Who taught him to restore the country like this

Chapter 147 Divine Sacrifice
As Ron had expected, the other party was a man of the Grand Duke of Misian.

The commotion in Canare County these days has been quite significant, resulting in the loss of five purple-robed priests in the Order of the End. Unless Grand Duke Misien is resigned to his fate, he will definitely send someone to win them over once he notices the situation.

Of course, Ron didn't think he was worth having a seventh-tier expert personally invite him.

Just like how the Order of the End directly sent a high priest to attack Red Cloud Town, the Duke of Mistia sent this seventh-tier powerhouse named Alec. What made them take this so seriously was not Ron's rabble.

Instead, it's the legendary... Calamity Witch!
Although Isabella had never revealed her strength in public before, the power of [Annihilation], which once allowed the Order of the End to dominate the world, resided within her.

Its value is no less than that of a seventh-tier powerhouse.

The reason why the Grand Duke of Mishin hadn't sent anyone to invite her before was because of Isabella's sensitive identity, coupled with the attitude of the Mishin State towards Isabella in recent years, which made him feel that there was little hope that Isabella would help them.

But now that the state of Misian is in such a terrible state, he can't care about anything else. After receiving news that the Calamity Witch is fighting against the Order of the End, he immediately sent Alec to invite her over.

At this moment, Alec explained his purpose and awaited Ron's reply.

“It is an honor to be valued by Lord Alfred and to have him send you to invite me,” Ron replied with a smile.

“However,” he changed the subject, “this matter is not something I can decide alone, and we are not yet clear about the current situation in Misian State. We hope that you can tell us about the situation in Misian State so that we can discuss it.”

“No problem,” Alec nodded in agreement.

He subtly observed the Calamity Witch's reaction out of the corner of his eye, realizing that the young man in front of him held the reins of power in Red Cloud Town.

This put his mind at ease.

Convincing a boy is much easier than convincing the witch of calamity.

He believed that Ron would accept the invitation after hearing about the current situation in Misian State.

“In that case,” Ron said, his gaze sweeping over the still-unresolved battlefield, “we will trouble you to rest in town for a while, and then we will discuss this further with you after we have dealt with these trivial matters.”

Alec nodded slightly and said no more. His figure, like ink blending into the snow, vanished completely from the spot with a slight sway.

Ron withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Isabella beside him.

The girl's face was paler than the snow, her lips were bloodless, and her eyes revealed deep weariness.

“You’ve worked hard,” Ron said gently. “Go back and rest. I can handle the rest.”

Upon hearing this, Isabella's gaze quickly swept over the chaotic battlefield.

After Malbrecht's defeat, the remaining cultists lost all will to fight and fled in panic.

Those who were stronger have already run far away; the rest are not worth worrying about.

She nodded slightly, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the town.

However, she had only taken three or five steps...

Her body swayed suddenly, as if all her strength had been drained away, and her legs went weak, causing her to fall to the ground.

Ron reacted swiftly, appearing beside her in a flash. He steadily supported her thin shoulder with one hand and firmly grasped her cold, slender arm with the other, forcefully stopping her from falling.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at the frightened Isabella.

Isabella leaned against Ron's arm, breathing heavily for a few seconds, then shook her head, trying to appear calm.

Once she had recovered, she let go of Ron's support and continued walking forward.

Seeing her unsteady steps, Ron hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked in front of her, turned his back to her, and squatted down: "I'll take you home."

Isabella stopped and looked at the strong back in front of her, a slight ripple stirring in her calm heart.

"Aren't you going to clean up the mess?" she asked.

“There’s nothing to clean up, they’re enough,” Ron said.

Whether he stays or not will determine whether he can capture more cult followers.

While offerings are always welcome, increasing the favorability of key characters in the dungeon's storyline is more important.

With an eighth-tier offering as a safety net, he doesn't need to risk losing more than he gains.

“…I can walk back by myself,” Isabella said after a two-second pause.

"Hey, what are you being so coy about? I've already managed to handle you last time." Ron beckoned with his hand behind his back, urging him on.

“That’s different!” Isabella’s pretty face puffed up slightly.

“Why make such a big difference? All you need to know is that a friend’s body is something you can rely on when you’re at your most vulnerable,” Ron said.

