Gospel of Blood

Charlotte’s gaze sharpened.

A shadowy glow flickered behind her, and for a moment, Harald, kneeling before Charlotte, felt the surrounding magic seemingly come to a halt. Under the indescribable pressure, even the holy power within him seemed to lose control.

This was a byproduct of Charlotte’s power approaching that of a true God.

Although she hadn’t taken the final step to ascension, as her divine power reached the limits of what a Demigod could contain, her emotions and every action seemed to cause changes in the surrounding space.

This was the spillover of the power of laws, the “God” affecting the “world.”

Fortunately, Charlotte quickly noticed how her change in mood was disturbing the environment.

She promptly reined in her aura, calming herself.

Only then did Harald recover from the terrifying pressure.

Even though he had reached the Legendary tier, at this moment, he still felt like a child just learning to walk in front of her.

This thought flashed through his mind.

“Speak, what are your findings this time?”

Charlotte gestured.

Harald nodded and respectfully replied.

“We have tracked down the core base of the Sun Temple. They are entrenched in the Dragonspine Mountains, which used to be the domain of the God of Secret Contracts, Kul’kan, one of the initiators of the Old Gods’ Alliance. However, it is now under the control of the Sun Temple.”

The God of Secret Contracts, Kul’kan…

Charlotte’s eyes flashed, recalling a serpentine Demigod fleeing in disgrace under her pursuit.

“Has the Sun Temple completely taken over the Old Gods’ Alliance?”

Charlotte asked again.

Harald nodded.

“As you suspected, the Sun Temple appeared in the Northern Frontier three and a half years ago and began infiltrating the Old God Churches.”

“Reportedly, the Sun Temple wields a mysterious power that can exert absolute suppression on many Gods. Within three years, they have controlled more than half of the Old Gods’ Alliance…”

“Now, the Sun Temple is the true master of the Old Gods’ Alliance.”

Only a little more than half of the Old Gods are controlled by the Sun Temple?

That number is actually a bit lower than expected.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

The information Harald brought back was indeed roughly as she anticipated. The entity behind the Sun Temple was related to that entity behind the door, possibly the Sun God Helios… or at least closely connected to them.

Since they arrived through her time travel, they naturally appeared with her.

Moreover, they wielded the origin power, specifically the ‘malice’ aspect of it, which was devastatingly effective against the Old Gods of this era, quickly bringing the Old Gods’ Alliance under its control.

Charlotte wasn’t surprised by this. What surprised Charlotte was that nearly half of the Old Gods weren’t completely controlled by the Sun Temple.

Considering Charlotte had exterminated over thirty myths in these three and a half years, more than half of which were “pseudo-Gods” created by the Sun Temple.

Charlotte could easily defeat Demigods and pseudo-Gods, but battles between Demigods and pseudo-Gods were not as straightforward.

Based on Charlotte’s assessment, the Sun Temple, which mastered the origin power, should have an overwhelming advantage over the Old Gods’ Alliance.

Given their ability to produce so many Demigods, failing to fully control the Old Gods’ Alliance was indeed puzzling.

However, Harald’s intelligence aligned with the war’s outcomes over these three and a half years.

During the war between the Free City-State Alliance and the Old Gods’ Alliance, the Old Gods never deployed more than five myths at a time.

Against Charlotte’s power, they seemed to be sending waves of reinforcements, resembling the tale of the Seven Brothers rescuing their grandfather.

Charlotte had always wondered why the Old Gods’ Alliance, with so many Demigods, didn’t just launch an all-out assault.

But now it seemed this was due to the Sun Temple’s incomplete control, and the Old Gods’ Alliance wasn’t fully united.

This was good news for Charlotte.

Over the past three and a half years, Charlotte had gauged her combat strength.

Given her current power, she could annihilate Demigods and pseudo-Gods from the Old Gods’ Alliance in a one-on-one fight, chase down two simultaneously, gain the upper hand against three, struggle against four, and hold a stalemate against five…

Although the Old Gods’ Alliance had less than ten myths left, if they united fully, she would indeed be under pressure.

Not to mention the looming threat of the entity behind the door.

However, considering the Sun Temple’s incomplete control over the Old Gods’ Alliance, could they still maintain their influence given the severe losses in myths personnel?

