The Ghost Ship materialized from the horizon.

One ghost after another emerged onto the deck of the Ghost Ship, the sails beneath the moonlight billowing and swelling.

The ghosts standing upon the ship erupted with gazes of hatred, meeting the moonlight as their mouths emitted shrill shrieks.

Those sounds, like blades, pierced into the minds of those in the palace below.

They were all vengeful spirits returning.

This scene, like a bolt from the blue, startled the still oblivious people of Fort Pence who were unaware of the King of Ten Thousand Serpents’ death. The thunderous impact and tremors emanating from the collision in the palace of the Royal Court sent the surrounding soldiers and alarmed servants tumbling to the ground.

Those close to the bedchamber watched helplessly as the swarm of ghosts descended, extending a myriad of hands to grasp the King of Ten Thousand Serpents.

Just like that, they witnessed the King of Ten Thousand Serpents’ ghost being taken away, becoming a part of the Ghost Ship.

“The King of Ten Thousand Serpents?” The guards and servants within the palace immediately recognized the King of Ten Thousand Serpents, but with him floating into the air in a semi-transparent form and landing on the deck, they could not discern what exactly the situation was.

“Who is that? Who stands there?” Some also noticed Xiuborn standing before the bedchamber, his attire and appearance clearly not belonging to anyone within the palace.

“An assassin, he did all this.” Some instantly comprehended everything and cried out as they charged toward the bedchamber.

At this moment, Xiuborn had already boarded the Ghost Ship.

He piloted this great vessel sliding down from above, the bottom of the ship stirring up waves out of thin air, propelling the ship forward.

“Whoosh.”

The surging waters carried the Ghost Ship and Xiuborn swiftly through the boulevards of the palace.

“Crash~”

The Ghost Ship directly shattered a towering stone gate, emerging onto the streets outside.

The ordinary guards and Ability bearers within the palace had no means to obstruct Xiuborn, or rather they could not even catch up to him.

Soon, Xiuborn piloted the Ghost Ship charging into a wide water channel.

Now his speed of departure grew even faster.

Two people from Fort Pence also pursued Xiuborn and the Ghost Ship, one of them being the Guard Captain of the Royal Court.

He rushed over from his own residence, and the first thing he had to do was not apprehend the intruder, but confirm if the King of Ten Thousand Serpents was safe and protect his well-being.

However, when he arrived at the palace, he saw the King of Ten Thousand Serpents who had already become an empty shell, withered like a dried corpse statue.

“My King?”

Then, he furiously roared.

“Seize him!” he shouted. “We must capture him!”

Enormous stone puppet statues heeded his command and rose from the earth, rapidly chasing after the Ghost Ship and Xiuborn.

The stone puppet statues ran swiftly, causing the ground to quake with their movement.

Yet their main body lagged behind.

Instead, it was the other person, the captain of the Temple Knights, who first caught up to Xiuborn, blocking his path.

“Halt!”

The female knight, clad in silver armor with her hair tied back in a ponytail, abruptly appeared on the street.

A beam of light shot forth as she drew her sword, severing the water channel.

The waters surged, submerging the stone slabs on the street and flooding toward the distance.

Due to the severed water channel, the Ghost Ship had no choice but to halt.

When the water flow settled once more, the female knight had already emerged atop the water channel, obstructing the path of the Ghost Ship.

Xiuborn stood at the bow, gazing at this mighty existence exuding an aura of life from head to toe.

His expression turned solemn.

Xiuborn had a vague inkling of the other party’s identity. Although this person had never appeared in the outside world, many said she was the most powerful Ability bearer of the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents.

“The Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents.”

“A temple knight serving the Divine?”

The female knight originally had no intention of interfering in the war between the Avel people and the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, but the other party had already killed their way to the foot of the Mountain of Life’s Origin.

According to the agreement, she had no choice but to take action.

She had the responsibility to protect the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents and defend this city.

The female knight looked at Xiuborn and suddenly furrowed her brows.

“What exactly are you?”

“You are no longer a person, your power comes from another existence.”

The captain of the Temple Knights saw through Xiuborn’s essence.

He had abandoned his faith in the Life Sovereign and embraced the bosom of another deity.

