Just when Joshua was about to leave the cell hall, he felt an aura of chaos spreading.
Plagues in the magical world are never simply bacteria or organisms. They are not diseases caused by magic or other supernatural factors. No matter how serious they are, they can be easily eradicated.
In the black liquid formed from the flesh and blood viscera of the cultist, there is a magic power eroded by chaos that is slowly growing. Although it appears to be very slow due to the strong positive energy light, it is still spreading unswervingly toward the surroundings. I saw that the small cell had now become an alien scene, with disgusting turbid liquid squirming spontaneously on the stone floor, like a living thing.
Turning his head, Joshua looked at this scene.
Black blood, a chaotic disease brought by the mad dragon.
In the Far South of the previous life, a sudden dragon disaster from the deep sea destroyed half of the Southern Kingdom, and all coastal areas fell without exception. Although the Far Southern Kingdom relied on its strong potential strength and human lives to forcibly push out an extremely solid central defense line. , but there are still many places that have been helplessly abandoned and thus completely fallen.
In the occupied areas, most of the humans were devoured by the crazy dragon beasts. A few powerful professionals also hid in Tibet and survived in the cracks. However, as time went by and the kingdom's army began to fight against the dragon beasts, With the adaptability, the war situation gradually improved. With the full help of adventurers, that is, players, the kingdom's army launched counterattacks again and again, and even recaptured several port fortresses along the coast and used them as strongholds, bit by bit. Recover lost ground.
What made this effort fall short was black blood syndrome.
It was at the end of the year 833, on a cold winter day, amid heavy snowfall, a trembling man came to the gate of the Har Port Fortress in the far south.
His body was soaked with black blood, but he was still breathing. The city guards recognized him as a well-known elf adventurer who had gone deep into the jungle to explore the habitat of dragon beasts a few days ago, so they hurried to meet him. After realizing that the man was close to coma, the city guards sent the unconscious man to the fortress' medical center.
Along the way, this moaning aboriginal adventurer was dripping with black blood all over his body, giving off an extremely fishy breath. However, since this was the front line after all, no one cared about the fishy smell of blood, so until he After being sent to the hospital, no one thought there was anything wrong. After all, there are countless strange creatures and dragon beasts in the jungle. Maybe the adventurer was attacked by some strange poisonous beast? After all, there are too many venoms that can prevent wounds from healing, so much that no one will care.
All in all, no one understood the seriousness of this matter.
In the medical center, the doctor and the priest who rushed over worked together to treat the adventurer. They used magic potions and magic to quickly heal the elf's injuries. The black blood no longer flowed outwards, but the situation was reversed. It got even worse - as everyone watched in shock, the adventurer's body began to become swollen as he howled in pain, and the flesh and blood all over his body swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye. Finally, with a convulsive scream, After shouting, the elf adventurer exploded suddenly, and liquefied flesh, blood and internal organs spurted out, splattering all over the medical center.
The strange way of death, and the fact that the poor patient was not saved, both the doctor and the priest felt very depressed. Naturally, they noticed the aura of chaos hidden in the corpse of the dead adventurer and purified it. Everyone thought that this It is the toxin of some kind of new mad dragon, just like the giant scorpion in the desert. It has terrible venom that can dissolve human flesh and blood, but it is just more terrifying. For this reason, Hal Fortress even transferred a large number of people from the capital of the kingdom. The antidote was used to prepare for this new unknown dragon, and the adventurers also began to make corresponding plans.
They thought they were fully prepared.
But actually it doesn't.
The chaos lurking in the shadows had already spread to the entire city with the dripping of black blood. On the first day, 60% of the people in Hal Fortress felt collectively uncomfortable. On the second day, 4% The fifteenth person felt that he was sick, and there was a strange sound of fluid flowing in his body. On the third day, he coughed up a lot of blood. Except for the gold-level expert who was not affected much, all the other members seemed to be experiencing extremely strong discomfort. symptom.
