Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 40: God’s Chosen One

A group of Immortal Knights marched silently through the snowy plains.

Each of them wore a badge made of rubies for insulation. Their armor completely covered their faces, and even the black horses beneath them were clad in armor. They walked at a moderate pace, the hooves of their steeds leaving deep dark pits in the snow.

At the end of their procession, a carriage dragged two massive iron maidens. These contraptions were made of pitch-black metal, adorned with arcane glyphs, and suspicious dark brown stains could be seen in their crevices.

Being natives of this land, the knights knew they could never leave. However, they accepted this with relish—it was a command from the Demon Lord, representing the will of the Eternal Son.

This would be a splendid sacrifice, and they would attain eternity in God’s Kingdom.

“Verify the situation once more,” the lead knight said in a deep voice. He was notably robust, almost one and a half times as broad as the others.

“If you encounter the old hunter or the white wolf, capture them immediately and break their limbs. Ensure you leave them alive, to prevent unforeseen circumstances.”

The rest of the knights responded in unison. Their tones varied, but they spoke emotionlessly and in perfect synchronization. “If you come across a ‘player’, subdue them with a potent toxin, then interrogate them using the ‘Black Maiden’. The limit is fourteen days.”

If Nol were present, he would instantly grasp their malicious plan—

Those iron maidens weren’t cages at all, but some kind of “white wheel” machine. Once a player was locked inside, they would be pinned throughout their body. The excruciating pain aside, they couldn’t move a muscle. Combined with the poison, players would continuously lose levels, regressing to a Lv. 1 novice.

At that point, they would simply be at their mercy.

……

After marching through the snowfields for most of the day, the knights found the hunter’s cabin. A warm orange light glowed from its windows, and cheerful smoke wafted from its chimney, standing out starkly against the muted snow-covered forest.

The procession halted. The leading knight signaled, and a knight from the back dismounted, drew his sword, and approached the cabin’s door.

All was silent inside.

The knight touched the wooden door with his fingertip. After a few seconds, the wood corroded, forming a small hole. He leaned in for a surreptitious peek—

But what he saw was a golden eye. It stared coldly back at him, then curved slightly as if its owner was smiling.

Without hesitation, the Immortal Knight thrust his poisoned blade through the door, but he didn’t feel it pierce flesh.

With a creak, the door swung violently, hitting the knight’s helmet and causing him to drop his stuck sword. Teest gracefully spun, drawing his blade in a fluid motion, and cleanly slit the knight’s throat.

It all happened in mere seconds.

Dark blood poured from the knight’s helmet, and he fell silent.

Teest, sword in hand and humming a tune, confidently approached the group of Immortal Knights. In the light reflecting off the snow, his golden earring on the left ear shimmered with a beautiful yet dangerous glow.

Seeing their comrade fall, the remaining knights showed no emotion and stood still while a layer of snow accumulated on their pauldrons.

“This man isn’t in the top 100 players ranking,” the leading knight said. “Stick to the original plan.”

The knights simultaneously lifted their right hands, pointing their swords at Teest. From their blades, black vine-like tendrils shot out, aggressively wrapping towards Teest.

But even before their tendrils could get close, Teest effortlessly leaped back. Moments later, countless tendrils whizzed past him; he was standing in the only blind spot.

The Immortal Knights didn’t waver. Their right hands kept casting while their left hands held the reins. The knights split apart, surrounding Teest.

The shadowy tendrils swirled like a black vortex, covering the sky and sun. They began to close in, ready to capture Teest.

Teest sighed and mouthed silently, “After all this time, you haven’t improved at all.”

This time, he didn’t dodge but danced through the encirclement, occasionally striking at the tendrils’ junction points.

Each time he severed a few tendrils, one of the Immortal Knights would tremble as the smell of blood emanated from their helmets. They still rode resolutely, but their vigor seemed to wane.

The strong knight leader gripped the reins tightly—

There was no doubt it was a sign of magic backlash, proving only one thing: their enemies were very familiar with the magic of the Eternal Church.

But that was impossible.

There couldn’t be traitors in the Eternal Church—believers either have faith or they die. There was no third option. Moreover, this was a “player” from another world who had only been in this realm for a mere two months.

Furthermore, this person didn’t even rank in the top hundred on the leaderboards. They should have had more than enough power to deal with him. After all, they had fought with the Demon Lord and knew the standards of these otherworldly guests.

…No experience, no level. How did that player do it?

Special skills? Magic tools? No, the high priests said that magic belongs to the gods, and people can only obtain it through wisdom. There’s no “shortcut” that could desecrate such divine power.

Perhaps this person had encountered the Immortal Knights before, he thought.

“Full attack!” The knight leader shouted.

In an instant, the chanting of spells, the shattering of crystals, and the humming of magical instruments blended together. Snow splashed, and more than a dozen knights stepped over the shadow vines. Powerful magic and physical bodies rolled towards that arrogant player.

