Chapter 40

Chapter 40: A Good Show

A young priestess who had been quietly standing at the edge of the altar suddenly pulled a waterskin from her sleeve. Before anyone could react to the dramatic turn of events, she quickly trotted over to Dave, uncorked the stopper, and splashed its contents onto him with force!

"Ugh..." Caught off guard, Dave was instantly drenched over a large area. Before he could even process what had happened, a burst of golden-red flame exploded outward. The young man, who had just moments ago worn a resolute expression, let out a piercing, agonized scream and stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground!

"Rona and Rada are watching," Little Ai said softly, brushing aside a few strands of pale golden hair from her forehead, revealing a face that was pale yet tinged with a faint flush. She looked down at Dave and whispered, "Tell me, would they feel a little comforted now?"

Crimson-gold flames had now engulfed Dave's entire body, while several streaks of divine light in various colors flickered and flared. Though the flames left no visible wounds on Dave, anyone could tell from his howling that his situation was dire.

At this moment, even the dullest onlookers could sense something was wrong. That mysterious power, rising and blazing, was tormenting... their hero?

This power was so pure and surging, and within it lurked a faint trace of anger!

The clergy of the Holy Alliance were thrown into utter disarray. Their understanding of such power was far clearer, and no matter how they looked at it, the force that had suddenly erupted from Dave after being doused again was indistinguishable from the divine power they knew!

What in the world was happening!?

"This..." Bishop Mofu was completely stunned. He stared at Dave, who was now writhing wildly on the ground, shaking his head in disbelief and murmuring, "Punishment! Why? Why would a God's Favorite be punished by the god!?"

Clang~

Suddenly, a jarring bell chime interrupted everyone's thoughts. They instinctively looked up to see the white-clad man, who had just been pale-faced and practically screaming "panic" with every fiber of his being, now leaning leisurely against the iron bell behind him. He even cupped a hand over his mouth and let out a light whistle.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Mo Tan said, seemingly only now noticing that the crowd below had turned their attention back to him. He rubbed his nose with a somewhat embarrassed expression. "What exactly is going on here?"

【We want to know what's going on too!!】

Everyone was on edge, nearly driven mad by the constant twists and turns...

"Haven't I said it several times already?" Mo Tan shrugged. "I still have things to say... The face-to-face confrontation hasn't even started yet, has it? Why all this commotion to arrest me? You've made poor Dave... tsk tsk... is he medium-rare by now?"

Confrontation my foot! If you really wanted to confront us, why did you make us think you were panicking just now... Ah!

"Alright, alright, now let's welcome our hastily appearing guest—a member of the Holy Alliance, a servant of the Sun God, a second-year student at Parding Knight Academy, and part of the Warm Sun Squad—Ai FanYe, to say a few words." Mo Tan said this, but his mocking gaze was fixed on Lang En, whose face had been ashen since earlier.

Glancing at Dave, who was writhing desperately before her with astonishing vitality, Little Ai turned to face everyone and said softly, "My name is Ai FanYe. I am one of the victims Dave mentioned earlier. In truth, I was supposed to have died outside the city, but unfortunately for him, Dave didn't deliver the final blow that night, and that allowed me to survive!"

The crowd erupted in uproar...

Perhaps this slightly slender, delicate-featured girl didn't have a strong presence, but Pato City was only so big, and there were always people who could recognize her. Within seconds, a massive stir had been stirred up among the crowd!

She wasn't dead, and she had just spoken words carrying a huge amount of information!!

"So, from a certain perspective," Little Ai's gaze toward Dave was very gentle, "he might indeed be considered my benefactor. It's just a pity that I still can't rest in peace yet."

"FanYe!" In the dead silence, Lang En finally began to act, casting a 'kindly' gaze toward the young priest beside him. "I'm truly glad to see you've survived, but I'm a bit worried about your mental state, after all..."

He looked up at Mo Tan, who was standing with his arms crossed, head bowed as if watching a show, and said in a deep voice, "You may have been tempted. Those with malicious hearts never hesitate to manipulate simple, kind people like us."

The implication was crystal clear...

That guy on the bell tower obviously didn't look like anything good—how could we know if he hadn't used some unknown means to control you?

"I know exactly what I'm saying." Little Ai shook her head. "And I am equally willing to take responsibility for every word I've spoken."

"But you just obeyed that Blasphemer!" Lang En pointed at Dave and roared sternly, "You attacked a God's Favorite! A person favored by the gods!"

A strange thing happened. After Lang En's shout, Dave's pained cries suddenly softened, and the blazing golden flames on his body instantly became gentler, as if hesitating and confused...

