War Shrine, Dark Hall.
There was no holy light.
The smell of blood in the shadows was getting thicker.
One by one, people with cold expressions and cold eyes walked on the wet floor silently.
Occasionally, screams would ring out in the corridor, but no one cared.
This was how it had been since the Shrine was built.
Coldness was the base.
Screams were the adjustments.
Blood?
That was the main reason.
Compared to preaching, which required a kind-looking, easy-to-accept, and trustworthy priest and deacons, the armed priests and armed deacons of the Dark Hall only had two requirements.
First, strength.
Second, loyalty.
The order was enough to prove that strength came first.
As long as one had strength, even if loyalty was superficial, no one would say anything.
After all, this was a world with Gods.
Mortals could be strong.
But against Gods, they were still far from it.
However, things had changed recently.
As one of the armed deacons, Sivalka had such a feeling.
He was not a natural member of the War Shrine. 15 years ago, he was just a normal mercenary. During a mission, he encountered a pagan. The whole team, including the leader and vice leader, died. Only he survived.
It was not because of strength.
It was because of luck.
The hungry pagan was full.
He was treated as the next meal.
Then, before the next meal, the War Shrine's Dark Hall team appeared and exorcised the pagan.
He was saved.
On top of that, he could somehow control the 'remnant' left behind by the pagan.
Naturally, he became an armed deacon of the Dark Hall.
However, he missed his life as a mercenary.
He could drink.
He could laugh loudly.
He could bask in the sun.
Unlike here, where he could only face the cold and gloomy.
But he could not resist.
Even if he could use the 'remnant', it would be the same.
Because in the Dark Hall, there were many people like him. Some of them were even stronger than him.
Otherwise, he would not be a mere armed deacon.
Touching the 'remnant' hanging on his neck, Sivalka once again heard the inexplicable whisper in his mind.
At first, he could not understand it at all.
In fact, he couldn't even eat or sleep in peace because of this voice.
However, after fifteen years, under the guidance of the Dark Hall, he gradually understood the meaning of these voices.
They are roughly:
1. The index finger and thumb of an adult's left hand.
2. The eyes of an adult woman.
3. One liter of fresh blood, preferably a virgin.
After completing one of the above, one could use the power of the 'remnant' once.
Was it cruel?
No.
Compared to some of the truly cruel remnants that he knew of, this remnant was much gentler.
The abilities he gave were not bad either.
It allowed him to hear sounds even further away.
Or, see further.
There was no real danger.
Every time they went on a mission, he was also in the rear.
This time was no exception.
He poured the fresh blood on his body. The 'remnant' on his neck was like a sponge, absorbing the fresh blood. Then, he heard a series of voices in his ears.
"I'm willing to bear everything for them."
"I want them to be safe and sound."
"I'm willing to carry the burden for them."
"Everyone, I can't make any more guarantees."
"Because I don't know whether I can survive or not."
"But if I survive, I will risk my life to protect all of you. As my comrades-in-arms, my companions, your friends, your family, I will treat them as my own."
"I, swear!"
…
A sonorous and forceful vow.
It allowed Sivalka to confirm the information he received.
The Silent Night Secret Order had an internal conflict.
Was it a coincidence?
At that particular moment.
Sivalka was muttering in his heart, but his hands weren't slow. He picked up the quill and signed his name on the document in front of him. Then, he made a formal vow, "I swear by His Majesty's dignity that everything I heard is true."
"Deacon Sivalka, thank you for everything you've done for us."
An ordinary deacon bowed and left quickly with the documents.
Sivalka knew what would happen next.
The War Shrine wouldn't let go of such a chance.
Those bastards would be strangled to death.
No!
Half of them would be strangled!
Only then would the remaining half incite hatred.
Hatred would blind people's eyes.
Even if there was something fishy going on, people would turn a blind eye to it.
For the sake of safety, Dark Hall would send out armed deacons to disguise themselves as Snake School to carry out such a mission.
When the clam fights, the fish wins!
"As expected …"
"The rumor is true!"
Sivalka's heart was beating rapidly.
He didn't think or imagine anything.
He didn't even have such thoughts in his mind.
He was in the Dark Hall, right under the War Shrine. Any disrespectful thoughts would be known by that person.
Huu!
A deep breath later, Sivalka rinsed his body with hot water.