No…

Wait.

If half of the Old Gods weren’t controlled by the Sun Temple…

Charlotte paused, her expression turning solemn.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at Harald.

“So… the Old Gods we’ve been fighting were those not completely controlled by the Sun Temple?”

Harald nodded solemnly.

“Exactly. They were the cannon fodder pushed forward by the Sun Temple. The priest I converted was a believer of one such God and hence harbored deep hatred towards the Sun Temple.”

“The Sun Temple’s strategy was to weaken our forces while solidifying their control over the Old Gods’ Alliance.”

Charlotte fell silent.

She sighed softly and said,

“So now they’ve fully consolidated their power over the Old Gods’ Alliance?”

Harald nodded.

“Yes, their plan to weaken us failed because of your presence. Instead of weakening, we grew stronger through our victories over them.”

“But simultaneously, their plan to control the Old Gods’ Alliance succeeded because… all the dissenters they pushed forward were slain by you.”

“Now, eight myths remain in the Old Gods’ Alliance, all loyal to the Sun Temple. Additionally, the Sun Temple possesses an unknown number of pseudo-Gods.”

At this point, Harald looked at Charlotte, speaking gravely.

“Teacher… our frontlines are stretched too thin. Over the past three and a half years, although you’ve slain many Evil Gods of the Old Gods’ Alliance, their armies weren’t completely annihilated but were instead absorbed by the remaining myths of the Old Gods’ Alliance.”

“Furthermore, the populations of the areas we’ve conquered have significantly decreased. We haven’t found where these people have gone. They might have been transformed into extraordinary armies by the Sun Temple.”

Charlotte pondered.

She understood Harald’s point.

The Sun Temple’s plan to weaken the Free City-State Alliance had indeed failed, the alliance had grown stronger instead of weaker.

But the Sun Temple’s plan succeeded in eliminating the disobedient Demigods and consolidating the remaining forces.

Not only that, those remaining Demigods likely grew stronger after absorbing the remnants of the slain Demigods.

This meant that although fewer myths were left in the Old Gods’ Alliance, they were all core followers of the Sun Temple.

This mythic power, though small in number, wasn’t weak. Being all loyalists, they could operate with great precision.

Their consolidated Old Gods’ armies, though fewer in number than three years ago, might now be much stronger in combat after unification.

Moreover, the Sun Temple seemed to be amassing mundane military forces.

Considering the rapid expansion of the Free City-State Alliance over the past three years, leading to a dispersed force, if the enemy concentrated their forces for a counterattack…

Charlotte’s expression grew even more solemn.

Although history couldn’t be changed, and the rise of the bloodborne was inevitable…

The same didn’t apply to the Free City-State Alliance.

In the future, the Free City-State Alliance had been forgotten, and this period of history was blank.

Furthermore, in Rowena’s diary, Charlotte had seen records of the Free City-State Alliance suffering a significant setback.

Charlotte wasn’t sure if that referred to this period, but considering this blank period in history… it was perilous.

Charlotte wasn’t particularly worried about her safety, as she could always escape through time travel, but she didn’t want to leave a mess behind in this era.

After all, history couldn’t be changed, but it could be influenced.

And she didn’t know if this might bring unforeseen changes and hidden dangers to her future self.

She could only be sure that the Sun Temple likely had plans for a counterattack.

And behind this was the sinister plot of the entity behind the door.

With this in mind, Charlotte’s expression turned serious as she said,

“Harald, inform all Blood Legions to retreat temporarily, withdraw to the nearest fortress, and order all cities and fortresses to activate war preparation spells and be ready to initiate protective formations at any moment.”

“I’m heading to the North Sea for about one to two weeks. Until I return, no one is to engage the Old Gods’ Alliance. If there are any movements from them, recite my name, pray to me, and report immediately.”

Harald’s eyes lit up.

“Are you… going to see that person again? Is there anything I can help with?”

“Manage the City-State Alliance and wait for my return. There might be a major battle soon, possibly an unprecedented divine war, which is beyond your involvement.”

Charlotte said.

Then, as if recalling something, she added,

“No, wait.”

“Prepare some moon-elven wine for me, as much as possible, with older vintages.”