Chapter 974: Chapter 549: Impregnable to a Thousand Men (Part 2)

It was the first time she saw Lance take action, and she finally understood why he made such a decision, and why no one objected.

Is this something a human can do?

No one paid attention to the dazed Margaret, and there was another person with an obscured face on the high wall.

Because that person was dressed strangely, with a hood covering their head, and a beak mask on their face.

Who else could it be but the Plague Doctor Paracelsus?

She didn’t behave as frantically as those newcomers, instead watching the heretics gather below take out some experimental items.

For example, those bottles filled with thick white liquid, and the green variant too.

Developing the wilderness inevitably involved encounters with beasts, with the Giant Spider being the most purged by the army.

Their glands were harvested, and in the research and development by Lance and Paracelsus, they discovered the properties of the substances and found methods to preserve them.

That is to seal off oxygen and avoid light; other methods are still being researched.

Due to a lack of experimental environment, no laboratory compared to the battlefield.

Paracelsus shook the potion in his hand, using the firelight to observe the green, fluid inside, then tossed the potion with the bottle amid the heretics.

The black Iron Helmet he wore could withstand the damage from the glass bottle, but upon impact, the bottle shattered, allowing the contents to seep out.

The green liquid dripped onto the flesh, instantly corroding it, causing the heretics to struggle.

But this effect did not satisfy Paracelsus.

She immediately took out another bottle of white, cloudy liquid and mixed it with the green one and threw it down before an intense reaction occurred.

A terrifying scene unfolded; the mixed liquid corroded the heretics’ bodies, even their metal helmets, till they struggled and peeled off their flesh in vain attempts to stop the deepening corrosion.

Seeing its effectiveness, she immediately added more, tossing several bottles down until the heretics were reduced to a slurry, leaving not even bones behind.

A distinct void was corroded into the bloated mass of heretics.

But that wasn’t enough; she still had many things to test.

She ignited a sphere and threw it down, which exploded violently, enveloping several heretics in thick white smoke.

Then, a miraculous scene unfolded, as the previously frenzied heretics inhaled the smoke and suddenly became dazed, as if in a trance.

Paracelsus observed their reactions, noting that the heretics quickly shook off the dizziness and became frenzied again.

"Recovering so much faster than ordinary people..."

But her tools were not done yet; she reached into her bag, the sound of clinking bottles resonating.

"Got it!" Paracelsus pulled out a bottle, but instead of throwing it at the heretics, she looked at the dazed Margaret beside her and promptly walked over.

She pulled out the cork, holding the bottle under Margaret’s nose and shook it, causing strange vapors to rise from the potion.

Margaret inhaled a deep breath unknowingly, and finally snapped back to reality.

"What are you doing? What is this stuff?"

She couldn’t help but draw her pistol and point it at the doctor while speaking.

"Courage Potion Vapors; it makes people excited and suppresses fear, helping them adapt to the battlefield environment," Paracelsus introduced nonchalantly, unfazed by the gun pointing at her.

The eyes beneath the beak mask were observing the changes in the test subject.

But to Margaret, wasn’t this just saying she was scared?

"You’re saying I’m scared!" Margaret retorted and swung her gun to bludgeon a hapless victim below, "See that? Who’s scared now?"

(Heretic: Good grief, what’s your argument got to do with me?)

Paracelsus didn’t dwell on it and simply stepped back, her muffled voice emanating from under the mask.

"Overcome by passion, it seems the effect is right..."

Some soldiers ambushed on the wall poured gunfire on the heretics below. It was uncertain if it had any effect, but at least they were trying.

They were almost fully recovered from minor injuries and were scheduled to return to the battlefield tomorrow according to the original plan, so it did not affect combat.

The veteran soldiers, having witnessed the Lord’s power, remained calm despite the fervor.

But the new recruits, experiencing the Lord’s power for the first time, were somewhat driven insane; the concept of death seemed distant, and if not for the veterans’ restraint, they might have charged in.

Fanatical worship was not unusual among them, for he was the Lord.

Even hundreds, let alone a thousand, could not withstand Lance’s insane slaughter.

But not all heretics were mere dregs.

Amid the chaotic battlefield, a Bone Spur suddenly shot up like a spring, moving with a speed unattainable by ordinary heretics.

Luckily, Lance was fully engaged in the fight, and his reaction matched the speed of the Bone Spur, lifting an axe to chop down.

It wasn’t wielded with full force, yet still could sever arm-thick cattle bones under the axe blade, but instead, the sound of metal clashing rang out.

Let alone severing; even the axe rebounded, chipping the edge designed to chop.

The Bone Spur, aimed at the heart, merely veered slightly and pierced into Lance’s shoulder, trying to lift his entire body.

But the axe in Lance’s hand vanished, replaced by a pistol he fired instantly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three consecutive shots pierced the darkness, breaking the heretic’s further actions, and Lance seized the opportunity to tear out the Bone Spur and retreat, escaping control.

However, one arm hung low, the residual Flesh Curse in the wound causing constant bleeding. Lance had to use [Bless] to dispel negative status, then [Flesh Reconstruction] to heal the wound.

Flexing his recently recovered shoulder, Lance turned his gaze toward the heretics.

"Missionary!"

"Lead us to Ascension..."

Due to the previous situation, the heretics paused, even voluntarily making way as their cheers heralded someone clad in gold-embroidered red robes.

Their body was shrouded in the red robe as if stained with fresh blood, draping to the ground, resembling the design of the church’s high echelon. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

However, they wore an exaggerated Skull Mask Helmet on their head, not black iron, but dark gold.

On the back, they carried a variation of the [Iron Crown], resembling some kind of sacrificial ritual tool.

Lance saw no sign of the earlier Bone Spur on the heretic, but the name [Missionary] jogged his memory.

That was a member of Sect of Ascension from a small town where William was the sheriff, developing new recruits, and granting the [Seed].

Why they were here, Lance didn’t know, but he surmised only the Missionary could perform sorcery creating dark veils here.

But none of that mattered now.

Lance hurled two axes at the Missionary and stepped forward to strike.

As he got close, [Wolf Fang] swept across, fast enough that the slower ones didn’t even see when he drew it.

There’s no time to show off; attack with all your might!

Just as the sharp blade was about to decapitate him, a tail of tangled flesh lashed out from under the red robe, its terminal tumor sprouting Bone Spurs of varying sizes, the longest as thick as an arm.

The usually unstoppable Wolf Fang met its match, clashing with the Bone Spurs in crisp echoes.

Feeling the returned force, Lance realized the Missionary was tough, but he hadn’t expected the guy to lift a hand and cast a spell towards him.

Sacrilege Ceremony!

Eerie power descended, surprisingly not affecting Lance’s soul but seeking to twist his Flesh.

Fitting for a Sect of Ascension ability, its effect could warp, dissolve muscles, and sprout additional limbs.

This was a vicious curse for any being, instantaneously negating their combat capability.

But using it on Lance, kind of...