Chapter 428: Chapter 43 Seizing the Opportunity

Returning to the camp, Aske saw that the girls had also returned.

Because the ritual task of war required extensive slaughter, Aske had chosen to split up from the girls.

With their current level, as long as they didn’t recklessly charge out of the trenches and get hit in the face by a smoothbore gun at the door, there generally wouldn’t be any problems… After all, The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps had an average Level of 9, with various professions and sequences complementing each other, almost capable of handling most battlefield scenarios.

Thinking this, Aske was astonished to see Sigrdrifa coming back with her arm askew, supported by Eleanor.

“What happened to her?” Aske asked.

“She blocked a cannonball with her battle axe head-on,” Eleanor replied, “Her arm is broken.”

Aske: ……

Well, speaking of recklessness, I must admit you, Sigrdrifa, are the strongest.

Seeing Aske’s strange look, the Norman girl hurriedly explained,

“No! I just wanted to throw the North Wind Axe and freeze the incoming cannonball!”

“Do you think freezing the cannonball would stop its inertia?” Aske asked.

“Yes!” Sigrdrifa indignantly replied, “I didn’t expect that, even though the cannonball was frozen and didn’t explode, it still broke my arm.”

“Can the arm be saved?” Aske asked Eleanor.

“Nora looked at it, there should be no problem, just a common fracture,” Eleanor responded.

“Mm.” Aske thought, thanking his stars that this fellow had taken the “Giant III” Magic Potion, otherwise her body might not have been able to withstand a mortar shell.

Returning to his tent for a brief rest, Peggy soon found him, excitedly reporting,

“Aske, I sensed the ritual for the Plague Law!”

“Oh, how did you manage that?” Aske was a bit surprised, since this young girl had just advanced to Level 10, and to sense the ritual of the Plague Law so quickly seemed to indicate that she had an extraordinary talent on the Path of Law.

“I don’t know,” Peggy said, puzzled, “I was following Nora to the infirmary to treat the patients, and before long, I sensed it.”

Aske was speechless; the young girl spoke as though it was a matter of course, as if she were saying, “I often watch videos of rocket launches and somehow ended up knowing how to build a rocket.”

Was sensing a Law Ritual really such an easy thing?

Perhaps this could only be explained by the deep insight into “plague” Peggy gained while treating hordes of bubonic plague victims in the Quarantine Zone of Innsbruck City at the end of last year.

And the recent infirmary incident was just the final push she needed to reach the threshold of sensing.

“Alright.” Aske nodded, “What exactly is the task?”

“To create a certain plague, using it to infect five million people,” Peggy answered.

“That sounds quite challenging,” Aske remarked.

Of course, the difficulty was secondary; the main thing was that the task itself was incredibly sinister.

It is said that in the original game world, many of the quests related to the Law were extremely cruel, but later, to pass censorship for a harmonious environment, many unsettling tasks were blocked, leaving only the normal tasks for players to randomly sense and draw.

Now, it seems this world has no such harmonizing patch.

“You might as well go with the flu,” Aske suggested. “It’s highly contagious and not fatal. Infected patients can still hop around, allowing the virus to be spread to more places.”

“Okay,” Peggy nodded. “Where do we collect the flu virus?”

“Aren’t you with Nora?” Aske said. “Go check out the injured soldiers’ camp… wait, the common cold is usually a minor illness. Instead, wait outside the supply tent and see if anyone comes to buy cold medicine.”

“Okay,” Peggy obediently nodded and then asked, “Aske, after reaching Level 10, how do we level up next?”

“The leveling mechanism becomes quite simple afterward,” Aske explained. “On the Bloodline Path from Level 1 to Level 10, you choose a bloodline and then take the corresponding Magic Potion. With each potion you take, you advance one level.”

“On the Path of Law from Level 10 to Level 20, you need to consolidate a law. Then, accumulate the Power of Laws through corresponding actions.”

“For example, if you consolidate the Plague Law, you need to keep creating new plagues and use them to infect others. As the plague spreads among the population, you can continuously gain the Power of Laws, thereby gradually advancing in level.”

“If the advancement on the Bloodline Path is like climbing steps, the progression on the Path of Law is linear. Some Transcendents are more suitable for cultivating laws, so their leveling could rise exponentially, though for some, the progress might slow down.”

“Oh,” Peggy asked naively, “so the leveling method for the War Law, is it killing people?”

“No, just wars,” Aske said. “Continuously participate in more wars. From small village fights to large military battles, all can contribute war-related Power of Laws.”

Hmm, Peggy nodded as if enlightened and thought she needed to quickly consolidate the Plague Law, not to lag too far behind Aske’s leveling pace.

Seeing her eagerness, Aske patted her shoulder and cautioned,

“No need to rush so much. Five million is not a small number; you might first study which strains of the flu virus are easier to spread among people.”

“After all, a good virus strain not only needs to be highly contagious but also must adapt well to the environment to spread quickly.”

“Also, don’t work with pathogens that are highly lethal, unless you want to be hunted like the previous Lord of Filth.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Peggy retorted with a pout. “I create new pathogens just to master the laws, not to kill.”

“That’s good.”

“Squad Leader, are you free now?” Peggy suddenly invited him. “If you’re not busy, come with me to collect the flu virus.”

“Isn’t Nora going with you?” Aske wondered. She should be more professional in this regard.

“She’s in the operating room at the injured soldiers’ camp, with lots of work to do and can’t come out for a while,” Peggy said excitedly, grabbing his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

Meanwhile, Nora, who had just finished surgery, watched as the bed of a wounded soldier was wheeled out of the operating room and sighed in exhaustion, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Strangely, she didn’t know how, but doctors who had previously worked with her in the army suddenly found out she had hurried back from the Venice City State and came to ask her for help.

Since it was a matter of saving lives and alleviating suffering, the kind-hearted Nora couldn’t refuse. Still, she was curious about how they knew she had returned and couldn’t resist making small talk with a few doctors.

It turned out, someone had written an anonymous note and dropped it in the doctors’ duty room at the injured soldiers’ camp. With the recent increase in the number of soldiers suffering from war-related injuries and infections, the military doctors hurried to her, pleading for help from this master of surgery.

“This handwriting… who could have written this?” Nora pulled out the note from her bag and studied it carefully under the operation room’s shadowless light.