A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 212 - 168: Twilight Guardians_1

Chapter 212: Chapter 168: Twilight Guardians_1

Although all vampires attacking the Hall of the Watchers had been annihilated, the Hall was utterly destroyed by fire, and all the Watchers inside the Hall had been slaughtered.

This meant, essentially… the organization was finished.

“My condolences.”

Standing beside one of the Watchers, Duanmu Huai extended a hand and patted the latter’s shoulder. The Watcher turned his head, giving Duanmu Huai a bitter smile.

“I never imagined it would end this way… This does prove, however, that the vampires are plotting something. Otherwise, they would never have dared to attack the Hall of the Watchers…”

“So, do you have any other good suggestions?”

“There’s only one choice left.”

Thinking of this, the Watcher clenched his fists.

“We must go to the Twilight Guardians.”

“Twilight Guardians?”

“Yes… they were once part of the Watchers’ organization, but due to different ideologies, the Twilight Guardians focus solely on slaying vampires, believing them to be humanity’s greatest threat. However, the Watchers view vampires as just one of the many threats humans face… If this involves vampires, the Twilight Guardians are sure to know something.”

“Well then… what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

The headquarters of the Twilight Guardians was located in a valley known as Spring Valley. According to the Watcher, the Twilight Guardians had fallen on hard times, but when Duanmu Huai and Greyia saw the vast castle nestled in the valley…

Well… compared to the previously shoddy Hall of the Watchers, this place seemed more legitimate.

Inside the castle, the trio quickly met the leader of the Twilight Guardians, a bald elder named Ishiran.

However, upon seeing the arrival of the Watcher, he did not appear to be particularly welcoming.

“Grey, what brings you here? I severed ties with the Watchers long ago.”

“Now is not the time for such talk, Ishiran. The Hall of the Watchers has been attacked by vampires; it’s been completely destroyed, and many people have died… ”

“The Hall of the Watchers was attacked?”

Upon hearing this, the disdainful expression on Ishiran’s face changed abruptly. He scrutinized the Watcher before shifting his gaze to Duanmu Huai and Greyia. Upon seeing Duanmu Huai’s armored attire, a glimmer of confusion sparked in Ishiran’s eyes, but he quickly coughed awkwardly, glossing over the awkward tension.

“So… who are they?”

“They are adventurers, formidable ones at that. I was captured by vampires before; they were attempting to perform some sort of foul ritual. This Steel Warrior single-handedly wiped out dozens of vampires and undead. If it wasn’t for him saving me and disrupting their ritual, none of us would know what the vampires would be up to… ”

Swiftly, the Watcher relayed the information he had gathered to Ishiran, then fixed his gaze on him.

“I admit, the Watchers previously didn’t take the Twilight Guardians’ perspectives seriously, but now, they’ve paid the price. The vampires are gathering divine artifacts, intending to perform a sacrilegious ritual, they’ve even attacked the Hall of the Watchers… all of this points to some sort of conspiracy! We must put an end to this. The Twilight Guardians are more familiar with the vampires; I think you should have some clues.”

“… ”

Faced with the Watcher’s words, Ishiran fell silent for a moment before nodding.

“Speaking of clues, we might have something. Just like you mentioned, the vampires have been increasingly active recently, not just against the Watchers, but also against the Twilight Guardians. In truth, we don’t know much either. The only clue we have right now is this.”

With this, Ishiran pulled out a piece of paper from his robe.

“According to the information we have, a group of vampires is currently located in a Dark Cave outside Morning Star City. It is said they are searching for an ancient vampire artifact. We don’t know if this is the clue you’re looking for, but at least for now… they are definitely plotting something.”

“A Dark Cave, huh… understood. I’ll go there right away!”

Upon hearing this, the Watcher turned around to leave, but Ishiran stopped him.

“Grey, I wouldn’t recommend going. You Watchers have not undergone the needed training… rushing in would just be suicide.”

“So, you’re suggesting I hide here, shaking in fear as I wait for the end to come?”

“Of course not… ”

“We can go together.”

Duanmu Huai interrupted their argument.

“After all, one more person wouldn’t make much difference.”

“You’re right… ”

Facing Duanmu Huai’s proposal, Ishiran fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright, the Twilight Guardians are currently short of manpower, and we also don’t have enough strength to investigate. Therefore, that will be up to you, and your…Steel Warrior and his followers.”

