[Vol. 6] Chapter 202: Open Up! Your Delivery is Here!
“[Church of Truth], [God of Truth]… Who’s stirring up trouble again this time?”
By the crackling campfire, the black-haired girl slowly rubbed her hands together, soaking up the warmth as she pondered. After a moment, she turned her gaze toward the young [Church of Truth] follower, who was tightly bound and glaring at her in defiance.
“Isaac, right? How many of your people snuck into the competition this time?”
The young man, sporting several large bumps on his head, replied sheepishly, “Miss… I’m just a slightly higher-level follower in the Church. I was only assigned to lead a team and cause some damage. I don’t have access to that kind of classified information. That’s something the higher-ranking archbishops handle. I swear, I only know this much…”
“Hmm, is that so~?”
Violet smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying his words. Instead, she shifted the topic.
“How many followers does the [Church of Truth] have now? What areas are you active in? And what’s the content of the divine revelation you received from your [God of Truth]?”
“Uh…”
“Speak up! Or are you asking for another beating?”
Seeing him hesitate, Le Qiaoqiao, playing the role of Violet’s assistant, immediately drew a dagger from her belt and waved it dramatically near Isaac’s head. The sharp chill of the blade didn’t touch his skin but was enough to make his hair stand on end. His face turned pale with fear.
Of course, Le Qiaoqiao was bluffing. Considering her apparent fear of blood, she probably wouldn’t even dare kill a chicken, let alone a person. Her current display was likely just her way of venting her frustrations after Isaac had nearly killed her earlier.
But Isaac didn’t know that.
“Ah! Easy, ma’am! Be careful with that knife. It’s sharp! Fine, fine, I’ll talk, okay?!”
He relented almost immediately, panic written all over his face.
Although he was supposedly a high-ranking follower of the [Church of Truth], Isaac didn’t seem to value his faith more than his life. After a few threats from Le Qiaoqiao and her dagger, he quickly begged for mercy, abandoning any pretense of resistance.
“Our [Church of Truth] has some influence in every country, but most of it is concentrated in the Eastern Kingdom, where we exist as a small sect. I’m not entirely sure of the exact numbers, but I once heard an archbishop mention that the church has developed nearly ten thousand followers scattered across the world.”
“However, most of these are shallow believers. The church’s true core strength lies with descendants of the original fleet that fled across the sea. There are only about a thousand of us at most.”
“As for the revelations of the [God of Truth], that’s actually not a secret. Our church has always adhered to principles of fairness, transparency, and openness when it comes to knowledge and faith. Most core members are eligible to access various records and texts.”
Isaac paused, thinking carefully before continuing.
“In truth, the [God of Truth] hasn’t given us any specific instructions. The revelation only mentioned that sometime after the year 1000 of the Four Saints Calendar, [Spirit Veil Immortal Island] and the nations of the [Ancient Spirit Realm] would be forced to engage in a major struggle against another powerful force, causing massive upheaval. If we can seize this opportunity to weaken their influence, the [Church of Truth] might have a chance to spread its teachings and gain more followers.”
“So, you’re just looking to profit from chaos.”
Violet remarked with a scoff, a hint of disdain in her voice. She turned her gaze back to the warm, reddish glow of the fire, as though speaking to herself.
“Tell me, have you ever considered the potential chain reactions this might cause? If the [Ancient Spirit Realm] were to truly fall, do you think the [Church of Truth], which relies on this land to survive, would be spared?”
“Uh… Miss… I’m just a slightly higher-level follower carrying out orders. Whether or not everything falls apart is something the higher-ups would’ve considered, but they certainly wouldn’t tell me…”
“Hmm…”
Violet curled her lips in disdain and stopped paying attention to Isaac.
This follower of the [Church of Truth] wasn’t fully committed to its doctrine, nor was he inclined to help [Spirit Veil Immortal Island]. Essentially, the Church was gambling on the [Ancient Spirit Realm] surviving the coming calamity while keeping its options open. Their goal was to exploit the chaos to gain an advantage while ensuring the metaphorical ship carrying everyone didn’t completely sink.
