Missing One Person!

The woman had indeed blinked. There was no mistaking it, for Karen and Neo were both keeping watch on each other's aura; the probability that both of them had seen wrongly at the same time or been pulled into an illusion together was simply too low. Immediately afterward, the two male priests behind the woman—one carrying a greatsword on his back, the other a spear—had their weapons tremble almost simultaneously. Karen and Neo began retreating at the same time, trying to open up distance. *Buzz! Buzz!* The spear and greatsword flew up, caught in the grips of their respective owners. Then the two figures vanished from where they stood and reappeared directly before Karen and Neo. The greatsword came crashing down directly at Karen's face with overwhelmingly majestic pressure. The blade carried immense suction, preventing the wings formed by Thousand Phantoms from pulling Karen out of range in time. The wings could only fold forward, wrapping Karen in protection. *Bang!* Karen was smashed into the sand pool, like a massive iron shot hurled violently into it. Yet soon, Karen flapped his wings and flew out from the sand. Rather than rushing to clash again with the swordsman above, he moved behind the spearman who was targeting Neo. Reaching his right hand forward, the wings at his back surged ahead, condensing into a scimitar in his grasp. In Karen's left palm, a spark of starlight flared—the spell had been preparing ever since he was knocked into the sand pool, and now it was fully condensed. Karen lunged forward, slashing his scimitar straight into the spearman's back while unleashing the starlight from his left palm. The ground beneath the spearman petrified instantly. Enormous barbs rapidly grew from all around, their tips aimed straight at the spearman—this was Death's Worship. Two versus two; there was no need to fight rigidly and insist on separate duels. Seizing a chance to give an ally the upper hand was often the easiest way to break a deadlock. The spearman jabbed the butt of his spear into the ground and twisted the shaft violently. In an instant, an immense wave of force rippled outward with the spear as its center—no, it was astral qi. The terrifying barbs worshipping toward him were crushed the moment they entered his perimeter. Right after, he forced his spear up and swept it behind him, bringing forth a barrier. Karen's scimitar struck the barrier, shattering it, but that was where the effect of his sneak attack ended. Neo, who had already been engaging the spearman, didn't need any signal from Karen. When Karen was knocked into the sand, Neo had already begun gathering momentum to coordinate. As Karen struck, Neo held back for just a split second to time it perfectly, and now, he finally charged in. The spearman noticed Neo's movement. In response, he reversed the spear that had swept backward and thrust it forward again, firing three terrifying black beams of light at Neo in a triangular spread. Ultimately, the spearman was still constrained by Karen's ambush from behind. In a clash at this level, even the slightest distraction was intolerable, let alone being actively restrained. Instead of being repelled, Neo accelerated further mid-stride. Because he made no attempt to dodge, one of the beams pierced clean through his chest. Yet the moment he was pierced, Neo accelerated once more—and it was this burst of speed that made the spearman realize how dire the situation was. Neo closed the distance and thrust both arms forward. The spearman started to fall back, but Neo came too fast, offering no room to retreat; ten fingernails plunged directly into the spearman's chest. However, just as Neo was about to tear him wide open, his nails caught as if wedged tightly, unable to rip through. *Damn it, he's wearing armor under his robes!* For a moment, Neo didn't know whether to be happy or furious. Happy because the guy had so much good gear—this trip hadn't been in vain. Furious because if he couldn't take one out right here to break things open, this clash would stall into a stalemate. Remember, there were still so many others over there who hadn't moved; god only knew if they'd all get up in a moment! So failing this strike might very well get him killed for nothing. Fortunately, Neo, with his rich experience visiting rooftops after market crashes, had always understood the wisdom of taking profits and cutting losses in time. Perhaps he couldn't quite manage it in the stock market, but in real life, his mind was crystal clear. *Crack, crack!* All ten of his fingernails snapped off voluntarily. Neo swung around the spearman's flank, anchoring himself like the pivot of a compass as he shifted and broke away. The ten nails embedded in the spearman's chest detonated in an instant. The spearman was blown backward through the air; no gory mess of flesh and blood appeared, only a dense black mist. Having slipped past the spearman, Neo didn't pause for a fraction of a second. Sweeping out in a semicircle, he lunged toward Karen. Karen pressed his hands downward, condensing Chains of Order beneath the sand's surface. The swordsman Karen had stood up appeared behind him. As the greatsword slashed down once more, Neo intercepted it, his newly regrown tender fingernails catching the blade. Sparks erupted, and Neo's fingers began to twist and deform rapidly. Karen raised his hands, and thick Chains of Order shot out from beneath the sand, thrashing toward the swordsman to strangle him. The swordsman chose to retreat of his own accord. Karen didn't pursue, instead having the Chains of Order form a defensive perimeter around himself and Neo. Neo used his mouth to bite down on each finger, twisting them back into place one by one like tightening screws. Karen spoke up, "You could have killed