Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

The entire building seemed to be glowing. Aaron continued walking forward, but then he suddenly stopped.

The ground was littered with corpses, perhaps fifty, perhaps a hundred, or even more. Aaron couldn't tell the difference, and his attention was no longer on them.

Dried bloodstains were splattered on the brick floor, leaving red and black spots almost everywhere. The corpses, like those they had encountered in the passageway, had clearly been dead for some time, yet they were not decomposing, retaining their gruesome state before death. Most of the bodies had died in a cruel manner, their heads slightly severed at the shoulder. Aaron didn't know why they had died here; each of them had a crazed expression, as if they had witnessed the most insane thing in the world.

But Aaron was facing no less madness than they were, because he saw their uniforms, shattered yet still clearly visible. Those clothes were all Ninth Bureau combat uniforms. And these people who died in the Kingdom of Dok, in the Blood of the Demon in Birmingham, were all Lussetians. They were all Ninth Bureau spies who had infiltrated the Blood of the Demon, powerful superhumans in the Lusset Empire.

"So, is it this thing in front of us that drives people crazy? But it looks like I'm about to give up too."

He wanted to keep going, not because he had any particular purpose, but because it was the only thing he could do at the moment.

But just as he moved his foot forward, something extremely terrifying happened. The black Lucerne corpses slowly sat up in front of Aaron.

It wasn't just one or two, but all the corpses before Aaron, as if by unspoken agreement, stood up. Their withered eyes slowly turned, finally settling on the light. One by one, they rose and moved toward him, their steps slow and heavy. One corpse had its right arm, along with half its shoulder, severed, leaving only a few bits of flesh connecting it to its body. Its right hand still gripped a weapon, which clattered as it walked.

Aaron slowly backed away. He was afraid not only of the corpses, but also of the bronze demon statues on their chests. These statues were exactly the same as the ones on Eclair's chest, which meant that they had gone mad and that even though they were dead, their souls were still imprisoned.

At this moment, anyone would probably feel like they've seen hell. But at this moment, Aaron was no longer afraid that the Magician would come in. On the contrary, he hoped that the Magician would come in and see the current situation, so that he would at least have company.

As the zombies slowly approached, their rotting flesh became visible.

Aaron hesitated to move forward, realizing that these rotting corpses were not here in vain. Just as the ancient tomb owners killed the craftsmen and made them guard the tomb passage forever, the tomb owner here did the same. However, while others only placed their hopes on the unreal, the owner here could actually do this. These corpses were there to guard what was inside.

These Ninth Bureau spies thought they were there to explore, but in reality they were there to serve as guards for the tomb's occupant. And given how advanced the corpses were, it's hard to imagine what kind of terrifying beings were inside.

But what else can we do now but move forward?

Aaron desperately rushed inside. The ground was black, like a slaughterhouse. Some corpses lay prone, others curled up, their deaths preserved in their exact moments, allowing one to clearly imagine the hellish scenes of their demise. Their blood had long since dried, leaving splattered black marks on the ground, like ink dripping onto paper. Unlike the walking corpses, no one could tell what weapons had killed them. Some of their wounds looked as if chisels had pierced their chests, while others seemed as if something had pierced through a part of their bodies, as if they had endured a brutal battle.

Chapter 232 Rebirth

None of the corpses made it into the front of the main hall, which seemed to be a sacred place.

Knowing full well that there are tigers in the mountains, Aaron has no choice but to venture into the tiger's den. This is Aaron's current predicament.

In the center of the main hall, there was an eerie empty space. This place was clearly a forbidden area, and the corpses were not allowed to approach it.

"We can't worry about that now,"

Aaron sighed inwardly.

"Don't be afraid, Lord Aaron." A gentle voice came from above. Aaron was startled. Hearing a familiar voice at this moment was a terrifying thing. He turned around and could hardly believe his eyes.

He saw a person standing between them and the corpses. It was Flora, one of the most powerful and famous people in the Lusset Empire, who stepped forward and stood in front of them, showing no fear amidst the countless gruesome corpses.

Aaron truly had nothing to fear; there were probably very few things in the world that could inspire such fear in him.

The corpses suddenly attacked them. As soon as they encountered the attack, they realized that these corpses had once been powerful superhumans. Even when Aaron reacted, his body did not have time to make any movement. Fortunately, Flora was by his side.

Her hand slid down the corpse's shoulder to its back, and the corpse instantly turned into dust in her hand, leaving nothing behind.

"Do you know what's going on here?" Aaron asked.

“I know, Lord Aaron,” Flora replied.

Flora's voice and tone startled him. After a moment, he said, "It's as if you already know who I am."

“Yes, please forgive my ignorance, I only understand the truth today. However, in this world, apart from Her Majesty the Queen and myself, not many people know the truth,” Flora replied.

Was my coming in here part of your plan?

"No, but I think you will eventually come here no matter what, because this is your destiny."

"The destined place? What does that mean? Why is it mine?"

"Are you aware of the rumors circulating about the ancient battlefield of Luset?"

"I don't know about ancient battlefields, but I do know about battlefields from decades ago."

