One day ago.

Durant Kingdom, North County, Ancient Ruins.

Miao Lang, tall and gaunt with pale skin and a sinister gaze, crouched in a ravine, lifting his head just enough to observe the vast graveyard below.

In the valley, countless bodies were scattered across the ground, and an overwhelming sense of dread gripped him, sending chills down his spine.

As Count of Goldblade Territory, Miao Lang prided himself on having witnessed many grand events. However, the scene before him still filled him with terror.

Thousands upon thousands of corpses were piled together, and the blood flowed in rivers.

What terrified him even more were the countless restless souls clinging to the bodies, howling in torment like spirits from hell.

Above the sea of corpses, an old man in a dark blue robe hovered in mid-air, and a massive blood-red magic circle was drawn in the air above him.

Under the old man’s manipulation, the wailing souls were gradually drawn into the magic circle, making it glow even more crimson.

Miao Lang pulled his gaze back and slumped against the ravine’s dirt wall, sliding down to sit in the mud. He then opened a box intricately carved with runes.

Inside the box lay a small piece of a fingertip bone, given to him over a month ago by Archbishop Muzan of the Dark Church, in exchange for his agreement to lead his troops to the ancient ruins of North County.

This piece of fingertip bone was a sacred relic of the Dark Church—the Bone of Saint Hella's Fingertip.

Possessing this relic granted one the ability to wield the powerful magic of the long-dead Saint Hella, and even communicate with the Dark God.

However, Miao Lang had never used it before, as using such a relic came with a price.

During the Age of Corruption, the Bone of Saint Hella's Fingertip drove countless dark magisters into madness. But after the rise of the Purist faction, it had been sealed away, for it conflicted with their ideology.

Therefore, when Archbishop Muzan presented the relic to Miao Lang over a month ago, he knew that the Corrupt faction was preparing to rise again.

Unlike his naïve younger brother, Miao Lang, much older, understood the terrifying power of the Corrupt faction. So, when Muzan offered the relic, Miao Lang knew he had no choice. Refusing it would mean a curse beyond imagination.

Staring at the relic in the box, Miao Lang's eyes slowly darkened with madness. He didn't know if his choice was right or wrong, but at least he wasn't one of the thousands of corpses in the valley. If he had chosen to side with the king instead of the Church, he might have already died.

So, Miao Lang had no retreat. He could only be dragged into the darkness by the Church—more precisely, by the Corrupt faction.

Without hesitation, he reached out and gripped the fingertip bone, injecting his magical power into it.

Soon, the bone seemed to come alive, burrowing into Miao Lang's flesh. His right hand grew an additional finger, making it six in total.

At the same time, dark tattoos began to appear across his body, crawling up his arm and covering his face, while his eyes turned a deep red.

In that moment, Miao Lang felt a power coursing through him like never before. He stood up slowly and began walking toward the valley of corpses.

As he approached, the restless souls clinging to the bodies swirled around him like black mist, only to be sucked into his body.

From the depths of the valley, more than a dozen nobles, all dressed in fine attire, emerged one by one.

Their ranks were similar to Miao Lang's—counts, marquises, and the like.

All of them had obtained the sacred relics and were fulfilling the tasks assigned by the Dark Church, leading their armies to the ancient ruins.

High above the pile of corpses, Archbishop Muzan, still floating in mid-air in his dark blue robe, looked down at the emerging noble leaders with a cold smile.

These thirteen men all held relics of the thirteen saints of the Dark Church.

Merged with these relics, they would gain unprecedented power. However, at the same time, they would become nothing more than dogs of the Dark Church.

Muzan had chosen to gift the precious relics to these men because of the territories and armies they controlled.

Moreover, these thirteen lords had ties to the Corrupt faction from over twenty years ago. Controlling them was not difficult.

As for the other lords who had been summoned by the king to excavate the ancient ruins, along with their armies, they had already turned into corpses in the valley.

Among the pile of bodies were also many members of the Purist faction.

With Muzan’s manipulation, large numbers of Purist Church followers and the king's summoned lords had been sent to the ancient ruins.

They believed they were about to discover the secrets of ancient magic, but in reality, they had walked right into the trap of the Corrupt faction and become sacrifices in a dark ritual.

Muzan raised his hands and began chanting an incantation toward the giant magic circle in the sky:

"Master of Chaos,

Ruler of the Undead,

Nightmare of the Darkness,

Supreme Dark God of Corruption,

In this eternal pact, we offer the blood and souls of the living as sacrifices.

