Promoted

After Ansu and Cecilia arrived at the assembly site, not many cultists noticed them; in the center of the crowd, they seemed to be arguing about something.

"Elder Samantha! We cannot go on like this!"

"The Reformist Faction is causing us trouble time and time again! These mercenary fools have not only severely violated the teachings of the Echo of Truth, but they have also plunged the organization into crisis multiple times!"

"If we keep enduring this, who knows? They might just hand over a list of all our names to The Church! Those idiots are capable of anything!"

"That's right! That's right!"

Many cultists in the crowd voiced their indignation.

"These are no longer just ordinary members of The Order! We must strike with an iron fist! Why are we still keeping them around?"

Aside from these radical cultists, Ansu also noticed that the situation was not entirely one-sided; a high-ranking cultist wearing a golden mask with an aged voice attempted to calm the atmosphere.

"Believers, fellow countrymen, I understand your thoughts..."

"But you all know the current situation of The Order... we really shouldn't be making such a big scene. This conspiracy to harm Samantha must be the rogue action of a few individuals within the Reformist Faction; the other elders aren't stupid enough to go that far."

"I suggest we just let them hand over Kori and the others; I believe they will agree to that..."

After he finished speaking, as expected, the assembly site became even noisier, almost breaking out into a brawl.

"Elder John! You are being far too biased toward them!"

"Old man John, why are you standing on their side? Could it be that you are a traitor too?"

Ansu suddenly felt an elbow gently nudge him. He turned his head and saw deep purple eyes full of impatience beneath a golden mask.

"How boring. Every secret assembly is like a wet market."

Cecilia felt irritated by these arguments within The Order. She pulled Ansu's arm, wanting to take him to the side to wait for a while and see her teacher only after the tedious arguing ended.

But just as the two took a step, Samantha, who had been silent for a long time in the crowd, suddenly spoke:

"We must, of course, purge all apostates. Any member of the organization who colludes with The Church must die!"

The cultists erupted into cheers.

"However!" Samantha changed the subject, "We cannot let The Order continue to split! I intend to convene a new Council of Elders. Regardless of the conflicts between the two factions, we must elect a true leader for the Echo of Truth! I believe this is our best opportunity for the Truth Faction to take full control of The Order!"

After she finished speaking, the cultists began to discuss among themselves, and Ansu and Cecilia exchanged glances.

"Good strategy." Cecilia chuckled softly, "At least now, no one will be dissatisfied."

Ansu nodded. Although Samantha did not cater to the radical believers and was still compromising, she had thrown out a topic that everyone was looking forward to even more.

After all, since certain elders of the Reformist Faction were at fault first, if she could use this opportunity to exchange support from the majority of the elders to ascend to the position of the legitimate leader, it would be a good choice.

The hope of the Truth Faction regaining power completely stirred up the believers present, and what pushed the atmosphere to a climax was the execution of the traitors.

Ansu was truly eye-opened this time; he saw all kinds of "bizarre" methods of execution, but regardless of the method, each one was an incredibly terrifying torture for the victim.

For example, a cultist not far away was kneeling on the ground, his face pale. Cecilia said this man was her teacher's lover, Elder Simon.

Ansu looked at him carefully. Although Elder Simon was on the older side, his appearance was quite good; he could be considered a handsome middle-aged man, so it was no wonder Samantha had taken a fancy to him.

Subsequently, after the executioner performed his "craft," this highest-ranking traitor of the Truth Faction had his skin completely peeled off by some kind of black magic specifically designed for torture. He looked like a "Licker" from Resident Evil, all bloody, and his painful screams went straight to the scalp.

The other traitors were also executed one after another. The smell of blood spread everywhere, and the assembly site quickly turned into a slaughterhouse.

Cecilia was already a bit bored. She and Ansu waited silently on the periphery for a long time before Samantha's gaze finally landed on them.

"Cecilia, come here."

