In the center of the castle, a thick fog was lingering, and there was no one around.

  The altar had no top, with thick fog blocking the sunlight, and four walls opened with four doors, but there were no door panels, only countless devils carved on the wall.

  The altar is extremely large, divided into six layers, each with a staircase, which is sixty-six steps. On the top platform behind the altar, there is an image of a god, not a demon, but a goddess.

  The goddess was made of marble, with skin as white and smooth as snow, almost glowing slightly, while her eyes were made of black gemstones, shining like stars, pure yet with a hint of dark temptation, darkness that was utterly pure.

  On the altar under the goddess's feet, several girls' corpses fell on the edge of the altar. The center of the altar was full of blood, but amidst the bloody light, a water mirror emerged, reflecting all the things that Fang Xin was going through.

  "He's quite an interesting fellow! His tactics are not bad, he wiped out my 500 troops in one go and can still take down another 300. At this rate, I'd say our army has already lost three-fifths of its strength." Count Bremen admired and commented: "However, if things continue like this, it should be the end result, the nobles won't let you expand your power any further, will they? I know them all too well."

  The sound of the voice floated back and forth in the hall, this altar itself was a huge magic array, dark power was constantly being absorbed from the void, flowing to every place in the castle.

  Near the altar, as if in another space, that unobstructed gate, which blocks everything outside, is the power of the dark ritual, gaining great power through live sacrifice.

  The blood glow converged, the water mirror disappeared, and it seemed that the power of this live sacrifice had been exhausted. Count Brieman waited, and saw that the boiling fresh blood on the altar was slowly becoming shallower, but a tempting fragrance floated out.

  The earl picked up the golden cup, and with just one movement, the remaining blood flowed into it like a small stream, filling it to half. He took a deep sniff, and was immediately intoxicated. After taking a sip, he savored it for a long time: "It's truly worthy of being purified blood, without any strange flavors from anyone else, it's just like the best quality perfect virgin, and even surpasses that! If I had obtained this kind of dark blood back then, how wonderful would that have been!"

  As he spoke, he took another sip, but suddenly the altar shook violently, and a powerful force burst out, instantly, the four girls' corpses stood up abruptly, frantically embracing the count, biting him to death.

  At almost the same time, the magic circle on the altar changed, and countless strong and clear wails were transmitted directly to the heart of Count Brienman - this was a chill from the world of death, with a life-freezing howl.

  The power of the Earl of Bremen, clearly felt that this wail came from the center of the altar, where it led to a world of true darkness and death, and the magic circle on the altar was activated by some mysterious force - the magic circle had slowly and irresistibly started working.

  Suddenly, a dark power dragged Count Brienner away. In an instant, the count felt darkness all around him. At that moment, the count indeed felt fear, and because of its intensity, he knew what kind of terrible fate would befall him if he sank in.

  But then a force pulled it back, and two dark powers clashed in mid-air.

  A moment later, the situation stabilized, and in the Earl's consciousness, like the dividing line between the sea and sky, there was also a clear dividing line below, which was a dark and profound abyss. The Earl could feel countless wails coming from inside, and even struggling arms - this was its immortality and source of power, as well as the source of fear and nightmares.

  The earl held his breath, and in the darkness before him, where he could not see his hand stretched out, he felt no existence of himself, nor even of his soul. It let out a roar, opened its mouth, as if shouting, as if screaming, as if whispering, but no sound came out.

  This terrifying silence only lasted for an instant, then the enormous power surged up, releasing its own strength. He felt his consciousness being pulled again, and countless fragments appeared in his mind.

  Several figures flashed by in an instant, several scenes also flashed by quickly, and finally, there were flames shooting up into the sky, as well as a process of falling into an abyss - this feeling only lasted for a moment, and then everything suddenly disappeared without a trace. The count let out a furious roar, his consciousness returned to that altar once again, while the four corpses continued to bite down, sucking out his fresh blood.

  Drinking the Earl's fresh blood, with a speed visible to the naked eye, the four girls' originally shriveled bodies immediately recovered, and seemed to have become even more beautiful and youthful.

  The Earl of Bremen sneered, and a powerful force suddenly shook the four girls' corpses open, dropping them into mid-air. Four dark flames had already landed on their bodies, and they instantly burst into flames. They rolled around on the ground, wailing, struggling, and emitting a foul odor, but in less than a minute, they were consumed by the flames.

  The statue of the goddess shook slightly, and almost at the same time, a cracking sound rang out. It was the altar and the statue of the goddess that simultaneously emitted cracks, which were clearly audible in this empty hall.

  Bryman Earl stared at the crack, the altar was the source of power for its dark lord, and the goddess was its reliance on independence and freedom. Just now, it was also the power of the goddess that saved it from the entrance of the dark abyss. Now, both have appeared cracks.

  Is it the dark world, and has it already given up waiting for what's next?

  "Courage!" whispered Count Briemann.

  "My lord, I am here!" Still in the thick fog, a footstep sounded on the corridor, each step was light and heavy as one, the rhythm was accurate, a dark knight appeared in the hall, he did not look at the altar, nor did he look at the goddess, but only looked at Count Brieman.

  At this time, the black battle robes had all been taken off, and the dark armor was directly exposed. The long sword was by his side. The commander of the Dark Knights, Emmanuel, slightly lowered his head, waiting for the lord's command.

  For a moment, no one spoke, and Emmanuel didn't move at all, just quietly waiting.

  At last, Earl Bremen spoke up and said: "You are the strongest existence apart from me. You should have felt it, my control over the Dark Legion is waning day by day. Although there is the goddess's suppression, the dark power still bypasses me and seeps into the legion."

  "My lord, I am forever your knight, a vow made two hundred and eighty years ago, and one that I make again today. I will wield my sword against all who would be your enemy!" Cortade said in a low, steady voice, his tone unshakeable.

  "Very well, just now in the abyss, when I was trying to pull down the fallen goddess, she saved me. When the dark power connected with me, I can also use this boundless power for a short time. I foresaw red, that is the color of flame, and also the color of the abyss." A gleam flashed in Count Bremen's eyes, his voice low, as if muttering to himself: "In the near future, the Dark Legion will turn against me, now, I command you, commander of the Dark Legion, kill anyone who disobeys, and destroy the legion. There is no need to hide it anymore, the dark counterattack will come immediately - you must kill that person!"

  When it came to that person, a tone of contempt and hatred emerged from the Earl's mouth.

  Kortade didn't ask who that person was. He whispered: "My lord, rest assured, I will use the long sword in my hand to kill them all."

  As he spoke, he bowed and backed away, his footsteps fading into the thick fog that obscured everything from view.