Demon and evil spirit forces aimed to utterly destroy the world's civilization, while the [Church of Truth] merely sought to expand its influence and gain more followers or from another perspective, to help the [God of Truth] gather more faith.
If that’s the case, this so-called [God of Truth] wasn’t necessarily an ally of the demon or fully opposed to the [Ancient Spirit Realm]. At the very least, their goals weren’t entirely aligned.
Still… [God of Truth]? Violet hadn’t heard of such a deity before. Could it be just another impostor? What a shame. If only she could ask Sethlin to confirm.
Realizing that the [Church of Truth] wasn’t one of the more malevolent forces she had initially suspected, Violet quickly lost interest in Isaac.
Her gaze shifted to the scar-faced bandit leader lying nearby, bound tightly like a rolled-up mat. From what Violet had gathered, the [Church of Truth] had likely hired these mercenaries to compensate for their lack of manpower. Turning to the thief girl, she gave her a small nod and gestured toward the two captives.
“Got it! Leave it to me, boss!”
Having witnessed Violet’s strength and cunning, Le Qiaoqiao was noticeably more eager to please her. She quickly retrieved two pre-prepared bracelets, activating the faint silver light within each and attaching them to Isaac and the bandit leader.
The silver light wrapped around the two men, enveloping them completely before they disappeared from sight.
And just like that, the matter was resolved.
Violet had left a brief explanation attached to the bandit leader’s clothing in a conspicuous spot. As long as the Eastern Kingdom officials tasked with cleanup weren’t complete incompetents, they’d easily deduce what had happened based on the beaten and bound state of the captives.
As for the [Church of Truth], their goal of expanding their faith amidst chaos would undoubtedly require further investigation. Violet, however, had no interest in wasting her time on such trivial matters. She left those headaches to the [Holy Sect] to deal with.
A night passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
Thanks to the "generous donations" from those who had kindly sought them out the previous night, Violet and Le Qiaoqiao’s purses were now significantly heavier.
From Isaac and the other attackers, they had managed to collect over 300 [Crystal Jades]. Clearly, before targeting Violet’s camp, these people had already eliminated quite a few competitors. Whether those victims were alive or dead remained unknown.
With ample resources to exchange for food and supplies and after witnessing Violet’s impressive strength. Le Qiaoqiao was now completely devoted to her new boss.
Soon, the two of them stumbled upon a clear spring in the forest. That evening, they set up a pot to cook food, making their camp as lively and noticeable as possible in the hopes of attracting more “generous visitors.”
As it turned out, controlling a water source had its perks. Even though Violet had stayed in one spot rather than exploring the far reaches of the forest, a steady stream of people kept appearing nearby, keeping her busy.
Of course, this might also have been because nearly 300,000 contestants had flooded into the forest, resulting in a high population density.
Over the next two days, Violet and Le Qiaoqiao encountered all kinds of individuals who came to negotiate.
Some were polite and reasonable, preferring to avoid conflict. They understood the principle of “first come, first served” and only wanted to ask for, or even trade resources for, some fresh water to survive in the wilderness.
Violet didn’t make a fuss over these requests. She usually let them take what they needed and leave peacefully. After all, the spring was large, and she and Le Qiaoqiao couldn’t use it all. Since the resource was essentially free for them, sharing it with others was no big deal.
However, polite individuals were in the minority.
In this environment, designed by the organizers to promote a survival-of-the-fittest mentality, many self-proclaimed "strong" contestants preferred to use brute force to claim what they wanted.
For these types, Violet had a standard response. She kindly escorted them out of the forest and kept every single [Crystal Jade] they had on them as a “parting gift.”
It was worth noting that these kinds of people tended to carry a lot of loot. Violet couldn’t help but think they were surprisingly generous~