Gospel of Blood

The return journey went smoothly. Three days later, a homesick Charlotte returned to her own territory.

After “escorting” Charlotte back to Northport, the black dragon Eudoxia set off again. Her mission in the Roman Duchy was complete, and she would now follow Nice’s model predictions to seek out other undiscovered ancient temples.

Charlotte was quite satisfied with this trip to the Roman Duchy.

Although the process was different, she had nearly achieved all her goals. Leaving aside the deal with the Nez Clan, with Yurst’s backing, Charlotte estimated that once she advanced to the Blazing Sun tier, gaining the title of Duchess of Roman wouldn’t be a problem.

Based on previous experiences, she was likely to fall into another deep slumber after her promotion. When she woke again, the Roman Duchy might already be under the control of the Castell family, and she could be the Duchess of Roman.

Charlotte looked forward to this, as a higher noble title would increase her status in the mundane world, and more territory would help her secretly accumulate power.

The search for the Ancient Temple in the Roman Duchy was completed.

After obtaining the Roman Sword, Charlotte confirmed with its spirit that the unexcavated Ancient Temple predicted by Nice was indeed the seal of the Roman Sword.

As for the Faceless Statue that Charlotte longed for, it had already been “swallowed” by the Roman Sword.

“When Romanus took me there, I was just a divine artifact. I became a wisdom artifact only by merging with the statue. True… True Ancestor, you really won’t melt me down to extract the statue, will you?”

The Roman Sword asked cautiously.

Despite Charlotte’s assurances, the Roman Sword was still a bit anxious, knowing that one of her main goals in going to the Roman Duchy was to find the Ancient Temple and the Faceless Statue.

“Stop overthinking. If I wanted to melt you down, I would have done it in Roan. There’s no need for a contract.”

Charlotte said irritably.

She took a sip of the sweet milk prepared by her maid, Sherry, and looked at Nice, who was curiously circling the Roman Sword.

“If you don’t believe me, ask Nice. I think you two will have a lot to talk about.”

Hearing Charlotte, the Roman Sword finally shifted its attention to Nice, who was staring at it with big, curious eyes.

“I was about to ask. Nice’s aura feels familiar and close. What exactly is Nice’s identity? Why do I sense a similar source of power?”

The Roman Sword asked.

“Of course, you feel close. Like you, my body was created from the Faceless Statue.”

Nice said proudly.

The Roman Sword was astonished.

“Your body was created from the Faceless Statue?”

“Yes, so rest assured, our benevolent master won’t destroy you. If she’s caring for someone as useless as me, she won’t harm a legendary artifact like you.”

Nice stated confidently.

The Roman Sword finally relaxed completely.

“By the way, I still need to complete the Roman family’s Ancestral Recognition Ceremony. My body does contain Roman blood. Can it be enhanced?”

Remembering the half-finished ceremony, Charlotte asked. The Roman Sword’s tone turned peculiar.

“You? Ancestral Recognition Ceremony? Do you want me to purify your bloodline?”

“To be precise, to enhance this body’s physical attributes.”

Charlotte replied.

“No way! I can indeed enhance a mortal’s physical attributes and bloodline power, but your body is no longer mortal. Its quality is already comparable to a sacred body!”

The Roman Sword exclaimed.

A sacred body?

Charlotte was stunned. A sacred body is the vessel for the manifestation of divinity, transformed by divine power.

Looking at her white hand, Charlotte pondered.

Recently, she indeed felt more adept at controlling divine power. Could her body have been subtly transformed by divine flame since she ignited it?

During the Ancestral Recognition Ceremony, she infused her blood with divine power, something she couldn’t do before.

Only divine artifacts can contain divine power. Could her body have completed this transformation unknowingly?

If so, aside from the blood divine power output not being stable, wouldn’t she be indistinguishable from a true resurrected God?

Comparing her current state with Albrecht’s memories and the Roman Sword’s knowledge of myths, Charlotte realized she indeed shared no difference with a resurrected God.

“Wait… Does this mean the bottleneck to Demigod status is completely gone?”

Charlotte thought, her spirit lifting at the realization.

Extraordinary, including Charlotte, encounter bottlenecks in their advancement. However, Charlotte has the Gospel of Blood, which allows her to break through these bottlenecks by illuminating the Talent Tree Inheritance.

On the other hand, the resurrected Gods have no such bottlenecks.

