It's so hard being a hero!

"Belder, what the hell have you done?"

Xinuoya's eyes instantly filled with murderous intent.

Baird's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but before he could utter a single word, he was interrupted by a lazy female voice.

"Hehehe, Baird, you're such a waste. You've already given yourself away so quickly, and now he has to come out and clean up your mess."

The voice was both alluring and seductive, possessing a captivating and mesmerizing quality.

As soon as the words were spoken, a graceful figure slowly swayed out of the passage.

It was a woman, wearing a deep purple fishtail dress.

Her long, wavy purple hair cascaded over her shoulders, shimmering softly in the pink mist.

There was a faint smile on her lips, yet it seemed like she wasn't smiling at all. That smile was like a purple rose blooming in desire, breathtakingly beautiful, but also sending chills down your spine.

After the woman walked out of the passage, her gaze lingered on Xinuoya for a moment, and she frowned noticeably before scanning everyone present.

That look in his eyes was like looking at a dish of food, making you feel uncomfortable all over.

"Everyone, please allow me to introduce myself."

“I am the seventeenth divine messenger of the Temple of Desire, Belis.”

The moment the words "Temple of Desire" reached Xinuoya's ears, her eyes widened in surprise.

As the governor of the province of Texas, she was considered a high-ranking official in the empire, so of course she knew what this organization was.

A cult that exclusively worships Lilith, and the Vatican's number one mortal enemy.

The followers of the Temple of Desire are spread throughout the entire continent, their influence penetrating every country and every social class; their shadow can be seen everywhere.

The messengers of the gods are those responsible for preaching in the temple of desire.

Generally speaking, their strength is at least diamond level, and their leader is rumored to be someone who can go toe-to-toe with the Pope.

"Temple of Desire?"

"Belder, are you fucking insane? A viscount of the Empire, a legion commander, getting mixed up with these cultists? Do you know you're dead? Nobody can protect you now!"

Upon hearing this, Baird's lips trembled a few more times, his eyes darting back and forth between Belis and Xinoya, finally settling on Belis's enchanting face.

"Lady Bellis, me?"

"you shut up."

Bellis's voice still had that lazy tone.

Baird immediately shut up, hanging his head and standing there like a schoolboy who had made a mistake, not daring to utter another word.

Seeing this scene, Xinuoya's little scheme completely cooled down.

Baird is beyond saving; he's become a puppet of the Temple of Desire.

"Witch, what are you planning to do by secretly controlling the fortress?"

Xinuoya questioned sharply, while her fighting spirit began to circulate secretly within her body, ready to fight at any moment.

Upon hearing this, Bellis chuckled softly.

The laughter drifted through the pink mist, sending chills down one's spine.

"Well, I can't tell you that, Your Excellency."

She raised her hand, her slender, white fingers tracing patterns in the air as if she were playing an invisible harp.

"But all you need to know is that the faith on this continent will eventually belong to our Temple of Desire, Your Excellency. Why don't you join us and become a believer in our temple? I guarantee you won't regret it."

The woman's voice was incredibly seductive.

"Join us?"

After hearing Bellis's nonsense, Xinuoya was so angry that she laughed.

She raised her right hand, spread her five fingers, and then with a "bang," a ball of fire burst forth.

The flames trembled a few times and then transformed into a large, fiery red sword, which she held in her hand.

Immediately afterwards, a layer of golden-red armor emerged from her chest and instantly flowed over her entire body like mercury.

The shoulder armor features a roaring lion's head, while the breastplate has a burning sun emblem in the center.

She just stood there, looking like a Valkyrie emerging from the fire.

"What I hate most in this life is people like you who are all superstitious. I don't even like the people from the Vatican, let alone you."

Seeing her fully armed appearance, Bellis wasn't afraid at all; instead, her smile became even more sinister.

"Hehe, the governor's temper is truly extraordinary."

She tilted her head, her dark purple eyes glancing at Baird beside her, as if she were looking at a fun toy.

"Bald, the governor wants to stretch her muscles, why don't you go up and play with her?"

Upon hearing this, Baird shuddered, and an unnatural blush immediately spread across his face, making him look like a dog that had been given a bone by its owner.

