Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 669: Assault on the Specters Inheritance

“Captain Gerard, finally we meet.”

The White-haired Hunter turned to see a nun dressed in black, her attire split high up her thigh, with a tightly fitted top that somehow still revealed a glimpse of her fair chest. Her face was pure and saintly, yet her eyes were a striking blood-red.

Gerard, however, knew better than to underestimate this woman. He nodded politely and said, “Good day, Deputy Director Selene.”

“It’s Selene, Deputy Director of Bloodcry,” she corrected, pinching Gerard’s nose playfully. “It’s important to emphasize Bloodcry; it’s the only thing I can be proud of!”

In Blood Moon, titles were treated differently than in other realms. Sorcerers in other lands, upon reaching the status of Sanctuary Legend, often had unique titles, either from folklore or official recognition, reflecting their personal traits. However, in Blood Moon, the Blood Moon Sovereign insisted that the Blood Saint and Moonshadow Clans remain inconspicuous, and grandiose titles were contrary to this principle. Moreover, members of these clans often held various positions, such as hunter captain, hospital director, Institute director, or High Priest. Thus, using titles instead of names became customary.

From her position alone, one could gauge the influence of this woman masquerading as a nun. Bloodcry was one of the Four Great Institutes of Blood Moon, specializing in mechanical and biological prostheses. Eighty percent of human modifications in the nation relied on their patents, and the production value of Bloodcry Institute even surpassed that of Kaimon City.

Though both were Blood Saints with three wings, Gerard, a hunter captain involved in combat, clearly held a lower status compared to Selene.

“My junior sister is under your care,” Selene said, placing her hands over her chest. “I only asked an old classmate to help, but I didn’t expect you to visit her in the hospital so often.”

Gerard felt a bit awkward. “Well…”

“You must be there to care for my junior sister, right? Not to see that disabled girl named Selina?” Selene teased, tapping her lips. “Otherwise, it would be strange, considering you’re a Blood Hunter captain, and that disabled girl is from a foreign land we need to eliminate. I’ve been pondering whether to help my junior sister with this problem…”

Gerard’s expression turned serious as he looked at her silently.

Selene suddenly burst into laughter, playfully slapping Gerard’s chest. “Don’t be so fierce, old classmate, you scared me! Since you and my junior sister are so fond of that disabled girl, why would I ruin your toy? I’m a devout priest of the Blood Moon Sovereign, certified by the Beloved Church!”

“So, please continue to take care of my junior sister~”

“You really do care about her.”

“Of course, she’s my dearest junior sister~” Selene twirled around, cupping her face, her cheeks flushed with a crimson glow of ecstasy. “Those crimson lips, egg-white complexion, eyes like jelly, and that soft, slippery tongue…”

Suddenly, both felt a surge of blood boiling within them. Though soul bodies naturally lack blood, they possessed spell-infused blood from the Blood Embrace Ritual. When they entered the Virtual Realm, it permeated their souls, simulating the effect of blood.

Following the trail of blood, they saw a cluster of shimmering crimson light above. As they flew closer, they found dozens of Sanctuaries gathered there, including the shadowy and enigmatic Blood Saints and the charming and lively Moonshadow Wolves, with more joining by the minute.

The Moonshadow clan was naturally adept at creating an atmosphere, and with many Blood Saints being quite talkative, the air was filled with chatter-a rare spectacle in the Distant Sky Domain.

Half an hour later, a voice softly resonated within their souls, causing their blood to boil and their tails to twitch!

“Silence.”

The Blood Moon Sanctuaries turned to see a slouched figure, dressed in a white shirt and jeans, resembling a disheveled youth just emerging from his bedroom. Upon closer inspection, one could see that he had one crimson eye, while the other was dark!

He spoke with a listless tone, “I am the Deputy Director of the Sanguil Research Institute, Abyssalith Guldengrave. The Blood Moon Sovereign has tasked me with overseeing this operation. We must breach the Dreaming Celestium within three days.”

