast, northwest, and southwest.
This invasion was extremely serious. Cheng Yuzhou used up all his grain, and Li Yufei also used the newly acquired Apollo cards.
She revealed the card to Cheng Yuzhou as early as three days after the end of the Second Holy War.
That same day, Cheng Yuzhou organized a short meeting to announce Li Yufei's new card, tell everyone that there were lost divine cards in the manor, and encourage everyone to actively search for them.
Song Xiaona stepped forward at the opportune moment, showcasing the two new cards she had bound, and explained the binding mechanism to everyone.
Upon hearing this news, everyone was excited, but after searching until the Third Holy War, only one person discovered the new card.
With the grain depleted, the second breach was temporarily suppressed thanks to the new cards.
Song Xiaona made some adjustments to the group assignments, but soon the barrier broke open again.
Once or twice is an accident, but the third time is no longer a coincidence.
It is obvious that the original grouping is no longer applicable to the Third Holy War. The sum of the faith power of each group is lower than that of the demon, which is why there are constant leaks.
Song Xiaona urgently reorganized the group assignments.
The sudden large-scale personnel changes and the disorganized handover process caused the barrier to immediately leak air everywhere.
The old groups disbanded, and the new groups were not yet in place when the riot broke out. Those who were near the new groups rushed to them, while those who had just set off naturally turned back to the old groups. The rhythm of the crowd was instantly disrupted.
The number of people in each group was uneven. New groups couldn't wait for everyone to arrive, and old groups lost their original members. The groups merged in a chaotic manner, and the manor was thrown into chaos. The central control also lost information on the distribution of personnel and could no longer take overall control and make overall arrangements.
Just like after the first wave of collapse, Song Xiaona immediately notified everyone to regroup at the castle, but this invasion was different.
In the first half of the first round, Cheng Yuzhou forcibly reduced the demon's value using negative energy. This time, he returned the suppressed portion.
Since entering the park, apart from being frightened in the first week, they have won the two subsequent holy wars without any casualties.
The two holy wars won four weeks of peace, and a month of leisurely life in the small town made people think that this time it would just be a matter of sitting and driving away demons.
With the protection of faith, even demons are not hideous; they are just common plants and animals, making it easy for people to become complacent.
Until this time, seeing their companions driven mad by the corruption of poppies, seeing someone being torn apart by birds, seeing someone being swallowed whole by scallops... the despair of death, the fear of being tortured, and the collapse of defeat completely crushed the crowd.
The wheelchairs fell to the ground in disarray. They fled in panic, their minds clouded by fear and suspicion. Whenever a demon appeared, they desperately kissed the talisman, completely disregarding whether their teammates had already used their skills or whether their faith power was sufficient to defend against that number of demons.
The excessive repetition and waste of card skills puts humanity at a greater disadvantage.
The defeat was swift and overwhelming, and the decline was unstoppable.
In the end, they had no choice but to huddle inside the building, locking their doors in small groups, not daring to take a single step out, let alone follow the broadcast to gather at the castle.
Starting in the afternoon, intense negative emotions erupted like an underwater volcano, and excessive black fog filled the air with strange tales. The world in Yanzi's eyes was almost completely dark, and she couldn't see the road.
He was greatly shocked. Everything was just as Cheng Yuzhou had said. His ghost stories did not quickly fade away like Lulu and Gong Baidie's later works.
After a four-week period of relative calm, it actually reversed course and reached its highest peak since the beginning of Manor Ghost Stories.
Even though the swallow didn't need this negative energy, it couldn't help but marvel at Cheng Yuzhou.
This seemingly calm and gentle spirit is actually incredibly ruthless in its actions.
By the end of the third round of holy war, the scattered groups had not been able to reunite.
The largest group of people is currently gathered in the castle chapel, totaling twenty-three people.
No matter how powerful the demons were, this number of people would have been enough to break through the darkness, but at this moment, the twenty-three people were scattered into three sections, each sitting stiffly in their own camp, and no one made a move. The atmosphere was heavy and tense.
An argument just took place here three hours ago.
Song Xiaona suggested that they go out immediately to search and rescue.
This reasonable and legitimate plan, however, has been met with skepticism and opposition.
