Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 244

Chapter 244: Task Ratings Soaring Rapidly!
The players were bewildered.

Wait, we’ve been slacking off like this, and after just a few scoldings, we decided to endure it.

But over here in Florence… is this a bit too considerate?

Is it really okay to just lounge around like this?

“Since everyone is saying this, we will try to speed things up from now on.” At that moment, a player in the group actually spoke up, bypassing Sterl.

The reason this player was so bold was that during the demon hunts over the past few days, another player had unfortunately died. Sterl had rushed to save him but arrived just a second too late.

So, Sterl simply let Bionic Tear continue to lead the team while he himself disguised as this fallen player, conveniently filling the role of Philip Waldo, the traitor in the Blood Cult.

Indeed, Sterl was now willing to use his real identity because he had already scanned the area and confirmed that the rift beneath Florence could not support the Archduke of Blood making a direct appearance.

The risk was mitigated!

In the meeting, Sterl remained calm and nodded, “Actually, over the past couple of days, besides slaying demons, I’ve also discovered some clues that will soon yield results.”

With this statement, the king naturally smiled broadly, while the queen and several nobles exchanged worried glances, their smiles appearing forced: “Please prioritize safety during your investigations.”

“If anything dangerous happens, we would feel terribly guilty.”

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Fortunately, aside from Sterl, who understood the situation and was aware of the traitors’ concerns regarding the safety of the Blood Cult’s base, the others didn’t think too much of it…

After the meeting, Sterl gathered the players. They were a bit hesitant in front of this leader, exchanging nervous glances before finally speaking up.

“Leader, are we going to take action during the day today?”

“Have you made any discoveries? Has the power behind the demons finally shown itself?”

“What should we do now? Has the task difficulty been maxed out?”

…

The players were chattering away.

Sterl simply observed in silence, and soon the noise diminished, with everyone obediently closing their mouths.

He then spoke half-seriously, “A few days ago, I noticed that there are areas in the city that are impossible to scan; those places definitely have issues.”

“If we strike there, we’re sure to gain something.”

“As for the task difficulty, we’ve allowed the forces behind the demons to act for a while now; it’s time to control their progress. Otherwise, if the difficulty spikes too high at the end, it won’t be good.”

After explaining, many players nodded in agreement.

Then, under Sterl’s leadership, the group quickly made their way to a Blood Cult base.

The first location was a warehouse in a flower shop located in the city center.

“Is this it?” sneered a legendary player, as his right arm became entangled with numerous grayish stones, and he smashed down with all his might.

Boom!!

With a thunderous crash, the seemingly ordinary warehouse was suddenly breached by a blood-red barrier.

“Damn! There are enemies!”

“Guard the formation!”

“It’s the Hall of Valor people…”

Immediately, panic-stricken shouts echoed from within the warehouse.

The players accompanying Sterl, however, showed expressions of delight; their leader had been right!

Sterl himself casually cast an Ignition Flame, turning a fanatic who had rushed out first into ashes, and then he was taken aback by what he saw.

[You have killed a member of the Blood Cult; your task rating has increased.]

[Notice: Based on your task rating, you will receive additional Valor Contribution Points and other rewards.]

“Well, well!” Sterl raised an eyebrow, not expecting such a bonus.

At that moment, he noticed that the other players around him were also displaying surprise, with many even having red eyes as they looked at the cultists emerging from the warehouse like they were seeing a delicious cake!

“Kill!”

The players almost instantly unleashed their most powerful attacks, even though most of these Blood Cult members were only at third-class strength.

But to prevent any kills from being snatched away, the players quickly unleashed their most terrifying skills!

Sterl couldn’t even see what was happening around him; the various skill effects drowned everything.

The fanatics who had rushed out first were obliterated in an instant, and it was impossible to tell whose kill it was…

Even the entire block surrounding the warehouse turned to ashes under the bombardment of such high-energy reactions…

This terrifying scene also left the remaining Blood Cult members feeling utterly demoralized!

The gap in strength was too great!

For them, escaping from the players’ pursuit was simply impossible.

Soon, someone shouted in anger, “We can’t let them get the array information!”

Then came a faint explosion, accompanied by a dim blood-red glow.

Sterl knew that the internal formation must have been destroyed by those cultists themselves.

