Chapter 38: All the Secrets of Doom Town
The giant skeleton froze in place, and a short figure rushed out from within its blazing eye socket, wielding a staff-blade.
The Realm Severing Thread contracted, and Su Xiao had already advanced to the front of the giant skeleton’s eye socket. The sudden appearance of the short figure caught him somewhat off guard. The other party had completely concealed their aura by relying on the giant skeleton’s blazing eye flame.
Su Xiao was now less than two meters from the short figure. A stinging sensation from his throat warned him that if he continued forward, the enemy’s staff-blade would pierce his throat, just as he could pierce the enemy’s head.
No blood appeared. The two passed each other in a flash. Su Xiao exited the Space Penetration state, now standing on the white bone at the edge of the giant skeleton’s eye socket.
The short figure landed on the ground, surrounded by high walls. He was only about one meter fifty tall, with various gold ornaments hanging from his waist.
“A dog of the church.”
The short figure flicked his staff-blade. His eyes were not clouded, only filled with anger.
“……”
Su Xiao said nothing. Seeing this short man and hearing the words “dog of the church,” many of his doubts were resolved. He even felt a sense of, *So this is what Doom Town is all about.*
There was no need to continue fighting. Su Xiao had a way to deal with the giant skeleton and the short man below.
The giant skeleton was not transformed by Shorty·Qiselman. The short man below was Qiselman himself. As for the half-skeleton seen on the high wall, that was deliberately placed by Qiselman to make others believe he had also been completely eroded by the Ancient God’s power and turned into the giant skeleton.
Qiselman was a genius. The giant skeleton was constructed from the bones of the town’s residents, with Ancient God power infused inside.
Qiselman was one of the few in Doom Town who saw the truth, and so he was afraid—afraid of someone within the Redemption Church.
The Redemption Church’s purpose was to resist the Ancient God’s power and save Doom Town, restoring it to its original state.
The Saintess and the Blacksmith shared this belief, but someone within the Redemption Church did not.
“The Nun is dead.”
Hearing Su Xiao’s words, Shorty·Qiselman’s hand gripping the staff-blade trembled. If one looked closely, veins bulged on his neck. His expression was hidden behind a dark gold mask.
Su Xiao sat on the edge of the giant skeleton’s eye socket, sheathing his Dragon-Slaying Flash. There was no need to fight anymore. The situation in Doom Town was like a puzzle—either solve it or brute-force it with force.
Given the world’s maximum difficulty of Lv.67, Doom Town’s difficulty was naturally maxed out. Going head-on, the Immortal was already tough to handle. Facing a fully powered Qiselman would only allow for a strategic retreat.
Qiselman, holding his staff-blade, stared at Su Xiao with confusion. This outsider had already sided with the Redemption Church—that bastard’s dog—so why had he suddenly stopped fighting?
“The Nun died miserably. While still in the statue, she was shattered along with it.”
Su Xiao exhaled a faint wisp of smoke. Doom Town was not something he could force his way through with his current strength. Otherwise, after completing the fourth ring of the main quest, Reincarnation Paradise would not have opened a gap and offered the Light and Dark Amulet as a reward.
Furthermore, the female contractor who opened the path entered the Light and Dark World for this very reason. Her task was to clear the way. After Su Xiao obtained a certain item in Doom Town, the final 150-point barrier assessment would begin.
The 150-point barrier assessment could only be overcome with one’s own combat power. Before that, brute force wasn’t necessary. As long as he unraveled the layers of mystery, Su Xiao wouldn’t have to fight most of the seventh-rank bosses in Doom Town. The rewards would indeed be high, but that would require him to advance to seventh rank and accumulate strength over time.
“Dog of the alien god.”
Qiselman looked up at Su Xiao, his eyes thoughtful. He had been sleeping within the giant skeleton’s blazing eye flame to maintain his sanity.
“The Immortal is dead.”
“Lek.”