him." Karen knew that Neo's greatest strength lay in Light-affinity power; the bloodthirsty aberrant demon lineage served mainly as support. As for Order-affinity power, Neo had to convert it through his Light magic, which allowed him to tap into at most thirty percent of its potential. During that ambush earlier, if Neo hadn't used aberrant demon strength and had instead struck with Light-affinity spells, he likely would have harvested the kill. Neo dismissed it casually. "Kill one and there are still nine left. They're all senior predecessors of the same system. If I used Light-affinity power, things would get awkward when we try to talk afterward." Karen was taken aback by the response. Indeed, earlier his own focus had been entirely on the fight, thinking only of resolving the immediate threat as quickly as possible, and he hadn't considered this angle. Yet Neo had managed to exercise restraint even before the temptation of an easy kill. Still, Karen didn't feel discouraged, as Neo had always been someone he learned from. Besides, although Pu'er had nicknamed Neo a "fun-seeker," having fun without getting oneself killed truly required no small amount of wisdom. The spearman landed back down. The priestly robe over his chest was torn open, revealing the silver armor underneath. It looked like soft armor, seemingly light, yet the fact that it could stop the fingernails of a bloodthirsty aberrant demon at Neo's level showed how astonishing its defensive power was. Even now, only ten black specks could be seen on the soft armor; even the explosion earlier hadn't managed to blow it apart. The swordsman's gaze was locked onto the Chains of Order encircling Karen, and the spearman beside him wore the same expression. "So manifesting such high-intensity Chains of Order was your way of signaling your identity to them, right?" Karen answered in a low voice, "No." "I gave you a way out so we could praise each other for our foresight. Why refuse it?" "Pointless." "Oh, I see. Leaving Allen Manor made life feel utterly dull all of a sudden. As someone who's been there, I understand." Karen couldn't be bothered to respond. A man like Neo would comment on the executioner's wife's figure even if he were strapped to the guillotine. Nevertheless, the situation had indeed shifted. First of all, the spearman and the swordsman had ceased their attacks. Yet Karen felt that the light of personality in their eyes was lacking. They gave the impression of controlled puppets, but if considered purely as puppets, they held a touch more vitality. It was as if— Neo spoke up, "Their cognition has been suppressed." "Suppressed cognition?" "Yes, that's their state right now. Once cognition is suppressed, their thoughts become very simple—it's a very cost-effective method of control. The catch is that their likes and dislikes become stark and extreme, so whoever issues them orders must be someone they truly believe in. Just like young children blindly believing whatever their parents say because they lack the ability to tell right from wrong." "Sounds like you have personal experience with this." "No kidding. For a very long time, my mind was suppressed by Philias. Whenever he said something, I obeyed subconsciously. I was still me, yet no longer me. I couldn't be more familiar with that feeling." At this moment, the other eight people who had been "marching" also halted and stood in place. Karen murmured, "Worst-case scenario: all ten attack together." If all ten attacked at once, even including Philomena and the others covering their rear, their side would stand no chance. This senior Whip of Order squad was genuinely powerful. One-on-one, Karen and Neo wouldn't be outmatched, but the synergy of an entire team fighting together was often greater than the sum of its parts. "Why can't you hold a little more anticipation for life?" Neo licked his chapped lips. The rapid healing of his wounds had left his vitality drained, but he stubbornly added, "You must learn to be optimistic." The ten people remained completely still. Then, in the center of the area they had been encircling, a platform of sand slowly rose from the ground. Lying atop it was a woman whose chest was crushed, yet one could still tell she was gorgeous—a beauty weaving softness with wildness. Beside her lay another corpse, only this one was headless. The woman slowly sat up. The headless corpse beside her showed no movement at all, clearly dead beyond dead. The light in the woman's eyes was slightly richer than the others'. She looked up, scrutinizing the Chains of Order surrounding Karen and Neo, and a smile gradually crept onto her face. When she smiled, smiles appeared on the faces of the other ten as well. This collective emergence of smiles did not strike Karen or Neo as eerie or sinister, because they could sense the sincerity within them. They were truly, genuinely happy because they had seen the colors of Order. "Has the Church... finally found us?" Karen didn't speak, leaving the floor to Neo, knowing Neo was best at handling such unpredictable situations. Yet Neo didn't speak either, feeling that Karen presented a better image and was more suited to communicate on formal occasions. The two, usually so in sync, had lost their tacit understanding. For a moment, neither said a word. Seeing this, the woman added, "We are the Torisa Squad, directly under the Whip of Order of the Dinge Region. We were ordered to hunt down the fugitive Compasini. We routed the Church of the Desert force sent to receive Compasini and accomplished our mission. But before his death, Compasini triggered a curse of the sand sea, and the evil spirit of the sand ambushed us, trapping us all here. We are no longer living, yet not entirely dead. We can only remain in this sand pool, unable to