"Cough, cough~"
A heavy cough echoed inside the helmet.
The three nearby Lionheart Knights immediately surrounded him.
The leader placed his finger on the magic energy rifle at his waist, gazing down at his comrade without any intention of helping him up.
"Anthony, where are the others who went to eradicate the Evil God's seed?" He drew his weapon from his waist.
"... "
"Anthony?" The muzzle of the magic energy rifle lifted, aimed at his former comrade.
"The eradication… failed. They~ cough, cough… were corrupted."
"And you?"
"I… brought back the intelligence, the information is..." his voice was full of pain.
His body suddenly convulsed. One of the nearby Lionheart Knights stepped forward, the cold light of a charged armor-piercing spike glinting in his hand.
Suddenly, a burst of electric light exploded from Anthony's helmet, and before his pained screams could escape, an Iron Fist clamped onto his head and smashed it into the ground violently.
The armor-piercing spike crashed directly into his body, nailing him to the ground.
The leader's magic energy rifle fired instantly, emptying a whole magazine in a burst, and 24 chained explosive shots turned Anthony's chest to mush.
The white cloak was stained red with splattered blood.
With one hand, he gripped Anthony's helmet, pulling it off, revealing his chaotic long hair and the twisted, crimson face underneath.
The excessive electric current left a faint smell of cooked meat.
"Stage three Evil God corruption. The safeguard fuse of the evil detection rune has burned out, which indicates that Anthony's mental corruption exceeded his threshold and caused irreversible changes to his soul... he was beyond saving."
He removed the recording crystal from Anthony's waist and inserted it into the reader on his wrist.
The recording crystal could capture battle scenes for a period, and with the mage-crafted reader, one could quickly access the recorded intelligence. It was standard equipment for the Lion Heart Battle Group's official members.
A few minutes later, he removed the recording crystal and sighed.
Fox looked serious: "The eradication failed?"
The leader shook his head: "No, Anthony and the others succeeded. Before the Lionheart Duke arrived, the hatched Exotic Realm Evil God had been sent back—at the cost of the entire 11th Iron Cross Legion's death."
The knight holding the armor-piercing nail gun muttered, "According to the Lionheart Knight Treaty, upon realizing potential contamination, he shouldn't have returned to the territory; he should've waited in place for processing."
"Because of his child..."
"Hmm?"
"The child the Incubus brought over, now working as a librarian at the Secret Academy of Magic."
"No wonder..."
Fox sighed, "If he had stayed in place until the evil transformation erupted, his Holy Sanctuary Core would have been directly corrupted. Coming back to let us kill him ensures that at least something is left for that little Incubus… he was a good father."
The knight placed his hand on Anthony's chest, digging in forcefully. The skin, tougher than leather, was torn apart, and he extracted a thumb-sized, smooth crystal stained with corrupted blood. That was Anthony's Holy Sanctuary Core.
After a moment of thought, he took the recording crystal from the captain's hand, bent down, and took the Lionheart Battle Group insignia from Anthony's body.
"He was also a worthy knight. Go, Fox, give these to that kid and let him absorb them as soon as possible..."
"Wait. Captain, what about you? Where are you going?"
The captain drew the bolt, reloading the magic energy rifle with a tube of magic bullets: "I really feel like killing today, especially those Evil God believers."
His blood-stained cloak rustled in the high-altitude wind. Turning his head while facing away, he said:
"Fox, you need to safely deliver Anthony's Holy Sanctuary Core to that kid."
"What was his name again?"
"Kael, Kael.D.Helois, a good kid."
... Memory Divider ...
"A good kid?" Fox's face, shrouded in smoke, showed a displeased expression. He had a general aversion to beings like Incubi.
He was aware that within the Lion Heart Battle Group, some younger knights didn't favor the group's rules and often frequented the red-light district of the commercial street.
Elves who boast "eternal charm," "wild" kemonomimi; those were child's play in comparison.
Humanoid monsters with barely any reason, fangs, and claws; it was said that "Furry" type orcs were trending among certain circles currently. Even Incubi, considered the embodiment of desire…
As long as they could make money, it wasn't out of the question.
Thinking of this, a thought crossed his mind—
In terms of normal human aesthetics, hybrid Incubi, with their high attractiveness and human-like body structure, actually met human standards even more.
Especially in these recent years, with the increasingly peculiar trends among some nobles. Now that Lord Anthony has died, considering the Earl of the Charles family's attitude and the Lancaster Territory's location on the Federation border…
No, he needed to find time to warn that kid, just in case.
After all, given the character of those behind-the-scenes big slave traders in the red-light district, the rarer and more profitable the breed, the more they sought to acquire it.
Even if it meant risking execution, but with a thousand percent profit, burning rationality and morality was a non-issue for them.
Not to mention, once they had the backing of the nobles, targeting a "dirty hybrid Incubus" in the eyes of the high nobility cleared their path.
Never measure those driven by profit with normal human standards.
If they knew, someone would undoubtedly shout: "You only lose your life; I lose my chance to cozy up to the high nobility!"
Even in the Lion Heart Battle Group, which upheld order and justice, there were candidate Lionheart Knights who frequented particular establishments to satisfy themselves with Incubi or even indulge in abusive acts.
Fox often didn't hesitate to assume the worst of others, but upon seeing the kid Kael, his hidden dissatisfaction with Abyss creatures was repressed.
Had he been charmed by the kid's Incubus bloodline?
Fox knew he hadn't.
The kid's aura was pure, as rumored within the battle group. He probably hadn't even drawn energy from others, let alone killed anyone.
He frowned.
Recently, there were rumors within the battle group, spreading tales of how Anthony leveraged his standing in the Charles family to secure benefits for the hybrid Incubus who should've been killed outright.
Thinking about it now, something felt off.
Was someone targeting Anthony? Or was it the Charles family behind Anthony?
Meanwhile.
In another place, Kael sat in the living room, a shadow passing through his eyes.
Anthony.D.Charles, the individual, he shouldn't have heard this name when he was still a player.
But the Charles family... he did have some memory.
It was unforgettable.
Because the 1.0 version's main storyline in the "Gate of the Netherworld" game began with a player accepting a Royal Secret Agent mission, investigating the Lionheart Duke branch—Charles family.
As a descendant of high nobility, the Charles family held a special status in the Duchy of Yngilans, backed by the Lionheart Duke, the real power holder of the duchy. They thrived in the duchy's social circles.
But as more hidden secrets were revealed and exposed by players, the Ibel Federation's royal family issued an edict to confiscate the Charles family's property, dragging the entire Duchy of Yngilans into the Federation's turmoil.
Even veteran players couldn't help but mention the downfall of the Charles family to newcomers when discussing the game's plot.
Their status indeed paralleled the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife by Serbian youths during World War I, triggering widespread chaos.
Short-term, he foresaw an impending clash between the Charles family and himself.
Long-term, the Charles family, plagued by internal corruption, would eventually face the royal family's wrath, potentially implicating him.
No, he couldn't stay idle! He had to find a way to secure enough time to grow.
Fortunately, he had distanced himself from the capital and earned the support of Fox Knight, who promised to back his claim as the territory's legitimate heir.
But he didn't know how long that promise would hold.
Without improving his own strength, holding the territory and title would remain a challenge.