Chapter 304

Chapter Ninety: Internal Conflict

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How could there be corpses…

That silver armor… seems to be that of a Church knight… The lower half of his body is hidden under weeds, lying motionless on the ground. There appears to be blood… It’s too high up to see clearly; is this a trap to lure me down?

Where is Cardinal Nero?

And those old men who released the Holy Lance… Margaret and the Holy Maiden Ban… I can’t find them. Where did they all go?

My heart became increasingly wary. I manipulated the black flames to increase the speed of my flight slightly, circling at about a hundred meters above the valley. Occasionally, I would suddenly make a sharp turn or flip back, timing it as I pleased, to prevent anyone from launching a surprise attack on me from below or setting unknown traps ahead of my flight path.

At the same time, my dark and lively eyes darted around, overlooking thousands of ravines and rocks, patrolling back and forth near the chasm and the camps. Soon, I saw several fallen Church knights by the side of one of the tents.

One, two… five… There seemed to be more on the other side…

I circled in the air again, widening my eyes to search carefully among the green-covered valley below. As time passed, I found more fallen Church knights. Most of their bodies were covered by dense vegetation or stuck between jumbled stones. Their positions were mostly near the camp, extending toward the valley they had come from. Blood traces could be faintly seen where the knights fell.

Something has happened…

Realizing this, I controlled the black flames to slow down gradually, then hovered in mid-air. My heart was taut, my eyes scanning around quietly. After waiting silently for a moment… nothing happened.

The valley was very peaceful. Apart from the occasional bird or animal calls, there was no extra noise.

It seems everyone below is really dead.

What happened… Did something attack them while I fell into the abyssal mud…

What…

Could it be a new abyss? That little girl?

Did she come looking for me?

This thought immediately surfaced but was quickly dismissed by me.

No, it’s impossible…

If they were attacked by the abyss, how could so many bodies remain? Once the black smoke is released, it would definitely leave indelible marks in the valley. I remember there were over two thousand Church knights here, plus Cardinal Nero and Margaret… such a lineup, if it came to a fight, the scene would be unimaginably intense. The abyss would certainly give its all, and the entire valley would probably be unrecognizable… but now it looks like this…

It definitely wasn’t the abyss.

But if not the abyss, then what else… The bodies of the knights extend outward toward the valley. The Church might have already retreated. But facing such a massive lineup, even the abyss would struggle to win… What exactly… Could there be a dragon in this valley… Where is Margaret?

Is she okay…

I can’t wait. I have to go down and check.

After making up my mind, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and listened intently. After a short while, confirming that there was truly no human voice below, I immediately spread my arms, controlling the black flames to change direction. At the same time, I released the black smoke, letting it wrap around my body, dragging thick black fog behind me, rushing downward toward the camp like a meteor.

Several tents stationed among the plants rapidly expanded in my vision… fifty meters, thirty meters… The landing point was a small patch of grassy land between the tents… ten meters away… Now!

I slowed down, flipped, bent my knees, and adjusted my landing posture—

A powerful figure descends!

Boom—

Black flames exploded abruptly in my sight. The black smoke transformed into countless tiny black snakes, twisting with the impact of the explosion, scattering like fireworks, engulfing the area within forty to fifty meters of the landing point in an instant, turning it into a pitch-black death zone. The tents on both sides were lifted by the strong wind and turned to ashes in the black smoke as soon as they left the ground. By the time I stood straight, the ground beneath my feet had already turned to scorched earth.

Hmph…

I don’t believe there’s any underhanded trick that could work in this situation.

This fall, I hardly felt any impact at all. The outer layer of my armor was harder than steel, while the inner part was incredibly soft, seemingly able to absorb force…

Unable to hold back, I lowered my head to take a quick look at my body.

Amidst the rising black mist, the armor wrapped in black flames covered my arms, chest, and down to my lower abdomen tightly. Only the shoulders and elbow joints had gaps, which were completely covered by an additional layer of curved armor with spikes. This design allowed for free movement without any blind spots, even covering my head, with only my face exposed.

The armor was jet black, with overlapping plates tightly connected. Below the abdomen, white flames burned fiercely, also made of black armor. Layers of skirts spread out like the voluminous and wide court dresses of medieval times, but without the need for supports, the armor itself was rigid enough. The black skirts extended down to my calves.

Due to the wide battle skirt obstructing my view, I couldn’t see my legs and feet. However, I could feel the comfort of being encased in the armor. Below it was definitely not empty but covered by equally black armor, eliminating any worries.

It looked pretty cool…

Suddenly, I wanted to see myself in a mirror.

But now was not the time, forget it…

The black flames dissipated suddenly.

The black mist twisted back into my body and surged out again. Fine gray ashes drifted past my eyes, and ten or so arm-thick smoke snakes circled around my body, swiftly moving six to seven meters away, like the most reliable defensive magic, guarding against any slight disturbance.

But as the shock wave from the explosion faded far away, and the black ashes settled, I didn’t sense anyone else around me.

