Blood Church

The entire South District was bustling, so the nonhumans instinctively glanced at the crimson figure standing atop the South District's mage tower. A trace of fear rose in every one of their hearts.

Zhou Yu, the Lord of the South District, had a very strange name. Yet whenever she acted, she left behind nothing but charred corpses, with no survivors.

Zhou Yu was also watching the busy nonhumans below.

The noisy South District suddenly fell silent. Everyone instinctively looked toward the black castle at the center, which pierced the clouds, and then deep, resonant bells slowly began to ring.

They were not summons bells, but timekeeping bells. There were twelve hours in a day, and the bells rang three times every hour.

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

"I really don't know why Lord Avilan treats these lowly creatures so well." Zhou Yu watched the Ratkin below as they ate, muttering with amusement.

"Have they all been collected?"

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

"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 whose imposing aura surged like stormy waves. He spoke calmly.

Behind them, the shadow of a village flickered in and out of sight, while an exceptionally thick scent of blood hung in the air.

"Have you found any clues?"

Kalons sat at the head of Essin City's main hall, his brows tightly furrowed and his gaze icy. Anger burned in his heart. Someone actually dared commit such an inhuman atrocity within the territory of Essin City?!

The Messiah Great Forest had been particularly unsettled lately. He had already sent several teams of adventurers inside, but none had returned with any news. He was already considering whether to dispatch his elite guards.

But that morning, a piece of news had struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, shocking all of Essin City!

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

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

Even brutal bandits rarely committed deeds so infuriating to both heaven and man!

Public outrage boiled over. Countless adventurers voluntarily rushed toward Kelan Village, their fury soaring to the heavens as they sought to find the culprits and give the dead justice!

Not to mention Kalons, the lord of the city.

"There are no clues yet, but rest assured, my lord! I have dispatched every elite in the city. It will not be long before news returns."

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

He guarded Essin City and intimidated all directions, yet there were still fools who dared carry out such a massacre? Did they truly not take Anthony the Hammer Butcher seriously?

Kalons took a deep breath and nodded without saying anything further, waiting in silence.

The Essin City nobles seated below also wore grave expressions, their anger extreme.

If it had merely been robbery, these noble lords would not have cared much. But a village massacre was different.

Kelan Village had dozens of mu of farmland, along with poll taxes. With the village wiped out, how much would the nobles lose? The lord of Kelan Village in particular had nearly coughed up blood in rage. This was destroying the foundation of his estate.

"Report!"

Suddenly, a knight rushed in at high speed, his face stern as he shouted his report.

"Speak!"

Kalons's spirits lifted. He sat up straight and stared intently at the knight.

"My lord, we have found a clue! On the northern side of Kelan Village, near the border of Witte Village, we discovered traces of the perpetrators! Their numbers are unknown, but there should be no fewer than five hundred!"

The knight in white armor dropped to one knee and spoke respectfully.

"So many men. Have you determined which bandits they are?"

Kalons raised an eyebrow and asked coldly.

"It is the Blood Church!"

"What?"

Kalons froze. Before he could speak, the nobles below erupted into chaos. They leaped to their feet in shock and cried out in horror.

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

Viscount Rondo muttered, his lips trembling. The Blood Church had continued spreading its doctrine of Bloody Sacrifice even after several surrounding nations joined forces to purge it, demonstrating just how terrifying its strength was.

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

At this sudden news, even people of their status and strength could not help turning pale in alarm.

"The Blood Church? It should only be a small roving force. After all, our Kingdom of Kompno is especially hostile toward the Blood Church. Once discovered, they would certainly face attacks from the entire kingdom. The Blood Church would not do something so foolish."

Kalons was somewhat shocked as well, but after thinking carefully, he understood. This small Blood Church force had likely strayed into Vought Province. If it were a large-scale invasion, there could not possibly be only five hundred men.

"Whew! The city lord has considered it thoroughly."

The nobles all let out long sighs of relief, cold sweat pouring down their bodies until their backs were already drenched.

"My lord, if a small Blood Church force dared massacre a village under Essin City's jurisdiction, then their strength must be extraordinary. It is not something Essin City can handle!"

A trace of fear flashed through Anthony's eyes. He knew very well that anyone daring to lead a small force into the Kingdom of Kompno had to be at least Fourth Tier, perhaps even Fifth Tier.

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

Upon hearing Cameron's name, everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously.

Cameron was from Essin City and was unquestionably Essin City's greatest genius. He was now at the peak of Fourth-Tier Great Swordsman, with one foot already in the Fifth Tier.

With everything settled, Avilan once again changed into his mage disguise and began his adventure. Naturally, he could not travel too far from Despair Fortress. Should he encounter danger, Despair Fortress could dispatch reinforcements immediately.

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

Avilan hacked his way through thorns and brambles, finally leaving the Messiah Great Forest.

This time, his goal was to visit the nearest human village and see what humanity in this world was like.