Can't I develop my own character?

Following Ryan's orders, 'Vene' withdrew most of the patrols of the Fire Covenant and let in the Blood Archbishop and the people of the Eye of Dawn and Dusk.

Ryan had no intention of secretly keeping an eye on these people. Given Creed's cautious nature, he might immediately abandon his action once he was discovered, and only give up his own part, and then abandon the War Temple without hesitation and cause a big commotion in Barron City.

Anyway, that's the situation with the Blood Archbishops. If these people make trouble, they may even be willing to prove their bravery to the great Blood God and choose to fight the imperial army head-on, or simply cut off their heads as sacrifices and offer them to Doclodes with both hands.

Not to mention, considering the Blood Archbishop's level of madness, it's entirely possible.

As for the Eye of Dawn and Dusk, they are completely outnumbered by the Blood Archbishop. Even though high-level transcendents make up the majority, the real core members cannot directly participate in the battle. At most, they can send out some brainwashed treacherous cultists.

After all, given the personalities of those old, sinister guys, they rarely even show their faces, so how could they risk their lives to fight?

Moreover, 'Weine' has secretly controlled the location of the Eye of Dawn and Dusk's base. She had wanted to send people to destroy it before, but Ryan did not do so. He planned to keep it for a while and then catch it in one fell swoop when the plan was implemented.

Therefore, on the surface, the Eye of Dawn and Dusk's combat effectiveness would not be too strong. The key lies in the demon army in the Blood God Space and Creed's anticipated entry of the Hand of Darkness. If Maganna truly intends to seize the throne, then a grand melee will ensue among the major factions in Barron.

By then, once 'Vine' was killed, the imperial power would lose its support, and the Augustus Empire would definitely not be able to withstand the blow of losing the emperor twice in a row. The nobles in various places and the generals who controlled the military power might tear the empire apart under the conspiracy of the Eye of Dawn and Dusk.

at this time.

In a two-story detached house on Baker Street.

Even in the chaotic civilian market, there are still people who can live very freely. Creed bought this detached house for one gold coin. For a prosperous place like the imperial capital, the price of one gold coin is definitely not high, but because Baker Street is too chaotic, the house price has not increased.

The real estate businessmen were also having a headache. On the one hand, they could not go against the Empress's mercy and drive these poor people away. On the other hand, it was impossible to establish a stable order because it was too chaotic. Rich people would not want to buy houses here, and the price of a house was often just the beginning, because you were not even sure when someone would break into your house and pack up your valuables and take them away.

If you calculate it this way, the various additional expenses may be far higher than the house price itself.

But Creed was not worried. So far, three groups of uninvited guests had disappeared forever from Baker Street for various reasons.

"...Cred, as you said, we were not hindered by the Fire Covenant this time, thanks to you."

The person who appeared before Creed was a middle-aged man wearing a dark red robe, with short dark golden hair and eyes with a grayish-red tint, giving him a very strange look.

He had a cold, serious expression, and four dark red stripes on each side of his face.

Horton Malmoss, one of the core members of the Temple of War.

His eyes glowed scarlet as he spoke.

Suddenly, the expression on Horton's face became hideous and crazy, and the painful struggle visible to the naked eye made his facial muscles become distorted.

"But Creed! The sacrifice you promised isn't ready yet. The sacrifice is just one step away, and we have to start tonight no matter what!"

Creed bowed slightly, his posture extremely humble, but his tone remained unhurried as he spoke, "I'm truly sorry, General Horton. I persuaded Ryan to temporarily lower the Fire Covenant's guard, but the Empress still harbored suspicions. She's been secretly hunting down the Eye of Dawn and Dusk since last night, even destroying two of our strongholds. As a result, all the sacrifices were taken away."

"This is not what we agreed on, Creed... You cunning clown, the Lord of Trickery's lackey, don't try your clever tricks in front of me." Horton growled, and blood-colored power suddenly burst out of his body, casting a huge blood-red shadow behind him - it was a huge demon, with its bloody mouth wide open, as if it wanted to swallow Horton.

