The southern forest of Haddonfield.
The moonlight was dim and obscure; not even the crows lingered on the treetops.
Clack... Clack...
The sound of turning chanical gears broke the tranquility of the night.
A dozen n, uniformly dressed in white robes, were gathered around a generator.
They each kept a vigilant watch over their surroundings. Only the three closest to the center appeared relatively calm.
"Lord Kalvis, the hundred-year vintage holy artifacts have been consud, but the light bulbs still haven't lit up. It seems we found the right one," a white-haired old priest said, revealing a look of joy.
"Then continue, don't waste ti," Kalvis Saul kept a straight face, his deanor much the sa as when he was in the Holy Land.
"Yes... Yes..."
The old priest hurriedly lowered his head and opened the bag by his feet. Inside were six or seven holy artifacts, all surprisingly of hundred-year vintage quality.
He took out an amulet and stuffed it into the generator's groove.
Just as the machine began to extract the Holy Power, it was blocked by a small magic array on the surface. Instead, it started to mobilize other components inside the generator.
"Your Excellency, what exactly are we looking for?" Haggai Isaac frowned.
"According to the ancient texts we've collected along the way, the Ten Commandnts Stele should be beyond the 'Final Gate'."
"Now, because of those guys from the Wings of Vengeance, we can't set up the ancient magic array. We should be conserving our hundred-year vintage holy artifacts and figuring out a way to leave this place sooner."
Kalvis turned his head: "You are absolutely right, child of Isaac."
"Not only that, but that Sweeper is still lurking nearby. We could lose our lives at any mont."
Haggai's frown deepened: "If that's the case... Your Excellency, why..."
"Do you know why the Council of Cardinals sent you along this ti?" Kalvis asked.
"Is it... is it not to identify the inscriptions on the Ten Commandnts Stele?"
"Hmph. As mbers of the Holy Clans, studying ancient languages is a mandatory course. We don't need you for that at all."
Haggai secretly clenched his fists, lowered his head, and said, "Please enlighten ..."
"What the Church needs is the massive Holy Power within your body."
"I... don't understand."
"Have you ever heard of..." Kalvis began, but suddenly frowned and turned to look to the side.
Haggai followed his gaze, and the next mont, his heartbeat skipped a beat.
Standing beside a tree not far away was a tall figure.
The man wore dark-colored worker's overalls and a white mask, gripping a long dagger in his hand.
Without anyone noticing when he arrived, the figure simply stood there, quietly staring at their group.
"It's... it's that Sweeper from the town! No, as long as you're stared at by this guy for a period of ti, the next ti you're struck down, you'll instantly enter a dying state!" the old priest exclaid in horror.
Clearly, he had suffered greatly at the hands of this monster before.
"Father William, your task is not to keep watch," Kalvis's tone remained calm.
Hearing this, the forr could only forcefully endure his fear and turn back around.
"You," Kalvis pointed at the Holy Clergy mber closest to the Sweeper. "Your dereliction of duty allowed the enemy to get this close before being discovered. You should know what to do."
"My apologies, Lord Saul," the man said, his face full of sha. After a deep bow, he walked straight toward the masked Sweeper.
He first tried to lure the Sweeper away, but the monster remained completely motionless.
Just as he was about to try other thods, a low, extrely rhythmic piano lody suddenly echoed in his ears.
At the sa ti, a glaring red light spilled onto the ground, and the masked Sweeper raised its dagger.
Haggai gulped. He turned his head and found that His Excellency paid absolutely no attention to what was happening behind him, instead keeping his eyes fixed on the generator.
"A-are we... are we not going to..." Haggai's tone was nervous.
Squelch!
The next second, he heard a sickeningly wet sound.
The Holy Clergy mber who had failed his watch duty was now standing with his arms wide open, blocking the Sweeper's path, a deep gash left on his shoulder.
"Hey... what are you doing..." Shock flashed through Haggai's pupils.
But the man remained standing in place.
Before long, a second slash struck his body.
Thud!
The man collapsed to the ground. The masked Sweeper hoisted him onto its shoulder, and the two vanished into the dense fog of the forest.
"Alright, now we have bought so more ti," Kalvis said calmly.
Haggai only felt a wave of dizziness wash over his brain. A crack had ford in so fundantal belief he held.
