Divine Grace and the Evil Spirit

"The biggest obstacle has been removed. If Komoro still can't handle this, I'll have to replace my spokesperson sooner rather than later," Wang Yuan thought silently as he watched Komoro struggle to his feet.

Of course, replacing this man was inevitable; it was only a matter of time. Although Komoro was currently firmly under Wang Yuan's Domination Pathogen, one should never underestimate a person. As the power in one's hands increases, ambition grows alongside it.

Status dictates perspective. After all, Komoro knew a great deal of information about Wang Yuan. Just because he didn't understand it now didn't mean he wouldn't in the future. Such dangers had to be nipped in the bud.

"I'll wait for him to help me stabilize the situation in the village first. After all, it's less likely to incite large-scale resistance when governed by a familiar face. Once Negary is deeply rooted in their hearts, this Komoro who knows too much will have to be discarded." Wang Yuan drifted lightly around the area, observing the state of the village.

Naturally, Wang Yuan's main priority now was to observe what plans this man named Jacques had. Judging by his expression, he didn't look like he intended to submit, though that was to be expected.

Before Wang Yuan and Komoro arrived, Jacques had been the greatest beneficiary. The hunting captain was his close friend, and he was slated to be the next village chief. However, Komoro had appeared with Negary's decree, killed the old chief, and immediately usurped a vast amount of power in the village.

For both public and private reasons, Jacques could not give up. Yet, under the threat of the plague, the villagers were now gathered around Komoro. After all, Negary had already displayed his might; Jacques believed that if he had dared to openly resist at that moment, he would have been trampled into the dirt by those very villagers.

Events had occurred too suddenly, and they had no preparation. With the highly prestigious chief bitten to death in public, Jacques could only swallow his anger for now. He would wait until he had devised a plan before standing up to oppose Komoro and the so-called Negary behind him.

Pushing open the door to his house, Jacques took a deep breath, plastered a smile back onto his face, and walked inside. He laughed heartily and said, "Isabella, I'm home."

"You're early today," a blonde woman with a semi-prominent belly said gently. "I just heard some noise outside. Did something happen?"

"Yes, there are indeed some issues, but don't worry, I'll handle them," Jacques said with a smile, his words full of confidence. He walked slowly to his wife, crouched down, and leaned carefully against her stomach, smiling as he said, "Nara, Daddy's home. Did you miss Daddy?"

"That matter isn't simple, is it?" The perceptive woman saw through Jacques's unnatural behavior and said softly, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry for my sake. I am from the Tagule Family, after all."

"Alright, things are indeed a bit dire." Jacques looked at his wife and sighed. "Only Komoro returned from the hunting party, bringing with him the messenger and decree of someone called Negary, and then he killed the chief."

"He is already gathering the villagers now, confirming their submission to Negary." Jacques explained the situation briefly, dropping his feigned confidence. "My reason tells me I should submit so that there will be no danger."

"But my heart tells me that is wrong," Jacques said gravely. "Dax and the others died for no reason, and the chief was killed by the other party's methods, yet the villagers are too afraid to stand up under the threat of the plague."

"If I don't stand up either, I feel I will regret it. But if I do stand up and truly invite the plague, then I will have failed not only the villagers but you as well." Jacques's eyes were filled with helplessness. Between the wrong course of action and the severe consequences, he was trapped in a deep dilemma.

"When you face a difficult choice, choose the path you believe is right," Isabella said, embracing her husband's head gently. "I will support you."

"As for this Negary you speak of, I don't think it's a god," Isabella said with a smile.

"Isabella, do you know something?" Jacques looked up at his wife. He knew she wasn't one of the Kexi People, and her background wasn't simple; she knew many secrets.

"That so-called Negary might be an Evil Spirit," Isabella said, recalling something. "Those Evil Spirits possess all sorts of magic, but they also have extremely strong limitations and rarely appear in the world. However, these Evil Spirits are usually mindless, which doesn't quite fit some of the things you've described."

"An Evil Spirit?" Jacques nodded.

"In my hometown, there was once an incident involving an Evil Spirit. Many people died that time. That Evil Spirit could control thick fog and was known as the Devil in the Fog. Many people went missing in the mist. In the end, it was an archbishop of the Divine Grace Church who purified the Evil Spirit and bestowed the light of the Lord upon the world." His wife was a devout follower of the Divine Grace Church, though this did not affect their relationship; Jacques respected her faith.

"Isabella, are you saying the Divine Grace Church has a way to deal with Evil Spirits?" Jacques seized upon the key point of her words. He had never been interested in the Kexi People's belief that all things were divine. He was not opposed to using the power of the Divine Grace Church to purge Negary.

"The Lord is omnipotent," Isabella said with a smile. "Even if Negary isn't an Evil Spirit, he's close enough. The Divine Grace Church has ways to deal with such things."

Wang Yuan stood to the side, listening to their conversation and pondering the information he had gathered. "The Divine Grace Church? The supernatural power of this world?"

This was a low-magic world, but low-magic did not mean no-magic. Judging by the certainty in the woman called Isabella's tone, while her account might have been exaggerated, it likely wasn't false. This indicated that the Divine Grace Church probably possessed some form of supernatural power.

"The Devil in the Fog she mentioned—is it like me, a remnant soul that controls the power of mist?" Wang Yuan absorbed the information from their words, considering various possibilities.

"Regardless of how things stand, this Jacques cannot be left alive for now." Wang Yuan watched Jacques, who was still deep in thought, and drifted away slowly. The Divine Grace Church had already formed an organized sect and was undoubtedly much stronger than Wang Yuan; he shouldn't provoke them for the time being.

Far away on the other side, Komoro, who was still conveying Negary's decree to the villagers, suddenly felt an itch on his body. Two crows took flight and landed in another direction, guiding Komoro to follow them.

Komoro dared not delay and hurried after the crows. He soon arrived in front of a house in the village. Inside, the chief's granddaughter was being held captive. She had been bitten and infected with the pathogen, and Komoro had locked her away under the pretext of preventing the spread of the disease.

Wang Yuan also drifted near the girl. She was clutching the wound on her hand, her face pale, and she collapsed weakly to the ground, possessing a unique, sickly beauty. However, this was of no use. The Interference Force surged out; the girl clutched her head, her brows furrowed tightly, and then she ceased to show any signs of life.