"Everyone advised you not to waste the opportunity, but you wouldn't listen!" The middle-aged woman, who had watched helplessly as her husband was taken away by poppies, roared hysterically. "When we begged you to open the shop, you were so aloof. Now how dare you order us around! We followed your plans and instructions. We trusted you so much, and this is how you repay us!"
"You always think we've been brainwashed, and that you're the only one who's clear-headed!"
One man angrily said, "I told you to open a shop, but you wouldn't! You may not have fought in a war, but you've at least played a game, right? Don't you know how important it is to open up resources in the early stages? You don't even understand this basic common sense, so why are you taking on this difficult task? Who wants to listen to your nonsense!"
"Everyone, calm down!" Dean urged frantically. "Who could have imagined the demon would be so strong this time! Xiaona is human, not a god, and she was the one you all elected to lead from the beginning. Didn't she bring you victory the first two times?"
Song Xiaona coldly watched the angry crowd. At this moment, everyone forgot her previous contributions and only saw the defeat before them.
"That was just luck!" someone shouted. "A woman as arrogant as her, who doesn't listen to advice, will be in trouble sooner or later. Was she doing that for us? She was doing it so she could get out!"
“Some people have already been killed by her misguided instructions, so we can no longer believe her nonsense.”
"We're out of grain, and only have three hours left. Each person can only use their card skills six or seven times at most. We can't win this time! Let's stay here; at least we can guarantee we won't die."
"I'm putting my words here," the middle-aged man stepped onto the table, shouting indignantly, "If someone needs to be punished for defeat, it will definitely be her responsibility!"
His neck veins bulged, and he pointed at Song Xiaona, spitting as he spoke, "She wasted our hard-earned victory in the last round. Look at her! Does she show even a hint of remorse or self-reproach? Every time we win in the future, if the first-place prize falls into her hands, it will all be for nothing! This kind of person is a menace and must be held accountable!"
"Hey!" Li Yufei couldn't stand it anymore. "What right do you have to talk about her like that? What have you done for everyone? Is it necessary to be so unreasonable?"
The woman who had lost her husband immediately shrieked: "Your husband isn't dead! It's easy for you to say that when you're not the one suffering!"
"Who said that? My husband... is long dead!"
Li Yufei almost blurted those words out.
Cheng Yuzhou, who had been observing from the sidelines, immediately stepped in front of Li Yufei. "Everyone, calm down. We can deal with the responsibility later. What's important right now is this. I understand your pain, but if this predicament isn't broken, the casualties will only increase."
“Mr. Zheng, you’re right.” A middle-aged man wearing glasses pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. “But I think it would be better to change the commander next.”
"It's not that I'm questioning Miss Song's abilities, it's just that people are mostly emotional right now, and the lost trust will probably be hard to rebuild."
This statement was relatively objective, and the crowd immediately responded, "Yes!" "Change people!" "If it doesn't work, step down and let someone like Mr. Zheng organize it."
“I understand what you all mean,” Cheng Yuzhou said with difficulty. “But time is really running out. I’m not confident that I can turn the tide. If I rashly order everyone to go out, it will increase casualties and further damage our confidence.”
"I'm powerless to change this situation," he said, looking at everyone. "If any of you have any good ideas, please don't hesitate to share them."
"Mr. Zheng is too modest." "Please tell me your thoughts; you must have some ideas."
"Yes, you tell us your plan first. If we all think it's feasible, we'll follow your plan. In the current situation, if we lose, it won't be your fault."
All eyes were on Cheng Yuzhou, while Song Xiaona stood outside the circle, silent.
Dean tried to pull her away in concern, but she shook him off.
Song Xiaona dared not approach the puppet who had been brainwashed by Cheng Yuzhou.
It always seemed to be like this. From middle school onwards, whenever she and Cheng Yuzhou appeared together, the spotlight would always shine on Cheng Yuzhou, while she would always be overshadowed by him.
Song Xiaona didn't want to make excuses, but the fact was that the Cheng family was far too powerful in every aspect, far beyond what their travel company could compare to.
Many people advised her that, given her background, being able to sit at the same table as Cheng Yuzhou was a victory in itself.
Song Xiaona understood this as well.
But she was just not willing to give up.
She raised her eyes and coldly looked at the young man in the crowd.
If you're dead, why come back?
Why couldn't he die again!
A bright and beautiful figure entered the cold, hateful gaze.
