BXBX NOVEL Chapter 237: Is Everyone a Traitor?
"You\'ve done well," he told his players.
Immediately, the legendary players breathed a sigh of relief, feeling they had pleased their leader.
On the way back, they no longer had to worry about being set up to fail. It wasn\'t easy, after all!
...
Feeling rather pleased, Sterl adopted a more enthusiastic tone and shared drinks with the present nobles and the king.
Soon, despite his years of training to hide his true strength and maintain a calm demeanor, his expression couldn\'t help but twitch slightly.
Sterl had learned two things.
First, Bionic Tear had searched the city but initially found nothing. However, it realized that several areas in the city were completely impenetrable to the Star Insight. This equipment had a strong perception ability; with enough mental power, it could see through even gods.
The undetectable areas in the city were definitely suspicious.
So, Bionic Tear used Shadow Stealth to slip into one of these special areas, specifically the cellar of a small tavern on the southwestern side of the capital.
As soon as it entered, it witnessed a hellish scene composed of blood and corpses. A group of people wearing blood-red priestly robes were categorizing the civilians by gender and age, then slaughtering and dismembering them for blood.
In its Shadow Stealth disguise, Bionic Tear went unnoticed.
At the banquet, sensing the transmitted images, Sterl felt slightly nauseous.
He realized that the missing citizens were being used as materials to create the sub-arrays of the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array. The raw materials for such god-level arrays were often bizarre and specific. For example, the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array required extreme pain and the hearts of babies born on specific dates.
Of course, it also required some god-level materials.
At that moment, Bionic Tear was witnessing the Blood Cult\'s cold and efficient process of creating these materials.
Their method of extracting pain involved keeping the citizens alive with various potions and then flaying them alive. Additionally, various torture devices were operating at high speed nearby.
The basement was filled with screams and wails of agony.
Meanwhile, Bionic Tear discovered that there were no fewer than sixteen undetectable areas in the city. This meant that countless missing citizens were enduring hellish torment in sixteen different locations, where even the luxury of a swift death was denied to them.
"These people are beyond saving," Sterl judged through Bionic Tear\'s perspective.
Using his knowledge of arrays, he confirmed that the sub-arrays of the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array had already been set up. The Blood Cult no longer needed to capture more people for torture.
Sterl breathed a sigh of relief. Although he often believed in disregarding all morals for his own benefit, the scene before him was too extreme.
He suspected that if he watched the Blood Cult continue their atrocities, he might not sleep well for many years to come.
"These citizens are already dead. The only thing I can do now is avenge them," Sterl muttered to himself. "I will seize all the painstaking arrangements made by the Blood Cult."
He felt a surge of anger. Any person of sound mind would naturally be revolted by such inhumane acts.
Moreover, there was another matter that deeply unsettled Sterl. After embracing and shaking hands with many nobles, he discovered a strong presence of blood force within them. This included the queen and her two princes!
No wonder they couldn\'t trace the countless disappearances initially; the Principality of Florence\'s royal court was riddled with traitors!
Feigning drunkenness, Sterl wandered around the palace. His casual exploration confirmed his suspicions: there was an area deep within the palace that Star Insight couldn\'t penetrate.
"Good! Good! Good!" Sterl finally confirmed his inner suspicions.
The Blood Cult was orchestrating a scheme in the Principality of Florence, aiming to set up a grand array as a tribute to the Archduke of Blood. One of the array\'s nodes was even located within the palace!
Sterl sensed the urge to open the Gate of Hell. Immediately, a stream of information flowed into his mind.
"Opening the Gate of Hell currently will connect to the 16,374th layer of hell."
Sterl was unsure of the significance of this particular layer, but he instantly felt a frenzied surge of energy that was of the same origin as the blood force within him.
There was no need for further explanation. Everything was coming together!
The god-level demon, the Archduke of Blood, had orchestrated a grand sacrificial plan using the spatial rift connecting to the Principality of Florence. The ultimate target of this sacrificial ritual was none other than the god-level demon himself!
And Sterl... his plan was to claim for himself everything that the god-level demon had meticulously plotted!
"Your Highness, your beauty is like that of a celestial goddess," Sterl said, his tone warm and friendly.
