Chapter 11: Chapter 8: Affection: Heartbeat

A sense of urgency rose, and Bai Pu took a deep breath: “It seems we need to eliminate Blood Hand Columbus quickly. I’m curious, since the Duke possesses great power, why not eliminate Blood Hand Columbus before heading back?”

“Because we don’t know the exact location of Blood Hand Columbus. If we knew, the Duke could stay here for a day or two to deal with Colun before leaving… but aimless searching would only waste the precious time he needs to muster the army!”

Qin said, “The coastline of the north shore of the Baltic Sea is too long. Although the militia has formed search teams, they can’t find Colun in a short time.”

Bai Pu raised his hand and said, “Where are the ciphers found at the three Blood Ring bases that have already been wiped out? Can I take a look?”

Qin gave Bai Pu a strange look. She felt that Bai Pu’s aura seemed a bit different, like a sharp sword newly polished to shine.

“Adjutant Cwieg, please let Mr. Dior take a look at the ciphers. He is trustworthy.” Qin reined in the unusual feeling in her heart and spoke up to help.

If Qin’s favor level for Bai Pu were very low, she wouldn’t pay attention to him, let alone speak up to help. But now, her favor level with Bai Pu has already reached “friends,” so assisting verbally is quite reasonable.

Adjutant Cwieg, standing beside Duke William, nodded in agreement and handed the three ciphers to Bai Pu.

On them were a series of obscure symbols, with Latin translations written in neat handwriting below.

“These are the cipher texts from the Blood Ring Fortress. Even if the enemy captures them, they can’t understand without the cipher book. Fortunately, Lady Yvette is helping to decode them.” Qin leaned close to Bai Pu, her breath carrying a sweet scent.

“From the wording and text, these three ciphers should have been issued by Blood Hand Columbus at the same moment, right after successfully landing in Brandon Territory!”

Bai Pu looked up at Cwieg, “Do you have a map? Can you mark the locations of these three Blood Ring bases on it?”

Duke William showed some interest and signaled Adjutant Cwieg to bring a map and hang it up, personally marking three locations with “X”.

Bai Pu glanced over the map. Mountains, hills, basins, villages… various terrains flashed through his mind, transforming into parameters.

The difficulty of traversing complex terrains like mountains, hills, basins, the possibility of detours, additional time spent…

Bai Pu requested once more the daily military intelligence reports from the local village militias. He flipped through the thick stacks of reports page by page with such speed it seemed like counting cash, making some doubt if he seriously read the report texts.

The credibility of the military intelligence reports, the likelihood of encounters between village militias and Blood Ring soldiers, the time spent…

A vast amount of information gathered in Bai Pu’s mind, transforming into dry and cold numbers, accelerating calculations in his brain.

Finally, Bai Pu pointed his finger at a coordinate.

“Since Blood Hand Columbus came across the sea, the most likely landing point for him is here.”

Several native leaders gathered around.

“Bolheim?” Qin exclaimed a place name, showing a touch of surprise on her face, “Is it this close to us?”

Adjutant Cwieg shook his head, “Impossible, Bolheim is very close to Stettin. Since the Duke arrived here, Bolheim’s militia has been reporting military intelligence daily, and there’s been no trace of the Blood Ring invasion.”

“Everyone, please take a look at the military intelligence reports from Bolheim Village. These reports are very interesting…”

Bai Pu spread several pages on the table, and Duke William and others gathered around.

After carefully reviewing the reports, several native leaders frowned.

They saw subtle clues too.

It wasn’t that the military intelligence reports from Bolheim Village had flaws.

On the contrary, these reports were too professional, too perfect! Detailed data, comprehensive patrols, professional wording… like artificial flowers perfect in color, shape, and layers, flawless in every aspect, except lacking a sense of realism.

These military intelligence reports, if sent one per day and filed together with reports from other villages, wouldn’t easily raise suspicion. But now, singled out and carefully scrutinized by the native leaders, flaws were immediately noticed.

“It seems Mr. Dior’s judgment is correct; Bolheim is very likely the hidden command post of the Blood Ring Vanguard Army. From a pessimistic view, that village might already be controlled by the Blood Ring…” Qin said in a heavy tone.

“Control” is a euphemism. Given the Blood Ring monstrosities’ bloodthirsty nature, the villagers of Bolheim may have long become the sustenance of the Dead Plague army.

“Since Qin’s judgment aligns, it’s worth me taking an extra day,” Duke William said emphatically, “Let’s not delay, set off now!”

As soon as Duke William finished speaking, Bai Pu received an update prompt from the Spirit Realm Will.

[Main Mission Ⅱ: The difficulty of cutting off the Blood Hand has been adjusted to D-level (downgraded from S-level).]

[Since your analysis is the main reason for the reduced task difficulty, the predetermined rewards for Main Mission Ⅱ remain unchanged.]

Bai Pu looked at Duke William in surprise. Although he anticipated that Duke William joining the battle would drastically reduce the main mission’s difficulty, he didn’t expect such a significant drop. It seems Duke William and his group’s strength is beyond expectations! As expected of the Brandon Camp’s final BOSS.

…

After several hours of trekking through the snow, the group finally arrived at Bolheim.

After a brief reconnaissance, they found Blood Hand Colun’s command center indeed located in Bolheim. To be precise, it was a 50-meter-long sail battleship!