I beg you to bestow upon your humble servant the power to control the undead!"

As the incantation echoed through the valley, black mist erupted from the thirteen lords and spiraled toward the magic circle in the sky.

The bodies in the valley disintegrated into blood and water, pouring into the circle like a torrent.

Suddenly, a massive tear appeared in the sky. From the rift emerged a giant golden pupil, gazing down at Muzan and all those present. In that moment, the entire world seemed to turn gray.

The thirteen lords fell to their knees in terror.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Thousands of soldiers, miles away from the valley, felt an overwhelming, irresistible pressure fill their bodies with fear. They instinctively knelt toward the valley.

The enormous golden pupil stared at Muzan for several seconds, and a chaotic, overlapping sound echoed through the air:

"Granted!"

As the sound faded, Muzan’s body began to expand rapidly, transforming into a grotesque, blood-red mass of flesh, as if about to burst apart.

The giant pupil in the sky observed Muzan's transformation, its gaze tinged with amusement.

As time passed, the massive flesh mass began to contract and slowly returned to its human form. Seeing that Muzan had withstood the God’s power, the golden pupil gradually closed, and the rift in the sky began to close.

With the oppressive force now gone, the onlookers returned to normal.

Muzan, now fully restored, took a deep breath, staring at his hands and laughing in a way that had never come from him before.

With the power of the God’s authority, he now had control over life and death itself.

Muzan then returned to the Dark Sanctuary. Having surpassed the level of a Saint Magister, he used his immense power to envelop the entire Sanctuary.

Meanwhile, the thirteen lords, along with their armies, returned to their territories and began to consume the land of the Durant Kingdom.

Durant Kingdom, Royal Capital of Adrienne, Starry Night Palace.

Karien, dressed in a clerical robe and wearing a mask, stood on the street outside the palace, observing the hurried and anxious faces of the people around him.

He could tell that the public held a pessimistic view of the war between the royal family and the Church.

This was no surprise, for everyone knew that the king controlled only worldly power, while the Church represented divine power.

At this moment, the people of the royal capital were engulfed in fear, worried that the war would spill over into the city.

"Mr. Sixteen!"

With a shiny forehead and a ruddy nose, the clumsy Simon emerged from the gates of the Starry Night Palace. He bowed and said to Karien:

"Thanks to Director Dan's influence, the king has seen your items and agrees to meet with you."

As Simon spoke, a headmaster with tousled hair followed him out, casting a glance at Karien before speaking:

"You're the bishop of the Mechanical God Sect? Come with me."

The headmaster didn’t require Karien to remove his mask, as he had seen many strange outfits worn by bishops of different sects.

Moreover, he could tell that the king valued this meeting, so he didn’t trouble Karien.

Though Karien couldn't sense the many eyes watching him as he entered the palace, he was keenly aware that there were heavy defenses inside the Starry Night Palace.

He knew better than to make any rash moves.

They passed through the towering palace gates, walked through the splendid gardens, and several magnificent buildings before arriving at a study with arched windows.

Before the headmaster could knock, a deep voice called out from inside:

"Come in."

The headmaster froze for a moment, then opened the wooden door and gestured for Karien to enter.

Without hesitation, Karien stepped inside.

The room contained a man in his fifties with half-gray hair, an air of nobility, and a solemn demeanor. Karien recognized him from the royal gold coins he had seen—this was King Privet VIII.

"Although I don’t mind, Bishop, it’s not very polite to meet the king wearing a mask," King Privet VIII said as he sat behind a walnut desk, stroking the small mustache on his face with one hand while idly playing with a spherical metallic object in the other.

"Or is it that beneath your mask, you have the face of an ape? Forgive me for speaking so directly."

Karien could hear the humor in the king’s words. He placed his right hand diagonally across his chest and bowed slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, King Privet VIII continued:

"I think you don’t need to bow. This damn ceremony comes from the Dark Church, and as you know, I’ve broken ties with them."

"I was merely expressing my respect, Your Majesty," Karien replied.

Privet VIII placed the metallic object on the desk and said, "You know, I’ve been busy lately, busy weaving the rope for my own hanging.

So, forget about the formalities. Tell me, Bishop, how many of these Elemental Grenades can your Mechanical God Sect provide?"