It was only then that everyone felt that something was wrong. Maybe it was not a toxin, but some unknown plague - but it was too late and everything was irreversible.
A week later, except for three gold-level powerhouses who were overwhelmed and on the verge of collapse, everyone in Hal Fortress was reduced to bones and blood flowing everywhere. The originally clean and tidy port turned into a bloody purgatory. , the stench is not bound by the cold, and spreads wantonly with the north wind.
The name of Black Blood has spread throughout the world.
Joshua had personally experienced this disease in his previous life, but it was already in the later stages of the spread of the plague. Through the treatment of advanced divine magic, the soldier did not die from it, but he could fully understand the kind of situation where a part of the body was destroyed by an unknown entity. The feeling of dissolving little by little.
This is even more disgusting than being eaten bit by bit by a beast.
"As long as you reach the golden realm, your extraordinary body can easily resist the invasion of this disease. But if you haven't reached the golden realm, you can easily be infected even if it's just a little bit close."
Talking to himself in a low voice, Joshua couldn't help but recall the days of fighting the plague in the past. It was really a difficult time. Countless people were defeated by the disease and turned into a pool of warm, turbid and black blood. , only the fragile bones and skin were left suspended in the foul-smelling liquid.
But while cold couldn't stop the spread of this plague, fire could.
Raising his hand, the warrior snapped his fingers, and black-red flames suddenly appeared out of thin air on the squirming mass of black blood. The fighting spirit was mixed with the power of order, completely purifying it from beginning to end, and the cultists' The corpse was completely reduced to ashes as a result - the plague had long since eroded the bones, and now they were no more solid than a few biscuits.
Looking indifferently at the black liquid being completely burned by the flames, Joshua shook his head, then turned around and left.
The flames can completely burn all the substances that the black blood relies on, and can completely burn them to ashes. In the plague area of the Far South, as long as someone showed the slightest sign of weakness and infection, crazy people would kill this person. Throwing them into the fire, this crazy behavior accidentally killed many ordinary people who only had the occasional cold, but it did block the possibility of the plague spreading.
Due to the fluctuations in fighting spirit and the sudden high fever, the comatose cultists also woke up one by one. These fanatics who originally uttered obscene words wantonly in the face of Bishop Artanis are now cowering aside, shivering, they silently Silent, not daring to make the slightest sound.
After watching the soldiers walk out of the cell hall step by step in horror, these cultists even felt happy in their hearts. Even if they were tortured to death, they were unwilling to face the walking nightmare.
Outside the cell, Artanis was chatting with Ying and Rin.
The three of them were asking and answering questions, and seemed to be chatting happily. However, because they noticed the footsteps of the soldiers, they all turned their heads and looked towards the exit.
"What's wrong, Joshua, you came out so soon?"
The old bishop was a little strange. He touched his white beard and asked doubtfully: "Do you want to use torture tools for torture? This is my mistake. I forgot to prepare this thing."
With that said, he stood up and asked the other guarding knights for torture tools.
"No, no need, I already know their purpose."
After speaking out to stop Artanis' actions, Joshua's tone was more serious than ever before, and his eyes revealed a solemn look: "It may be a bit unbelievable, but..."
"I trust you."
After quickly interrupting Joshua, the old bishop's expression became solemn. He turned to look around and whispered: "Don't talk here, let's go upstairs."
"you're right."
Nodding in agreement with the old bishop's decision, the warrior called Shang Ying and Lin to set off with the old bishop. Although the gods were a little confused, they followed silently after seeing their master's rare cautious attitude.
The light of positive energy in the deepest cell gradually dimmed, and at Joshua's suggestion, Artanis called all the knights guarding the cells over, and they jointly activated the dungeon's blockade system, which was suddenly one meter thick. The thick steel layer completely isolated the deepest oval cell from other ordinary cells. To be safe, the soldiers also asked the old bishop to perform a gold-level large-scale purification ceremony for them, completely purifying half of the dungeon. Read it again.
