Chapter 229 Moen City

By the time Chen Nuo arrived at Castle Morne, it was nearly dawn.

The rebellion had lasted for several days without being completely quelled. Soldiers were still struggling to suppress the rioting Omens, but the numerical disparity meant the scales of victory were gradually tipping toward the Omens.

Castle Morne's garrison was originally much larger, but months ago, most of them had been redeployed to Stormveil Castle, giving the Omens their opportunity.

Otherwise, how could a bunch of Omens armed only with wood-cutting cleavers have caused such a severe riot?

Of course, there seemed to be another hidden force attempting to push Castle Morne into an abyss of eternal damnation.

The outer perimeter of Castle Morne had completely fallen.

The once-clean roads were now littered with the corpses of soldiers, dismembered and ravaged by the Omens.

Wielding crude weapons, these Omens had beaten the soldiers into unrecognizable heaps of flesh.

They vented years of pent-up resentment in a most brutal fashion, occasionally letting out bursts of frenzied laughter.

Their painful ecstasy spread like a contagious plague.

"Mm..."

Irena let out a soft nasal sound and couldn't help but lower her head and cover her eyes, clearly in pain.

"What's wrong, Miss Irena?"

Chen Nuo noticed and inquired.

"I'm fine... Master Nuo, don't worry about me."

Irena shook her head gently, offering a forced smile.

Though the sudden burning sensation in her eyes made her uncomfortable, now was not the time to worry about that; the anxiety and unease in her heart far outweighed the physical pain.

"Alright, hold on tight."

Chen Nuo gave Torrent a light nudge, preparing to pick up the pace.

Clearing out these Omens was easy; in moments, they all fell beneath Chen Nuo's Butcher Knife, subsequently reduced to wisps of ash by the burning Sunfire.

Naturally, Chen Nuo also granted the fallen soldiers their final rest.

The originally uncomfortable atmosphere of bloody brutality was cleared away, replaced by a freshness akin to sunlight after rain.

The burning in Irena's eyes also improved significantly.

One thing to watch out for was the Golem Archer guarding Castle Morne, a massive humanoid golem.

Even though its surface appeared battered and some functions were lost, it still displayed immense combat power.

Numerous Omen corpses lay scattered around it.

This Golem Archer was a relic and witness of the Golden Age.

Through it, one could catch a glimpse of that once-great dynasty.

Had the riot not erupted from within Castle Morne, these Omens alone could never have broken through the Golem Archer's defense.

Besides its powerful combat capabilities, the Golem Archer possessed a degree of intelligence and could distinguish friend from foe.

The simultaneous appearance of Chen Nuo and Irena clearly confused its targeting logic; that momentary hesitation was all Chen Nuo needed to unleash a fierce assault.

Torrent double-jumped, bringing Chen Nuo to a height level with the Golem Archer.

Then, that pitch-black pot bottom slammed violently against the Golem Archer's head. With a dull, thunderous boom, the Golem Archer's several-ton body was sent flying, embedding itself firmly into the castle walls.

Though Irena couldn't see what was happening, the sheer sound of the impact made her heart pound.

With the Golem Archer no longer an obstacle, the path into Castle Morne was clear.

Passing through the wide-open gates, a thick scent of blood filled the city. A normal person might not have noticed, but Chen Nuo could sniff out another frenzied aura within that stench.

Clearly, the entirety of Castle Morne was being used as a nursery for the frenzied flame; twisted despair was its best nourishment.

And this despair had begun accumulating centuries ago, from the moment the Omens were enslaved, gradually seeping into every inch of the city's soil.

As for Irena?

Chen Nuo glanced down at the blind girl in his arms.

She had likely been chosen before she was even born.

All of this was part of the frenzied flame ritual, designed to push Irena into the embrace of the Three Fingers.

Via the lift, Chen Nuo reached the inner ward of Castle Morne.

The once-empty platform was the epicenter of the riot.

Heaps of corpses were stacked almost into a hill. A large group of Omens gathered around a burning bonfire, as if celebrating a victory, or more likely, performing some sort of ritual.

It exuded a sense of absurd, eerie distortion.