Song Xiaona was taken aback. When she saw Li Yufei walking towards her, she grabbed her and pulled her to a corner without saying a word.
"What are you doing!" Song Xiaona hissed, shaking her hand away.
"What are you doing? I was just asking you what you're doing!" Li Yufei whispered, "Where are your cards? Use them!"
Song Xiaona lowered her eyes, "I haven't decided yet who to give them to."
"Then use it yourself!" Li Yufei glared. "What's there to hesitate about!"
"No way!" Song Xiaona immediately rejected the idea.
Why not?
“I…” Song Xiaona took a deep breath and looked at Li Yufei, “I could disappear at any time, and these important resources cannot be placed on my shoulders.”
Li Yufei asked in bewilderment, "Why are you disappearing?"
“He won’t spare me.” Song Xiaona glanced at Cheng Yuzhou out of the corner of her eye. “I thought he would take some action after the Second Holy War.”
However, Cheng Yuzhou has not made a move against her yet, which is highly illogical.
“I don’t know when he plans to make his move, but he can’t afford to waste all his cards on me.” She turned to Li Yufei and said, “If I’m not around, or if I act strangely, you should know who the killer is.”
"You're overthinking it," Li Yufei said unhappily. "I know you two don't like each other, but haven't you gone to the same school all these years? He can just ignore you, why would he want to kill you?"
"Heh." Song Xiaona crossed her arms and chuckled. "That would be best. But if I'm really not around, or if I act strangely or become unlike myself, you have to be careful of him."
"hold head high?"
"I suspect he has the ability to manipulate minds and brainwash people."
"Huh? What is this?" What brainwashing? This is getting more and more outrageous.
"Don't forget, Psyche is not only the goddess of the soul, but also the goddess of the heart. The latter is more important than the former. Even before she became a god, Psyche possessed a beauty of the heart that even the goddess of beauty envied, while your card skills have nothing to do with the heart."
"I suspect that this ability didn't disappear, but was stolen."
"Wait a minute," Li Yufei couldn't understand the amount of information, "What makes you say that?"
“Because Dean was…” Noticing Cheng Yuzhou looking in their direction, Song Xiaona fell silent.
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Li Yufei raised an eyebrow. "Do you think talking bad about Cheng Yuzhou in front of me will do any good?"
She hadn't forgotten that yesterday Song Xiaona had teamed up with three burly men, seemingly intending to surround her.
"You think I'm joking with you?" Song Xiaona asked in a deep voice. "You don't trust me at all?"
"Ha, that's a funny question. Why should I believe a woman who cut my clothes before the performance?" Li Yufei put her hands on her hips and covered her mouth with her other hand. "What did you say to me back then—'Opps, how lucky Yufei, you don't have to embarrass yourself on stage this time.' Is that even human language?! Song Xiaona, you're really despicable."
"And what about you? In front of all the teachers and students backstage, you ripped all my clothes off, almost exposing me in public. What's there to complain about!"
"Have you no shame! Would I retaliate against you if you didn't do something bad?" She's seriously sick! "I'm only lenient because I didn't post your nude photos on the campus network."
Song Xiaona didn't want to get entangled and ended the endless dredging up of the past: "Fine, you don't have to believe me, but you must pay attention to the objective facts."
Li Yufei said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense. Do you think I'm some naive and innocent female lead? You think I'll turn against my boyfriend just because the villainous female supporting character stirs things up? Stop worrying unnecessarily. The important thing is to deal with the devil in front of you!"
She's really gotten hooked on playing Psyche's sister; why do they keep urging her to do it?
She wouldn't fall for it; on the issue of Song Xiaona, she would always stand with Cheng Yuzhou against outsiders.
"Are you sure?" Song Xiaona looked directly at her sharply. "Is our primary objective really to eliminate the demon?"
"Otherwise what?" Li Yufei was shocked. "We can't even get past this hurdle, so what's the point of thinking about future plans?"
Song Xiaona disagreed, "Do you think that we'll die if we fail even once?"
"Don't forget, you were the one who told me that there would be a resurrection mechanism here, so that there wouldn't be any irreversible tragedies."
She stared at Cheng Yuzhou across the distance, a cold smirk playing on her lips. "Don't get supply and demand backwards, Li Yufei. It's this manor that needs us, not the other way around. How could it bear to let us die?"