Teest, with a vague smile, leaped into the sky, stepping on the saddles, shoulders, and heads of the knights. He didn’t use any spells; he didn’t even draw out his Betrayer.

It was as if he was playing, dodging deadly attacks like a silver fish leaping out of the water. The knights’ swords couldn’t even touch the hem of his clothing, only slicing through the cold wind in vain.

Every time Teest descended from the sky, his poisonous sword would inevitably sweep through a gap in the armor.

The deadly poison claimed one life after another, and the bodies of the Immortal Knights fell into the snow, turning into dark scars.

The composure of the knight leader was melting away like snow under fresh blood.

No, this person is too peculiar.

They had already minimized their numbers and couldn’t afford to lose many in this battle. According to the Demon Lord, there were more “players” here than just this one.

The knight leader carefully pulled out a small idol.

The idol resembled a baby embracing a planet.

The baby’s face had no features, and its limbs tightly clung to the uneven surface of the planet. Its umbilical cord was coiled, with its end connecting to the planet’s surface, where the network of blood vessels was intricately carved.

The Son of Eternity, the idol of Lord Anstis.

This was a gift from the Demon Lord, capable of storing the powerful magic of a high priest.

The knight leader took a deep breath and, with the sharp tip of his armored finger, cut the inside of his wrist. The moment the fresh blood touched the idol, the ground seemed to be soaked in blood, emitting a thick and pungent smell of gore.

The cold wind suddenly stopped, snowflakes froze in mid-air, and the air became incredibly dense. Accompanied by the sticky sound of flesh being squeezed, a black and red whirlpool began to form in the sky.

At the center of the vortex, distorted lightning flickered ceaselessly, and a skinny, enormous hand slowly reached out.

Its skin was tightly wrapped around its bones, each finger having six joints. The hand covered half of the sky, looking like a terrifying, misshapen spider.

After moving its fingers for a few seconds, it swiftly reached for Teest.

The knight leader sighed in relief.

…This attack was destructive, and the target would surely be torn to pieces. Even though collecting the fragments of a player’s body could be a hassle, at least the player wouldn’t resurrect. It was better to be safe. This was a high-level spell of a high priest’s level—there were only two high priests in the Eternal Church—ordinary players would never have a chance to witness it.

Not far away, the ease on Teest’s face vanished.

He landed lightly on a tree branch, effortlessly dodged a few spells, and kept his eyes fixed on the giant hand. After quickly evading a grab, he smirked.

“Haa, making such a grand entrance, why didn’t you announce yourself?” he murmured. “Some secrets shouldn’t be revealed. You almost ruined my family ties.”

With that, Teest closed his eyes and pinched something protruding on his shoulder. Perhaps it was the knight leader’s imagination, but he thought it looked like a hand.

But the next moment, the knight leader had no time to ponder further—

Teest just stood on the branch. He also slit his wrist, extended his bloody left hand, and began to chant a complex and obscure spell.

The same eerie, bloody sensation appeared again.

With Teest’s chanting, the bloody whirlpool in the sky began to spin rapidly. The giant hand slowed down and retracted into the vortex. The cold wind faintly rekindled, and the snowflakes hanging in the air trembled continuously.

The knight leader stared blankly at the sky.

The formidable magic of the high priest level vanished without a trace.

…No, no. The magic hadn’t disappeared.

The crimson vortex was still spinning. The giant hand, which should have retracted, twitched for a moment and once again stretched towards the earth—but this time, it targeted those Immortal Knights.

“To be honest, I don’t like this spell. It’s too flashy, prioritizing form over function.”

Teest sat down on the branch, looking down at the blossoms of blood and flesh that burst open on the snowy plains, still mumbling to himself.

“I suddenly lost my telepathy. I have to consider how to explain this to my husband. What a hassle. How will you compensate me?”

“…But I’m completely fine. I kept my promise! He shouldn’t be too angry, right?”

“You…”

Dodging the giant hand in desperation, the knight leader’s voice was extremely hoarse. “Are you God’s chosen one…? Impossible, impossible…”

“In a world that’s gone this mad, does ‘impossible’ even have a meaning?”

Teest responded gently. Unfortunately, before he could finish, the knight leader, along with his armor, was turned into pulp.

Bodies lay everywhere, and ownerless black horses stood quietly in the snow. The two iron maidens on the cart, covered in shattered flesh, leaned into the snowy forest.

Teest threw the longsword in his hand. The sword spun a few times in the air and accurately hit the shattered head of the knight leader.

It stood straight in the middle of the snowy ground, like a small cross tombstone.

“This is an extremely wonderful sacrifice. May you all find eternity in God’s Kingdom,” Teest said sarcastically. He drew a circle on his chest with his hand.

“This is a curse,” he said.

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