The visual impact was extremely powerful.

Hanging above the bonfire was a man.

His legs had been severed and his jaw removed; he had been tortured until only a single breath remained.

Judging by his clothes, he was likely a noble from within Castle Morne.

The Omens were enjoying the torture so much that they were too absorbed to notice Chen Nuo's arrival.

Seeing this, Chen Nuo didn't plan to deal with these Omens yet; he headed straight for the center of Castle Morne, where some soldiers were still stubbornly resisting.

Along the way, many more corpses could be seen hung up by the Omens.

Some were city residents, others were soldiers.

The Omens did this intentionally to strike fear into the surviving soldiers and residents.

The Castellan of Castle Morne was trapped atop a high tower. Clad in heavy armor, he had removed his helmet and sat on a crate, panting; the overnight battle had exhausted his strength.

When Chen Nuo arrived before him on Torrent, Edgar instinctively reached for his weapon, but lowered it the next second, saying with complex emotions,

"Irena? Why have you come back?"

"Father..."

Feeling the concern and worry in Edgar's voice, Irena's tightly wound emotions snapped. She almost burst into tears but forced herself to hold back, her voice pleading,

"Father, please leave with us."

"I cannot! I have my duty to uphold."

Edgar's expression flickered with struggle, but in the end, he refused.

"The Castellan of Castle Morne, Edgar."

Chen Nuo dismounted and stepped forward alone.

"And you are?"

Edgar took a deep breath, controlling his emotions. He set aside his role as a father, straightened his back, and returned to being the Castellan.

"I am called Nuo."

Chen Nuo said as he extended his hand.

Edgar looked down, hesitated, and then shook it. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed the curl of Chen Nuo's lip, and his heart skipped a beat.

The next second, an intense burning sensation began to spread up from the other man's hand.

Edgar's first reaction was that he was under magical attack. He instinctively tried to pull away, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't budge that seemingly unremarkable arm.

Before he could even be shocked by Chen Nuo's strength, the heat felt as if it were about to ignite his entire body.

In fact, in Edgar's vision, a cluster of orange-red flame really was spreading from their joined hands onto himself.

But this flame neither burned his flesh nor ignited his clothes.

It seeped into his marrow and touched his soul.

Edgar could have endured that level of heat, but as it reached his eyes, a sharp agony erupted from within them.

It felt as if it were tearing Edgar's mind apart.

Even with a will as steadfast as his, he couldn't help but let out a cry of agony, collapsing to his knees.

"Aaaahhh—!!"

"Father!"

Irena couldn't see what was happening and rushed forward in a panic. However, she tripped and fell, left to grope helplessly along the ground.

"As I thought, you too are infected with the frenzied flame."

Chen Nuo stared into Edgar's eyes; within those faded pupils, a flickering yellow flame could be seen.

Early infection with the Frenzied Flame disease showed almost no symptoms, with the focus concentrated in the eye sockets. In the later stages, when the disease fully erupted, yellow flames would burst from the eyes.

Using the spiritual side of Sunfire, Chen Nuo forced the hidden frenzied flame in Edgar's eyes to manifest.

Sensing its imminent destruction, this wisp of frenzied flame tried to resist, and all it could do was influence Edgar's mind to drive him into madness.

However, with his own spirituality ignited by Chen Nuo's Sunfire, Edgar had no strength left to struggle.

"The infection has completely penetrated your eyes. I shall grant you a baptism of the sun; I hope you can endure it."

Chen Nuo said softly.

To completely strip the frenzied flame from Edgar, such soul-burning methods were the only way.

As for whether the frenzied flame would burn out first or Edgar would succumb—that depended on his own willpower.

"Master Nuo, what on earth are you doing?"

Irena felt Chen Nuo's leg and pulled herself up by his clothes. The Sunfire ignited her as well, but Irena seemed not to feel any pain, looking up and staring intently at Chen Nuo.

The blindfold covering her eyes fell away, and those greyish-white eyes actually found focus in that moment.

For the first time, Irena saw light.

It was within reach, and so heart-warming.

But why did it bring her father such pain?