A trace of sadness flickered in Qiselman’s eyes, but he quickly let it go. Everything had been too long ago. The Immortal’s erosion was inevitable.
“The church interior is sealed off by a stone crystal wall. If I’m not mistaken, your friend the Blacksmith is behind that wall.”
“You…”
“Let me continue. You keep listening.”
Su Xiao looked at the sky. The moon and sun still coexisted, but the sun’s light was more vivid than the moon’s.
“According to someone’s plan, after killing Elves·Grew, one would obtain the ‘Redemption Stone Tablet.’ Following that clue would lead to Emperor Ocas’s tomb, which holds the method to enter Doom Town.”
“Emperor Ocas?”
Shorty·Qis’s eyes showed a moment of confusion, then he suddenly remembered. The Redemption Church did indeed have such a member long ago. If he recalled correctly, that was a small-time lackey.
Su Xiao had figured out many things. After meeting the Saintess and hearing Shorty·Qis’s words “dog of the church,” everything became clear.
Setting aside the initial changes in Doom Town, let’s focus on the plan laid out by someone after the Ancient God’s power eroded the town.
Emperor Ocas and Elves·Grew had a massive impact on the outside world. One founded the Light and Dark Empire, and the other destroyed the Four Kingdoms.
But in the plan of someone within Doom Town, these two were merely pawns—not even that important, just used as decorations.
This person was inside the Redemption Church, deep within it. His name had long been forgotten. If the Saintess hadn’t begged Su Xiao for help, he wouldn’t have noticed this person’s existence.
That’s right, the Saintess was begging for help, but there were many things she dared not say. She only vaguely mentioned a title: the Archbishop.
First, a thousand years ago, the Archbishop deliberately let Emperor Ocas gain power in Doom Town and receive the Redemption Church’s support. Ocas then successfully established the Light and Dark Empire in the outside world.
As an old immortal, the Archbishop had all the time in the world. Emperor Ocas was just one of his backup pawns.
The Archbishop needed the outside world to stabilize so that strong individuals would emerge and come to Doom Town to help him complete his plan. This guy was a black-hearted old mentor.
Years later, the Secret Patterns emerged out of nowhere. The Archbishop was behind Doom Town’s creation. The Secret Patterns originally belonged to the Ancient God.
Many more years passed, and an organization with a thousand-year history surfaced. Its leader was named Elves·Grew.
Grew’s organization was very mysterious because it was founded by the Archbishop. The support of the Hyena Clan was just a smokescreen to keep the Archbishop’s existence more hidden.
The Archbishop was trapped inside the Redemption Church, unable to take a single step outside. But he used some method to project his spirit through the surging darkness and reach the outside world.
Partly out of boredom and partly to complete his plan, the Archbishop founded a mysterious organization and acted as the black-hearted old mentor for each generation of its leaders.
The Secret Patterns were dangerous. A civilization had been destroyed by them, and Doom Town was the result—these false secrets made each generation of the organization’s leaders swear to eliminate all Secret Patterns in the world. Their lack of understanding of Doom Town was their greatest weakness, keeping the Archbishop invincible.
After acting as the black-hearted old mentor for countless generations, the Archbishop finally found his opportunity. In this generation, two were the most outstanding: Elves·Grew and the Lame Old Gentleman·Azaz.
Grew was the “villain” of the plan, and Azaz was the “redeemer.”
The Archbishop gave Grew the Redemption Stone Tablet and a contaminated World Seed, tasking him with reclaiming the Secret Patterns—that is, destroying the Four Kingdoms and the Council Hall.
The one meant to defeat Elves·Grew was supposed to be the Lame Old Gentleman·Azaz. Azaz had the strength and little ambition, always following the Old Councilor.
According to the Archbishop’s plan, the outside world would be overrun by the Wood Vassals. Grew would inevitably lose and be killed by Azaz. This was a foregone conclusion; Grew had no chance to resist.
