Chapter 252: Origin of Chaos · Skills

"Wait a minute, if this mission was that difficult and we all managed to come back alive... the rewards must be substantial!"

"Yeah, we just hit the jackpot!"

Everyone was all smiles, the atmosphere quite lively.

Then—

Thud.

Thud...

The players relaxed, plopping down onto the ground, completely lacking the demeanor of strong warriors.

They sat among the ruins, with little desire to do anything, and many even sprawled on the ground.

"We're going back!"

"We can return to the Hall of Valor now. We earned a massive amount of Valor Contribution Points; we're all going to take off!"

"Oh! Long live the Hall of Valor!!"

This group of players, devoid of any legendary aura, stretched out their arms and shouted like children.

Nearby, the king of the Principality of Florence was also catching his breath while seated on a chunk of rubble.

"Um... Your Majesty, it seems the Principality of Florence is completely destroyed," one player casually remarked, clearly not holding back.

However, to their surprise, the king simply shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"The Hall of Valor will help me rebuild my kingdom soon."

"But rebuilding the kingdom is a task that should be taken on by some third-class players."

"Though the rewards may be a bit lower, there's no real threat, so there should be plenty of people looking to grind out their monthly tasks willing to help."

The king seemed to have an extensive understanding of the Hall of Valor's mission system.

What he said left the players in shock...

So, we, the players of the Hall of Valor, are just the laborers for the Principality of Florence? You just summon us when you need help?

"Impressive! I'm in awe!"

"No wonder the Principality of Florence has remained standing!"

"I'm even considering signing a contract with the Hall of Valor after I die; wouldn't that mean my family would be taken care of forever??"

"Heh, protection?"

"It's not that easy, not that easy," the king shook his head, as if there was more to the story.

But the players merely chatted casually, too lazy to inquire further.

Meanwhile, Sterl controlled Bionic Tear in silence, his attention primarily focused on slowly refining the hellish energy within his own body.

Others merely assumed that their leader was tired and didn't pay him any mind.

The players didn't chat for long before they couldn't help but express their feelings.

"Being able to see such a beautiful night sky really makes it all worth it!"

At that moment, the moonlight bathed the ground, as if it had spread a layer of white frost.

Everything had come to an end.

...

The players lay among the ruins until the following morning.

A rainbow ship arrived to pick them up.

Originally, the Hall of Valor wasn't supposed to be this efficient. However, after the disappearance of the Supreme Ice Lord, the Hall of Valor dispatched new support.

The Archduke of Blood lounged casually on his throne.

He hadn't expected that these two god-level demons, who usually had a contentious relationship, would put aside their differences this time to unite against him because of the blood gemstone from his layer of hell.

Initially, the two demons only intended to grab a quick fortune and flee, but upon realizing that the Archduke of Blood seemed to have lost his Source of Energy and was extremely weakened, they shifted their strategy to attempt to slay this god-level demon.

In fact, they were on the verge of success...

Ahhh!!!

The layer of hell where the Archduke of Blood resided descended into a frenzy, accompanied by a torrential blood rain. Countless demons, including the newly birthed Abyssal Worms, bathed in the blood rain and evolved at an astonishing pace!

This was the rule of hell.

When the strong die, the masses rejoice!

The death of a god-level demon meant that this layer of hell would undergo yet another brutal massacre until a new deity was born!

...

And just at that moment...

"Whoa!" Sterl suddenly opened his eyes. He didn't know why, but the immense demonic power he had been absorbing, specifically that from the Archduke of Blood, contained a powerful will that was thrashing about, even trying to consume Sterl's spirit in return.

But just moments ago, that consciousness had let out a sudden scream and dissipated, allowing Sterl's refinement process to surge forward significantly.

"Could it be that after being away from hell for too long, it finally couldn't hold on anymore?" Sterl could only speculate wildly.

At this moment, the crimson supernova in his spiritual realm finally began to fade, extinguishing as it was bound by the white and green chains, settling down into stillness.

Sterl just needed to continue the refinement process to begin harnessing the power within.

The most challenging hurdle had been passed!

Now, he only needed to endure the passage of time.

Sterl closed his eyes again and continued refining, repeatedly channeling his mental will into that crimson sphere. Finally, the sphere suddenly collapsed, spilling forth a wealth of nutrients!

"Ah!"

Sterl felt a rush of clarity wash over him, a wave of nourishing pleasure coursing through his body. This was the most comfortable breakthrough he had ever experienced.

This strange sensation lasted for over half an hour before gradually dissipating.

At this point, Sterl exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He stood up, feeling as though the entire world had become much more transparent.

Meanwhile, Sterl's enhancement panel was going wild with notifications.

[You have been nourished by blood energy; your power attribute has increased by one.]

[You have been nourished by blood energy; your constitution attribute has increased by one.]

[You have been nourished by blood energy...]

...

The first benefit from the Blood Sacrifice Array was a total increase of 100 points in all attributes!

This was a foundational attribute that could be enhanced by various skills.

Although Sterl had not specifically chosen to "gain foundational attributes" when activating the array, the sheer number of over 200 legendary demons had allowed him to "consume" an abundant amount all at once.

The second reward was that Sterl opened his palm, and a strand of crimson power coiled around it. This was the overflow of blood energy, which he would need to wait until achieving god-level to convert into blood-based Divine Power.

Previously, he had hidden the majority of his power at a random teleportation location, leaving only some remnants on hand.

As for the third reward, Sterl initially wanted to keep some sense of surprise for the last hell-exclusive ability he would check.

However, the [Transcendence] system had already notified him with bright golden letters:

[Congratulations, Player Sterl, you have acquired the hell ability · Blood of Evil Thoughts. This ability will be converted based on your constitution.]

[You have gained the ability Origin of Chaos · skills.]