This battleship is called “Pioneer,” and it is the flagship of Blood Hand Columbus, always docked at the seaside entrance of Bolheim Village.

Bai Pu’s calculations have proven to be accurate. He received a prompt from the Spirit Realm Will, gaining +200 reputation with the Brandon Camp, with several high-ranking members showing increased favorability towards him.

The most valuable favorability increase came from Duke William, which increased by 100 points—this is the favorability of the camp’s main BOSS, incredibly valuable.

It is worth mentioning that after Qin’s favorability increased again, Bai Pu unexpectedly received another piece of additional information:

[Brandon Court Advisor: Qin’s favorability towards you has increased.]

[Your favorability with a member of the opposite gender from the Spirit Realm (Brandon Court Advisor: Qin) has surpassed the level of ordinary friends, and you can now view the ’Affection Level’ between you and her.]

[Currently, Brandon Court Advisor: Qin’s Affection Level towards you is: Heartbeat.]

Bai Pu checked, and the Spirit Realm Will provided relevant information:

Affection Level is typically a relationship between persons of the opposite sex, divided into five levels. The normal Affection Level is “Ordinary,” with higher levels being “Appreciation,” “Heartbeat,” “Admiration,” and “True Love.” Upon reaching the “Heartbeat” level, the Spirit Realm Will gives a prompt.

Bai Pu felt a bit at a loss; in the real world, he had never experienced a romantic relationship and lacked experience in this area.

Now is not the time to consider this matter; Poison Thorn Squad, the Awakening Mission, Superpower Group… Bai Pu’s survival still faces serious threats.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Pu chose to handle it rationally.

Qin is a very important high-ranking native; her words have influence even on Duke William. Her increased favorability and Affection Level towards him gave Bai Pu more confidence in the upcoming plans.

The group sneaked into the battleship, sabotaged the rudder and cut the sails, then appeared and started causing widespread destruction.

Qin chanted a spell and sprinkled a bottle of blood-red liquid, which turned into a pale red mist covering most of the Pioneer before even touching the ground.

This was “Blood Magic” cast using a casting medium—the Blood Curse Mist, which can significantly weaken enemies over a large area.

The effect was very evident; the Blood Ring Mutant soldiers on the ship coughed repeatedly, and even the elite Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warriors, who had undergone modifications, were noticeably affected. It’s conservatively estimated that their combat power was reduced by one-third!

During this time, Duke William, maintaining his dignity, did not participate in the battle.

His Guard Officer Cwieg was already quite formidable, advancing with unstoppable force. Even the Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warriors couldn’t withstand more than two moves in front of Cwieg. Though there was the weakening effect of Qin’s Blood Curse Mist, Cwieg’s strength was still clearly evident.

Court Wizard Jialan, specialized in Blood Magic, could directly extract blood from enemies, both eerie and powerful.

Bai Pu knew that the strong ones in the Spirit Realm are classified based on a growth template by power levels, ranging from ordinary, elite, enhanced elite, to leader and other levels. He estimated that Cwieg and Jialan might be enhanced elite-level strong ones, a tier higher than the Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warriors.

Yvette should be at the elite level, with strength comparable to the Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warriors.

The group fought their way to the captain’s cabin of Blood Hand Columbus, as the Blood Curse Mist gradually dissipated, they finally encountered resistance.

A Mutant appeared in front of them, with a huge right arm and knotted muscles. This Mutant swung a Bronze Pillar, with a fierce wind blowing from his strikes, and his first attack sent Cwieg’s Adjutant flying into the sea.

Of course, Cwieg was uninjured; he climbed back onto the ship, ready to fight again with a darkened expression.

However, this Mutant was truly a conundrum in the narrow deck passage. His deformed right arm possessed a power enhancement beyond the current level, and the Bronze Pillar he wielded was so massive that there was no room for evasion!

Cwieg was knocked into the sea a second time, and Duke William finally couldn’t sit still.

“Everyone stand back.”

Duke William seemed to disdain joint attacks, and even when Court Wizard Jialan wanted to deploy Blood Magic, he stopped her. The Duke stepped forward leisurely and drew a sword from his waist engraved with a Vulture Eagle Badge.

Swoosh!

Duke William slashed, a blood-colored light beam several meters long shooting out from the blade, severing the Mutant’s pride—his gigantic right arm—in a single blow!

Afterward, Duke William elegantly wiped his sword with a handkerchief and sheathed it, dismissing the need for a final strike.

Everyone surged forward.

Bai Pu didn’t hesitate, rushing to beat the drowning dog with chaotic strikes from his Bone Hammer.

With the death of the Mutant, a deep blue treasure chest hovered above his corpse.

Judging from the luster alone, it was more advanced than the blue treasure chest dropped by the Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warriors. Bai Pu mused that this Mutant must also have been an “enhanced elite” strong one.

Another piece of good news was that Bai Pu’s Basic Equipment (One-Handed Hammer Class) branch, after continuous combat, had thoroughly grasped newly acquired skills, and progressed to Basic Level 3.

“Who dares to intrude into my flagship!”

A roar rang out as the heavy wooden doors of the captain’s cabin were blown open with a powerful kick!

A giant man, over two meters tall and clad in black heavy armor, charged out.

This giant man’s right arm was peculiar, severed at the wrist and replaced by a blood-red giant axe! The axe’s handle was veined with blood-red patterns, resembling blood vessels, connecting with the giant’s severed arm’s veins.

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