85% healing boost, 24k HP, 30% damage reduction. Every single one of these stats was G.o.dlike, and it was clearly meant for a priest. Since Murong Mingyue was the only priest in the party, it was obvious who the ring would go to.

I tossed the Dark Dragon Arcane Ring to Murong Mingyue. Before our quest in b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain, her level wouldn"t be enough to equip it, but after a few bosses and minibosses, that was no longer the case.

The 85% healing boost meant that even her weakest healing spell, Instant Heal could heal for 50k HP at least. If it critted, that was over 100k of healing. If it was the 3-second CD Greater Heal, it could heal 85k HP in one go. Now this was what we called an ace priest!

……

The equipment distribution was over, but there were still some miscellaneous items to be distributed. Dios dropped around 20 gems, and the best of them all was a Rank 12 Dragonstone Gem, one of the best gems one could possibly obtain right now. We rolled the dice to decide its owner, and I won. I immediately slotted it into the Dragon G.o.d s.h.i.+eld to further increase its Defense by 60%. The Dragon G.o.d s.h.i.+eld was Immortal-grade equipment after all. It would be a shame not to slot it with gems completely.

It was at this moment Prince Cloudway slowly rose from his own pool of blood, looked at us and the crushed soldiers strewn across the ground. All the elite soldiers he brought from Vanished G.o.d City had perished in battle, but at least we managed to kill the undead Holy Magus Dios in the end.

"Respectable adventurers of Sky City!"

Cloudway said with a solemn look in his eyes, "Allow me to thank you on behalf of Vanished G.o.d City. It is your bravery that allowed us to eliminate the threat to Vanished G.o.d City, and our citizens are proud to have you as our heroes. Please accept this as my token of respect!"

Cloudway then gave us a standard knight"s salute.

Ding~!

A system notification rang beside our ears. We had successfully completed the quest to help Prince Cloudway scout out the heart of b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain, and the experience it gave boosted me all the way to Level 175, 82%. I wasn"t far away from Level 176 now. In fact, hitting Level 180 should be easy peasy if I could keep running main quests like this.

Standing inside a depression on the ground, I looked up at Cloudway and asked, "Your Highness, all your subordinates have perished in battle. What are you going to do now?"

Cloudway clenched his fists resolutely and declared, "I"ll be returning to the empire and mustering all the garrison troops of the seven great fortresses. The plan is to destroy this undead-infested land before the Night Creatures" full army can make it through the Eye of the Purgatory. This was our home and the land the Ten Heroes died to protect. That is why I"m going to do everything in my power to restore the Dharan Empire no matter the cost!"

I nodded. "Alright. In that case, this is where we bid goodbye!"

"Yes. Be careful, you all!"

Cloudway smiled at me and said, "And feel free to visit Vanished G.o.d City anytime you want. I will always remember you all, my friends!"

"Yes…"

……

Suddenly, the sky turned dark red, and thunder boomed beside our ears. At the same time, an immense pressure enveloped all of us!

"What"s going on?!" Lin Yixin exclaimed in shock.

Cloudway opened his mouth as if he wanted to scream something, but a jet of blood flew out of his throat instead. His eyes were filled with shock and resistance.

"Wah…"

Puchi!

Without warning, a single arm burst out of Cloudway"s chest in a shower of scarlet blood. The disheveled and stunned prince vomited blood like crazy as he fell to his knees and bled a new pool of blood across the floor.

"Ahhhh!?" My sword arm shook as I gritted my teeth strong enough to crush them.

The arm that had penetrated Cloudway"s chest opened its palm to reveal a beating heart. It belonged to none other than Cloudway himself!

"s.h.i.+t!"

My heart sank. Who would"ve thought that Cloudway would be killed this way?

……

The culprit slowly withdrew his arm and allowed Cloudway to collapse on the ground. Even as the prince groaned in pain, he turned around with all his might so he could see his killer"s face before he died.

The man who ambushed Cloudway was a general clad in dark red armor. His blood-drenched arm looked like that of a monster"s, and dark red runes were glowing across his arm. The general cackled evilly as he stared at the prince with grayish brown, animalistic eyes. "Is this all you got, fifth prince, strongest commander of Vanished G.o.d City? How disappointing. That said, I think your heart will make a fine tribute. What do you think, Prince Cloudway?!"

Cloudway was rapidly losing life force as the b.a.s.t.a.r.d spoke. Even more blood spilled out of his lips when he finally saw the face of his killer. "Hmph… you are! Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger! Aren"t you?!"

The b.l.o.o.d.y general cackled loudly. "Oh? You remember my name? A defeated general like me? What a surprise! Hahaha!"

Cloudway continued, "Ovia! You… you were one of the Ten Heroes of the Dharan Empire until you destroyed it with your own hands! You d.a.m.ned animal! How can you stand murdering millions of innocent citizens for your ambitions? I only regret that I can no longer kill you with my own two hands, you devil!"

"What? One of the Ten Heroes?" Lin Yixin"s mouth fell open. "b.l.o.o.d.y Finger… the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger was one of the Ten Heroes of the Dharan Empire? How… how is that possible?"