Although she could not see the existence of the Door of Truth, she could sense the aura of another mythology flowing within Xiuborn.

Xiuborn made no attempt to conceal it. “Yes!”

“When I plunged into death’s abyss, I did not enter the Creator’s realm. Another great deity extended a hand to me.”

“He bestowed salvation upon me and also granted new hope to all Avel people.”

The female knight had already drawn her sword, pointing it at Xiuborn, her gaze chilling to the extreme.

“You killed the King of Ten Thousand Serpents.”

“You also abandoned your faith.”

Xiuborn calmly replied, “I gave the King of Ten Thousand Serpents a chance, but he refused.”

He suddenly turned his head to look at the Mountain of Life’s Origin. “And it’s not that I abandoned my faith, but that the Ruler of Life does not need my faith.”

“Or rather, She never needed our faith to begin with.”

“Whether it’s me, you, or this vast earth.”

“We have long been forsaken by the Ruler of Life, forgotten by Her in this world.”

The captain of the Temple Knights said, “So, whoever can give you power, you will believe in them. Is that so?”

The female knight continuously questioned Xiuborn, interrogating his former faith.

“You have forgotten who bestowed life upon you.”

“You have forgotten who granted you the earth on which you depend for survival.”

“Your existence in this world is all due to the blessing of the Mother of Life.”

Xiuborn, indignant, angrily rebuked, “Wasn’t it you who forced us into this?”

“If not for your betrayal of the alliance, if not for you colluding with the maritime alliance’s armies to attack our nation, would we have fallen to our current state?”

“We want to survive, we want to reestablish our nation.”

“What wrong have we committed?”

The female knight’s tightly gripped sword suddenly loosened slightly, but Xiuborn’s next words were completely different.

Xiuborn gazed at the heavens, his eyes seeming to see the ancient times of the past.

The beginning of Wisdom, the dawn of Myth.

“I have merely found the belonging we should have had, the source of the Wisdom Bloodline.”

“The Mother of Life is not the true supreme god, nor is she the Creator of this world.”

“We are the descendants of Wisdom, we should have faith in the deities of the Wisdom lineage.”

The captain of the Temple Knights instantly changed. How could she listen to such words?
“Silence!”

The female knight stared at Xiuborn in utter disbelief, aghast that such words could pour from a Snake Person’s mouth, that such blasphemous thoughts would emanate from the mind of a descendant of the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents.

“Madman.”

“Lunatic.”

“Do you know what you’re saying? You will pay the price for blaspheming the Divine.”

Xiuborn felt he was merely stating a fact, but the captain of the Temple Knights only saw him as a madman, a fanatic.

This was blaspheming her deity to her face, at the foot of the temple.

Xiuborn had not finished speaking when a fierce light erupted from the female knight’s eyes.

As the light swept across, the entire Ghost Ship turned to stone.

That icy grayness continuously climbed along the ship’s hull, in the blink of an eye about to freeze Xiuborn as well.

However, at this moment, Xiuborn also reacted extremely swiftly, directly leaping from the ship to evade this petrifying light.

“Crash.”

The female knight charged forth, shattering the Ghost Ship with a single punch.

Xiuborn’s great vessel, like a paper toy, was easily torn apart.

Yet the female knight’s actions had not ended. She stomped upon the water surface, the waters immediately erupting with an explosive sound, white spray splashing up layers of airwaves as her body directly shot up a hundred meters into the air.

She swung her sword down.

Xiuborn had no time to dodge, for the other party’s movements were simply too fast.

“Ethereal Form.”

Xiuborn immediately etherealized his body, turning completely transparent.

The female knight also encountered Xiuborn’s unique existence for the first time, how could she anticipate the special power of the Witch Spirits.

Her sword passed directly through Xiuborn’s body as he vanished before her eyes.

Xiuborn vanished, reappearing elsewhere.

Even the Ghost Ship shattered by petrification just now reconstituted within his Book of the Witch Spirit.

However, the female knight had merely been caught off guard by this unique power. She immediately pursued Xiuborn again, swinging her sword down.

The tip of her blade instantly formed a black vortex, intending to devour Xiuborn.

