The First Magic World War

In the throat's bloody vortex, countless shattered golden runes assembled into a book with a black cover studded with innumerable golden specks. The previously invasive life force, akin to toxic poison, had quieted down, allowing Charles to manipulate Bloody Glory to assimilate it.

Half an hour later, Charles finally digested the life force of this Blood Servant, and the sixth bloody vortex in his throat stabilized. Sensing the book within this vortex, adorned with a black cover and countless golden specks, he recalled that mysterious voice, that supreme will, and felt a bone-chilling cold in his heart.

He knew what it was.

Because it was not the first time he had seen it.

It was a Blood Clan Evil God.

Charles couldn't help but think, "Do I possess some trait that attracts Evil Gods specifically?"

"Why can't I be blessed by a True God for once? Even if not by the Nine Great True Gods, their attendant gods or Subordinate Gods would do!"

Charles looked up to the sky, though of course, he could see nothing.

A mere Sixth Order Transcendent, yet lacking the ability to cross the void and discern anything.

The sixth bloody vortex he had opened, an undocumented one in Bloody Glory, had formally advanced Charles to the Sixth Order. Discover stories with empire

Most remarkably, he had also refined the runes of the Bloodline Mantra, obtaining his fifth Special Ability.

However, each spell of the Arthur Clan required arduous practice, and he had just perfected the Bloody Rune of the Bloodline Mantra. He hadn't yet started to practice any specific secret technique and couldn't deploy any of the Bloodline Mantra spells.

Despite this, Charles was quite satisfied. He buried the body of Lord Leo's servant and went in search of another Blood Servant.

This time, Charles again threw the Vampiric Hand Axe from a distance. This Blood Servant, suspicious, especially with a comrade missing, was particularly vigilant and unexpectedly countered by clashing with the Vampiric Hand Axe using his flesh-and-blood body.

The Vampiric Hand Axe was thrown back at him, and Charles, somewhat astounded, retracted the axe, wondering how this servant's physical body could be so formidable?

He soon found the reason. There was a body-hardening secret technique within the Vampiric Scroll of the Arthur Clan, named: Blood Butcher!

As he perused the scroll, he inadvertently glanced at this technique. It was rather crude, specifically designed for the training of Blood Servants; legitimate Blood Clan members never learned it.

The Blood Butcher, also considered a kind of knight, could transform every part of his body into a weapon, his muscles and bones as hard as steel, with tremendous strength, able to fight until the end of his life.

Charles activated the Vampiric Hand Axe and tried twice more, only to have Lord Leo's servant block him staunchly each time; he no longer attempted to fight but simply abandoned the battle.

After all, the opponent was in his labyrinth. As long as he waited a while longer for his adversary's strength to continue waning, he could take whatever he wanted with ease, so why bother now?

Charles put away the Vampiric Hand Axe, leaving the Blood Servant to his fate, and returned to the camp of the Westwind Knights.

Taoles saw him return and couldn't help but say, "We can't stay here any longer, there simply aren't enough nearby villages for us to gather provisions. We must make haste and obtain supplies on the road."

Charles shook his head and said, "We must stay here for a full eighteen days!"

"Cut down on the rations, letting everyone starve for a few days won't hurt."

He had to wait until the second Labyrinth was set up. Compared to that, starving the Westwind Knights for a few days was trivial, especially since Charles had calculated that it certainly wouldn't kill anyone.

Taoles said in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid of a rebellion?"

"Once over three thousand people start creating chaos, there's no way to subdue them."

Charles smiled slightly and said, "The last thing I fear is their rebellion."

In the Machu Picchu Labyrinth, what sort of rebellion could a bunch of NPCs even mount?

Charles even felt that having these members of the knighthood starve for a few more days could help them understand what "discipline" means! He had already decided not to leave before the maze-ification was complete, and he also exerted control over the food — only those who obeyed had something to eat.

Seeing that Charles wouldn't heed her advice, Taoles felt somewhat helpless and could only make preemptive preparations extensively.

Whether they were prisoners, gang members, or even adventurers, there were women among them. After departing, Taoles asked Charles for over a hundred people to form an all-female team, which she led quite successfully, having received a formal university education.

The villages of the Old Continent usually had small populations and not much stored grain. Machu Picchu was a ruin of the ancient Orc Kingdom, with hardly any villages nearby. Under Charles' stubborn leadership, the knighthood quickly fell on hard times and had no choice but to implement a rationing system, where everyone could only eat a small piece of dark bread. At least water was plentiful; there was a water source inside the Machu Picchu fortress.

The worst part was that Charles often disappeared. Apart from the daily foraging parties, anyone else who tried to escape would often end up lost within the fortress. Sometimes they were merely steps away from the main gate, yet within a few paces would find themselves in bizarre locations. Complaints within the knighthood grew louder by the day.

Dobin, Yellow Bear, Taoles, and Philedrica, bearing the face of "big sister doll" from the Orc Assassin Alliance, were all forced to participate in placating the crowds. Everyone was running around, exhausted, as handling an uprising from a three-thousand-member knighthood could lead to severe consequences.

The only ones who remained fairly calm were Charles' earliest subordinates, the adventurers he had tricked. These experienced individuals, having returned to Machu Picchu, communicated tacitly and had stealthily hidden some food in the first few days.

As days passed, the Westwind Knights resembled a powder keg about to explode, which could be set off at any moment by an accidental spark, suddenly exploding and blasting everyone to smithereens.

Then, one morning, even the foraging party couldn't leave the Machu Picchu fortress. The knighthood exploded completely, as countless people shouted loudly, demanding that Charles come out and explain himself. Even though Dobin, Yellow Bear, Taoles, and Philedrica did their utmost to calm the situation, it was to no avail.

Soon, some began to fight. Though Dobin had brought along former colleagues from the Patrolling Army and suppressed over a dozen disputes, three thousand people were just too many, and he soon couldn't hold them back any longer.

This ragtag knighthood was finally ignited; they blamed and cursed each other, and some even surrounded several leaders, ready to resort to violence at any moment.

Though Taoles was a Third Order Card Magician, she couldn't cope with so many people. She squeezed a "Magic Card·Open Door," which could open a door on any wall to slip away, yet she was still making a last-ditch effort.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "These bastards deceived us, let's catch them and force them to reveal the way out." Immediately, several others echoed the call, and the situation deteriorated to the point that it was just short of becoming irredeemable.