Those Transcendents who took the path outlined in the Forbidden Book, the "Bloodline Codex," began to step into the non-human realm in every aspect after completing the ritual to sublime their life essence. Unfortunately, even Montezuma II, who enjoyed an endless supply of resources and could be considered a paragon among Middle Sequence non-humans, still could not withstand that targeted, tiny obsidian ritual knife.
"Ah—!"
With a piercing scream, the native emperor's thick right arm, covered in tiger fur, flew into the air and was snatched by Cortes, the "Conqueror," standing beside him. He removed a gold Seal Ring from the index finger of the emperor's right hand and then solemnly slid it onto his own. To claim kingship, one certainly needed such symbols from the royal lineages. Byron's Lancaster did so, Violet's Harold did so, and naturally, Montezuma II of the Aztec followed suit. With the Seal Ring in hand, combined with the Kingly Title, one immediately rivaled a Fifth Order Law Mage.
The Holy Relic: The First Overseas Colonization Decree of the Great Voyage Era above his head showered down the gleaming light of victory, naturally seizing ownership of that Seal Ring. And in the guise of a conqueror, it completely stripped the native emperor of his last vestige of legal authority.
Cortes, the winner who would take all, laughed wildly:
"Hahaha... blessed by the Creator, I am the ultimate winner!"
Watching the gravely injured native emperor tumble from the highest level of the pyramid, rolling down the grand staircase that faced the sky and leaving a striking bloody trail along the way. His disheveled state was no different from the bleak situation he found himself in after plunging from the peak of his life. The level of desolation was only a notch less tragic than the tens of thousands he had ordered to be sacrificed. If one were to include psychological damage, then he was certainly the most wounded being in the entire world. A lover's betrayal, collusion with foreigners, a stab in the back, and the theft of his family fortunes... if one more element were added, he would have been perfect for the protagonist of a tragic novel.
Cortes, the "Conqueror," and Beatrice, the "Versatile Enchantress," just watched coldly as their foe bit the dust, caught by several Tiger Warriors and shamans who rushed back quickly. In fact, they no longer needed to pursue Montezuma II or deal with those guards who, with rage in their eyes, threw themselves frenziedly at them. As yet another deity became a sacrifice.
ROAR...
It was as if an entire ocean had been moved into the sky. In the depths of the dark sky, one could vaguely see huge palaces built from coral reefs amid the clouds, and countless strange fish—part human, part fish, and part serpent—weaving through them. Under the dim sunlight, that underwater world scattered a rippling aqua glow towards the Imperial City.
However, sensing some crisis, the countless large fish in the surrounding Lake Texcoco began to leap out of the water one after another. They seemed crazed to escape the place but ended up flopping onto the shore, dying of thirst.
Soon, the shrill serpent hissing mixed with the sound of waves from the sky grew louder, overshadowing the battle cries and screams on the battlefield. Both attackers and defenders subconsciously stopped fighting and looked up at the sky, watching as the Coral Palace in the sea's refracted light grew larger. It became increasingly clear that within it, there was a presence indescribable by words.
"What is... this thing?"
Snakes! They were everywhere! Sticky, writhing, and covered with dense, mottled scales, it was clearly a huge ball made up of thousands of venomous snakes. But on the necks of these venomous snakes were not snake heads, but triangular, cone-shaped, decaying human heads. They seemed to be trapped in eternal hibernation, their half-closed snake eyes occasionally sticking out tongues that were either pitch black or greyish-white and forked.
A mere glance was enough to make one's scalp tingle, an irresistible feeling as if countless venomous snakes were drilling into one's body through the pores. When the terrifying stench, through the gaze, invaded one's sense of smell, hearing, and taste... even the clothes touching the skin seemed to turn into slimy snake skin. Then one's own scalp and skin began to itch, making one desperate to peel them all off to be reborn anew.
Even though he knew it was merely a projection and had experienced similar things before, Byron, who was right below it, didn't dare to look up for long.
What did these 'supernatural phenomena,' which have existed for who knows how long before the current era, go through in the past? Not only have they died and fallen into eternal sleep, but why do they all carry this uniform stench? There's no mistake; it's the same smell as human corpses that, having soaked in water for a long time, had bloated to giant proportions. The previous Touch of the Kraken was like this, the current Hydra is like this, and I wonder if Lilith from the Bloodthirsty Cult is also like this.
Some, like Byron, were cautious, but others forgot the dangers of the supernatural world in their shock. Among the natives under the pyramid, closest to the projection, some gazed at [The Serpent of a Thousand Faces: Hydra] for too long, their anchor not stable enough. Unable to help themselves, they started frantically scratching their own skin, only to find that their skin had become loose like snake skin, peeling away to reveal scales beneath. Wanting to scream, the sound that emerged from their throats was no longer human. After a few breaths, they let out a desperate scream. Their bodies completely burst free from the constraints of their skin, exploding into a large mass of writhing venomous snakes that bit anyone they saw.
It once again proved that, compared to those ancient entities that spanned the entire river of human history, humans are petty, insignificant, and ignorant...
As if instinctively sensing the exceedingly delicious "offering" below, a long, black snake shadow descended from that cluster of illusory snakes. It slithered into the ever-gaping mouth of the [Tyrant God]. Immediately, it seemed like countless unidentifiable things were tumbling beneath His skin. In just a brief moment, more of the human-faced venomous snakes wriggled out from every orifice of His body. Each of the faces on these snakes was familiar to Byron; they were the many native deities that were initially consumed: [Sun God] Tonatiuh, [Moon Goddess] Mayahuel, [Galaxy Goddess] Mixcoatl... Each face represented the Authority held by a deity.
