Facing an Ancient God for a Year

“Impossible!”

The news in the priest’s words was obviously too explosive, and the baroness involuntarily voiced her objection.

“Why is it impossible?”

The priest huffed.

“I have been an awakener for much longer than you have, what makes you think your understanding of this place is better than mine?”

“I am very certain that among the town’s awakeners, I am far from the only one experiencing this, it’s just a matter of degree.”

...“Under these circumstances, have you considered what the outcome would be if you inspected everyone?”

“Moreover, I can tell you very responsibly that I have never been to the old town, yet the mutation still occurred.”

“This unpredictable contamination, do you think by changing locations you could escape it?”

…

The baroness fell silent for a moment at the priest’s words.

“Moreover, there’s something you probably don’t know, since the mutation, the negative effects of my awakening have disappeared.”

“The negative effects have really gone?”

Even the baroness’s eyes lit up at this.

“That’s correct, ever since I found this thing on my body, I’ve noticed that my emotional outbursts have been gradually weakening.”

“In fact, in order to avoid suspicion, I even have to pretend to be swayed by emotions, which has become a tough act.”

“From a certain perspective, this thing without negative effects, which could even be considered a divine blessing, does it truly deserve to be called a contamination?”

The priest turned back to look at Fu Qian.

“The reason I’m telling you this is that I hope to reach a consensus with you.”

“If we can agree, and you’re willing to keep this a secret, then there’s absolutely no need for us to slaughter each other.”

“Don’t pretend to be so magnanimous and kind-hearted, the main reason is that today I came, and you’re not confident you could kill both of us together, right?”

Fu Qian glanced at him.

“So in your original plan, were you going to kill her first and then come for me? After killing us, how were you planning to explain it to the outside world?”

“Simple, you were seduced by power, stole and damaged the Holy Relic in order to ascend, and then killed the baroness when she discovered you, luckily I arrived just in time.”

The priest answered without hesitation, apparently having thought this through for a long time.

“That’s quite a good story, and there are no logical flaws.”

Fu Qian nodded repeatedly as he listened and then looked towards the baroness.

“What do you think?”

“Sorry, I can’t agree.”

The baroness, after a prolonged silence, finally shook her head.

“You say this thing is akin to a blessing, but as the Discoloration Curse has gradually increased over time, and no new people have awakened, couldn’t it really be affecting them?”

“It can’t be ruled out, but why should you care about that kind of thing?”

The priest’s voice was gentle and soothing.

“They are different from us, people who can’t enter the Sequence, well, they are simply not under the protection of the seven lights.”

“Sorry, but I see it as the same…”

The baroness shook her head, her gaze turning resolute.

“So I don’t agree with your suggestion.”

“Ridiculous stubbornness, what about you?”

The priest turned to look at Fu Qian.

“As a young man, I hope your mind isn’t so inflexible.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? As long as she disagrees, my opinion is meaningless.”

Fu Qian glanced at him.

“The reason you’re willing to talk is because you’re not sure you can take care of both of us together. If she dies here today, you have no reason to leave me, a potential threat, at large.”

“Asking me that question earlier was nothing more than wanting me not to interfere so you could kill her, do I look that dumb?”

“You’re not dumb.”

As Fu Qian spoke, the priest’s expression changed several times, until he finally burst into laughter.

“In that case, shouldn’t you be trying harder to persuade her?”

“I did try to persuade her, but unfortunately, she doesn’t agree.”

Fu Qian looked at the Baroness.

“Won’t you reconsider?”

“My mind is made up.”

There was no room for maneuver in the Baroness’s tone.

“I advise you not to have any illusions, his word is completely unreliable.”

“If we join forces against him, there might still be a glimmer of hope.”

“If you don’t want to do that, then let me hold him off while you run away and spread the news. He might not be able to catch you.”

“It’s really good that you are so aware!”

To the Baroness’s surprise, Fu Qian didn’t try to persuade her any further but instead kept agreeing with her before turning to the Priest.

“It looks like there’s no room for negotiation, so we can only rely on our skills.”

Rely on our skills…

The Priest watched Fu Qian warily.

The next moment, the Baroness let out a horrific scream as she was grabbed by a Black Snake, her leg broken, and her whole body flung between the two of them.

He was clearly still wary of Fu Qian’s recent attack.

“You see.”

Fu Qian spoke to the Baroness.

“I knew he would use you as a human shield. That’s why I said I was glad you were resolved just now.”

…

Gracefully dodging another stealthy Black Snake attack, Fu Qian’s smile did not fade.

“Shall I send you both off together then?”

But although he said this, looking at the Baroness entangled by the Black Snake, he did not immediately release his breath.

“Kill him, don’t worry about me!”

The Baroness was getting anxious.

Seeing this, the Priest laughed heartily.

“He’s much smarter than you. He knows that if he accidentally hurts you, he won’t stand a chance of escaping alone.”

Turning to Fu Qian,

“I think we can still talk about this. Actually, I’ve got a new idea.”

“Oh, what’s the new idea?”

Fu Qian stepped forward as he spoke.

“You leave now and never come back, and I promise I won’t hunt you down.”

The Priest stared at Fu Qian, still careful to keep the Baroness at his side.

“That is also a thought…”

“Heh, it’s really good you can have such mature consideration—”

The Priest only got halfway through his sentence when he saw the grey-white dragon head appear before him and spit out an invisible breath at twice the speed of the last one, completely ignoring the Baroness in front of him.

With the distance too close to avoid, he could only use the black fluid to shield himself.

However, the conical breath was relentless, pounding against the fluid’s surface, rapidly destabilizing it.

The next moment, the Pus of Man burst open with a roar.

“You, you really dared…”

The Priest looked at the Baroness not far away. As a shield, she couldn’t escape the blast of the breath that hit her squarely.

At this moment, she too was utterly stunned, half of her body rapidly withering and decaying.

“Since… why didn’t you attack just now?”

The Priest seemed to be at a loss, the destruction of the Pus of Man having caused him to nearly lose half of his body, leaving him on his last breath.

“The wind-up for that thing is a bit long, if I had acted just now, I most likely wouldn’t have hit you,” Fu Qian said earnestly, his trials from before showing that the Priest was very agile. With him on guard, it would not be easy to land a hit.

To make the Priest stand still and take the blast, the best way was to make him believe that he was safe enough, for instance, having a hostage.

“It would be such a waste not to make use of her when she’s willingly baiting herself.”

“And I confirmed with her; she’s ready to face death.”