Li Yufei's brows slowly furrowed.
Song Xiaona kept saying that Cheng Yuzhou wanted to harm her—
Cheng Yuzhou was always with her, so he had no time to harm Song Xiaona.
At least for now, Song Xiaona is neither dead nor mentally controlled as she claimed; she remains the same person Li Yufei knows.
Things that haven't happened yet can't be attributed to Cheng Yuzhou in any way.
Li Yufei wouldn't easily believe any provocation, but Song Xiaona's cold and resolute demeanor made her hesitate.
She didn't seem to be rambling on and on without any purpose.
Li Yufei thought to herself that she should ask Cheng Yuzhou for his opinion when she had time.
With little time left and the situation beyond saving, everyone decided to give up.
Once midnight passed, the stars and moon lost their light, the dark clouds did not dissipate, and the entire manor remained shrouded in boundless darkness.
Strangely, all the demons outside the window disappeared.
"Is it over...?"
"It's okay to fail?"
People asked each other anxiously.
"Look at the Covenant!"
"Faith value... decreased?"
Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly opened their copies of the Holy Covenant.
Everyone's Gold Faith value dropped by 10-20 points; this was the first time Gold Faith had been deducted on such a large scale.
"What's going on?!"
"A victory adds a maximum of 5 points, but a defeat deducts so much?"
"Why is it the Golden Faith that's being confiscated!"
Amidst the surprise and doubt, someone exclaimed, "New content has appeared!"
Turning to the third page, under the latest winning rule, appeared extremely vicious and harsh words:
[8. You are an incompetent parasite, a despicable coward! You have failed the goddess and betrayed your faith!]
The goddess, awakened from the demons' clutches, was filled with grief. She exerted all her strength to reset the battlefield for her people.
Pick up your weapons! Summon your courage! Return to the battlefield immediately!
"What do you mean?" "Reset?"
"Again?"
"We've run out of grain this time, we can't possibly win!"
"Not only do we lack grain, but our faith points are also low. How can we possibly win?"
"Don't panic, everyone!" Cheng Yuzhou shouted.
He stopped refusing and stepped forward, immediately drawing the attention of the survivors who were like ants on a hot pan.
“Since we’re starting over, there must be a way to win, otherwise resetting would be meaningless,” Cheng Yuzhou said. “I have a few ideas, but first we need to get everyone together. If you’re willing to trust me, I’d like to set off immediately.”
"Mr. Zheng has an idea?" "What method?"
“There are no demons outside now. I’ll go to the broadcasting station first and notify the others to come over,” Cheng Yuzhou said.
"Are you going alone?"
“My partner and I are together,” Cheng Yuzhou said.
“It’s still too dangerous for just two people,” many people agreed. “We’ll go with you.”
"That would be perfect," he said with a smile. "Thank you everyone."
“We don’t need so many people to go,” Song Xiaona suddenly said. “I’ll go with you.”
The surrounding gazes suddenly became tense, mixed with curses.
Cheng Yuzhou didn't object. "Sure. If anyone else wants to come along and see what's going on, they're very welcome."
After he finished speaking, seven or eight middle-aged and young people immediately walked out.
Leaving the castle, there was indeed no demon to be seen outside, but further ahead, one could see clusters of plants and animals outside the barrier.
After the battle is reset, the barrier will automatically repair itself, and everything will start anew.
"Hurry!" Cheng Yuzhou instructed the group, "Before the new barrier is destroyed!"
Upon arriving at the broadcasting station, Cheng Yuzhou used the loudspeaker to notify the others: the demon has temporarily retreated. Please proceed to the chapel immediately. If the elderly or children have difficulty moving around, please send a representative to report the situation.
Not everyone has the courage to go out, but each group has at least one brave person who can come and provide them with intelligence.
After gathering as many contacts as possible, Cheng Yuzhou quickly marked their distribution on the map.
“Taking the 47 people present as an example, each person lost an average of 13 faith points in this round. In groups of 2-5 people, the group with the fewest loss was 24 points, and the group with the most loss was 59 points,” Cheng Yuzhou said solemnly. “Not only that, but the number of known casualties is also 4.”
After hearing his analysis, everyone became even more terrified. "What should we do?" "If we lose again, will the fighting go on forever?"
