Royena had lost count of how many cultists she had defeated.

The pain from her wounds had long since dulled, growing numb with each new injury, while her magic power was nearing depletion from the relentless battle.

She knew she had reached her limit. Since becoming a favored warrior, she had never felt death looming so closely.

But she knew she mustn't fall.

Her gaze swept over the trembling children behind her, and she tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, now covered with cracks.

She was the last favored warrior defending Black Water Village.

She had to keep fighting.

She... needed to be.

Wild magic surged forward as the cultist swung his great sword, roaring as he slashed at Royena.

With a crisp sound, her sword finally reached its limit and shattered.

Royena felt a dull pain on the left side of her body as blood sprayed into the air, and she couldn't suppress the iron taste in her throat, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Lord Royena!"

Amidst the children's cries and screams behind her, Royena felt her strength rapidly draining, and her body went limp as she fell backward.

"Cough... cough cough..."

She coughed violently, trying to get up, but couldn't control her severely injured body any longer.

Indeed, after such a prolonged battle, now that half her body was almost chopped off, even as a powerful favored warrior, she felt the presence of death.

Blood...

I need blood...

Even blood tainted with pollution would do, as long as...

As long as she could trigger the bloodline frenzy, as long as she could unleash one last burst of power in a short time...

Royena trembled as she reached out her right hand to pick up the blood-stained broken sword.

But in the next moment, the broken sword was kicked aside.

"Heh, Miss Royena, you think after fighting you for so long, we don't know your secrets? Wanting to use blood for frenzy? Unfortunately, you no longer have that chance."

Listening to the taunting, Royena struggled to lift her head.

Staring at the smirking face of the Old God Priest, she gritted her teeth and said:

"You ask my name, yet... refuse to duel me, instead... continue sending these pitiful sacrificers to fight, are you... humiliating me?"

The Old God Priest smiled slightly:

"Humiliate? No, I am merely fulfilling my master's oracle."

With that, the Old God Priest took out a parchment from his cloak and began reading:

"Royena, third generation favored warrior of the Free City State Alliance."

"Chosen at 17, took the Blood Oath to become a favored, in thirteen years rose from the Starry Rank to the Silver Moon Rank..."

Upon saying this, the Old God Priest rolled up the parchment and looked down condescendingly at the girl on the ground:

"To be honest, when I first received my master's oracle, I was quite puzzled, why my master would want us to find a favored warrior who took thirteen years to rise from Starry to Silver Moon in this raid."

"However, after seeing your battle, I somewhat understand, even if you have little potential in extraordinary power, you are indeed a formidable warrior."

"You're lucky, my master thinks highly of you, and wishes to give you an opportunity."

"If you are willing to submit to my master and become his favored, he will grant you a new life and unprecedented power."

Upon hearing the Old God Priest's words, Royena sneered:

"A new life? Ha... you mean to become a slave to the Old Gods?"

"Dream on! I will always be enemies with you pawns of the Old Gods!"

Seeing the mockery in the girl's expression, the Old God Priest's face darkened.

But he soon let out a soft laugh:

"The Old Gods' slave? Haha, the Old Gods, huh..."

"From my perspective, aren't you so-called favored warriors also just slaves to Blood Lillith?"

With that, he shook his head:

"Such a pity, since you are unwilling to submit, I will carry out my master's second oracle instead."

"After all... my master only requires 'Royena'."

With that, the Old God Priest took out a dark gray semi-transparent bead from his cloak.

The semi-transparent bead exuded a profound and obscure aura, and within it, faint white mist swirled continuously.

Seeing the eerie bead, Royena's mind went blank, a sense of familiarity mixed with fear surged deep within her heart.

Since becoming a favored warrior, she hadn't felt "fear" for a long time.

No...

Since she decided to become a "Guardian," like the savior who saved her during the battle at Silver City, she had long forgotten "fear."

But at this moment, the feeling of "fear" returned to her.

It was not a fear of life and death, but something greater, a fear more terrifying than life and death.

And similarly, this fear brought a strong sense of "familiarity."

That feeling...

As if she had experienced it before and forgotten it.

Furthermore... not just once.

No...

It cannot be.

Absolutely cannot be!

...Having come this far, failure was not an option!