The female knight’s power far exceeded Xiuborn’s imagination.

He could barely defend himself, let alone strike back.

Moreover, he sensed the female knight had not even unleashed her true strength.

At this time, another third-rank Ability bearer, the Guard Captain of the Royal Court, also arrived.

Xiuborn once again activated his previous method of escape.

He pressed his hand against his chest, the Divine Artifact within his body, Polik’s Right Hand, activated once more.

Xiuborn’s body instantly turned into a fleeting shadow, as if pulled by an invisible force continuously upward.

He was leaving the mortal realm.

He was heading to the border between reality and illusion.

This was not an action ordinary Witch Spirits could perform. Only Xiuborn, who possessed the Divine Artifact Polik’s Right Hand and had a close connection to the Door of Truth, could walk along the edge of the Dream Realm.

Xiuborn’s body ascended unceasingly. The female knight also reacted this time, erupting with all her power.

With a sweep of her sword, a black radiance directly rent the clouds in the sky.

The sea of clouds turned into an immense vortex, the cloud layers vanishing into the blackness.

The sea of clouds transformed into a clear sky, not a trace of thin clouds to be seen.

This power could be considered earth-shattering.

But at this moment, Xiuborn had already departed the mortal realm.

He left a message for the female knight.

“Devout temple knight.”

“You are extremely powerful, but my resolve to save all my people will not waver.”

“Not until you free all Avel people and atone for betraying our alliance.”

“Otherwise, none of this will end.”

The female knight watched Xiuborn depart, her expression somewhat unsightly.

At this time, the colossal puppet statues finally arrived from the other end of the city.

The Guard Captain followed behind, reaching the edge of the water channel.

Seeing the female knight, he couldn’t help but ask loudly.

“Where is he?”

“He killed the King of Ten Thousand Serpents, that vengeful Avel person.”

The female knight did not respond, directly vanishing into the air.

In fact, her movements were so fast that even afterimages were difficult to discern in the night.

She had been away from the temple for too long, somewhat worried about the Holy Maiden in the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents.

At this moment, the Holy Maiden also rubbed her eyes, walking out of the bedchamber barefoot.

She usually slept soundly, even thunderclaps outside would not disturb her.

But this time, not only were there rumbling sounds outside, even the corridors of the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents were filled with the sound of panicked footsteps and the cries of alarm from the temple attendants.

Ultimately, she was awakened.

“What happened?”

The captain of the Temple Knights looked at the Holy Maiden, first sighing helplessly.

Then, adjusting her complex emotions, she smiled and said to the Holy Maiden.

“Your Holiness, a lunatic who betrayed the Divine has appeared.”

The Holy Maiden gazed at the captain of the Temple Knights, somewhat excited. “Is he a bad person? A really, really bad villain?”

“Should we defeat him?”

The female knight didn’t know how to respond to this innocent question.

In a child’s world, black and white were distinct.

But for them, there was no distinction between good and evil.

In her eyes, whether descendants of Pence or of Avel, they were all of the Snake People race.

The soldiers of Fort Pence fought for the King of Ten Thousand Serpents, the temple knights and attendants of the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents fought for the Divine.

And Xiuborn fought for the Avel people.

Kneeling before the Holy Maiden, the female knight replied simply,

“I will uphold the glory of the Divine and protect Your Holiness and this city from harm by anyone.”

“If that lunatic dares to come here again.”

“I will thoroughly defeat him and make him repent before the Divine at this temple.”

The Holy Maiden immediately clapped and cheered. In her view, this was the perfect ending of the story.

The good triumphed, the evil failed, and the villain, full of remorse, turned over a new leaf.

And just like that, everyone welcomed the perfect ending.

Xiuborn’s assault shocked many in Fort Pence.

No one had imagined an Avel person would so brazenly invade their Fort Pence, kill the King of Ten Thousand Serpents in their palace, and then leisurely depart.

But his actions also thoroughly ignited the fury of everyone in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents.

Since the establishment of the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, no one had ever dared to invade this Fort Pence.

Even the mighty Suinhor City-States had not accomplished such a feat.

The new King of Ten Thousand Serpents ascended the throne, utilizing the death of the old King of Ten Thousand Serpents to unite everyone against a common foe.

