Just as Maguire was about to ask Carmen what kind of fire could burn the Undead, Baron clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Keep up with them."

So, the group ran after the burning Kazela couple into the corridor.

The couple’s struggles and agonized screams came to an abrupt halt as they crashed to the ground. After walking a few more steps, the group felt a blast of hot, humid wind and saw a scene outside the corridor arranged just like the altar above.

The difference was that above, it was Kazela who had been surrounded by crosses.

But here, the one surrounded by crosses was Ferdinand, along with the Yellow-robed Priest beside him, who was ceaselessly chanting prayers to the Immortal Goddess.

He was currently bare-chested, revealing formidable, well-honed muscles covered in Alchemy Circuits. Small metal crosses were nailed into his body from his shoulder blades to his abdomen, and blood flowed from the wounds onto the crosses, dripping down incessantly.

In front of him was a long table, just like the ones Baron had seen at several other ritual sites. But this time, the items on the table were no longer things like entrails.

In its place was a single, round, dark-green bottle, its contents foaming at the top. For some reason, when Baron looked at the liquid in the bottle, he had the strange illusion that it was alive.

’Is this the legendary Magic Potion used for a Silver Faction Demon Hunter’s promotion?’

Around the Magic Potion were three other items that seemed less like offerings and more like components for maintaining an Alchemy Array.

A sheet of paper, what appeared to be a piece of burnt human bone, and a withered, air-dried poppy.

"The Immortal Scripture, the Undying Bone, and the Corruption Flower... All three are symbols of the Immortal Goddess. They are the focal points of the array that allow the two altars to communicate with her."

Zod said, "As the center, the Blessing Barrier here should be much stronger. The Annihilation Stone that Lady Yalilan gave you is probably for breaking the array."

Zod looked at the barrier over the altar, which resembled a thin veil of gauze, and frowned. "Just looking at this Blessing Barrier, I’d say breaking the array will be very difficult."

"Ferdinand still seems to be in the process of promoting to Pseudo-Silver. Once the blessing is interrupted, he’ll enter a period of weakness.

Lady Yalilan probably thought the Annihilation Stone could destroy the Blessing Barrier, and that if we joined forces, combined with your strength as L, the champion of the Hunting Competition, we could take down Ferdinand."

"What’s Pseudo-Silver?"

Baron stopped and drew his twin pistols.

’Sounds like some kind of budget-rank.’

"For a Bronze Demon Hunter to promote to Silver, it requires years of tempering their Spiritual Power and a Magic Potion Trial arranged by the association or their family to assimilate the effects. Only by passing the Trial can they fully assimilate the Magic Potion and promote."

Behind him, Zod and Maguire also drew their long sabers.

Carmen found a corner and obediently squatted down. The Witch was very weak now, with almost no Spiritual Power left.

However, she kept glancing toward the long table at the center of the altar, a trace of craving in her gaze, as if something she needed was there.

"Ferdinand skipped the Trial process, using a blessing to forcibly absorb the Magic Potion. It’s ultimately an incomplete method. Even if he successfully promotes to Silver, he will only possess the Spiritual Power of a Silver rank, not the Authority of a Silver Demon Hunter."

Zod added, "Moreover, those who promote through the blessing of a god become tainted by the aura of other Laws. Without exception, they are stuck at the Silver rank for life, and can never receive the acknowledgment of their professional Law to become Gold."

’But the truth is, even if you get the acknowledgment, it’s useless without a Law Fragment,’ Baron thought.

Baron watched the altar with a cold gaze. Ferdinand, who was on the altar, had seen them long ago but remained perfectly calm, making no move.

The Priest’s voice continued to grate on the air, sounding like a broken-down bellows.

"Glory to the Immortal Goddess..."

Hearing it stirred a strange and unknown dread in the hearts of all who listened.

With no pleasantries and no hesitation, Baron threw the Annihilation Stone Yalilan had given him at the barrier.

The Spiritual Power he injected into it vanished. The stone, stained with Holy Water and Holy Blood, exploded against the barrier, filling the entire underground space with a massive, deafening roar, as powerful as a tsunami wave crashing down.

The entire underground space seemed on the verge of collapse. Great clouds of dust mixed with strange insects rained down, temporarily obscuring the figures on the altar.

...

The altar on the surface also felt the tremor. At that moment, Yalilan was slicing off the Kazela monster’s third head, just before its second head could grow back.

Andre and the other Demon Hunters were occupied with the other heads of the Immortal Monster that Kazela had become.

This Immortal Monster, having not completed its final blessing, was at best at the Bronze level. But its terrifying recovery and regeneration abilities made it even more difficult to handle than a top-tier Bronze Demon.

As soon as one head was lopped off, another that had been previously severed would grow back. Even the Canaan Tree Spikes, which Yalilan had coated in the juice of a Corruption Flower, could only restrain it, not kill it outright.

Feeling the tremor from deep underground, Yalilan said, "L and the others have found Ferdinand. We have to kill this Immortal Monster quickly and go reinforce them!"

Andre said, "But My Lady, not even the Canaan Tree Spikes can kill this monster..."

"Cut off all its heads at the same time!" someone said in a firm tone. "With this type of Immortal Monster, you just have to cut off all its heads at once, then seal the necks with Canaan Tree Spikes." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The Demon Hunters turned their heads and saw an unfamiliar Knight with a long, blood-red cape, Blood Patterns on his face, and a scruffy beard.

It was a Blood Loss Knight.

’Another enemy?’

One of the younger Demon Hunters frowned. After cutting down an Undead before him, he made to draw his blade on the Blood Loss Knight, but an older Hunter held him back.