It was only now that Huai Shi suddenly realized: perhaps, possibly, maybe... those guys had never targeted Fu Yi at all?

Since she had become semi-transparent, there were times when even Huai Shi would unconsciously overlook her. And those withered trees that learned to speak like humans hadn't noticed Fu Yi's existence at all.

Invisible? Or...

Curiously examining her semi-transparent form, Huai Shi faintly felt like he understood something.

Could it be that in addition to being physically hidden, she could also disappear from the perception of the Monsters? Especially when she was asleep, her presence was so faint that it went completely unnoticed.

As he was deep in thought, his nose suddenly twitched, and he turned around abruptly.

"Someone is coming."

The sound of dry branches breaking rose from behind the pitch-black trees entangled like carcasses, accompanied by the subtle sound of footsteps.

The thick scent of Incense spread, but it could not hide the stench of decay under the robes.

Carrying a rust-covered, heavy Incense Burner, the monk in tattered religious robes staggered through the dense forest, slowly approaching them.

This was the first time Huai Shi had seen a living creature here.

But it was not human.

It had a face similar to the corpses they had seen on the road, nearly like that of a Lizard or Snake, hairless, with pus oozing from underneath its peeling scales.

As if deeply afflicted with disease.

But those bloodshot eyes were so bright they were frightening, filled with an intense craving as they stared at Huai Shi.

Just as Huai Shi tensed up, preparing to attack, the figure suddenly knelt down.

Without hesitation.

It bowed deeply to him in an act of worship.

"Holy! O Holy Great Spirits..."

Its voice was hoarse, like a scream, sharp and grating. As it lay prostrate on the ground, its body trembled with reverence, its tone sincere to a frightening degree.

"Please... have Mercy... save this Kingdom..."

"Huh?"

He stood there stunned, utterly baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"DING! Main mission update."

Fu Yi, inside the Bell, chimed in, mimicking a notification sound.

「About two hours later.」

Huai Shi, sitting on the ground, had finally managed to roughly understand what happened from the prostrate monk's account.

It was really not an easy task. He had to extract some usable information from a jumble of obscure religious terms, praises, and special titles.

And he had to try to discern truth from falsehood.

Huai Shi was honestly exhausted.

After listening, he pondered for a moment before asking earnestly, "In a nutshell, you mean to say that there are several other countries in this world, right?"

The monk nodded.

"And now this world is facing an apocalypse? Many countries have already started to decline, and if left unattended, the same situation we encountered along the way will occur, is that it?"

The monk nodded again.

"And now you're defending the Capital City with only twenty or thirty thousand people remaining in the entire nation, and each one of them is suffering from a severe illness, about to die out, right?"

The monk sighed and agreed.

"So, you prayed devoutly, hoping for the arrival of the legendary representatives of the God, the Great Spirits of creation, who are said to descend at the end of the world to save you?"

Huai Shi paused, then raised a finger, pointing to his own terrifying face that looked anything but benevolent.

"And I am that Great Spirit?"

The monk kowtowed, his head hitting the ground with fervent joy.

Huai Shi thought for a moment and looked at him with pity. "...Then isn't your Kingdom very pitiful?"

Honestly, for a nation to be so devastated and still rely on a large Husky for salvation was a bit too tragic. What could Huai Shi do? He could give them a quick end and then burn all that remained to ashes. Grant them release, even if they couldn't ascend to Heaven.

Apart from that, Huai Shi couldn't help but feel that he didn't look the part of a Savior at all.

"What exactly are you scheming?" he asked, full of questions.

"Three days ago, the God delivered a prophecy—numerous Great Spirits have descended to the mortal world."

The Ascetic Monk's vocal cords strained as he spoke, "His Majesty... His Majesty has sent all those who can still walk... to the four corners of the land, in search of the Great Spirits who have come to our world... The Eternal War is about to begin... Only thus... O Holy Great Spirit, only thus... can this tormented nation be saved."

"Eternal War?"

Huai Shi fell silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "So you're saying you want to wage a war?"

"As you have said," the monk kowtowed, leaving splatters of blood on the sharp rocks as a sign of his devotion. "I beg of you to show us Mercy... I implore you, O Great Spirit, destroy the Impure so that the Righteous may live..."

What should I do? Huai Shi asked Fu Yi, who was hidden inside the Bell, through their mental link. It feels like they want me to be a 'tool'... ah, no, a 'tool dog.'

"Don't worry, he's not lying," Fu Yi replied, sounding surprisingly certain. "The request for you to go is sincere, with no intention to harm. Just now, a new discussion group called 'The Eternal War' appeared on the Astronomical Society's internal communication forum, but I don't have the authorization to open it."

"Wow, how do you guys with your special access even have stuff like this?"

"Someone like you, who has nothing, is the weird one, right? But there's nothing really valuable on it. Even though the atmosphere is very amicable, everyone is still competitors. No one would post their hard-earned pioneering insights and experiences there. Occasionally, there are reminders and guidelines to prevent those lagging behind from being killed by something they encounter for the first time."

Fu Yi flipped through the sparsely populated forum. She could almost see how those people were terrified of leaking even a bit of crucial information, making her click her tongue in resignation.

