The Divine Armor of the Old Century（Book 1）

Chapter 130

It was a quiet place, with a faint fragrance of flowers in the air. Someone had deliberately used perfume, attempting to mask the scent of blood and the strong odor of disinfectant in the room. The beds were neatly arranged in a row, but only the one in the middle was occupied. Piles of books surrounded the bed, seemingly to entertain the patient.

Lloyd stared blankly at the ceiling, lying on the soft bed. His left leg was wrapped in bandages and elevated by a brace, while his other hand rested casually at his side, marked with numerous puncture wounds from injections.

A week had passed since the night Father Lawrence appeared. The chaotic slaughter ended with Father Lawrence's escape. According to reports from the outside, Father Lawrence tried to kill Lloyd, who was immobilized by erosion. But just as he was about to strike, a war zeppelin in the night sky lost control and crashed, burying everything on the battlefield.

They found Lloyd among the wreckage of the zeppelin, his body mangled and pierced by steel, with his left leg the worst off, full of metal shards. So when Lloyd woke up, he had been here, in a psychiatric hospital secretly controlled by the Purge Agency, where soldiers affected by erosion received treatment.

Arthur had visited once during this time. The super soldier didn't look so super, hobbling on crutches and covered in bandages. Father Lawrence's sword had nearly taken his life. Arthur had only held on in the battlefield for Eve's sake; otherwise, he would have passed out.

Lloyd lost this battle, and so did the Purge Agency. Post-battle investigations and analyses revealed that when Father Lawrence activated the Blood Secret, it caused unimaginable erosion over a wide range. A low-flying war zeppelin got caught in it, and most of the crew fell unconscious. The out-of-control zeppelin then crashed. Luckily, it carried only a small amount of ammunition, or the secondary explosion would have left no survivors.

Even a week later, the post-battle cleanup wasn't over. The influence Father Lawrence left behind continued to erode the surrounding areas. Residents within several kilometers had started having nightmares, and some developed severe mental illnesses, nearly overwhelming the psychiatric hospitals of Old Dunling.

The battlefield itself was handled by heavily guarded cleanup crews. The Salicardo Estate was completely destroyed. Luckily, Lloyd managed to hold off most of the demons and Father Lawrence, allowing some of the nobles to escape. The casualty count wasn't as horrific as it could have been.

After dealing with these issues came the questions from the public. Most residents had witnessed the zeppelin's crash, its flames lighting up the night sky. Erosion combined with panic led to chaos in Old Dunling's public order. Fortunately, the cleanup crews were adept at handling such matters. Reports of gas explosions and zeppelin malfunctions were published. They even hired a few writers to craft conspiracy theories, stirring the waters even more.

It was a disheartening feeling. At the moment he fell, Lloyd felt a familiar sensation, as if he was back on that night of the Holy Arrival. All efforts seemed futile; many things were already predestined.

Accompanied by a creaking sound, the iron door slowly opened. A doctor entered, pushing a small cart filled with medical instruments.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not bad."

Lloyd continued staring at the ceiling.

"Hmm... let me take a look."

The doctor lifted Lloyd's leg from the brace. It was this doctor who had operated on Lloyd, likely a medical personnel from the Purge Agency. During the surgery, he tried to extract the fragments embedded in Lloyd's flesh, but Lloyd's body kept healing, disrupting the procedure.