Chapter 453
The Pope did not hold back any semblance of courtesy, speaking from behind the powerful sound.
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**PS:**
205.5 (overdue) - 1 (extra update) = 204.5 (overdue)
Sorry! Only 6K left!
I’ll try to keep it at 6 and push for 7 tomorrow!
Go, future me!!!
Good night!!!
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**Chapter 240: Don’t Steal My Kill (4078 words)**
At the pinnacle of the Archbishop's residence in the West District.
It was a miniature bell tower, with a massive bell hanging there, and at this moment, several figures stood around it.
This place served as a “viewing platform” no less significant than a landmark clock tower, offering a glimpse of nearly half the West District and all its movements.
Xia Er gazed down at the scene below, shrouded in smoke and chaos, a hellish sight that stirred no emotion within her. It seemed she had grown accustomed to such scenes... as if she were merely watching a movie that had nothing to do with her.
There were traces of blood and tears on her face, and her pupils had turned a deep black, filled with a dense array of holes, as if something might burst forth from within at any moment.
A vial of potion danced deftly between her slender fingers—the crystalline particles inside remained suspended, not colliding with the walls of the crystal vial nor with each other despite Xia Er's movements.
The dark purple crystals seemed to be continuously spreading hard, dark green bones from within, which would envelop the crystals completely before being purified back into dark purple, repeating the cycle.
This was the “Source of Cholera” potion, and it was the last vial she had.
Tala stood beside Xia Er, looking down at the turmoil below, her heart trembling slightly.
Even with her extensive knowledge of ancient texts and her firsthand experience in designing numerous sacrificial rituals, she had never witnessed such a terrifying scene.
Panicked middle-class citizens scattered in all directions, crying out as they watched their once-beloved family members open their terrifying, gaping maws to bite at them.
Soldiers, lined up to fire, were breached during their reload, as monsters tore into their former comrades. In mere seconds, those comrades transformed into equally horrifying creatures, beginning a massacre...
These monsters were a tremendous psychological shock to anyone... Tala had once imagined that the most potent “Source of Cholera” could create a deadly poison capable of killing thousands in an instant, but nothing compared to the visual impact of the crimson bacteria before her.
Xia Er was the first person she had seen capable of consciously turning bacteria into such beings...
Not only was Tala shaken by the scene below, but the fourth-tier Pei Erxi and Ai Li Nuo were equally anxious.
They couldn’t guarantee that, after unwittingly ingesting this bacteria, they would be able to perfectly resist its invasion... after all, they had witnessed the entire process of a third-tier being getting infected.
But compared to the fear of infection, from their perspective as strong individuals, they saw something even more terrifying.
That was... those infected by the crimson bacteria would consciously attack the extraordinary, while those extraordinary beings who were infected would open their bodies, allowing even more crimson bacteria to enter—looking almost like a process of devouring evolution.
This was essentially mass-producing insane extraordinary beings.
Boom—
With a violent explosion, flames and smoke erupted from the direction of the Capitol building, the massive structure symbolizing the center of Ansu's power now engulfed in fire.
It was as if... the apocalypse had arrived.
The infection was spreading rapidly; originally, it wouldn’t have erupted and spread so quickly, but under the inaction of the Goddess of Salvation and the Order of the God, the bacteria expanded wildly.
The blood-stained cobblestones, if one were to look closely, revealed a thin layer of red bacterial carpet spread across them, writhing rhythmically, transmitting nutrients, like capillaries covering the city.
Buzz—
Suddenly, at that moment, a light flashed across the dark night sky.
A point of light shone above the Strong Sound Mansion, and from a distance, it seemed one could see a phantom floating at the center of that light.
“It’s Strong Sound... he’s calling his troops,” Ai Li Nuo said hoarsely, gazing at the light.
Here, aside from Xia Er, she was probably the only one familiar with Strong Sound’s methods.
A layered, ethereal sound began to emanate from the point of light.
Within it were the voices of children, harmonies of different men and women, each voice seemingly representing a famous figure in Ansu’s history.
And the most prominent, the easiest to recognize, was Strong Sound’s voice.
“Warriors of Ansu!”
All the gas lamps erupted into flames once more, illuminating the streets that seemed to have been swallowed by darkness and flesh.
“Look at your trembling hands—those palm prints are engraved with the glory of defeating the invincible fleet, etched with the first steel of the industrial dawn!”
“And now, these hands! Shall not grasp bread and pocket watches!”
“The monsters and living corpses wandering the streets and riverbanks are not divine punishment!”
“They are cowards curled up in the darkness, attempting to tarnish the immortal steel resolve of the Great Ansu Empire with blood and flesh!”
“Those filthy, evil monsters have no souls; they are merely the pathetic remnants created by failed alchemists! They are products even hell refuses to harbor!”
A stirring piece of music began to spread from that point of light.
“Any warrior who kills more than ten infected monsters before dawn—”
“Will receive the highest bravery medal from the Vitalis Palace, and your children will inherit your glorious legacy for eternity!”
“Ansu shall never fall—”
“For tonight, we fight for survival!”
“Now! Take up your weapons! Show your loyalty to the greatest empire in history!”
“At dawn, we shall see all the monsters burned to ashes at the southern docks!”
As the speech reached its climax, the orchestra’s music swelled to a fervent crescendo, a wave of tragic and epic emotion surged within Xia Er, but after a fleeting chill in her mind, that impact quickly faded.
“Pretty passionate,” Xia Er nodded slightly, commenting.
No wonder he was a battle-hardened veteran; his pre-battle rally was indeed impressive, complete with a built-in amplifier and entrance music...
But relying on emotional appeal alone wouldn’t stop the spread of the infection.
Xia Er had already seen the infected begin to rush toward the East District.
The moment the infection spread in the densely populated East District, Strong Sound was destined to lose; even if he killed all the infected, what awaited him would be a ghost town.
Clap—
Xia Er stopped toying with the potion in her hand, murmuring, “It’s about time...”
Pei Erxi and Ai Li Nuo noticed Xia Er’s actions, and the more impatient Ai Li Nuo instinctively spoke up, “Lady Xia Er... you’ve already consumed two vials of potion. If you drink a third...”
Ai Li Nuo didn’t continue... Normally, someone who had downed two vials would have their mind completely eroded by the potion’s whispers, and even if they managed to retain some sanity, their body would suffer irreversible, horrific reactions from the potion’s fusion.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Xia Er shook her head, interrupting Ai Li Nuo’s words.
She had consumed three vials before.
The more you fear the potion’s whispers and backlash, the more you give it an opportunity to take hold.
“Do not yield to the potion.”
Tap—
Xia Er pushed the cork off with one hand, gazing at the crystalline particles that were stacked together, rushing toward the bottom of the vial.
“Make it yield to you...”
Xia Er tilted her head back and poured the potion directly into her mouth.
As the crystals touched her oral mucosa, they pierced inside, merging with her body. With each beat of her heart, her blood carried countless crystal fragments throughout her being.
A stabbing pain surged through her body once more, her eyes felt as if they were evaporating, showing signs of shriveling.
The potion rampaged within her, seemingly eager to break free from her body’s constraints, surging toward the weakest point—her eyeballs—attempting to corrode her from there.
But that terrifying corrosion, upon entering her eyes, was obstructed by two beams of light, one gold and one silver. They surged and screamed within Xia Er’s mind, trapped and stacked within her eyeballs.
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