Lu Sinian didn’t move. He merely raised his head slightly, meeting the gaze of the God of Light.
Wood’s incantations became more rapid, his voice trembling, shrill and piercing.
The God of Light was clearly shrouded in holy light, his face obscured, forcing a gaze would only hurt his eyes.
But Lu Sinian didn’t look away. He stared intently at the deity before him, then turned his head after a long while and spoke calmly to Abel, who stood some distance away.
“Shut him up.”
Abel reacted instantly, flipping over and pressing his sword against Wood’s neck before he could react.
The continuous incantations stopped. Wood stared in horror at the sword before him just an inch away from piercing him.
But the incantation had taken effect. The enormous figure solidified completely before slowly opening his eyes, shooting two golden beams of light through the white light.
A voice, ethereal and seemingly imbued with boundless divine power, resounded: “Who are you, daring to harm my believer!”
Lu Sinian was puzzled. He simply asked, “Wait, I haven’t killed him yet. Those contracted knights were the ones you injured, weren’t they?”
The figure ignored his question. Like a pre-programmed NPC, he continued speaking: “I rid the continent of demons. Evil creatures, die!”
Having said this, he remained silent. Golden magic energy surged upwards, completely enveloping the space, making it impossible for outsiders to discern the situation within.
Looking in that direction caused a sharp pain in the eyes, let alone seeing the battle scene inside.
For a moment, many people’s hearts were in their throats, constantly praying for the demon.
“Lord Demon, please don’t be harmed!”
“Your Excellency is so powerful, you’ll definitely defeat that God of Light!”
“What kind of bullshit God of Light is he? He’s just an evil god! It’s a wonder so many people believe in him, they’ve all been deceived!”
“Those cardinals are all bad. They talk about sacrificing themselves, but why don’t they do it themselves!”
In the tense atmosphere, people couldn’t help but mutter curses.
Although no one in Vista City had previously believed in the Church of the God of Light, the sect had stood on the continent for many years, and many still held a favorable impression of the God of Light.
At least he was a god who loved his people, protecting the continent for thousands of years, and the concepts instilled in them from childhood weren’t so easily dispelled.
But now, having witnessed firsthand the selfishness behind this so-called god, the cruel truth instantly filled them with intense hatred for the God of Light.
In comparison, even if the Demon Lord was an evil god, He had never harmed anyone, and he had even protected Vista City from the beast tide by bestowing upon them so many wondrous magical creatures. Even if he was an evil god, He was a good one!
They anxiously looked at the place shrouded in magic energy with their fists clenched.
Wood, seeing this, burst into laughter. He scoffed, “What are you thinking? The opponent is the God of Light! A mere demon living in the abyss who can’t bear to be seen. How could he possibly survive under a god’s hand? Just wait to collect his corpse, hahahaha!”
“Uh…” His voice trailed off as Abel’s sword pierced his flesh.
“Don’t forget your life is still in my hands,” Abel said fiercely.
Wood’s throat bobbed, then he fell silent.
But his words deepened everyone’s anxiety. Although only a few minutes had passed, it felt like an eternity.
Finally, a slight sound came from within, followed by a crisp crack. The magic energy dissipated, and everyone could finally glimpse what was happening inside.
Long, shapely legs stepped forward, and the familiar black-haired, black-eyed man slowly appeared before them.
He seemed perfectly fine, and not even the hem of his clothes were dirty. His usual smile lingered on his face, and every step he took touched everyone’s hearts.
A few seconds later, the enormous figure vanished abruptly, turning into specks of light, leaving nothing behind, as if it had never existed.
Peace returned to the world. The ten contracted knights collapsed heavily to the ground, their faint groans indicating they were still alive.
Wood had been stunned ever since Lu Sinian emerged from the magic energy. He stood there dumbfounded, even forgetting the sword pressed against his neck. Suddenly, he looked up at Lu Sinian with a bloody gash on his neck, his face filled with disbelief.
“No, this is impossible!”
Lu Sinian brushed past him, only to toss a sentence into his ear: “This disturbance involves a large number of people and severely delays the shop’s operations. A fine of 10,000 gold coins, valid for one week.”
Only then did people react, erupting into a deafening cheer.
“As expected of the Demon Lord! I knew nothing would happen.”
“Hey, hey, wait for me! It’s almost my turn! Let me buy, let me buy!”
“Demon Lord, I want a bottle of Coke and three bags of potato chips! Hey, don’t push, don’t push!”
The queue which had just been disrupted immediately resumed. They desperately wanted to stretch their necks and squeeze in to buy as many items as possible.
