"Of course not. We don’t have enough undead corpses to hide soldiers inside them. Tricks like that are nothing more than gimmicks. They have no place in a grand strategy. Besides, infiltrating with undead isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds."

Phield immediately crossed his arms into a large X.

The more elaborate a scheme was, the higher the demands it placed on the quality of the soldiers.

The troops he had just recruited were nowhere near reliable enough.

Using a bunch of prisoners to seize a border fortress?

Even television dramas wouldn’t dare write something so absurd.

"My plan is..."

Just as Phield was about to explain, he suddenly heard panicked shouting from the soldiers.

"Enemy attack!"

"An enemy Divine Chosen has appeared!"

The soldiers erupted into chaos, their ranks instantly falling apart before they could even form up.

A sharp explosion of air rang out.

A graceful figure in crimson robes charged in from outside the bunker.

She didn’t spare the ordinary soldiers a single glance.

Passing through the crowd at high speed, she shot straight toward Jamie.

"Kill her."

Phield immediately made a chopping gesture with his hand and shouted to Rosalia without the slightest hesitation.

"Third-Tier Divine Skill, Star-Erosion!"

A vortex of divine power gathered like a raging whirlpool.

Violent winds howled through the surrounding air.

Hearing the commotion, Jamie realized her allies had come to rescue her.

A triumphant smile had only just appeared on her face before it froze completely.

Because the terrifying skill Rosalia unleashed wasn’t aimed at stopping the newly arrived Divine Chosen.

It was aimed directly at her.

Jamie’s eyes nearly split apart.

"Sistina! Save me!"

"How dare you infiltrate our territory."

Sistina’s gaze turned ice-cold.

"I’ll teach all of you a lesson you’ll never forget."

A blood-colored shadow shot forward like an arrow.

A curved blade wrapped in bloody flames slashed downward, attempting to interrupt Rosalia’s Divine Skill.

Boom!

Sistina was blasted backward.

Her slash was deflected by the turbulent currents surrounding Star-Erosion.

She couldn’t shake it even slightly.

"What the hell?"

Sistina lost focus for an instant.

"That defense... a defense-specialized Divine Chosen?"

The attack she had just launched possessed enough cutting power to split mountains and shatter stone.

Sensing disaster, Jamie unleashed every ounce of power remaining within her body and attempted to flee.

Unfortunately, the divine power inside her was pitifully weak.

During her captivity, Rosalia had regularly beaten her down, preventing her divine power from recovering.

Even worse, her Divine Artifact had been confiscated.

She couldn’t even resort to self-detonating it.

Before Jamie could take more than two steps, Rosalia’s greatsword came crashing down like a furious dragon.

It crushed everything in its path before slamming directly into Jamie’s back.

Pfft!

Jamie, completely devoid of defensive capabilities, was struck head-on.

Her body was swept into the storm of sword energy.

Her divine power barrier shattered instantly like a joke.

More than half her body exploded into fragments.

"No way..."

"Jamie... is finished..."

Sistina’s pupils trembled violently.

She instinctively took a step backward.

Several seconds passed before she finally realized the truth.

By charging in so recklessly, she had effectively caused her companion’s death.

She had drastically underestimated Nightfall Domain’s combat strength.

Even more terrifying was what followed.

The Incarnate Synergy Battle version of Star-Erosion released through the dragon claw came immediately afterward.

It smashed violently into the bunker wall.

The ground shook from the impact.

It meant that even if the first Divine Skill missed, there was a second strike of equal power ready as a safeguard.

"I can’t win against them."

Sistina reached her conclusion instantly.

All desire to fight vanished.

A mysterious energy slowly gathered from the spot where Jamie had been standing and flowed into Rosalia’s exquisite shoulder bag.

Rosalia had been carrying Jamie’s Divine Artifact all this time.

Only now did it officially change ownership.

"Another Third-Tier Divine Artifact acquired."

Rosalia smiled terrifyingly.

Her greedy eyes shifted toward Sistina.

"You seem a little delicious too."

"Fuck!"

A chill shot from the soles of Sistina’s feet straight to her scalp.

Without saying another word, she turned and ran.

Her speed was so fast it became nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.

"Wait... that’s it? She just ran?"

Both Phield and Rosalia stared blankly.

"At least leave behind a threatening speech or something."

"Damn it."

"We have no idea how we were exposed."

"But the time available to us has just become much shorter."

Originally they had expected more than half a month.

Now even seven days would be considered fortunate.

Phield rubbed his forehead.

There was no need to think about it.

Once Sistina returned, she would undoubtedly gather an army and march straight for them.

The time remaining to him had decreased once again.

"The situation changes in an instant. There’s nothing we can do about that."

Ophelia offered comfort.

"The abilities of Divine Chosen are endlessly varied. Unexpected events are normal."

"The only question now is whether there’s still any hope of reviving the Divine Chosen of Destruction without Jamie."

Rosalia couldn’t help sighing.

"That part can only be left to fate."

"Forget it."

Phield shook his head.

"I won’t be discouraged by something this minor."

"Now that our enemies know we exist, they’ll eventually march on us with a massive army regardless."

"No time to waste."

"We move against Bull Territory immediately."

Phield immediately ordered the soldiers to form ranks, load the required equipment onto wagons, and prepare for the march toward Bull Territory.

Unlike other territories, Bull Territory’s city was a fortress-city.

It was roughly the size of a small town, but its defensive capabilities were astonishing.

Meanwhile, Dawn City, the great commercial capital of Rick Province belonging to the Pigeon Family, was filled with wealth, beautiful people, and breathtaking natural scenery.

Yet the atmosphere there was anything but pleasant.

"My toy. My toy."

"Who broke Baron Pig’s toy?"

"I want Jamie. I want Jamie."

"Lady Jamie... has already fallen in battle."

A priest dressed like a mage leaned on his staff and sighed heavily.

"I knew it."

"My pet never sent a status report through the signal device."

"She must have died."

A grotesquely obese man flailed all four limbs and cried like a baby.

Sistina gritted her teeth and stepped forward.

"When I arrived, the enemy had already torn her into pieces."

"Lord Haimei’er, please restrain your grief."

"Lady Jamie was my closest friend."

"I truly did everything I could."

"Waaaah!"

"My obedient toy is gone forever." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Baron Pig, Haimei’er, burst into loud sobs.

He stuffed an enormous lump of honey bread into his mouth.

After grunting a few times, he pulled out a magical device and angrily pressed its buttons at random.

"You’re all useless!"

"Play with me!"

"Play with me!"

"Mmgh..."

An unhealthy flush spread across Sistina’s face.

Unable to resist, she dropped to her knees.

In a low voice, she cursed bitterly.

"My lord is a bastard too."

"What kind of man gives his own wife to another lord..."

"I don’t care! I don’t care!"

Baron Pig let out another series of bizarre cries.

Like a spoiled infant, he behaved completely without reason.

"Lord Baron, please... please stop."

"This failure was mine."

"Please grant me another chance to make up for it."

Clenching her teeth, Sistina knelt and begged before the noble.

Baron Pig alternated between laughing and crying like a madman.

He casually reached out and began doing things so disturbing they were difficult to watch.

"Enough, my lord. Don’t be too upset."

One of the sect’s priests stroked his beard and smiled as he stepped in to rescue Sistina from the situation.

"We have plenty of toys."

"Escort the lord away to rest."