Child of Chaos

As Allen carried the Dragon Slaying Halberd and left the blacksmith shop with Sakre and the others, the surrounding civilians scattered, wondering what madness their lord was up to this time.

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

"Heh, then go kill a few hundred Wolf Cavalry first," Allen said smugly. "Only I can use this thing; everyone else can dream."

The Dragon Slaying Halberd, gleaming with a faint light, was slung over Allen's shoulder, occupying almost the entire main road. As they exited the market, the road was quite narrow, and Allen hadn't paid attention. As a result, the axe-like tip of the Dragon Slaying Halberd easily sliced open a merchant caravan's carriage.

It should be known that the merchant caravan carriages traveling through the territories of various races were generally made of steel and could be used for defense against long-range attacks during combat.

Yet, the carriage, made mostly of thick, pure iron, was so easily cut by the Dragon Slaying Halberd as if it were butter. And Allen hadn't done it intentionally; he was just walking forward normally.

With Dragon Power coursing through him and a divine weapon on his shoulder, Allen felt an unbridled ambition, as if the vast world was his to roam. He waved his hand grandly and said, "Return to the Old Castle, pack our essentials, and we'll leave tonight."

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

Allen thought about leaving Outpost County soon, and a hint of reluctance stirred within him.

However, with his keen senses, he overheard a group of unruly commoners behind him constantly muttering things like "selfish bastard," "what's the lord going to stir up now," and "Lord Allen is really restless." He felt there was nothing worth missing about Outpost County, which was full of such people.

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

After passing through the market, Allen clearly sensed that many unfamiliar faces looked extremely uneasy. As they got closer to the Old Castle, these people became more numerous.

The familiar civilian merchants grew fewer and fewer, and the surroundings became quieter. The small road leading to the Old Castle was eerily silent.

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

"Xiulunte?" Allen recalled the face that disgusted him so much.

"I can sense many Qi Warriors hiding in the shadows around us," Sakre felt a sense of foreboding and gripped the sword at his waist.

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

The joking stopped, and they quickened their pace towards the Old Castle with grim expressions.

When the group returned to the Old Castle, the Old Butler and Dina were standing at the gate, looking very anxious. Their expressions eased slightly upon seeing Allen.

"What's going on?" Allen asked first. He noticed that the Old Castle seemed to be surrounded by a group of strangers. These people, judging by their demeanor and attire, were clearly not civilians from Outpost County; their movements indicated they were from the military.

Old Laixi shook his head and said nervously, "It seems we won't be leaving smoothly today."

Dina's face fell. She had hoped to leave soon to search for clues about her birth mother, and now troublesome people kept popping up.

Old Zak and Big Babylon, being quite sociable, were already in the garden eating their fifth meal of the day, their faces greasy.

Allen propped the Dragon Slaying Halberd on the ground and beckoned to one of the individuals who kept observing him. The latter was startled and hurried away.

A moment later, soldiers in Earth Dragon armor emerged from all directions, completely surrounding the Old Castle.

"This is truly peculiar!" Allen seemed unfazed and sat himself down on a bench.

Sakre frowned, his expression tense.

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

The Old Butler lowered his head, comforting Dina.

The two Barbarians continued to eat and drink heartily.

In less than fifteen minutes, the area outside the Old Castle gate was filled with soldiers from the Earth Dragon Legion. Besides the infantry in the front, a crossbow squad of dozens of men also began to nock and string their crossbows, standing behind the infantry.

"My dear Count, aren't you going to greet your old colleagues?" Allen asked Sakre with a grin.

Sakre laughed heartily, "Thank you for your kind offer, my Lord. Not to mention I've already promised Dina I'd escort her, and my uncle is here. How could I leave?"

Allen nodded, recognizing him as a loyal and righteous hothead.

Although he didn't know why so many Earth Dragon Legion soldiers had appeared in Outpost County, nor why Xiulunte's men had surrounded the Old Castle, he believed the High Priest would arrive soon and clear up his confusion.

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

"Isn't that the Legion Commander and Old Wood?" Allen greeted them from across the Old Castle gate. "What's up? Planning to attack the Papal Candidate Saintess in public?"

Wood's expression was uncertain, and he finally shook his head slightly with a sigh, appearing very helpless.

Xiulunte maintained his usual lazy expression and did not reply.

Sakre, unable to contain himself, shouted, "Xiulunte, what do you mean? Do the High Priest and the Pope know you've surrounded the Candidate Saintess? Especially since Dina is a Descendant of Titan Bloodline."

