Within the ancient ruins, before a dilapidated Sky-Piercing Tower.
The Knights of the Holy See were stationed outside the tower, patrolling in groups of three, hunting down any remaining demons and ensuring the safety of the camp.
The Holy See's Knight Order ranked among the top three forces that had entered these ancient ruins. The demonic beasts within these ruins possessed intelligence; they knew who was best left undisturbed. After the Holy See's Knights established their presence around the Sky-Piercing Tower, few demonic beasts dared to approach.
The broken Sky-Piercing Tower, guarded by the Holy See's Knight Order, had its grand doors wide open, yet no one entered.
At this moment, Chris and Lawson returned, having fled from Ye Ling's location. Several knights immediately stepped forward to greet them, but Chris quickly waved them away.
The two of them, recalling the scene they had just witnessed, felt a lingering fear and dread.
Chris returned to her own camp and let out a long sigh of relief. "Fortunately, we ran fast enough. Otherwise, we would all be dead there today!"
"That person is simply a monster! Is he truly an ordinary mortal?"
Lawson glanced back, confirming that Ye Ling was not pursuing them, and also breathed a sigh of relief. He then asked Chris, "Now that Charlie is dead, and the Bow of Radiant Light was lost over there, we've lost one of the three God-Bestowed Weapons. What should we do now?"
"Should we still go in?"
"Without one God-Bestowed Weapon, the seal cannot be opened..."
Hearing Lawson's words, Chris also rubbed her temples in annoyance. She glanced at the entrance of the Sky-Piercing Tower, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, and whispered, "This place is fraught with danger. Without Charlie's combat power, the two of us alone likely won't have the ability to retrieve the spiritual energy core from within."
"But this is a place we found with great difficulty. If we give up and leave now, we'll have to wait decades more... I'm not sure if the Red Dust Pavilion will continue to provide corresponding activity funds to the Holy See afterward."
Lawson slapped his thigh and sat down on the ground. "It's all Charlie's fault, that bastard. If he hadn't gone out looking for trouble, we wouldn't be in such an awkward situation."
"Now that he's dead, it's good that he left us a mess to clean up!"
"We can't go in, and we can't not go in. What exactly should we do?"
Seeing Lawson's anxious expression, Chris scanned the camp again. Her eyes darted, and she then whispered to Lawson, "Actually, I have a backup plan, specifically designed to deal with this kind of situation."
Hearing Chris's words, Lawson's eyes lit up. He immediately sprang up from the ground and asked excitedly, "You have a way?"
Chris leaned closer to Lawson's ear and whispered something that made Lawson's pupils contract sharply. "You want to..."
Chris quickly reached out and covered Lawson's mouth. "Shh—!"
She glanced around, ensuring no knights had overheard, then lowered her voice. "This is the only way for now. To open the seal inside, some people must be sacrificed."
"Either we get blamed by the Pope after we leave, or we sacrifice others to obtain the spiritual energy core."
"Moreover... as long as we shake off these dead weights, we can freely explore this ancient ruin."
"I heard that this ancient ruin is from the Primordial Era, a time when Immortals and Gods were abundant, and treasures were countless. If we obtain even one treasure, our strength will surely advance by leaps and bounds. When we go out, we'll be more than just Knights of the Round Table."
"This ancient ruin only opens once in a long while. We don't know when we'll be able to come here again. Since we've finally made it here, are you truly content to just take one spiritual energy core and go back?"
Lawson: "..."
Hearing Chris's words, Lawson fell silent, clearly contemplating what she had said.
He never expected that a woman as beautiful as Chris would have a heart more venomous than a viper!
The knights who followed them in were the elites of the Holy See, their trusted subordinates.
Yet now, Chris intended to sacrifice their lives, using their blood to create a temporary God-Bestowed Weapon to retrieve the spiritual energy core from within the Sky-Piercing Tower...
This was truly...
Lawson looked at Chris and said, "Your heart is so malicious, to abandon your colleagues so readily!"
Chris, however, was unconcerned and stared at Lawson. "Just one sentence, are you in or out?"
"In! Of course, I'm in. They're all useless anyway, so let them die!" Lawson's tone shifted, and he suddenly chuckled, his attitude changing completely.
Although he found Chris's actions cruel, he himself lacked basic morality and was completely self-serving.
As long as he benefited, he didn't care what happened to others.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have hesitated to abandon Charlie and flee with Chris.
Seeing Lawson's change in attitude, Chris smiled knowingly. "I'll go mobilize the Knight Order and have them all enter the Sky-Piercing Tower. You also need to be prepared. We only get one chance. If we fail, there won't be more lives for you to fill!"
"Don't worry, as long as nothing goes wrong on your end."
Lawson gave Chris an "okay" gesture and then headed towards the entrance of the Sky-Piercing Tower to check its condition.
Chris also went to gather all the members of the Knight Order, motivating them to enter the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Chris and Lawson believed their discussion was known only to the two of them.
Little did they know that Ye Ling and Feng Ke, having concealed their presence, were standing not far away, having overheard their entire plan!
Seeing Chris and Lawson leave, Feng Ke said indignantly, "These two lunatics, they're going to treat the entire Knight Order as sacrifices?"
Ye Ling said calmly, "This is an internal affair of their own force. We don't need to meddle."
"Even if we intervene and kill Chris and Lawson, saving those knights, they would most likely view us as enemies, not saviors."
"Then they will either attack us, or abandon their armor and flee, running wild in this ancient ruin, ultimately leading only to their deaths."
Feng Ke asked, "Isn't there any other way?"
Ye Ling glanced at the knights who were gathering. "Having entered this ancient ruin, their fate is already sealed. In their next life, let them be reborn into a better situation, and join a different faction."
"Compared to the internal affairs of the Holy See, I'm more curious about what lies hidden beneath this Sky-Piercing Tower."
Ye Ling shifted his attention away from Chris and looked towards the Sky-Piercing Tower ahead, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He could sense an extraordinary power hidden beneath the Sky-Piercing Tower, which was definitely not a mere spiritual energy core.
However, there was a special magnetic field beneath the Sky-Piercing Tower, enveloping everything, allowing Ye Ling to only sense the power contained within, but not see what was inside.
Not long after.
Chris successfully gathered all the members of the Knight Order and, with loud slogans, tricked them all into entering the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Seeing that all the knights had entered, a glint flashed in Ye Ling's eyes, and he said to Feng Ke, "Let's follow them!"