Sacred Souls: Genesis
Chapter 287 - Chapter 287 278

Chapter 287: 278 Chapter 287: 278 “Kill us all? That truly sounds like something a follower of the Devouring God would say.”

Deris was not surprised by any of this, and he had long been prepared; Deris had never believed that the Holy Spirits would willingly pledge allegiance to them from the start.

He didn’t expect too much, Deris’s minimum requirement was simply to lure the Holy Spirits to Black Tide Island and turn them against other forces on the island–that would be enough!

But Deris believed that there were definitely individuals among the Holy Spirits, willing to serve him for the sake of power and superior weapons and equipment.

“The treasures I carry are only so few,” Deris said with a sincere tone to all the Holy Spirits present, “but these are just lower-grade items. If you are willing to cooperate with me, you will receive a more substantial reward. Of course, as a gesture of goodwill… consider these treasures as a meeting gift.”

As Deris spoke, the treasures in his backpack sequentially landed in the hands of the Holy Spirits present, including a strange Treasure Bead that was given to one without extra charge.

The recipient habitually used a detection magic to assess the effect of this Treasure Bead.

‘A bewitched bead tainted with a strong Otherworld aura

Enhancement Item*Epic

Description: A bead sealed with an aura of annihilation, emanating an ominous aura.

Effect: Embed in a weapon to gain the feature Annihilation lv1–reduce Magic and Physical defensive power by 5%, similar beads can be stacked.’

Good stuff! This thing is worth between fifty and seventy Gold Coins!

A bead that ignores the monster’s defensive power is relatively rare among Holy Spirits, and certain wealthy professionals rely on this specialized attribute to enhance their damage.

Therefore, any enhancement parts with the features of ignoring defenses, reducing defensive power, or Armor Break have high prices on platform 4396.

The most important thing is that this bead has no side effects! And it can be stacked!

“Could it be that the system has seen us being tormented by Thorne too harshly, so it sent over such an NPC to give us benefits?”

“Do you have any more of these beads? Give me a few more, and I promise I won’t hit you.”

“Is the ID over this NPC’s head wrong?”

It has begun! Don’t you guys have a little pride? It’s just a material for enhancing equipment!

What made it tricky for the player was Deris’s approach was just too pleasant.

This should be the attitude a general of the Annihilation Legion–requiring a group of a hundred players to take down–is supposed to have, right?

The group of players behind, from the eight major clubs, also began to suspect a glitch in the game; this was their first time encountering a boss that gave out rewards upon meeting, and the rewards were pretty good too.

Just when the player was about to start the battle directly, she changed from chanting an attack skill to chanting a buffing skill.

Because she noticed Zhao Mingwei’s figure suddenly dropping down silently from above Deris.

Although he was a Mind Energy Master player, his movements were more like those of an assassin.

Zhao Mingwei had been lurking in the shadows for a while, and once he got close enough to Deris, he directly unleashed his awakened Golden Thunder Tiger, which bit towards Deris’s head.

Less than two seconds after Zhao Mingwei landed, “Add Milk No Extra Charge” released all the BUFFs from his skill slot onto Zhao Mingwei.

Weapon Blessing, Holy Blessing, Angel Protection… Under the influence of several powerful BUFFs, the Mind Energy swirling around Zhao Mingwei’s Golden Thunder Tiger gradually transformed from pure blue to a dazzling golden color.

The Golden Thunder Tiger exploded right above Deris, who used his power to construct a shield that blocked the awakening Zhao Mingwei had released.

The shield shattered the second the awakening disappeared, and the other professional players spectating also timed their moves perfectly, launching a series of powerful skills at Deris and his party just as Zhao Mingwei landed.

Magic, lasers, quantum bombs… Several high-level skills were concentrated on Deris all at once.

Deris had anticipated this and had formed an invisible shield which blocked some of the attacks, but his guards weren’t so lucky; all three of them were slightly injured in the barrage of skills.

Members of the Annihilation Legion, who were not used to such humiliation, were about to charge at the Holy Spirits in a fight to the death, but the pressure released from Deris rendered them immobile.

“Under any circumstances in this recruitment…attacking the Holy Spirits is forbidden, have you forgotten?” Deris’s voice echoed in everyone’s mind.

The onslaught of skills from the players paused briefly because Deris had not lost a single drop of blood.

“Could it be that the ID really has a BUG? Should he be a friendly faction merchant?” a player who was not fully aware of the situation suddenly asked.

Not everyone in Prosperous Square was from one of the top eight clubs; some were ordinary players there to see their idols, and these players hadn’t really understood what was happening in the barrage of skills.

They only understood that Deris had not lost a drop of blood after the skill bombardment ended.

Only NPCs from a friendly faction could perfectly avoid all player-inflicted damage…

Deris saw the hesitation and confusion in the voices of the players and prepared his words to further dissolve the misunderstanding between them.

“Dear Holy Spirits, we truly bear no malice by coming here; we are merely here to recruit you, from the perspective of allies…we would never attack you,” Deris said, which sounded somewhat foolish, but it was the best thing to say under the circumstances.

However, the players around him didn’t hear this honest statement from Deris; instead, a louder and more powerful line burst from Deris’s ‘mouth’.

“You dare refuse this grace.”

