Sanction: A punishment from the gods, causing all aspects such as strength, speed, and stamina of enemies with a lower rank than oneself to be greatly reduced.

The greater the difference in rank, the stronger the power of the three major privileges, making those of lower rank only able to obey those of higher rank—this is the foundation of the rank system.

No one doubted Edward White's words. After all, with someone as skilled as Edward White, how could he not be a baron? So, no baron dared to use the three major privileges on him.

“Sir, you’re probably not from our Daolun City, are you?” Charles Duke asked again.

“Just passing through here, didn’t expect to encounter the Undying Altar appearing in the world,” Edward White replied.

“That’s really unfortunate. But since things have come to this, I hope you’ll join us in working together to rush the Undying Altar, shatter the Immortal Crystal, and save everyone.”

“That’s as it should be.”

Edward White found a place to sit down. The crowd began to discuss; some suggested everyone attack the altar together to see if there was a chance to break through the horde of Heitou Ghosts and reach the altar. Others proposed splitting into several small teams to attack the altar from different directions, dispersing the Heitou Ghosts and making it easier to reach the altar.

After listening for a while, Edward White roughly understood that nearly a thousand Heitou Ghosts had already gathered at the altar. With only about a hundred people here, and only a small half of them possessing baron-level strength, they couldn’t even get past the horde of Heitou Ghosts, let alone kill the Skull-Splitting Ghost and shatter the Immortal Crystal on the altar.

“That won’t work. Our strength is simply not enough to confront the Heitou Ghost horde head-on. The only outcome would be all of us getting killed,” Charles Duke said loudly.

“Then what do you suggest, just sit here and wait to die?” someone retorted coldly.

“I do have an idea. I have a piece of armored gear here, extremely sturdy. Even a mutated Heitou Ghost couldn’t leave a mark on it with a full-force strike. As long as someone wears this armor, they won’t have to worry about those Heitou Ghosts and can charge straight to the altar to face the Skull-Splitting Ghost.”

“If you have something that good, you should have said so earlier!” The crowd was overjoyed.

Charles Duke shook his head with a bitter smile: “Unfortunately, it’s only a half-armor, protecting only the upper body and arms. The head and lower body are still exposed. So, I can contribute this armor, and if anyone else has equipment of similar quality, you can contribute as well. We’ll put everything on one person, and that person will have a chance to rush the altar, kill the Skull-Splitting Ghost, and shatter the Immortal Crystal.”

“Mr. Duke makes sense. I have a bull-horned helmet here. It’s not as good as Mr. Duke’s armor, but the Heitou Ghosts’ axes are useless against it, so I’ll contribute it.”

“I have a piece here…”

Everyone contributed their equipment, and before long, they had actually assembled a set of extremely luxurious baron-level gear, with as many as six weapons.

But when it came time to choose who would wear the gear and charge the altar, an argument broke out.

With this set of gear, which was considered overpowered at the baron level, many people were confident they could rush the altar, kill the Skull-Splitting Ghost, and shatter the Immortal Crystal. That’s when the problem arose.

Whoever shattered the Immortal Crystal would receive a special title, one with privileges that ordinary ranks did not have. Even if you reached the level of marquis or even duke, without shattering the Immortal Crystal, you wouldn’t have this title or its privileges. So, every baron here who considered themselves strong wanted to be the one to rush the altar and shatter the Immortal Crystal.

Edward White watched coldly from the side, seeing those barons who were confident in their own strength fighting openly and covertly, all wanting to wear the gear and charge the altar. He couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

He didn’t have much faith in that gear, nor did he think the Skull-Splitting Ghost would be so easy to deal with.

However, since someone was willing to be the pathfinder, he was happy to watch from the sidelines and see the true strength of the Skull-Splitting Ghost.

After much arguing, most people finally agreed to let a man with the title “Sword and Shield Baron” wear the gear and charge the altar to shatter the Immortal Crystal.

Baron Dalton also promised that after shattering the Immortal Crystal, he would return all the equipment to its original owners.

“Although that gear is enough to withstand the Heitou Ghosts’ attacks, to save Baron Dalton’s strength and time, the rest of us should still follow the original plan: split into eight teams and attack the altar from eight directions at once, distracting the Heitou Ghost horde so that Baron Dalton can reach the altar faster.” Pausing, Charles Duke added, “Of course, our main task is to distract the Heitou Ghost horde. Everyone should pay attention to their own safety—if things go wrong, retreat immediately. Safety first.”

Everyone agreed, and soon, under Charles Duke’s arrangement, they split into eight teams. Edward White was assigned to the team on the northeast side. The group of a dozen or so people took a long detour, killing quite a few stray Heitou Ghosts along the way, and finally reached their position before the designated time.

“So many Heitou Ghosts!” Edward White looked from afar and couldn’t even make out the shape of the altar. The area around the altar was swarming with Heitou Ghosts, their numbers astonishing.

“Can Baron Dalton really make it through?” a regular member of the team asked in horror.