Archibald understood why John had been so calm earlier.
It seemed his brother must have learned something crucial while outside, which explained his composed demeanor.
Leopold, having taken two punches, was sweating from the pain but seeing John's calmness helped him to stabilize his own nerves.
"No way! Brother must have a plan. I mustn't mess this up or hold him back."
"I bet you don't dare, why don't you give it a try?"
John said, appearing outwardly calm but gripping the Bloodthirsty Blade tightly in his hand.
Their powers had been reduced to around level 15, yet the adversaries they faced were gold-tier!
Their biggest problem was the inability to use their storage rings, trapping their supplies within.
The squad leader eyed John, a hint of wariness flashing through his eyes.
Did this man know something? Why else would he seem so confident?
The younger squad leader glanced at his older counterpart, then sneered, "You think we'd treat mere sacrifices with any respect? You really think I would hesitate?"
As he spoke, he landed another heavy punch on Leopold's stomach.
"Ugh!"
Leopold desperately tried to control himself to prevent screaming in agony.
The punch had hit a vital spot in his stomach, causing spasms of pain as if his organs were displaced.
He gritted his teeth, trying not to show his pain, but his facial muscles involuntarily twitched with the intensity of it.
Internally, he cursed relentlessly but had no choice but to endure the pain.
"If you're so capable, why don't you just kill them?"
John's voice floated lightly as he twirled the Bloodthirsty Blade in his hand, displaying an air of confidence.
Though he appeared unfazed, he was actually scrutinizing the situation intently.
"If your knives aren't sharp enough, perhaps you need to borrow mine?"
Most of the adversaries were around lv22, not far off from his own level.
But a direct confrontation would be unwise due to their numerical advantage.
Strategy was essential.
These people, although evil, were clearly afraid of damaging their bodies.
John walked calmly into the courtyard.
Although the others desperately wanted to capture him, they instinctively stepped back, seemingly repelled by something emanating from John.
On the surface, John remained composed, but inside, a new plan was forming.
If his hunch was correct, they might actually be able to escape from here first.
He pulled out a fragment of the wedding dress he had found in the bride's room from his system backpack.
As expected, when he displayed the fragment, the faces around him instantly changed, and panic set in as they began to retreat.
Even the legs of the two squad leaders began to tremble; they forcibly dragged Archibald and Leopold back with them.
John, holding the wedding dress fragment on the tip of his Bloodthirsty Blade, positioned it prominently in front of him.
Although there was some distance between him and the fragment, he still felt a slight dizziness—the garment's effect on spirit was profound.
Yet, the fear displayed by those around him towards the wedding dress fragment was genuine.
They were truly terrified, as if they had seen some kind of demon.
At first, John was merely puzzled because he had visited the rooms of the two brides, inevitably picking up some of their scent.
As he moved forward and noticed the people retreating, he guessed there must be something on him that they feared.
It was a casual test, but to his surprise, it worked!
This made it even stranger.
If they were all to be offerings to the god, with Isabella and Amelia as the god's brides, then logically, everything should stem from the same source.
Why then were these people so terrified of the wedding dress fragment?
"You... you went to the brides' courtyard!"
The young squad leader paled dramatically, his gaze at John shifting with a mix of alarm in his voice.
John raised an eyebrow slightly, "Not only did I go there, but I also brought back some gifts for you. Do you like them?"
As he spoke, John took another step forward, and the others scrambled back in panic, hitting the wall with uncontrollable fear etched on their faces.
Archibald's heart lifted with joy.
Big brother really had a plan! It always comes down to big brother!