Grew’s body would die, and his consciousness and soul would be dragged into Doom Town. This was the ultimate bait to lure the Wrathful Orphan to a certain location.
After Grew’s death, the outside world would fall into chaos. The Wood Vassals would die out within half a month, ensuring no interference with Doom Town. This would enter the “pure state” the Archbishop needed for his final cleanup.
Grew and Azaz were “fated enemies.” One had immense intelligence and no scruples; the other had immense combat power, old but gentlemanly.
They shared one trait: both had inherited Ancient God power from their parents and turned this uncontrollable force into something manageable.
If this world had protagonists, they would be Grew and Azaz. The Archbishop, however, aimed to transcend the protagonists. Everything was his creation—the Light and Dark Empire, the Four Kingdoms’ destruction plan, and the impending fall of the God’s Orphan—all orchestrated by him.
The Old Councilor was being eroded by Ancient God power. Azaz, who was like a brother to him, would naturally seek a cure.
If the Archbishop’s plan had gone as intended, by this time, Azaz would have killed Grew and obtained the Redemption Stone Tablet. Then, he would be guided into Doom Town. The method to enter was inside Emperor Ocas’s tomb.
After some exploration, Azaz would enter Doom Town. At that moment, the Ancient God power within him would fully awaken. He would become a man-made “Chosen One.” The Immortal and Shorty·Qis would be no match for Azaz.
To enter Doom Town, Azaz would have to fight the Immortal. After defeating him, he would obtain the church key from the Immortal. Following the clues on the Redemption Stone Tablet, Azaz would surely find the Redemption Church.
Inside the church were fourteen statues, thirteen of which had been shattered by the Archbishop. He had even baptized the Saintess. No matter how she wept, the Archbishop pushed her into the baptismal pool. The once-powerful Saintess nearly died from submersion. After surviving, her lifebound holy lance was broken, and she became a tool—a tool to heal others.
Azaz’s process upon reaching the Redemption Church would be as follows: First, ask the Saintess how to save the Old Councilor. The Saintess would tell him the Blacksmith might know. To see the Blacksmith, he needed to open the stone crystal wall. Opening it required killing Shorty·Qis and obtaining his bracelet.
Shorty·Qis only knew something was wrong with the Redemption Church, but not what. To get his metal bracelet, Azaz would have to kill him. This bracelet was a token of friendship among the Redemption Church’s three brothers (the Immortal, Shorty·Qis, and the Blacksmith).
With his fully awakened Ancient God power, Azaz could kill Shorty·Qis. After that, he would meet the Blacksmith.
The Blacksmith didn’t know the full truth. He could only tell Azaz that to save the Old Councilor, only the Archbishop could help. To awaken the Archbishop deep within the church, Azaz must first defeat the Wrathful Orphan. The Archbishop was “restraining” the Wrathful Orphan, and until the Orphan died, the Archbishop couldn’t awaken.
The Blacksmith wasn’t lying. This was the only information he had. He was a blacksmith willing to help everyone fighting the Ancient God’s power or suffering from it. Azaz clearly fit that description.
The Blacksmith would use the Ashes Furnace Azaz obtained to forge a weapon for him to fight the Wrathful Orphan.
The clues Azaz had were now clear: defeat the Wrathful Orphan, finally meet the Archbishop, and through him, save the Old Councilor.
The Immortal (key), Shorty·Qis (Ashes Furnace), and the Wrathful Orphan (current controller of the Ancient God’s power).
When Azaz killed all these people, the Archbishop’s goal would be achieved. He couldn’t leave the Redemption Church, or he would die immediately. Once everything succeeded, he would be free.
The Archbishop’s goal was to become a new Ancient God. To achieve this, he had killed over 99% of the beings in the “Light and Dark World.”
The Archbishop’s plan was like a warrior who, after slaying the “evil dragon,” looks at the piles of treasure and extends a hand already covered in dragon scales.