Chapter 51: S-Grade Mission

"What is your objective?" Mo Xuanyu maintained his hypnotic state, questioning the Cult member kneeling before him.

"We were ordered by the Pope to ambush and assassinate the Grade 1 sorcerers attending the Sorcerer Conference, to seize the cursed objects and cursed spirits within them, and the four of us were responsible for breaching the underground barrier."

The man lowered his head, his eyes dull and lifeless.

"What about my 'Hundred Years' War'?" Mo Xuanyu asked next, still惦记着 that cursed object whose description clearly marked it as something extraordinary.

The man shook his head. "It has already been teleported back to the Cult's headquarters by a spatial-type cursed spirit. It is not with us."

"Tch..."

Mo Xuanyu's gaze showed a hint of dissatisfaction. Upon seeing this, the man immediately began kowtowing to him in terror, striking the ground with such force that the skin on his forehead broke and his frontal bone caved in.

"Don't kill me! Please! I'll tell you anything!!"

...

Outside the Sorcerer Building, Angus and Hana worked in tandem, ultimately finishing off the spatial-type sorcerer and the cursed spirit he had tamed with a single sweep of a scythe.

Normally, a sorcerer could only tame one cursed object or one cursed spirit.

The two were incompatible, and the vast majority of sorcerers did not possess the immense cursed energy required to manipulate both.

"Let's hurry and go support Senior Joshua!" Hana said, holding her longbow as worry etched across her face.

"Alright! I'll take the lead, you stay right behind me."

Angus nodded, raising his scythe and preparing to re-enter the Association building alongside Hana.

At that moment, the police inspector nearby shouted in surprise, "Is that Mr. Joshua? It looks like he's coming out too!"

Hearing this, Angus and Hana looked over in astonishment just in time to see Mo Xuanyu leisurely walking out of the Association building, carrying an unconscious Cult sorcerer in one hand.

The heavy rain in the sky fell without stopping. Mo Xuanyu tossed the Cult member aside and waved at them.

"No need to go down. The other two fellows have already been dealt with by me."

"What?!" Hana was immensely shocked. She glanced at the bloodstains on Mo Xuanyu's face and coat, then looked at the unconscious sorcerer.

She couldn't help but swallow hard. Is this the gap between herself and a veteran Grade 1 sorcerer? Isn't this gap a bit too vast?

Let alone Hana, Angus was equally shocked. He never expected Mo Xuanyu to be able to kill two and capture one in a one-versus-three situation.

One had to remember that those three Cult sorcerers were also rated as Grade 1.

In a frontal confrontation with preparation, unless a Special Grade sorcerer made a move, taking them down this quickly was simply impossible!

Soon, the police inspector had people carry out the bodies of the other two sorcerers. Mo Xuanyu sat on a chair in the lobby, wiping the blood off his clothes, while Angus made a phone call.

Before long, a black special vehicle slowly entered the cordon, and an elderly man with unsteady steps got out.

He walked into the Association building.

"Elder Saul," Hana quickly stood up and bowed deeply. Angus also bowed to show his respect.

The nearly centurynear-old Association elder before them could be said to have dedicated his entire life to this society, holding the most respected position among the seniors in the Association.

"Joshua, how did you do it?" Elder Saul looked at Mo Xuanyu with a puzzled gaze.

What he was asking about, naturally, was why Mo Xuanyu's strength had suddenly increased by such a massive margin.

Hearing this, Mo Xuanyu drew the Nightmare Moon blade directly from his spatial storage. The moment the heavily malevolent longblade appeared, Saul and the other two reacted as if facing a formidable enemy.

"A... a Special Grade cursed object!"

Buzz!

The patterns on the edge of the Nightmare Moon blade had turned exceptionally deep crimson from absorbing blood, making it look even more like a demonic blade.

"The 'Hundred Years' War' was taken by the Cult members at the time, but suddenly this longblade emerged and formed a cursed contract with me, which is why I survived."

Mo Xuanyu exerted quite a few brain cells to fabricate such a plausible-sounding excuse.

"By the way, its name is the 'Blade of the Nightmare Moon'," Mo Xuanyu said, the name rolling off his tongue more and more smoothly.

The entourage behind Saul hurriedly recorded the information down.

Name: Joshua Moretti
Rank: Grade 1 Sorcerer → Quasi-Special Grade
Contracted Cursed Objects:
Special Grade: Hundred Years' War (Lost)
Special Grade: Blade of the Nightmare Moon (Contracting)

"As expected of Senior Joshua, so amazing!" Hana's eyes were filled with adoration.

Only Saul wore a troubled expression. "Joshua, can you be certain you won't be backlashed by the Blade of the Nightmare Moon? The murderous intent of this blade is even more terrifying than I imagined."

Saul had watched the child Joshua grow up, which was why he was extra worried that Mo Xuanyu might run into trouble due to a cursed object backlash.

Once a sorcerer was backlashed by their contracted cursed object, they would become a non-human entity existing somewhere between a human and a cursed spirit, and there would be no saving them.

"Rest assured, it is very well-behaved." Mo Xuanyu poked the blade of the Nightmare Moon with his finger.

The Nightmare Moon indeed possessed immense murderous intent. If anyone else touched it, they would indeed find it difficult to master and might even have their mind affected by it.

But Mo Xuanyu wouldn't, because the murderous intent on this blade was carved out by his own hands.

Saul sighed, but seeing no current signs of the Nightmare Moon going out of control, he found it difficult to say anything more.

