What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

Fenrir, that man killed the Earl!!

Fear exploded in most people's hearts. Even the count and his elite troops had died at his hands. If they chose to continue the attack, was there any way out?

After Leon finished shouting these words, he gasped for breath and adjusted his breathing. Vice, behind him, manipulated the blessing to help him recover.

On the lookout tower, Lena also gazed at the long line of soldiers stretching along the mountain road outside the pass, praying anxiously.

Leon was also very nervous. Although he had successfully killed the count according to plan, the count's troops were still there. Even though they had lost the most elite troops around the count and the count as their leader, the remaining troops were still overwhelming in number.

They were also severely depleted. Only a handful of demonic wolves and a young earth dragon remained capable of fighting. The city walls were in ruins, and they had suffered casualties. He himself had lost a lot of blood. Although he could still fight, he was definitely not able to keep up with the well-equipped thousands of soldiers in a war of attrition.

If the enemy breaks through, they are not without a chance of victory, but the price they will pay will be extremely high.

It would be best if these people could back down when faced with difficulties.

The soldiers huddled together outside the mountain pass had various expressions. The few officers who now had command of the troops also harbored their own ulterior motives. Some were afraid of Fenrir and did not want to rush in and die. Some had realized that the underworld would undergo a dramatic change after the Earl's death, and if they did not kill Fenrir today, he might wipe out them, the Earl's former subordinates, one by one in the future. Others, upon hearing the news of the Earl's death, only wanted to avenge him, but hesitated whether they should launch an attack immediately or calmly retreat and regroup.

Meanwhile, those remaining at the port in the distance noticed the situation.

They spotted new warships sailing straight toward Arende from a distance, and through their telescopes, they saw four-pointed star flags flying on those ships.

The Church's Navy!?

A thunderclap exploded in the scouts' minds. The forces gathered here were the Earl's underground mercenaries and underworld executives, all of whom were targets for the Church to capture. Several executives were even on wanted lists.

Although they were under the Earl's protection, their influence was rarely investigated openly by the Church with resources, but the Earl never informed them in advance that the Church's forces would be involved, which was obviously unexpected!

They immediately rang the alarm bells at the dock, notifying everyone at a specific frequency that the church's influence had appeared.

As the bells of the docks drifted over the mining area, the mercenaries blocking the mountain pass all looked up, unease and fear seemingly haunting them like a ghost.

"The church is coming! Run!!" someone shouted.

The group of people in the mountains understood even more clearly what encountering the church would mean for them now. Without the Earl's protection, they were nothing more than a bunch of underworld mercenaries!

The shout immediately caused panic, which quickly spread, and people began to push and shove as they retreated towards the dock.

"Everyone, stop! Stop!" A cadre calmly realized there was a problem and wanted to stabilize the situation, but only a portion of the troops were his men, and his leadership was insufficient to command the entire army.

"Stop what? That guy is an Inquisitor! He must have betrayed the Earl to get reinforcements from the Church. If we don't run, we're doomed!!" Another cadre contradicted him.

The count has connections and protection within the church, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have enemies.

The troops, thrown into chaos, began to scramble out of the mountain pass, pushing and shoving as they made their way along the mountain path toward the dock, hoping to escape by boat.

Meanwhile, on the distant "Church Navy" ship, Father Auden stood on the deck, peering through binoculars at the dock. He frowned and looked at one of Leon's officers, saying, "I said, once those people are far away, quickly change the flag. If anyone discovers we're impersonating the Church's army, we'll all be guilty of serious crimes! Oh, that guy is a complete madman!"

Chapter 183 Offerings for Advancement

"We won! We won!!"

Inside and outside the fortress, Leon's men erupted in deafening cheers.

Facing an enemy force of such overwhelming size, it is nothing short of a miracle that they were able to force back the enemy with such minimal losses and even kill their leader, thus winning the battle to defend the city!

But Leon did not join the celebration. On the one hand, the weakness from blood loss had not yet been relieved, and on the other hand, while killing the count was certainly a feat worth celebrating, there were still many problems to deal with. He needed to suppress his excited emotions and think about these issues calmly.

