Chapter 33: Lockdown of the Town

Li Qiuchen sat by the window, panting heavily.

He looked as if he had just been fished out of a pond, his whole body soaked in sweat.

Nearly two-thirds of the high-concentration Yellow Crystal’s magic power had been consumed.

In the distance, thick fog wafted from the mine.

Though it was midday, the entire town was shrouded in mist, the weather heavy and oppressive.

Jocelyn handed him a glass of red wine.

Li Qiuchen’s face was pale from exhaustion.

He took a sip and sighed.

“Huo En damaged the soul’s integrity in order to keep it here, which ironically made things easier for the two of us. Sigh. Afterward, was your soul in Demon King City? How did it stay intact?”

“No, after I died, my soul stayed in the Destruction Armor.”

Jocelyn shook her head.

“In fact, you—didn’t you say you died in the Demon Flame? Your soul was fine?”

Li Qiuchen frowned, thinking for a moment.

“The World-Destroying Demon Flame only burned away my flesh. As for my soul, it drifted into a Space Rift, and there, I saw…”

“Saw what?”

Jocelyn pressed, curiosity piqued.

Li Qiuchen fell silent.

That memory was like a book with missing pages—real at the beginning and end, but with the center suddenly gone.

“I don’t remember. Maybe I’m mistaken.”

Li Qiuchen shook his head.

He immediately performed a memory self-check with a Zhesi Gem, but found nothing wrong.

“Maybe because Demon King City was destroyed, your soul was able to remain whole. You’re lucky.”

Jocelyn mused, turning to look out the window.

“The town seems to be under lockdown.”

Jocelyn had sharp eyesight and could see the fog at the town’s edge, thick as city walls.

“If it’s related to demonic beasts, he definitely doesn’t want outsiders to know.”

Li Qiuchen stared at the distant mine, where the black mist suddenly grew denser.

Inside the banquet hall, the crowd had no time to mourn Baron Huo En’s death before an even greater and more terrifying pressure swept in from the direction of the eastern mines.

Outside the window, the previously gloomy sky was now completely enveloped by impenetrable jet-black fog.

The thick black mist was like an overturned giant bowl, sealing Blackwater Town tightly inside.

Sunlight was completely cut off.

Day turned into a human hell.

“It’s the Magic Corruption from the mines… It’s fully erupted.”

Li Qiuchen could feel that this black mist didn’t just block out the light—it also formed a powerful spatial seal.

“Goddess of War above…”

Kaili stared out the window, gripping her sword tightly.

Her whisper was cut off by screams and cries from the town streets.

“Monsters! The monsters from the mine have broken out!”

“Help! They… they bite anyone they see!”

Through the castle windows, shadows moved swiftly in the streets, ravaging everything in their path.

These were no longer the sporadic Contaminated by Dark Energy encountered before, but hordes of monsters driven by overwhelming Magic Corruption.

They surged from the mines like a dam burst, attacking any living being indiscriminately.

“Kairui.”

Kaili looked at the still-crying young master.

“You must now bear the Baron’s unfulfilled duties.”

Kairui wiped his tears, struggling to stand.

“I… I’ll do my best.

Please tell me what to do.”

“Assemble all patrol squad members and Retainer Knights who can still move as quickly as possible.”

Kaili displayed her decisive power as an elite of the Temple of the God of War.

She turned to Wright.

“Lai Te Xiansheng, please guide everyone here…”

Before she finished, Wright had already raised his silver-white staff.

“Understood!”

He moved to the window and began chanting in a strange but devout accent.

“Ma Er Si·De Fen De·Nuo Si!”

A torrent of holy light descended instantly.

This time, its range was wider, not only dispelling the castle’s chill but also shining through the windows like a beacon over the panicked crowd outside.

Feeling strength and courage return, the chaotic townsfolk quickly rallied toward the castle, their fears eased.

Truly worthy of the Legion Priest inheritance—the group spell’s boost was incredible.

Li Qiuchen marveled inwardly.

His own strength was also rapidly recovering.

He’d suspected Wright was a mage—how else could he have drained the Blue Crystal’s power dry?

But he hadn’t expected Wright to have mastered the Legion Priest’s group spell as well.

“Patrol Squad, assemble!”

Kairui’s voice rang through the castle.

Kaili strode quickly to the assembled Patrol Squad.

Their weapons were varied, some little more than pitchforks.

She drew her Knight’s Longsword, slicing her palm so that her blood stained the blade.

She spoke aloud.

“Goddess’s blessing, blade bathed in gold!”

A golden ripple spread from her, and every metal weapon touched by her blood, long or short, blazed with golden light.

“Now, your weapons can harm those things!”

Kaili’s voice carried the weight of command.

“Li… Qiuchen-san,”

Kaili turned to him, her tone solemn.

“You and Miss Jocelyn are powerful.

I hope you will join me, each leading a Patrol Squad to clear the Contaminated by Dark Energy from the streets and protect the townsfolk.

The castle needs someone in command—Lai Te Xiansheng and Captain Kemel will stay to secure this place and plan the next steps.”