Cecilia gave Ansu a look, and the two walked toward the center of the assembly one after the other, with the cultists clearing a path.

Under the gaze of countless silver masks, Ansu lowered his head and followed behind Cecilia at a steady pace.

"Why didn't you tell me when you arrived?" Samantha looked at Cecilia as she walked over, her tone slightly reproachful.

Cecilia shrugged and said nothing, so Samantha's gaze slowly shifted to Ansu beside her. "Is this the assistant you selected, the new member of The Order who saw through The Church's conspiracy?"

Ansu nodded and said respectfully, "Leader Samantha."

Samantha smiled and said, "I heard from Cecilia that you are still a student and have high magical talent? Truly young and promising!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Leader."

"No need to be so nervous. Once you join The Order, we are all brothers and sisters." Samantha smiled, her words showing great care for Ansu.

"As long as you recognize the philosophy of our Echo of Truth, all the fellow members of The Order here will be your backing. The God of Magic will be with you."

"The God of Magic is with me!" Ansu activated his repeater mode, not saying a single word that shouldn't be said.

"Thanks to you this time, Cecilia was able to help me find the traitors around me." Samantha looked Ansu over and suddenly suggested, "Why don't you stay by my side after today? There are vacancies in the middle management of The Order now. How about I appoint you as the new Inquisitor?"

Ansu couldn't help but feel surprised. Although he had expected her to promote him, he hadn't expected such a high position.

The cultists began to buzz with discussion.

The Inquisitor is a position responsible for the discipline and judgment of the members of The Order, with a status only below the elders.

Yet this young man was a newcomer who had only joined a few days ago, the lowest-level executor, and he was suddenly promoted above most of them...

Some elders, however, found Samantha's logic acceptable.

As she said, there were vacancies in the middle management of The Order now, and inserting someone like him—who had made a great contribution and was a trusted insider—would be beneficial to Samantha's faction...

Only Cecilia's expression changed instantly; she frowned and stared at Samantha, "Teacher, why are you trying to snatch someone away from me?"

"Hmm?" Samantha had not expected Cecilia to raise an objection.

"He is someone I carefully selected from the academy! I spent a long time observing him and put a lot of effort into this!"

As if declaring sovereignty, Cecilia gripped Ansu's wrist tightly, "In any case, he is my assistant, he is my person. If you are short on staff for that Inquisitor position, Teacher, you should go find someone else!"

Samantha quietly glanced at the hand Cecilia was gripping so tightly, feeling surprised in her heart.

Cecilia rarely showed her emotions so openly; most of the time, she had no interest in anything other than magic and was indifferent to everyone...

Yet today, she had expressed clear opposition just because she wanted to take this young man away?

Samantha frowned, pondering for a long while.

Even though she felt dissatisfied with Cecilia's willfulness, she finally agreed helplessly.

"Hmm... alright then, I won't reassign him to follow by my side."

Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief in secret.

Ansu, however, felt somewhat helpless, as he had originally wanted to keep a low profile...

"However, since he possesses such intelligence and was able to see through a Church conspiracy that no one else had discovered, it would be a bit of a waste for him to remain a low-level executor."

Whether it was the merit this young man named Ansu Morris had earned or the special attitude Cecilia held toward him, both had piqued Samantha's great interest. She narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing him.

"How about this: I appoint you as the Chief Deacon of the Benalu district, with the codename 'Hermit'. If you have need, you may mobilize and command all executors within the city. How does that sound?"

Ansu instinctively looked at Cecilia, thinking that if he refused again, it would be a bit disrespectful.

The position of Chief Deacon did not require him to stay away from Cecilia and offered relatively free movement; Cecilia should not object to this.

Cecilia had no objections and gave a slight nod toward Ansu.

"Yes! Thank you, Arch-Inquisitor Samantha." Ansu immediately adopted a tone of gratitude, his eyes also appearing incredibly excited.

Loyal!