Moreover, there was something else that concerned him greatly.

As he watched the count breathe his last, for some reason, he felt a strange, inexplicable sensation within him. The two blessings, once used, continued to surge and had not completely subsided, especially the blessing of the Supreme God.

This feeling is very similar to the feeling of being blessed by a witch and advancing in rank in the past, but Leon is not yet completely sure that this is a sign of an advancement in power.

Weiss had told him that the key to the Supreme God's blessing and ascension might lie in changing the course of the future world.

No one can be certain at this moment how much history would be altered by killing the Earl, a key figure among the Eastern nobility.

“Leon…” As Leon walked into the fortress, Weiss stepped forward to help him up.

Others couldn't quite tell Leon's physical condition, but Weiss could sense through the Blood Blessing that after using up a round of time acceleration to the extreme and releasing a large amount of blood, and then expending his strength wielding that greatsword on the battlefield, Leon was actually much weaker than he appeared.

However, she had only taken two steps when Lena rushed over, weaved through the crowd, and threw herself into Leon's arms.

When Leon charged into the dense enemy ranks, Lena's heart was in her throat.

Now that she has seen Leon return safely, she naturally wants to truly feel the reality that he is still alive.

"..." Weiss stopped abruptly, watching the scene in silence.

At that moment, she inexplicably felt her heart being squeezed.

Leon hugged Lena back, patted her back, buried his head in her hair and took a deep breath, then patted her head to comfort her before separating from her.

"Hurry and treat the wounded, bring in the bodies of our brothers and settle them properly, and move all the enemy corpses into the maze for disposal... Except for the Earl's body, do not damage it; I will handle it properly later. Simon, take your squad and go up the mountain path to monitor the whereabouts of the remaining enemies, making sure they all leave Arend Island. Report to me immediately if anything happens," Leon quickly issued the orders.

"Leon, why don't you go and rest for a bit?" Lena suggested to Leon.

“Before that, I have some things to take care of.” Leon paused here, “I might need you to leave for a while. Can you take those monsters outside back to the labyrinth?”

Lena quickly realized what he meant: "You want to take Ophelia..."

Leon nodded.

"Are you planning to execute the Count's daughter and Bishop Beckett?" Weiss interrupted the conversation.

Leon looked in the direction of the voice and nodded to Weiss.

After killing the Count, neither Ophelia nor Bishop Beckett needed to remain in the world any longer, as the information that needed to be obtained from them had been basically all taken.

Before kidnapping Ophelia, Leon considered that if he could force Ophelia to rebel against the Count and make her share the infamy of killing the Count, he might be able to use Ophelia to deal with the aftermath of the Count's death.

However, Ophelia was, after all, the count's daughter, and like the count, she didn't take him seriously. After Ophelia refused, she lost all value to Leon after the count's death.

His infamy of betraying and murdering the Count will soon spread, and there will be no point in supporting Ophelia anymore. On the contrary, it will give Ophelia an opportunity to unite with the remaining cadres to deal with him under the pretext of revenge. After all, the hatred of killing one's father is irreconcilable. Given Ophelia's similar personality to the Count, it is almost impossible for her not to consider revenge if she is allowed to live. Letting her live is ultimately a hidden danger.

Similarly, Bishop Beckett cannot be kept. While he is certainly very capable, Leon has already witnessed his loyalty to the Count. Given the Count's temperament, the fact that Beckett is regarded as the Count's most trusted confidant must have a relationship that transcends mere self-interest.

Beckett also has the motivation and ability to avenge the Earl, and even if he voluntarily claims that he can switch allegiance to Leon, Leon cannot trust him.

After the fall of the Count, the kingpin of the underworld, the underground world is bound to be thrown into turmoil, and he, bearing the infamy of murdering the Count, is very likely to become the target of everyone's ire.

Having become entangled in such grudges, he has no chance of extricating himself. From now on, he can only go all the way down this path, increase his strength, eliminate his enemies, and gain a foothold in order to have a chance to survive in the underworld's feuds.

