Chosen Evolution: I can load the protagonist template

Chapter 758 This is the true arrival of the Dark Ages
"Hahaha...hahahahaha!!!!"

Having grasped his current situation, Grand Duke Garibaldi trembled slightly, then burst into an extremely loud laugh.

This reaction was somewhat puzzling, but only Archduke Garibaldi himself knew what he was laughing about.

The ritual of the Eclipse was disrupted, but the ritual itself was not completely interrupted.

Grand Duke Garibaldi still has the potential to become the Hand of God... provided that the British Expeditionary Force lets him go, which is of course 100% impossible.

Putting aside Arthur's side, the existence of the thirty or forty members of the Fiery Sun Legion who are eager for the BOSS treasure chest alone makes it impossible for them to compromise.

Reconciliation is impossible.
However, compared to whether Garibaldi can become the world's first Hand of God, the successful holding of the ceremony itself has the greatest impact on the world.

Because it represents a complete connection between the current world and the demon-like realm called "The Netherworld," which originally only existed in the Berserk dungeon world.

In other words, the moment Behelit responds to the Grand Duke's wish and constructs the Eclipse is the moment when the [Dark Age] in the dungeon is truly activated.

Those who originally belonged to the Golden Fortress and have now gathered behind Cheng Tian all have a blood-red mark on their bodies, and this mark is like an unhealable wound that keeps oozing blood.

This mark is the "sacrificial brand," and its existence is proof of being marked by ritual.

Even if the holder of the sacrificial brand survives the sacrificial ritual of the Eclipse like Guts, their very existence will be completely altered.

Under the branding transformation, every drop of blood and every cell in the sacrifice's body is essentially preordained by darkness.

In the eyes of those wandering undead, dark creatures, and beast demon apostles who linger between the mortal world and the underworld, this mark is equivalent to being labeled "shopkeeper's recommendation," constantly radiating a deadly attraction.

No matter where the offering is, in the eyes of these monsters it will be like a torch burning in the darkness, causing them to instinctively approach... and then frantically plunder the flesh and blood of the offering.

Yes, only flesh and blood; they are not worthy of taking the soul.

This brings us to the main manifestations of the formal commencement of the Dark Ages.

As long as there are still offerings wandering in the mortal world, the underworld will use the "offering mark" as a linking bridge, and with the offering itself as the center, construct one after another "gaps" between the mortal world and the underworld, allowing living people, the dead, and demons—beings that should not easily meet—to have physical contact.

To put it simply, all the sacrifices who manage to escape are mobile, living mini-duplications. As long as the person is still alive, the gaps and the accompanying monster hordes will continue to be generated. Once the gaps are fully generated, it's not just the sacrifices themselves that can be drawn in.

Those around them will also be drawn into it.

Because it is the early stage of the rule integration, many evil beings in the Ghost Realm of Berserk cannot appear normally in the present world of the Knights of the Round Table. Even the apostles who appeared because of the Eclipse must abide by this rule.

Logically speaking, the demon apostles should not be able to cross the ritual barrier of the Eclipse, as they are rejected by the mortal world. However, once the Netherworld constructs a Netherworld around the offering, they have an additional area to stay in, thereby expanding their range of activities.

In this situation, if the sacrifice and the other living people caught in it cannot eliminate the monsters in the gap in time, or if the sacrifice itself dies in it, then the gap will be temporarily fixed and become one of the bridgeheads for the Netherworld to invade the mortal world.

The clear distinction between *Knights of the Round Table* and *Berserk* will inevitably become increasingly blurred, and those appearing here will likely extend beyond just the monsters of the Netherworld. In other words, Grand Duke Garibaldi will likely not escape this fate, destined to die at the hands of the ferocious expeditionary force and the sacrifices. However, the world of the *Knights of the Round Table* instance will not find peace; instead, it will usher in a profound Dark Age.

The evil Roman Empire could not escape.

Holy Britain? They can't escape it either!
From this perspective, perhaps having all the sacrifices die in the sacrificial ritual of the Eclipse could slow down the erosion of the Netherworld and the respawning of monsters to some extent... But this seemingly feasible route to delay the arrival of the Dark Age also means that a true God's Hand will be born.

This also means that a true leader will emerge among the demons of the Netherworld.

As for whether the impact of a divine hand or a large number of wandering sacrifices on the Dark Ages was greater or lesser...

Grand Duke Garibaldi had no energy left to think about these things. He simply laughed and then raised his golden warhammer with one hand, holding it high above his head. At the same time, the head of the warhammer began to emit intense magical light.

At the same time, the light and shadow snakes mercilessly covered its head, forcibly revealing its character panel.

【加里波第（蚀之刻进行中）：首领模板。黄金大公，魔法骑士。HP=9050/1W，MP=2.17W/4.28W。力量50、敏捷23、精神107、魅力100。】

[Unit Characteristics/Moves - Meteor Shower, Aura Slash, Earth Shattering Wave, Advanced Riding, Aerial Slam, Parry Counter, Five-Colored Magic Ring, Golden Crown, Crimson Behemoth (Crimson Overlord's Egg)]

Numerous small fireballs exploded outwards from the warhammer's hammerhead in all directions.

Taking advantage of the force of the exploding meteor shower, Grand Duke Garibaldi, clad in incredibly heavy golden armor, leaped into the air and then slammed his knees down towards Cheng Tian's location with all his might—

A powerful killing move inherited from his younger brother Allen: a mid-air crushing attack!

As an existence destined to trigger the Crimson Behemoth, the Grand Duke, like those marked sacrifices, has already undergone a permanent change under the influence of the Eclipse.

Among the many enemies before him, almost instinctively, the Grand Duke chose Cheng Tian, ​​launching a deadly attack with the idea of ​​taking at least one of them with him.

Cheng Tian neither dodged nor flinched, but a short-haired beauty had already appeared in front of him.

He clapped his hands together once, and then unleashed an incredibly powerful aura. His clothes and hair were constantly whipped up by the magical vortex that erupted from him, making it look like he had activated the Kaioken technique.

This is what Bazett looks like after activating Troll's Wrath, with his Strength attribute exceeding 100.

Bazette pushed off with both feet, leaving a spiderweb-like imprint on the ground, and then shot out, directly meeting Archduke Garibaldi's aerial attack.

A blinding light burst forth from the fist and knee.

Just as almost everyone was blinded by the light, an object flew out from the point of their clash and landed almost squarely in Cheng Tian's arms—

This is none other than the golden crown of Archduke Garibaldi!
(End of this chapter)