Under Saul's command and supervision, the Sorcerer Association headquarters quickly underwent reorganization, recalling all members outside and locking up the Cult member defeated by Mo Xuanyu for interrogation.

The tense nerves of Hana and the other two finally relaxed. She and Angus went to the diner next door to pack some late-night snacks, bringing a portion back for Mo Xuanyu as well.

"Thank you." Mo Xuanyu accepted the packaged midnight snack, snapped apart his chopsticks, and speared a quail egg.

His mood was fairly decent because the first link of the main quest had already been completed.

[You have received the quest reward: 3,000 points.]
[Current total points: 3,300 points.]
[Your reputation within the Association faction has increased and is now higher than the vast majority of Grade 1 sorcerers.]

The original Joshua actually wasn't very famous. Unlike other Grade 1 sorcerers who naturally mastered ultra-powerful cursed energy from birth,

Joshua had only become a Grade 1 sorcerer through an exception because he possessed the Special Grade cursed object, the Hundred Years' War.

Normally, Special Grade cursed objects were extremely difficult to tame and impossible to be used by humans for long periods; they were usually suppressed through sealing.

Otherwise, if held for too long, the users of these Special Grade cursed objects would suffer a backlash.

Joshua, however, was an anomaly among them. He was currently the only known sorcerer in the sorcery world who could hold a Special Grade cursed object for a long time without suffering any backlash.

This happened to give Mo Xuanyu a justifiable excuse to openly use the Nightmare Moon blade.

After all, since both the Hundred Years' War and the Nightmare Moon blade were considered Special Grade by sorcerers, mastering the second one after the first wouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Just as the three of them were eating dinner, someone suddenly pushed open the doors of the conference room.

It was a man close to one meter ninety in height, with handsome and cold facial features, black hair, and red eyes. His gaze swept over the three people inside the room before he spoke in a regretful tone,

"I apologize for disturbing you all, but next you need to execute a special mission. There is not enough time to rest for long."

Angus and Hana politely put down their chopsticks and listened to the other's instructions.

Only Mo Xuanyu continued to eat the quail egg into his mouth, took a sip of noodle soup, and then turned his head unhurriedly to look at the tall man.

This person was none other than the president of the Sorcerer Association: Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan gave Mo Xuanyu a deep look before continuing,

"The strategy against the Holy Creation Cult has been finalized. We need to recover the Special Grade cursed objects sealed across the world."

"Currently, the Association's Grade 1 sorcerers have suffered heavy losses. Counting the three of you, there are only nine people available for missions, so there is no time to delay."

"Hana, you will go and recover the Special Grade cursed object 'World Tree Vine' in the Loki Forest region."

"Understood! I will definitely recover it!"

"Angus, you will go and recover the Special Grade cursed object 'Cain's Scepter' in the Nordic region."

"Understood."

"Joshua, you will go and recover the Special Grade cursed object 'Sky Bell' located in the North Sea region. There has also been a disappearance case happening there, so investigate it along the way."

"Got it."

Mo Xuanyu said, spearing the last quail egg and shoving it into his mouth, then picked up a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth.

Hana and Angus set off first. Mo Xuanyu was originally prepared to leave as well, but Ji Yuan suddenly made him stay.

Ji Yuan's gaze swept over Mo Xuanyu's entire body. "I heard from Elder Saul that the Hundred Years' War you had was stripped away by the Cult? Were you injured?"

Mo Xuanyu shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, President. Although the Hundred Years' War was taken away, I have already acquired a new cursed object and completed a contract with it, so there is no risk of backlash."

"That new cursed object newly entered into the archives, the Blade of the Nightmare Moon?" Ji Yuan's gaze was serious.

Mo Xuanyu nodded and drew the Nightmare Moon from his spatial storage.

Ji Yuan's expression immediately turned incomparably vigilant. After Mo Xuanyu put the Nightmare Moon away, he gently patted Mo Xuanyu on the shoulder.

"Your potential is even greater than I imagined."

"I can rest easy leaving the mission of the Sky Bell to you."

With that, Ji Yuan turned and left the conference room.

"Oh, and," Ji Yuan's footsteps suddenly paused at the door.

He turned around and looked somewhat strangely at Mo Xuanyu's outfit—a knee-length brown trench coat on his upper body and black trousers on his lower...

"I was wondering why it felt wrong all this time, why aren't you wearing a skirt anymore?"

Mo Xuanyu: ...

"It got dirty and hasn't been washed." He looked away.

For the moment, Mo Xuanyu could only think of this excuse.

"I see." Ji Yuan waved his hand and left the conference room to handle Association matters with Saul.

Mo Xuanyu opened his main quest interface.

[Your main quest second link has appeared!]
Second Link: Recover the "Sky Bell"
Quest Introduction: Head to Red Autumn Town in the North Sea region, retrieve the Special Grade cursed object Sky Bell sealed there, and resolve the disappearance case occurring there.
Quest Difficulty: S
Quest Time Limit: Three days!
Quest Rewards: 10,000 points, Divine Soul Crystal x10.
Failure Penalty: Main quest final rating -50%, and Association faction reputation drops significantly!

The difficulty of this quest could not be underestimated, and Mo Xuanyu's gaze turned serious.

"Senior Joshua, your ticket!"

At this moment, Hana ran back hurriedly, bringing the ticket prepared by the Association to hand over to Mo Xuanyu.