“We…” Isabella paused, “When did we become friends?”

She instinctively wanted to retort in a strong tone, but the words softened as they reached her lips.

The questioning turned into a search for proof.

“We’ve been friends since the moment you stood up for me,” Ron replied.

Isabella was stunned.

This is... a friend?
She didn't think too much when she took action; she just didn't want the only man who could be close to her, who cooked well, and who, despite his bad temper, was patient and gentle, to die.

"Stop dawdling, come up here, hurry up, the guests are waiting." Ron's tone was firm.

"..."

After a brief silence, Isabella slowly approached, her slender arm hesitantly resting on Ron's shoulder before she carefully and somewhat stiffly leaned forward.

Ron felt the weight on her back, which steadily supported her knees, and helped her stand up straight.

"gone."

The wind and snow seemed to intensify, with dense snowflakes pelting against our faces, bringing a biting chill.

Ron carried Isabella on his back and walked steadily toward her cabin.

The girl lay quietly on his back, her silver hair falling down and obscuring her pale face. Only her soft, suppressed breathing proved that she had not fainted.

"Why weren't you affected just now?" Isabella suddenly asked as they approached her house.

She was referring to the time when the annihilation covered an indiscriminate area; Malbrecht was almost killed, but Ron acted as if nothing had happened.

“Because I’m more resilient as I grow up,” Ron said half-jokingly.

In that last burst, he leveled up three times, and now he's level 50.

"..."

Isabella didn't take his joke seriously.

In the quiet atmosphere, the two quickly arrived at their destination.

He opened the door, and the oil lamp in the room was still on. Ron carried Isabella to her bedroom door and put her down.

"good night, see you tomorrow."

Ron turned around.

"Will you accept Grand Duke Michael's invitation?" Isabella asked again.

Her voice sounded like she cared a lot about the matter, and her expression didn't seem to indicate that she wanted to go to the fortress where Grand Duke Michael was located.

Ultimately, she still can't convince herself to help those who once beat, scolded, and neglected her.

In Red Cloud Town, Ron was in charge. She was very free, didn't have to come into contact with too many people, and wasn't forced to do anything.

It's still acceptable.

But if they went to where Grand Duke Michael was, Ron would certainly no longer be able to make decisions on a whim and would become powerless. If she went with him, her situation would become very awkward.

She cannot accept being a tool used by others.

“This is not something you should worry about,” Ron said with a smile, tapping his head. “The wisdom in this comes from the future, and it can assure you that you will always be free.”

Isabella looked into his eyes, trying to determine if this man was trustworthy.

After a moment, the worry in her eyes gradually faded.

“As…as a friend,” she said, opening the bedroom door and walking in with her back to Ron, “I will support your decision.”

After saying that, she closed the door.

"Thank you," Ron smiled slightly, "Get some rest."

Ron stepped out of the house, closed the door, turned around, and looked at Malbrek, who was being carried over by a small earth elemental golem, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Having chosen a prime location nearby, Ron retrieved the materials for the sacrificial ceremony from his game inventory and quickly and skillfully set up a high-standard altar.

“An eighth-tier sacrifice, that’s incredibly extravagant,” he said with a smile, mentioning Malbrecht.

"Uuuuuuu..."

Upon hearing Ron's words, Malbreck immediately uttered indistinct sounds.

Ignoring him, Ron placed him directly into the altar and began the sacrifice.

"Well--"

As the altar was activated, the protests of the offerings became shrill, like the cries of demons in hell.

The previous sacrifices only took a few seconds to activate the altar, but this sacrifice lasted for a full minute.

After the sacrifice, Ron checked his level.

[Level: 50 (74)]

As expected of an eighth-tier offering, it directly boosted my level by ten.

"Level 74, time to find a tier 7 skill to learn."

Having decided on his next course of action, Ron returned to the town gate.

The battle was now over, and the garrison of Hongyun Town was cleaning up the battlefield.

Ron recalled the worm puppet and retrieved the alloy rod.

"Lord Ron."

Zedd strode over, bowed respectfully, and reported the results of the battle to Ron.