The noblewoman adorned with numerous emerald jewels merely covered her mouth and laughed. "You\'re too kind."
She had no idea that Sterl\'s expression, rather than admiring her beauty, resembled someone looking at a bringer of fortune.
The banquet continued, and Sterl\'s main body took a risky trip back to the city.
Although Bionic Tear could perfectly mimic all of Sterl\'s abilities, it had a critical flaw: it couldn\'t use potions or share Sterl\'s energy reserves. With no fewer than seventeen undetectable areas needing investigation, Bionic Tear\'s mana for Shadow Stealth was insufficient.
Sterl had no choice but to personally conduct a swift reconnaissance before departing again.
He confirmed that ten sub-arrays of the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array had been fully set up in the seventeen areas. These arrays were ready to be activated at any moment.
Based on his knowledge as an Array Master and his understanding of the incomplete version of the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array, he estimated that these sub-arrays would need about five days to spread a peculiar blood energy throughout the city. Once that happened, the ten arrays would merge to refine everyone in the city.
It\'s worth noting that the seventeen areas meant that seven arrays had been redundantly set up. Clearly, the Blood Cult understood risk management and had prepared surplus arrays.
This realization instantly dispelled one of Sterl\'s concerns. He had feared that killing the two traitors in the Hall of Valor might have caused the Blood Cult to lack two sub-array setups.
However, it was evident that the Archduke of Blood hadn\'t put all his eggs in one basket.
Having gathered all the necessary information, Sterl sighed as he looked at his colleagues, who were eagerly anticipating earning significant Valor Contribution Points from the mission.
Under normal circumstances, if he hadn\'t participated, these legendary players would likely be doomed.
The banquet soon ended.
Sterl regretted having his main body leave so quickly because, after the banquet, the royal family provided each legendary player with a luxurious room.
In his room, several dancers dressed in light, revealing clothing that showed their midriffs and thighs gracefully entered, their movements alluring.
At the same time, a smiling female attendant stood by. "Sir, our dancers in the Principality of Florence undergo special training from a young age. Their skills and figures are exceptional. Although they only have the strength of ordinary practitioners, they can undoubtedly provide you with an extraordinary experience."
Unfortunately, while Sterl felt a slight temptation, the one in the room was merely his avatar...
He was powerless to act on his desires!
He could only wave them off helplessly. "With the current issues in the royal city unresolved, how can I think of enjoying myself?"
...
After the female attendant and the dancers had all left, Sterl, outside the city, grew more and more irritated.
He had his avatar slam the table in frustration.
"If I can\'t enjoy myself, neither should you!"
He immediately went around kicking open the doors of the other legendary players.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Some were fortunate and had not accepted the services of the Principality of Florence. Others were in the midst of flirting and could only stare in shock as Sterl kicked open their doors.
Some unlucky ones, just about to get intimate, were startled by the loud noise.
Even a legendary player\'s heart would skip a beat at such a moment.
Annoyed, they looked towards the door, ready to curse whoever had interrupted them.
But upon seeing who it was, they instantly backed down.
Who else could it be but their fearsome squad leader?
"How can you think of playing around at a time like this? Start investigating immediately!" Sterl commanded, looking deeply pained.
...
Reluctantly, the legendary players were forced into action.
One by one, they pulled up their pants and started investigating the royal city.
Sterl also directed his avatar to join the search party.
He knew that finding the Blood Cult\'s base wouldn\'t be easy for the players, as the information was completely shielded there.
However, the legendary members of the Hall of Valor were all geniuses.
Sooner or later, the Blood Cult would be exposed.
Sterl\'s task was to manage the players\' search efficiency, ensuring that when the array was activated, he could either complete the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array or, if he found he couldn\'t turn the god-level array to his advantage, quickly lead the players to destroy several sub-arrays, leaving the Archduke of Blood with nothing.
As he was pondering this, his avatar\'s vision suddenly went black.
"Hmm?"
Sterl frowned slightly. Behind him, a four-armed demon, its skin black and marked with lava-like patterns, was eyeing him menacingly.
When he turned around, he saw several dog-like demons covered in flames blocking his escape route.
Among the players, he was the first to be targeted.
Because the energy intensity of his avatar was extremely low.
"Looks like they\'ve picked the weakest target," Sterl quipped with a smile.