“Is it really him?”

“So that’s what Abyssalith looks like…”

“Wow, can I go ask for his autograph?”

The crowd was abuzz with amazement at the introduction by the despondent youth. Among the Four Great Institutes, the Sanguil Research Institute was the most mysterious, as they delved into the realms of slaughter, plague, curses, and death! Their recruitment was extremely selective, and people only knew the names of the Director and Deputy Director, with no other intelligence available!

Abyssalith glanced into the distance, scratching his head, “It seems the Sovereign isn’t the only one eager for a swift resolution. This complicates things.”

Gerard followed his gaze but could only see a speck on the horizon.

“It’s the sorcerers of Wonderland’s Cursed Elves,” Selene remarked, using some miracle to observe the distance. “The Lord of Wonderland is quite greedy, isn’t he? Even though the Cursed Elves are descendants of Ancient Sprites, the Inheritance of Time is practically handed to them, yet they’re here to snatch the Specter’s Inheritance…”

“Your intelligence isn’t very accurate,” Gerard replied calmly. “It’s said that the ones most likely to seize the Inheritance of Time are three female sorcerers, but their combination is peculiar-one Blood Saint, one Bewitcher, and one human…”

“So the Inheritance of Time will fall into the hands of our Blood Moon? Fantastic.” Selene clapped her hands lightly, causing her white rabbit to tremble. “But a Bewitcher, a Blood Saint… I recall my junior sister took in a Bewitcher student.”

Gerard pondered, “But that Bewitcher college student only became a sorcerer four months ago. How could she possibly be on the Time Continent now?”

Selene nodded in agreement, “True, Sivirin only became a two-wings sorcerer two months ago. She hasn’t even formed her Golden Wing yet.”

Abyssalith added, “The Cursed Elves of Wonderland and the Parasitic Sorcerers of the Abyssal Depths are gathering. At least three factions are vying for the Specter’s Inheritance, not to mention the scattered forces outside… We’ll rely on your bravery soon.”

The Moonshadow Priests chanted in unison, “The Blood Moon has arrived; we shall reunite in the promised land.”

“Well then…” Abyssalith placed his thumbs in his mouth and bit down, drawing purplish-red blood. With a swift motion, he traced a complex compass pattern in the air within three seconds. Then, with a sweeping gesture, the pattern expanded to encompass all the Blood Moon Sanctuaries.

“Don’t resist, just check ‘I agree to the terms above,’” Abyssalith’s weary voice now carried an air of sanctity. “The time of death is upon us, the Twins restore all things; the time of bloodletting is upon us, the maid activates all phenomena; the time of decay is upon us, the priest awakens all souls…”

“Miracle: Blood Moon Alliance!”

An invisible connection linked the Blood Moon Sanctuaries together. Abyssalith, leading the Sanctuaries, flew towards the crimson lightning bolt embedded in the massive golden Phantom, reaching out his hand as the crimson lightning shrank and fell into his grasp.

Many sorcerers believed the crimson lightning was the handiwork of the Divine Sovereign, but it wasn’t entirely so. Even a Divine Sovereign found it challenging to exert power over the Distant Sky Domain; mortals could never fathom the sheer solidity of the Virtual Realm’s chasm.

However, a divine intervention of this magnitude could be achieved with a small artifact bestowed by the Divine Sovereign, combined with the efforts of dozens of sanctuary sorcerers-provided their powers could be perfectly unified!

“Ha!”

Abyssalith straightened his back, his form suddenly towering as he let out a mighty shout, channeling the Rainbow spellforce of all the Blood Moon Sanctuaries into the crimson lightning!

Blood Spells, when reaching a high level, possess a hidden trait unknown to many: the bloodstain curse. Anything subjected to continuous damage by Blood Spells, with bloodstains accumulating and thickening, gradually loses its resistance to Blood Spells. The Blood Moon sorcerers had allowed the lightning to remain embedded in the golden Phantom for so long to leave enough bloodstains!