Of the 700 people in Hongyun Town, only slightly more than 200 were able to participate in the battle. In this battle, 43 people were killed and 53 were seriously wounded.

The casualty rate was extremely high.

However, compared to the casualties of the Order of the End, the number is quite considerable.

The Order of the End came with two thousand men, more than one thousand of whom fled, more than six hundred of whom died in battle, and more than two hundred were captured.

Zeder was very emotional during his report.

It's nothing short of a miracle that Hongyun Town was able to win against such a powerful offensive force.

“Not bad.” Ron nodded in satisfaction.

He then glanced around and tentatively called out, "Lord Alec."

Before he finished speaking, Alec's figure appeared silently.

At this moment, the look in his eyes as he looked at Ron was more serious than before.

Clearly, he had been following Ron the whole time.

He witnessed the entire process of Ron's sacrifice, and was not surprised that Ron was a cultist.

Ron never made a conscious effort to hide the fact that he would perform sacrifices, so it wasn't a secret.

Even without receiving any information, the strong aura of evil god emanating from Ron was enough to tell that he was a cultist.

For the current state of Misian, it doesn't matter whether Ron is a cultist or not, as long as he's willing to help the End Order.

Alec wasn't opposed to Ron's cultist identity, but... after watching Ron's aura rise from stage six to stage seven, which was comparable to his own, after the sacrificial ritual ended, he began to doubt Ron's true identity.

While sacrifices offer a shortcut to boosting strength, it's impossible to achieve that level of power in this way.

Especially the speed at which someone can go directly from stage six to stage seven... This kind of improvement is clearly a way to replenish and restore their original strength.

Judging from his expression, he doesn't seem to have recovered his full strength yet.

Where does this guy come from?
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Ron said apologetically.

Alec looked at Ron, shook his head imperceptibly, and asked, "Are you finished with your work, sir?"

“That’s about enough,” Ron said with a smile. “Please come to my room to talk.”

……

Twenty minutes later, in the reception room of Hongyun Town.

The two sat facing each other, while Zeder was called over to listen in.

After a simple cup of hot tea was served, Alek briefly explained the current situation in Misian State.

A few months ago, the Twilight End descended upon the state of Misian without warning. This was a catastrophe that would have been fatal if touched, but perhaps because the Twilight End had been suppressed for hundreds of years and had not yet fully recovered, the impact of this Twilight End was not fatal.

However, it brought many negative effects. First, it suppressed the transmission of faith power, preventing heroes in major towns and cities of Misian from obtaining subsequent faith power from the people.

Secondly, the followers of the End Order will experience a significant increase in power during Twilight End.

Therefore, the state of Misian was defeated in its first confrontation with the long-weakened Order of the End and was forced to retreat to a rear fortress to wait for the effects of the Twilight End to dissipate.

Now that the twilight has faded, the Order of the End is no longer the Order of the End that could be easily suppressed.

The rampant plundering and sacrifices of the past month have led to a leap in the overall strength of the Order of the End, making it so powerful that Grand Duke Michael could only continue to defend, allowing the Order of the End to occupy most of Michael's territory.

Of the thirteen counties in the state of Misian, nine, excluding Canare County, remain under the control of the Order of the End.

"...The End Order massacred people in various counties in an attempt to create a no-man's-land and pray to the evil god for divine sacrifices."

"What is this deity?" Ron interrupted Alec's explanation.

“The Divine Sacrifice is the Twilight End. The Order of the End wants to bring the Twilight End down upon Misian again to gain power,” Alec replied solemnly.

“Is that so…” Ron lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

"The nine counties they now control, including Canare County, could be subjected to divine sacrifices at any time. The sacrifice of millions of lives, the accumulation of energy over two months, and the second arrival of the Twilight's End will fully unleash its destructive power!" Alec said in a heavy voice.

"Lord Ron, this matter is of utmost urgency!" Zedd stood up abruptly and said with a serious expression.

Ron ignored him.

He's not that easy to fool.

According to Alec's description, it seems that only by going to the three counties held by the Grand Duke of Miansian can this disaster be avoided.

But what happens after you escape the divine sacrifice?
The divine sacrifice will greatly increase the strength of the End Order, and when they are trapped in the three counties, they will be like turtles in a jar.

(End of this chapter)