Child of Chaos

When Allen left the blacksmith shop carrying the Dragon Slaying Halberd alongside Sakre and the others, the commoners around them hurriedly dodged aside, wondering what kind of madness their lord was up to this time.

Sakre looked at the Dragon Slaying Halberd enviously and said sourly, "If I had that much strength, I'd want a weapon like that to show off too."

"Heh heh, then go kill a few hundred Wolf Cavalry first." Allen said smugly, "Only I can use this thing. Everyone else can keep dreaming."

The Dragon Slaying Halberd gleamed with an eerie light. Resting on Allen's shoulder, it nearly spanned the entire main road. As they had just left the market, the road had been relatively narrow, and Allen had not noticed. As a result, the axe-like tip of the halberd effortlessly sliced open a merchant caravan's carriage.

Merchant carriages that traveled through the territories of the various races were generally forged from steel and could even be used to defend against long-range attacks in battle.

Yet that carriage, made of pure iron over half a foot thick, was effortlessly sliced apart by the Dragon Slaying Halberd as though it were butter. Allen had not even done it deliberately; he had merely taken an ordinary step forward.

With Dragon Power coursing through him and a divine weapon on his shoulder, Allen was filled with the bold conviction that there was nowhere in this vast world he could not go. He waved a hand and said, "Back to the Old Castle. Pack our valuables. We leave tonight."

Sakre rolled his eyes and followed behind, staring enviously at the Dragon Slaying Halberd.

Thinking that he would soon be leaving Outpost County, Allen felt a trace of reluctance in his heart.

However, with his sharp senses, he heard a group of unruly commoners muttering behind him about things like, "That selfish bastard, what's Lord Allen going to do to torment us now? Sir Allen really can't sit still." He decided that Outpost County, filled with nothing but troublemakers, was not worth missing anyway.

After all, I sold my soul and body to protect you from being slaughtered by the Wolf Cavalry.

After crossing the market, Allen clearly noticed many unfamiliar faces wearing unusually unnatural expressions. The closer they got to the Old Castle, the more of these people there were.

The familiar commoners and vendors became fewer and fewer, while the surroundings grew quieter and quieter. The small road leading to the Old Castle felt deeply strange.

Sakre frowned and whispered, "Earth Dragon Legion soldiers."

"Xiulunte?" Allen recalled that face he found thoroughly repulsive.

"I can sense many Qi Warriors hiding nearby as well." Sakre sensed trouble and gripped the sword at his waist with his right hand.

Allen's broad palm covered Sakre's right hand as he reached for his sword. "Back to the Old Castle first," he said calmly.

No one joked any longer. With grim expressions, they quickened their pace toward the Old Castle.

When they reached the Old Castle, the Old Butler and Dina were standing at the gate, looking extremely anxious. Only when they saw Allen did their expressions ease slightly.

"What's going on?" Allen asked first. He discovered that the Old Castle seemed to be surrounded by a group of strangers. Whether by their bearing or attire, it was obvious at a glance that they were not commoners of Outpost County. Their movements clearly marked them as soldiers.

Old Laixi shook his head and said mysteriously, "Looks like we won't be leaving smoothly today."

Dina's broad face fell. She had hoped to leave soon and search for clues about her birth mother. Why did troublesome people always have to show up?

Old Zak and Big Babylon had quickly become familiar with each other. They were sitting in the garden, eating their fifth meal of the day, their faces slick with grease.

Planting the Dragon Slaying Halberd into the ground, Allen beckoned to someone who had been constantly watching him. The man jumped in fright and hurried away.

After a while, soldiers clad in Earth-walking Dragon armor began emerging from every direction, surrounding the Old Castle so completely that not even water could pass through.

"Well, this is rare." Allen appeared completely unconcerned as he sat down on a bench.

Sakre frowned, his face tense.

He realized that ever since he had grown close to Allen, trouble had been constant.

The Old Butler lowered his head and comforted Dina.

The two barbarians continued stuffing themselves.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the area outside the Old Castle gates was filled with Earth Dragon Legion soldiers. Apart from the infantry in the front, crossbow units formed of dozens of men had begun nocking bolts and standing behind them.

"My dear Count, aren't you going to greet your old colleagues?" Allen grinned at Sakre.

Sakre laughed boldly. "Thank you for the kind offer, my lord. Not only have I already promised Dina that I would accompany and protect her, but my uncle is here as well. How could I possibly leave with any dignity?"

Allen nodded. This fellow really was a blunt fool who valued loyalty and righteousness.

Although he did not know why so many Earth Dragon Legion troops had appeared in Outpost County, nor why Xiulunte's men had surrounded the Old Castle, he believed the main figure would arrive soon enough and explain everything.

The wary soldiers slowly parted, and Xiulunte and Wood walked out side by side.

"Isn't this Legion Commander Xiulunte and old Wood?" Allen called through the Old Castle gate. "What, planning to publicly attack the Papal Candidate Saintess?"

Wood's expression shifted uncertainly. In the end, he shook his head slightly and sighed, looking utterly helpless.

Xiulunte still wore that lazy expression and did not answer.