leave. To punish us, the evil spirit of the sand turned us into playthings within the pool, subjecting us to the endless torment of the yellow sands." Karen spoke up, "You have endured much. I am Karen Silva, Captain of the Operations Squad of the Disciplinary Inspection Office under the Enforcement Department of the Whip of Order, York City Region. This is my director. We uncovered some clues and came here to investigate, which led us to discover this place—and you." "My name is Luna Reis Manfur. It feels so good to see family again. I hope you can notify the Church to send personnel to help us end this curse and grant us true release." "Where is the evil spirit of the sand?" Karen asked. "It left. After laying down the curse upon us, it departed. I believe it must have returned to the Church of the Desert." Karen frowned, and Neo frowned as well. Because this made no sense logically. If that evil spirit of the sand had truly left, why hadn't the Church of the Desert sent people to deal with this place? How could they have left that welcoming corpse standing out there for so long? And wouldn't they have recovered Compasini's skeleton and the remains of the others? This clearly contradicted Karen and Neo's shared deduction. The reality ought to be that neither the Church of Order nor the Church of the Desert had received word from the people they sent. Karen thought quickly and asked in return, "How can we help you break the curse here?" "If you have array formation masters among your ranks, you can set up three fivefold defensive formations in the very center of the sand pool, where Compasini's skeleton lies at its core. As long as the formations can halt the movement of the sand sea for long enough, the curse's momentum will collapse, and we will finally be freed. It is such a pity—our dream was once to enter the First Knight Order after death, but now we are no longer qualified to enjoy such an honor." Once the curse was broken, it would mean their true death. And their physical state clearly no longer met the requirements for entry into the First Knight Order, as their corpses would likely not retain even the slightest trace of spiritual power. "We will set up the formations. We are willing to help you." "Thank you." "You don't need to thank us; this is our duty. Thank you for your sacrifices all those years ago!" In terms of emotion and duty, Karen owed these predecessors from three centuries ago within their own system ample respect. Karen clenched his fist over his chest and said in a solemn voice, "Wield the whip—" Everyone, including Neo, whose chest wound was still healing and could still serve as a hollow, made the same gesture and called out in unison, "—For Order!" Karen said to Neo, "Director, go to the rear and make the arrangements." "How about you go and I stay? After all, my rank is higher than yours." "But I'm better looking than you." Neo: "..." In the end, Neo turned and walked back alone. Karen stayed behind, continuing to face them. He said to the swordsman, "I'm also used to wielding a sword." The swordsman raised his arm with a flick and tossed the sword in his hand to Karen. Karen caught it. The sword was austere and ancient, engraved with seven tiers of runes; whether in attributes or strength, it was several tiers above his former Sword of Arius. "For you," the swordsman said. *Clang, clang, clang!* The weapons held by the others, including sacred relics, all clattered down as they said one after another, "For you." It was difficult for them to speak—as Neo put it, their cognition had been suppressed to the level of infants—yet facing this request from a junior of their own system, they proved exceptionally generous. In truth, selfishness was human nature, but to them, they were already dead. Bestowing their belongings on colleagues who could put them to use required no hesitation whatsoever. Looking at the weapons and magical artifacts scattered in the sand before him, Karen realized that if he could bring this entire set of gear back... his squad would instantly receive an upgrade across the board. Luna turned her head toward the headless corpse beside her and said: "My husband, Torisa, also wielded a sword. I suggest that after breaking the curse, you search thoroughly in the depths of the sand sea. His Sword of Diamance was the blade of Diamance, a former hero of the Whip of Order. It is far superior to Kuzan's sword. You had best find it; letting it lie dormant would be a desecration." Hearing this, the swordsman spoke, "Indeed." Clearly, he agreed with Luna, believing his captain's swordsmanship and blade to be far superior to his own. Karen looked toward the headless corpse and asked, "Is he Senior Torisa?" "Yes, he is my husband. As captain, his head was severed by the evil spirit of the sand. If possible, when looking for the Sword of Diamance, please help us search for his head as well. Though it is also possible that the evil spirit took his head with it." Karen spoke up, "I have one more question for you. When your squad set out, was it at full strength?" Luna replied, "Of course. The outstanding Torisa Squad never lacked elites wanting to join. Even if we took casualties, we replenished them immediately. The twelve-man roster was always fully manned before setting out on every mission. Look, aren't all twelve of us right here?" Karen nodded. Rather than rushing to gather the equipment, he held the greatsword tossed to him by the swordsman and slowly assumed a defensive stance, saying deliberately: "A Whip of Order squad's roster has twelve members. But for some reason, you seem to have overlooked one point: the captain's post is not counted among those twelve slots. "Therefore, a full, standard Whip of Order squad consists of thirteen people. "You're missing one person."