Along the way, Joel tried to talk to the other guards, but they didn\'t respond.

When he got to the castle, Stanley patted Joel on the shoulder and said with a smile, "young man, do you feel the glory?"

"My glory comes from your grace," Joel did not forget who the boss was. He stepped down from the horse and knelt on one knee. "I would like to serve you in front of your saddle, crush the enemy\'s bones and extinguish the fire of hell."

Stanley was stunned, shrugged his eyebrows and said, "these two things are not what I want to do."

Joel realized that he might have said something wrong and didn\'t speak again. Stanley took him into a tower and made a gesture. Two guards brought wine cans and glasses. Joel wanted to help, but the guards ignored him.

"Sit down and let\'s have a drink."

After a glass of wine, Joel looked at the other four guards. They all stood behind Stanley, motionless.

"They don\'t come together..." Joel was embarrassed when the guards didn\'t respond. Stanley smiled, "they don\'t like drinking."

"They don\'t like me very much either." Joel laughed at himself.

"They like you very much, just afraid you don\'t like their appearance. Have you seen their appearance?"

These guards have been wearing heavy iron helmets. Joel has never seen their faces. According to Stanley, they may have hidden diseases.

Maybe none of them can speak, and their faces have been destroyed. Joel was imagining their ugly appearance, but Stanley waved his finger and a guard took off his helmet.

Joel vomited the wine out of his mouth and took a deep breath: "he didn\'t, didn\'t..."

The guard had no eyes, only two dark holes in his eyes.

Stanley waved his fingers again. The remaining three guards also took off the iron helmets. Some of them had no nose and some had no lips. The biggest thing in common was that they had no complete skin on their faces.

Some have holes in their cheeks, through which they can see teeth, some can directly see cheekbones, some can even see rotten brain marrow, and one has almost no flesh and blood on his face, leaving only a black and yellow hole on his neck.

"He, they..." Joel was so frightened that he stood up and couldn\'t say a complete word for a long time.

"Sit down, boy," Stanley pressed his palm down to calm him down. "They are all living corpses. This is my first-order skill. Now you should know which God I am a believer."

"You are, Pluto\'s......"

Stanley nodded and said, "we have the same God, Joel Morales, tell me, do you want more glory?"

Joel was stunned for a while. The rapid flow of blood made his body numb.

Ready to step in? Can you become a true believer in ancient gods?

I thought my dream had been dashed, but I didn\'t expect the opportunity was in front of me.

Why is Stanley so kind to himself? What are his intentions?

Joel didn\'t dare to think more, knelt on one knee and said, "I\'m eager. I look forward to what you gave me..."

"It\'s not my gift, it\'s the gift of God. It\'s my mission to find excellent believers for our God."

Joel turned his eyes and guessed Stanley\'s intention.

This may be a way to please the gods, or it may be a condition for his advancement.

It was a good luck Joel could not dream of. He said all his gratitude and drank two cans of wine with Stanley. As long as Stanley spoke, he was willing to kneel on the ground and kiss Stanley\'s boots immediately.

When he left the tower, slightly drunk Joel saw a girl standing in the cloister of the castle. She was curling her hair, wearing a dark red dress and cloak, enjoying the snow in the garden with the maid.

She is so beautiful, not only her exquisite appearance, but also another attractive thing, perhaps her slightly arrogant smile or her slightly indifferent eyes.

The girl noticed Joel\'s gaze and left the corridor with a frown. Joel wanted to catch up, but Stanley caught him.

"Don\'t be so rash. It\'s the daughter of the viscount. You were so rude just now."

"Sorry, sir, I\'m drunk." Joel quickly stepped aside.

"I understand that noble women are always out of sight. She is too far away from you. If you want to get close to her, you need more glory. The advanced sacrifice will be carried out in three days. Eat more and sleep more, so that the gods can see your strong physique and full spirit."

Joel bowed and said, "follow your wishes."

Back in the bedroom, Joel couldn\'t sleep for a long time. As soon as he closed his eyes, he could see the charming smile of the Viscount\'s daughter.

Poor Helena, in fact, you are also very beautiful. Unfortunately, we are not suitable. Only such a woman is worthy of me.

……

Late at night, the tavern had just closed. Worm felt the insects trembling outside the door and quickly let Toka hide them.

He opened the back door and saw a team of cars and horses standing at the door.

This was the man sent by the count. He knew their intention without asking. Without saying much, worm directly asked them to go into the yard to carry food, but when he looked back, he found someone standing in the yard.

With a chill in his heart, worm thought that the count had come in person. He approached and looked again. It turned out to be an old friend.

"I didn\'t expect your tavern to be so big that I couldn\'t see it when I came last time." Pluto smiled at worm with a blindfold.

He came to the bedroom and lit a fire. Worm brought salted meat and wine for Pluto. Pluto looked around and asked, "where\'s Manda?"

Worm hesitated for a moment and said, "he went to town and did something else."

Pluto smiled, "you\'d better tell me more. I have to tell the count."

Seeing that worm was still hesitating, Pluto said, "trust me, I won\'t do anything against you."

Werm repeated Manda\'s words to Pluto. Pluto thought for a long time and said, "if the count doesn\'t ask me, I won\'t say more. Remind Manda to be careful and don\'t get too angry with the punisher. The count will come to the tavern in a few days. He will discuss a big matter with gassac. At that time, Manda must come back, and..."

While he was talking, Ogg suddenly burst in, stood in front of the two, and sang in a low voice: "the great prophet made it clear to me that I will be closer to the gods! Ignite the fire of the prophet\'s wisdom, and the gods will give me more strength!"

Toka hid at the door and looked at worm helplessly. Worm knocked Ogg over with a punch and dragged him back to the room.

Back in the bedroom, Pluto sighed, "and send these people to other places. You know the count\'s temperament. He doesn\'t want you to have too many friends."

Werm pursed his lips. He wanted to turn off the topic. Suddenly, Pluto\'s face was covered with dark purple spots the size of nails.

"What happened to your face?"

"If you eat something you shouldn\'t eat, you\'ll soon get better." Pluto laughed and then turned off the topic.

Outside the tavern, the punisher still hid in the ruins, grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth.

"The believers of the demon God also came. I knew something big had happened in Niujiao town."

……

Three days later, in the dark cabin, Manda placed the statue of Hermes and arranged the altar according to the instructions of the ciphertext.

He got rid of his irritability and was indeed qualified for promotion. He lit the tail feathers of the undead bird, which soared into a dazzling flame, and burned on the altar together with the claws of the double headed eagle and the wings of the four winged bat. In the billowing smoke, Manda vowed:

"The son of Zeus and Maia, the patron of merchants, travelers and shepherds, the messenger of the gods and the great Hermes, please look here. I will dedicate my flesh and blood to you. I pray for your strength and protection. Please give me guidance, let me step up a stage and let me be closer to you!"

He cut his palm and dropped blood into the sacrificial vessel.

After more than a dozen breaths, a long lost voice came to my ears.

"I\'ll take you up the steps and I\'ll give you strength."

Tick!

A drop of blood fell into the sacrificial vessel. Manda dared not open her eyes, groped for the sacrificial vessel and drank the blood inside.

He felt his body leaving the ground, and his flesh and blood turned into dust and scattered in the breeze.