The moment Malcolm saw Lin Qin's face clearly, his pupils shrank suddenly and the color drained from his face. As Inquisition's deputy Chief Judge, he naturally recognized this face - he had just seen it not long ago on the highest-level wanted notice within Theocracy, which was marked "extremely dangerous, avoid when encountering, invincible"! Even Saint Realm's ultimate leader Marcus and six Angel Battle Formation were in the hands of this person!
"Get out! Get out!" Malcolm almost roared the order, his voice changing due to fear. Without any thought of fighting, he turned around and accelerated his speed to the extreme, flying towards the road he came from. No matter what scroll or mission, they are not worth mentioning in the face of life!
The several priests he brought were a little slower to react, but they immediately recognized Lin Qin. They were immediately frightened and ran away like frightened rabbits.
Lin Qin looked at their hurriedly running backs with cold eyes. Now that he had appeared, he had no intention of letting them leave.
"Want to leave now? It's too late."
He gently raised his right foot and slowly stamped it towards the ground.
"Boom!"
A dull loud noise seemed to come from the depths of the earth. Centered on the place where his feet landed, an invisible and majestic Earth Pulsation spread rapidly, instantly catching up with Malcolm and others who had escaped hundreds of meters away.
Malcolm felt his body sink, as if he was carrying a huge weight in an instant, and his flying speed dropped sharply. The surrounding air also became extremely viscous, as if he was trapped in an invisible quagmire. This is "Gravity Field" activated by Lin Qin with Laws of the Earth.
"No!!" Malcolm screamed in horror, trying his best to activate the holy power, but couldn't break free.
Lin Qin's figure flashed and appeared in front of a fleeing priest. The priest was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder split apart. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, Lin Qin's fist was already imprinted on his chest.
"Bang!"
The holy light that protected the body shattered, and the priest's chest was dented. He flew backwards and hit the mountain wall, making no sound.
Lin Qin didn't even look at the result, and disappeared again. The other priest felt a pain in the back of his heart, and the concussive power contained in the pointing wind penetrated into his body, directly shattering his heart.
In just a few breaths, the remaining priests were eliminated one by one by Lin Qin in the simplest and most efficient way.
In the end, only Malcolm, who was tightly bound by Gravity Field, was left.
Lin Qin walked up to him and looked calmly at his face that was twisted with fear.
"Where is Pope Heidens, or Chief Judge, now?"
Malcolm was trembling all over. "I... I said! His Majesty the Pope is missing...Chief Judge Master should be in charge at Holy Island!"
"Holy Island defense layout?"
"I am just the deputy Chief Judge. Only a few core archbishops and group leaders know about the core defense..." Malcolm burst into tears, "Let me go... I am willing to surrender..."
Lin Qin shook his head. Keeping this kind of cartilage would be a disaster.
He stretched out his hand, pressed it on the top of Malcolm's head, and directly used Soul Search. Malcolm let out a shrill scream, his body twitched violently, and his eyes quickly became distracted.
After a while, Lin Qin let go of his hand, and Malcolm fell softly to the ground.
From the fragmented memories of Malcolm, Lin Qin got limited information. The Pope's whereabouts are indeed secretive, and Chief Judge is resident in Holy Island, but the specific defense power of Holy Island is indeed out of reach at the level of Malcolm. However, he still got some useful information: several important stronghold locations of Theocracy in Chaos Territory and surrounding areas, as well as a list of some lurking personnel.
"Holy Island..." Lin Qin looked in the direction of the Radiant Church headquarters. There is a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, and the defense must be extremely tight. With his current strength, it is not wise to break in.
"It seems that building a force and encroaching on it step by step is the right choice." Lin Qin became more determined to take root in Chaos Territory. He wanted to build a strong enough force with its own intelligence network and armed forces.
He cleared the battlefield, erased all traces, and then summoned Pallas, which was hovering in the clouds.
