Chapter 388: The Choice

Chapter 388: The Choice

“The Sanctuary Church is still incredibly wealthy. Drinking this bottle, Captain, will not only restore your body completely, but even boost your strength a bit.” Lena held the Magic Potion, giving Oss and the others a meaningful look. “Should we use it? Captain.”

“Finish what you were saying first.” Oss gave a light cough. This time’s breakthrough had cost him greatly. Even after resting for a while, his head still felt heavy and dizzy, as if about to split open. His Blood Essence was also greatly depleted. Even after drinking some replenishing Magic Potions, he couldn’t recover his energy immediately.

“From what I know, Captain, your injuries can be directly healed by many other Magic Potions without any hidden risks. The most expensive of those is only a few hundred gold coins. This one… I think besides restoring your injuries, it has another meaning. This is a reward provided by the Sanctuary Church, or part of the reward. Either way, after accepting this, any future rewards from the Sanctuary Church won’t be much.”

“Huh?” After listening to Dan Marina, Oss was stunned for a moment. His confused expression showed he was thinking, ‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?’

“It’s quite suitable.” Dan Marina shrugged. “Some things can’t be bought even with money, especially a Magic Potion like this. As a reward, it’s truly generous. You should know its effect—even someone missing limbs or on the brink of death can be pulled back directly. It’s truly a good thing that can completely save a life.”

“Which do you think is more important: an extra life or a bit more money?”

Gale and the others couldn’t help but glance at each other. Was there even a choice? No matter how much money you have, you need to be alive to spend it. Once you’re dead, you have nothing.

“Ahem, I’ll just use a regular Magic Potion.” Oss took back the Magic Potion Dan Marina returned, coughing lightly. He felt the potion in his hand was especially hot. Who would have thought such a small bottle could have the value to let someone live a life of luxury for the rest of their days!?

A value of over fifty thousand gold coins! Gone with one gulp. This wasn’t a Magic Potion; it was highly concentrated gold. Anyway, they had savings, so they could afford other Magic Potions. If they could avoid using this, they should. They could even find a secure Auction to sell it as a finale item. When they thought about their struggles, weren’t they all for wealth?

“We don’t have the fortune to enjoy something like this. Let’s find an Auction later.” Oss shared his thoughts. The others didn’t refuse… such a price was truly hard for them to resist. After this was over, combined with their previous savings, they could choose to retire, live comfortably without worry, and enjoy the rest of their lives.

Others active in Windwhisper Valley also noticed the fog covering the area was unknowingly beginning to dissipate. The sky gradually cleared. Seeing the storm covering the sky directly, those active there truly felt the pressure a natural disaster could bring.

Not seeing it before, they hadn’t felt it. Seeing it was another matter. Ignorance is bliss. Facing the storm overhead that seemed ready to crush down at any moment, some people active there couldn’t withstand the pressure and chose to leave early.

With the fog gone, The Church people also began to act. First was rescue… Well, Oss and his group were relatively safe inside the Cave. Coming out, facing dozens of Wind Dragonflies attacking, they would surely be done for. Also, those grey crystals inside the Cave needed to be recovered. Those crystals all contained the Witch’s Power of the undead witch. If they got out, the consequences would be severe. The undead witch’s power itself was a kind of ‘pollutant.’ Once used by those with ill intentions, it could cause big trouble.

With less fog interference, the Sanctuary Church’s rescue went smoothly. They didn’t need to fight those Wind Dragonflies; just luring them away was enough. An extra, unnecessary step occurred during the rescue: those crystals were collected in advance by Oss and his group. After all, the blood spikes were too obvious; one look and you knew only a Demon Sword Cultist could make such things.

All these crystals had to be turned in. This stuff was contraband. Ordinary people who took it would only face misfortune. The Sanctuary Church checked the number of crystals based on the Magic Rune Array before truly ending the rescue. Just as Dan Marina said, after that, the Sanctuary Church only gave some symbolic rewards, and that was the end of it.

This was already the best outcome!

After all, Oss himself was a Demon Sword Cultist. If they really made a big show of rewarding him, and later Oss’s identity was exposed by someone with ill intentions, whose face would be lost? Not to mention, if it got out that the Sanctuary Church publicly commended a Cultist, would it mean the Sanctuary Church was becoming corrupt or going blind?

