"Correct. Bloody Finger was a sinner, but I’ve managed to purify his soul."

Xinran stared at Sophie in determination. "Bloody Finger died that day, but sometimes, death can be a new beginning. I rescued his soul, revived his body using a potion that was created from the Blood of the War God, and transformed him into a Headless Knight. From now on, he will fight for the better of all living, and to wash his hands of all the sins he had accumulated throughout his life. Sophie, my dear sister, you understand how much I want you to be saved, don’t you? Please don’t sink further into the mire of hatred anymore."

Sophie stared at Xinran for a moment before bursting into a mad, shivering laugh. She slowly gripped the blade of the Dragonbone Spear while saying, "You are as naive as ever, Xinran. Did you forget that Lin Na had implanted the mark of the undead in me? For as long as I live as Sophie, I will never be anything more but an undead whose soul is stained with sin. I can’t go back anymore, Xinran! All the lives I’ve taken have sewn an unbreakable shackle between my soul and the Purgatory! I will never be free!"

"Is that so?"

Xinran smiled confidently. "You say that, and yet I still found a way to save you. Sophie, everyone has a person in their heart that they cannot forget. For me, that person is my big brother. For you, that person is your mother. Is a soul with an attachment like this truly irredeemable? I think not."

Xinran paused for a second before looking at the seemingly endless tidal wave of three-headed giants. "These devils are animals who have led ten thousand years of murderous lives in the Purgatory. Since you’ve so kindly brought them to the human plane, I will make sure to kill all of them. On that note, you shall remain in the human plane as well, Sophie!"

Sophie’s chest jiggled as she giggled. "Oh, naive Xinran, why would you ever want me on the human plane? To kill more humans? Have you recalled your duty as a former Purgatory Sovereign, and your undying loyalty toward Lord Lin Na after all?"

Xinran’s eyes turned colder. "I was never loyal to the devils. If there is one person I’m loyal to, it’ll be the love of my life, my big brother!"

Xinran abruptly opened her palm and ordered, "Go, Bloody Finger! Take the braves of God Domain Ruins with you and begin the counterattack! Violet Empire’s undead have come to our assistance as well. Together, we will slaughter all the devils that came to the human plane!"

"Yes, my lady!"

Ovia the Bloody Finger dropped to one knee as a show of respect to Xinran. Then, he let out a guttural growl that sounded like it came from the inner depths of his body, climbed up his mount and let out a mighty shout. His horse raised its front hooves and let out an ear-splitting neigh, causing countless rays of golden light to flash from a distant valley. It was a troop of warriors in golden armor! They numbered around tens of thousands, and they all hailed from God Domain Ruins!

Boom boom boom...

The brave warriors of God Domain Ruins charged the three-headed giants. Bloody Finger himself transformed into a cyclone of death that cut down every giant that dared to stand in his path. Divine Rank bosses are just way too powerful!

……

"Holy shit!" Gui Guzi’s mouth was open as wide as a fish outside water gasping for oxygen. "Those divine soldiers are fucking crazy! I can’t believe they just trampled over the three-headed giants like that! Our Dragonlight Cavalry is practically shit compared to them…"

Purple Marquis asked, "Are they actually soldiers of the heavens, or?"

I read the NPCs with Dark Pupils before shaking my head. "No, they’re just the dead brought back to life. Still, this means that Xinran was successful. She actually resurrected the remains of the ancient gods and transformed them into an invincible army!"

Lin Yixin raised her Seven Star Veluriyam Sword and said with a smile, "Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s work together with Xinran’s army and gain some experience already! Also, look at this! The Three-Headed Giant Card is even stronger than the Ghost Chariot Card!"

Lin Yixin wasn’t riding her mount right now. She was holding up the Three-Headed Giant Card, her arm flashing with the mark of Moonchaser Tiger. The card added a whopping 45% Strength boosted the impact force of one’s charge by 35%; exactly the kind of effect a cavalry unit would want. Once we used it, only the most powerful enemies would be able to stop our charge.

Chiang!

I unsheathed the Purple Ying Sword and declared, "Dragonlight Cavalry, the storm of death has stopped, and the Three-Headed Giants are mounting a retreat! Now is the time to launch a counterattack and feast on their experience and loot! Let’s go! The early bird gets the worm, so don’t you dare fall behind!"

The Armored Ice Qilin Horse neighed loudly, and we charged right down the floating rocks while crushing every enemy in the way. After Xinran had subdued Sophie, the undead army was a lot weaker than before. In fact, some of them were showing signs of fear and retreat. It won’t get any better than this!

Inside Sky City, the surviving guilds also rushed out to capitalize on the opportunity. The city defense had lasted several hours, and the number of casualties was positively obscene. Countless players had died inside and outside the city wall, and even we had lost over half of our cavalry and mounted archers. The battle had been desperate to say the least.

……

Crack! Crack!

