The bulky body of Duward slowly collapsed onto the ground, and a pool of blood flowed out.
The surrounding crowd immediately fell into a deathly silence.
The scenes that had just unfolded were too shocking, leaving them unable to react even now.
First, it was young Dorin, who suddenly received divine favor and transformed into a paladin. Then, he actually dared to attack Duward directly!
Heavens, was it they who had gone mad, or had the world itself gone insane?
Whoosh!
At this moment, a figure dashed into the center at a speed barely visible to the naked eye. The black Inquisition attire on his body caused everyone to involuntarily feel a chill in their hearts.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man with a cold expression. He frowned and stared at Evan: “Didn’t I just tell you to stop?”
“Sorry!”
Evan shrugged, showing no sign of restraint despite the other’s superior power: “I am a paladin of the God of Redemption. He slandered me without cause, and I just couldn’t resist teaching him a lesson!”
“Good! Very good!”
Such a tone immediately left the middle-aged man speechless.
Wu Ming, watching from the side, secretly chuckled inwardly.
The Church under Jay’s leadership was currently in a very delicate situation. Although the self-proclaimed Pope could freely appoint clergy, the God of Redemption refused to acknowledge them. Those who lacked sufficient faith would not receive divine magic regardless.
After repeatedly experiencing the embarrassment of priests without divine magic, Jay could only resign himself to fate and strive to win over outstanding believers, especially those who had passed trials to become priests or paladins.
Precisely because of their existence, the Church aristocrats couldn’t dominate everything, and the entire Church hadn’t completely degenerated.
“Father Jack, I think what this young man said makes a lot of sense. What do you think?”
Just then, another voice arrived, filled with a magnetic, sun-like warmth.
A young man wearing bright armor, with golden hair and exuding an unparalleled regal aura, suddenly stepped into the scene.
He appeared to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with handsome features and a gentle smile seemingly always on his face.
“It’s the Holy Knight Robin!”
“The Church’s top-ranking officer, commander of the Paladins!”
…
The surrounding screams rose and fell, with many young men and women gazing at him in boundless admiration.
“Lord Robin!”
Seeing his idol appear, even Evan became somewhat flustered, instantly transforming from the previous paladin into a bashful young man.
“Haha…no need to be so formal. Congratulations, Evan!”
Robin smiled: “After receiving divine favor and becoming a paladin, if you choose to join the Church, you’ll be directly assigned under my command. So you can just call me Commander.”
“C…Commander!”
Evan’s face flushed with excitement, while the black-cloaked Jack was equally agitated, albeit from anger.
“Lord Robin!”
Father Jack frowned: “Are you planning to protect this criminal?”
“Criminal?”
Robin’s face showed surprise: “All I see is an excellent paladin who upholds justice, protects his family, and strives to maintain the reputation of the God of Redemption. Where is the criminal you speak of?”
“Even so, he used excessive force against ordinary people, violating the teachings of the paladin’s code!”
A voice as sharp as a vulture’s suddenly joined in, extremely grating and abrupt, making Evan feel even more uncomfortable.
“Judge Gandolf!”
Father Jack, dressed in black, seemed to have spotted a savior and hurriedly bowed before the newcomer.
“Commander Robin, I bring the Pope’s decree. This paladin who violated the rules will temporarily be placed under the custody of the Religious Inquisition. I trust you have no objections?”
The judge then approached the trembling Dorin couple and slightly bowed: “Furthermore, I sincerely apologize for your ordeal. You will receive the appropriate compensation.”
Then, he turned to Evan: “Naïve paladin, do you intend to defy the Pope’s command?”
As he locked eyes with the judge, Evan felt as though he had been targeted by a venomous snake, his strength seemingly drained entirely, as two black-cloaked priests took him away.
“Evan!”
Robin, watching the scene unfold with a dark expression, suddenly called out: “Hold fast to your beliefs!”
“I will!”
Evan loudly replied, proudly walking out of his home with his head held high.
Even the onlookers seemed to sense something amiss and gradually dispersed.
Only Wu Ming remained standing there, deep in thought: “Has the rift grown this large already? They’re openly provoking conflict in public…”
He was naturally very familiar with all these people.
The judge came from Jay’s aristocratic alliance, while Robin was the young man who had been dissatisfied with Jay’s conduct during the previous ceremony.
So much time had passed, and that once-young man had grown into an outstanding paladin, even rising to the position of Paladin Commander, commanding vast forces.