"In any case, it's all due to the Battle of Asgard. After that war, the battlefield became a forbidden area. A mysterious force has been hovering over the battlefield, preventing us from getting close or clearing it away. We can't retrieve the corpses there."

"Therefore, over time, it became a paradise for adventurers. You should know that it contains the treasures of seven kingdoms. Whoever goes in there and retrieves something can become very rich."

"So someone retrieved something powerful?"

"Yes, about six months ago, someone smuggled a body out of there and successfully escaped from the Lusset Empire. They then sold the body to a buyer in the Kingdom of Dok, and that's why we came here in search of that body."

"I see."

“I can handle things here, Lord Aaron. Why don’t you go inside and take a look?” Flora said.

Following Flora's instructions, Aaron turned around and walked inside. It was indeed a temple, as if it existed to worship something. Aaron used his spiritual power to activate the light. In the silvery-white light, Aaron saw a familiar figure with its arms nailed to a stone pillar suddenly appear in the center of the empty cave.

The man had his head down, his face obscured, as if he were in an eternal slumber. However, even without seeing his features clearly, Aaron knew what was going on, because the moment he saw him, Aaron's whole body trembled.

That was someone he knew all too well. In fact, there was probably no one in the world who knew him better, because that person was wearing a black and gold robe. Although the robe was tattered, it did not diminish his imposing presence in the slightest. And that robe was the robe of the Obsidian Knights.

On his chest, he was wearing the medal of the commander of the Obsidian Knights, an item that was now a sacred relic in the Lucerne Empire and could fetch a high price on the black market.

That was Aaron himself.

In the blink of an eye, the entire cave was filled with a dense chorus of screams, as if thousands of ghosts were howling at once. But Aaron's expression showed no pain or confusion. Almost simultaneously, a burning sensation appeared on his arm, and the symbol that seemed to devour the world lit up on his arm.

He charged forward relentlessly. Relying solely on the strength of his human body, he charged toward his own corpse. Almost simultaneously, the black power rekindled around him. As he approached the corpse, a chemical reaction seemed to occur between them, and the black light enveloped their entire bodies, transforming them into a gigantic sphere resembling a black hole.

The light disappeared. The sound disappeared. The pain disappeared. Finally, what appeared in Aaron's mind was his own face, and he didn't know if the feeling was ridiculous.

That was death, without a doubt the feeling of death, because Aaron had experienced it once before, so he knew it all too well.

But death is not the end.

He forgot which scripture said this, but under normal circumstances, he would have thought it was a deception of believers. But now, he understood that it was probably an undeniable fact. Death was indeed not the end, at least for people like them who danced with God, walked between life and death, between God and man, and even between demons. They had died once and been resurrected once. For them, death was not the end, but the beginning.

After the feeling of death disappeared, Aaron's consciousness did not disappear. To be precise, his consciousness was transferred. This transfer was instantaneous, but it felt incredibly long, as if a century had passed. However, it was just that his soul had moved from one body to another.

His body showed no signs of rejection. If an alchemist saw this, he would find it unbelievable, but it was perfectly natural, because it was his own body.

Two gusts of wind converged into a powerful wave that rolled and blew out of the sealed tomb chamber like a raging fire, shrouded in black smoke, carrying away the spiritual energy within the tomb chamber as well.

When the smoke cleared, Aaron emerged from the tomb again. He looked exactly the same as when he went in, with no change in his appearance, except for his demeanor, which had changed, and his eyes held a sense of detachment from the world.

At that moment, the tomb passage door was opened, and all the corpses on the ground shuddered. The voices of the magician and the fortune teller echoed in the tomb passage.

"Your Honor, shouldn't you be here to purge us heretics? Why are you running away instead?"

The black robe draped over the magician's body was a powerful magical artifact, and at this moment, black light was boiling on the robe like molten iron; this prop had the effect of blotting out the sky when outdoors, and spread around like black smoke indoors.

"Got you."

In an instant, the fortune teller and the magician appeared in front of Aaron. Clearly, their speed was comparable to Claire's. The reason they lost him before was due to a mistake. Now that there were no obstructions in the tomb passage, finding Aaron was a piece of cake.

Aaron wasn't afraid. He looked at them calmly, his eyes devoid of any sparkle, as if he were gazing into the distance.

Without a word, the magician's robe, as black as smoke, descended from the sky, enveloping Aaron completely. A terrifying roar emanated from the robe; though black, the person enveloped felt scorching heat seeping into their body through every pore, slowly devouring their blood. Then, the black smoke burst from the pores, spraying blood into the air. By the time they realized what was happening, they would find their blood exploding from their bodies like fireworks.

But something unexpected happened. First, Aaron didn't dodge. Second, the black smoke had no effect on Aaron. In fact, when the black smoke landed on Aaron, it really looked like an ordinary black robe. Aaron picked up the black robe and put it on.

"Why……"

The magician was stunned, seemingly wondering why it hadn't worked.

The fortune teller took out the orb of light, which had been used for divination but had turned completely black. The next moment, a violent distortion, that very familiar and terrifying feeling, struck him instantly. Aaron's knees buckled, and he suddenly knelt heavily on the snow, bending over and vomiting. His pupils twitched violently as countless terrifying memories assaulted his brain—this was how it should have been.

