At the moment Zhang Ge exerted upward force on the sword hilt, a crack resembling the opening of a sword sheath appeared out of thin air at the tip of the sword blade, which had been suspended in midair.

  From that crack, an endless stream of blood flowed forth, yet it did not convey a sense of filth; instead, it seemed as if some invisible force was guiding the blood, gathering it on the ground to form a cross.

  Legend has it that after Saint George used this sword to slay the dragon, the dragon's blood formed a cross on the ground, and now, over forty thousand years later, this scene was replaying in the cave.

  As the sword was drawn further, the flowing blood gradually diminished, until the last inch was drawn away, at which point the cross on the ground was fully formed, the blood swirling and intertwining before finally merging and transforming into an equally ancient sword sheath.

  However, when Zhang Ge attempted to wield this ancient relic from the 1k era, he did not feel anything extraordinary about it, as if the strange phenomena that had occurred earlier were merely illusions.

  Yet, this spectacle did not quell the doubts in everyone's minds; rather, it only deepened them.

  Who exactly did the other party refer to as "he"? Why would a great demon of lust come to present a long sword? And why could only Zhang Ge draw this long sword?

  But now was not the time to resolve these questions; the pursuing cultists above would not halt their steps because of their inquiries, and time was running out.

  Meeting the gazes of the three around him, Zhang Ge spoke:

  “Like the ancient hero Endymion, I shall contain this sword before the tribunal arrives.”

  The name of Endymion, who contained the demon sword Drakniyen with his body, was not unfamiliar to the other three, but he had gone deep into the endless universe after receiving orders and had not been heard from since.

  Now, Zhang Ge might face a similar fate.

  Silence lingered for a moment, and finally, the political commissar nodded in understanding.

  Zhang Ge sheathed the long sword and secured it to his belt.

  Immediately, the four scattered in different directions, and under the illumination provided by the flares, they quickly found a tunnel that seemed to be used for escape, extending diagonally upward, with no visible end in sight.

  This tunnel, like the elevator, was wide enough to accommodate the mutated form of the town mayor, suggesting it had been constructed after his descent into chaos.

  However, this precautionary measure ultimately did not aid him; instead, it became the hope for the decapitation squad to escape.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Following the flickering pink flames of the torches on both sides, the four gradually ventured deeper into the tunnel. The echoing footsteps and the gradually decreasing numbers on the depth gauge did nothing to suppress the illusion that they were trapped in an endless loop.

  Fortunately, this situation did not last long. After advancing a distance where both ends remained unseen, a metal sliding door finally came into view above.

  The priest opened the door, and Zhang Ge was the first to exit the tunnel, taking on the role of scout and guard. After signaling safety to the others, the squad returned to the surface.

  The familiar desolate landscape was now covered by dense clouds, obscuring the large fissure in the sky that had previously resembled a scar, due to the disappearance of the subspace anomaly.

  The political commissar took out the map again, using the relative position of the water supply town as a reference to confirm the direction and distance needed to return to their starting point:

  “Proceed in this direction; it will take about four to five kilometers. We need to hurry.”

  The time left for the squad was limited; the swarming cultists would soon reach the theater, and once they discovered the purified mayor and the shattered altar, they would undoubtedly pursue the fleeing group with madness.

  However, this was also their final frenzy; a disorganized attack posed no threat to the mixed forces of the PDF and the Astral Army. After suffering further casualties, the remaining cult leaders would soon realize that instead of exterminating the current army, why not try to become the new leaders of the cult?

  Wouldn't that also grant them more blessings, and it would be simpler?

  Although this did not resolve the fundamental issue, it would at least buy some time for the positions to request external support and reinforcements, which was the original goal of the decapitation squad.

  After covering four to five kilometers at full speed, they even took less time than the initial two to three kilometers.

  The crimson Chimera quickly reappeared before the four.

  At the same time, the “driver” also spotted them. The Chimera swiftly turned its head, approaching at a speed clearly exceeding that of a normal transport vehicle.

  To be honest, this overly agile scene made it seem as if the Chimera were a living creature, joyfully rushing towards them.

  However, the other three were already physically and mentally exhausted and failed to notice this detail.

  After the Chimera stopped in front of the squad, the political commissar approached the side of the cockpit and tapped on the hatch to express gratitude to the crew members.

  Not everyone would dare to wait in such a dangerous environment until they returned, especially with the threat of subspace corrosion.

  “At least we’ve survived ninety percent of it.”

  Seeing the visibly fatigued group, Zhang Ge walked to the rear hatch and opened it as he spoke.

  “Before we undergo the inspection, I’d like you to come with me to the repair meeting.”

  As everyone entered the cabin and took their seats, Sister Amelia spoke up, holding her laser gun.

  Although her words seemed to seek consent, her tone was calm, as if stating an already established fact, leaving no room for rebuttal.

  Zhang Ge had no objections to this.

  Although he could tell that Sister Amelia wanted to protect him, it didn’t matter; how could one emerge from contact with the great demon’s shadow without any corruption left behind?

  With so many battle nuns around, he wasn’t worried about finding someone willing to take him down.

  They might even be more dangerous than the tribunal; at least the latter had a reason to kill you just in case, while the battle nuns might simply believe that “doing so is a loyalty to the Emperor.”

  After their brief exchange, the commissar’s voice rose above the roar of the engines, just as it had at the beginning.

  He spread the map on the ground, but this time, without the two people in the cabin, it felt less crowded and somewhat empty:

  “This is the position we need to break through on our return, right here.”