"All right, there don't seem to be any enemies. There's only one Crawling Hand here, so the Heretical Cultists shouldn't be here." Sart saw that Alice was still on guard and reminded her.
As Alice cleaved the Crawling Hand in two with a single sword strike, the Earthbound Hand it had released also lost control and turned back into soft mud. Aaron and Sart easily broke free.
Alice glanced at Ed, who had been sent flying, and after confirming that he was not seriously hurt, said to Sart, "How did you know?"
"If a Silver Tier Heretical Cultist had really taken action, our fight would have become extremely difficult. Yet he didn't act. At most, he merely activated Charm Humanity."
As he spoke, Sart glanced at the attendant's body lying on the ground and sighed.
"Why did you... kill him?" Aaron hesitated before asking Ed, who had walked over.
"Because if I hadn't killed him, he would have killed us." Ed drew a small portable torch from his waist, lit it casually, and then replied to Aaron.
But he was clearly just an ordinary person, and he had been our teammate only a moment ago...
Aaron wanted to argue, but Sart seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and stopped him first. "You might not understand it now, but eventually you will. Ed's actions..."
He hesitated, then said, "were the safest choice."
"If you're worried that I killed a guard and that Lord Bals might punish us, please don't be." Ed added, "From the moment they were controlled by the Heretical Cultists, they were no longer human."
Aaron opened and closed his mouth, instinctively looking around, only to find that neither Alice nor Sart showed the slightest objection, as though this were simply how things should be.
Once again, he realized how different this world was from his original one. The difference was plainly fundamental.
He was powerless to argue, and unable to refute them.
"So this is... what a transcendent is?" Aaron's mind was in turmoil. After witnessing the appearance of the Crawling Hand and hearing their conversation, he instinctively asked the question.
He saw Ed nod as though it were only natural. He also saw the hesitation in Sart's eyes. Only Alice gave him a direct answer.
"You should understand that you're a noble, a member of the Albert Family. Until the kingdom strips you of your noble status, you will always be a knight of the kingdom."
She sheathed her longsword and looked at Aaron seriously. "As a noble, you must protect your people. You must fulfill your duty as a noble at the most dangerous moments. Likewise, we protect our people—or rather, we protect those who deserve protection."
Aaron was at a loss for words. On one hand, he realized that Alice's words were somewhat biased and not necessarily entirely correct. On the other hand, the education he had received since childhood made this reality difficult for him to accept.
He had been able to kill the old man in the sewer without hesitation because the old man had tried to kill him first. If he wanted to live, he had to kill that Heretical Cultist.
He had no choice.
But things were different now. As a transcendent, he could clearly sense the gap between transcendents and ordinary people. At the very least, Bronze Tier transcendents and ordinary people were worlds apart.
No strong adult could smash through a thick wooden door head-on, and no strong adult could send someone weighing nearly two hundred pounds flying several meters.
Ed was a Bronze Tier transcendent of the Sword Affinity, just like Alice. Aaron believed that even if he could not achieve something as outrageous as Alice had, he would not be far behind.
In other words, ordinary people were no trouble at all to them. Ed could have knocked the attendant unconscious or easily rendered him incapable of fighting.
For a moment, all sorts of thoughts surged into Aaron's mind, leaving him in a complete tangle.
Although Sart noticed Aaron's expression, he assumed that Aaron was still having trouble adjusting and did not say much. Rubbing the crystal ball, he walked around the area before finally stopping a short distance away.
"Starlight Above, all things shall be revealed."
This time, he did not consume any more Spirit Powder. He had already used quite a lot of Spirit Powder here, and the surrounding environment had subtly changed. At this point, he only needed to draw upon his soul to complete some relatively simple rituals.
For example, a gathering ritual.
Aaron's heart stirred, and he sensed something. Although he had no idea what was happening, he faintly felt as though something was converging toward Sart.
The darkness around them thinned by several degrees, finally returning to its normal color. At last, Aaron could see the bright moonlight and faint starlight overhead.
In the blink of an eye, a bronze-colored card appeared in Sart's hand, radiating an eerie aura beneath the torchlight.
Although he could not see its front, Aaron could still make out a half-open book drawn on the back.
The lines outlining the book were twisted. The lines themselves were enough to cause discomfort, let alone the pattern formed by them.
So this is where the Heretical Cult came from...?
Aaron speculated inwardly.
Witnessed the transcendent creature "Crawling Hand." Knowledge Points +1. Crawling Hand Compendium 1/8
Would you like to consume 1 Knowledge Point to randomly allocate 1 Attribute Point?
Only then did the low-presence system reappear, projecting a light screen before Aaron.
Aaron froze and instinctively glanced at Alice and Ed, but they seemed not to notice the light screen.
It seems this light screen is visible only to me?
Aaron's heart settled. Without panic, he consumed another Knowledge Point to increase his attributes.
Consumed 1 Knowledge Point. Constitution +1
Strength 3, Agility 4, Constitution 6, Willpower 7, Spirit 4
Another point in Constitution?
Aaron let out a long breath inwardly and gave this random allocation a positive review.
He had witnessed several supernatural incidents and personally experienced several more. The Heretical Cultists' bizarre methods had given him something close to PTSD.
He even suspected that, despite Alice and Sart's protection, he might inexplicably die at the hands of Heretical Cultists one day.
For no other reason than seeing the Crawling Hand, he had nearly strangled himself. Its danger level was terrifyingly high.
Even with the system, which seemed able to grant him attribute points by letting him witness various supernatural incidents, it apparently could not modify backend data or spawn equipment.
Under these circumstances, the higher his Constitution, the better.
Sart handed the bronze-colored card to Alice without saying anything.
Aaron, however, saw that Alice showed no joy at having defeated the enemy. Instead, she accepted the card with an expressionless face.
"What exactly is this Crawling Hand?" Aaron could not help asking.
"It's very likely Tien's hand. Or rather, the Heretical Cultists turned Tien's hand into a Crawling Hand. Members of the Crawling Hand Cult can pollute human hands and turn them into their tools."
Alice looked toward Tien's residence and spoke coldly.
It was hard to say whether they had arrived a step too early or a step too late.
Mm, thanks for the tips from Big White, Dowa, Changsheng, and a certain idiot Zhang!
(Kneels down gently.jpg)
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