At the same time, Oss would also be pushed into the spotlight. So, giving symbolic rewards was already good enough. Anyway, the real big prize Oss and his group had already gotten. As a Cultist, Oss naturally wouldn’t bother fighting for other things in this regard. Gale and the others also knew Oss’s identity, so they all chose to remain silent.

No other meaning, really. Just think about the value of that Magic Potion. They should just secretly rejoice. Who let them find out that the potion wasn’t just incredibly valuable; even the bottle was worth at least around five hundred gold coins.

They made a huge profit. As for reputation and such, if it’s gone, it’s gone. Better than gaining too much attention that would make spending money inconvenient later.

“You!?” Inside a tent, Oss stared in shock at the ‘big shot’ meeting them. The other’s youthful face was all too familiar to Oss. Think back to when he first became a Demon Sword Cultist not long ago and encountered that raid; it was led by this very person.

That raid was extremely successful. Only he had luckily escaped, not even causing any external impact. During that raid period, many Demon Sword Cultists knew of Achille. After all, this guy worked with extreme efficiency, having cleaned out many Demon Sword Cultists during that earlier phase. Even in other Cults, Achille was the number one bounty target. How much was his head worth?

Kill him, offer him to your own Evil God, and your status wouldn’t just be second to one person, but definitely among the top few, above all Cultists in the Cult.

It was equivalent to jumping from a small pawn directly to a position like left/right protector or one of the Four Guardian Kings.

Seeing Achille again, his feelings were complicated. He still remembered clearly the words of that Demon Sword Cultist who desperately sent him off back then. Even though it was also a result of that person being unable to escape and selfishly letting him go, Oss remembered the other’s action.

So now, upon seeing Achille, should he say nothing, grab a knife, charge forward, and slash… or… follow his heart?

His eyes were overused. Even though he used Magic Potions to heal his bodily injuries, if he really fought, he still felt somewhat weak afterward. Weapons? Well… entering here required leaving their weapons behind. However, for a Demon Sword Cultist, this wasn’t an issue at all. Their blood was the best weapon!

“Do you want to fight? No one will disturb us here.”

“…No.” Oss shook his head with a bitter smile. If he really fought, it wouldn’t be now. The matter of Windwhisper Valley wasn’t resolved yet. Once the storm spread, it would cause large-scale disaster. Putting personal grudges above the bigger picture now—Oss couldn’t do that. He also understood why Achille was meeting him alone.

“No need to hide it from you. In the past, many of your actions were watched by the Sanctuary Church.” Achille pointed to a seat nearby, signaling Oss to sit and talk.

Oss slightly frowned, then shook his head. The Sanctuary Church couldn’t just let a known Cultist run around freely, so he could understand, but he still felt displeased. And Achille only said ‘watched,’ not ‘monitored,’ which was giving enough face.

“The Sanctuary Church isn’t stubborn. Even those who wield Dark Power can be accepted as long as they aren’t evil people. The difference is you can’t gain the honors others can. You don’t care about that aspect either.” Having watched Oss closely, Achille understood him deeply. Oss’s actions had always been low-key, and his rough experiences made his will even firmer, hard to be swayed by external things, including honor.

Of course, provoking him was simple too—just matters related to his sister.

“And your sister is now a member of the Sanctuary Church too. So I ask you here once: what are your plans for the future?”

Was this starting recruitment?

Oss looked at Achille with some surprise. He didn’t refuse immediately, pondering quietly for a moment before looking up and slightly shaking his head. “For now, I still plan to maintain the status quo. I’m not the kind of person you say who wields Dark Power, but a Cultist.”

A person who wields Dark Power and a Cultist are completely different in nature. The former’s power is their own; they can use it as they wish. The latter’s power mainly comes from an Evil God. Usually, they might seem similar to the former, but that power ultimately isn’t completely their own. So the meaning of the two isn’t the same.

His sister now had a bright future, while he was still a Cultist. This was an undeniable fact. So what Oss could choose was to watch over his sister from as far away as possible, avoiding becoming a stain on her future development.

“I understand. You may leave now.” Achille nodded, picking up a plan book placed nearby and began reading it, no longer paying attention to Oss, showing no extra emotional reaction to his refusal.

Oss’s choice didn’t have substantial meaning, but his different choice allowed Achille to see him more clearly. After all, this was still their first real face-to-face conversation. Oss’s answer and choice, while not the best, were also the best.