“O great and mysterious Blood God, I shall serve you with blood and skulls. I shall become your disciple, practicing your philosophy and doctrine. What I seek is the power to act without restraint, to follow my heart’s desires, never again to be judged or punished by others!”

The evil knight whispered.

At the same time, he exhaled a breath, for the first time completely opening his mind, unreservedly accepting the brutal aura of the brass blood medallion.

Buzz!

His vision darkened, then turned red.

A blood-red world appeared before the evil knight.

A sky with rivers of flowing blood, countless twisted corpses, burning flames, and mad roars. The evil knight stiffly turned his head and saw a brass skull throne as vast and magnificent as a planet, piled up with endless skulls and cast from brass metal.

A blood-colored figure, indescribable in words, sat upon the throne, exuding an abyssal presence.

Eyes like blood-red suns glanced at the evil knight.

“Let the world fall into endless warfare, spread slaughter and brutality, offer blood and skulls as sacrifices to me!”

The trembling evil knight heard roars and howls in his ears, the meanings of which he could understand.

Boom!

His spirit shook, and the blood-red world disappeared.

As if thrown into a stormy vortex, his vision blurred and became chaotic.

The bell-like roars echoed in the evil knight’s ears.

As time passed, after a few minutes, the dizzying vision returned to normal, and the roaring in his ears gradually faded. A simple and familiar house appeared in the evil knight’s view.

His hand was empty, and a noticeable burning sensation appeared on the back of his hand.

The evil knight looked down to see that the brass blood medallion had disappeared, and at some unknown time, a similar rune pattern had appeared on the back of his hand, flickering a few times before quietly fading away.

“Blood God of tyranny, Lord of Skulls.”

The evil knight’s voice was low, muttering to himself, his eyes shining with a different light.

Just now, in that moment of attention, he learned just how powerful and illustrious the being he worshipped was.

In this world, even in all the planes known to the paladins, His name was not prominent, not known to the world.

But.

In another unimaginable dark universe, He was a peak deity, watching the stars burn and battles erupt.

The two worlds were far apart, and this evil god was still unable to exert much power.

He needed his tyrannical disciples to spread slaughter and war, to offer blood and skulls as sacrifices, gradually expanding His influence and bolstering His confidence against the deities of this world.

The evil knight had now become one of His fangs.

“I will fight for You, spread war and death, please You with endless slaughter, and enhance Your majestic power in this realm.”

“And I, under Your throne, shall become the chosen champion, obtaining the supreme glory second only to the gods.”

The evil knight said solemnly.

The tyrannical rune hidden on the back of his hand brightened, becoming as hot as a branding iron, giving the evil knight a continuous surge of new strength, as if responding to him.

Once the tyrannical rune faded again.

The color of brutality in the evil knight’s eyes deepened, as if a flame was burning in his heart, making him feel restless, only battle and blood could relieve it.

At the same time, with a creak, someone suddenly pushed the door and entered.

The evil knight’s gaze turned cold, and a brutal aura emanated from his body, enveloping the figure who had pushed the door open.

The chilling intent almost solidified the air.

As if an invisible hand was choking her throat, the woman who entered the evil knight’s room turned pale, and cold sweat emerged on her forehead.

Facing his lieutenant and lover, the evil knight couldn’t help but reveal his murderous intent.

“How many times have I told you to knock on my door before entering?”

“Now go out, close the door, and knock again.”

The evil knight took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing the desire to kill in his heart, and said in a deep voice.

The air began to flow again, the woman breathed a sigh of relief, then stepped out of the room and knocked on the door again.

“Come in.”

The evil knight said calmly, with veins throbbing on his forehead.

Creak, the woman pushed the door open again.

This was a young woman with a healthy wheat-colored complexion, tall and with long, straight legs. However, contrary to her hot figure, she had a devilish face, covered with centipede-like twisted scars, crisscrossing and rolling as if she had suffered inhuman torture. Additionally, one notable feature was her right arm, which was not a flesh-and-blood human limb but an exposed gear and pipeline, rough and barbaric, much thicker than her left mechanical arm.

Cannoneer Antonina—one of the evil knight’s lieutenants and also his lover.

For this gunner whom he had personally rescued and his long-time lover, the evil knight’s serious expression softened a lot, and he asked, “Antonina, what’s the matter?”

Antonina raised her head to look at her lover and leader.