The wind blew across the withered grass.

Here…

Are there really no more living beings?

I walked forward slowly.

After stepping out of the area ravaged by the dead smoke, those snake-like wisps that had been circling around me began to devour new areas. More plants and trees withered and died at their touch, turning to ashes and dispersing with the wind.

…Draw them back.

I gently waved my hand, and those wisps turned around, merging into my body. Among them were a few white wisps, probably from small animals that had been consumed nearby.

“Mmm…”

It felt somewhat comforting.

But the pleasure lasted for less than three seconds before quickly fading away.

Lifting my head, not far ahead lay two knights’ corpses on the rubble. I quickened my pace and approached one of them, squatting down beside the body. The corpse was face down, the large bloodstains beneath already dried, staining the moss growing on the stones a dark brown. The knight’s helmet lay aside, his dirty, disheveled hair seemingly glued to the stone below. Yellow pus dripped in strands from the gaps in his armor.

“Ugh—” I couldn’t hold back a dry retch.

It stinks…

This smell is too strong…

Tears almost came to my eyes from the stench.

But I had smelled decay before, so I managed to suppress the acid rising in my stomach. Pinching my nose, I stood up and picked up a long stick about three fingers thick from the grass nearby, prodding the side of the corpse to flip him over, revealing his face…

“Ahh!”

I stumbled back in shock, frozen in place.

The face of the corpse was so swollen it was unrecognizable, the skin black with purple tinge, like a disgusting meat balloon. His eyes bulged, lips thick and dark, tongue protruding, blood-red foam oozing from his mouth and nose, an overwhelming stench assaulting my senses.

“Cough…”

I nearly choked, unable to breathe, and took a few steps back again.

This…

How long has this knight been dead?

Think carefully… I vaguely remembered looking this up online in my past life. How many days was it? Three… No, it must be seven days or more… Have I been in the abyss for that long?!

I feel nothing… What about the Cardinal? Margaret? Where are they…

I need to check other places…

I made a gesture of prayer towards the knight’s corpse, then threw away the stick and turned to leave, heading quickly towards the densest part of the camp.

As evening fell.

At the top of the canyon, the continuous mountains and the clouds behind them, the thin sun slowly descended, casting a warm yellow light over the valley.

And also over the decaying bodies I found.

Those warriors who had recently been full of vigor were now nothing but rotting flesh emitting foul odors. Their bodies lay at the edge of the camp, leaning against tree trunks, or buried under rubble and soil, becoming nutrients for the earth.

Many bodies were so decomposed that it was impossible to identify their wounds, but some, like those whose heads were severed, limbs chopped off, or chests pierced by swords, or even those bound by strange plants… Their deaths made it clear that this wasn’t caused by any abyss or dragon.

This was the church fighting among itself.

Among the bodies that could be identified, some were killed by their comrades’ blades, while others were wiped out by divine miracles. Along the way, I passed a spot filled with little flowers. At first glance, I knew Margaret had been here.

The scene near the flowerbed was particularly tragic. Besides the unsightly bodies of the church knights, there lay an old man in a robe and three Holy Maiden nuns, one of whom was torn apart. If not for her clothes, I wouldn’t have been able to tell whether those pieces of flesh were male or female.

I was afraid of finding Margaret among them, but thankfully she wasn’t there.

She must have escaped.

It’s certain that after I fell into the abyss, a conflict broke out between both sides here… It might have been because of me, or maybe not. But it’s highly likely that Margaret and Cardinal Nero were involved. Otherwise, the church knights wouldn’t have turned on each other unless they were confused about who to follow.

There are no living beings left here.

Those who survived fled in a hurry, so hurriedly that they didn’t even care about the abyss. I’m sure many left. Although many tents still contained food, the stables by the Wisteria River were empty. There were many bodies piled up nearby, as if someone had stayed behind to delay the enemy, but they all perished there.

The victors… might be the Cardinal.

If Margaret had won, she wouldn’t have left like this. Margaret would prioritize the abyss’s affairs, even if she knew the new abyss had already departed. Even if I truly died here, she would at least leave someone to guard the abyss, ensuring nothing unexpected happened until the abyss disappeared. I believe this much.

But now, no one is left here… That leaves only one possibility.

Margaret is being pursued. The church knights who sided with her have all sacrificed themselves; she has no power to worry about these matters anymore.

If that’s the case…

I won’t forget how Margaret saved me with all her might.

So I must go save her.

And the capital…

So much time has passed… Damn, why did I sleep so long…

I must hurry…

Leaving the camp, I flew back near the rift, retracing my steps to where I had been gravely injured. After searching for a long time, I finally found Captain Gray among some rubble at the boundary between scorched earth and greenery.

The suitcase had been broken.

Fortunately, the scythe was safe… I retrieved Captain Gray, removed the belt from the case, and securely fastened the pitch-black, triple-segmented scythe to my back. Looking up at the reddish sky, I hoped everything was still salvageable.

In the next moment, my petite figure, engulfed in fierce black flames, soared into the sky.