"Return to Dragon Rock Stronghold." Lin Qin jumped on the dragon's back, "We need to speed up."
Pallas spread its wings and soared into the sky. Golden Holy Dragon's speed was extremely fast, and the mountains and rivers below quickly retreated.
"Master, what are your plans next?" Pallas's voice sounded in Lin Qin's mind.
"First clean up the remaining forces of Theocracy in Chaos Territory." Lin Qin said, "Then we need to establish our own intelligence network."
"What do you need me to do?"
"You are responsible for monitoring the movements of Theocracy. The Saint Realm dragon's perception range is large enough to detect their deployment of troops in advance."
"Understood."
During the flight, Lin Qin carefully sorted out the information obtained from Malcolm's memory. Theocracy had more strongholds in Chaos Territory than he imagined, and some were even disguised as ordinary chambers of commerce or mercenary groups.
"Go to Blackwater City first." Lin Qin made the decision, "There is an important material transfer station for them there."
Blackwater City is located in the east of Chaos Territory and is a prosperous trading city. Theocracy has set up a stronghold disguised as a chamber of commerce here to be responsible for allocating materials and transmitting information.
Two days later, they arrived over Blackwater City. Lin Qin asked Pallas to wait outside the city while he entered the city alone.
This stronghold is more hidden than the ones we encountered before. It is located on the busiest street in the city, and on the surface it looks like an ordinary chamber of commerce that deals in spices.
Lin Qin did not attack directly. He asked for a seat by the window in the pub opposite and observed carefully.
There were many people coming in and out of the Chamber of Commerce, and they all seemed normal. However, Lin Qin noticed that there were a few people whose steps were particularly steady and their eyes were too sharp. These are all warriors who have undergone rigorous training.
Lin Qin waited until nightfall before taking action. He went around to the back alley of the Chamber of Commerce and easily climbed over the wall.
The chamber of commerce is much larger inside than it looks from the outside. Lin Qin relied on his perception of energy fluctuations to quickly find the underground entrance.
The basement was brightly lit, and several people in casual clothes were sorting documents. When they saw Lin Qin barging in, they were stunned.
"Who?" shouted a middle-aged man who seemed to be in charge.
Lin Qin didn't answer and took action directly. His figure was like electricity, and he restrained everyone instantly.
"Where are Theocracy's supplies stored?" Lin Qin asked the steward.
The steward's face turned pale, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing.
Lin Qin no longer wasted time and searched their memories directly. Soon, he found the information he wanted.
The warehouse of the Chamber of Commerce was filled with various supplies: weapons, armor, magic materials, and a large number of gold coins. Lin Qin took away all the valuable things and burned the rest.
After leaving Blackwater City, they cleared several strongholds one after another. Sometimes Lin Qin acted alone, sometimes in cooperation with Pallas. Each time it was a quick victory, leaving no survivors.
Theocracy reacted quickly. They began to shrink the defense line and strengthen the defense force of important strongholds. But this could not stop Lin Qin.
A month later, Theocracy's influence in Chaos Territory had been completely eliminated. The rest had also gone underground and no longer dared to engage in public activities.
On this day, Lin Qin and Pallas returned to Dragon Rock Stronghold. This village located deep in the mountains has now begun to take shape.
"Master, you are back." Old Jack, who was in charge of managing the village, came up to us.
"How is the situation?" Lin Qin asked.
"A few more people came to seek refuge." Old Jack said, "They were all persecuted by Theocracy. I followed your instructions and arranged them in the village."
Lin Qin nodded. During this period, people kept coming to seek refuge. Some were civilians who were persecuted by Theocracy, and some were mercenaries who were dissatisfied with Theocracy. Lin Qin would not refuse anyone who came, and as long as they passed the review, they could stay.
"Strengthen training." Lin Qin said, "Theocracy won't give up."
"Understood."
Lin Qin walked into his residence. It was a simple stone house with nothing in it except a bed and a table.
He sat on the bed and started practicing.