Sand and wind howled. A massive shadow blanketed the wilderness, and not far away, a group of mounted trackers came to a slow halt. Beside them, several huge, blood-red, demon-like hounds growled lowly. Their eyes were feral, brimming with the desire to tear apart any prey in their path, and even the howling wind and sand couldn't stop them.
"The prey is ahead."
The leading knight spoke in a low voice. He wore blood-red armor, and his warhorse stood exceptionally tall. The others, hearing this news, revealed a glint of bloodlust in their eyes. Although they had already lost several small squads, no one considered retreat—because the evil god they believed in craved war, blood, and death.
Friend or foe, it didn't matter. So long as there was blood and death, it would be offered to the great god—bringing glory.
"Kill!!"
A warhammer crackling with lightning whistled through the air, smashing down onto the enemy's head, shattering both his helmet and skull.
Duanmu Huai kicked the corpse away without hesitation, then gripped his warhammer once more and lunged toward the evil god cultists charging at him.
This time, the attackers were no longer ordinary cultists, but fanatical believers of the Chaos Evil God. They wore half-plate armor and horned helmets, wielding battle axes with the fierceness of Viking raiders.
Even so, Duanmu Huai didn't flinch. He stood firmly at the entrance of the collapsed castle, blocking the way forward.
One man holding the pass, ten thousand cannot break through! If you want your sacrifice back—step over my corpse!
At this moment, Duanmu Huai's eyes were blazing red. As a player, he was the type who loved charging in headfirst.
And now, he had no room to retreat. As for surrendering to the cultists or negotiating with them, Duanmu Huai had never even considered it.
An Inquisitor's goal was to eliminate all Chaos forces—no compromise, no negotiation.
No matter who the opponent was, no matter how many there were—as long as they served the Chaos Evil Gods, they had to be wiped out!
If a city believed—destroy the city.
If a country believed—destroy the country.
If a planet believed—destroy the planet.
If a world believed—destroy the entire world.
Eradicating Chaos Evil Gods and their followers was the Inquisitor's eternal, unshakable duty. Any compromise or surrender was the greatest betrayal!
And once that line was crossed, all of the Inquisitor's skills and attributes would be sealed.
Loyalty that isn't absolute—is absolute disloyalty!
"Bang!!!"
Flesh burst apart. Duanmu Huai swung his warhammer, sending one Chaos fanatic after another crashing to the ground.
He didn't immediately use his Soul Cards—these cultists weren't high-level, and he could handle them alone.
Moreover, as a veteran player, Duanmu Huai was well-versed in the nature of the four Chaos Evil Gods and their cults. These particular fanatics clearly followed the God of Tyranny.
The God of Tyranny glorified war and bloodshed. To put it bluntly, all his followers were battle maniacs.
But that didn't mean they were fools. Even barbarians knew how to seize opportunities, and these fanatics weren't mindless.
If he used Soul Cards now, he'd be exposing one of his trump cards too early—giving his enemies a potential opening.
More importantly, Olgis's power was too overwhelming. She had to be saved as a last resort. He only had one chance to summon her.
Based on Duanmu Huai's understanding of these lunatics, if Alisa was truly important enough to them, they'd eventually summon a high-level demon under their Evil God—and that was the moment his insurance policy would come into play.
After all, why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken? He could handle these guys himself!
"Hoo..."
After smashing another charging fanatic with his warhammer, Duanmu Huai finally let out a breath of relief.
He then glanced at his panel. Since yesterday, he had already repelled four or five waves of attacks from the evil god cultists. His level had also risen to fifteen.
In terms of stat allocation, Duanmu Huai didn't put more points into Strength. Instead, he raised Constitution and Intelligence to 10. The former increased his resistance to damage, while the latter raised his Warp overheating limit—allowing him to use more Soul Cards at once.
Although logically, he could have focused entirely on Intelligence to maximize his card capacity, Duanmu Huai knew very well that all those tools were only useful if the wielder himself stayed alive.
Soul Walkers might seem omnipotent, but in the end, they were just high-tier summoners. Be it troops, spells, or equipment—everything they relied on was summoned from another world. And if the summoner died, none of it mattered.
Before transmigrating, Duanmu Huai had hunted down plenty of Intelligence-specialized Soul Walkers in PvP. He knew their weak spots well. A mage who ignored defense could be burst down and killed in an instant.
Back then, Duanmu Huai used a cute female character, and many players didn't even mind getting smashed to death. But now? Facing a towering, two-and-a-half-meter tall brute bashing your skull in—well, that would be a very different experience.
...
In a nearby hollow behind Duanmu Huai, Alisa curled up tightly, trembling, not daring to make a sound.
She hadn't tried to escape. In fact—she couldn't.