Creed lowered his head and said, "General, don't worry. Although there are no more sacrifices, the blood and heads of the Blood Archbishop's followers can easily open the passage to the Blood God Space and allow the demon army to descend."

"Your achievements will surely leave a glorious mark on the path of war once the Bloody Butcher's power erodes Barron. At that time, the erosion of the Blood God's power will help you break through the boundaries of mortals and ascend to become a great demon."

Let the power of the Blood God descend upon the continent of Rhea!

This is what every member of the Blood Cult wants to do.

It is also what the Outer Gods have always wanted to do.

Of course, Horton has another purpose, which is to take advantage of the opportunity of the arrival of the power of the Blood God to stabilize the increasingly uncontrollable magic power in his body, break through the shackles in one fell swoop, and become a demon!

The process of entering the extraordinary requires qualifications.

And every extraordinary person has his own upper limit on the magic power he can bear.

As they walk the path of faith, their spirit and body will constantly be eroded. Some are gifted and can almost ignore this influence. Some are less gifted, and when they advance, the side effects of the potion's power forcibly breaking through the upper limit will gradually drive them crazy and lose their sanity.

In fact, the number of existing extraordinary people is far less than the number of people who try to step into the extraordinary realm, and those who fail either suffer a mental breakdown and turn into crazy demons, or die directly, silently embracing death.

When Horton broke through to the seventh level, he experienced pain that was unimaginable to outsiders, and finally stepped into this level by chance.

But his spirit was tortured all the time. Whenever he closed his eyes and wanted to rest, he would hear strange whispers in his ears, as if the devil was talking.

This forced him to force himself to stay awake, and he would only rest when he really couldn't bear it anymore. However, every time he rested, it meant that his mental will was relaxed, and erosion would take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in.

Now he is on the verge of collapse. If he wants to survive, he can only transform into a demon and officially become a servant of the Blood God.

"Ah, those sacrifices, they..." Horton stared at Creed with scarlet eyes. "They can indeed do it, but it's not enough. I need another batch of sacrifices. Use their blood to sacrifice to the Blood God, open the demon space, and let the power of the Bloody Butcher descend. If you don't agree to help, I will find you now and twist your head off with my own hands!"

"General Horton has misunderstood. How could I not want to?" Creed said calmly. "Actually, I have a backup plan. The sacrifice will be delivered soon. It will be their honor to sacrifice their lives for the great Blood God and witness the advent of His power with their own eyes."

"That's for the best. Creed, I know what you're planning. I don't care what happens to Augustus. I just want to achieve my goal. Do you understand?"

Holden looked at Creed with dangerous eyes. If he could not bear the mental torture, he would not have bothered to cooperate with a bishop of the Eye of Dawn and Dusk.

The fate of Emperor Kahn was an example, but he knew what Creed wanted to do and would not follow the same path as the stupid Kahn.

Moreover, the chaotic space is changing, and the erosion of the world by the power of foreign gods is becoming more and more serious. If you contribute your strength at this time, you might really be noticed by the Blood God!

......

Here.

Ryan called 'Xia Li' back from the southern front as planned.

Then, 'Charlie' found Holman with 'Vine's' order, received 30,000 people from the latter, used the fog of war effect to conceal their whereabouts, and temporarily hid outside the city.

At the same time, the Fire Covenant was ready as ordered. Their mission was to form an isolation circle around the castle and try their best to minimize the impact on ordinary people.

The method is to set up a magic barrier and use spells to disperse the crowd. This way, most of the influences can be isolated. If there are still unlucky people affected, there is nothing to be done. In a world where supernatural powers exist, death is sometimes just a matter of seconds.

Even worse, if the barrier cannot withstand the power of the chaotic space, or if they cannot resolve this matter, then the entire city of Barron will be eroded by the will of war, and everyone will either die or turn into monsters.

After all, the spiritual power of ordinary people is very fragile and cannot withstand the erosion of the chaotic space. Therefore, the biggest threat is not the pagans who make trouble, but the impact of the collision between the power of the blood god and the real world when the chaotic space opens.

