A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 74: Chapter 61: Blocking the Door_1

When Duanmu Huai and his group rushed to leave the temple, everything before their eyes had completely transformed. Shortly after they left, the temple was suddenly enveloped by strong, dark, and deep red energy. It no longer retained its original form; on both sides of the twin towers, under the glow of blazing red flames, were agonizingly twisted giant faces. Above the church, countless pitch-black crows let out ear-splitting screams, swirling ceaselessly in the air.

What’s more, the placid lake that once encircled the church was now frozen, resembling a field of rugged icicles. The once lush trees and grassland were now shriveled and barren.

“How can this be…!”

Lorena’s face fell as she registered this sight.

“Cut to the chase. What’s happening now?”

Duanmu Huai cast a glance at the temple behind him and asked in a low voice. Lorena, trembling, responded.

“They… they’ve opened the gateway to Hell! They aim to link this place with Hell, to summon the Ice Hell King!!”

“So, have they succeeded? Or have they failed?”

“I don’t know, but they certainly didn’t fail. I can feel the aura of Hell spreading… we must report this to the Archbishop immediately!”

“But we didn’t see anything like this in the underground temple, did we?”

Duanmu Huai was sure if he had seen anything of this sort in the underground temple, he’d have smashed it to pieces with his war hammer on the spot.

“I don’t know, but perhaps the underground temple itself was just a trap, the core is likely somewhere more concealed….”

“What a nuisance…”

Duanmu Huai scratched his head before once again observing the system before him. The task had already changed.

[Special Task “Chase the Culprit” completed]

[You have found the hidden puppeteer behind everything, but this is just the beginning. Defeat the puppeteer’s scheme and forever seal his ambitions and malevolence!]

[Special Task “Extinction Day” activated]

[Task Objective: Find a solution, close the portal, protect the safety of the Holy City]

“Nothing we can do about it now!”

Reading the system prompt, Duanmu Huai once again gripped his war hammer and headed back towards the temple.

“Sir Knight? What are you going to do?”

“I’m off to close the portal! It’s only just opened, right? I should shut it down before anything more troublesome happens!”

Should he actually stand by like in the game’s cutscenes, watching the boss emerge from the open door before the fight begins? If you could simply keep the door sealed before it opens, wouldn’t that prevent so much trouble?

Duanmu Huai was now sure that the holy city was destroyed because Iver opened the portal to hell, summoning the Ice Hell King, which led to this city’s downfall. Yet, back then, he was fully prepared; presently, as Iver had perished, the ritual was likely incomplete. Even though the nun had initiated the ritual, it most likely had flaws.

Isn’t now the perfect opportunity to find the portal and destroy it, instead of standing idle outside, waiting for the boss battle?

Experience points are not awarded for bosses within soul shards either!

“Ogis, let’s go!!”

Duanmu Huai called out to Ogis and ran back into the temple. Lorena watched their figures recede, clenched her teeth, and then turned to Merlot standing beside her.

“Miss Merlot, I must trouble you to notify the Archbishop, I’m worried for Sir Knight, I will go with him!”

After saying these words, Lorena, following Duanmu Huai and Ogis, re-entered the temple.

The temple now had completely transformed, the walls were filled with wicked, blasphemous statues and patterns that seemed to mock the world. The floor was littered with the corpses of the followers, whose bodies at closer look were emaciated, skin and bones, as if the flesh within their bodies was sucked clean.

“Sir Knight, how do you plan to find it?”

Upon entering the temple and witnessing the sight, Lorena let out a gasp of cold air, then eagerly questioned. Duanmu Huai contemplated slightly upon hearing her question.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Uh………uh………”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s question, Lorena furrowed her brows, thinking hard.

“I’m sorry, I’m not very knowledgeable about this…”

“Then let’s just blow up this temple!”

Seeing that even Lorena had no viable solutions, Duanmu Huai made a decisive decision, which took Lorena by surprise.

“Blow? Blow it up?”

“Yes……if we can’t find it, let’s just blow it up. I’d like to see what tricks they can pull off then.”

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai retrieved several grenades from his power armor’s belt. As a close combat specialist Judge, he did not possess many explosives. These grenades were what he initially carried. Duanmu Huai could have produced firearms by constructing the Void Barrack, but he just wasn’t interested, so let it be.

However, even a few grenades, if placed correctly, could have enough potency to knock down the temple. Why else would Duanmu Huai have not used them for so long?