"Yes..." Dave's consciousness immediately regained a trace of clarity, and he hoarsely roared, "I am a God's Favorite. I am a favored one. I am so devout... the gods won't harm me..."

Although his words were filled with confusion and the content sounded somewhat strange to others, the punishment that Bishop Mofu had spoken of seemed to dim instantly.

"Look, everyone!" Lang En suddenly raised his voice. "A believer of the gods is not easily broken, even under such a carefully crafted and malicious scheme!"

The people began to waver again...

Though doubts had arisen in their hearts, no matter how they looked at it, Dave was still more trustworthy than that madman who seemed to be toying with everyone.

"Can splashing some Water of the Gods on him be considered a malicious ambush?" Little Ai looked at Lang En in confusion. "Only blasphemers and heretics would be harmed by it."

Seeing that the situation had once again stabilized, Lang En immediately appeared much more composed. He shook his head with a benevolent expression and said, "Who knows what you just poured out? And if we're talking about blasphemers and heretics, I think that fellow on the bell tower seems more like one, doesn't he? Classmate Fan Ye, please forgive us for not being able to trust you."

The use of the word 'us' was quite clever, instantly binding his stance with the public. Sure enough, Lang En's words had barely faded when they sparked considerable resonance among the crowd.

Moreover, the Punishment Divine Light on Dave was now nearly extinguished...

"What do I need to do to prove it?" Little Ai looked calmly at Lang En. It was hard to imagine that not long ago, she had been a shy and introverted little girl.

"I'm afraid you can't prove it right now," Lang En shook his head. "Unless you and that blasphemer immediately submit to the guards' custody and stop causing further commotion. What happens after that is beyond the responsibility of a useless old man like me."

Little Ai fell silent, and Mo Tan on the bell tower raised an eyebrow slightly, about to speak...

"I think I can vouch for her." Unexpectedly, a muttering voice, not exactly low in volume, rose from below the altar. Everyone looked closely and saw that it was none other than that half-orc little priest with the mammoth bloodline!

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Lang En felt like he was losing his composure. Who could tell him what this 'little' girl, who looked like a berserker, was up to!

"Well..." The mammoth little priest lowered her head sheepishly. "When she was filling the water, I was right there, so it probably wasn't fake."

Lang En immediately retorted, "Then how do you know she didn't swap it out afterward?!"

"Tsk tsk, swapped it out~" Mo Tan suddenly let out a soft laugh. "Well said."

"Uh..." The mammoth little priest was indeed stumped. She stood there dumbfounded for a long time until Lang En couldn't help but start smiling. Then she suddenly clapped her hands. "But I have the real thing here!"

Huh!?

Under the stunned gaze of the crowd, she lifted a huge bucket from beside her feet and cheerfully said to the few young nuns nearby, "I also filled a big cup for myself back then. A lot of people saw it, and I've been with everyone the whole time, right?"

Holy crap, that's one huge 'cup'!

Even Mo Tan was a bit taken aback, let alone the others...

Several clergy members who usually had a close relationship with Little Mammoth nodded woodenly, confirming that she wasn't lying.

"Then let me try it!" This girl loved showing off and had a straightforward personality. Without another word, she picked up the bucket—I mean, cup—and strode toward Dave.

Lang En's eyes turned red, and he hurriedly shouted, "Wait..."

Splash!!!!

"AAAAHHHH!!!" Dave, who had barely managed to suppress the Punishment force with some mysterious power, was drenched thoroughly and immediately lost control. His entire body burst into flames on the spot, like a moving human torch of holy fire. After taking two steps, he crashed to the ground with a thud, while wisps of pale white mist rose from within him.

"Whoa!" Little Mammoth leaped backward on the spot: "He's on fire! Wait... what kind of aura is this!"

"Evil God's Power!" Bishop Mofu immediately retreated several steps, glaring darkly at Dave: "He's a heretic!"

Even the ordinary citizens present could now sense the chilling cold emanating from within!

No hiding it anymore!

"Guards! Surround him!" Lang En shouted decisively: "We've all been deceived! Who would have thought that Dave Sager..."

"...Would still be exposed after perfectly following your arrangements~" Mo Tan suddenly burst into manic laughter: "How does it feel, Lord Lang En, to have all your careful protection fall short in the end?"

"You are right." Lang En immediately bowed deeply to him: "I was blind. Afterwards, I will surely..."

"Save the 'afterwards'." Mo Tan yawned, covering his mouth, and waved lazily: "I'm bored with this game. Cole, your turn."

Cole? Who was that?