"Those who neglect their duties must be punished. Have you all morized this?" Kalvis glanced at Haggai, then raised his voice.
"Understood, Your Excellency."
The surrounding people answered in unison.
"Should we... shouldn't we practice the Lord's rcy?" Haggai finally couldn't help but speak up.
"The Holy Clans are the will of God in the human realm. At all tis, our lives are above all else," Kalvis stared down at Haggai condescendingly. "As a fellow mber of a Holy Clan, did Lord Jacob never tell you this?"
Haggai frowned tightly, a mory flashing through his mind.
It was the mont years ago when it was confird he could not achieve spiritual awakening. That day, he saw pure disappointnt in his grandfather's eyes. Since then, Haggai had never been summoned again.
"Lord Kalvis, we found it," the old priest suddenly spoke up, holding a tal fragnt in his hand.
Kalvis reached out and took it, noting the various patterns engraved on it.
A bright gleam flashed in his eyes, and his tone finally shifted: "Very good."
Haggai looked up, a trace of confusion in his eyes. He had never seen this thing before.
Kalvis handed the tal fragnt to him: "This is your true mission."
"I... don't understand."
"The Ten Commandnts Stele is certainly a target this ti, but what our Holy Clans are truly responsible for is the Book of the World."
"The Book of the World..." Haggai repeated the na in his mind.
He had seen it in an ancient text. It was an object condensed from the Will of the World. It was said that whoever mastered the Book of the World would possess a portion of the Will of the World's authority.
"I thought... such a thing was rely a legend."
"This secret is only open to the core mbers of the Holy Clans. The reason you are permitted to know is because restoring the Book of the World requires a massive amount of Holy Power."
Haggai suddenly had a mont of profound realization. So he was rely brought into the Land of the Holy War to act as an energy reserve.
His entire posture instantly withered.
"Alright, since the item has been found, it is ti for us to find Lorcy," Kalvis said, putting the tal fragnt away.
"Your Excellency, that Lady might be gathering..." the old priest hesitated.
"As a fellow mber of the Holy Clans, she will understand her position," Kalvis stated. "Furthermore, there is a ritual magic array set up by that guy from the Wings of Vengeance on the periter. If we want to leave successfully, we cannot do it without Lorcy."
The group imdiately got up and walked toward the misty forest.
At the sa ti, a short distance away.
A blood-red barrier stretched out across the forest on both sides.
If one looked down from the sky, they would see this barrier encompassing the entire town and the surrounding forest, forming an inverted energy do.
At this mont, on the outer edge of the barrier.
Samael was kneeling on a pentagram magic array.
His body was covered in a massive amount of dark green sli, and many scarlet spirit threads extended from the surface of the array, connecting with the sli.
Additionally, there were six or seven corpses scattered around. Judging from their attire, they all belonged to the Church.
These people were completely shriveled, their skin practically clinging to their bones, looking quite terrifying.
"Hmph, the hypocrites of the Church are truly ruthless to their own people," Samael mocked.
"Aside from those two squads from the Holy Clans, everything else is proceeding quite smoothly. Tsk... this so-called Evil Spirit actually has so skill."
From his tone, it seed he was completely aware of everything happening inside the barrier.
"However... the Book of the World." Samael frowned slightly.
He had never heard of this item, but since the Church had specifically dispatched Holy Clan mbers to find it personally, it naturally wasn't anything ordinary.
"If only Abraham were here. With his knowledge, he might know sothing. That guy... hasn't he finished collecting the materials yet?" Samael sounded annoyed.
He imdiately pressed both hands against the barrier, searching for his companion's power.
East of Haddonfield, Backwater Swamp.
"Ugh ahhh— Please, no!"
A miserable scream shattered the silent night sky.
A man was tied to a wooden stake, and standing in front of him was a younger woman. Both were wearing Church attire.
"Abaddon, I am ready on my end." Abraham adjusted his glasses and stepped out from behind the wooden stake.
He was still wearing that simple shirt. At this mont, a stone beside him held various tools like tweezers and scalpels.
As soon as he spoke, the ground suddenly began to tremble.
Imdiately after, a massive figure erged from the mist.
Thud!
Abaddon dropped a corpse.
