Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 1887: Chapter 1882: Ominous Star Swaddling

It was obvious that the Night Watchman arrived quickly enough, almost as if the Siren’s people were being used as free surveillance equipment.

The mission summary was quite detailed, essentially explaining the whole cause and effect, and many of my guesses seemed very close to being correct.

Although the terminology was slightly grating, it did not delay Fu Qian from analyzing the situation.

From the summary content, the root cause of the incident was indeed the conflict between Yasui and Siren.

The source of the Crimson Frenzy turned out to be an unsuspecting sacrificial squad, oblivious to their own sacrifice.

However, if that was all there was to it, this incident might not have occurred.

Locked away in the prison, there was a special being named Jill.

An existence within her, similar to Eve, was originally not very active, but due to this curse, it opened the door to a new world, becoming an anchor for rebirth.

Furthermore, there was another advantageous factor: the prison building itself was not simple. As the summary suggested, the descent of the Apocalypse Knights was facilitated.

In short, under such favorable circumstances, the Holy Infant Star gained a rare opportunity for rebirth.

Of course, success comes with hurdles, and this incident was still crushed under the iron fist of the Mechanical Tyrant.

Even the fact that the bad guys’ plans were thwarted so efficiently meant Jill and the others still had hope.

Integrity of spirit, nothing more.

They helped me find "Lanina," and I lent them a hand to help them survive.

No matter the implementation or process, the final result clearly aligned with the principles of this transaction.

Indeed, their luck was quite good.

Just like certain places, the Night Watchman used some unique means to keep a watch on this area, arriving just in time.

Otherwise, given the damage they suffered, Siren might not have had the capability to save them.

On the other hand, Siren might not have had a strong intention to do so.

The additional impact was that my Rebirth Club’s reputation skyrocketed once more.

Of course, this was always the goal.

With the Wasteland’s competing interests, Dunis seething with hidden currents, and the downfall of Emperor Yasui... the presence of this mysterious organization can be faintly seen amidst recent events, and even the clashes between groups are not free from the suspicion of their meddling.

In such circumstances, how could this shadowy hand not appear in acts of retaliation with such intensity?

The only mystery is this organization’s consistently ambiguous stance, not only leaving their purpose unknown but also blurring the lines between good and evil.

Falling into the Night Watchman mindset, Fu Qian chuckled to himself, fully embodying the controller of shadows.

...

Alright, let’s check out the rewards.

The villainous virtue is to never get lost in current achievements, always to have a forward-thrusting heart—even though this reward seems slightly lacking in ambition.

[Name: Incomplete Wrathful Star’s Swaddling]

[Type: Special Item]

[Condensation of Divinity, pure impurity, noble beyond time and space.

Guarded by four Apocalypse Knights, it was meant to birth a Divine Being’s swaddling.

Unfortunately, the excessive brutal ravaging utterly annihilated its supreme dignity, now leaving only an ownerless hollow shell.

Moreover, the shell itself is incomplete; the absence of the last piece prevents it from sustaining any stable Transcendent effect.

Thus, its exalted ranking becomes a twisted joke]

[Note: It can’t even provide the warmth of a matchstick]

Is this why people need to be compulsive?

Weighing the heavy item in his hand and reading the introduction, Fu Qian sighed.

Written as swaddling, its shape hardly inspires imagination, more like a cup neither gold nor jade.

Semi-transparent, with gentle curves, and a delicate texture, its aesthetic appeal is evident at first glance, making even those ignorant want to bring it home as a collector’s item—unfortunately, it is damaged.

On one side of the cup’s top, a sinister gash stares like a gouged chunk by some disparaging rogue.

Undoubtedly, that rogue was none other than himself.

The item description clearly stated that the incompleteness due to the missing last piece pointed directly to Kaldora.

Although she eventually fell, she wasn’t killed by his hand, hence the special reward failed to reach the Great Perfection Realm.

It’s the kind of situation where it feels like one move short of victory.

Frankly, this mission wasn’t exceedingly difficult.

Even though each Apocalypse Knight was troublesome, if one thinks carefully, the clashes with them could likely have been avoided.

As long as one remained calm, the sole challenge was tracking down Lanina.

With enough trial and error, discovering the possibility of Crimson Angels consuming and merging with each other and realizing, with a sound knowledge base, that the target might be an "unhatched insect," nearly brought the mission’s core to completion; the rest became a race against time.

In the ideal scenario, before the Plague Knight descended, we could delve into that special time-space through Jill, directly confronting the Holy Infant, transforming into a pollutant.

Without the Knights’ resonance, His Majesty might even fail to play a game of death clash.

However, to gather more information, I distinctly opted for the richest procedure, commanding the situation while granting each Apocalypse Knight a chance to showcase themselves.

Subsequently, I executed three of them personally, repeatedly charging up the Holy Infant’s game of death, effectively increasing the difficulty manually.

Yet, despite all this, it seemed still to fall short.

Out of friendliness to the predecessors, failing to become a ruthless warrior, the original easily obtainable hidden reward was missed, culminating in receiving an incomplete version—an epitome of regret.

Fu Qian snorted with absolutely no feelings of regret.

A true man’s inner strength; no point explaining to those who would never understand.

Unaware of the consequences, blindly pursuing perfection and tidy conclusion is essentially self-indulgence.

Even within games, Fu Qian was never fond of such OCD-fostering designs.

Of course, now knowing the consequences were positive, theoretically speaking, Kaldora back then was merely a projection, likely unrelated to her true self.

Moreover, even if she wasn’t killed by him, she wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

Given the chance to do it over—of course, he would still discuss the ever-evolving Heaven’s Commencement Institute.

What if it’s incomplete?

Fu Qian idly toyed with the Holy Grail in his hand, admitting the description was indeed accurate.

Its remarkably high ranking lacked any accompanying positive or negative effects.

Even if an ordinary collector wiped it for a lifetime, it probably wouldn’t trigger a mutation or anything, truly a paragon of High Tier waste.

But that’s alright, it seems I conveniently have a Consumable that can give it a chance to be reborn.

The next moment, Fu Qian’s other hand picked up a head-sized sphere named Riftforge from the table.