Chapter 396

Chapter 325: Final Report

On the western outskirts of Tivyán, by the banks of the Moonflow River, under the cover of night, Cleric Anreyus and Hunter Captain Edmond were dealing with the massive water snake that had just been summoned by Smith. They planned to finish off the snake and then quickly capture Smith, who was still inside the villa.

Inside the villa, in the dilapidated secret room, Smith, with his weakened body, made one final burst of energy. Before Davik could sh**t him, Smith rushed forward and bit through the traitor’s throat, ending his life.

Tasting the traitor’s bl**d, Smith’s expression slightly relaxed. However, he did not expect that Davik, who had been bitten in a vital spot, did not immediately fall but instead stood steady and drew a slender sword from behind, stabbing directly at Smith and piercing his chest.

Seeing that the traitor still had the ability to fight back, Smith was startled. He prepared to tear the man apart, ignoring the injury through his chest, as a White Chalk “Cup” could easily ignore such damage.

However, just as he was about to continue his assault, he felt something amiss. His body felt strange, and the “Cup” within him was rapidly draining from the wound in his chest. Looking down, he saw the slender sword embedded in his chest. In the flickering firelight, he noticed the inscription on the blade.

“Amniotic Sac… Ritual? How… How could you have this! Something from the main sect!”

With widened eyes, Smith spoke in disbelief, clearly shocked by the presence of the sword in Davik’s hand.

The Heart-Eating Staff Sword could only consume the “Cup” from weak bodies, and due to previous battles, Smith’s body had become so weak that it could be consumed by the sword. Sensing the rapid loss of his “Cup,” Smith reacted quickly, grabbing Davik and tearing him apart. The arm holding the sword was ripped off, and the rest of his body was thrown into the distant inferno.

Just as Smith tried to pull out the Heart-Eating Staff Sword impaled in his chest, countless black shadows attacked him, pinning him down and immobilizing his hands.

“What!”

Smith, restrained, looked around and was astonished to find that the creatures restraining him were Beastmen—beast-like humanoids. They were the Beastmen who had previously died fighting against Anreyus and Edmond. Somehow, they had all come back to life, now pressing him down, preventing him from drawing the sword.

“Flesh Puppets!!”

In the face of this situation, Smith gritted his teeth. Seeing these Flesh Puppets, he realized that some invisible force had been manipulating events from the beginning. Everything happening seemed to be under the control of a hidden will, and even the Holy War Knights and Hunters outside might be pawns!

Constrained by his former puppets, Smith struggled to break free, but his already weakened state, further weakened by the loss of “Cup,” made it difficult. Every time he managed to shake off one Beastman, another immediately took its place, biting and clawing at the already injured Smith. To prevent any delays, Dorothy ordered them to bite his vital spots. With the “Cup” being drained and his body restrained, Smith was completely immobilized.

Finally, Smith’s breathing became labored, his pale face collapsing to the ground. He died with wide eyes, torn apart by the Beastman zombies. After his d*ath, the Heart-Eating Staff Sword stopped draining his “Cup,” and the large red gem on the hilt shimmered.

The Heart-Eating Staff Sword required a more vibrant “Cup,” so it would not drain from a corpse. Inside Smith’s body, there was still a small amount of “Cup,” preventing his body from turning into a mummy, keeping it mostly intact.

“Phew… Finally dead…”

From the carriage in the distance, Dorothy, watching through the zombie’s perspective, sighed in relief. Already severely injured and weakened, it took much longer than expected for Smith to d*e. This showed how resilient a White Chalk “Cup” truly was.

Including the deaths of Alex and Claudius, Dorothy had directly or indirectly killed three White Chalks since arriving in Tivyán a few months ago.

Of course, killing a White Chalk wasn’t easy. Dorothy couldn’t win a direct confrontation with one. Among the three White Chalks who died, Alex and Smith used the power of the Church, An Yin Bureau, and Adele, while Claudius was meticulously planned and executed with significant resources before being killed.

“Pity, the two werewolves from the Wolf bl**d Association left nothing valuable when they died.”

Dorothy muttered, searching the dead Smith’s body. Most of his clothes were burned away, and whatever good items he had were either used in the battle with Anreyus and Edmond or destroyed by the fire. This left Dorothy somewhat disappointed.

Originally, Dorothy hoped to find the extraordinary item that could summon the water snake, but it seemed that either the summoning was one-time or the item was lost or destroyed. Now, Dorothy had no time to search thoroughly.

“Huh… Looks like Lu’e really has too many good things for someone just leading a small city society…”

Dorothy continued, marveling at how rich Lu’e was, considering he was merely a leader of a small city society. Besides the Frenzied Banquet Sigil and Extinguishing Black Candles, Smith’s reaction to the Heart-Eating Staff Sword indicated it was no ordinary extraordinary item.

“The main temple… According to his meaning, this Heart-Eating Staff Sword should be something from the main temple of the Placenta Sect. I wonder why such a precious item ended up in Lu’e’s hands… Is there a story behind this?”

Manipulating Smith to remove the Heart-Eating Staff Sword from his chest, Dorothy muttered, “The Placenta Sect’s core belief is the Cup Mother. There should be a main temple aside from branches like the Wolf bl**d Association. But according to Adele, because the Cup Mother hasn’t issued any divine revelations, this main temple that only worships the Cup Mother has fallen into decline, squeezed by the expanding power of the other three factions.”

After securing the staff sword, Dorothy controlled Smith and his Beastmen to continue searching the secret room for anything valuable. Unfortunately, due to the fire, Dorothy only found a nearly destroyed Secret Transmission besides the staff sword.

“Alright… One book is better than none. The fire is getting bigger, and the water snake outside is almost dealt with. We need to get the items out soon.”