Although Grey wanted to set off as soon as possible, his days of running around had made him somewhat weary. Ultimately, under Duanmu Huai’s persuasion, Grey decided to rest for a night in the castle before resuming their journey.

Duanmu Huai was not idle either. In fact, he kept chatting with Grey during the meal, mostly about the Watchmen. This made Greiya quite curious. During the time after finishing dinner and when Grey went to rest, Greiya also managed to find Duanmu Huai and asked about her doubts out of curiosity.

“Mr. Knight, you seem to be quite concerned about the Watchmen?”

“Of course, I have a plan…well…it’s not confirmed yet.”

The plan Duanmu Huai mentioned was naturally about expanding his legion’s recruitment program.

Basically, all Judges have their own conscripted planets. Each Judge’s Astarte regiment is recruited from these places, then transformed into Astarte warriors.

In Manaria and the Holy City, Duanmu Huai did not think about conscription because it was not suitable there. However, after arriving here, Duanmu Huai found that this continent was very suitable for his legion’s recruiting base.

Firstly, the people of this continent were valiant, home to many tough men.

Secondly, the civilization level here was not high, which made it easier to control.

However, Duanmu Huai did not really want to recruit living people as he didn’t possess the Gene Seed nor the Mechanical Priest, hence he couldn’t transform ordinary humans into Astartes. But conversely, this continent hosted spiritual beings, which made things much easier!

Duanmu Huai’s idea was to establish an organization on this continent and recruit adventurers and warriors from around the place for battles. If they fell in battle, their souls would be absorbed into the regiment, forming a ghost troop similar to the Night Guard.

The appearance of the Watchmen then made a light bulb go off in Duanmu Huai’s head. From what he learned from Grey, it seemed that the Watchmen were similar to the Tribunal, their aim being all alien and non-human Evil God Cultists in the entire Sky. Just right, the Watchmen’s base here was wiped out by the vampires, so Duanmu Huai thought to establish a similar organization as his recruitment base.

But this required negotiating with a deity first, otherwise, those ghosts could be recruited by someone else.

Incidentally, there was a statue of Stendar here, and he could discuss this with it.

With this in mind, Duanmu Huai casually picked up the holy statue from the altar, saying goodbye to Greiya.

“I’m going back to my room now. Don’t come in no matter what happens.”

“Ah, okay……”

Watching Duanmu Huai return to his room, Greiya dutifully took a seat on a chair outside, picking up a book to read.

However, not long after, an explosion suddenly sounded.

“Boom!!”

The deafening sound echoed throughout the castle. As it did so, Greiya saw the guest room’s door being knocked open by a strong force. Immediately afterwards, Duanmu Huai walked out from within, looking quite a mess.

“Dammit…..!”

“What happened to you, Sir Knight? Are you okay?”

Seeing Duanmu Huai walking out, Greiya quickly put down the book, rushing towards Duanmu Huai. The latter coughed twice and then threw the holy idol of Stendar away.

“I’m okay…Damn, that old guy…”

Recalling his prior conversation with Stendar, Duanmu Huai was somewhat annoyed. Initially, through his infusion of Spiritual Energy into the Holy Statue, he successfully managed to connect with Stendar’s “communication channel”. The God of Justice and Mercy seemed reasonable enough, even though he initially mistook Duanmu Huai for an invading Demon Clan member, which irritated Duanmu Huai quite a bit…

Look at me, I clearly look like a human being, not the Demon Clan!

However, afterward, their discussion broke down. Stendar refused Duanmu Huai’s request to provide heroic spirits, claiming that the warriors who fought against evil during their lifetime should be allowed to rest in peace after death, not forced into continued conflict. Ultimately, Stendar’s words implied that he looked down on Duanmu Huai and thought his idea was naive…

Hey, you are not the Chaos Evil God, you’re just a soul’s reflection within a World Fragment, who do you think you are to disdain me? Moreover, this World Fragment belongs to me!

It felt like being looked down upon by an NPC in his own sandbox game, how could he stand that?

Therefore, Duanmu Huai didn’t bother conversing further and decisively left.

I initially thought we could have a nice discussion, but since you look down on me, I won’t play with you anymore. Wait till the time comes, I’ll go to the Obliteration Domain, slay a few Demon Gods, and set myself up as the boss!

Without a butcher, are we still forbidden to eat pork?

If Talos can ascend to divinity, so can I!

Let’s see whose fist is bigger when the time comes!