Ah! Why is Jashiu so mean?

Aaaaaah! Who understands this feeling?! The sense of salvation when the Punitive Knights teleported in!

At that moment, six fully armed knights appeared within the light of the teleportation array. They wore white armor trimmed in gold, held spiked warhammers in their right hands, and metal-bound scriptures in their left.

Judging by how hefty those books looked, it was hard to say whether they were weapons or magical implements.

Swing one at someone, and it probably would not hurt any less than the hammer.

"We have arrived at the target location. Begin searching for cultists and the summoner."

The lead knight spoke in a deep voice.

This had always been the Church of Light's rule. While purging cultists was the Church's responsibility, the Church had its own arrangements.

If they went too hard and really wiped out all the cultists, what purpose would the Judgment Tribunal and the Punitive Knights have left?

Thus, for this kind of "overtime" operation that disrupted the original arrangements by urgently summoning the Punitive Knights, the summoner had to pay the corresponding price.

For example, becoming an ascetic believer and providing an endless stream of faith to the Holy Light for the rest of their life.

"Captain, there's no need to search."

Another knight pointed ahead.

Not far away, they could see someone holding a small knife and chasing down a young man fleeing in panic.

"The one chasing is the cultist, and the one running is the summoner?" the captain asked.

"Uh..."

The deputy hesitated.

"The one chasing is the summoner. He also looks like a cultist. He was the one who burned the letter. As for the one running away, he seems to be a bystander."

"Hm?"

The captain was puzzled.

"You mean a cultist summoned us as the summoner to purge cultists."

The captain pondered for a moment. "Is he sick?"

Ahead, Hannas had completely lost his mind. He staggered along, waving his small knife as he struggled to chase Jia Xiu.

Already on the verge of losing his reason, Hannas had then been baptized by Jia Xiu's nightmare. His pitiful mind had completely shattered.

He only vaguely remembered hating someone, someone he had to kill.

Yet he could no longer tell dreams from reality.

In his eyes, the fleeing Jia Xiu gradually overlapped with the riding instructor from his dream.

Old and new grudges piled together, and Hannas screamed in despair, "You ruined my life!"

Disoriented and muddled, he took his steps too quickly and tripped himself.

The group of knights watched.

The deputy could not help sighing. "He might really be sick."

The captain fell silent.

He felt this whole trip had been a loss for their squad.

In the middle of the night, they could have been doing anything else, but instead they had come out to catch such a worthless cultist—and they would not even get a new ascetic out of it.

He sighed helplessly. "Anyway, arrest him first."

This squad of Punitive Knights truly was the Church's elite. As for why the elite had been dispatched, that was Hannas's letter's fault. In it, Jia Xiu had been depicted as a terrifying demon set on destroying Creekwood Town.

Once the captain gave the order, the knight at the very back of the group moved with a speed almost like teleportation. He flashed before Hannas and struck each of his limbs with a hammer.

Poor Hannas could only squirm now.

The Punitive Knights had never shown mercy to cultists.

Then Hannas was lifted off the ground. Even though he had lost the ability to move, his madness had not diminished in the slightest.

He could no longer feel pain at all.

Adrenaline was amazing, wasn't it?

The rest of the squad also came over to further determine whether Hannas was a cultist.

This was also the Punitive Knights' usual style of doing things.

If there was suspicion, beat them first, interrogate them later.

If they unfortunately beat the wrong person, they could be healed. Those who had been beaten usually lacked both the courage and ability to hold the Judgment Tribunal accountable.

But if they failed to attack immediately and allowed a cultist to escape, that was completely unacceptable to the Judgment Tribunal.

"Fierce, irritable, highly aggressive, with partial or complete loss of pain sensation. Fits the characteristics of a fanatical cultist."

"Weapon is an obsidian knife, a ritual implement for the evil god of deception and curses."

"Multiple blood runes are drawn on his body..."

"It can be fully confirmed that this person is a fanatic devoted to the evil god of deception and curses, currently carrying out ritual preparations."

While the deputy made his assessment, Hannas, with only his head still able to move, was not idle either.

He recognized that these people were from the Church.

The Church? Clergymen?

Voluntary donation!

As the Punitive Knights before him overlapped with the clergymen from his dream, the target of his hatred shifted.

"Damn clergymen! I'll kill you!"

The deputy of the knight squad was greatly shocked.

"So this is why he summoned us? He wanted to hunt knights!"

There truly had been powerful cult organizations in history that deliberately summoned Punitive Knights in order to hunt them.

The deputy was furious. "This is no ordinary cultist. We must deal with him severely!"

Just as he was about to execute Hannas—

"Wait!"

The captain suddenly stopped him.

"What about that bystander?"

Ever since earlier, he had felt that something was off. Everything about this situation was strange.

So he decided to question Jia Xiu.

"Your name."

"J-Jia Xiu," Jia Xiu answered in a trembling voice.

Though he really was not a cultist, he had helped an evil god gather faith before. The Punitive Knights absolutely could not find out about that.

"Jia Xiu?"

The captain immediately realized that this was the great cultist demon Hannas had described in his letter.

A brand-new version of the story formed in his mind.

Jia Xiu really was a cultist. He had recruited Hannas into the cult, and Hannas had been unable to leave, so he had tried to perish together with Jia Xiu.

But Jia Xiu truly did not carry even the faintest trace of having performed a cult ritual. It would be excessive to beat him first, and Jia Xiu had not run away either, so the captain chose to ask questions first.

"Was there some conflict between you?"

"Maybe." Jia Xiu looked utterly aggrieved. "Maybe it was because I healed him before. It was only a Basic Healing Spell, but it caused him a great deal of pain."

The captain looked at another member of the squad, who answered, "That's the truth."

As an elite squad, they naturally had methods for detecting lies.

Receiving a Basic Healing Spell yet finding it painful.

The captain's heart jolted. This was a trait only found in those who had completely devoted themselves to an evil god. Only such people would be unable to accept the most radiant, most sacred healing spell.

The deputy immediately checked him as well. "He actually took some kind of potion to make himself resist healing spells!"

His identity was confirmed!

The captain promptly asked another question. "Then why did you appear in the wilderness in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to bring him into a dream." Jia Xiu took out the Dream Talisman the priest had given him. "I heard that the Church of Light's dreams could help people rediscover their true hearts, so I asked a priest for help. He gave me this talisman and said it could help me get my old friend back."

The captain turned around.

"That's also the truth."

The deputy checked him.

"He entered a dream just now."

The captain was astonished, and yet another version of the story surfaced in his mind.

A young man only wanted to help his friend. He had used every possible method—healing spells, entering dreams—but his friend, who had already completely given himself over to the cult, had not only rejected his goodwill but even wanted to use him as a sacrifice.

What a pitiful, kindhearted young man.

And he, a blade of the Church of Light, a Punitive Knight who carried out righteous punishment in the name of the Holy Light, had actually doubted and interrogated such a fine young man.

Oh—

I'm truly awful.

The captain barely dared look at the pitiful-looking Jia Xiu anymore.

Meanwhile, Jia Xiu continued adding to the act. "Are you knights of the Church, sir? My friend... can he still be saved? The Holy Light can definitely save my friend, right?"

"Cough..."

The captain looked troubled. No matter what, he could not bring himself to say, "Your friend will be executed."

He quickly gave the deputy a meaningful look, signaling for him to be the bad guy.

The deputy was angry but dared not speak. Every troublesome task was pushed onto him. Just as he was organizing his words, an idea suddenly came to him.

"I have an idea!"