Volume 1, Chapter 29

In the heavily guarded Hall of Heroes within the Holy Capital Cathedral,

“This… this… this can’t be? How could Pix just…”

A blond man clad in silver armor let out an incredulous exclamation, his handsome face gradually contorting into a comical expression due to his inner shock.

His pale blue eyes were fixed intently on the ten blue orbs adorning the scepter of the goddess statue.

These ten blue orbs were not mere decorations; they were specially crafted soul gems capable of reflecting the life conditions of the Heroes! The more radiant the orbs’ luster, the more abundant the Hero’s life force!

Conversely, if the luster on the orbs grew dimmer, it indicated that the Hero was in an extremely weakened state.

And,

When an orb shattered, it meant the Hero’s life had come to an end.

At this moment,

Within the blond man’s field of vision, one of the blue gems had already cracked! This shattered orb announced the death of a Hero. After a hundred years, a Hero had died an unnatural death once again?! Moreover, this time, the fallen Hero was none other than the Eighth Hero, Pix, with whom he had a very good relationship.

This inevitably caused the man’s emotions to slightly spiral out of control, as he agitatedly turned to look at the elderly man in red robes beside him.

“Father! What… what is going on? How could Pix just… just die?! Was it those heretics in Windward City?”

“No.”

Archbishop Nick shook his head helplessly, casting a slightly displeased glance at his second son.

“Felix, how many times have I told you? Within the church, you must address me as Archbishop.”

“Uh,”

Glancing at the two black-clad knights beside the goddess statue, the blond man named Felix awkwardly nodded slightly.

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“Sorry, fa… no, Your Excellency, Archbishop. Then… if it wasn’t the heretics, how could Pix have died in Windward City? Who else would dare to attack a Hero of our Ashurmos Church? And they actually managed to kill Pix…”

“Who told you Pix died in Windward City?”

“Huh? No… wasn’t he on standby in Windward City?”

Hearing this, an expression of displeasure involuntarily surfaced on Nick’s aged face.

“Hmph, he was supposed to be on standby in Windward City. But your good friend, greedy for merit and acting rashly, actually entered Deepwinter Forest on his own, resuming his originally suspended reconnaissance mission. And then he just inexplicably died in the forest’s outer perimeter! What a damn fool.”

Pix was a Hero personally trained by Nick, a significant asset to him.

Pix’s inexplicable death in Deepwinter Forest was undoubtedly a huge loss for him. More importantly, the first Hero to die in battle in a hundred years was actually his subordinate?! This would be an enormous stain on his record when competing for the position of Pope in the future!

Damn it!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became!

Nick’s aged face involuntarily grew increasingly ferocious, causing Felix beside him to feel a shiver of fear.

But at the same time,

The blond man was also filled with immense confusion.

“The outer perimeter? The outer perimeter shouldn’t have many Abyssal Demons, right? Even if there are, they’re only Fourth or fifth tier ones? That guy Pix was a seventh tier Sword Saint! How could he possibly die in the outer perimeter? Could there be some mistake?”

“There’s no mistake; the battle site has already been located. And judging by the concentration of Shadow Essence left at the scene, that guy Pix encountered a demon king tier monster.”

“Huh? What? De… Demon king tier?!! Shouldn’t such monsters be in the central or deep regions of Deepwinter Forest? Why would one be in the outer perimeter?”

“Who knows?”

“But… but with Pix’s strength, even if he couldn’t defeat a demon king tier, he should have been able to escape, right?! His team carried many teleportation scrolls!”

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However,

Upon hearing Felix’s words, Nick couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.

“You foolish boy. For beings at the Sword saint tier, encountering a demon king tier, without support from others, most would only be instantly killed. Escape? There’s simply no chance. As for those teleportation scrolls, they’re suitable for use when encountering hordes of Abyssal Demons. But when facing a demon king tier? There’s no time to activate them.”

“Huh?! Instantly killed?”

