Purification

For the second time, a huge crowd of onlookers gathered before the Old Castle gates, packing the area so tightly that not even water could pass through. Everyone stared at the gloomy Old Castle, pointing and whispering among themselves.

At sunrise today, a strange notice had been posted in Outpost County's marketplace.

The notice was simple: The great, kind, merciful, and noble Lord of Outpost County, son of the Kingdom's Grand Duke, Baron Allen, would publicly purify the incomparably evil Hell Black Dragon Egg before the Old Castle gates at noon. Any subjects of Outpost County who came to witness this great moment would be indefinitely exempt from the taxes paid to the church, as well as three copper coins. --------- Outpost County General Affairs Hall.

The normally numb commoners of Outpost County erupted. Half-believing and half-doubting, they spread the news everywhere. Some bolder people even went to the church gates to inquire, but the priests neither confirmed nor denied it, merely wearing expressions of disdain and contempt.

Nearly a thousand subjects of Outpost County put down their farming tools, tied up their ponies, and brought their families, snacks, and little wooden stools as they gathered in groups before the Old Castle gates.

At noon, Allen finally emerged after much anticipation. Dressed in a tight evening suit, with a Wolf-tooth Club slung over one shoulder and the Evil Dragon Egg cradled in both hands, he swaggered out of the Old Castle and stopped beside a stone table in the garden.

"May the gods bless you, Baron!"

"Lord is merciful."

"Respect to the noble lord..."

A messy assortment of perfunctory greetings rang out.

Besides the commoners there for the spectacle, there were many mercenaries in the crowd who were obviously dressed like outsiders. Ignoring Allen, they stared at the Evil Dragon Egg without blinking, their expressions blank.

Under the protection of several Church Knights, Wood slowly approached the Old Castle gates.

At his signal, an attendant dressed as a knight knocked on the Old Castle gates.

Allen pretended not to see them, while Yorkshire behind him lowered his head and stared at his toes.

Left outside the gates, Wood gave a cold snort and looked disdainfully at the useless lord in the distance.

Purifying the Evil Dragon Egg, abolishing the commoner tax laws... who did he think he was? He was nothing more than a fooling-around noble waste.

Wood could hardly wait to see Allen make a fool of himself in public. Although he did not know why this worthless lord was unaffected by the Evil Dragon Egg's negative influence, he knew that unless the twelve cardinals acted or a Saint-level Mage fell from the heavens, no one else could possibly purify this Evil Dragon Egg. If it were truly so simple, why would the Behemoths' Shaman Priests need to seek help from the Holy See?

Though it was only a young egg laid by a Hell Black Dragon, it was still the crystallization of an incomparably powerful Hell Black Dragon. Completely purifying the negative power within it and killing the evil creature inside the egg was not something a useless fool who could not even cast Beginner Magic could accomplish.

Quite a few people shared Wood's thoughts.

Among the commoners, those who were somewhat kinder were grateful that Lord had abolished the commoner tax laws, but they also harbored doubts and suspicions.

As for the unruly people exiled to Outpost County, they did not care about the so-called commoner tax laws at all. They would not have handed a single copper coin to the church anyway, and exempting the taxes made no difference when they had no money.

The remaining outsiders, the mercenaries with ulterior motives, were there to watch the show. They all wanted to see how the Kingdom of Locke's famously useless noble would embarrass himself in public, or perhaps find a chance to snatch the dragon egg and escape.

Allen placed the dragon egg on the table and pressed both hands downward like some great figure.

The onlookers kept chattering, showing him no respect whatsoever.

"The Holy Father's light is everywhere," Wood murmured softly.

Like hot water poured over ice and snow, the commoners in the crowd began falling silent, first one or two, then group after group, as if infected. All of them lowered their heads in reverence and stopped making noise.

Allen rolled his eyes and muttered an extremely vulgar word.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Allen shouted, "You unruly people of Outpost County, Baron here has been in a pretty good mood these past few days. Ah, no, I mean, I heard the Holy Father's calling and decided to sacrifice myself, taking a huge risk to purify this incomparably evil Evil Dragon Egg before your very eyes. I even made a deal with the church: if I succeed, you won't have to pay church taxes anymore. So, are you happy? Surprised?"

The commoners looked at one another.

Allen shot Yorkshire a reproachful glance. Where the hell were the plants they had agreed on?

"Could everyone give me a round of applause?" Allen spoke again.

The commoners were utterly confused.

"Fuck your grandfathers!" Allen cursed. "I've gone through all this trouble to do something for you, and you bastards came here just to watch the show?"

"Good!" A feeble voice suddenly rang out. "Baron is good, very good, good, good."

Then another voice followed, shouting weakly, "Yeah, good, good, um, very good."

Allen smacked his forehead. He felt that Yorkshire was truly unreliable. Even a blind man could tell those were hired plants.

"Clang!" Enraged from embarrassment, Allen slammed the Wolf-tooth Club onto the stone table. Pointing at the Evil Dragon Egg, he shouted, "The Evil Dragon Egg was laid by a Hell Black Dragon from another world. It is surrounded by incomparably powerful negative energy, and a bunch of blind idiots came to the county looking for trouble, running into the Old Castle to steal the egg."

Several dozen outsiders dressed as warriors in the crowd looked extremely awkward and touched the swords at their waists.

"Steal the egg? Steal your mother's giant watermelon!" Allen grabbed the Wolf-tooth Club and smashed it into the black dragon egg. The spikes on the club flew off from the impact, while the Magic Patterns on the egg flashed continuously and large cracks appeared across its shell.

Dina, dressed in a tight maid outfit, walked calmly to Allen's side carrying a large iron pan.

"Crack!" Allen held the egg in both hands and smashed it hard against the edge of the iron pan. Dark golden egg liquid, shining with a dazzling glow, flowed into the pan.

Pulling out two long silver chopsticks from his clothes, Lord began rapidly stirring the contents like an experienced chef.

Dina crouched down and lit the firewood that had already been prepared.

The onlookers were dumbfounded.

Wood and the Church Knights were dumbfounded.

The outsider mercenaries were dumbfounded.

"No!" Wood roared as he rushed to the Old Castle gates. Unfortunately, the gates had long been locked, and several knights drew their longswords and began hacking at them.

Several dozen warrior-dressed mercenaries struggled to push through the crowd. They drew their weapons and confronted several other Church Knights. While glaring at one another, both sides anxiously glanced from the corners of their eyes at Lord, who was playing chef.

Allen ignored them and casually set the iron pan over the firewood before turning toward the Old Castle gates with a savage grin.

Wood looked like a cuckold who had caught his wife cheating. He no longer cared about his appearance, collapsing to the ground with dull eyes and a face full of despair.

The iron pan quickly heated until it glowed red, and the rich fragrance made Dina swallow repeatedly.

Allen took out the silver chopsticks again and, in a few quick moves, shoved all the pan-fried dragon egg from the pan into his mouth.

After letting out a full belch, Allen turned to the deathly silent crowd and roared, "Get lost, all of you. I'm done purifying it."

Countless people stared blankly at Lord's departing figure, speechless for a long time.

Outside the gates, the outsider mercenaries put away their weapons and quietly left.

The Church Knights helped Wood to his feet, their expressions unreadable.

Yorkshire trembled all over. He felt that if he ever returned to the royal capital, Grand Duke might skin him alive.

Meanwhile, after returning inside, Allen's eyes turned bloodshot. With a thud, he collapsed unconscious onto the floor.

The Old Butler, who slowly and shakily came down the stairs with his cane, wore an expression as though he had seen a ghost, his face shifting through every imaginable emotion.