Chen Nuo gently stroked Irena's face, lifting her from the ground.

The constitution of a Maiden was very special; they seemed naturally capable of accepting the power of Outer Gods, yet were also easily influenced and dominated by that power.

As the destined Maiden for the Three Fingers, Irena's body had immense compatibility with the power of flame; she could even glimpse a portion of the sun's essence.

To Chen Nuo's slight surprise, Irena hadn't actually been infected with the Frenzied Flame disease yet.

This was likely because she had not yet experienced the ultimate despair.

However, her eyes had been modified by some power, engraved with an incomplete mark—the foundation of some ritual. This was just as well.

One who could receive the frenzied flame and become a Maiden of the Three Fingers could naturally become a Maiden of the Sun.

"Do you see it?"

Chen Nuo asked softly.

"...Yes, Master Nuo, I see the light."

Irena murmured, her expression somewhat dazed.

Glimpsing even a fraction of the sun's immortal spirituality had caused a massive shock to her soul.

This was why the frenzied flame had gone to such lengths to cultivate Irena.

Its despairing, twisted essence was not something just any Maiden could withstand.

"That is the Sun."

Chen Nuo corrected her.

As his voice fell, orange-red flames erupted outward with him as the center, almost setting the entire Castle Morne ablaze.

The Fuel he had accumulated over these days was once again completely released.

The dead husks used their flesh to Fuel this fire, while the living had their spirituality ignited, undergoing a baptism just like Edgar.

If they could endure until the frenzied flame was purged, they would naturally receive a transformative Sun Blessing. If not, they would turn to ash along with their ignited bodies.

Irena was also undergoing the baptism, though it was far less dangerous for her. This was both due to Chen Nuo's favor and her inherent nature as a Maiden.

Her greyish-white eyes gradually took on an orange-red hue.

Though she hadn't regained normal sight, she could now perceive another spiritual dimension.

The years of accumulated frenzied flame miasma hanging over Castle Morne tried to resist the Sun's baptism, but the result was an immediate collapse. Their natures were too incompatible; the frenzied flame was completely countered by the Sun.

Centuries of the frenzied flame's planning and accumulation were thus reduced to cinders by Chen Nuo.

Even the Maiden it so desired was now thoroughly dyed in Chen Nuo's colors.

Do not overestimate the power of the frenzied flame.

Though it had the potential to burn the world, compared to other Outer Gods, its starting point in The Lands Between was too low; it didn't even have an agent to walk the earth on its behalf.

It even had to usurp the power of the greater will, manifesting as the Three Fingers.

Compared to the other Outer Gods, it was quite pathetic.

For a moment, a wail seemed to echo through The Lands Between.

(No—!!)

"Are you a god?"

Irena knelt before Chen Nuo, her voice full of piety.

"No, I am a King."

Chen Nuo shook his head gently.

"Then may I serve you and become your Maiden?"

Irena asked again with devotion.

Though Chen Nuo denied her previous question, the sights Irena's eyes could see had already given her the answer.

If God says He is a King, then He is a King.

Just as Chen Nuo was about to answer, he felt a light poke on his back—a reminder from Melina.

I was here first!

Melina didn't say it out loud, but the emotion she conveyed was very clear.

"Ahem, we'll talk about that later."

Chen Nuo changed his tune.

Melina's spirit form was reflected in Irena's eyes. The gazes of the two Maidens met, and invisible sparks seemed to fly.

But Irena soon withdrew her gaze.

Jealousy was not something a mature Maiden should engage in.

Edgar finally survived the baptism, a hazy color appearing in his eyes.

As a result, whether voluntarily or not, Edgar had completely diverged from the golden order. With no other choice, he swore his fealty to Chen Nuo.

Not just Edgar, but many soldiers survived, and even a small number of Omens.

Without the influence of the frenzied flame and having shared the same baptism, the rebellion came to an end. Everyone instinctively gathered around Chen Nuo, looking up as if waiting for something.

Looking at the baptized populace, Chen Nuo proclaimed the first law of the law of the sun.

"Beneath the King, all life is equal."

Led by the Leonine Misbegotten, the Omens were the first to kneel in submission.