His father’s words caused Felix to show an incredulous expression. Clearly, his father’s statement was completely different from the information he usually received, prompting him to exclaim once more.

“No! Your Excellency, Archbishop! Don’t our Heroes possess the strength to challenge demon king tier enemies across tiers? My teacher previously told me that three Heroes teaming up could definitely kill a demon king tier! How… how could they be instantly killed?”

“You…”

Hearing his son’s words, Nick helplessly massaged his forehead.

At this moment, the Archbishop suddenly realized there were deficiencies in his son’s education.

Sighing inwardly,

Nick said with a bitter smile,

“Felix, from now on, don’t believe everything your teachers say. Much of what is said in the academies, the statements in the major media, and even our own speeches are merely used to deceive the faithful. This includes the strength of the Heroes. In reality, even if the latter eight Heroes teamed up, they couldn’t defeat any known demon king tier Abyssal Demon. Demon king tier beings are genuine monsters.”

“What? Re… really?”

For a moment, Felix felt his worldview was severely shaken.

“But… if that’s the case, why does the church say otherwise? Why do the schools teach that?”

“Hmph,”

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Nick let out a disdainful snort.

“If we don’t say that, how can we reassure the people? How can we gain more followers? How can we obtain more taxes and offerings?! Use your pig brain and think about it properly!”

“This…”

Faced with his father’s questioning, Felix was momentarily speechless.

After a moment, the blond man slowly spoke again.

“Then now… if a demon king tier has appeared in the eastern forest’s outer perimeter, aren’t the teams we sent over in… in great danger? The nearby defense lines might also come under attack, right?”

“Yes.”

Nick nodded slightly without affirming or denying.

“Leaving aside the demon king tier Abyssal Demon that killed Pix. Recently, a new demon king tier entity has also emerged in the eastern part of the forest. To obtain sufficient flesh and souls, the Abyssal Demons are very likely to launch a large-scale assault on the adjacent defense lines and cities. I’ve already recalled our teams. As for the defense lines and cities,”

At this point, Nick’s expression gradually turned sinister.

In Nick’s view,

This potential Abyssal Demon invasion was not a crisis. For their Ashurmos Church, it was a tremendous opportunity!

“The lives and deaths of those heretics and commoners are inconsequential. In fact, the more of them die, the better. We can use their deaths to wage a propaganda war, severely damaging the Snownight Empire’s credibility. That way, we can further develop our influence within the Snownight Empire. However, to gain the faith of those barbarians, we still need to do something else.”

“Do what?”

“Hmph, just like we did in the western nations before: play the savior. When the Abyssal Demons and the Snownight Empire’s border garrison forces have fought to a stalemate, we descend like divine soldiers, rescuing the people from peril…”

“Ohhh! I understand! Then the populace will turn to us! Uh… but, we might encounter a demon king tier Abyssal Demon this time? What if we really do…”

“Don’t worry about that.”

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Nick smiled slightly, retrieving a scroll he had prepared long ago and a token engraved with an exquisite wing symbol from his spatial ring.

He handed them to Felix.

“Set out now. Inform the Snownight Empire of our willingness to cooperate in resisting the Abyssal Demons, and deliver this scroll, personally written by me, to their emperor. Also, take this token to Golden City and find Bai Yanluo. Have her lead troops to support Windward City.”

“Lady Bai Yanluo?!”

Hearing this name, the unease in Felix’s heart instantly dissipated, and a look of excitement appeared on his face.

With that lady’s help, the plan should proceed smoothly!

Once successful, the influence of father’s faction within the church will increase significantly!

At that time,

Hehe~

Imagining a wave of a beautiful future, Felix couldn’t help but show a greedy smile on his face.

However,

The next moment, as if remembering a very serious question, Felix’s face instantly froze in place. He looked somewhat awkwardly at his father, who wore a sly grin.

“Um, Your Excellency, Archbishop,”

“Hmm? What else is there?”

“After all this planning we’ve done… what if, by chance, the Abyssal Demons don’t invade?”

Nick: Uh…