After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

In another world, during the second spring of the human kingdom's punishment by the goddess's curse, the hooves of death trampled across the revived land, raising dust and causing patches of newly sprouted grass to wither and die along the roadsides.

Life was extinguished, and the cold winds of the northern lands raged on. Oswald stood alone on the walls of Green Canyon, looking up at the dark, cloud-covered sky.

Under the Spirit Vision skill, the sky was as black as ink, with a faint sliver of dark light surging forth, like a sleeping eye.

It's that time of year again for prayers. Oswald, who arrived early in Green Canyon, hasn't had a proper rest for many days.

He slowly walked down the city wall, and the soldiers immediately pushed open the city gate, standing respectfully on both sides, silently watching their Duke walk past.

Leaning on his staff, Oswald reached out and touched the green leaves on the trees, his expression extremely solemn.

(Sir, do you think they're trying to harm me?)

[Host, please don't overthink it. This system deduces that this is absolutely impossible.]

(Then why did they secretly make me aphrodisiacs? In my entire life, I have never felt so deeply for the profession of eunuch...)

Oswald sighed heavily, recalling how, not long ago, Eleanor had suddenly replaced his tea with some strange, viscous liquid.

It smells bad and doesn't taste good either.

Even though he felt something was off, Oswald didn't want to waste her good intentions.

How could he possibly keep the news of the alchemist's frequent visits to the Duke's mansion a secret? Oswald had noticed their little antics from the moment Eleanor started pulling his hair for no reason.

Oswald had guessed they wanted to use alchemy to help him regain his human body, but he never expected their methods to be so unorthodox.

If you're going to help someone, go all the way; if you're going to save someone, start by saving their root cause, right?

The moment Oswald felt a bloating in his lower abdomen and a throbbing pain in his heart, he jumped out of bed and knew: he was done for, he'd been tricked by these guys.

After checking on his unresponsive younger brother again, Oswald became even more distressed.

No, what exactly do they want to do?

[Actually, our system has been studying this recently. If you're not using them for reproduction, the working principle of your human reproductive organs is quite simple.]

[Then the system can just use the recovery potion on it, and borrow some steel potion from next door. Combined with the host's lightning elemental natural power, it will definitely be better than a vibrator.]

Steel compound, vibrator...

Oswald sighed, (I'm so lucky to have you all.)

[Host, this system knows you've been restraining yourself, but humans only live a short time. Doing many things in your twenties feels completely different from doing them in your forties.]

[If a girl wants to be with you during the most beautiful years of her life, then you shouldn't be thinking about the future anymore.]

(I cannot indulge myself; indulgence is the beginning of depravity. So many dangers remain unresolved, so many people...)

[This system is talking to you about life and how to live! Not about indulging in debauchery! Host, you don't plan on having a harem, so how much indulgence can you really have when you're with the girl you love?]

(You're asking me why I've been a virgin in two lifetimes? It's because I've grown to love her more and more that I've been able to understand the situation between King Zhou and Daji!)

(And you chose this host yourself, don't you know that? Whatever I focus on, I will give it my all. The only thing that could distract me from studying was butter...)

(Do you really want your host to become a dedicated sex fiend?)

The system thought about it carefully and realized, "Oh no, Oswald really is that kind of person."

[So, what does the host want to do?]

(Let's get married first. I've already written the marriage certificate; all that's left is for her to sign it. After dealing with the newly born cursed incarnation, I'll go back and propose to her.)

[What are you doing? Don't make promises you can't keep before the battle starts! The cursed incarnation might already be on its way!]

Ignoring the system's jokes, Oswald turned and looked towards the horizon.

The wind ruffled the hem of his clothes, and the feeling of being watched grew stronger. Oswald lowered his head, his feelings incredibly complicated. "They really are persistent."

In the distance, across the plains and villages, in a basement somewhere in the royal city, an old voice suddenly rang out.

"The ceremony begins with pushing the first knuckle to welcome the blood of the believer, awakening them with holy water, facing north at 11:15, and praying to the twelfth chapter of scripture!"

Flames rose along the edge of the circular basement, which, despite being called a basement, occupied an area equivalent to half a football field and was at least 200 meters deep.

Inside, at its center, a huge, towering cylinder is covered by a black cloth. Nearly a hundred people in black robes are busy in mid-air around the cylinder in baskets. They use chains and mechanisms to slowly bend the front end of the cylinder downwards.

There were even more people in black robes on the ground. They struggled to push aside the stone slabs weighing over ten tons, revealing a pool of dark red blood underground.

Another group of men in black robes threw a specially made fishing net, dozens of meters long, into the blood pool. Once the net sank to the bottom, a sharp whistle urged them to take immediate action.

"Welcome believers!" The loud voice echoed.

They gripped the rope tightly and pulled backward like in a tug-of-war. The pool of blood churned and spewed out all sorts of disgusting organs. A group of humanoid creatures with dark red skin crowded into the fishing net and were pulled ashore with great effort.

Like a bountiful harvest, the remaining black-robed figures swarmed forward, one after another pinning down the humanoid creatures that were choking on blood and screaming madly.

"Hang up, take your seats!"

The humanoid creature was dragged to the designated wall by the man in black robes. The mechanism was activated, and rows of rusty iron hooks extended from the cracks in the wall and began to rotate continuously.

The man in black robes forcefully hung the humanoid creatures on the hooks, piercing their heads with iron hooks. The humanoid creatures immediately stopped screaming, their faces fell silent, and they slowly floated upwards along the iron hooks.

The assembly line work made them extremely efficient. Before long, the humanoid creatures covered the walls, the fishing nets were cleared and retrieved, and the mechanisms ceased operation.

"Immerse in holy water, awaken!"

The stern command echoed in the basement, causing the men in black robes to pause, put down their work, and quickly line up to evacuate the basement.

Just before leaving, the young man in black robes turned back curiously and saw black rain suddenly falling from nowhere. Amidst heart-wrenching screams, the humanoid creatures were washed clean, revealing the appearance of elves.

Along with the blood, their swollen eyeballs were also washed away, slowly detaching from their sockets and disappearing into the black rain in an instant.

With a soft thud, an arrow pierced the young man in black robes' chest. He turned around in disbelief and saw their captain put down his bow, his expression serious, and push him hard in front of him.

The young man in black robes fell into the basement, and before he drowned in the pool of blood, he could still hear the intricate chanting of the elves.

Black rain fell in torrents. The elf's empty eye sockets faced north, his hands clasped together, and he hung on the wall, offering his final prayer to the goddess.