The village elder had originally intended to personally lead the village's able-bodied men to escort Karen and the others to the big city, but Karen refused. Even so, Karen decided to take the young girl Nelu along. She would represent Tagima Village to collect intermediary service fees at each big city the teams entered, and Karen promised to bring Nelu back safe and sound along with the money.
Money here did not refer to paper banknotes or traditional precious metals, but a type of ore crystal from which soul power could be directly drawn. In the world within the gate, it served as currency.
Carrying a wicker basket on her back, little Nelu walked alone at the very front of the procession. As she walked, she looked back every now and then at the team behind her and let out silly giggles.
This frequent display left Paxio and the others utterly bewildered. They could not help wondering whether something was wrong with this native girl's head.
Karen, on the other hand, thought it was perfectly normal. For young Nelu, it was the equivalent of a little girl in another time and space going out for a stroll with a neat column of twelve giant pandas accompanying her down the street.
Put in her shoes, anyone would look back every few steps and grin like an idiot.
Their first destination was Black Forest City. After five continuous days of travel, the gray moon above their heads remained whole. That meant the "extremely short" scenario would not come to pass, and many breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.
At the very least, suitable or not, everyone would be able to find souls of passable quality in Black Forest City to form contracts with, ensuring they would not return empty-handed.
When they camped for the "night," Bart and Demel took the first shift on perimeter watch.
Before resting, the others gathered together to eat bamboo shoots.
This was the happiest and most enjoyable moment of Nelu's day. That crisp crunching sound was utterly delightful to hear.
She had tried eating these bamboo shoots more than once, but every time she took a bite, she found them bitter, astringent, and spicy. She could only marvel at how wondrous the auspicious lords were to treat such things as a staple food.
In truth, Black Forest City lay just across the river ahead. Standing on the slope beside the campsite, one could already make out the city walls. Stopping to rest now was simply meant to let everyone adjust their condition before entering.
"Are we going straight into the city tomorrow?" Muri asked.
"Why, do you want to dress up in disguise and sneak in?" Karen chuckled. "It won't work unless we cover ourselves head to toe in coir raincoats and thrust our chests, cock our hips, and sway our backsides as we walk."
That was how the soul-body natives here walked. Their bodies were more like jelly, or humanoid slimes.
Muri nodded. "True. It's impossible for all of us to disguise ourselves. Besides, this is a sensitive time. The people in the big city will definitely pay closer attention to strangers appearing during this period, especially strangers moving in groups."
"The most important factor is time," Karen said. "Including today, six days have already passed out of the two months I estimated. Fortunately, a journey that should have taken seven days only took us six—in fact, about five and a half.
"Still, our time is merely sufficient. As outsiders, we don't have the luxury of cultivating agents to handle matters for us and lure suitable souls over.
"However, I suspect there might be teleportation arrays in the big city, or at least plenty of transport vehicles. Hopefully we'll find both after entering Black Forest City tomorrow. That would save us a tremendous amount of time."
"And what's the purpose of saving time?" Muri asked.
"So I can find a suitable soul for myself," Karen replied.
"You want to look for one?"
"Yes, I'm considering it."
"But Furnites..."
"Actually, all along, you're the only one who needs to worry about Gaitanbert. I barely worry about Furnites. We're different."
"Thank you."
"We've come this far, so stop saying things like that. It only makes things awkward. Hmm? Look over there—a blue signal flare."
A signal rose from the perimeter watch. Everyone resting was immediately alerted. Though it was not an alarm flare, they were close to Black Forest City; anything out of the ordinary warranted vigilance.
Demel returned with a report: near a river dock not far from their camp, two factions were locked in battle.
Karen promptly ordered everyone to maintain absolute silence and advance toward the site in a dispersed formation.
A dispersed formation simply meant placing the summoner, array master, and priest in the center while the others fanned out along the perimeter. Since the danger was not directed at them, there was no need to be excessively tense.
Karen and Muri scouted ahead at the front. The clash seemed to have started at the dock, where clothes and weapons littered the ground—visual stand-ins for "corpses lying everywhere."
