Chapter 549: Everything Is a Conspiracy of Order

Chapter 549: Everything Is a Conspiracy of Order

The Fruit of Curse was likely not its true name; there must be quite a few fruits by that name in this world. Karen had once heard Richard mention that a certain pastry shop sold a kind of fruit used for abortions by ladies who accidentally fell pregnant while receiving clients but didn't want to spend money at the hospital, which was also called the "Fruit of Curse."

However, Marley's fruit was certainly not the same as the one used for abortions. It did indeed carry immense pollution, and if its juice splashed into the nose, mouth, or wounds, it could easily trigger pollution. Yet, wanting to squeeze it burst and use it as a hand grenade was clearly an overestimation; obviously, Marley had also intended to use it to scare people.

On this point, Karen had plenty of say—after all, the fruit had already been chewed to pieces in his mouth.

The taste was slightly sour, but it carried a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste, while the texture was like a pickled cucumber, soft yet crunchy.

Of course, the dreadful pollution followed immediately, but such pollution really amounted to nothing to Karen.

Gods were the greatest source of pollution in this world.

His body had been remodeled by Ragnedal, he had absorbed the Bone of the Dark Moon and the Eye of the Dark Moon, and most importantly, he was currently enduring the backlash from the Laws of Order...

With so much pollution gathered upon himself, it was fortunate that these pollutions were either in a quiescent state or merely targeting Karen himself; otherwise, Karen would be a massive walking threat.

Therefore, just a single fruit really meant nothing to Karen.

In fact, facing the utterly astonished Marley, Karen had originally intended to spit out the contents of his mouth, but after a moment's hesitation, he decided against it.

First, such an uncivilized act did not align with Karen's behavioral habits;

Second, he was actually somewhat reluctant to let it go;

It was quite ridiculous. On the way here, he had reminded Neo not to rely too heavily on those spiritual potions, yet here he was, chewing on a pollutant and finding it rather delicious and satisfying.

In the end, Karen swallowed it down.

Instantly, dual conflicting emotions of piercing chill and searing heat emanated from his body and soul, resembling the alternating waves of hot and cold after a fever from a common cold.

But Karen's threshold had long been raised to a terrifying height by the act of hacking himself with the Scythe of War; this little bit now could only be described as a damp, chilly breeze.

Marley's eyes widened so far that it seemed they might drop out at any moment.

Then, as a desert bandit leader who navigated both the legal and criminal underworlds, he immediately realized what was most appropriate for him to do right now, so his knees softened, and he prepared to kneel straight down.

However, he did not succeed, because his neck was gripped by Karen.

"What are you trying to do, sir?"

Marley spoke, his throat trembling, "I... I was wrong..."

"What did you say?" Karen asked.

"I said I..."

A flash of ruthlessness flickered in Marley's gaze; since the other party refused to accept his surrender, he could only choose the most extreme alternative.

Black venomous snakes slithered out from the holes in his clothing. Their bodies had a gelatinous texture—a kind of half-soul, half-physical living existence that he had raised himself.

But Karen did not give him the chance to strike back. Qianmei, who was already prepared, flew out from Karen's sleeve, severing Marley's neck in an instant.

Accompanied by Marley's death, the venomous snakes he raised all fell to the ground, their bodies rapidly drying up; evidently, some sort of life-sharing restriction existed between them.

"You..." Nailing was staring at Neo in terror.

Her mind was somewhat chaotic right now, completely leaving her no time to ponder how this man before her actually possessed the lineage of a Bloodthirsty Demon, and an extremely high-ranking one at that.

"Thank you. Uncle's neck has been aching for a long time, and I've always wanted to crack it myself to get some relief but never succeeded. It finally feels comfortable now."

As Neo spoke these words, his hands were not idle either. Moving at a speed that was nearly a blur, his ten fingernails pierced into Nailing's shoulders, and then he withdrew his hands,

whispering softly:

"Blood Waterfall."

"Hum!"

In that instant, the ten blood holes on Nailing's shoulders erupted with blood in an almost violent manner, and she experienced a sensation of being entirely drained. Unfortunately, this feeling was very brief.

Soon, with the rapid loss of blood, her vital signs vanished along with it, and with a thud, she collapsed to the ground.

This wasn't a battle; it was an ambush.

Just as Marley and his "granddaughter" had ambushed Karen and Neo before, they were now merely suffering the same repayment.

Except dying this way would feel incredibly frustrating, because the clash occurred in a single instant, giving you absolutely no time to display all of your abilities.