This man, who was once a paladin, usually serious and indifferent, now seemed a bit different. A terrifying sense of oppression emanated from him, as if he was enduring something, with veins throbbing on his forehead, looking somewhat ferocious. Facing him was like facing a natural predator, and an uncontrollable fear began to grow in Antonina’s heart.

Without directly answering the evil knight’s question.

Antonina looked suspicious and straightforwardly expressed her doubts:

“You seem a bit off, making it hard to stay calm, instilling an uncontrollable fear in me.”

“What happened, can you tell me?”

The evil knight fell silent.

After a few seconds of thought, he said in a low voice, “I have worshipped a god, Antonina, and you must follow Him with me.”

Spreading the doctrine of the Blood God and expanding the scale of His followers was also something the evil knight, now blessed by the god, needed to do. The first thing he had to do was to turn his Black Skull Island into an atmosphere that the Lord of Skulls would favor.

“What? Gods should not be worshipped lightly.”

Antonina was startled inside.

In the past, she might have been more composed, as the sapient beings of this world did not consider gods to be very powerful, but now, the situation was different.

The grand scene that occurred in the Vortex Sea was deeply imprinted in the minds of all sapient beings who witnessed it.

“I have my considerations.”

The evil knight said, while quietly looking at his lover.

Under the evil knight’s gaze, Antonina’s expression gradually calmed down, then she smiled, her scarred face showing a twisted smile, and said:

“Whoever you believe in, I will believe in.”

The evil knight nodded slightly, his hand caressing her face, gently touching the ugly scars.

The tyrannical rune on the back of his hand lit up, and at the same time, Antonina’s body stiffened, then her pupils dilated, becoming vacant. After a moment, the cannoneer’s pupils regained focus, and a similar blood color to the evil knight’s appeared, with tyrannical runes faintly visible in the depths of her eyes.

“Offer blood and skulls through slaughter and battle, in exchange for power.”

“The god we believe in allows us to embark on an endless path of strength.”

“Blood sacrifice to the Blood God, skulls offered to the Skull Throne.”

The evil knight said.

“Blood sacrifice to the Blood God, skulls offered to the Skull Throne.”

With her eyes clear again, but now filled with a brutal and bloodthirsty color, Antonina breathed heavily and said the same.

Then, Antonina explained the official business she came to discuss with the evil knight.

“Frank and his fleet have been missing for a while. I sent people to investigate, and it’s confirmed that they have been completely wiped out.”

Shadow Hound Frank, another lieutenant of the evil knight, encountered a death knight on the way to find Saga and was killed, and the souls of his pirates became supplements for the demon warlocks.

“Is that so? Do you know who did it?”

“Just right, I need battle now, I need blood and skulls to sacrifice to my Lord.”

The evil knight’s eyes filled with a chilling murderous intent, and a brutal and cruel aura burst forth as he said coldly.

“We’re not entirely sure yet.”

After a pause, Antonina said in a low voice, “I interrogated some of Frank’s confidants who were resting on the island. From their mouths, I learned that Frank had accidentally obtained a good thing and had one of his captains transport it. The ship was destroyed, and the thing was lost, and that’s why he led the fleet to set sail to retrieve it.”

The relationships among pirates were complex.

The evil knight was the leader of the Black Skull pirates, but this did not mean he had perfect control. The composition of the pirates was complex, with a mix of cunning and treacherous villains, madmen who were not afraid of death, and few normal people. To make such a group completely obedient was almost impossible.

It was permissible for lieutenants to have some secrets.

“What thing?”

“It’s said to be…” Antonina leaned close to the evil knight’s ear and whispered.

After hearing his lover’s words, the evil knight’s gaze narrowed, his serious expression changed slightly, and he said in a low voice, “Are you sure?”

“Not completely sure, but there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance.”

Antonina replied.

The evil knight said in a deep voice:

“This matter is important. You take the pirates who are good at sensing, the prophetic casters, the thieves or assassins who are good at tracking, and set sail along the route before Frank’s ship sank to search.”

“Remember, only take confidants with you. Once you find a clue and determine the place, immediately use the magic communication crystal I gave you to notify me. Before that, I will spread the doctrine of my Lord throughout the Black Skull Islands.”

“You set off immediately, may God protect us, you will not return without success.”

Antonina nodded heavily, and before leaving, she asked again, “What about those of Frank’s subordinates who also know a bit of the news?”

The evil knight was expressionless and said:

“I don’t want any rumors leaking to the ears of other pirate generals.”

“I understand, I will sacrifice their blood and skulls to the great Lord of Skulls.”