The bloodstains hadn’t yet reached their limit, but with internal issues arising within the Specter’s Inheritance, the Sovereign had personally ordered an early activation!

A flash of blood light illuminated the entire Distant Sky Domain, causing all observing sorcerers to feel as if their eyes were burning, followed by a thunderous roar of heaven and earth colliding!

Crack!

The crimson lightning struck the golden Phantom again, seemingly unchanged from before. But when Abyssalith retrieved the crimson lightning, the golden Phantom, which should have instantly recovered, now bore a crooked, finger-sized opening.

Yet this small opening was enough to become the root of the Dreaming Celestium’s downfall!

“Restore spellforce,” Abyssalith commanded. “Prepare for a full assault.”

“Is this all the time we’ve managed to buy…”

Igor watched as the golden Phantom echoed with various earth-shattering sounds, his expression grim.

In the Specter’s Inheritance, advising Ash’s friends to deceive the sanctuary sorcerers wasn’t just about tricking the spirits; the more crucial goal was to buy time.

Sanctuary sorcerers were important figures in any Kingdom, and their deaths would inevitably be thoroughly investigated, especially during the Inheritance period. The death of a sanctuary sorcerer often hinted at involvement with the Specter’s Inheritance, making an investigation unavoidable.

Other Kingdoms might not know, but Igor was aware that the Blood Moon Kingdom possessed the ‘divine intervention of death reappearance,’ and other Kingdoms likely had similar capabilities. This meant that if they used their longing for to eliminate the sanctuary sorcerers, they would soon be exposed as controlling the Specter’s Inheritance.

Not killing the sanctuary sorcerers, but merely draining their souls to the point where they are bedridden for half a month, would allow the secrets of the Specter’s Inheritance to remain hidden as long as they kept silent. Even if they did speak, it would likely be assumed that some Divine Sovereign had seized the Inheritance. But which Kingdom’s Divine Sovereign would it be? This back-and-forth investigation would take considerable time.

With any luck, by the time Ash returned, the Divine Sovereigns might not have discovered the theft of the Specter’s Inheritance. However, Igor underestimated the importance the Divine Sovereigns placed on the Specter’s Inheritance. It turned out that those sanctuary sorcerers would only be ejected back to reality after a few hours, meaning it would take roughly six hours for the Divine Sovereigns across the Kingdoms to realize that the Specter’s Inheritance had been preemptively taken and to mobilize sanctuary forces to compete for it!

So, what should I…

As Igor pondered, he suddenly heard a distant call.

“Mr. Bukin, over here, over here!”

Igor turned his head and saw a flaming orc flying over.

Chikara!?

“We were just thinking about how to find you, and then we spotted you right away. This must mean we’re meant to pull off this heist together!”

Igor raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“Me and Mr. Harvey,” Chikara replied, “and a group of like-minded new friends I just met!”

“What kind of friends?”

“The kind who are looking for a chance to storm the Dreaming Celestium and make a grab!” Chikara’s innocent face was full of cunning. “They go in to feast, and we can follow behind to pick up the scraps, right? Of course, if we’re lucky, we might end up feasting ourselves. What do you say, Mr. Bukin? I heard you used to be in the same line of work, robbing and looting. Interested?”

“Don’t compare my noble profession of helping people fulfill their wishes with your unskilled robbery,” Igor mused. “However, with you and Harvey involved…”

After a moment’s thought, the Con Artist’s face slowly broke into a sweet smile. “I’m very interested.”

“Let’s be clear, this time whatever I grab from the Specter’s Inheritance, you can’t order me to hand it over!”

“How could I possibly be interested in your little trinkets? I’m just worried you might get carried away, so I took a few of your spirits to keep safe for you. I’ll return them later.”

The orc’s eyes widened. “Will you really return them?”

“Absolutely, once I feel you’ve matured, I’ll give them all back.”

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