Karien had been able to meet with the king because he had contacted the head of the Adrienne City Police through Simon, who then handed the Elemental Grenades and a letter to the king.

Initially, Karien had merely been testing the waters, but he was surprised when the king summoned him less than half a day later.

"Not many right now, only a few hundred. But if Your Majesty gives us a month, we could produce tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands," Karien answered.

"A month is too long, Bishop. A month from now, you might see my head hanging on the palace gates."

"I understand your urgency, Your Majesty. If you wish to acquire these magical weapons more quickly, there is a way, but it requires your permission."

Privet VIII looked up, his gaze sharp. "What method?"

Through the small gap in his mask, Karien met the king’s gaze and replied, "If you can allow the professors and researchers from the Galon Institute to assist our Mechanical God Sect with the engraving process, the production timeline can be shortened.

Furthermore, we could provide other types of magical weapons—just like the Elemental Grenades, they could be used by ordinary people."

The Galon Institute had originally been part of the Dark Church.

However, after the Dark Holy Land was attacked yesterday, Privet VIII had received word from the Orthodox Pope, learning that the Dark Church’s influence in the royal capital had been infiltrated by the Fallen faction.

Consequently, the king had taken immediate action, arresting all the clergy in the church.

Upon learning that Fallen agents had infiltrated various regions, Privet VIII had preemptively abolished the Dark Church’s official status as the state religion.

Without this move, the local lords and officials might have continued to blindly trust the Church, unaware that they were being manipulated by the Fallen faction.

This didn’t mean, however, that the king had broken with the Orthodox faction. Privet VIII himself was a member of the Orthodox faction.

Following the Pope’s last instructions before his disappearance, he had sent out announcements to all regions, instructing the Orthodox followers to stand by and prepare for defensive actions.

As for the Orthodox followers within the royal capital, they were temporarily under the king’s control.

Most of the professors and researchers at the Galon Institute were also members of the Orthodox faction, so they were now under the king’s orders.

Privet VIII’s gaze grew sharper. "That’s not enough, Bishop. Elemental Grenades alone won’t convince the Galon Institute to cooperate with your Mechanical God Sect. Do you have anything else?"

Privet VIII had seen the air conditioners and light bulbs produced by the Mechanical God Sect.

While they were indeed impressive, these civilian items didn’t capture his attention that much. After all, he had magic masters in his palace who could adjust the temperature and illuminate the rooms.

But military equipment was a completely different matter. If the Mechanical God Sect could create air conditioners and Elemental Grenades, it meant they could also produce other magical weapons.

In the dire situation facing the Durant Kingdom, Privet VIII was willing to discard formalities. If there was a way to further strengthen his military power, he would pay any price.

Seeing the king’s intense gaze, Karien nodded. "There is, Your Majesty."

At the same time, Karien produced a belt and handed it to the king. It was one of the components from his K8 combat set—the compatibility belt.

The belt had six ports similar to USB slots, into which external modules could be inserted. For example, "Wind Shield" modules or "Enhancement" modules.

By pressing the button on the belt, the inserted module would be activated. Like the magic rifles and spellcasting gloves, these modules could be replaced.

By wearing the compatibility belt, even an ordinary person could use various forms of magic.

Karien didn’t intend to give the king the entire combat set, but handing over the compatibility belt was no problem.

The other components could be provided later, depending on the situation.

After all, Karien needed to ensure that the royal capital wouldn’t fall to the Fallen faction, or his base, Red Leaf Academy, would be in a much more difficult position.

Privet VIII was excited after hearing Karien’s explanation.

"How many of these magic belts can you produce?"

Once the compatibility belt was separated out, Karien referred to it as the "magic belt."

"That’s much more difficult. Also, once produced, the wearer will need to enter into a faith contract with the Mechanical God for it to function properly."

Of course, the so-called faith contract was just a ruse. Karien needed a way to ensure that his magical devices couldn’t be easily cracked by others.

By imitating the contract magic used by other sects, he created a "faith contract" as a safeguard.

As for how it would work, Karien would use the teleportation orb to activate a hidden switch within the magical device. Those who didn’t understand logic arrays would never be able to find it.

"So... in order to wear this device, one must believe in the Mechanical God?" Privet VIII asked.

After all, normal faith contract magic required belief in the corresponding god before one could sign the contract.

Uh...

That was an unexpected development.

After a brief hesitation, Karien nodded and replied, "Yes."