Chapter 6 [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight]

"Rumble..."

Deep within the torrential sewers, inside a rather secluded drainage channel, the darkness was thick, viscous, and oppressive.

Zorn and Isaac moved forward one after the other, wading through knee-deep water.

"Right ahead inside that small culvert, there's a hidden portal. Passing through it will take us directly to the Borderlands below," Isaac explained to Zorn as they pushed onward, detailing the covert passage they had discovered.

As a trendsetter of the era and an entity of a special sequence, Isaac naturally managed to reap some unique gains within these disaster-stricken zones. However, stumbling upon this "Gate of Convergence" was sheer, blind luck.

"Mr. Zorn," Isaac couldn't help turning his head back as they walked, "will killing that Rat King really save my teacher?"

"Compared to that question, I think figuring out how to deal with that terrifying Level 3, almost Level 4 Rat King is much more important," Zorn replied slowly, following right behind Isaac.

Earlier, when Zorn informed Isaac that the only way to save his teacher was to slay that horrifying Rat King, the young rat-catcher had naturally fallen into despair.

One had to realize just how terrifying the Rat King's strength truly was. Even the Church had reportedly lost many powerful transcendents to it. Rat-catchers had already fallen victim to the Rat King's maw on several occasions. Absolutely no one dared to face that monstrous entity head-on. This time alone, three rat-catchers had died instantly. For him to even dream of slaying the Rat King was nothing short of an absolute fantasy.

Naturally, like a drowning man, he cast his desperate gaze back toward Zorn for help.

Using the excuse of needing to buy medicine, Zorn had told the other rat-catchers to keep watch over Bevis, and then brought Isaac out with him. After returning briefly to his own manor to gather the necessary items, the two set off once again, their destination being the [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight] deep underground.

This time, Zorn intended to solo the Rat King Butch!

Under normal circumstances, the underground Borderland region would be crawling with transcendents from the Church, official authorities, and rat-catchers alike. Zorn would never have had the opportunity to solo the Rat King Butch.

However, the emergence of the evil spirit calamity, coupled with torrential rain pouring into the sewers, had brought a turning point.

According to the intelligence provided by Isaac and his fellow rat-catchers, once the sewers became blocked by floodwaters, the underground Borderland region was completely deserted—forget official transcendents, not even a single rat-catcher was left down there.

Meanwhile, Isaac and his group had gained access to the deep underground Borderlands via a special, quiet pathway known as the "Gate of Convergence."

This provided Zorn with an absolute, prime opportunity to calmly assassinate the [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight].

In the original timeline, he would have had to wait at least another month or two. Only after the Church launched a crusade against the Rat King and severely wounded the [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight] would Zorn have been able to scavenge scraps from the "Final Lair." Back then, Zorn would have only been able to obtain the flesh and blood remains of the [Evil Spirit Knight] along with a portion of forbidden blood. All the other good treasures would have been out of reach.

Things were different now.

With no one to interfere, if Zorn soloed the Rat King Butch and slew him, all the magnificent treasures hidden deep underground would belong entirely to Zorn.

Now that the opportunity had arrived, Zorn, who had long been prepared, seized it immediately.

Of course, as the guide, Isaac would also reap some decent rewards. After all, without this "Gate of Convergence" and this unexpected turn of events, Zorn would never have stumbled upon such a golden opportunity.

Soon, the two of them passed through the narrow pipe and arrived at the shortcut gate Isaac had spoken of.

Zorn swept his gaze over the dark, roughly two-meter-wide doorway. It was the [Gate of Convergence] he was intimately familiar with.

The [Gate of Convergence] could allow one to bypass a certain distance and arrive deep within the Borderlands.

Setting down his black monster-hide suitcase, Zorn pulled two masks from within: a pale witch's mask and an ordinary imp mask. Both could effectively conceal one's identity.

Zorn put on the witch's mask without altering his features, then handed the ordinary imp mask to Isaac.

"Put it on."

"This..." Isaac paused slightly.

"You think there's no one deep underground, right?" Zorn stated in a calm tone. "But very often, reality doesn't go as smoothly as you'd like. Being prepared for danger ensures you remain in a safe state."

Zorn instructed him, and Isaac rapidly absorbed this valuable lesson.

"Remember what I told you on the carriage?"

"Yes!" Isaac nodded.

"Slaying that terrifying Rat King will cause quite a stir in Ogran City. As the slayers, we will reap handsome rewards, but we will also become the targets of many schemers. While heroes enjoy glory and praise, they likewise shoulder danger and prying eyes. Therefore... we need to hide our identities and keep it secret so that we can protect our safety. We cannot let anyone know that we were the ones who killed the Rat King."

After listening to Isaac carefully recite his explanation back to him, Zorn nodded slightly.

"Put it on! Let's go."

Isaac's character was still quite trustworthy. Taking Isaac along to team up and take down the Rat King served a dual purpose. On one hand, it would truly win the fellow over to his side, making him a genuine friend. On the other hand, a rat-catcher who slew the Rat King would gain abundant "experience" through "hunting," allowing Isaac to level up more effectively and activate the characteristics of [God-Hunting].

