A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 63: Chapter 50 Todd’s Ruins_1

Under the cover of night, a tiny black dot quickly streaked across the sky, over the mountains, and appeared silently over Todd’s Ruins like a black ghost.

“Ugh… What a hassle… Why did it have to be Chaos Warriors…”

Sitting in the cockpit and looking at the Chaos Warrior camp below, Duanmu Huai smacked his lips in dissatisfaction.

If there was one enemy that Duanmu Huai really didn’t want to face right now, it would be the Chaos Warriors.

Since his arrival in this world, Duanmu Huai had clashed with Evil God Cultists, fought Demons, slain Goblins and Ratmen, but now, the last thing he wanted to deal with was Chaos Warriors.

It’s not that the Chaos Warriors posed a significant threat—well, they indeed were quite formidable, with their average level being around thirty, marking them as very troublesome late-game enemies for players on the Novice Planet.

Chaos Warriors originate from the North and are also Evil God Cultists. But unlike the Cultists in the Imperial, Bartonilla, and Zhen Dan territories, who carry out their practices in secret and can only perform sacrifices secretly in the wilderness, these Northerners openly worship the Chaos Evil God in their homes.

Almost all the Barbarian tribes in the North worship the Chaos Evil God, and they don’t regard the Chaos Evil God as particularly evil—faith in the Chaos Evil God is as widespread there as faith in the Lake Goddess is in Bartonilla.

Just thinking about Bartonilla’s faith in the Lake Goddess and their Knight army gives one an idea of how terrifying these Chaos Warriors are.

Of course, it’s not just their number that’s the issue. The problem lies in the fact that Chaos Warriors are, strictly speaking, the “direct descendants” of the Chaos Evil God. If you inflict an unimaginable, devastating blow on them, it’s inevitable that you will draw the attention of a Champion Warrior who has ascended to demonic status or, in the worst case, the Evil God itself.

No one would want that kind of attention.

Ordinarily, if Duanmu Huai encountered these guys, he would definitely turn tail and run. He wouldn’t want to defeat a bunch of Chaos Warriors, only to attract a Champion Warrior, defeat the Champion Warrior, then attract a Great Demon, defeat the Great Demon, and finally attract the Chaos Evil God—defeating the Chaos Evil… That’s just wishful thinking.

Unfortunately, Duanmu Huai couldn’t leave.

Because the Divine Artifact this time was extremely important—the Crown of Witchcraft.

This Divine Artifact was created by the most powerful Necromancer on this planet, Nagash. He was the first Necromancer on this planet and the father of all Undead races. Basically, all creatures like zombies, ghosts, vampires, etc. were created by Nagash.

And his goal was quite peculiar—to combat the Chaos Evil God, Nagash thought of a brilliant plan.

He wanted to turn the entire world into a cold world of death, using the power of the undead to fight against the Chaos Evil God, thereby becoming the God of Death himself!

Well, it’s a unique idea, and it’s quite useful too. Duanmu Huai gave a thumbs up and then quietly issued an extinction order.

In the end, Nagash’s plan failed, and he was killed. However, as a Necromancer, Nagash wasn’t so easily defeated, so he was always yearning to resurrect and make a comeback. The Crown of Witchcraft was a Divine Artifact that Nagash had created, and it was also the key to his resurrection.

Although strictly speaking in the fight against the Chaos Evil God, Duanmu Huai and Nagash could be considered comrades on the same front, considering the Necromancer’s past, coupled with the insurmountable boundary between the living and the dead, Duanmu Huai decisively decided to thwart his resurrection plan and let this unlucky guy continue to be helplessly furious.

Had it been any other location, Duanmu Huai would have had no choice but to infiltrate directly—most of the ruins were situated underground, so air strikes weren’t an option. And with his height and Power Armor, sneaking in was virtually impossible.

However, luckily, these were ruins. So, there was another way to bypass the Chaos Warriors and get inside.

The method was simple—just not being in the same world as them.

And so…

“Initiate, Soul Resonance!”

As the Soul Resonance initiated, the whole world once again became illusory. Then, Duanmu Huai immediately noticed a brilliant entrance shining in the distance.

That’s the place!

