Ben spoke up, “I’ve stationed Gnolls near Golden Tiger City. As soon as we get any news about Sini, it will be relayed immediately.”
John nodded and gave him a grateful look. It seemed that for now, the people around him were safe.
Ben continued, “Godslayer, what’s your plan? Are you preparing to attack Quahog City?”
John smiled and replied, “This time, you handle the arrangements.”
He glanced at the Gnoll army in the distance. It was clear that Ben held a high position among them and had been planning the attack on Quahog City for a long time.
John had only just arrived and wasn’t familiar with all the details yet.
“Alright!” Ben exclaimed, excited. “I’ve been planning this for a long time. Before, I didn’t have absolute confidence, but with you joining us, we’ll definitely take Quahog City easily.”
He was well aware of John’s strength. Even without the laws of power, John was not someone to be underestimated, which was why he had asked for help from the Gnolls.
“I’m almost ready on my end. I’ve already contacted over a dozen surrounding towns. Including the Gnolls, we’ll have around 100,000 soldiers. The counterattack can begin in the next few days. If you can coordinate from inside Quahog City, we’ll definitely be able to take it easily and rescue Tony and the others,” Ben explained his plan.
He glanced at Debbie. With the Goddess on their side, John and his group could easily infiltrate Quahog City.
All they had to do was create some commotion, and the city would fall.
“100,000?” Debbie exclaimed in shock. “Impossible. I know the Gnoll numbers here—at most, there are 30,000. How could there be that many enemies?”
Ben shot her a look and frowned. “Lady, are you sure this woman is on our side?”
John replied casually, “I just subdued her. Her mind isn’t all there yet.”
Debbie frowned, clearly struggling to accept this. She followed The Heaven’s teachings, believing that all those who opposed The Heaven were evil. But what she saw in Peach Town made her realize that the lords of many cities weren’t necessarily good people either.
“No wonder,” Ben muttered, understanding now. “The Gnoll army itself has 30,000, but we’ve also got the city guard from the surrounding towns and people from hundreds of villages joining us.”
Debbie glared at the two men, stunned. “The town guards and villagers have rebelled too?”
John sighed in exasperation. “You don’t actually think you’re the only good ones, do you?”
Debbie frowned, clearly struggling to accept this. She followed The Heaven’s teachings, believing that all those who opposed The Heaven were evil. But what she saw in Peach Town made her realize that the lords of many cities weren’t necessarily good people either.
Still, she couldn’t fully accept John and his group’s actions.
“I believe most cities still stand on the side of The Heaven’s justice,” she insisted, sticking to her belief.
The others scoffed at her words.
John didn’t bother arguing. Instead, he turned to Ben and asked, “Give me a specific time for the counterattack. I need to prepare in advance.”
He had only restored a tenth of his original attributes, and the Lord of Quahog City was a four-star Awakened One. It was still a struggle for him to face a four-star powerhouse, so he needed to regain more strength.
Ben thought for a moment and said, “Seven days. Some of the towns aren’t fully under control yet, and Quahog City has received some intelligence. They’ve been sending the Storm Legion to hunt us down. This time, I set up a trap and wiped out over a thousand of the Storm Legion. They should be more cautious now.”
“Alright, seven days from now.” John confirmed the timeline, then asked for the areas in the forest where fierce beasts and spirit beasts were most active, intending to hunt them and restore his strength.
John and his group parted ways with Ben and ventured deeper into the forest, where they found a dark cave.
This was a location Ben had provided. Inside, there was a large gathering of spirit beasts—Bloodthirsty Bats. Their numbers were enormous, and they had poisonous attacks. Few people were brave enough to provoke them.
But John was not afraid. His base attributes were formidable, and although his life law was sealed, he still wasn’t intimidated by poison attacks.
The cave was dark and damp, and a foul stench hit them as soon as they entered.
The two women frowned.
Debbie covered her nose and mouth, clearly disgusted. “It stinks so much.”
John held his Qing Steel Sword, staying vigilant, and said, “Be sure to protect Spoorate.”
Debbie nodded. Her staff appeared in her hand, and as she chanted an incantation, a glowing orb floated into the air, illuminating the deep cave.
Screech…
A series of piercing shrieks echoed from above. Countless large bats hung from the ceiling of the cave, disturbed by the light, and they swooped down with a howl.
These Bloodthirsty Bats had wingspans of over a meter, with hideous faces and sharp fangs. They were all mid-tier to high-tier spirit beasts.
Buzz!
The sound of sword intent resonated as a cold gleam flashed. John swung his longsword with precision, his strikes so fast and dense that hardly any Bloodthirsty Bat could break through his defenses to threaten the two women behind him.
[You have killed a mid-tier spirit beast, Bloodthirsty Bat. Plunder talent activated, restoring 0.0001% of your base attributes.]
The system notification flashed as each Bloodthirsty Bat was slain, and John’s four base attributes quickly grew.
Screech…
The screeching of the Bloodthirsty Bats continued. They were relentless, swooping in from every direction.
The two women hid behind John, their faces full of shock.
“Big brother is amazing!” Spoorate exclaimed excitedly, her eyes filled with envy. She wanted to help, but her strength was far too weak.
