Chapter 581: New Difficulty, New Challenges!

The grand hall before them seemed to be carved entirely from limpid crystal, built upon a canvas of pure white and absolute transparency, resembling a deep spring at first glance—clear, yet bottomless.

"Your Highness!" A middle-aged guard dressed in a retainer's garb knelt on one knee, bowing his head.

"Has nothing... interesting occurred?" High above, the woman sat upon a throne that appeared to be fashioned whole from crystal gems, the sole of her foot resting at a level perfectly even with the top of the kneeling servant's head.

Judging by appearance alone, the lady was no older than eighteen or nineteen, clad in an ice-blue, off-the-shoulder gown that revealed skin as white as pristine snow; her hands, encased in silk gloves, were folded before her, and her countenance bore a solemn, archaic grace, rendering her much like the statue of a lofty goddess.

It was difficult for anyone to associate such a woman with the being of legend, whether by her strength or by so youthful a visage.

"Hmm—?" Her gaze swept down in a faint, scrutinizing glance.

"There is..." the servant replied in haste, "from the Arbitrate Temple, signs seem to indicate... that the vanguard they deployed to invade that plane, including the vanguard general, have all been captured!"

"Oh? Heh... in a native plane?!" Only now did the entity seated upon the throne manifest a glimmer of interest.

...

Speaking of the Arbitrate Temple, it seemed to have existed upon this continent for a very, very long time.

So long, in fact, that their presence could be seen in every corner of the world.

They spread their faith across the lands, and truth be told, many kingdoms harbored their instructors within their borders.

Within the continent's intricate web of powers, this was an exceptionally massive system.

The man before them wore a pristine, milk-white cleric's robe, upon which was embroidered a peculiar emblem of a six-sided flame.

Crouched beside him was a dragon covered in silver-grey scales that gleamed like crystal.

He sat at the absolute highest point of the grand hall, level with the crown of the dragon's head, looking down upon mortals as though he were a god.

The faint aura tracing from his form was exceedingly scalding; a mere step closer brought a suffocating sensation, yet his eyes remained as cold as ice.

"The God says all sin shall be consumed in flames," he spoke leisurely; according to the ancient texts of the temple, this man, who appeared to be in his twenties or thirties with a delicate, handsome face that defied a direct gaze, was one who had once served the deities.

"The God says all who forsake the glory of God shall face arbitration."

Such an existence could be said to stand at the very apex of this continent.

Carl and his companions would never have imagined that the Arbitrate Temple would learn of their anomaly so quickly, and moreover... know with absolute certainty that the trio had been captured.

As for the method... as a Blazing Arbitrator, he naturally possessed channels unknown to others.

"The vanguard general and the two traveling with him were elites of the temple." Before the Arbitrator stood two neat columns of men, one arrayed in silver armor, the other in white sacrificial robes.

Only the few at the very front wore distinct, vivid red robes and red armor.

The aura emanating from each of them was terrifying to the extreme, growing more powerful the further forward they stood.

Their expressions were cold, yet a fervent fire burned within their eyes.

"I am deeply aggrieved that some have already cast aside the sacred crest and forsaken the glory of God."

"Pray bring down the holy flame to cleanse their sins!" A white-robed priest spoke with a bow.

The matters they discussed seemed capable of deciding life and death, stripping away the right to exist with a single word.

"No," the man in the white robe, noble as a deity, spoke up, "I believe they merely acted against their own hearts under duress; they still possess a chance for redemption."

"Those who tempted them into fall are the ones who truly deserve purification by the holy flame," said the man who sat high above like a god.

"I am willing to lead the Divine Punishment Army to bring down Heaven's wrath!" This time, the speaker was a man standing at the absolute front, clad in bright red armor engraved with a golden hexagonal flame pattern, a sacred hammer etched within the fire.

In the entire hall, only six individuals wore such attire.

The Judgment Knights—every single existence among them wielded a formidable power that mortals could never hope to attain.

"No, you should have a more glorious mission," the entity seated at the apex of the hall stated dispassionately.

"Destroying a native plane takes no more than a breath's effort." A man in a golden robe stepped forward, "I believe the families who faith my God, such as the Thorns and the Flame Birds, are all willing to offer their services."

Seated at the head of the hall, the Blazing Arbitrator gave a slight nod.

"Those who lured God's children to fall must be given the harshest punishment; let that one from the Dark Wing Knights make the journey."

...

"Achoo!?" Boss Fang sneezed for no apparent reason, "Who's murmuring about me again?"

At this moment, Boss Fang was still looking over his new shop.

His mind was entirely occupied with how to nurture these new sprouts; having found a new goal, he was completely oblivious to the dark undercurrents surging behind his back.

"Wow—!" Several youths had already begun using the machines; evidently, operating computers in the shop was entirely different from the "cultivation realms" they traditionally knew.

"Is this a magical item forged by an Eastern spellcaster...?" The freckled youth was named Joseph, and the girl with green hair and green eyes was named Xee; they were clearly filled with wonder at this "Eastern-style" magical item.

Combat techniques, in truth, were not inherently weak.

The only weak link was the person utilizing them.

Fang Qi recalled that in a war for a holy chalice he had watched before transmigrating, martial arts had shone brilliantly; even as an ordinary human, a true master, when their power tier reached the same level, could crush a heroic spirit with overwhelming combat capability.

There was a gap between different techniques, and a quite massive one at that.

Yet the most foundational things often harbored infinite possibilities.

The combat techniques in Resident Evil were clearly far superior to those of the normal world Fang Qi had inhabited before his transmigration.

The monster system in Resident Evil 2 was larger and more complex than in the first game; one had to remember this was a complete simulation of reality, and without powerful combat techniques, even special forces soldiers could not possibly fight such monsters with mere flesh and blood.

The system's version of Resident Evil 2 differed from the first title.

It offered three difficulties to choose from, and under each difficulty, the corresponding combat techniques required were qualitatively different.

On Basic Difficulty, Leon and Claire could be chosen; in terms of martial arts, Leon was still a rookie at this point, and though Claire had learned combat skills and marksmanship from Chris, she was currently just a female college student, making her considerably weaker in technique.

On Challenge Difficulty (the original Hard mode), Chris and Ada were added as selectable characters; the strength of these two required no further description.

On Extreme Difficulty (the original Tofu mode), the only weapon was a single knife, and there were only three green herbs in total—if you truly passed this, you would perhaps understand what "micro-control" truly meant.