“Cough, cough...”
The rich scent of blood enveloped the area, making both Fang Zheng and Nymph’s faces turn slightly pale. Fortunately, along with the complete destruction of the ruby by the Holy Light, that unfortunate Six-Armed Serpent Lord seemed to have no response left, having completely dissolved into a pool of blood scattered all over. For now, aside from emanating a foul stench, it seemed there was no other movement.
“That should finally be the end of it, right?”
Looking at the silent remnants of rubble in front of him, Fang Zheng let out a sigh of relief. Previously, he had thought this mission would definitely be difficult, but it had turned out to be surprisingly simple, except for that Six-Armed Snake Demon being a bit of a hassle. Of course, this was all because...
“Thanks to you, Nymph.”
As he spoke, Fang Zheng reached out to pat the head of Nymph beside him. Feeling Fang Zheng’s touch, Nymph showed a relieved smile.
“It’s nothing, Master. It’s what I should do.”
“But now that we mention it...”
It was at this point that something seemed to occur to Fang Zheng.
“Where did you get that ruby from?”
“I picked it up from the fragment when I was scouting earlier. I originally wanted to give it to the master, but because of them...”
While she spoke, Nymph gave the Old Archbishop a glance.
“...I accidentally forgot about it. I’m very sorry, Master.”
“No need to apologize, you are the greatest hero of this mission.”
Fang Zheng meant every word, as he had not expected this seemingly frail Little Angel to play such a crucial role in what looked like a highly dangerous mission. She not only interrupted the revival ritual of the Six-Armed Serpent Lord in advance but also destroyed the altar, even snatching away that so-called “Third Eye” of Bella beforehand... Fang Zheng really wanted to check her character information to see if the Little Angel’s luck was EX-rank...
Without Nymph, Fang Zheng estimated this mission would have been much more difficult. If that Six-Armed Snake Demon had regained its true form, or if it had used the altar to open the Gates of Hell... then Fang Zheng would have been left with no choice but to run, run, or run.
“You are correct, Your Excellency Fang Zheng.”
At this, the old man had once again approached Fang Zheng and Nymph, and nodded in agreement to Fang Zheng’s words.
“I have already investigated, and the Magic Circle hidden beneath this altar is actually the core of the Gates of Hell. If it had been activated by Bella, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
As he said this, the face of the Old Archbishop became extremely serious.
“Not to mention, those people actually got their hands on the key. This time the matter is very grave! Although it hasn’t caused any severe consequences, if there had been any accident, then the entire Northlands would have faced a crisis!”
“So, you are planning to hold the Tower of Heaven accountable?”
By the tone of the Old Archbishop, Fang Zheng knew that this matter probably couldn’t be settled amicably. Although it was Fang Zheng and others who had “timely” prevented the misdeeds, the crime of collusion with the enemy would not just be dropped because there was no substantial damage. Not to mention, Charles had actually handed over the key to break the seal to these cultists... Speaking of which, where is the key?
“It’s here.”
Perhaps guessing what Fang Zheng was thinking, the old man emotionlessly held up his right hand. In its center, lay an Amethyst Gem Ring that looked as if it had just been dug out of mud, looking quite filthy and ugly.
“It has been contaminated with the atmosphere of the Abyss, and it will be the best evidence. This time, the White Tower will definitely not escape punishment!”
“This time?”
Hearing this, Fang Zheng paused for a moment, then his expression turned strange.
From the Old Archbishop’s words... was it that the Tower of Heaven not only had a previous record but was also a repeat offender?
“Hey! Your Excellency Bishop Carl! Fang Zheng! Are you alright?”
At this point, Shi Dong had finally hurried over with the members of the Pegasus Knights Order. After the collapse of the altar, those startled Little Demons ran away quickly, sensing danger, while the cultists seemed determined to fight to the death. Therefore, Shi Dong and the others had to first help the mercenaries deal with those desperately resisting cultists before coming over to check the altar.
As for those scattered Little Demons, in Shi Dong’s view, these creatures were not a concern; with their master dead, they essentially lost the ability to remain in this world, and returning to their own world was just a matter of time, hardly worrying.
In this battle, the core group, with Fang Zheng and the others, was undamaged, but the periphery suffered heavy casualties. Out of the twenty-something Pegasus Knights that had faced the Little Demons, only half survived, and that was because of Shi Dong’s presence to control the situation. Otherwise, they probably would have been completely wiped out.
And the mercenaries had also suffered heavy losses, with only the Mercenary Leader, two archers, and the Mage surviving. The rest had been killed in battle, and Fina had suffered minor injuries. Fortunately, her injuries were not severe, and she had only fallen unconscious due to the shock from the explosion, so there was no great harm.
But, no matter what, they had successfully stopped the vile plot of these cultists, and, as confirmed by the Old Archbishop, the core of the Array hidden within the altar had indeed been thoroughly destroyed by Nymph, rendering it completely useless.