"The truly useful stuff, they must have all reported it, right? On my end, I can still see many tasks posted by external Scholars. Most are for physical exploration or require professional experiments to obtain specific data and parameters... In any case, I can't understand any of it, nor is it my responsibility."

After listening, Huai Shi looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh, feeling even more helpless.

Scholars from the Existence Institute are treated like precious treasures, while he, a low-level enforcer, is treated like a weed, lacking any care from the higher-ups. Even his equipment is the basic version... They only care about the killing, not the cleanup.

"Studying hard really is important," he lamented from the bottom of his heart.

"???"

The monk kneeling on the ground was baffled, having no idea what the Great Spirit was talking about.

"Alright, let's go."

Huai Shi spat, then once again began dragging the iron stake behind him with his tail. "Lead the way. We'll head to... to your, uh, what do you call it?"

"The Capital City!" the monk exclaimed, overjoyed.

"Right, the Capital City."

Huai Shi shook his head. "I want to see what kind of trouble they can stir up next."

The monk, overcome with ecstatic joy, scrambled up from the ground. He let out a shriek of delight and hurried forward, glancing back every couple of steps to ensure Huai Shi was still following.

He was terrified that Huai Shi might suddenly vanish, having tricked him.

Huai Shi followed.

As the monk swung the Incense Burner in his hand, wafts of rich Incense, tinged with the scent of copper rust, rose into the air.

Surrounded by the fragrance, everything before them seemed to sway slightly.

In just a few steps, they were out of the dense forest, their speed unbelievably fast.

Holding the burning Incense Burner, the monk led the way, repeatedly reminding Huai Shi not to step outside the range of the Incense's aroma.

The experience was bizarre. Though they had barely taken a few steps forward under the shroud of fragrance, when they focused, they realized they had covered a considerable distance from their starting point.

In just a few strides, they crested a mountain ridge and skimmed across a wide river.

And they encountered nothing else strange.

It was as smooth and safe as a sightseeing tour.

"What is that?" Huai Shi asked curiously.

"Sacred Oil, the Kingdom's last reserve... a precious treasure from a bygone era..."

The monk explained hoarsely, "As long as one remains within the Incense's range, the 'distortion sickness' can be temporarily suppressed, making us undetectable to those ominous, bizarre entities..."

"Those ominous entities you mentioned, are there many of them?"

"Aside from the Capital City, where a glimmer from the burning Sacred Oil still remains, all other places have been claimed by plague and Death..."

The monk gasped hoarsely, as if weeping bitterly, his sharp lamentations sounding almost like a crazed laugh that chilled one to the bone. "Those faithless, those abandoned by the God Spirits, are all Cursed! Only the beloved faithful shall endure, endure!"

Alright, whatever you say, Huai Shi pouted, then heard Fu Yi's reminder: "Look up."

A shadow swiftly passed over the ground, a massive projection from the Sky Dome. As Huai Shi looked up, he saw a gigantic Flying Bird emerge from the fractured clouds.

It was like a colossal bomber skimming the sky; the beating of its wings sent out bursts of deep, thunderous rumbling.

From the Vault of Heaven, it cast an apathetic glance at the Wolf Beast and his party on the ground below.

In its claws, it clutched a figure resembling a monk, who was waving down at the group below.

"Another Great Spirit!"

The monk beside Huai Shi exclaimed excitedly, tears of joy in his eyes. "God, the sixth Great Spirit has also descended upon our land! Heaven bless the Kingdom! Heaven bless the Kingdom! The God is watching over us... Mercy and Grace! Mercy and Grace!"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes, finding the monk's fervent belief almost unbearable.

He asked Fu Yi, "Is that someone from the Astronomical Society?"

"It should be another Explorer; I didn't see the Astronomical Society's emblem," Fu Yi answered. "But I'm detecting more and more Explorer signals on my end... It seems everyone is gathering in this area."

"Alright, I smell a whiff of PVP."

Huai Shi sighed, yet for some reason, he felt a flicker of excitement.

An eternal war among Monsters?

He couldn't help but start feeling a sense of anticipation.

They moved on, continuing forward. They passed over barren mountain ranges; plains covered in black tentacles and tumors; lakes and rivers studded with bizarre eyeballs; forests and grasslands as vivid and bloody as raw flesh; and ruins, ruins, ruins... corpses, corpses, and corpses...

Cracks in the earth grew more numerous, some forming chasms so deep their bottoms couldn't be seen, extending to the limits of their vision. They followed the path along one such chasm.

Finally, emerging from a miasma of death and decay, they found some relatively intact buildings and roads. They also caught sight of city walls looming on a mountaintop, with countless dense, chilling structures layered upon one another.

It resembled a war fortress built into the mountainside.

Every corner exuded sharpness and ferocity, devoid of the bustle and liveliness of a normal city. Instead, it resembled a fierce beast exuding a savage aura.

The Capital City. The realm of the Country of Mist had finally been reached.

"Hold on, I have a question."

Huai Shi lifted his finger, pointing towards the distant mountain. "That one ahead, that's your Capital City, right?"

The monk nodded.

"So then—"

Huai Shi asked curiously, "those five cities on the other side of the gorge below the mountain—whose are they?"