In the depths of her heart, Royena seemed to faintly hear a familiar voice desperately urging her.

She watched the Old God Priest approaching, saw him raising the bead, saw his eyes turn pure white suddenly.

At this moment, she felt as if the Old God Priest before her had transformed into an incomprehensible entity.

She saw the "Priest" gently open his mouth, his voice... cold, transcendent, high and mighty:

"Found you, the confused node."

As soon as the words finished, gray-white mist rushed forward, swallowing Royena's vision in an instant.

Is it... over?

Your Majesty, it seems this time we...

have failed again...

As her consciousness gradually blurred, an inexplicable sadness and guilt surged in Royena's mind.

However, just as she sank into the darkness, she seemed to see a crimson light piercing through everything.

In the final moments of her fading consciousness, she heard a familiar and melodious murmur:

"Huh? Is there really such a thing here too?"

A warm familiar power instantly filled her limbs, but Royena soon became unable to perceive it.

...

Royena had a dream.

In the dream, she was chosen by a great God to become His Deputy.

She and five other friends were granted powerful bloodline power, becoming mighty figures rampant across the world.

They followed the Oracle of God, treating the great God as both their father and mother, obeying the God's command to spread the Transcendent and bloodline power to every corner of the world.

However, just as they completed the great God's mission, what awaited them... was the God's betrayal.

"Your task, is complete."

"Thank you for your dedication, my... children."

Amidst the darkness, gray-white arms stretched ceaselessly towards her, devouring her entire being.

No...

No!

She struggled and ran, trying to escape the boundless darkness.

However, no matter how she fled, those gray-white arms were like an attached fungus, impossible to shake off.

Royena could only see herself being caught, divided, and devoured...

"No——!"

Royena suddenly awoke, sitting up from the bed.

She gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently.

The fear of the Dream gradually faded, as the memories before her sleep slowly revived.

Her expression changed, and she hurriedly lifted the blanket from her body.

What met her eyes was a new linen garment, clearly recently replaced.

The wounds that should have existed were all gone, as if the battle before her sleep was just a realm of illusion.

Royena paused, then immediately seemed to think of something, her expression changing.

She hurriedly got up and turned over from the bed, but heard a strange voice beside her:

"If I were you, I'd stay lying down honestly, at least until the bloodline power in your body stabilizes."

Bloodline power?

Royena paused.

She carefully sensed, and then discovered that at some unknown time, a pure and incomparable bloodline power had appeared within her body. That bloodline power had not been thoroughly absorbed by her, swirling inside her.

She looked towards the source of the voice, it was a skinny boy of sixteen or seventeen, with black hair and eyes, fiddling with some inscriptions, seemingly concocting something.

"Who are you?"

Royena asked cautiously.

The boy glanced at her, and said:

"I'm called Cosy, a member of the Ancestor Guard, and an Elf Inscription Master."

"Ancestor Guard? Lord Lilith?"

Royena paused.

After speaking, she seemed to remember something, and hurriedly stood up:

"Damn it! Conte, Mishel!"

"You're talking about the children from Black Water Village, right? Rest assured, they have all been saved, and the Old God Sacrificial Legion that attacked was also wiped out by Lord Lilith."

The boy said.

While saying this, he put away the inscriptions in his hand, his tone carrying a slightly sarcastic twist:

"You have good luck, if it was any later, you'd probably be dead, no... I should say your luck is truly amazing, not only rescued personally by Lord Lilith, but you also got to receive her personal healing!"

Lord Lilith... saved me?

Royena paused.

She felt that unfamiliar yet intimate bloodline power within her body, vaguely realizing the owner of that power.

"Where... is this place? Did the Savior... save me?"

She couldn't help but ask.

Cosy nodded:

"This is the Northern Fortress. Lord Lilith saved you and had me use Elf relics for your continued healing. Your spiritual power is somewhat unstable, along with the stabilization of bloodline power, it will probably take several days to recover."

Royena fell silent.

She looked out the window at the Alliance soldiers training, and couldn't help but ask:

"Where is Lord Lilith?"

"She fought with two Old God incarnations, then went personally to pursue those escaping Old Gods."

Cosy said with an expression of reverence and longing.

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