Once he mastered the [God-Hunting] trait, he would be able to sniff out the scent and aura of other evil spirits. Who knew? Perhaps one day in the future, Isaac might bring other evil spirit traces, information, or even remains back to Zorn.

Stepping through the [Gate of Convergence], they arrived in the dark Borderlands. A dull, deathly quiet world slowly unfolded within Zorn's perception.

Because this was a boundary formed between the sewers and the dark realm, it possessed a structural layout similar to that of a sewer, only on a much larger and more complex scale.

Some characteristics of the dark realm manifested here. The walls and structural surfaces bore strange cracks, and from a distance, one could see black shadows dwelling and lying dormant within them. Once approached, those eerie shadows would vanish.

Occasionally, bizarre dark "shadows" would slip past from the side, and some even paused to size up the intruders. At times, these shadows would even attack the trespassers.

These so-called "shadows" were shadow creatures. Where reality and darkness intersected, shadows were bound to be born alongside them.

At the intersection of the dark realm and the sewers of Ogran City, the entire world was permeated with an eerie aura of desolation and death.

Right now, the point where the two of them entered was the center of a crossroads.

Zorn's gaze swept systematically across the intersection. Although exploring slowly would eventually allow them to track down the current location of the Rat King Butch, and using food could lure Butch over more effectively, both methods consumed too much time.

Zorn had a better method. He looked at Isaac and lowered his voice, "Isaac... try to sense the Rat King's location."

"Ah?" Isaac was taken aback. "How do I sense it?"

"Calm your mind, use your rat-catcher sequence to attentively sense the veins of the darkness, and you will be able to capture the direction of that powerful Rat King. This is a unique talent and ability belonging to you rat-catchers."

Following Zorn's instructions, Isaac stood in the darkness and meticulously focused on the surrounding gloom.

Various sequences possessed hidden, latent little tricks and abilities waiting for transcendents to unearth and develop. This was the "sewer," and moreover, the core area of the [Rat Plague]. Isaac, whose talent was basically at the ceiling of a [Rat-catcher], could definitely sense the Rat King's direction if he grasped the correct method.

Sure enough.

A dozen breaths later, Isaac opened his eyes, a look of astonishment flashing across his face. He looked at Zorn in pleasant surprise and urged, "Mr. Zorn, I can feel the Rat King's aura and location!"

Zorn nodded gently. "Very well, maintain this state. Let's go catch a rat!"

...

Roughly a quarter of an hour later, the two arrived in a vast area resembling a subterranean cathedral.

Only... what should have been a solemn and dignified "cathedral district" was now covered by a dense "bone forest" piled high with countless remains.

The "bone forest" of the dark realm was one of its most iconic regions. At the same time, this was a treasure trove for "necromancers"—though Zorn preferred to call it a "necromancer's burial ground."

When Zorn played his max-level necromancer character, he had buried countless enemy corpses and skeletal remains within the bone forest. He would even construct death traps in the eerie, dark Borderlands, waiting for human transcendents to walk in and throw their lives away.

At this moment, the [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight] Butch, who had already ascended to the throne, was dragging his flesh-mountain-like body through the depths of the bone forest, scraping through the skeletons with a clatter as if searching for something.

As he rummaged, he muttered low, delirious ramblings.

"So... hungry..."

"I'm... gonna... starve... to death..."

"Damn it... aren't there any good things to eat? Bones, nothing but bones, I hate these bones."

"Mhm... the uncle still tastes sweet and delicious..."

"Mo... lin... sen... uncle... I miss you so much..."

This fellow still couldn't get over his deliciously tasty uncle. Yet from his self-talk, one could tell that this guy... was becoming increasingly high-spirited!

From time to time, he would toss a bone high into the air, catch it with the rat-head at his front, and rapidly lick it, absorbing the faint residual spiritual essence within.

The craving for flesh, soul, and spiritual essence would only drive him increasingly mad.

If the Church didn't come down to crusade against him, once his spiritual essence depleted to a certain degree, the traits of the evil spirit sequence would compel him to charge out of the sewers and forage in the streets in broad daylight.

However!

The spiritual essence of ordinary humans was no longer enough to satisfy that increasingly mutated desire and greed.

Ultimately, the [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight] would launch a charge against the Holy Solar Church.

Only when the Church's sacred flames purified his will and soul, completely igniting that flesh-mountain-like body, would he crash heavily to the ground, ending his frantic knightly charge.

At the same time, the fire fueled by his own bones and flesh would light up the night sky of Ogran City that night, marking a tragic conclusion to both the chapter of the [Rat Infestation] and his own fate.

Zorn gave Isaac a look.

Isaac understood tacitly and hid himself to the side.

In Zorn's plan, Isaac was a crucial link, but also a link that needed protection.

Next, it was time for the [Evil Spirit Wizard] and the [Bloodline - Lower-Tier - Rat King Knight] boss showdown!