This realization excited Charlotte. It meant that as long as she continued to merge with the Faceless Statue and absorb more blood divine power, she could potentially elevate her true body’s strength to that of a Saint!

With this thought, Charlotte was eager to merge with the Faceless Statue confiscated from Albrecht.

However, she did not act rashly. Despite the absence of bottlenecks, she wasn’t sure if she would fall into a deep slumber after merging with the statue. In fact, she had a hunch that she might experience a situation similar to her last advancement.

Charlotte trusted her intuition, especially since igniting her divine flame. This intuition, likely a result of a qualitative change in her soul level, had proven accurate.

So, before merging with the Faceless Statue, she needed to make arrangements to ensure her territory and church wouldn’t face issues during her potential slumber.

Her territory was on track, thanks to her plans and arrangements. Even without her presence, Nice and Sebastian could hold it together, and Nice could impersonate her if needed.

But the church was different. She needed someone to take over the task of “bestowing divine blessing” before she slept.

Initially, she considered using Nice, whose body was a divine artifact. But now, she had a better choice.

Charlotte turned to the Roman Sword, her attitude noticeably more pleasant.

“Roman, you often conduct Ancestral Recognition Ceremonies. You must be quite experienced in bestowing power on mortals, right?”

The Roman Sword was startled by her sudden gentleness.

“Uh, yes, I have some experience. Is there a problem, Lady Charlotte?”

“You can pull a mortal’s consciousness into your mental world, correct?”

“Yes, I can. Although the duration is short, and I prefer calling it my spirit space.”

“Spirit space, yes. In your spirit space, you can change your appearance, right?”

“Indeed, I do that during the Ancestral Recognition Ceremony. I enjoy testing the Roman descendants in my consciousness.”

“Excellent!”

Charlotte nodded and smiled.

“I’m preparing to further enhance my power and might fall asleep. During this time, I need someone to maintain the faith network and bestow divine blessing in my stead.”

She looked at the Roman Sword, her smile growing warmer.

“Roman, you are extraordinarily talented, the most intelligent artifact in history. Would you assist me by maintaining the faith network and bestowing divine blessing while I slumber?”

Charlotte’s lavish praise left the Roman Sword dazed and excited. Without hesitation, it replied.

“Yes! I would be honored! Serving you is the greatest privilege for Roman!”

‘So easy to manipulate.’

Charlotte and Nice thought simultaneously, watching the delighted Roman Sword.

Nice glanced at the sword with pity.

A God can ignore most believers’ voices and maintain the network minimally, but for an artifact?

Enjoy the constant prayers of countless followers 24/7!

Having half-fooled and half-ordered the Roman Sword to take over the faith network during her slumber, Charlotte addressed her final concern.

She issued an oracle to her retainers, except Albrecht, about her plans to enhance her power and briefly “slumber” again.

Then, she entered the dark chamber prepared by Sebastian. Sealed and protected by multiple layers of barriers, Charlotte lay back in the luxurious crystal coffin.

To avoid alerting the Holy Court’s Divine Warning Bell, she had Nice prepare an enormous shielding array covering Northport.

With everything ready, Charlotte placed the Faceless Statue on her chest and closed her eyes, beginning the fusion.

Crimson light blossomed as the Faceless Statue on her chest began to “melt”, sending a warm power through her body and into her heart.

Her heart, already tinged with a golden-red hue, beat powerfully, fueling the divine flame within. Abundant blood divine power surged through her limbs, enhancing the flame in her heart.

Gradually, a space capable of containing divine power formed where the divine flame burned. The divine power stored in the Gospel of Blood and scattered throughout her body and consciousness gathered in this “divine power pool.”

Golden-red light enveloped Charlotte, emitting an awe-inspiring aura that made the dark chamber tremble. Multiple magical formations activated, suppressing the growing power and aura.

Despite the suppression, magic power began to radiate from Charlotte’s body, agitating the surrounding elements.

Eventually, translucent red crystals formed in the chamber—concentrated magic crystals.

Even Nice, guarding outside the chamber, noticed the change in the air. Eyes wide with astonishment, he murmured.

“This is… the precursor to domain resonance? Is Lady Charlotte’s true body restoring to a Saint’s state?”

Unaware of everything, Charlotte was overcome with unprecedented drowsiness as soon as she began merging with the statue. She quickly fell into a slumber…