Beside Duanmu Huai, the Black Knight, she had protection. But once she left his side, she'd have nothing.
Not to mention, staying close also made it easier for Duanmu Huai to turn around and smash her with a hammer if things went south.
I just hope it won't hurt too much...
"Oh—awooo!!"
Suddenly, a sharp, chilling howl echoed across the wilderness, making Alisa flinch in fear.
"Wh-what was that sound? Was it a wolf?"
"The main event is here."
Hearing the howl, Duanmu Huai's eyes lit up. He tightened his grip on the warhammer and looked into the distance.
Soon, several riders emerged from the sandstorm on tall horses, accompanied by several ferocious, blood-red, four-legged monsters.
As expected—Chaos Hounds.
Seeing them, Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes slightly.
Chaos Hounds weren't powerful in themselves, but they were authentic demonic beasts. Their appearance here confirmed that they'd been summoned from the world of the God of Tyranny. And that meant only one thing—among the enemies approaching now, there were definitely demons!
The only question was whether it'd be a small BOSS, a mid-BOSS, or a big BOSS.
Either way, he'd find out soon enough!
"Awooo!!!!"
With another deafening howl, the Chaos Hounds spotted their prey and charged toward Duanmu Huai with vicious roars.
Seeing them come, Duanmu Huai's eyes glinted coldly. In the next moment, Soul Cards flared before him.
[Puppeteer's Cloak] activated!
[Artisan's Conviction] activated!
Draw [Puppet] and [Armed Reinforcement]!
Summon [Puppet] to the field!
Activate [Puppeteer's Cloak] special effect—add two [Puppet] cards to hand!
Summon the two [Puppet] cards just drawn!
Add four more [Puppet] cards to hand!
"Swish, swish, swish!!"
In just the blink of an eye, a magnificent black cloak with golden trim covered Duanmu Huai's power armor. The cloak fluttered without wind, and several puppets—wielding curved daggers and short swords, dressed like rogue assassins—suddenly darted out from within.
They charged at the enemies ahead, and in an instant, they clashed with the Chaos Hounds!
"Awooo————!!"
The Chaos Hounds, of course, had no idea what they were up against. But they didn't need to know.
Their instinct was simple—tear apart anything in their way.
Fangs bared and claws flashing, the Chaos Hounds lunged at the puppets, biting into their wooden bodies. But at the same time, the puppets' short swords and curved daggers pierced into the Chaos Hounds as well.
Very quickly, many Chaos Hounds collapsed, and the attacking puppets also crumbled and vanished from the battlefield.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, the red-armored knight atop his tall horse froze for a second, then snorted coldly.
"Magic... another cheap trick. It's meaningless before the might of my Lord!"
As he spoke, the red-armored knight raised his spear and pointed it at Duanmu Huai.
"Charge!!!"
I knew you'd do this.
Watching the Chaos Knights begin their charge, Duanmu Huai sneered inwardly. The followers of the four Evil Gods each had distinct traits. The God of Tyranny, for one, despised magic—and his followers shared this disdain.
That was exactly why Duanmu Huai dared to act like a one-man army here.
If his opponents had been followers of the God of Scheming—known for his deviousness—Duanmu Huai wouldn't have been foolish enough to stand here waiting for death. Those followers were all magic experts, and pulling this stunt would've just earned him a death sentence via mass spells.
Dozens of puppets once again burst forth, charging toward the Chaos Knights. Their damage wasn't especially high, but it wasn't negligible either. Before long, several knights were struck and taken out under the swarm of puppet attacks.
However, the red-armored knight leading the charge remained completely unfazed.
In fact, any puppet that came near him was shredded instantly by the howling wind that whipped around his body.
As expected, this guy's not easy to deal with.
Duanmu Huai stared at the charging Chaos Knight, his expression turning grim. He tightened his grip on the warhammer, eyes cold as they locked onto the incoming foe.
At the same time, his mind stirred—and another card silently appeared.
[Armed Reinforcement] activated!
Grant one unit on the battlefield +2/+2 effect!
In that moment, a blazing red flame ignited around Duanmu Huai's body like a blazing forge. His stat panel also displayed a new suffix: "+2".
In Soul Card mechanics, attack and defense stats were calculated by dividing a player's attributes by 10. Based on that, Duanmu Huai's current card form would be something like Attack 1 / Defense 0—since only his Strength had reached 12, and everything else under 10 rounded to zero.
Now, with [Armed Reinforcement] active, Duanmu Huai's Strength and Constitution each received a 20-point boost!
"Haaahhhhh!!!!"
At that very instant, the Chaos Knight reached him and swung his spear down with deadly force.
Duanmu Huai roared, raised his warhammer high—and met the blow head-on!!
(End of this chapter)