Leon had no regrets about it; it was his own choice. On the contrary, he felt refreshed.

Now free from the Earl's control, he could finally look ahead to the future of his career, but before that, he had to eliminate any potential troublesome factors.

"Then could you..." After hearing Leon's decision, Weiss hesitated for a moment and lowered her voice, "...leave him to me to handle?"

"Give it to you?" Leon asked instinctively, inquiring about the reason.

“As I told you before, the key to Moirai’s blessing advancement, besides absorbing magic power from the labyrinth over the years, is to offer sacrifices to Moirai, which means killing the extraordinary beings blessed by the four gods within the labyrinth’s magic coverage area. You have just killed the Count, so can I help you deal with Bishop Beckett?” Weiss said.

"So my Moirai Blessing can already be upgraded to the third tier?" Leon asked Weiss for confirmation.

In the past, he and Lena killed the extraordinary being Karon, who possessed the blessing of a first-order war god, and then they both advanced in rank in the labyrinth of Arend Island.

According to the theory that Weiss had told him in the past, now that he had killed the count, who was a second-tier transcendent, he should have a reason to advance to the next tier.

“In theory, you’ve already reached that limit, but to complete the breakthrough, you still need to absorb the active magic in the labyrinth, which takes time,” Weiss said.

Leon turned his gaze and exchanged a glance with Lena.

After he and Lena killed Caron, they successfully advanced to the next level only after reaching the labyrinth on Arend Island. Perhaps this is because the labyrinth on Arend Island is a living labyrinth, possessing ample magical power to allow them to complete their advancement. The ritual they performed in the secret chamber may have greatly accelerated their absorption of magical power.

"You want to use the sacrifice of Bishop Beckett to advance your rank?" Leon asked.

“This is for researching Moirai’s power, and the power I obtained can still be used by you. With the power of a third-tier witch, the purity of the magic essence I can refine can be further improved, and perhaps new breakthroughs can be found in other areas of research.” Weiss said, looking into Leon’s eyes.

Leon looked back at Weiss. Back in the Rose School, Weiss had risked her disability to become a witch and research Moirai's blessed power. Given this opportunity to take the blessed power a step further and get closer to the source of Moirai's power, it was only natural for her to make such a request.

Moreover, according to the contract between Weiss and him, after Weiss learned of his secret as Fenrir, even though the Earl, who was the mastermind behind it all, was dead, Leon would not allow her to return to the church at this time.

She will be working under Leon from now on. Leon is unsure how much trust and security Weiss has in him in this relationship, but he is certain that the power he controls is the most reliable. Weiss is also considering her future situation.

Of course, as long as Weiss abides by the contract, her blessing power will be enhanced, which will undoubtedly benefit Leon.

Leon was still considering when Lena glanced back and forth between the two of them, sensing something amiss. After hesitating for a moment, she finally made up her mind and interjected, "Leave it to me!"

Upon hearing this, not only Weiss, but even Leon looked at Lena with surprise.

So far, aside from having Rena control monsters to kill Hannah Weslan, he has rarely had Rena directly kill anyone.

Even the task of feeding human corpses to monsters was not handled by Lena; it used to be her responsibility, but now it has all been handed over to her subordinates.

This time, Lena also manipulated monsters to kill people, but she didn't control them precisely in the melee. She simply used the flute to activate the monsters' aggression against the enemy, just like randomly firing at the enemy's camp in the melee. This is completely different from the impact of directly executing a specific person.

“Leon, we have no way to stop now, right?” Lena said, looking at Leon. “In that case, I will also need power.”

After killing the count, it is foreseeable that their path will be full of struggle, and in that case, it will not be just Leon who needs power.

Having journeyed together with Leon for so long, Lena now understands just how crucial this blessing is, whether it's supporting others or protecting themselves.

You see, if she hadn't used the succubus's power to help Leon obtain absolutely reliable intelligence through interrogation, they wouldn't have been able to find a way to defeat the Count.

She needs power, and killing for it is acceptable; she is no longer the Reina she once was.