Given the nature of the native soul-bodies here, their forms dissolved upon death, leaving behind only their external belongings.
A faint, pungent odor reminiscent of disinfectant drifted through the air. It was not a physical scent that ordinary people could smell, but rather something only priests could perceive—akin to the bloody stench of an annihilated soul.
"The uniforms and weapons on the ground are largely identical. What kind of clash is this? It's clearly a one-sided slaughter."
Karen grumbled to Muri, subtly faulting Demel for the vague report.
Still, Demel had not done it intentionally; it was merely a lack of professional sharpness. Just as Nelu looked at them like pandas, they looked at the local natives like wild animals in a zoo. When a herd of zebras fought in the distance, a normal person could hardly tell whether they were brawling or if one side was hunting down the other.
Muri said, "Let his new captain train him in the future."
Hearing that, Karen was momentarily taken aback. Was Muri planning to throw in the towel?
Muri continued, "If I make it out alive, I'll submit an application to report to the York City Region. I hope you'll accept me."
*Coming to my squad?*
*What an unexpected surprise!*
An outstanding descendant of this generation's Benda family, someone who had proved his strength in the final selection, coming to his squad?
According to Karen's original expectations, once his Whip of Order squad was established, it would immediately become a star squad in the York City Region. Such squads had the advantage of priority consideration for high-prestige missions.
For instance, the "security missions" Captain Neo coveted so desperately.
Those assignments offered high merit points, light workloads, great safety, and immense perks. Every single time, Captain Neo had to throw away all dignity to compete for them, even going so far as to fabricate scandals about his own squad members just to boost the squad's name.
The Benda family, however, held hereditary captaincy over the High Priest's Guards. If Muri were in his squad, then practically speaking, whenever VIPs visited the York City Region, as long as Karen had time and no other urgent duties, any security mission he wanted would be his.
That was practically counting merit points while lying down. Captain Neo next door would probably weep from envy.
Seeing Karen fall silent, Muri assumed he was reluctant and quickly added, "I don't think I'm suited to be a captain, and I'm willing to be led by you."
He feared Karen might worry about him vying for leadership.
What Muri truly needed in his heart was to leave the Dinge Region and step away from his family's sphere of influence after this trial. He wanted an escape, a clean break.
Karen reached out and patted Muri's shoulder. "We're friends. Don't speak like a stranger. If I truly have the chance to work alongside you, the honor is mine."
It was a pity the environment was unsuitable; otherwise, Karen might have actually drafted a contract and had them swear by their souls to lock in an indentured agreement.
They continued forward, encountering "corpses" everywhere along the path. Ahead lay a depression hemmed in by hills on three sides. Unsurprisingly, the hunted group had been cornered into a dead end.
Sure enough, a troop of pursuers came into view, nearly a hundred strong, while another hundred or so outflanked from both sides.
Trapped inside the depression were merely several dozen people. An old man stood in the front row with several youths, shielding those behind them.
The encirclement had already closed; the hunt was nearing its end.
Karen and Muri chose a position that was both close and well concealed. The other squad members crept up as well. Their curiosity had clearly been piqued; at a time like this, everyone wanted to watch the spectacle inside the gate.
"Next, they'll probably say: 'You're surrounded. We advise you to surrender immediately.'"
Just as Karen finished speaking, a man stepped out from the pursuing ranks, radiating an arrogant ripple of soul power:
"You have nowhere left to run! Give up, drop to your knees, and surrender! Come back with us obediently to face judgment. As long as you repent devoutly, your lives may be spared!"
Karen whispered, "'We will never surrender. In your dreams.'"
The cornered old man spoke up: "Only in your dreams will we ever surrender! If you want us to surrender and repent, why don't you run back to your mother's embrace, hold her tight, and go to sleep? Who knows, maybe your mother will even bear you another brother for your trouble!"
Muri looked at Karen in surprise. "Did the cinema teach you that, too?"
"Yeah."
"I'll go to the cinema often in the future."
"Good, you should. Read more novels, too. I have plenty in my study; you can borrow them whenever you want."
"I will."
Karen pointed at the pursuers' clothes. "Do the embroidered patterns on their garments look familiar to you?"