Unable to restrain himself, Sakre shouted, "Xiulunte, what do you mean by this? Does the bishop and the Pope know that you led men to surround the Candidate Saintess? Especially when Dina is a Descendant of Titan Bloodline?"

"No, no, no, my dear Count." Xiulunte waved a hand and pointed at Allen from afar. "I am here to rescue the Saintess and arrest the Child of Chaos. Perhaps I will also rightfully kill one follower of the Child of Chaos, who happens to be a former Count. Of course, if you surrender without resistance, I will plead with the archbishop on your behalf for the sake of our relationship as Legion Commander and Chief of Staff."

Sakre froze and muttered, "Child of Chaos?"

After a long while, he seemed to understand something. He looked at Allen, his expression deeply conflicted.

Wood whispered a few words to Xiulunte, then walked to the Old Castle gate and said weakly, "Lord Allen, Count Sakre, release Miss Dina. I will place you under guard in the local diocese and will not hand you over to Legion Commander Xiulunte. When the archbishop arrives in a few days, we will ask him to decide the matter. Do not attempt to resist, or you will implicate your father, the Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Locke."

"Child of Chaos?" Allen looked at Sakre in confusion.

Sakre shook his head, signaling him not to ask.

Wood continued shouting, "Sir Allen, many Faith Guardian Knights personally saw you use the Power of the Alien God outside the north gate. I hope you will return from your misguided path and release Miss Dina."

Allen understood. Wood had set him up.

When he had fought the Wolf Cavalry, he had already been half dead. The others could not perceive the time stop. In their eyes, one moment he had been on the verge of death, and the next he had subdued the Bearman.

Moreover, Sakre had said that due to his Battle Aura, he could see the golden dragon totem continuously flashing on Allen's body—the mark of Chaos, as the others called it.

Since Sakre, who possessed Battle Aura, could see it, those young Faith Guardian Knights might have seen it as well.

In the eyes of the Church, such a phenomenon was the Power of the Alien God granted through faith in an alien deity.

"Because I subdued a Bearman, that proves I used the Power of the Alien God?" Allen shrugged. He felt completely innocent. At the time, he had clearly prayed to the Supreme God. The prayer had indeed worked, but who the hell knew Chaos would show up instead?

It was like getting cancer and praying at night. The merciful Guanyin never appeared, but Death, a skeleton carrying a scythe, showed up instead.

The Old Butler slowly walked over to Allen's side and said calmly, "There is no need to explain. Since they are calling you the Child of Chaos, they have already decided that you worship an alien god."

Allen was still unwilling to accept it. He had eaten well that morning, even taken a nap at noon, then gone out for a stroll that afternoon. Yet when he returned home, he had somehow become the "Child of Chaos," and Xiulunte's bird-brained self had even surrounded the Old Castle with troops. Where was he supposed to argue his case?

In truth, Allen was not as calm as he appeared. He had learned of the origins of the Child of Chaos from books.

The Church, which had long used religious unification as a pretext, was basically never idle. One day it would deal with this heretic, the next day with that heretic. Anyone who did not believe in the Supreme God was a heretic.

But the Church knew its own limits. There were too many races across the continent, and they could not kill them all. Unless absolutely necessary, the three Heretic Extermination Legions rarely launched expeditions against other races.

After all, hundreds and thousands of years had passed, and those heretics who worshiped False Gods had not caused much trouble. The Church had grown too lazy to bother with them unless they became especially good at courting death.

But there was one kind of heretic the Church could not tolerate. If you were at the edge of the world, they would hunt you to the edge of the world. If you were at the ends of the sea, they would hunt you to the ends of the sea. They would not rest until you were dead, not allowing you to live even one more day. They would not even let you experience the barbecue of the stake; they would execute you on the spot.

That kind of heretic was the "Child of Chaos." Children of Chaos also believed in other gods, but the gods they worshiped were not False Gods. They were gods from other worlds.

The books recorded many cases of people who had thrown the Saint Cassis Continent into chaos and nearly even toppled the Church's rule. They had basically all been Children of Chaos.

These Children of Chaos shared three traits with Chaos's three followers. First, none of them had local residency—that was to say, they were not native races of the Saint Cassis Continent.

Second, they loudly marched farther and farther down the road of courting death. They generally never bothered with low-level crimes like oppressing the innocent or exploiting the people. They went straight for major cases like overthrowing governments and exterminating races.

Third, when they reached the end of that road, none of them met a good end. In the end, they were attacked by everyone and killed, with no one even burning paper offerings for them during festivals.

Allen now strongly suspected that the Children of Chaos recorded in history had probably all been followers of Chaos. Their crimes simply had not been as horrifying as those three followers, so they had been too embarrassed to announce it themselves.

Chaos, Chaos, you shameless bastard. I called upon the Supreme God's name back then, so why the hell did you cut in? I didn't call for you.

No wonder everyone else received a god's blessing, while yours became a god's curse.

"Xiulunte." Allen gripped the Dragon Slaying Halberd and mocked, "You're so sinister, casually pinning labels on people like this. Does your mother know?"

Xiulunte did not want to trade insults with Allen. He merely waved his hand lightly.