Although the mission had ended, to be cautious, the group decided to search the vicinity after discussion, to avoid anything left behind by the cultists. Of course, before this, Shi Dong had sent out a Pegasus Knight to convey the message that the mission was accomplished to the Sanctuary. That way, they wouldn’t lose sleep over it... which isn’t good for the body.
Even though the battle was over, for Fang Zheng... it was not the end of the story.
“Ah...”
Watching those bodies disappear into the roaring flames, Fang Zheng shook his head. To be honest, he didn’t like fighting alongside others, whether in the Dark World or the world of Edge of Tomorrow, Fang Zheng mostly acted independently, or only with his Summoned Items by his side.
As for the reason...
“Mr. Fang Zheng?”
Hearing the voice of the Cleric Maiden beside him, Fang Zheng turned to look at her, then heaved a soft sigh.
“I’m really sorry for putting you in danger.”
“It’s nothing.”
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s apology, the Cleric Maiden shook her head instead. She looked quite disheveled at the moment, with her clerical robe torn and tattered, and a bandage wrapped around her head. There were traces of blood on her cheek, and she appeared extremely weary but still stood here.
“Don’t you want to rest for a bit?”
“I will later, but Mr. Fang Zheng... you seem to be in a bad mood?”
“Indeed, not great.”
While he spoke, Fang Zheng’s gaze returned to the fire before him.
“To be honest, I don’t really like this feeling.”
“This... feeling?”
“Yes.”
At Fina’s query, Fang Zheng nodded.
“Look at that big guy, you know? I had a conflict with him before, he thought I wasn’t fit to be their leader, then I gave him a good beating, and afterward, we had a drink together... and then he acknowledged me.”
“Did that really happen?”
Fina’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.
“How come I didn’t see it?”
“Oh, that’s because I originally thought it should happen.”
“Uh......”
“Just a joke.”
Seeing the complex look on Fina’s face, Fang Zheng gave a slight smile, but the smile on his face quickly vanished.
“But to tell you the truth, it really doesn’t feel good.”
Fang Zheng was speaking his mind. He was born in a peaceful world, where he was usually faced with heavy work, endless meetings, and working late into the night. There might be resignations, new hires, and even dismissals, but none of these endangered lives. He had made many decisions, but those decisions never cost anyone their life.
However, it was different here. Every decision he made could endanger someone’s life or even lead them to death.
Of course, these mercenaries were strangers to Fang Zheng, the previous events were just his “fantasy”. But it was different for Fina, who had followed him to the Dark Marsh. Although they hadn’t been able to fight side by side afterwards, Fina had helped him a lot. If it hadn’t been for this Divine Shepherd casting buffs on those mercenaries, they probably wouldn’t have held on for long.
Yet this maiden had nearly died.
If the death of the mercenaries only made Fang Zheng somewhat reflective, Fina’s near death genuinely frightened him. This wasn’t a game where NPCs could respawn if they died. At that time, Fang Zheng’s head was filled with his own mission and how to deal with that damned Six-Armed Serpent Lord, but now that he’d calmed down, he suddenly felt a sense of fear—if after sorting all this out he’d heard the news of Fina’s death, he would have been filled with regret.
After all, he could have chosen not to bring Fina along on this adventure; it was his own affair, yet he had involved someone completely unrelated. As a modern person, he was accustomed to living a life of “every man for himself,” meaning others shouldn’t bother him, and likewise, he wouldn’t bother others. He would step in to help someone in trouble, but in the face of danger, he would prioritize his own safety. Fang Zheng had never experienced making a decision that sent others to death... of course, in his world, people wouldn’t have obeyed his commands to march to their deaths anyway.
After all, Fang Zheng wasn’t a soldier.
And not only that...
Fang Zheng extended his hand, opened the system in front of him, and looked at the message alert on it.
[Main World Task “Gates of Hell” completed, main world time to instance time ratio adjusted to 1:10.]
On the surface, this task seemed to have no problems, similar to the ones Fang Zheng had completed in the instance world. But he always had a peculiar premonition.
Because he remembered clearly, back in Star Moon City, the Law Resonance he triggered the first time he entered the Sanctuary, as well as the system information prompt at that time.
[Order parallel port detected.]
[Port activation initiated.]
As the designer and creator of the Dimensional Codex, Fang Zheng certainly knew what this prompt meant, but since there had been no follow-up from the Codex after that, he hadn’t paid it much attention. However, the system suddenly issuing a main world task made Fang Zheng recall that incident.
He had a feeling that this task was actually an exchange between the system and this world; he helped this world prevent the Gates of Hell from reopening, and in turn, they allowed the Dimensional Codex to make appropriate adjustments and changes to the flow of time.
This was like the game’s core and DLC—if the Dimensional Codex were likened to the core game, then this world would be the DLC. You have to install and connect to the DLC’s map before you can accept and complete the exclusive tasks of the DLC.
So the question arose.
Who is the “NPC” that issued this task?
At this thought, Fang Zheng glanced at the badge on his chest.
He was beginning to have an answer.

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