[Vol. 6] Chapter 201: Visitors from Another Continent
When Le Qiaoqiao descended from the treetops, dragging one of the defeated ambushers with her, she looked visibly tense, ready to flee at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, Violet was squatting beside the stone, calmly stacking the [Crystal Jades] engraved with holy beast patterns one by one until the pile was as tall as herself.
“B-Boss? What happened to the bad guys? Did they… run away?”
The priestess turned to glare at her, then pointed to a scar-faced man pinned against a tree, unable to move. His mouth was stuffed with grass, and all he could do was glare back in fear.
“Right there.”
“Uh…”
Le Qiaoqiao glanced nervously around the now eerily calm forest. Searching her memory, she hesitantly asked, “I mean, isn’t it possible there were… like, more than ten of them earlier?”
“Oh, you mean those small fries? Don’t worry about them. I only needed one person alive to question, so I just cleaned up the rest. Their stolen [Crystal Jades] and loot were all consolidated on their leader anyway. I’ve already taken care of it. Look, there’s this much!”
Violet gestured to the pile of items she had accumulated, her tone casual, as if she were simply tidying up after a routine task.
Le Qiaoqiao froze mid-step, her face a mix of confusion and disbelief. Her grip on the man she was holding slipped, and he dropped to the ground with a painful-sounding thud.
“Wait, so fast? You did all this alone? And when you say ‘cleaned up,’ does that mean…?”
“Let me be clear. I didn’t deliberately kill anyone,” Violet replied nonchalantly. “They brought it on themselves.”
In truth, aside from the unlucky bandit she had kicked to his death at the start, the others were all taken out by the [Feather Robe Graria], a Divine Artifact with a reflective defense mechanism.
The robe rebounded a portion of the melee damage it absorbed, reflecting it back with equal intensity. If the attackers had swung their weapons without killing intent, they wouldn’t have suffered fatal injuries.
But it was obvious that none of these attackers were innocent. Violet saw no reason to spare the lives of such ruthless individuals.
However, this explanation didn’t fully register with Le Qiaoqiao, who was unaware of the robe’s abilities. To her, Violet’s words took on a completely different meaning. Her gaze toward the black-haired girl shifted multiple times, finally settling on a mix of awe, reverence, and… admiration?
“Boss, you’re amazing…”
Le Qiaoqiao muttered, eyes sparkling with something bordering on hero worship.
“So… so cool… Boss, you’re amazing!”
“?”
The priestess tilted her head in confusion.
Wait a second… Could it be? Has this girl… never killed anyone before?
It didn’t make sense. Le Qiaoqiao’s skills were impressive. By normal standards, she could already be considered quite powerful.
Thinking about it now, though, not once had Le Qiaoqiao actually struck a killing blow. Even the wild chickens and rabbits they’d caught earlier were taken down by Violet.
Le Qiaoqiao hadn’t so much as lifted a finger to hunt, let alone deal the finishing blow. Violet had even handled the initial preparation of the meat. At the time, she’d been puzzled, but now it was starting to make sense.
Le Qiaoqiao cooked and ate without hesitation. She wasn’t unfamiliar with fighting either, but her hesitation in critical moments, her constant reluctance to engage, and her fixation on running away… Could it be…
“Le Qiaoqiao, are you… one of those people afraid of blood?”
“Cough!”
Her reaction was immediate. The thief girl choked on her own breath, letting out an odd sound, and quickly turned her head away, refusing to meet her temporary boss’s gaze.
So it was true...
Violet sighed and shook her head, deciding not to dwell on the thief’s peculiar nature. Instead, she gathered the [Crystal Jades] scattered earlier, packed them into her bag, and approached the defeated ambusher Le Qiaoqiao had captured.
This was the person who had tried to strike from the shadows, using the distraction caused by the birds. There was still a faint bloodstain on his arm where Le Qiaoqiao’s arrow had grazed him, marking him as the strongest among their opponents. His skill likely surpassed even that of the scar-faced leader.
Moreover, he didn’t seem to be one of the assassins. To be more precise... this person wasn’t a killer. Violet could tell immediately from the faint hue of his soul.
As for the scar-faced man, Violet had already interrogated him briefly. While he had cooperated and spilled most of what he knew, the information wasn’t particularly useful or satisfying.
Violet crouched down next to the ambusher, studying him with curiosity. It was clear he was different, and that piqued her interest.