“Why is the master’s strength increasing so rapidly?” Debbie frowned. The rate at which John’s power was growing was simply astonishing.
She was certain that when she first met John, he had barely been able to handle a one-star Awakened One. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been held back by her light magic, which had managed to restrain him.
But since then, his strength had increased almost exponentially.
In Peach Town, he had killed the Flame Lion, slaughtered the town’s guards, and then forcefully defeated the obese city lord.
Now, John’s performance showed that his strength was no less than that of a three-star Awakened One.
And yet, he had never absorbed a crystal core or spirit core to cultivate. It seemed as though his power increased solely through slaughter.
Could it be that all The Heaven criminals were this terrifying?
As she watched John’s strength unfold, Debbie furrowed her brow, feeling a growing sense of fear.
If the imprisoned The Heaven criminals were all as powerful as her master, if they were released, the consequences would be unimaginable.
She felt conflicted inside, unsure whether helping John was the right thing to do.
“Debbie, don’t just stand there! Help me collect the spirit cores!” Spoorate called out, as she gathered the Bloodthirsty Bat’s spirit cores.
But John’s killing speed was too fast. In the blink of an eye, the ground around them was piled with the corpses of Bloodthirsty Bats.
Debbie snapped out of her thoughts, forcing herself to ignore her discomfort. She helped Spoorate collect the spirit cores of the Bloodthirsty Bats.
…
Before they knew it, three days had passed. John and his group had ventured deeper into the cave, and the number of Bloodthirsty Bats was rapidly decreasing.
He roughly estimated that they had slaughtered over ten thousand Bloodthirsty Bats. His four core attributes had recovered by over 20%, all exceeding 300 million, with his strength attribute surpassing 400 million.
Now, he was confident that he could easily defeat a four-star Awakened One, and even stand a chance against a five-star Awakened One.
“Let’s go. It’s time to head to Quahog City.” John killed the last Bloodthirsty Bat, and the cave, now void of any more of the creatures, finally grew quiet.
The two women sighed in relief. They had long since had enough of the cave.
Although there was no danger in the cave, the stench was unbearable.
“Big brother, how do I comprehend The Power of Laws?” Spoorate tugged at his sleeve, following closely behind him with curiosity in her eyes.
She had absorbed a large number of spirit cores over the past few days, and her strength had reached the peak of the Body Refining Realm. However, she still hadn’t been able to comprehend The Power of Laws, and thus couldn’t break through to the Spirit Body Realm.
John furrowed his brow. He didn’t fully understand the cultivation rules of this world. His power had grown not through cultivation, but through recovery.
He looked at Debbie and asked, “Do you know how to comprehend The Power of Laws?”
Debbie’s brow also furrowed as she spoke. “I’ve observed Spoorate’s condition. It seems that there’s a sealed force within her that’s suppressing her breakthrough.”
“Sealed force?” John thought back to what Old Village Chief Jackey had said. Spoorate’s awakening talent was powerful, and her father had placed a seal inside her to protect her safety.
It seemed that the seal was also suppressing Spoorate’s cultivation progress.
Debbie continued, “I feel like Spoorate can keep absorbing spirit cores to improve her attributes and forcibly break through that seal.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” John said confidently. He didn’t know how to break the seal, but if it required spirit cores, magic cores, or other such items, he had plenty to spare.
What he needed was to kill many powerful beings, activate his Plunder attribute, and restore his strength. Spirit cores, magic cores, and crystal cores were the least of his concerns.
He turned to Spoorate and said, “Little girl, don’t worry about saving them for me. Absorb as many as you can.”
“Okay!” Spoorate beamed, happily pulling out a handful of spirit cores from her pocket and greedily absorbing their power.
Debbie watched with a hint of envy. However, she was already a one-star Awakened One, practicing the Law of Light. Any further advancement would depend solely on the Law of Light.
Soon, the three of them arrived at Quahog City.
With Debbie, the divine woman, by their side, the guards at the city gate didn’t even question them, and they entered the city without a hitch.
The city was bustling with activity, filled with all kinds of shops, much more vibrant than Peach Town.
However, there were also more patrolling soldiers on the streets, especially around the city walls, where sentries stood watch. The atmosphere was somewhat tense.
“Big brother, what are we doing next? Are we preparing to attack Quahog City?” Spoorate asked excitedly.
John and Debbie were both taken aback. There were still many patrolling soldiers on the streets.
Debbie quickly covered Spoorate’s mouth, afraid they might draw attention from the soldiers.
John surveyed the shops on both sides of the street and soon found an inn. This was the meeting place Ben had arranged for exchanging information.
He led the two women upstairs to a window-side table and ordered a delicious spread.
“Mmm, big brother, this is so delicious! Spoorate has never eaten anything this good before…” Spoorate mumbled with her mouth full, her words barely intelligible.
John chuckled. He didn’t quite agree. The food in this world was only average at best, though compared to the roasted meat and wild vegetables of Apricot Village, it could be considered a delicacy.
Debbie spoke up, “Do you even realize how much this meal costs? Ten low-grade spirit cores!”
She couldn’t help but exclaim, feeling that John was being too wasteful. As a divine woman, she had never indulged in such luxury before.