To this end, Ryan came to Janus Church in advance and found the person in charge there.

Alcino Rex.

"Hello, respected Earl Ryan."

Alcino is a fifth-level transcendent and serves as a bishop at the Gate of Janus. Perhaps after working for a few more years, when her strength breaks through to the sixth level, she will be qualified to be promoted to a cardinal.

At this time, Alcino wore a milky white bishop's robe, embroidered on the chest with an hourglass symbolizing the mystery of time. Within the Janus Gate, there were two factions: the Time faction and the Space faction. Although both were followers of Janus, the two factions competed for management and promotion.

Time and space do not represent abilities, but only represent two research directions within the Gate of Janus. The analysis of Janus's power and interpretation of his will are often the proof of a senior Janus believer.

She was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a graceful and noble temperament, long light gray hair hanging down from both sides, and her smile was full of gentleness and infectiousness, which made Ryan suddenly have an illusion - 'This is what a saint should look like.'

In fact, Alcino was quite famous in Baron, and many earls and even marquises wanted to curry favor with her in order to improve their relationship with the Janus Gate. Although Alcino did not like these nobles very much, she always greeted them with a smile. The Janus Gate needed to maintain friendly relations with all countries, and the key to good relations was these nobles.

Many of the Janus believers are nobles. They will donate a large amount of gold coins to build churches and promote their beliefs. Otherwise, where would the Gate of Janus get so much money to build a church if it relied on itself?

In the continent of Rhea, faith is a currency that can buy many things, including gold coins.

"I received orders from the Saint. She asked me to fully cooperate with your actions." As Alcino spoke, her light blue eyes looked at Ryan curiously. She had heard about the relationship between the Saint and Earl Ryan a long time ago. It seemed that they were not just ordinary friends.

Originally, many believers, including herself, thought it was a rumor, but now it seems...the Saint has a very high degree of trust in the Earl.

It is actually "against the rules" to hand over the Janus forces in a main city to someone else for command, but because of the order of the saint, Alcino does not mind obeying the order... After all, first of all, this is Barron, and secondly, when she is promoted to cardinal in the future, she will also need the support of "Lin Qi".

"Bishop Alcino, I need your help."

Ryan repeated his thoughts.

Using the great divine grace in Janus' profession to offset the influence of the will of war and completely compress the battle within the barrier is the second layer of protection that Ryan has made to protect Barron.

"No problem. Can I lead this ceremony myself? And some magicians who are good at divine grace will also be included." Alcino tried his best to seize the opportunity to show himself.

Although Ryan was only an earl, everyone knew that he was very valuable. With Maganna's support, who would dare to touch him? Not to mention his relationship with the Saint.

Since Alcino has gotten involved, he naturally has to do things perfectly and try to improve Lin Qi's favor.

"That's great." Ryan smiled. "May Janus bless you. Thank you for the Bishop's efforts. I will talk to Lin Qi about it after it's done."

"Praise Janus." A smile appeared in Alcino's eyes. She was waiting for Ryan to say this. "Then there are nearly thirty extraordinary people. I will arrange for them to come over when the time comes, and they will be ready to wait for Lord Ryan's orders at any time."

"Great, the time is 7 o'clock tonight, please don't forget."

After leaving Janus Church, Ryan closed his eyes and sensed that Creed was still in Baker Street.

In the past two days, he did not try to assassinate Creed, and the latter did not arrange for a killer to come... Ryan was not worried about this, because there was no point in Creed killing him. Once something happened to him, Maganna would definitely go crazy, and then the plan would be difficult to carry out.

Even so, Maganna still insisted on following Ryan secretly. If Creed dared to take action, she would rush out and twist off the other person's head.

Ryan looked around, but couldn't see the Grand Duke anywhere.

Then he got in the carriage and headed towards the castle.

On the way, I checked on Motis. The rifle he'd given me was already in production, but the progress was worrying. As a makeshift federation, it was difficult for any single country to meet all the technical requirements for rifle production. This meant that Motis had to seek out other countries and then piece together the basic requirements.