Garments in the world within the gate were woven from plants or crafted from special materials—in short, fabrics that swayed alongside the movement of their bodies.
Consequently, patterns and decorative designs distorted easily; they looked clear when laid flat on the ground, but warped drastically when worn on a person.
"They do look a bit familiar." Muri began tracing with his fingertip on the rock before him, but because the design was so abstract, confirming it immediately proved difficult.
"Fine! Then I'll grant you a total end! Heretics like you don't deserve the glory of reincarnation!"
With that, a dense layer of gray scales spread across the bodies of the entire pursuing host.
Soul-body armor.
Indeed, drawing close to Black Forest City brought a stark shift in the manifestations of souls.
In truth, the village elder's explanations to Karen had been superficial and one-sided; Karen had pieced together the characteristics of the soul-bodies in these three major cities through careful deduction.
Soul-body armor reinforcement—if contracted with such a soul, a priest skilled in close combat would effectively gain another layer of defense.
These soul-bodies possessed no physical flesh. If they were provided a physical body to inhabit, these special traits could fully apply to that flesh.
The old man let out an enraged roar as black scales surfaced across his body.
The youths beside him glared furiously at the pursuers, black scales emerging on their skin as well, their auras remarkably pure.
"Those kids are impressive," Muri remarked. "Their soul purity is exceptionally high, and their grasp of this soul ability runs deep."
"Yes. What a pity."
Soul-bodies in the world within the gate required a maturation process. What these youths displayed now was raw talent; they merely needed to grow in peace, and their strength would naturally peak upon adulthood.
Unfortunately, they would never get that chance.
The old man glanced back at the dozens of women and children behind him. "Prepare to take your own lives. Do not let yourselves be captured alive—the torment you would suffer is countless times worse than death."
Hearing this, the crowd picked up black crystal daggers. Many women cradled babes in arms; the infants' soul-bodies were still frail, truly resembling large lumps of jelly, yet appearing endearing.
Wailing broke out—the prelude to the end.
The pursuers' leader waved a hand, and the subordinates flanking from the hillside slowly descended, moving to close the ring.
Despite having an overwhelming advantage, they remained remarkably cautious.
Karen soon discovered the reason for their caution: the old man was visibly regaining his youth at a speed discernible to the naked eye. His soul aura surged, sending a shockwave of soul power tearing through the hollow.
This sight caused the pursuers to slow their advance. None dared push forward, well aware that the first to make contact would likely be dragged down by the old man to die alongside him as stepping stones.
"A secret technique to burn the soul," Muri murmured. "This world is quite fascinating."
The old man was burning his soul to reclaim his peak strength. Yet this power was fleeting; even if no one attacked him, he would soon dissipate on his own.
"Children, your grandfather wanted to lead you out of here, to win you a chance to begin anew. Alas, I failed. Before I die, the last thing I can teach you is our true devotion to faith!"
The atmosphere turned solemn and tragic.
Karen exchanged a glance with Muri. Muri nodded, and the two began backing away.
Seeing their captains' movements, the surrounding squad members signaled one another and began to withdraw as well.
They had seen enough to grasp the situation, and watching the spectacle this far was sufficient.
As trial-takers, they had no interest in meddling in native disputes. It was not a matter of cost-effectiveness, but of sheer pointlessness.
After all, clearly defined lines between absolute good and evil were rare in this world; people naturally prioritized their own stance.
Yet just as Karen and Muri turned to leave, an enraged roar from the old man echoed from the encircled hollow behind them:
"Order — Cage!"
Karen and Muri froze simultaneously!
All the squad members halted in their tracks, exchanging stunned looks.
They turned back at once. In the depression, the old man had cast an Order Cage, encasing the women and children to grant them an undisturbed chance to end their own lives.
It was an Order Cage—the unmistakable aura of Order magic!
Muri said in disbelief, "There are believers of our Order even in the world within the gate?"
Suddenly, another realization struck Muri. With a clear direction, everything else fell into place. He immediately said, "The pattern on the pursuers... it's Samsara!"