Yet, this seemed to be the true norm of this world, much like a student who had studied how to solve problems for an exam for a long time, only for the exam to choose to test just those few specific points of knowledge.

Karen looked at the blood around him, frowning slightly. When his boots could not avoid stepping onto the viscous bloodstains, his frown deepened.

"Director, I think you should pay some attention to hygiene."

Neo paid it no mind, saying, "I think the joy just now was what mattered most."

"Yes, joy is important, but have you considered that we will have to ride this sand boat back? This place will need to be cleaned!"

Neo froze for a moment, then said, "My oversight."

"I didn't even spit out that Fruit of Curse just now, precisely thinking of saving a bit of trouble with the cleaning later."

"Now you're just adding water to the soy sauce vat. Did you think I didn't notice the expression you had when you swallowed it? I saw that fleeting joy."

"Your eyes played tricks on you."

"Heh."

Ventura shouted, "Captain, Director, a group of people is approaching outside."

Neo asked, "Why is the Captain ranked before the Director?"

"Because... because..." Ventura really hadn't expected the Director to focus on this at such a moment.

Karen gave the order directly, "Deal with them."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Only a roar was heard, and the group of people who were originally surrounding the sand boat halted their steps in unison.

"Bang!"

A stone giant dropped down, causing the surrounding sand surface to tremble.

"Heh."

Ventura spread his arms wide, then clapped his hands rapidly. While twisting his neck, a coarse laugh escaped his throat.

Neo walked out of the sand boat and smiled, "Why does this kid have so many extra little gestures? Who is he imitating?"

"I do not have redundant combat habits."

"Hey, you don't?" Neo snorted coldly. "I've always been curious about one thing, Karen."

"Now is not the time to play question and answer."

Neo nodded and said, "That is, how do you manage to be just as shameless as I am while still looking so proper?"

"Is an answer required?"

"No, it isn't. I just wanted to say it out loud to mock you."

Karen shifted his gaze toward the periphery, no longer bothering to pay attention to Neo.

By this time, the battle had already erupted.

The giantized Ventura ran amok, drawing most of the firepower single-handedly, while Muri, armed with a round shield and a short blade, watched over his flanks, helping him dispatch any stragglers.

Alfred maintained a matching position relative to them, activating the Eye of the Succubus time and again to launch illusionary attacks on the desert bandits.

As for Philomena, her task was even simpler; she operated alone on the periphery, casually reaping one or two bandits with each precise appearance.

This band of desert raiders was already considered quite formidable in this region, perhaps even elite, but Kallen's party was an elite squad from the orthodox holy church itself.

Though they had not brought their full complement of personnel this time to avoid drawing attention, those selected were the absolute finest of their combat forces.

Consequently, what had initially seemed like a surrounding ambush by the desert bandits instantly devolved into a slaughter directed at them.

Throughout the entire process, Kallen and Neo did not even need to lift a finger.

Recalling his initial arrival in Wien, when he had been wracked with worry alongside the people of the Allen Manor over the royal family's pressure on the Raphael family, Kallen looked at the small group before him, which had now formed a rudimentary yet potent fighting force.

"Whew..."

Kallen exhaled a breath.

As if reading Kallen's mind, Neo spoke up, "Do you feel a sense of accomplishment?"

Kallen remained silent.

"Heh, I feel exactly the same way you do. After all, your team is registered under my name, including you yourself, Kallen."

"Do not add that last sentence, or it will feel disgusting."

"Isn't it the truth? By the way, that manservant of yours is truly useful. He helped me a great deal when formulating the plan."

"Yes, in his plan, you are better suited to lie inside my coffin."

"What a beautiful thought. Before I die..."

"You will purify yourself?"

"No, you will awaken me, and I will commit suicide right in front of your eyes."

"I never realized you were so unyielding in daily life."

"My death will certainly happen only after I have enjoyed myself to the absolute fullest. I will not die of an accident, of that I am firmly convinced."

"We are on an expedition, mind your words a little."

"Right, right. Once they are taken care of, we can move on to the next step. Our destination is just ahead. Ah, I am truly looking forward to it."

The one-sided battle did not conclude swiftly, primarily because hunting down the fleeing survivors took some extra time.

However, by the time they returned, their captain had already prepared dinner for them.

Fried dough cakes prepared by the Allen Manor were dropped into a pot of boiling water, followed by beef sauce and chili paste, and finally finished with a large handful of dehydrated vegetables.

Everyone ate merrily, though Kallen himself did not partake much, for the flavor reminded him of the braised beef instant noodles from his previous life.