Moreover, he skillfully concealed his resentment toward Jay beneath a veneer of respect. After all, he served the God of Redemption, and whether or not he pledged loyalty to the Pope had no bearing on his progress in holy power.
Especially recently, after receiving certain assistance, Robin’s patience had finally reached its limit, and he was ready to take action.
Although, his allies didn’t seem particularly reliable at first glance.
…
After returning to his quarters, Robin hesitated briefly before heading to the basement and opening a peculiar communication device.
It was a black iron box with strange magical runes engraved on its surface.
After channeling divine energy into it, the runes lit up, and a screen materialized.
On the screen was a battlefield, with many mutated beasts lying dead, their corpses displaying eerie signs of desiccation. A bald middle-aged man looked toward Robin, offering a gentle smile: “My friend, do you need my help?”
“Charles! I agree to the plan!”
Robin gritted his teeth.
“I know you have doubts…”
Though separated by an unknown distance, Charles’s wise gaze seemed to penetrate Robin’s thoughts: “We’re helping you because we have our own demands. In the real world, we need the power of the Church of Redemption to combat a global evil organization!”
“The Hermit Society?”
Robin sighed: “I’ve heard of their actions. They do seem somewhat radical.”
“Exactly!”
Charles nodded repeatedly: “And your current Pope, Jay, is scheming to ally with the Hermit Society. We absolutely cannot allow this to happen!”
“Is that all?”
Robin confirmed once more.
“Of course not. Because this guy is an incurable, hopeless fool!”
The screen flickered, and a stunningly beautiful woman with an extremely revealing outfit appeared. A terrifying blood orb floated behind her: “I am the Blood Queen Lolita. Let me warn you—don’t even think of trying to play tricks or renege on your debts, or I will turn you into a desiccated corpse!”
Click!
The communication was abruptly cut off. Charles looked at Lolita beside him with a wry smile: “Robin is an important ally. Lolita, wasn’t your tone a bit too harsh?”
“Charles, you’ve compromised far too much already!”
Lolita declared solemnly: “The battle against the Hermit Society isn’t just our fight. The entire world must rise up. There has never been a savior—only we can save ourselves!”
“Indeed, you make a valid point. Still, we should set out soon to ensure Robin can successfully carry out his coup and unite the strength of Golden Oak…”
Charles nodded: “And the Hermit Society must be intercepted. We cannot allow them any opportunity to interfere!”
“That you can rest assured about. The Thunder God Guild, the Stone Masons, and even those from the Holy Blade have already joined forces and spent a massive amount of contribution points to lock down the Hermit Society’s next mission world. We’re quite fortunate—it’s a mandatory large-scale team mission. As long as we invest enough resources, we can keep them stuck in that mission world for a long time!”
Lolita twirled her alabaster fingers, her words carrying a hint of wisdom.
“And besides… some remnants of history are also preparing to contribute their share… those surviving elites from the former kingdoms of Pandorn, Crimson Blossom, and Golden Oak, hehe…”
Indeed, even amidst great disasters, due to unequal access to resources and channels, the upper echelons often had far more escape opportunities than the common people.
In this apocalypse, many aristocrats timely retreated into shelters.
Of course, the more privileged ones used their privileges as loopers to hide in the Main God Space, perfectly evading the catastrophic disaster that threatened the entire world.
“I don’t think the crowns of Golden Oak and Pandorn still hold much influence nowadays…”
Charles twitched his lips slightly, then said with a helpless tone.
“Don’t underestimate these trash. Even a pile of garbage can still be useful… At the very least, they maintain intricate connections with those small organizations currently active in the Crimson Blossom Federation, and have even infiltrated spies into the Hermit Society. Many secret intelligence leaks have come from them…”
Lolita, who had apparently awakened a sharp-tongued trait, sneered coldly: “These people hate the Hermit Society even more than we do—they were nearly wiped out by them.”
Ordinary people lost their lives in the apocalypse, while the elite lost their power.
For certain individuals, this might be even harder to bear than losing their lives.
“Alright, unite all who can be united. We’ll deal with everything after we first eliminate the Hermit Society!”
Charles abruptly made his decision.
“Lolita… and… me…”
As if recalling something, he gritted his teeth, finally breaking through a mental barrier. His face flushed red, and after a long pause, he finally managed to utter a few words.
But at this moment, he realized that the Blood Queen had already left, leaving only a proud silhouette behind.
With a bitter smile, Charles hurried after her.
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