As Sterl was about to maneuver Bionic Tear to snatch a few kills, he suddenly noticed a group of Blood Cult members emerging from a hidden passage near the warehouse, falling behind in the team—Philip Waldo, who was actually Sterl’s real body.

They shouted in unison, “For our Lord, charge!”

And they rushed toward “Philip Waldo”!

However, the leading cultists exchanged silent glances.

Sterl understood!

His real body was wearing the Holy Stone of Blood, which meant that even though the Blood Cult members knew they couldn’t escape, they were willingly offering their heads to this “traitor of the Hall of Valor”!

Naturally, Sterl accepted this with open arms.

He raised his hand and unleashed the long-unused Divine Flame Drive; the colorful flames slaughtered dozens of cult members in an instant!

Before they died, these cultists wore expressions of calm resignation…

No regrets!

Even though they died, they were still serving the Archduke of Blood by burning their lives!

On the other side, the players rushed into the warehouse, only to find it already deserted.

They turned back and happened to catch a glimpse of Sterl’s real body claiming dozens of heads in a single move.

What?

The players glanced at their own situation.

Instantly, they felt numb!

There were over a dozen of them, frantically throwing their strongest skills, yet they had only managed to kill the few fanatics who had rushed out earlier.

On average, each of them only got one kill.

You throw a skill casually and get over thirty?!

The players could only look at their leader with resentful expressions, hoping he would say a few words of “fairness.”

After all, this leader had previously been utterly ruthless in snatching demon kills.

How could you possibly take thirty cultist heads without being skinned alive?

Yet the leader simply replied calmly, “These cultists aren’t very strong; we’re all just relying on luck.”

“Whether you get kills or not shouldn’t affect the unity of our team.”

What?

Instantly, the many players present were dumbfounded. Did he really just say that?

Meanwhile, Sterl was looking at the panel’s content—

[You have accumulated 30 kills of Blood Cult members; your extra rewards have been upgraded.]

He nodded in satisfaction.

Although Sterl’s plan had now shifted to exploiting the Blood Sacrifice Array glitch to gain hell-specific abilities, earning more Valor Contribution Points was still a good thing!

“Alright, stop lingering around here; let’s move to the next location.”

Fortunately, with Sterl’s words, the players, although feeling a bit imbalanced, quickly became excited and followed their leader.

After all, having good luck once is normal!

Who knows, maybe next time it would be my turn to strike lucky?

A bunch of cult members appeared right in front of me; that was bound to be a disaster.

The players, filled with hope and desire, arrived near Florence’s carriage shop, and this time they didn’t need Sterl’s hints.

Using various scouting skills, the players quickly discovered an area that was undetectable. Almost ten players immediately unleashed their legendary abilities!

They all wanted to smash the shield in the base in one go, hoping to harvest more Blood Cult members along the way.

However…

They were unaware that there was a traitor in their midst.

Sterl had already alerted the cult members inside the base.

After the players unleashed a barrage of skills, they found that they had only destroyed an empty, abandoned area.

“Damn! Where are they??”

“Wait… why hasn’t our kill count gone up at all?”

Before the panting players could react, they saw their leader standing next to a house, suddenly frowning. He sternly said, “You think you can escape!”

He then slammed his hand down onto the ground!

Boom!!

Flames were driven underground and then erupted like a volcano!

At that moment, all the legendary players could clearly sense that over thirty cult members below were instantly turned to ashes.

From the Blood Cult’s side, it was Sterl using Philip Waldo’s name to warn them of the impending attack, which allowed them to evacuate early.

Sterl’s Bionic Tear was already prepared, tracking the potential escape routes of the cult members and catching them off guard.

That was right; Sterl’s sole reason for alerting the cult members was to claim their heads!

Although the other players wore grim expressions after this wave, they didn’t dare say much since it was their leader who had claimed those kills…

They could only suppress their frustration.

Sterl waved his hand, “Let’s go to the next base.”

Immediately, the group surged forward like a pack of wolves, seemingly wanting to vent all their suppressed anger.

This time, they had learned their lesson; someone deliberately stayed at the back of the team, ready to chase down any cult members who tried to escape.

The players at the front were also vigilant, eyes and ears alert.

Then…

What the players witnessed was “Philip Waldo” at the front of the line tentatively casting a golden skill…