The human-faced venomous snakes twisted their bodies, swimming back towards the mass of coiled serpents in the sky. Only one, representing Tlazolteotl, the Goddess of [lust, Sloth, and crime], turned its head and burrowed into the body of Beatrice, the high priestess who had offered the delicious meal to the Thousand-Faced Serpent.
"Hmph!"
The beauty's eyes instantly widened. The superficial appearance, originally belonging to the Empress of the Empire, rippled outward like water, revealing her true form. Having reached the Third Order, she naturally began her non-human transformation; her skin was pale, and her eyes had turned into cold, reptilian vertical slits. Cyan scales even sprouted at the edges of her cheeks, and particularly, her chestnut-brown hair writhed slightly like countless little snakes. One couldn't help but wonder if she continued to ascend like this, one day she would no longer be the Versatile Enchantress, but a Snake-haired Gorgon instead!
As the venomous snake entered her body, her serpentine features further intensified. More importantly, the Forbidden Book of the [Thousand-Faced Serpent], the Thousand Faces Rites, was almost instantaneously completed. It reached the final ritual of The Skinners' Church that touches the Divine Domain—the [Bloodline Codex]! Sacrificing all deities of an empire-level civilization, that being beyond measure had granted a disproportionately generous reward.
Of course, the conditions to conduct the corresponding ceremony were bound to be extremely harsh. Even so, if the Bloodthirsty Cult, which was still struggling for this goal, saw this, they would likely be envious enough to spit blood.
Fantastic, so fantastic! As long as I can successfully perform the next step of the ritual, I will be a true Mythical Creature—the Snake-haired Gorgon!
Beatrice's true face was briefly revealed before she concealed it again, while her cheeks involuntarily flushed with excitement.
In the end, the terrifying projection in the sky disappeared without a trace. Only the "divine skin" of a devoured Tyrant God slowly floated down from the sky.
No, He hasn't been completely eaten.
Ever since Byron's knowledge system had integrated both the Ladder of Glory and the Forbidden Book, he had frequently verified this theory through the phenomena around him. He immediately discovered that in the remaining divine skin, there were remnants: melancholy, chaos, madness, evil… It seemed that only the highly ordered "Divinity" part had been consumed, while the highly chaotic "Beastliness" part was discarded. It was like a wild beast that only ate the flesh and organs of its prey, unwilling to touch the feces inside the intestines. Apart from "Beastliness," an additional Authority was left behind—[Disease]. Within it, a monstrously powerful Bizarre was clearly incubating. Even ordinary people could distinctly feel that ominous aura.
"Quick, go, kill them!"
An Aztec noble reacted in time, immediately commanding the guards, who had just hesitated to act out of fear of the Thousand-Faced Serpent, to attack.
"Kill!"
The other nearby [Tiger Warriors] immediately charged towards Beatrice, Cortes, and Byron, who had stood beside them all along.
In this world, a Transcendent, regardless of how high their rank might be, could still potentially be overwhelmed and killed by lower-rank individuals en masse; there was no notion of one standing against a thousand armies. Never mind Tiger Warriors; even a group of elite soldiers swarming in could overwhelm them with sheer numbers. This was the heart of the city, the peak of the pyramid, with not a single one of their reinforcements nearby.
"Hehe, thinking of taking action now? It's already too late."
Beatrice calmly took out a wooden stick stained with unknown bodily fluids from her Storage Curio. Byron skimmed it with one look; there was only a simple line of text.
—A wooden stick smeared with the pus of a smallpox patient.
Did I guess correctly? They truly dared to commit such a genocidal act?
In an instant, like a hungry stray dog that had smelled the aroma of meat and bones, the "divine skin" filled with a chaotic and mad aura instantly rushed over and enveloped the wooden stick.
Beatrice took a step back, her face flushed with excitement. "Haha, my general, my master, do you see? We have succeeded! Unlike those native deities, beings beyond measure don't care about faith or disbelief; they only follow the principle of equal exchange. Come out, Pestilence Bizarre!"
Once the rules are found and the corresponding forbidden knowledge is mastered, those beings beyond measure, as "supernatural phenomena" that have already fallen into death and eternal slumber, can all potentially be utilized by humans, just like the [Touch of the Kraken]. And who else would be more familiar with the Thousand-Faced Serpent than the Skinning Cult?
The plan had been executed perfectly.
A flash of turbid divine light erupted. Centered around "Disease," a terrifying Bizarre predisposed towards negativity finally took shape. It wore a wax-soaked black canvas coat and a black hat. Its face was covered by a bird-beak-like mask designed to filter the air. Its eyes were fitted with transparent glass; it wore white gloves and held a dirty wooden stick in its hand. A red-eyed crow sat on its shoulder. This was precisely the fearsome figure of the "beaked plague doctor" that appeared in the cities of the Old Continent during major epidemics. And at that moment, under the lure of the pus medium, it transformed into the manifestation of "smallpox"—[Bizarre: The Beaked Plague Doctor of Funerals]!
No sooner had it formed than a circle of filthy Plague Aura violently spread from it, instantly covering half the Imperial City.