Although they don’t know why the lord came out so quickly and what news they got from the cultists, the knights also sensed a hint of danger from this action and ensured that they would never open the sealed steel layer. Finally, everyone left the dungeon.
By the way, Joshua had his back to the knights throughout this process.
"It's a plague."
While walking along the spiral corridor towards the surface of the church, Joshua whispered to Artanis: "These cultists intend to spread a highly lethal plague from the evil god of plague."
That was all he said for the time being, telling the confused old bishop why he was so cautious. Later, the soldier was prepared to tell more news slowly in a safe environment.
You know, the dungeon is not a good place to talk.
The old bishop's eyes flickered in the darkness, and he nodded slowly without making a sound. Obviously, Artanis had probably guessed something from Joshua's previous request.
Everyone walked in silence to the first floor. They crossed the dark corridor and came to the stairs leading to the second floor behind the mass hall. Just when everyone was about to find a closed room to talk in detail about the evil god plague. When this happened, a blond man with blue eyes appeared in front of them.
This man is tall and has a handsome face, but he looks a little tired and his eyes are tired and dim. It seems that he has not had a good rest for several days. He originally seemed to have heard the footsteps of Artanis and wanted to talk to the old man. The bishop said hello, but unexpectedly saw Joshua's face. Suddenly the man's eyes widened and he blurted out in a surprised voice: "Joshua?! Are you awake?!"
"Yes, my friend, I'm awake."
There was a smile on his serious face. Joshua smiled and greeted the blond knight. He stepped forward and patted the other party on the shoulder: "I haven't seen you in a few days, Loranda. You look like On the contrary, he is in a worse state than I am."
"It's a long story... Judging from this expression, do you want to discuss something important?"
Exhaling slowly, the paladin's face was full of exhaustion. He seemed to have a lot to say, but now he had no strength. Seeing this, the warrior simply shook his head and said: "Don't think too much, although I and I Bishop Artanis does have something to talk about, but it is not important enough for you to endure the fatigue and participate."
"When I finish talking to the old bishop, I will let him tell you."
Although he wanted to refuse, Joshua did not give Rolanda a chance to choose. As Ying and Rin said apologetic farewells, the paladin could only watch Joshua and the old bishop walking quickly. Going up to the second floor, my tired eyes were a little dull.
"I didn't even have time to say anything to stop it... Sure enough, I should go and take a rest first."
Realizing that her condition was indeed very bad, Loranda couldn't help but shook her head, and then walked to her room.
On the way, he couldn't help but think of the previous phone call between himself and Saint Igor, His Majesty the Pope.
Since the Paladin returned from another world three days ago, he has not had a good rest.
The first is to pray quietly and use the holy light to dissolve the remaining divine power of the Father of Nature in his body.
Although the blessing of a god is indeed of great benefit to him, the extra alien power is not a good thing for a paladin. Just to purify his own power, it cost Loranda a lot of money. It took half a day, but relatively, after the purification, the paladin felt that his strength had greatly improved, even approaching the threshold of ultimate intention.
Of course, Loranda felt extremely tired, but this was no time for rest. He suppressed his sleepiness and sorted out his entire experience in the other world overnight, and then quickly went to the communication circle in the cathedral to prepare for a meeting with the Pope. His Majesty called.
But the people who answered the call were the Pope's guards. These loyal knights said that His Majesty the Pope was communicating directly with the gods deep in the Great Temple, so he needed to wait for a while.
Loranda naturally would not raise objections, but in order to wait for the Pope's return as soon as possible, he did not even sleep or meditate, but stayed where he was wholeheartedly.
This wait lasts all day.
That is, almost half a day ago, the Pope finally finished communicating with the gods and responded to Loranda's communication.
Pope Igor has great patience for his adopted son, currently the strongest paladin of the younger generation in the Church of the Seven Gods. After listening to Loranda's description of the adventure in another world, he did not express the slightest feeling of distrust. On the contrary, Repeatedly asking for details showed 100% trust.
"I see... the father of nature, the evil god of natural disasters, the sage inheritance and the king of soul-burning souls."