He raised his head, the struggle in his eyes completely gone, replaced by a fanatical fervor, as if he'd been injected with adrenaline.

"Yes, Lady Belis."

Bellis gave a satisfied, seductive smile, then raised both hands, her ten fingers drawing intricate patterns in the air. Dark purple magic flowed from her fingertips, transforming into a twisted rune in mid-air.

The rune flashed with an eerie pink light and shot into Baird's chest like an arrow.

Baird's body shuddered violently.

Immediately afterwards, his eyes turned completely pink, with two small flames dancing in his pupils.

The wounds he had sustained from Xinuoya began to heal rapidly, and dark red lines appeared on his skin, as if something inside him had awakened.

His aura surged dramatically.

In the end, he actually broke through to the Grandmaster level.

Baird felt the explosive power within his body, a maniacal smile spreading across his face, his voice hoarse and mad.

"Power, this feeling is so amazing, hahaha..."

When he looked up at Xinuoya again, his eyes were filled with bloodthirsty excitement.

Hinoya gripped her greatsword tightly, her brows furrowing.

She knew, of course, that this wasn't Baird's own power, but rather that the witch had forcibly ripened it using some kind of desire-driven force.

This power is like a stimulant; it comes on quickly and goes off just as fast. But the problem is, this guy is now a true grandmaster.

"You think you can fight me with power obtained through such crooked and unorthodox methods?"

Hinoya was too lazy to waste any more words. She pushed off with her feet and transformed into a golden light, rushing out.

The fiery red greatsword, wrapped in scorching battle aura, slashed down towards Baird's forehead with such speed that it left only a shadow in the air.

Baird grinned maliciously, raised his fist, and dark red magic condensed into a thick layer of armor on his fist before directly slamming it in.

"Boom!"

The fist collided with the sword, producing a loud bang.

The shockwave exploded in all directions, cracking houses within a radius of tens of meters.

Gravel and dust flew everywhere, and cracks like spider webs appeared on the ground.

Baird was so shocked that he took several steps back. It was clear that even though he had taken drugs and reached the Grandmaster level, he was still a step behind Xinoya.

Xinuoya's swordsmanship was expansive and powerful; each strike seemed capable of splitting a mountain in two.

Baird, on the other hand, was like a mad dog, completely ignoring defense and using his fists and elbows to fight against Shinoya's sword.

Meanwhile, the soldiers controlled by the powder mist had already charged towards Shinoya's personal guard.

Their movements were stiff, but they were fearless. Holding weapons, they mindlessly slashed at the guards.

Their eyes were filled with madness; they had no idea who they were or what they were doing.

Chapter 68 The Source of Desire

Then look at Sofia, who is hiding in the shadows observing the battle between the two sides.

She definitely couldn't participate in a battle of that level.

Shinoya and Baird fought fiercely.

The woman named Bellis sat atop a building, watching their fight with great interest, like an outsider watching a monkey show.

Sophia stared for a while, then turned her gaze to the passage from which the mist was emerging.

Others might only find the fog eerie, but in her perception, the fog clearly had a source.

If the source can be cut off, those people outside will soon wake up, and Baird will lose his source of power.

Sophia thought for a moment, then took a deep breath and used her mental power to create multiple layers of magic to isolate herself from detection.

Finally, he used invisibility magic to prepare to enter the passage and investigate.

The ground and buildings of this fortress have been imbued with magic, so her earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that can be used here) magic is useless. She can only continue to sneak in by remaining invisible.

Sofia moved silently toward the entrance of the passage and quickly entered.

Just as she entered the passage, Belis, who was sitting high up, paused for a moment, as if she sensed something.

"Strange, is it just my imagination?"

But she didn't investigate further.

Sofia had already gone deep into it.

The passage was longer and more winding than it appeared from the outside.

There were also crystals embedded in the walls that emitted a ghostly purple light, making the entire passage even more eerie.

The deeper you go, the thicker the pink mist becomes.

The mist, as if alive, began to attack Sophia, attempting to break through her magical defenses and infiltrate, but fortunately, her power of light was still able to restrain it.

After walking for about five minutes, she arrived at the end of the passage.