"Everyone, please don't rush. The existence of a reset mechanism proves that there is definitely a chance of victory; otherwise, this mechanism would be meaningless." Cheng Yuzhou repeated his previous words. "I have two conjectures."
"First, the power of a demon is directly proportional to its faith value."
"The demon's power increases over these three rounds because our faith value also increases. Therefore, as our combat strength decreases in this round, the demon's power may also decrease."
"Isn't that being too optimistic? What if it isn't?"
"Yeah, there's no real evidence. Maybe each stage will be harder than the last?"
"There is indeed no evidence to support this one, but I am quite confident about the second conjecture."
What is it?
Cheng Yuzhou opened the "Holy Covenant," stating, "The reason for the Holy War is that [the Goddess will fall into a period of rest every seventh day, allowing demons to take advantage of the situation]. However, everyone, the new rules clearly state that what is being [reset] is the [battlefield], not [time]."
Today is the eighth day.
Someone was completely confused: "So?"
Someone suddenly realized: "[The goddess, awakened from the clutches of demons, is filled with sorrow]...The goddess has awakened!"
Cheng Yuzhou nodded. "The goddess has awakened. I think we can try praying."
"pray?"
“The prayers within this manor have never been ignored by the goddess,” Cheng Yuzhou said earnestly. “Even the ‘sinner’ will receive the goddess’s forgiveness and redemption if they pray on the execution ground. Give it a try.”
"That's certainly a solution..." "Then let's pray!"
Soon, various prayers arose from the crowd: "Goddess, help us."
"Goddess, please help us! We attend Mass on time every day, and we give thanks to you before eating and drinking every day!"
"Beautiful, brave, righteous, kind, resilient, and powerful goddess Psyche, have mercy and grant your blessing."
Some people even started reciting the Covenant.
For some reason, Li Yufei was always uncomfortable with the scene of everyone praying.
Especially Cheng Yuzhou beside him, who is clearly an atheist. The mythological elements in this manor are just artistic styles to him, but since the strange tales were opened, he has always been in a devout posture.
Right now, he is also half-lowering his eyelids, sincerely and earnestly praising and praying.
She didn't like him like this, as if he had gone mad.
Li Yufei was hesitating whether to join in the prayer when suddenly, the Covenant in everyone's hands emitted a golden light.
Everyone opened the "Covenant" with great surprise, and saw a line of gold and red text appear below the faith value display on the inside of the cover:
The goddess has heard your voice; she will respond to your devotion and grant you the power that sits beneath her.
Below this line of text, there is another line of gold-red text:
[Thanksgiving Goddess] (Faith Value -3)
Before anyone could wonder about the meaning of the two lines of text, an elderly woman who was used to pointing and reading touched the four characters "[Thank Goddess]" with her finger.
In an instant, the Holy Covenant in her hand shone with golden light, and a layer of red tinge appeared on the gold.
The golden and red intertwined divine light was exactly the same as the light when the card skill was triggered.
Inside the chapel, beneath the silent statue of the goddess standing before the stained glass, rose vines, like snakes emerging from their holes, extend outwards.
The crowd retreated, for they had seen the rose bushes beneath the goddess's seat more than once.
Each execution involved binding the victim tightly with thorny branches, transforming them into instruments of unspeakable cruelty.
Upon suddenly seeing the bramble, everyone retreated in alarm.
It didn't move forward much, but tangled and intertwined before the statue, slowly weaving into a tall and imposing human figure.
The dark green brambles grew denser and denser, and the human figure became more and more distinct.
Finally, a vibrant, blood-red, and alluring rose bloomed on the humanoid figure's chest.
A flash of light, and the green brambles transformed into golden armor.
To everyone's astonishment, a majestic golden-armored knight appeared before the throne, his armor adorned with rose patterns.
It walked towards the old woman, each step swift and menacing, cold and chilling.
The crowd quickly moved aside, and the old woman clutched her chest, pale as a sheet, too frightened to move.
The next moment, the knight, who was less than two zhang away from her, knelt down on one knee.
Without a word, it stood like an old-fashioned weapon, coldly bowing its head, awaiting orders.
-----------------------
A note from the author:
The old lady clutched her chest: Oh dear, my new illness has come out of my body.
Why are all the aunties I mention in every book about Fang Pu from the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai area?
Because this is the only thing I know how to do (sad)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