"No, no, no, my dear Count," Xiulunte waved his hand, pointing at Allen. "We are here to rescue the Saintess and capture the Child of Chaos. Perhaps we'll also kill a follower of the Child of Chaos, who happens to be a former Count. Of course, if you surrender, I will plead with the High Priest on your behalf, considering your past position as my Chief of Staff."

Sakre was stunned, muttering, "Child of Chaos?"

After a long moment, he seemed to understand something, looked at Allen, and his expression was very conflicted.

Wood whispered a few words to Xiulunte and then walked to the Old Castle gate, saying powerlessly, "Lord Allen, Count Sakre, release Miss Dina, and I will have you both confined to the local Diocese. I will not hand you over to Legion Commander Xiulunte. We will await the High Priest's arrival in a few days for his judgment. Do not attempt to resist, as it 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 further.

Wood continued, "Lord Allen, many Faith Guardian Knights witnessed you using the Power of the Alien God outside the North Gate. I hope you will see the error of your ways and release Miss Dina."

Allen understood; he had been set up by Wood.

When he fought the Wolf Cavalry, he had been on his last breath. Others couldn't feel the time stop; in their eyes, he had been on the verge of death one second, and the next he had reversed the situation against the Bearman.

Furthermore, according to Sakre, due to his Battle Qi, he could see the Golden Dragon Totem flashing on Allen's body, which others called the mark of Chaos.

Since Allen possessed Battle Qi, Sakre could see that those young Faith Guardian Knights might also see it.

This anomaly was viewed by the Papal See as the Power of the Alien God obtained from believing in an Alien God.

"Because I fought against a Bearman, that proves I'm using the Power of the Alien God?" Allen shrugged. He felt very innocent. He had clearly prayed to the Overgod at the time, and while it was effective, who knew that Chaos would be the one to show up.

It's like you have cancer, and after praying at night, the Greatly Compassionate Guanyin doesn't appear, but instead, the Grim Reaper, carrying a scythe, shows up.

The Old Butler slowly walked to Allen's side and said with a calm expression, "There's no need to explain. Since they're already calling you the Child of Chaos, it solidifies your belief in an Alien God!"

Allen was still a bit unwilling. He had enjoyed good food and drinks that morning and even took a nap. After going out for a stroll in the afternoon, he returned home to be labeled some "Child of Chaos." His Old Castle was even surrounded by Xiulunte, that bird-person, and his troops. Where could he even go to reason this out?

Actually, Allen's inner feelings were far from the calm he displayed on the surface. He had also learned about the origin of the Child of Chaos from books.

The Papal See, which had always operated under the guise of religious unification, was rarely idle. Today they'd deal with one heretic, tomorrow another. Anyone who didn't believe in the Overgod was a heretic.

However, the Papal See knew its own limitations. The continent had countless races, and they couldn't possibly eliminate them all. The three Heretic Extermination Legions rarely launched expeditions to subdue other races unless absolutely necessary.

After all, centuries had passed, and those heretics who believed in False Gods hadn't caused much trouble. The Papal See was too lazy to bother, unless they were excessively disruptive and courting death.

But there was one type of heretic that the Papal See could not tolerate. They would hunt you from one end of the continent to the other, pursue you from one corner of the sea to another. It was a fight to the death, and they had to eliminate you, not allowing you to live another day, nor even letting you experience the BBQ of a burning stake. They would execute you on the spot.

This type of heretic was the "Child of Chaos." Children of Chaos were also followers of other deities, but the deities they believed in were not False Gods, but Gods of Another World.

Books had recorded many times that those who had thrown the Saint Cassis Continent into chaos, and had even nearly overthrown the Papal See's authority, were basically "Children of Chaos."

These Children of Chaos shared the same commonalities with Chaos's three followers. First, they didn't have local residency, meaning they weren't indigenous races of the Saint Cassis Continent.

Second, they walked a high-profile path towards courting death. They generally never engaged in low-level tactics like oppressing the good and preying on the common folk. Instead, they played with major cases like subverting governments and genocide.

Third, they reached the end of their path of courting death and all met bad ends, being attacked by everyone and dying. During festivals, not even paper money was burned for them.

Allen now strongly suspected that the Children of Chaos recorded in history were likely all followers of Chaos, but their major crimes weren't as sensational as those of the three followers, so they were too embarrassed to announce their affiliations.

Chaos, oh Chaos, you're too shameless. I called out the name of the Overgod back then, why did you have to butt in? I didn't call for you.

No wonder others received blessings from deities, but yours turned into curses.

"Xiulunte," Allen gripped the Dragon Slaying Halberd and mocked, "Does your mother know you're so insidious and so quick to label people?"

Xiulunte didn't want to engage in a war of words with Allen and simply waved his hand.