Chapter 78: 76: Settling Accounts

Emil brought a total of fifteen silver descendants to this battle, and now, only eight survived, each wearing an unsettling expression.

On the way back, he had felt something was terribly wrong.

Aaron had apparently fully reconciled with him.

Recently, he had even become somewhat weak, following Emil’s arrangements on many matters within the clan, and continually ceding benefits to him.

Yet, today, Aaron stood together with those two from the Fischer family, preventing Emil from asking further questions.

“Has that bastard lost his patience and wants to break with me again?”

As Emil pondered, he led the eight silver descendants through a route that was an essential path back to their clan, an area extremely quiet and uninhabited.

Suddenly, a group of more than twenty people swiftly emerged from both sides of the road.

Emil and the other silver descendants were shocked, and before they could even question the newcomers, a row of flintlocks was raised, followed by a volley of orderly shots.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Dammit, an ambush!

Emil hurriedly activated a mysterious rare artifact he carried, creating an invisible whirlwind shield around him to block the attacks.

His fellow clan members weren’t so lucky; they were gunned down in an instant, their eyes wide open as they fell to the ground.

“Damn it! Who are you?” Emil shouted in desperation.

“Do you still think provoking the Fischer family was a good choice?”

Irene walked out calmly from among the Fischer family’s guards, her companions tense beside her—this was their first time collectively committing a crime.

Irene had previously hinted at and tested the loyalty of the family’s guards, and those not loyal enough were dismissed, leaving only those who were willing to follow orders.

Emil hesitated for a moment, his injured thigh negating any possibility of escape, so he knelt down and began to desperately beg for mercy, sobbing uncontrollably.

However, the vilest thoughts in his heart were laid bare for all to see.

Irene stood in the shadows, expressionless, and then spoke.

“It’s not impossible to let you live.”

“I’m willing to do anything, really!” Emil said ecstatically, knocking his head on the ground repeatedly.

“Do you know of any weaknesses Aaron might have?”

Emil’s joy increased as he responded loudly,

“I knew you didn’t like Aaron; he’s an arrogant man who looks down on women. I do know, he indeed has a significant weakness.”

Irene nodded expressionlessly.

“Go ahead.”

“Hahaha! If I reveal Aaron’s secret, you’ll just kill me right away, won’t you? Do you really think I’m that stupid?”

Emil sneered, planning to find a way to stall for more time.

“But I already know.”

Irene tilted her head slightly, giving him a subtle look with a pleased smile emerging on her lips.

“Ah?”

Emil was completely stunned.

I’ve already heard the secret from the depths of your heart, along with the intense malice that came with it.

Although the initial stages of the Path of Divine Sacrifice offer no direct combat capabilities, its various functional extraordinary powers can be effective.

There was a frightening, desperate smile in Irene’s eyes that chilled one to the bone. Emil opened his mouth to argue and stall for time but suddenly found himself too terrified to speak.

A flintlock was pressed into his mouth, reaching inside, and with fear and despair, he could only reach out, attempting to stop the eerily menacing woman.

“Bang!”

After killing Emil, Irene calmly looked at the guards around her.

“Even if you betray me, you will not gain the appreciation of the silver descendants, only the wrathful vengeance of those unstable in spirit.”

She paused for a moment, then continued coldly and mercilessly:

“And I guarantee you one thing, those who betray the Fischer family, both he and his family, will surely receive the punishment of death.”

Even if someone were to leak the carnage of this night, no one among the silver descendants would be able to stand up for Emil, for he and his confidants have all died here.

Without a doubt, the silver descendants clan in Nasir is now firmly in the hands of Elder Aaron and the Fischer family behind him.

The guards expressed their loyalty one after another, their hearts changed by the shared crime, binding them more tightly to the Fischer family.

In fact, many illegal organizations or heretical cults would engage in similar “Proofs of Loyalty” activities, performing a certain act or proactively providing important collateral or leverage to demonstrate their faithfulness.

Irene stood in the shadows, watching the guards clean up the messy scene, her thoughts preoccupied with Byrne and Lady Isaac.

She wondered if he had found any trace of Lady Isaac.

When she had parted from Byrne earlier, she had asked him to search for Chris, to use the “Tracking Senses” extraordinary trait to locate Lady Isaac.

——

In the Isaac family’s manor, a black figure took advantage of the distracted patrol guards to sneak back inside.

No one could have guessed that the fleeing Lady Isaac would return.

She opened the concealed stone door, entering the family estate’s underground room.

The room was filled with a damp smell, dark and almost entirely void of light, save for a lantern hanging on a pillar, flickering with a dim blue flame.

An altar, a deity statue, and various tools for worship – everything needed for the Sea God Cult to perform various rituals.

Lady Isaac’s face was marked with heavy exhaustion and profound despair, as if she had aged decades overnight, her whole being devoid of any life force or hope.

She knelt before the altar, gazing at the statue of the Sea God.

He was a large male figure with a mix of human and fish traits, looking very strange with a head that bore four eyes watching in different directions; instead of arms on his shoulders, there were eight arms growing from his back, each holding different weapons.

“Oh Sea God, who possesses the power of all the oceans, I finally understand Your creed. We must never be gentle with the enemies on land; only the most primitive cruelty and destruction can thoroughly enslave them.”

In the altar lay a dark blue stone that continuously radiated a faint glow, almost as if the mysterious rare artifact could breathe.

That was the object the Sea God Cult had secretly brought to the East Coast, the target the Isaac family sought to awaken!

“The preparations for the ritual are all complete, only the final sacrifice is left. My brother hopes to use Margaret from the Fischer family because a ‘dual-souled’ sacrifice always produces a stronger effect in the offering, but I was thinking, if she was lucky enough not to have taken the potion, we could change to another sacrifice, hehehe…”

Her words were laced with despair. The loss of her brother, who had been her only support for over thirty years, had caused Lady Isaac to lose all thought of flight.

At this moment, what Lady Isaac wanted was nothing but revenge against the Fischer family, revenge against all citizens of Nasir, to offer the most horrifying funeral to Irene, whom she once greatly revered!

Although she knew very well that the Fischer family was not to blame, there was no longer any need to speak of right and wrong, as the person who had failed to recognize the cruel nature of the world from the start, who had ultimately caused the death of her family, was herself!

“While I am not a ‘dual-souled’ pregnant woman, as someone with a water-type Bloodline and devotion, I am naturally a suitable sacrifice. Even if it’s not the most perfect time, there’s still a thirty percent chance of success.”

The success of many ritual spells depends on whether they meet the tedious and complex conditions, and belief and timing are important variables in the field of the occult.

If conducted at the perfect time and place, completing all steps of the entire ritual, the success rate would approach a hundred percent.

She silently consumed a vial of dark blue potion, calmly sensing the changes within her body, then prayed fervently to the bizarre and terrifying idol of the Sea God.

Only a thirty percent chance of success, but she was willing to gamble her soul in a desperate wager!

Throughout the process of prayer and sacrifice, Lady Isaac’s body painfully transformed, her words became more devout, and her eyes gradually brightened.

“Oh sovereign of all oceanic power, send forth Your child of destruction, its vast and surging strength will shatter all those who disrespect the ocean!”

On the altar, something that contained spirituality, a weird and terrifying dark blue force gradually converged. The dark blue stone suddenly liquefied into water, covering the entire altar, and from the darkness, the deepest monster from the abyss was about to emerge, devouring the myriad life of the entire town!