It is also difficult for 'Motis'. The Northern Federation looks big but it is just a facade. It is far inferior to the Augustus Empire in all aspects and is very troublesome to manage.

On the other hand, Augustus, under the arrangement of "Vene", has started to build a spare parts factory overnight, and it is expected to achieve mass production within a month. This kind of automatic rifle is far superior to muskets in speed, accuracy and power.

In fact, the conditions of the Augustus Empire met the basic requirements for producing rifles, but the difficulty lay in the design concept of the rifles.

For example, the revolver used by the sheriff. The appearance of the revolver also originated from sacrifice. The designer referred to the weapons used by the extraordinary people, but because there was no core technology and design concept support, the things produced were completely different from Ryan's concept.

In terms of lethality and range, it was not as good as the muskets used by the army, so it was not ultimately promoted to the army. Instead, it was used for daily use by sheriffs. After all, this thing is indeed easy to carry and can kill people.

Then Ryan came to a conclusion...the entire technology tree of this world is crooked.

pat.

I looked at my pocket watch and it was eleven o'clock in the morning. From now on, I just have to wait patiently.

......

At night, six o'clock in the evening.

Dark clouds covered the sky over Barron City. It started to drizzle at five o'clock. By six o'clock, the drizzle formed into lines and eventually turned into bean-sized raindrops that fell down, making a clattering sound that became the notes of this world.

The crowds leaving get off work were running in the rain, cursing all the way. The wealthy leaders either called for a carriage or rode in a car, leisurely watching the cattle and horses running around them.

In the northern part of the city, the crowds outside Queen Street were scattered. As the territory covered by the castle, there were not many people there, and most of them were members of the royal family. Occasionally, a noble's carriage passed by, but they were also in a hurry. They were dispersed by an invisible force and rushed towards the outside of Queen Street.

Soon, the only people who could be seen on Queen Street were patrolling guards.

The street lights covered by glass emit yellowish beams in the rain, providing some light in the rainy night.

Bang bang bang!

A burst of gunfire suddenly rang out in the rainy night.

The gunshots seemed to be a signal, and battles of varying degrees broke out one after another on Queen Street.

"Hurry, hurry! Protect the castle!"

Outside the castle, an officer quickly mobilized soldiers to form a defensive array of thousands of people at the entrance.

Soldiers holding shields stood in the front, putting down their large shields, and behind them were musketeers ready for battle.

The raindrops made the already dim sky even darker, and visibility even lower. All the soldiers stared at the main road leading to the castle, watching the mist from the falling raindrops spread across the ground.

Then, the mist gradually turned red, and soon turned into a large blood-red mist, completely blocking all vision in front.

"Captain, is this the power of a superhuman?" a soldier asked nervously.

"Don't be distracted, stay alert!"

In the crowd, an officer holding a knight's sword said sternly, "No matter if it's a human or a ghost, no one can get through here today!"

call out!

A blood-red arrow flew out from the fog, pierced through the large shield in the hands of the front-row soldier, and penetrated his entire body.

The arrows continued to fly, killing three soldiers in succession before finally stopping.

"Enemy attack!!!"

"Musketeer, shoot!"

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

A fiery red light spurted out from the muzzle, shooting into the blood mist like a fire snake. After a round of musket fire, the musketeers in the front row quickly retreated to reload, and the people in the back row took over, taking turns.

Muskets are powerful, but their reloading speed is extremely slow. The advantage of this rotation shooting is that it allows the firepower to maintain an uninterrupted attack, which is more useful than firing all at once.

Soon, the accumulated water on the ground was stained blood red.

The smell of blood and gun smoke blended into the rain and settled into the increasingly dark night.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta.

At this moment, a group of figures wearing dark red clothes and with blood marks painted on their faces rushed out from the blood mist.

A blood-colored magic shield condensed on these people, blocking the power of the musket.

In the crowd, an officer frowned. He knew these people were Transcendents, but he didn't panic. Instead, he took out a pre-prepared flare and fired it into the air—whoosh!