All internal instability and conflict was channeled into hatred for the Avel.

Before the palace, the young, newly crowned King of Ten Thousand Serpents donned his crown, his face contorting as he roared.

“They used evil sorcery to turn our king into a ghost, preventing our king from returning to the Creator’s domain even in death.”

“We must make them pay the price, a bloody price.”

“Slaughter all those Avel people.”

“Use their blood to pay tribute to my grandfather, to our king.”

Those below immediately responded in unison.

Some were truly enraged by the King of Ten Thousand Serpents’ death, wishing to seize the King of Ten Thousand Serpents’ ghost back from the Avel people.

Others had tasted the sweetness of the previous plunder, be it the seized treasures or women, causing these people to be drawn to war like moths to a flame.

In their eyes, the Avel people were defenseless.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed army commander-in-chief, the Guard Captain of the Royal Court and one of only two third-rank Ability bearers in the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, arrived at the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents.

He could not easily enter the temple, only able to meet the captain of the Temple Knights in the artificial forest outside the temple.

The Guard Captain waited for a long time before seeing that beautiful female knight.

She appeared extremely young, her high ponytail making her appear even more spirited.

Her eyes were like jewels, full of luster, yet possessing an indescribably steady bearing.

But in her presence, the Guard Captain’s posture was very low.

He had been repeatedly defeated under her sword, knowing the female knight’s power was far greater than his.

However, as soon as the female knight walked over, she directly said to him.

“No need to say more.”

“The Temple Knights are to protect the Holy Maiden, not to slaughter civilians.”

“We have never had a precedent of joining a war.”

The Guard Captain had come to persuade the captain of the Temple Knights to join this war, but the captain of the Temple Knights did not seem to want to participate.

Firstly, she did not wish to raise her sword against the Avel people.

In her eyes, whether descendants of Pence or of Avel, they were all of the Snake People race.

Secondly, she only wanted to guard the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents and the Holy Maiden. In her heart, a voice told her this took precedence over all else.

She could not leave the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents, and even more so, she could not leave the Holy Maiden’s side.

The Guard Captain said, “The Avel people come in full force this time. They have subdued the tribes in the jungles and wastelands, assembling an army of forty thousand.”

“Although we have the numbers, we lack the advantage in the forests. The situation of directly breaking through the Ice River Fortress and various checkpoints to attack the City of Avel like last time will be difficult to replicate.”

The Guard Captain first explained the current circumstances, then brought up another issue.

“Furthermore…”

“Xiuborn was originally just a weak second-rank Ability bearer, but now he has obtained the power of another deity, becoming a third-rank.”

“Although I became a third-rank Ability bearer many years before him and do not fear confronting him directly.”

“I am concerned he still has other hidden cards.”

“If you could join this war, I would have greater assurance.”

The female knight, a woman of steadfast conviction, remained unmoved by his words.

“As I said before, I do not agree with this war.”

“If you lack confidence in victory, then release all the Avel people.”

“This was a mistaken war from the start. Drawing it to a close peacefully would not be bad.”

“The Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents and the Avel people once signed an alliance. Now, shaking hands and making peace may allow the prior agreement to be renewed.”

The Guard Captain was the one who had broken through the City of Avel. His hands were stained with the blood of countless Avel people. How could he possibly compromise with them?

He firmly refused.

“Apologize to the Avel people? Spit out our spoils of war?”

“No.”

“Beast-herders will never admit defeat to the conquered.”

“The hatred and humiliation of the King of Ten Thousand Serpents’ death can only be washed away with blood.”

Hearing the other party’s answer, the female knight’s eyes lightly swept over the Guard Captain.

Then, she directly rejected him.

“My duty is to protect the Holy Maiden, to guard this Mountain of Life’s Origin and this city.”

“I am a knight under the Divine Throne, obeying only the will of the Divine.”

“I will not fight for your king, much less draw my sword for your greed and desire.”

Having said that, the female knight turned and walked toward the interior of the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents.

The Guard Captain pursued her for a few paces. He knew he could no longer persuade the other party and could only settle for the next best thing.

“Fine!”

“You are unwilling to fight for the king. I will not force you.”