Its appearance was similar to the corpses near Samael, but this one had a ferocious face, its white hair tied neatly back, looking like an old man.
But the most striking feature of the corpse was its bizarrely long, slender hands.
"This guy was drawing a bunch of teleportation runes nearby. I just waited in place, and when it ca, I killed it," Abaddon said in a muffled voice.
The bound man watched with eyes full of shock.
He had seen the corpse on the ground before. It was an elusive Sweeper that had killed many of his companions. Yet this burly guy in front of him actually...
"That's excellent. Precision surgery requires a high standard of environnt," Abraham maintained his calm expression.
The man instinctively felt that sothing terrible was about to happen: "You two... what exactly do you want? As long as you let Lina and go, I'll agree to anything!"
"It sounds like this Sister Lina is very important to you," Abraham noted.
"Yes..." the man bit his lip tightly.
He knew this would only put him in a more passive position, but he had no choice.
"That's perfect. This is exactly what I want," Abraham said.
"No... please don't hurt her..."
Abraham signaled to Abaddon, who imdiately grabbed Sister Lina by the shoulder.
This nun was covered in mud and looked utterly exhausted; she had actually fallen asleep while standing.
"No... Please!"
With a sickening riiiiip, nurous bright red drops splattered onto the ground.
Then ca a heart-wrenching, agonizing scream.
"Ahhhhh—"
The skin on the nun's entire arm had been violently torn off, exposing the muscles and blood vessels beneath.
"NO!!" The man panted heavily, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
A gleam flashed in Abraham's eyes. In an instant, holding a scalpel, he arrived behind the wooden stake.
His hands were enveloped in a layer of white light as he gently sliced open the man's cerebral cortex. The man remained completely oblivious to the procedure.
"An excellent developnt. Continue," Abraham instructed.
Horrifying, inhuman screams soon echoed above the swamp.
A period of ti later.
Abraham opened a tal case and placed an intact brain into the special solution inside.
"With this, we only need the final ten for the Skulls of Despair," he said, peeling off his gloves.
This was the most crucial material in the summoning ritual, and equally difficult to obtain, requiring the brains of Holy Clergy mbers as the raw ingredient.
They had previously conducted an operation during the Anniversary in Philadelphia. Based on normal progress, they could have acquired many semi-finished products back then.
Unfortunately, the Wings of Vengeance suffered heavy losses that ti, nearly causing the entire endeavor to fail.
That was why they had taken the risk to invade the Holy Land this ti.
"Haven't you trapped so other people? Do none of them et the requirents?" Abaddon asked in confusion.
Abraham pushed up his glasses, a rare hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes: "Hmph... we are far from 'trapping' them. Those guys haven't even stepped into the snare."
Abaddon looked surprised: "Soone actually managed to evade your thods? I only recall that happening during the last operation."
"You don't need to specifically use that to humiliate ." Abraham adjusted his glasses again. "Yes, I miscalculated in Philadelphia. There was a very cunning kid."
Abaddon spread his hands: "I ant no offense. I just wanted to help?"
"You just need to mind your own business." Abraham lifted the tal case, his face turning gloomy. "I have set up new asures. As long as they want to leave this place, they will definitely co."
At the sa ti, in a forest two kiloters away from the swamp.
Over a dozen people were quietly advancing through the woods.
Olivia walked at the very front, with Bettis, Hugh, and the others following closely behind.
The Holy Clergy mbers trailing them were all survivors the group had rescued after arriving in this area.
Suddenly, Olivia raised her fist, and everyone behind her imdiately halted their steps.
"What happened?" Bettis leaned in.
"The grass in this direction is too dense." Olivia reached out her hand.
At this mont, the group faced a fork in the road. The path straight ahead was thick with weeds, making it excellent for hiding.
But the other path was just muddy ground.
Having been in the Land of the Holy War for so ti, they naturally knew what kind of terrain was safer.
Therefore, Bettis didn't see anything wrong with it.
Hugh, Caroline, and the others also gathered around.
But Olivia insisted: "Look at the other path. Although there's very little cover, judging by the potholes on the ground, it's obvious many plants were growing there not long ago as well."
Her tone was certain: "I suspect soone is deliberately guiding us."
The three followed her gaze and indeed spotted the anomaly.