After dinner, the group first disposed of the corpses, then concealed the sand boats, and finally hoisted their backpacks to set out under the starlight, following the director.

In truth, Kallen had also hesitated, wondering if the entire expedition process was proceeding a bit too smoothly.

Under normal circumstances, such seamless progress would provoke an instinctive sense of crisis within him.

But upon closer reflection, the strength of their own side was well-guaranteed. Most importantly, the person in charge of this expedition was Neo. He was not just Neo; he had inherited almost all of Mr. Philias's memories. Philias was a direct descendant of the Mad Pope, possessing a profound family heritage, not to mention his own extremely rich experience in expeditions.

Ultimately, standing on the shoulders of predecessors—which was to say, standing on the shoulders of giants—it would actually be truly strange if everything were still shrouded in mist.

"We are here."

Neo halted his steps. Ahead was sandy terrain; well, everything here was sandy terrain.

Standing there, Kallen did not perceive any abnormalities either.

Neo crouched down, pulling out several scrolls and spreading them upon the ground.

Ventura asked inquisitively, "Does it require so many procedures just to open the entrance?"

Neo did not answer.

Kallen answered in his stead, "No, it is likely that our director does not know which scroll opens it, so he could only bring them all along to try them one by one."

Neo could not help but speak up, "Do you know that saying such things at a time like this easily dampens morale?"

"I feel I am enlivening the atmosphere."

"Fine, have it your way. At any rate, these scrolls are not cheap. If they are wasted, so be it, but it will ultimately be counted toward the public operational expenses."

"I never expected you to bear the cost out of your own pocket anyway."

Neo's luck was rather good; upon using the second scroll, a reaction stirred ahead, and a depression appeared in the sandy ground.

Alfred stepped forward to inspect it, reporting back, "Young Master, Director, this is not a tomb."

Neo replied while rolling up the remaining scrolls, "Nonsense, of course it cannot be a tomb. Compasini was hunted to his death; how could he possibly build a tomb for himself? Furthermore, building a tomb is inherently preparing it for grave robbers. In this world, aside from the cemetery of our First Knights Order of the Holy Church of Order, every other tomb is bound to be robbed sooner or later."

"What about the Land of Divine Burial?" Ventura truly behaved like an inquisitive child throughout the journey; of course, at his age, such a state was the most normal manifestation.

Neo turned his head, casting a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye at Kallen standing behind him, and smiled:

"Then why don't you guess whether our Great God of Order casually picked up a few toys to play with when He emerged from the Land of Divine Burial?"

Kallen walked to the mouth of the cave, took a look, and then gestured to Neo, "Director, you should go down first to scout the path."

Neo countered, "Shouldn't we select the one with the lowest status to perform such cannon-fodder duties?"

"That is correct."

"Heh."

Neo did not argue further. He was indeed the most suitable candidate to scout the path; his form dissolved into black mist and plunged directly into the cavern.

After about ten minutes, the black mist returned to the surface, revealing Neo's figure: "We can enter, it is no great issue. We are not the first batch of grave robbers—oh, no, I mean church cultural relic protectors."

"Could it be empty inside?"

"It will not be. I encountered a corpse down there. The time of death was roughly three hundred years ago. The corpse maintains a stooping posture, like a waiter at a restaurant door, assuming a welcoming stance."

"Are there still things living inside?" Muri asked.

"I feel you should ask that question with an expression of pleasant surprise. After all, what we fear most is a wasted trip. Alright, let us all go down together. There is no need to leave anyone to guard the entrance either. After all, if your captain dies inside, there is little point in any of you returning to live on alone, is there?"

"Lead the way, Director."

"Fine, everyone follow me."

Neo turned into black mist once more, plunging into the cave. The others followed in succession. Kallen remained at the very rear. Qianmei appeared, condensing into black wings. Before entering the cave, Kallen raised his arm to whip up the nearby sand, lightly covering and concealing the entrance.

Only after descending did they discover that this place was an underground fissure, twisting and winding.

However, this also demonstrated from another angle that this was not a designed tomb.

As the descent ended and they began to advance on foot, Neo purposefully looked at the wings Kallen was retracting:

"I must say, I like that outfit."

Kallen replied, "In the future, you may have the opportunity to make a pair of white, holy wings."

Neo seemed to envision the image of white, holy wings appearing behind his own back,

And then shook his head:

"I refuse."

Continuing their march, the group soon arrived at a fork in the tunnel, where they spotted the corpse Neo had previously mentioned. Clad in the vestments of the Desert Cult,