Nodding slowly, thousands of miles away, the image of His Majesty the Pope slowly nodded. The white-haired wise old man seemed to completely believe what Loranda said.
"You believe what I said?!"
This surprised Loranda. He didn't think anyone would believe such a bizarre story. He was just fulfilling his responsibility and telling the truth. He never expected that the other party would believe it. But I never expected that the old pope would believe his experience so easily.
"Don't be surprised, my child. I have a premonition about this."
Igor said slowly, his eyes flashing with wisdom: "The fluctuations produced by an ancient god when he exerts all his power are enough to span the distance of several worlds. I have noticed this a long time ago, but I didn't To think you were involved."
After a pause, the Pope slowed down and asked tentatively: "Now you have faced the army of chaos and the evil god's true form with your own eyes... Loranda, what do you think about this?"
After hearing the old pope's question, Loranda couldn't help but be silent for a while. He seemed to be recalling, and then slowly said in a cautious tone: "Your Majesty the Pope, this is the first time I have seen such a person." This is also the first time for the huge Chaos army to face these enemies without knowing anything about anything and having no other comrades."
"I don't know what kind of world it is, I don't know to what extent the civilization of that world has developed, I don't even know where the father of nature sleeps, and how the elves' civilization was born, but only One thing I understand is that they are also comrades in the fight against Chaos."
Although weak, he is still firm. This belief does not require words and can be easily understood.
Loranda's face, which looked a little haggard because she hadn't rested for many days, revealed a hint of determination: "As you said, Joshua did tell me some truths. He said that a fire can only burn if it needs firewood. Although the world It is order, but it is also built in the void of chaos... If the fire in our world is close to extinguishing, then we must continuously introduce power from chaos to burn it, just as his family and other guardian families have done. "
"You already know this?"
The Pope nodded slowly with some relief: "Since you already know, then I don't need to keep it a secret from you... Yes, because of the war in the last era, the fire of our world has been almost extinguished. In order to continue the burning of the initial fire, we must There must be fuel for chaos, and the sealed place leading to the world of the evil god is the most stable source of chaos power."
"So, their sacrifice is meaningful, right?"
After being silent for a long time, with a complicated light shining in her eyes, Loranda took a deep breath, and then asked again in a heavy tone: "For the continuation of our world, necessary sacrifices must be made... They are not It’s a worthless death, isn’t it?”
"Of course, my boy."
The white-haired old man, Saint Igor, the Pope of the Church of the Seven Gods, nodded with caution and deep respect: "Whether it is your comrades who sacrificed their lives or the knights who lost their lives before this, they are all. Humanity’s hero.”
And on the second floor.
After telling everything to the old bishop, Joshua closed his eyes and began to recall the past.
Artanis, on the other hand, tightly grasped the armrest of the seat, his face full of solemnity and seriousness.
"I will ask No. 3 to pay attention to the health of the citizens in the city, and the church should also send a large number of priests and knights to go to various towns and villages to check whether there is any lurking plague."
After being silent for a long time, Joshua said in a low voice: "As for me, I will go to the Imperial Capital to report this matter to His Majesty the Emperor and resolve it. The other three territories in the North must also know about this matter as soon as possible. matter."
"It's natural."
The old bishop nodded and accepted the matter as a matter of course, but he looked a little confused: "But how are you going to solve this matter? Unlike the physical enemy, this is an invisible disease that cannot be destroyed with fists and weapons. .”
"I have my own way."
The warrior looked south with a sneer, his eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the void, looking directly at the place where the plague originated, where the mad dragon was raging, and the battlefield where he had fought. Now Joshua's eyes were full of indifference, and a little bit... Hidden in the depths, it seems like a burning flame: "No one understands these things better than me."
Those followers of the evil god who spread the plague and attempted to harvest countless lives never dreamed that existence like him would appear in this world.
Warriors understand this plague even better than cultists.
5600 words… there will be another chapter later!
(End of chapter)