Duanmu Huai manipulated the Night Raven Black Star to lower gently. Then he opened the cockpit and jumped down— the next moment, when his feet were back on the ground, the ruins in front of him had transformed into a bustling, beautiful city.

Clean, orderly streets, bustling crowds—it seemed no different from a normal city. But the more it appeared this way, the more Duanmu Huai felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

Damn, this isn’t good…

As an experienced gamer, Duanmu Huai surely knew what this meant. Previously, it was mentioned that every subspace spirit projection has its core. The stronger the core, the more it can hold.

The core of a Puppeteer Master, for example, contains only a Puppet House.

The core of a scholar, on the other hand, holds a mansion and ghosts.

The Sky City, however, was shaped by the grievances of tens of thousands of fallen victims.

So… for a city so vast and even filled with living beings… how strong must the core power contained here be?

Thinking this, Duanmu Huai composed himself, then he walked up to a fruit stand by the street.

“Ah, welcome, dear customer. What can I get you?”

Seeing Duanmu Huai’s arrival, the stall owner greeted him enthusiastically. Duanmu Huai glanced at the fruits on display, then asked his question.

“Hello, I am a recent traveler here, and I’d like to ask about a few things about this place… ”

“Oh, a traveler, eh?”

In response to Duanmu Huai’s queries, the shopkeeper did not seem to mind at all.

“I suppose you must be one of the many who’s come here for Todd’s Ruins pilgrimage, after all, this is a holy city. However, some unpleasant events have been happening recently…”

“Really…”

Upon hearing the shopkeeper, Duanmu tightened his gaze, but just as he’s about to ask more. At this point, Ogis approached and curiously reached out her hand to pick up a fruit in the fruit stall. Just then, the shopkeeper caught sight of Ogis’s doll-like fingers, causing him to be horrified.

“It’s, it’s a murderous puppet!! Help!!”

With a scream, the shopkeeper fled in terror. Hearing his shouts, the passersby also quickly distanced themselves from Duanmu and Ogis, screaming as they dispersed in all directions.

What’s going on?

Witnessing this, Duanmu frowned, casting a puzzled glance at Ogis. Shortly after, accompanied by hasty footsteps, Duanmu saw dozens of fully armed knights, wearing white armors and wielding weapons, charging towards them, encircling both him and Ogis.

“At last we’ve found you, dread puppet killer!”

One of the knights raised his sword, pointing it at Ogis.

“This time, we won’t let you escape!!”

“???”

Upon hearing the knight, both Duanmu and Ogis were utterly confused, unable to comprehend his words. However, it was apparent that the other party had no intention of relenting, so… they’re picking a fight.

“Wait a minute!!”

Just as Duanmu drew his war hammer, ready to engage in full-blown combat with the knights, suddenly, another crisp voice sounded. Duanmu then saw a petite and adorable girl, donned in religious attire and possessing pink hair, emerging from the crowd.

“What’s happening here? What are you all doing?”

“Priestess Lorena…!”

Spotting the girl, the knights hastily halted their actions, but they kept their guard up, warily watching over Duanmu and Ogis.

“We’ve found the evil puppet wreaking havoc on the holy city and are preparing to purge it!”

“Evil puppet?”

Upon hearing that, the girl named Lorena cast a puzzled look at Duanmu and Ogis. As her gaze landed on Ogis, her eyes subtly changed. She then stepped forward, clenching her fists and staring at Duanmu.

“Are you the wicked ones plaguing our holy city?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Of course, Duanmu would not let them easily cast a shadow on his name.

“We arrived in this city today and have no knowledge of the situation here. If you want to frame us under this pretense, we won’t go down without a fight.”

“What are you saying? This evil… ”

Upon hearing Duanmu’s words, the knights were instantly incensed. The young priestess, however, held out her hand to signal them to remain calm, then turned her focus back to Duanmu.

“So, you’re saying that you two are innocent?”

“Exactly, though we don’t understand what’s happening here, it surely has nothing to do with us.”

“…I see…”

Upon hearing that, the young priestess in thought for a while, then made her decision.

“Therefore, could the two of you accompany me to Cathedral Church? If you two are truly innocent, I promise to give you a satisfactory answer.”

“…All right.”

Hearing the priestess’s invitation, Duanmu gave it a thought and nodded.

It was clear that he also wanted to know what exactly had happened here.