Hopefully, this guy knows more.
…………………………………………
Isaac was a high-ranking believer in the [Church of Truth].
This religious group didn’t originate in the [Ancient Spirit Realm]. Over 300 years ago, they migrated to this land by crossing the sea from a distant continent.
The [Church of Truth] was originally rooted in a vast and powerful nation known as the Holy Empire, which was far larger and stronger than any of the four countries in the [Ancient Spirit Realm].
The Holy Empire was built on religion, with its own state-sponsored faith. While the [Church of Truth] worshiped the [God of Truth], this deity wasn’t recognized by the empire’s main religion. Even so, the Holy Empire wasn’t entirely intolerant of other beliefs. Thanks to the blessings of their god, the [Church of Truth], though small in scale, had a long history and a strong foundation of loyal followers.
However, this peaceful coexistence came to an end after the third war against demons ended.
The Holy Empire, no longer led by the Bright Light Saintess and replaced by the Pope, suddenly became extremely intolerant and radical regarding religion.
They sought to completely control faith, launching large-scale purges and crackdowns against almost every non-mainstream religious group worldwide. The [Church of Truth] was no exception and was forced to flee eastward. Guided by the [God of Truth], they crossed the Eastern Sea to reach this land.
Isaac wasn’t part of that fateful voyage but was instead one of the descendants born after the faithful had established themselves here. Yet, from the church’s records detailing those events, he could feel the immense cost the [Church of Truth] paid for that journey.
Seventeen ships, carrying the church’s entire millennia-old heritage, set sail. However, the terrifying storms, sea monsters, and deep-sea beasts in the Eastern Sea nearly destroyed everything. In the end, only three battered ships managed to reach the western coast of the [Ancient Spirit Realm]. Out of tens of thousands of believers, fewer than a thousand survived.
Still, they managed to escape the pursuit of the Goddess Church.
Once they arrived in the [Ancient Spirit Realm], the [Church of Truth] regrouped, seeking to rebuild and spread the faith of the [God of Truth] on this new, fertile land.
But the process of spreading their beliefs wasn’t easy.
The [Ancient Spirit Realm] didn’t have organized religions like the Holy Empire, but its people still practiced forms of devotion. Some worshiped mysterious mountain spirits or strange entities, while many directed their reverence toward the mystical, seemingly intangible sanctuary that was said to protect the land, the [Spirit Veil Immortal Island].
[Spirit Veil Immortal Island] was the most powerful and absolutely dominant religious presence in the [Ancient Spirit Realm]. As long as it existed, the [Church of Truth] would never have a chance to rise again.
The problem, however, was that [Spirit Veil Immortal Island] didn’t exert control like the Goddess Church of the Holy Empire. It rarely interfered in worldly affairs. Yet, its influence on the culture and ideology of the [Ancient Spirit Realm] was far deeper than the Goddess Church’s ever was. For a struggling church like the [Church of Truth], attempting to challenge it was akin to throwing an egg against a rock.
Just as the leader of the [Church of Truth] wrestled with this dilemma, the [God of Truth] provided another revelation.
It was a method that could truly shake, perhaps even overthrow, [Spirit Veil Immortal Island]’s absolute dominance over faith. But while the plan held potential, putting it into action was an extraordinarily difficult task.
Following the divine guidance, the [Church of Truth] withdrew into obscurity, patiently biding its time. They worked to expand their influence from the shadows, facing immense resistance, all while waiting for the moment foretold in the divine revelation.
This wait stretched on for 300 years.
Generations of leaders and followers came and went, but the [Church of Truth] remained unwavering in its devotion to the original prophecy. Now, with the arrival of the long-awaited opportunity, they had finally begun to act.
Isaac was one of their agents. Under the leader’s orders, he entered the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony] held by the Eastern Kingdom. His mission was to create chaos during the competition, tarnish the reputation of the [Ancient Spirit Realm]’s four nations, and undermine the credibility of [Spirit Veil Immortal Island]. This was meant to pave the way for the Church’s future actions.
Even if achieving this required underhanded tactics, it was deemed necessary. Everything was for the greater goal of seizing more faith from [Spirit Veil Immortal Island] and offering it to the great [God of Truth].
Unfortunately for Isaac, his mission didn’t start off well. He ran straight into a particularly tough opponent.