The sound of my blade sinking into the flesh of a Three-headed Giant sounded absolutely wonderful to my ears. These giant devils were nothing but prey after losing all their fighting spirit. It was only right after everything they had put us through. I fully expected our player’s level and equipment level to improve considerably after the event was over.

High Fighting Spirits, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun, Li Chengfeng and the others laughed gleefully at the one-sided slaughter. Everyone was trying to collect as many Three-headed Giant Cards as they could. The card was just that precious. Gui Guzi—bless his honest soul—was charging in and out of the mob horde with a couple hundred Knight God–boosted Dragonlight Cavalry. Our two Knight Generals, Heaven’s Rain and Diamond Dust, were leading their own cavalry troops and assaulting the enemy themselves. This was the kind of moment our cavalry was made for!

The killing lasted almost three hours. Almost all of the mobs on the map were killed, and even Bloody Finger had deemed that his job was done and returned to Xinran’s side. The golden-armored divine soldiers vanished into depths of the forest as well.

After ordering Li Chengfeng and the others to finish the pursuit, Lin Yixin, the girls, and I returned to the gate where Sophie and Xinran were.

Covered in wounds from head to toe, Sophie sat at a corner in the walls and shot Xinran an exhausted look. "You done yet? You’ve taken out almost all the troops I summoned from the Purgatory, but it won’t be enough. When Lord Lin Na learns of this, he will simply attack with a bigger, stronger army. Do you really think the undead you resurrected at God Domain will be enough to stop him?"

Xinran pulled out her spear from Sophie’s chest and rested its butt on the ground. Then, she said, "Sophie, I know you’re angry about the death of your mother. I know that you still believe that Carrance has killed her. What if I tell you that she’s still present, and that I know where she is right now? I had to scour the entire Sky City domain to find her, but now I can take you to her."

"What?"

Tears immediately clouded Sophie’s eyes. She rose to her feet and grabbed Xinran’s shoulders with both hands. "You… have you really found her? Xinran, you really know where she is?"

Xinran nodded. "Come with me… I hope you won’t regret killing Sword Saint Carrance when this is all over…"

"Mn."

……

Xinran didn’t fly like she normally did. Instead, she faced toward me and said, "Big brother, you and your friends should come with us. You all deserve to know the truth after all the damage Sophie has done to your city."

"Mn." I nodded.

We followed Xinran and Bloody Finger on the ground, while Sophie quietly floated in the sky. Even the sovereign of Sky City, Princess Karinshan, was in our little group. Trailing much further behind us were the commanders—Stark, Ziyan and more—and tens of thousands of cavalry NPCs.

We passed through the forest and Sophie’s home, Frosty Night Town. The Purgatory Sovereign’s eyes were filled with sorrow when she looked at the ruins.

On the way, Xinran explained to her, "The undead plague was running rampant that year, and many Frosty Night Town’s townspeople didn’t succeed in escaping a gruesome fate. The disease had wilted their bodies, doused their soul flames and transformed them into undead over time. However, Carrance didn’t have them burned to death as you have been led to believe. In fact, he built a monastery to the south of Frosty Night Town and housed them there. He had hoped that one day, someone will be able to save their souls…"

Sophie shivered all over as she stared at the familiar-yet-unfamiliar sceneries around her. "Mother…"

"Let’s go. We’re almost there."

It wasn’t long before we entered a rundown monastery. There, we saw countless undead who looked more dead than alive. Despite having transformed into undead, they didn’t descend into evil and attack another living being. Instead, they lived there and waited for their long, long life to finally reach its end.

After we circled around a couple of low walls and gravestones, we arrived at a small, dim house. Xinran pointed at the building and said, "Sophie, this is where your mother is staying…"

I entered the house first and was stunned by what I saw. There was a rotten bed beneath the window sill, and lying on top of the bed was an old woman in rags. She was a skeleton—a literal skeleton—wrapped inside a blanket, and it was obvious that her sunken eye sockets couldn’t see anything. Despite the shaking of her arm, she brushed her fingers across a certain parchment placed atop her bed again and again.

Princess Karinshan shivered and blurted, "That scroll… that’s a priest’s prayer scroll…"

Xinran nodded. "She couldn’t forget Sophie even when she was close to death. She said she couldn’t rest easy until she saw and heard Sophie once more. So, a kind priest gave her a Seeking Scroll. All she needs to do is brush her finger against the parchment, and she'll be able to see and hear Sophie again…"

Rustle rustle rustle...

Hand placed atop her sword, Sophie slowly made her way into the house. Her eyes were full of sorrow.

The scroll lit up in response to her mother's touch and replayed a certain scene. It showed a crack of hell filled with the cries of Corpse Eaters. It was the scene of Sophie entering the Purgatory and vanishing. The old woman had replayed this scene day after day, year after year.

Still touching the scroll, the old woman let out a sigh and murmured to herself, "Sophie, my little Sophie, how did your voice become like this…? I can’t see your face anymore, but I still miss you so much…"

……

"Uu…"

Sophie shivered all over and dropped to her knees. The tears she was holding back finally spilled down her cheeks.