Before anyone could react, a young man in ordinary cloth garments suddenly darted from the crowd onto the platform, raising his hand to unleash a curtain of water~

"My name is Cole Shulen." Cole stood before Little Ai, staring coldly at Lang En, whose body was already beginning to smoke: "Too bad I'm still alive. Long time no see, Lord Lang En..."

Mo Tan then casually pulled a black paper covered in grayish-white symbols from his pocket and smiled: "I found this in Lord Lang En's room at City Hall. Anyone want to guess what's written on it?"

It didn't really matter anymore...

From the moment Lang En started smoking after being doused with the Water of the Gods, the citizens and Holy Church followers who felt that chilling cold emanating from him needed no further explanation.

Lang En's earlier actions in defending that hero were the best proof!

"Die!" Cornered at last, Lang En wasted no words. Wreathed in pale white mist, he lunged a claw at Cole, who was closest to him: "You cannot resist my power!"

Cole, who had been about to grab Little Ai and flee, suddenly froze, immobilized on the spot, forced to watch helplessly as his opponent struck at him.

"Flourishing Wall!"

A sharp cry came from nearby. Lang En's claw, about to land on Cole's head, was intercepted mid-air by a swirling barrier of emerald-green magical energy, while elemental vines frantically coiled around his arm.

Lady Leiduo's figure appeared on a nearby rooftop, her long staff pointed straight at Lang En: "You can die alone! Don't you dare touch my nephew!"

At the same time, the knight academy instructors who had been observing the ceremony began to surround Lang En, all launching their attacks!

"War Wheel Sweep!"

"Flame Stream Magic Hand!"

"Meteor Arrow!"

"Meat Bullet Tank!"

...

Bishop Mofu and a large number of believers from the Holy Church began preparing their Divine Arts as well!

But...

"Weak! Feeble! Utterly insignificant!" Lang En sneered as he stood his ground, forcibly withstanding the wave of attacks head-on. He raised his voice and declared, "In the name of the God of Whispers! Believers, show them what true Divine Power really is!!"

The moment his words fell, nearly a hundred figures burst out from the crowd, scattering in all directions. Each of them was dressed in ordinary attire—students, merchants, farmers, the elderly, instructors—all walks of life. The only thing they had in common was the fanatical and ferocious expression on their faces, and the fact that they were all whispering something under their breath.

"You cannot stop..."

"Tremble and die..."

"Offer your soul to Our Lord..."

"Cower in fear..."

"Your attacks are worthless..."

In a single clash, seven or eight instructors from Parding Knight Academy fell, and even in their final moments, they had no idea how they had met their end!

Under this sudden and unexpected assault, the encirclement that had been focused solely on Lang En instantly developed a gap!

"Your reactions are far too slow!"

Schlick!

In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind a Temple Knight, plunging a gray dagger that had somehow materialized in his hand into the latter's heart.

"Light of Piety!" Though Bishop Mofu was advanced in years, he was still the strongest member of the Holy Alliance in Pato City. He raised his hand and swept out a golden barrier of light, casting it down toward Lang En.

But unexpectedly...

"Your Divine Power is fragile and pathetic!" Lang En casually swatted away the light Mofu had unleashed, then vanished and reappeared before City Lord Naji, who had collapsed to the ground in terror. He kicked the man toward Mofu.

At that very moment, Mo Tan leaped down from the bell tower and, together with Bayes, who had been standing below for some time, charged toward the scene, laughing maniacally: "What a splendid show!"

"I wouldn't say that." Bayes, while viciously smashing a heretic who tried to block his path with his twin warhammers until the man spat blood, glanced toward Leiduo and muttered, "Since when did Cole become her nephew..."

Five seconds later!

"Don't come any closer!" Lang En crouched low, his hands gripping the necks of both the City Lord and the Bishop—the two most influential figures in Pato City. He grinned savagely, "Take one more step, and I'll kill these two worthless pieces of trash!"

Bayes instinctively halted, his warhammers held high, his face as dark as water.

Then...

Mo Tan curled his lips, took an exaggeratedly large step forward in a full split stance, and said, "Go ahead, kill one. Let me see!"

Crack!!

Two necks—one thick, one thin—snapped in unison!

"You thought I wouldn't?" Lang En tossed the two corpses aside and grinned at Mo Tan.

"Nope." Mo Tan grinned back at him. "Didn't you say they were trash yourself? Killing them is no big deal~"

Under Bayes's utterly bewildered gaze, the two of them fell silent for a moment before suddenly throwing their heads back and laughing together~

One man was wreathed in sinister shadows, wild and arrogant.

The other was like a mad demon mocking the world, unrestrained and flamboyant.

Chapter 40: The End