The pursuers' leader grinned viciously. "In the eyes of Samsara, you remnants of Order are nothing but ungrateful parasites, heretics that must be cleansed!"
The old man retorted, "The radiance of Order will surely descend and shine upon all creation! The great God of Order will never abandon his people!"
"Hah! Samsara is the moon hanging high, while Order is merely a stench bug in the ditch! The evil god of Order you worship is only fit to bow and scrape before our great God of Samsara!"
Karen looked at Muri. "So, in this world within the gate, the Church of Samsara hunts down the Church of Order?"
Out in reality, the Church of Samsara had been beaten senseless by the Church of Order, earning the humiliating distinction of the "First-Day War" and setting the fastest defeat in the history of divine church wars—a record unlikely ever to be broken.
Furthermore, during peace negotiations, the vanquished Church of Samsara had been forced to alter its mythological narrative, rewriting the God of Samsara into a comrade-in-arms who had marched beneath the banner of the God of Order.
A comrade-in-arms was the polite phrasing; put bluntly, he was cast as a subordinate lackey.
"This Church of Samsara really is something. Beaten black and blue outside the gate, yet strutting around so arrogantly inside."
With that, Karen made a hand gesture signaling preparation for battle.
This was no longer a murky skirmish between natives; this was an outright religious conflict.
Once aligned by doctrine, justification for everything else fell naturally into place.
"Muri, you command the engagement. The strategy isn't to cover a breakout, but to launch a surprise attack and shatter them."
Because the trapped group included many women and children, escorting them out through a breach was impossible. Only by routing the pursuers could they safely relocate them.
Though the Samsara side held the numbers, the strength of their soul auras was clear at a glance—their quality was hardly impressive. Karen's side, on the other hand, consisted of true elites across two squads.
It felt like a regular special forces unit striking an irregular militia; the numerical gap could easily be closed and surpassed by superior quality.
"I'll command," Muri said. "Then what about you?"
"I'll go inside to protect the women and children."
"That's too dangerous. Let me go."
"Fine. You go in alone and quickly summon the Black Prison Castle."
"Uh... I can't do that. You go."
"Move!"
...
The pursuers' leader chose not to order a reckless assault. He knew attacking now would incur heavy losses; it was better to wait here until time ran out and the old bastard dissipated on his own.
"I've never understood your stupidity. Whether out there or inside the gate, my great Lord, the God of Samsara, has long been the sole supreme existence of this world! Otherwise, how could you explain why everyone emerging from the gate is an auspicious lord serving our Samsara?!"
The old man replied, "Order surely exists, and it will prevail."
"Haha, splendid! Then let your Order appear and show me!"
Right then, a patch of black mist materialized above the center of the hollow. Karen's figure emerged from the haze. With his palm turned downward, he declared in a deep voice:
"Black Prison Castle."
As the wind stirred, the castle's foundation rapidly took shape, followed by defensive walls that enclosed the women and children within.
The various summoning scrolls for war apparatus were held by the squad members. Because they were single-use consumables, Karen had no intention of using the Black Prison Castle for offense here; it was meant solely as a shelter to keep them from being caught in the coming melee.
Karen landed atop the parapet, the Sword of Arius hovering upright beside him.
Looking at the stunned pursuers below, Karen hesitated. He felt reluctant to say that line—it felt overly dramatic, and if Muri survived and watched movies often in the future, he would look back on today's words as hopelessly cliché.
Yet when Karen's gaze fell upon the visibly moved old man and felt the soul steadily marching toward its extinction, his resolve softened.
It truly defied imagination that deep within the Gate of Samsara built by the Church of Samsara, a band of Order believers had held fast all this time. Maintaining faith in such an environment was nothing short of living in hell.
Perhaps this dying elder deserved one final solace.
The next instant,
chains of Order erupted violently from the earth, encircling the perimeter of the castle. Scorching, majestic flames of Order clung to the chains, transforming them into massive black serpents coiled to devour their prey, their gazes fixed upon the quarry called Samsara.
Karen cast his gaze across the surroundings before finally settling his eyes on the pursuers' leader who had taunted the elder.
Calmly, he said:
"Order, as you wish."
Chapter 357