“But I hope.”

“When others in the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents are willing to fight for the Royal Court, to fight for the King of Ten Thousand Serpents, you will not stop them.”

The female knight did not look back, striding forward.

She neither agreed nor refused.

If other descendants of Pence wanted to fight for the King of Ten Thousand Serpents, she indeed had no reason to refuse.

Moreover, recently quite a few people had applied to her, hoping to join this war.

Although the Guard Captain had failed to sway the captain of the Temple Knights, he had convinced many temple attendants and knights.

These people were all well-trained Land Dragon knights and Ability bearers wielding powerful Divine Techniques.

However, their willingness to take the field was not solely due to the King of Ten Thousand Serpents’ death but also because Xiuborn had actually changed the Life Sovereign’s temple into a temple of Wisdom.

On Ruhe Beast Island.

Suinhor still worshipped the Life Sovereign while simultaneously venerating Her subordinate, the Blood Progenitor.

Although the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents did not agree with this faith in the Blood Progenitor, they were also powerless to say much.

As for the City of Lights, they were originally just a group of mountain people. They never had any nation, temple, or faith. They only had some stories about the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents passed down through the generations.

Iva’s arrival allowed them to establish a temple for the first time, enshrining the Dream Sovereign and the God of Alchemy and Desire.

But the Avel people were different.

They had changed the Life Sovereign’s temple into the temple of another deity, removing the Life Sovereign’s statue from the divine platform.

They had even said, in front of the many temple attendants of the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents and the people of the entire Fort Pence, that the Life Sovereign was not the supreme ruler, uttering a series of words blaspheming the Divine.

Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents.

In this temple that seemed like a paradise, the carefree Holy Maiden now also sensed the true atmosphere of war.

She watched the knights who accompanied her day and night don their armor and take up their weapons.

She saw the temple attendants all begin preparations for war.

Everyone’s face bore a murderous air, a solemn appearance, no longer filled with the previous laughter and chatter.

When she asked them, they always shook their heads without answering.

“We will tell you in due time, Your Holiness.”

She suddenly felt somewhat worried and uneasy. She inquired with the captain of the Temple Knights.

“What are they going to do?”

The female knight finally told her.

“To wage war, Holy Maiden.”

She had originally thought war was a story in books, a tale of heroes, an epic to be recorded in the annals of history.

It even had a story-like romanticism.

But when she truly saw the outbreak of war, she did not sense any romantic hues from the stories, only fear and unease.

For war was ever different from tales and imaginings. The stories depicted heroes and epics, while those directly facing it felt plunder and loss.

The Holy Maiden asked, “Why do they want to fight a war?”

The female knight answered, “In the past, it was for land, for wealth, for all sorts of things.”

“But this time, the soldiers and generals fight for the king, while the temple attendants… they fight for the Divine.”

The Holy Maiden asked the female knight, “Did the Divine tell them to go to war? How come I don’t know?”

The female knight replied, “To uphold the glory and greatness of the Divine.”

The Holy Maiden grew even more puzzled. “The Divine is inherently glorious and great, what need is there for mortals to uphold it?”

A sentence suddenly surfaced in the female knight’s mind, as if a great existence had recited this poetic line long, long ago.

“The Divine does not care.”

“But we care.”

“Your Holiness.”

The Holy Maiden said nothing more.

Finally, when the war was set in motion, the army began to depart.

The knights and temple attendants of the Temple of Ten Thousand Serpents preparing to set out all came to the foot of the temple, prostrating themselves before the Holy Maiden.

“Holy Maiden!”

“Please bestow your blessing upon us.”

The Holy Maiden looked at them. “You will defeat the bad people and return alive and well, right?”

The members of the Temple Knights all shouted in unison, “To die for the Divine is our supreme glory.”

The Holy Maiden suddenly clenched her small fists, biting her lip.

“But I want you to come back alive.”

“Otherwise, let’s not go!”

Those prostrating below were all much older than the Holy Maiden. Seeing Her Holiness reluctant to part with them, they all smiled.

“With the Holy Maiden’s blessing, we will surely be victorious and will definitely return alive.”

Only then did the Holy Maiden beam with joy.