The contracted knights lying on the ground had regained their senses. They remained silent, their inner emotions a complex mix.
Wood completely ignored these knights. In his mind, these people were merely tools for summoning the god. He was still immersed in the shock of the God of Light’s defeat.
Abel had long since laid down his sword to maintain discipline. Without the appearance of the God of Light, they were nothing but a rabble.
When he finally realized what was happening and saw that no one was paying attention to him, Wood gritted his teeth and was about to slip away when he noticed the knight lying on the ground. As usual, he kicked him.
“What are you doing lying there pretending to be dead? Get me out of here!”
No one responded. Sensing something was wrong, he turned around and saw them slowly standing up with their eyes downcast in front of Lu Sinian’s shop at the back of the queue.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Don’t forget you’re members of the Church of Light! It’s your honor to give your lives for the god! Believe me or not, I’ll expel you from the ranks of knights!”
Wood had a growing sense that the situation was getting out of control, and he spoke with a fierce but weak voice.
One of the younger, seemingly immature knights couldn’t help but shout at him, “Then expel them! It’s better than losing your life! The God of Light, the God of Light, he instills this kind of thinking in us every day and treats us like mere shells!”
His life force had just returned. The feeling of utter weakness, loss of reason, and helplessly watching himself walk towards death was too overwhelming.
If it weren’t for this person, no one would have survived this time.
He bit his lip, determined never to return to the Temple of Light.
The beautiful facade had been shattered, revealing only cruelty and bloodshed.
The Church of Light had ravaged the continent for years, built on the blood and flesh of its believers, and countless corpses lay buried beneath its radiant hall.
He finally understood where his predecessors, those knights who had devoted themselves to the people, had died.
They were willing to die to vanquish demons, to protect the common people, and to safeguard this continent.
They had been filled with passion, and took pride in becoming contract knights, but ultimately died at the hands of their own gods, unknown and utterly worthless.
His nose stung, and he struggled to hold back his tears.
Just then, someone patted his shoulder. His eyes reddened as he looked up at the person.
It was the team leader.
A sharp gust of wind swept past, ruffling the boy’s hair. He slowly opened his eyes wide.
“Agh!!!”
The tall, burly team leader slammed into Wood with incredible speed. The boy screamed in agony, trembling violently.
Punch after punch, each blow aimed to kill. Soon, Wood’s incessant curses turned into pleas.
“Stop hitting me…you’re going to kill me…help, help, I’m sorry…”
The team leader cracked his fist, released Wood’s collar, and turned to leave.
Wood dared not linger any longer and scrambled into the elevator.
Regardless of how Wood would explain this incident to the Church Leader, this farce had been witnessed by many.
The news of the Church of Light’s sacrifice of its followers quickly spread throughout cities large and small.
This rumor spread incredibly fast as if someone were secretly orchestrating it, and the Church of Light’s long-standing good reputation began to crumble.
The ten surviving contracted knights were the most compelling proof, not to mention the other knights they had met at the Church of Light.
Even if they didn’t believe it, doubts inevitably arose in their hearts.
And over the years, the Church of Light had left many oversights. With a little effort, discovering these clues wouldn’t be a problem.
At the Caldera headquarters, in the same place, the atmosphere was completely different from before.
Silence, tension, and a lingering sense of unease.
The high and mighty priests could no longer maintain his benevolent facade. His face contorted with rage, he practically roared, “Wood, what have you done?! A secret kept hidden for a thousand years has been leaked like this?!”
“I order that Wood’s cardinal status be stripped. You’ll be a commoner and reflect on your actions!!”
Wood, in a daze, didn’t even notice the priest’s words. His entire focus was on the black hole in his palm.
The eerie black hole had now eroded his entire hand and was showing signs of rising upwards.
He gripped his hand, the burning pain making it impossible for Wood to maintain his composure.
Ignored by Wood, the priest wanted nothing more than to strangle him on the spot. But after this incident, the entire continent was watching the Church of Light’s every move. Wood’s downfall would only cast a further shadow over the Church’s reputation.
He slumped down, utterly exhausted. It was over. Completely over.
The Church leader initially thought it was just an ordinary demon, and perhaps with some valuable loot.
The Church of Light frequently engaged in such murder and robbery, using the guise of exorcising demons to gain gold and the faith of the people—a win-win situation.
However, this time they had unexpectedly run into a brick wall.
Even…even that very person couldn’t defeat the opponent.
Recalling the way that person staggered back to the Church of Light, the Church leader shuddered, a chill running down his spine.