Moreover, when Weiss made this request, Lena felt a sense of crisis.

If only Weiss's blessing power rises to the third tier, while she remains at the second tier... Although she doesn't yet know what kind of impact this will have on the future, she has a feeling that this might make her very passive in certain matters.

“If that’s the case, then let’s work together,” Weiss suggested this time. “Moirai’s blessing has a lot of room for manipulation. There are precedents of sacrificing one offering to allow multiple people to advance.”

After Lena brought it up, she realized she needed to take a step back to move forward.

Compared to her, Leon has absolute trust in Lena. If Leon had to choose only one person, he would definitely choose Lena.

Leon also knew that there were precedents for offering a sacrifice to help two people advance in rank. He and Lena had done it this way. When he killed Karon, Lena had actually manipulated the Headhunter Rabbit to attack Karon.

"Lena, what do you think?" Leon decided to ask for Leena's opinion.

“I understand. From now on, Miss Weiss’s strength will be essential to us.” After a moment’s thought, Lena made a rational judgment. “To be honest, I’m not confident that I can do it alone. Let’s do it together.”

Chapter 184 The Earl's Era Has Ended

The door to the dark cell opened, and white light outlined the shape of the door frame, after which a black figure appeared in the frame.

Leon walked alone into the solitary cell and looked at Ophelia, who was now tied to the iron chair again.

Ophelia showed no reaction, her gaze was somewhat vacant, and there were still tear stains at the corners of her eyes.

While tied to the city wall, she witnessed her father being killed and the army that came to rescue her being repelled. The overwhelming despair completely shattered her will.

The count never imagined he would lose, and neither did Ophelia.

She even considered the possibility of being kidnapped and killed by Leon, but after that, Leon would inevitably suffer her father's horrific revenge.

But in the end, Leon killed her father. Fate really played a cruel joke on the father and daughter!

“The time has come, Ophelia,” Leon said in a calm voice.

Ophelia's eyes finally regained some consciousness, and she looked up at Leon.

"If you're going to kill me, stop talking nonsense. Do you expect me to beg for mercy?" Realizing this was her last moment, Ophelia took a deep breath. "Just do it. I'm still his daughter!"

Leon said no more and began to activate the cursed blood within Ophelia's body.

Just as he felt no resentment or regret towards Ophelia, killing her was merely a necessary procedure for Leon. He had no intention of tormenting Ophelia, nor did he intend to show her any unnecessary concern.

Ophelia immediately sensed the approach of death on an instinctive level. A cold, numbing sensation spread from the nerve center in her spine throughout her body. She felt no pain, only that instinctive fear.

She struggled to suppress her fear, forcing a haughty expression and staring intently at Leon, hoping that at least she could retain her dignity when she died.

She is the daughter of "Count" Isaac Mustang, a princess of the underworld.

However, as the petrification symptoms spread throughout his body and were about to reach his head along his neck, the accumulated fear finally reached its peak as he faced death.

Ophelia had seen many things, and even when Leon pointed a gun at her, she remained unmoved, but that was only because she was subconsciously certain that Leon wouldn't kill her at that moment.

Under her father's protection, she had never experienced such despair of certain death.

A crack finally appeared in her hard shell, and a flicker of uncontrollable fear flashed in her eyes. Just before her expression was about to crumble due to the wavering of fear, Leon accelerated time to its limit, allowing the curse to petrify Ophelia's head at the fastest speed.

Then, Leon allowed the curse of the Cursed Blood to penetrate deep into Ophelia's limbs and bones, completely extracting the last bit of life force from her body. Ophelia's petrified body began to show signs of salting. In the end, Leon still allowed her to die while barely maintaining that proud expression.

After a while, Ophelia's petrified body began to gradually collapse, turning into fragments of salt.

After dealing with Ophelia, Leon left the room and headed towards the room where Bishop Beckett was being held.

Lena and Weiss were already waiting for him inside. They had both changed into the waxed protective suits they wore when conducting experiments with dangerous materials. The hooded robes covered them completely, and they also wore protective bird-beak masks.