Clash

After confirming that something had gone wrong on Jacques's end, Naimus immediately used the Rope of Oath to notify his subordinates.

At the same time, he looked toward Isabella, who sat beneath the half-collapsed church with her eyes closed, linked to The Grid and using the Power of Faith from the statue to restore her energy through divine arts.

Isabella definitely would not be able to use up all that Power of Faith. As long as he claimed it for himself, he would have completed more than half of one crucial requirement for the evolution of his abilities.

"Of course, if possible, I can also obtain the results of the Old Priest's research."

"That might reduce the amount of faith I need for myself."

For now, it could roughly be confirmed that the Old Priest's research focused on developing Holy Blood.

So-called Saints were generally beings blessed by gods.

Because of such blessings, Saints could generally reach the Golden Breed.

Yet in terms of demonstrated power, Saints surpassed ordinary Golden Breeds.

A Saint's bloodline could therefore contain special power as well.

That was why most descendants of Saints could become nobles.

The Dartmenly Family was one such example.

However, the uniqueness of such bloodlines gradually faded over time.

Gods also rarely created Saints, so some Churches would occasionally research Saint bloodlines, using highly concentrated Holy Blood to create individuals close to Saints.

That was considered relatively normal. However, the Old Priest's experiment was likely far more than that.

Otherwise, it would not have failed even with The Church's heavy investment.

Leaving the Old Priest still unable to let it go after twenty years.

"But by now, the battle over there should have begun as well, right?" Naimus's thoughts inevitably turned elsewhere.

Since he knew that the Old Priest had been stirring up trouble behind the scenes for the sake of the Bloodline Experiment, it was not difficult to guess why he had deliberately, or perhaps casually, spared the Village Guardian.

"If they can't find Lia, they'll go after the Village Guardian. They have to capture Lia and extract experimental materials from her."

"What I need to do at this point is obvious." Naimus instantly thought of how to gain the greatest benefit.

The noon sun beat down fiercely as Otto considered what came next.

He had thought that once things settled down, he would merely return to smuggling.

He had not expected something this big to happen.

The Old Priest had completely gone mad. Not only had he taken all the materials Otto had collected, he had also ordered him to capture the Village Guardian, find patients with Whale-ification Disease, and bring them back.

As for Otto's future, the Old Priest had not mentioned it.

By this point, Otto understood that if he refused, he would die immediately.

Compared to the others, Otto had personally experienced the Old Priest's terrifying strength.

At this stage, he had long since lost the luxury of choice. He could only follow the Old Priest's instructions and take things one step at a time.

"When the Old Priest's experiment failed back then, even though The Church discovered numerous violations, they never pursued the matter."

"The research was halted only because the funding had run out."

"This time is merely a continuation of that research. Perhaps if the experiment succeeds, The Church will go easy on it as well." Otto could only comfort himself that way.

"We found the Village Guardian. Because of the earlier disturbance, he is currently heading back to the village with several villagers," a subordinate from the Otto Caravan reported at that moment.

Most of his caravan's members were desperadoes from elsewhere, or absolute loyalists whose interests were deeply tied to Otto's.

Most of the profits from smuggling Whale Skin Mine went toward buying various experimental materials and tools for the Old Priest, while a small portion was used to purchase medicine that suppressed the Nest Beasts within their bodies.

Otto spent everything else on these people.

He had put considerable effort into them.

Ever since the Old Priest took control of him eight years ago, Otto had secretly trained thugs, hoping that one day he could cultivate subordinates at the Steel Breed level and break free from the Old Priest's control.

Unfortunately, advancing to the Steel Breed was too difficult. He had six subordinates with decent talent, but their basic attributes were only around six to eight. The other caravan members were too poorly gifted. Even after years of training and resources, they had only improved by one or two points, making them of little use.

In the past, all these subordinates had hidden within the caravan. They rarely revealed their strength and almost never attacked villagers.

But now, they could no longer afford such restraint.

"Go. Capture him."

"According to our intelligence, he possesses Controlled Whale-ification. Be careful of that transformation."

"As for those villagers, clear them out if you can do so easily."

The more people who knew about this situation, the greater the potential trouble afterward. Otto issued the order coldly.

"Understood, but..." The subordinate raised his head, his words turning hesitant.

Otto was taken aback. Could it be that the man could not bear to harm innocent villagers?

Then he looked at that subordinate, and his expression briefly turned distant. The man's right forearm was missing. He had lost it while blocking a blade for Otto during a dangerous incident.

Looking closer, Otto realized that the man's hair had already turned gray. He was clearly younger than Otto, yet appeared far more haggard and aged.

"What is it, Aro?" Otto suppressed the irritation rising within him due to the worsening situation and asked.

"You need to think of a way out, Lord Otto." The subordinate named Bori Aro seriously gave him advice he should not have needed to give.

Otto felt hollow inside, then forced a smile. "Don't worry. You should be careful too."

"It will soon be time to visit Xiao Luo's grave. We still have to go clean it up afterward, don't we?"

Aro merely looked at Otto, then lowered his head and nodded. Without another word, he charged toward the Village Guardian's location.

Xiao Luo was his son. After the boy died of illness, Aro's only reason for living was to protect Otto, who had been willing to pay for his treatment.

Otto's thoughts drifted briefly, but he quickly came back to himself and prepared to cast one of the few combat spells he knew.

Over there, the encirclement had already begun. With a low growl, Aro lunged at the Village Guardian.

The Village Guardian had long since sensed the approaching danger.

An arrow flashed past his fingertips, becoming a lethal threat that forced the one-armed Aro to roll aside and evade it.

The Village Guardian retreated while grabbing another arrow.

The villagers beside him were also at a loss after the attack, unable to understand why members of the Otto Caravan had suddenly started fighting the Village Guardian.

But in the next moment, that question vanished.

Several arrows shot toward them.

Some villagers were struck before they could dodge.

The other members of the Otto Caravan would not hold back simply because they had lived in the same village for a long time.

At the same time, a black shadow rose from the ground and had already closed in on the Village Guardian.

Thank you all for your support. The character Bori Aro came from the Cameo Character Board and was submitted by reader Ginger Slice No. 1, with slight adaptations.