Li Qiuchen looked at the hellish scene outside.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his exhaustion, and nodded.

“Understood.”

“Please take me with you.”

Kairui’s eyes burned with resolve.

He clutched the longsword Huo En had held before dying, its blade gleaming with gold.

“Young master…”

Kemel tried to stop him.

He had only just woken under Naili’s care, and Kairui managed to slip past him.

He looked seriously at Li Qiuchen.

“Come with me.”

Li Qiuchen pulled him into the squad, patting his shoulder.

The young master, still holding the broken staff, looked up gratefully, eyes red.

Naili placed a blessed Silver Dagger at Kairui’s waist.

“Kairui, I hope this helps you.”

Then she looked to Li Qiuchen and Jocelyn, instructing them firmly.

“Cousin, cousin, stay safe.”

“When I get back, let’s have Beer together.”

Jocelyn waved, leading a group out of the castle.

Li Qiuchen and his team each took a squad, moving in three directions to clear the Contaminated by Dark Energy that had made it to the surface.

The situation was grim.

There were more infected than expected, and some seemed even stronger, resulting in casualties.

Fortunately, these monsters weren’t highly infectious themselves.

The cavalry under Li Qiuchen guided townsfolk to the castle while eliminating Contaminated by Dark Energy.

He mainly used Binding Spell or Taunt Spell to disrupt them, leaving the rest to Kairui’s squad.

He had to praise the Patrol Squad’s military discipline.

During the Last Dark Dynasty, to resist the Demon King Army, the town had trained its militia rigorously.

Though not individually strong, their group tactics were sharp.

Spears for ranged control, pike formations for close thrusts.

A few Contaminated by Dark Energy were quickly pierced by Enchanted Iron before they could struggle, then Li Qiuchen taught the squad to pin them to doorboards with Knight’s Daggers.

The doorboards along their route hung with the twisted forms of infected monsters.

“Qiu… Qiuchen-san, won’t these Contaminated by Dark Energy eventually break free if we just trap them here?”

Kairui asked, hammering another infected down.

He’d noticed the terrifying monsters were absorbing black mist from the air, their wounds slowly healing.

“Just call me Li Qiuchen, Young Master Kairui.”

Li Qiuchen waved.

“Li-san… They seem to be recovering.”

Kairui changed how he addressed him, his careful observation proving useful.

Li Qiuchen scratched his head.

He used to leave small fry like this to Reina’s Holy Light purification.

He could forcefully erase them with his own magic, but his power—

Even with Yellow Crystal, his fragile magic core couldn’t support high-level erasure spells.

It was a miserable feeling, like knowing the answer to a problem but not having a pen to write it down.

From tomorrow, I’ll have to start training hard.

“Do you know how the other two squads are handling things?”

Li Qiuchen called to his group.

“Um… Li-san.”

A cavalryman relaying with the castle rode up.

“Kaili-sama’s side purifies Contaminated by Dark Energy with the Light of the War God, then burns the corpses.”

“Li-san, maybe we should burn them too.”

Kairui suggested.

“No. Without purification, fire contact causes Magic Corruption to explode before death—it’s dangerous.”

Li Qiuchen denied it.

Goddess of War’s purification?

He remembered the spell, but he wasn’t close to the Goddess of War at all.

He asked, “What about Jocelyn’s side?”

How did Old Four solve it?

The knight’s face turned pale.

“On Miss Jocelyn’s side, after the soldiers restrained the Contaminated by Dark Energy, she… she crushed them all into meat paste with her fists…”

Li Qiuchen facepalmed, remembering what she’d done in the castle.

“Hand me the knife and hammer.”

Li Qiuchen took the hammer from Kairui and a Knight’s Dagger from another knight.

“Eighty! Eighty!”

He called out as he hammered the dagger into a Contaminated by Dark Energy, pulled it out, hammered again, repeating until the monster was chopped into tiny pieces.

No other choice—dismember them first.

He wiped his sweat and handed the hammer back to Kairui.

“Chop them smaller, then send them back. Wait for Kaili-sama to handle them. Remember to remind Uncle Wright to have someone watch constantly—if the meat or bones move, cut them up.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kairui replied instantly.

He turned, leading several Retainer Knights to deal with the rest of the infected.

He needed something—anything—to do, just to escape the pain.

He needed others’ approval, especially Li Qiuchen’s.

Watching the boy work, Li Qiuchen seemed to see a green figure—a lively girl making an OK sign, echoing his instructions.

Yes, teacher!

Li Qiuchen shook his head.

The boy had lost his father and needed a new support.

After neutralizing Aescher’s magic multiple times in the banquet hall, he’d become a role model for Kairui.

It was worship and need—a transfer of longing for a pillar after losing one.

Not the same.

Li Qiuchen tried to reason, but a voice in his mind whispered—what’s the difference?

He was momentarily dazed.

If it’s the same, then why did she change so much later?

Li Qiuchen thought of Hestia Shadowsong confessing her love in a dream.

The intensity of her feelings left him at a loss.

Without realizing, thick walls had grown between him and his companions—once so in sync, now distant and unreadable.