This is the fortune teller's unique ability, a direct mental hammer. Originally, this was an ability that only those blessed by the God of Love could learn from the Church of Love. But the fortune teller's strength lies in her ability to learn and copy other people's abilities and make them her own, which often allows her to achieve unexpected results.

But all of this was an illusion. Aaron stood still, as if nothing had happened, but the fortune teller, just like Aaron in her imagination, knelt down on the ground and vomited repeatedly. Her mental attack not only failed to work on Aaron, but it also worked on herself.

"You...you seem to be acting strangely..."

The fortune teller finally realized something was wrong. She had sensed something was off about Aaron from the very beginning, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Now she realized that Aaron had an almost ancient feeling about him.

The fortune teller gradually returned to normal, the terrifying feeling in her mind disappeared, and she stood up again, but her eyes were filled with fear as she looked at Aaron.

Aaron remained motionless, seemingly lost in thought. But then, the magician suddenly waved her hand, and a transparent, lightning-like stream of air shot towards Aaron's back at incredible speed. However, as the stream struck Aaron, the magician's expression froze, her face darkening. Because Aaron hadn't dodged at all; he had simply extended his hand, and the stream of air vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

The magician twisted her body, crossed her hands in the air, and sent two sharp vortexes hurtling toward Aaron with the force of a violent thunderbolt. It was clear that she had been testing the waters, but now she was fighting for her life. She really wanted to kill Aaron and felt that if Aaron didn't die, she would die.

The cyclone flew rapidly toward Aaron, carving deep cracks into the dirt roads it passed through, like cracked ice. The sheer power of the cyclone was terrifying, and dirt flew everywhere. But just as the cyclone was about to strike Aaron, he suddenly looked in that direction.

He didn't move, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the ground beneath his feet moved on its own without wind, rising into a lotus-like domain. That domain expanded rapidly, filling the entire passage at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and even covering the entire Demon Blood area.

The next moment, everyone in the field felt as if they were suddenly burdened with a thousand-pound weight. It was an insurmountable feeling, as if they had offended a supreme being. The sheer power he displayed horrified them. The sheer terror of that power even made them feel that it was above Claire's!

"I remember now..."

Aaron's bewildered expression finally disappeared. His memories had been flashing and jumping through his mind like a revolving lantern, and his brain was overloaded as it kept processing them. Now, his eyes gradually cleared, and he understood the situation at hand.

"You are the enemy."

Suddenly, the air twisted strangely, and the next moment, Aaron appeared in front of the magician and the fortune teller.

"This body is not quite used to it yet."

Aaron looked down at them, making no move. His black robe was torn into countless strips by an invisible force. These strips then bound the magician and the fortune teller like vines. At the same time, countless white vortexes appeared around them, all of which helped to imprison their bodies. When these vortexes landed on them, they could no longer move.

After doing all this, Aaron stood there. Because he had instantly mobilized his spiritual power, coupled with the discomfort of his soul after changing bodies, he felt dizzy. After doing this, he felt the whole world spinning around him.

Of course, Aaron didn't know that he would be fine; it was just a temporary physical discomfort.

But at that moment, he didn't notice that three figures had quietly come up behind him. Two of them were slender, one looked like a girl and the other looked like an adult, while the third had a pair of large, jet-black wings on his back.

One of them quietly approached Aaron from behind. Aaron didn't even notice them. By the time he reacted, a large stick had already struck Aaron's head with precision. The next moment, Aaron truly felt dizzy. The discomfort from just changing bodies and his soul all erupted at this moment, and he actually fainted.

Chapter 233 Goodbye

“As expected, no matter how strong a being is, they are all vulnerable when they are first born,” Bella said, as if she were the one who attacked Aaron’s head.

"Won't Lord Aaron hold a grudge if I smashed his head like that? I hope he doesn't find out it was me." Amelia was trembling with fear, even though she had been quick and ruthless when she struck him.

“It’s alright, everything is about to change. Take him away,” Flora said, as she came to Aaron’s side and picked him up in her arms.

"Have you found a way out?"

“Yes, that’s why I came here.” Flora took out the Stone of Omniscience: “Her Majesty the Queen has already foreseen the route out for us. As long as we follow the route, we will get out. As for the large ship for departure, the Ninth Bureau has already prepared it for us. We have been preparing for this for months. This is the highest-level operation of our Ninth Bureau. It can only succeed and will not fail.”

“That’s good, we can finally leave here,” Bella said with a smile.

"Then... what will happen to Miss Claire? Should we interfere?"

Flora shook her head: "Under no circumstances should Lord Aaron's affairs be the top priority. Even if we watch her die before our eyes, we should not be moved."

“Yes,” Amelia said sadly.

“It’s alright. I’ve already sent a signal to her coordinates, and the people from the Church of Judgment are also in Demon’s Blood. They’ll find Claire soon. It’s fine to leave her here. I don’t think anyone in the entire Demon’s Blood can threaten her,” Bella said.