Blood Church

The entire South District was bustling, so the demi-humans instinctively glanced at the crimson figure standing atop the South District's mage tower. A trace of fear rose unbidden in every heart.

Zhou Yu, the Lord of the Southern District, had a very peculiar name. Yet every time she acted, all that remained was a field of charred corpses, with no survivors.

Zhou Yu, too, watched the busy demi-humans below.

Suddenly, the noisy South District fell silent. Everyone instinctively looked toward the black castle soaring into the clouds at its center, and then deep, lingering bells slowly began to ring.

They were not summons bells, but timekeeping bells. Every day had twelve hours, and the bells rang three times each hour.

Lord Avilan had once decreed that all subjects throughout the territory were to rest for one hour after every four hours of work. This bell reminded the busy subjects that they could rest and eat.

"I truly don't know why Lord Avilan treats these lowly creatures so well." Zhou Yu watched the Ratkin eating below and muttered with a teasing smile.

"Have they been properly collected?"

Fifty li west of Essin City, a group of priests dressed in pitch-black robes stood with fervent expressions and straight backs. Before them stood more than a dozen men dressed as mages, crimson light filling their eyes.

"Lord Valen, two hundred and seventy-six resentful souls have been collected."

A man clad in black knight armor stepped forward and bowed as he reported.

"Very good. Set out."

Before the crowd stood a towering, powerful figure, his aura surging like crashing waves. He spoke calmly.

Behind them, the shadow of a village flickered in and out of view, while an extremely dense scent of blood hung in the air.

"Any leads?"

Kalons sat at the head of Essin City's lord's hall, his brows furrowed and gaze icy. Fury burned within him. Someone actually dared commit such an exterminating atrocity within the bounds of his Essin City?!

The Messiah Great Forest had been exceedingly unsettled lately. He had already sent several teams of adventurers inside, but there had been no news at all, making him consider whether to dispatch his elite guards.

But this morning, a piece of news had struck like a bolt from the blue, shocking all of Essin City!

Kelan Village, ten li from Essin City, had been slaughtered!

Not even chickens or dogs had been spared; corpses lay everywhere.

All two hundred and seventy-six villagers—elderly people, children, strong men, and women alike—had been wiped out!

The entire city erupted. Countless people were stunned. For so many years, Essin City had remained peacefully tucked away in a corner, and never had such an inhuman village massacre occurred.

Even brutal bandits rarely committed such deeds that enraged both heaven and mankind!

Public outrage boiled over. Countless adventurers rushed voluntarily to Kelan Village, their fury soaring to the heavens as they vowed to find the murderer and seek justice for the dead!

Not to mention Kalons, the lord of the city.

"There are no leads yet, but please rest assured, my lord! I have dispatched every elite within the city. Before long, news will certainly return."

Anthony, Kalons's foremost warrior, cupped his fists in salute. His voice was cold, equally filled with rage.

He was stationed in Essin City, intimidating all four directions, yet there were still blind fools who dared carry out such a slaughter? Did they truly not regard Anthony the Hammer Butcher at all?

Kalons drew a deep breath, nodded, and said nothing more as he waited in peace.

The Essin City nobles below also wore grave expressions, furious to the extreme.

If it had merely been robbery, these noble lords would not have cared much. But slaughtering an entire village was another matter.

Kelan Village had several dozen mu of farmland, not to mention its poll tax. This massacre would cost the nobles dearly. The lord of Kelan Village in particular had nearly coughed up blood in rage—this was cutting off the very roots of his foundation.

"Report!"

Suddenly, a knight rushed in at great speed, his face stern as he reported loudly.

"Speak!"

Kalons' spirits lifted. He straightened in his seat and stared fixedly at the knight.

"Reporting to my lord, a lead has been found! On the northern side of Kelan Village, near the border of Witte Village, traces of the perpetrators have been discovered! Their numbers are unknown, but they should be no fewer than five hundred!"

The white-armored knight dropped to one knee and spoke respectfully.

"So many men. Have you determined which roving band of bandits they came from?"

Kalons raised a brow and asked coldly.

"It is the Blood Church!"

"What?"

Kalons froze. Before he could speak, however, the nobles below exploded into uproar. They sprang to their feet in shock and cried out in horror.

"How could it be the Blood Church? Could they be preparing to move against our Kingdom of Kompno?"

Viscount Rondo muttered, his lips trembling slightly. The fact that the Blood Church could still spread its doctrine of Bloody Sacrifice even after several neighboring nations had joined forces to purge it showed just how terrifying its strength was.

It was said that the Blood Church now possessed several million followers.

Upon hearing this so suddenly, even people of their status and strength could not help turning pale with fright.

"The Blood Church? It should only be a small roaming contingent. After all, our Kingdom of Kompno is most hostile toward the Blood Church. Once discovered, they would certainly face the attacks of the entire kingdom. The Blood Church should not be foolish enough to do such a thing."

Kalons was also somewhat shocked, but after thinking it over carefully, he understood. This small Blood Church force must have wandered into Vought Province by mistake. If it were a large-scale invasion, there was no way there would be only five hundred men.

"Hoo! The city lord has indeed considered everything thoroughly."

The nobles all heaved long sighs of relief, cold sweat streaming down their bodies until their backs were soaked.

"My lord, for a small Blood Church force to dare slaughter a village under Essin City's jurisdiction, their strength must be anything but ordinary. This is not something Essin City can handle!"

A trace of fear flashed through Anthony's eyes. He knew very well that anyone who dared lead a small force into the Kingdom of Kompno had to be at least a fourth-tier existence, perhaps even fifth-tier.

"Immediately send word to my senior brother Cameron in Vought City. I hope he can bring men to assist us. Given his enmity with the Blood Church, he will definitely come," Kalons said after some thought.

At the mention of Cameron's name, everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief almost at the same time.

Cameron came from Essin City and was undoubtedly Essin City's greatest genius. He was now at the peak of the Fourth-Tier Great Swordsman realm, with one foot already across the threshold of the fifth tier.

With everything settled, Avilan once again changed into his mage disguise and began his adventure. Naturally, he could not venture too far from Despair Fortress. If he encountered danger, Despair Fortress could dispatch reinforcements at the first opportunity.

Of course, Zhou Yu had strongly insisted on this. Despair Fortress now had only Avilan as its leader. If anything were to happen to him, no one dared imagine what would become of the entire Despair Fortress.

Avilan cut through thorns and brambles along the way, finally leaving the Messiah Great Forest.

This time, his purpose was to visit the nearest human village and see what the humans of this world were like.