Murong Mingyue threw Greater Heal after Greater Heal on Cloudway in a desperate attempt to save his life, but it didn"t seem to improve his condition whatsoever. It made sense though. No amount of healing or strength was enough to save a man who had lost his heart.

……

"Ahhhhh…"

Cloudway let out another scream of pain before tears started pouring out of his eyes. He murmured, "Seniors, is this devilish monster truly one of the Ten Heroes? But how… how could he think so lowly of human lives and commit such terrible atrocities? How could an animal like this have become one of the Ten Heroes…"

b.l.o.o.d.y Finger cackled some more, but didn"t say anything. Instead, he opened his mouth—it was literally filled with sharp, animalistic teeth—and consumed over half of Cloudway"s heart in one bite. Fresh blood dripped onto the ground as b.l.o.o.d.y Finger made a savoring face as he chewed. "As expected of the royal bloodline, your heart is quite delicious. Thank you so much for your tribute, Prince Cloudway, hahahaha…"

Cloudway could do nothing except fight against his pain and stare at his heart disappearing into the b.l.o.o.d.y jaws of the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger.

After Ovia licked off the last drop of blood from his fingers, his expression abruptly darkened, and he shouted, "Very well! I will tell you why I became a devil!"

With a most hateful expression on his face, Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger pointed at the ruins behind him and shouted, "A long time ago, there was an undead castle to the north of this city! I was close to breaching it with an army of two hundred thousand when our supplies ran low, so I dispatched my aides repeatedly to ask for more supplies from the city. However, not only did Duke Cangye and Duke Lin Nan refuse to send us reinforcements, they even refused to send us our supplies! Eventually, my troops had no choice but to feed on gra.s.s, and later on, the rotten corpses of the undead just to survive!"

Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger moved his face closer to Cloudway. The strained muscles on his face gave him a horrible appearance as he continued, "Do you understand my pain? My troops were all heroes who would rather die in battle than retreat in shame. Not a single one of us ate the bodies of our brothers even until the very end. But what did we get for our sacrifice? The three aides I sent back to the empire to request for reinforcements were labeled as deserters and burned to death on the totems by Duke Cangye! Those fat n.o.bles were afraid that I would let my power get into my head and threaten their wellbeing, so they used the undead to weaken my strength!"

b.l.o.o.d.y Finger looked up and s.h.i.+vered from head to toe. "That is why I wanted to take revenge for all the brothers who died in that battle. That is why I made a deal with the Purgatory and traded my soul for greater power!"

b.l.o.o.d.y Finger let out another cackle. "After that, I returned to the empire with a great army, killed three of the Ten Heroes in a single night, and destroyed the empire with ease. I stabbed Duke Cangye 107 times and raped his wife and daughter before they transformed into Corpse Eaters. I ordered the Lich Kings to burn the army camps, and the Cave Ghouls to tear out the hearts of the citizens. I wanted revenge, and I wanted to destroy this unfair world with my own hands! Who gave those filthy n.o.bles the right to enjoy all the spoils of my brothers" blood, sweat and tears? If that is the only way, then I would rather destroy it with my own hands!"

……

"You… you devil…"

Cloudway was close to pa.s.sing through death"s door at this point. Still, he found the strength to point at b.l.o.o.d.y Finger and murmur, "The Ten Heroes were your comrades-in-arms, and you killed them? You animal!"

"Hahaha…"

b.l.o.o.d.y Finger abruptly stomped his foot on Cloudway"s chest and grinded it repeatedly. He taunted, "Those who submit to me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish. Don"t tell me you don"t understand something this simple?"

……

"f.u.c.k! I can"t stand this any longer!"

I abruptly leaped to the back, kicked myself off a giant rock, and rushed toward Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger with the light of Universe Break s.h.i.+ning around my Cyan Netherworld Sword. I shouted angrily, "You may be a Purgatory Sovereign, but you"re still f.u.c.king dead!"

"Hmm?"

Caught off-guard, Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger wasn"t in the right position to avoid my attack. So, he raised his b.l.o.o.d.y arm to block me. "Oh, another fly? Hehehe…"

Pu!

Universe Break ignored 90% of a target"s Defense, and not even a Purgatory Sovereign was an exception. My sword penetrated b.l.o.o.d.y Finger"s arm with ease and landed right on top of his head!

37987!

Thud thud thud! The force behind my attack was so great that the Purgatory Sovereign actually stumbled a few steps backward. A trace of astonishment appeared in his eyes as he said, "Hmph, pretty good for an ant, I say. Are you a subordinate of Cloudway? Hehehe, to think that an adventurer of this caliber exists in Vanished G.o.d City. You must have graduated from the School of Magic and Military Arts with top grades, haven"t you?"

"I haven"t been to a school for a long time, you idiot!"

I raised my sword again and used Burning Blade Slash. Three flaming auras instantly slashed across the Purgatory Sovereign"s body and caused a shower of fiery sparks.

Bang bang bang!

This time though, Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger stood as firmly as a mountain. He tanked my attack head-on with his incredible Defense!

1928!

3282!

6226!

……

Despair filled my heart immediately. What kind of Defense is that?