"But... isn't the terrain here supposed to be indestructible?" Caroline asked in confusion.
"That's true, but since coming to this area, haven't you noticed that so rules have beco invalid?" Bettis pointed out.
The most obvious was the terrain. Along the way, they had already encountered traps multiple tis.
If Olivia hadn't been ticulous, they probably would have suffered heavy casualties by now.
"In that case, we better be cautious." Ultimately, Bettis chose to trust her companion.
After all, Olivia was the only one among them who had studied William's exorcism style.
Having made the decision, Bettis imdiately relayed the ssage to the others. Although sowhat puzzled, these survivors knew who the true leader of the squad was.
Thus, the group quickly changed direction.
Not long after they left, a silver monster erged from the direction of the dense weeds.
It had a long, narrow head and a massive tail.
After sniffing the air for a mont, the monster chased in the direction Olivia and the others had taken.
"Here, take this one. If you encounter danger, use it decisively." Bettis handed a stone seal to a nun.
"Thank you..."
Aside, Hugh frowned tightly: "If she keeps distributing them like this, the holy artifacts and stone seals we collected will soon be depleted."
"William collected them!" Caroline corrected: "We are just keeping them safe on his behalf."
Hearing this, Hugh's face clearly showed a hint of embarrassnt. He imdiately turned to look at Olivia.
Olivia shrugged: "I'm just an outsider. You guys are the teammates."
She knew Bettis ca from the cathedral under Archbishop Matthew's jurisdiction, where they normally never lacked holy artifacts to use, so her sense of "conserving" was not strong.
But doing this wasn't entirely a bad thing.
"Our team is just temporarily patched together. Once we encounter a Sweeper, these people are highly likely to scatter and flee for their own lives," Olivia said. "The Land of the Holy War requires teamwork. Sister Bettis's actions can actually win them over."
Hugh was suddenly stunned upon hearing this.
A mont later, he actually picked up a bag of stone seals and walked toward the crowd.
"What is your brother doing..." Olivia was a bit surprised. She rembered this companion being quite stubborn.
"Hehe... he dreams of gaining other people's support," Caroline exposed him ruthlessly.
Sure enough, after handing out a round, Hugh imdiately walked to the center of the crowd.
"Everyone, as a mber of the dici family, I, Hugh, have an obligation to lead everyone out of here. Every one of us is protected by the Lord..."
Seeing this, the three nuns sighed helplessly.
"Hey, Shiloj! Co over here!" Caroline waved to a blonde youth.
The latter quickly responded and ca over.
"Don't learn from him!" Caroline pointed at Hugh.
"But... I think Father Hugh is very responsible," Shiloj said.
He had a pair of deep blue pupils, which, paired with his upright posture, made him look elegant and noble.
This youth was soone Bettis and the others had rescued from two Sweepers. Along the way, he had been responsible for caring for the injured.
Whenever soone felt despair, Shiloj would patiently encourage them until they stepped out of their negative emotions.
Therefore, everyone, including Hugh, liked him very much.
"Hey! Don't let him fool you!" Caroline poked Shiloj in the head.
"Shiloj!" At this ti, Hugh also called out, "Co quickly, I have tasks to assign you."
"Right away!" The youth gave the two nuns an apologetic look, then jogged away.
"That guy Hugh..." Caroline puffed out her cheeks.
Not long after, a commotion suddenly erupted in the crowd.
"Look, what is that!"
"It looks like a lost holy artifact!"
Olivia squeezed through the crowd and actually saw a crucifix lying on the ground.
At this mont, the surface of the object was glowing with a golden light.
"This is... a hundred-year vintage holy artifact!" Shock flashed in her eyes.
But...
Why would such a thing be thrown on the ground?
Wasn't Holy Power prohibited? Even for lost holy relics, one had to rely on a generator to extract their power.
It must be a trap!
Almost instantly, Olivia made a decision: "Do not approach!"
But the next mont, an urgent heartbeat suddenly rang in everyone's ears.
Olivia turned around, only to see a silver beast.
And from the grass on the other side erged a tall woman.
She wore tribal-style clothing, which was tattered, ssy, and covered in yellowish-brown sli. In addition, she carried an old lantern in her hand.
"Sw... Sweepers!"
The crowd instantly fell into a panic.
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