What the heck? Deris was stunned; he looked around, and the voice that echoed through Prosperous Square was clearly his own, yet it was the tone he used as a general, not a merchant–authoritative, domineering, and full of threats.

But the problem was, he had not said that line at all!

Yet another imposing line centered around him, using his mouth in a deep voice, was shouted out.

“Are you standing here with these rewards waiting for me to conduct your funerals?”

When Deris heard this line, he suddenly discovered that black flames were burning on his body, and a virtual shadow made of black flames had also ignited behind him.

This shadow was so large that it made anyone who saw it feel uneasy.

The power of the Devouring God! Deris waved his hands trying to shake off the black flames, but the trouble was the flames meant him no harm; it was merely an illusion–intended not to deceive him, but to deceive those Holy Spirits.

“Wow! What cool effects; this is how a BOSS should perform and impress!”

“So, in the end, this merchant is actually the boss of the Annihilation Legion? But why do I feel like not attacking him could trigger some hidden plot and rewards?”

“Stop babbling, the boss has started his opening lines. Get ready to start the fight.”

I’m not! I didn’t… These effects aren’t mine! Those lines aren’t mine either!

Deris angrily waved his hand and completely shook off the pitch-black flames on his body, but his waving motion caused a pitch-black greatsword, clearly intended for demons, to appear in his left hand.

What the hell is this now!

Seeing the spirits fully prepared for battle in the distance, Deris quickly threw the greatsword onto the ground.

Although he didn’t throw the greatsword with much force, it violently stabbed into the ground and burst into pitch-black flames again, the effects were cool to the point of exploding.

At the same time, his commanding and authoritative voice echoed throughout the bustling square once more.

“I am Deris, Lord of the Annihilation Legion! Spirits… I give you one last chance, pledge allegiance to me, or die!!”

What the heck, Lord of the Annihilation Legion? I’m just a minor general, okay!

Only a fool would use death as a threat to make others pledge allegiance.

Deris didn’t want to be that fool, yet someone behind him held his shoulder saying, ‘No! You do want to.’

“General?” His troops, seeing the spirits unleash their skills, momentarily wanted to retaliate.

“Withdraw! We can’t recruit the spirits in this area. Let’s find the Illusionist behind this and change our appearance to negotiate with the spirits in other areas!”

Deris made a decisive command. Now, the spirits in the bustling square already saw him as an enemy.

No matter what Deris said now wouldn’t matter, but he could change his appearance to continue negotiations with other spirits, which was one of the strategies he could think of.

So, Deris, with his troops in tow, ran quickly out of the bustling square, seeking shelter when…

What’s going on?

“General, did you… bring your troops?” The soldier from the Annihilation Legion stepped out of the bustling square, completely bewildered.

Did we just conquer this world?

Because everywhere he looked, he saw the figures of his troops! Deris himself didn’t even know when he had brought a whole legion to invade this realm.

Are these people… disguised followers of the Devouring God? But why would they disguise themselves?

“Cease fire!” Deris tentatively shouted at the Annihilation Legion soldiers who were fighting the spirits in the distance.

They really stopped… A group of fully armed soldiers quickly ran up to Deris.

Do they really listen to his command? Deris’s mind was racing as the spirits from the bustling square were already chasing after them.

As Deris was contemplating whether to kill these soldiers of the Annihilation Legion to prove his innocence, one of the soldiers was holding a woman… whom Deris had never seen before.

“General! We’ve caught a puppet for you!”

“????”

Ah? What puppet? What do I need this puppet for!

Deris realized he had been played… Angrily wanting to destroy these pretend soldiers of the Annihilation Legion when suddenly he heard a wave of angry roars from the spirits behind him.

“Oh my, oh my! The hidden quest is real, these buggers are really here for Fureya!”

“Fureya Protection Association, assemble!”

“To all Spirit players, no matter which guild you belong to, whether you are a wealthy player, a freeloader, or a cloud player! From today onwards, we are one! For our beloved and holy Fureya, let’s go!”

Who is Fureya? I genuinely do not know who Fureya is!

Deris, watching spirits gather from all directions, began to feel a headache coming on.

He knew that talking was useless now, so Deris resorted to his last measure, releasing offensive magic in an attempt to kill the soldier holding Fureya.

By doing so, he hoped to prove that he was on the side of the spirits.

But the soldier holding Fureya was very skilled, and he also had a barrier that Deris couldn’t break. Moreover, Deris’s action of unleashing the attack seemed to reach for Fureya as well.

Then that evil voice echoed in the skies outside the bustling square again.

“Spirits! This puppet will serve as a sacrifice… to become a part of my power.”

You… damn it! Why do I need this crappy puppet to become strong!

At that moment, Deris turned his pleading gaze towards Thorne in the bustling square.

“Mentor!” Deris shouted at Thorne from afar, indeed causing some of the spirits to turn their gaze towards Thorne.

But Thorne was currently napping with his iron club in his arms…

Who are you? Randomly shouting ‘mentor’ as if we’re close? If Thorne felt like talking now, he would probably shout this at Deris.

Deris, watching the spirits attack from all directions, realized a terrifying truth.

Maybe these spirits weren’t just following the still dormant Devouring God.

The Devouring God had awakened, was watching them from somewhere and silently controlling it all!

But his mentor had not told him this piece of information.

These spirits were not just random valiant fighters; they all belonged to an organization, and their coherence was alarmingly high.

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