Although the blood had been absorbed by the 'residue', Sivalka still felt it wasn't clean. It was similar to the time when he ate a roasted rabbit, he couldn't bring himself to eat the rabbit's head.
After a full 10 minutes of rinsing, Sivalka changed into casual clothes and walked out of the Dark Hall.
After each successful mission, he would have around 6 hours of free time.
Of course, the freedom was relative.
At first, Sivalka was dissatisfied.
After all, no one wanted to be watched while they were doing something private.
But gradually, he got used to it.
What if he couldn't get used to it?
Didn't he want the 'free time' anymore?
Stop joking!
He cherished every moment he could bask in the sun, even the afterglow of the sunset.
This time was no exception.
Looking at the blood-like afterglow, Sivalka fell into a trance.
Then, he thought of the sunrise.
What did the sunrise look like?
He had forgotten about it.
It had been 15 years. Other than the sunrise when he was imprisoned as food, the best time he had was the sunset.
Most of the time, it was late at night.
A free night?
Sivalka couldn't help but smile.
His smile was filled with self-mockery.
He used to love the night, but now, he loved the morning sun.
The warm morning sun.
The warm breeze.
Soon!
Everything will be soon!
Closing his eyes, Sivalka opened his arms, as if he was hugging the fading sun. The watcher twitched his mouth in disdain. He didn't notice the movement of his collar when he raised his arms, nor did he notice the 'residue' on Sivalka's neck shivering slightly.
…
What did Snake school look like?
Until now, no one had a clear impression of it.
However, Snake school belonged to the Monster Hunters, that much was certain.
Divano knew the Monster Hunters like the back of his hand.
A bunch of ungrateful bastards.
He was once one of the emissaries and visited those bastards.
The War Shrine didn't mind their background and mistakes, it was willing to give them a chance to turn over a new leaf.
But?
Those bastards didn't show any gratitude, instead, they insulted His Majesty.
More importantly, back then, they were powerless to resist the humiliation.
It almost became the shame of Divano's life.
However, what was worth rejoicing was that those ungrateful fellows were all dead.
All Divano had to do was use a little trick to kill all those blasphemous bastards. It was wonderful.
But …
Among that group of people, there was actually someone who survived!
Unforgivable!
Divano was infuriated the first time he heard the news.
But as time went by, Divano grew excited.
Back then, he was too weak to carry out the plan himself, but now, he was an armed priest of the Dark Hall.
His strength was no longer what it used to be.
He was strong enough to face the Monster Hunters of Snake school.
He was looking forward to beheading them with his own hands.
While he was looking forward to it, the mission came as expected.
Although it wasn't the mission to eradicate the Snake school Monster Hunters, he was more than happy to instigate an internal conflict within the Silent Night Secret Order.
Ever since that group of ungrateful fellows disappeared, this group of people who used to be sneaky became bolder.
They might have forgotten the days when they spent time with the rats in the gutters.
Now, Divano needed them to remember.
He picked up his black trench coat and put on a wide-brimmed hat. He sheathed his dagger at the side of his boot, tied the throwing knife at his waist, and hung a silver-plated longsword at the other side of his waist. The potions were placed in a few specially stitched pockets on his vest. Then, he loaded the two large-caliber muskets with potions and carried them on his back.
Divano checked himself in the mirror.
After making sure everything was in order, he turned around to the five men behind him.
The five of them were like him, the most devoted believers of the God of War. They were forced into the Dark Hall after going through some unavoidable situations, but it didn't shake their faith.
Quite the opposite, they became more devoted.
At this time, the five armed deacons were dressed like rumored Demon Hunters.
"Are you ready?"
Divano asked.
"Yes, lord priest."
The five of them replied.
"Remember, I am no longer a priest, I am a Monster Hunter now, you must address me as a comrade!
Also, we need to kill most of the targets and let the other half go.
Of the five leaders, three of them must be killed.
If you find Luncar, do your best to eliminate him! "
Divano repeated his order.
The arrest of the Instigator was a direct order from the bishop.
Although Divano didn't understand why the bishop would pay so much attention to a guy who only knew how to talk, he knew since the order was given, he must carry it out.
The moment the sun disappeared, the group moved out under the cover of the night.
…
After the sun went down, Stone was restless.
As one of the five that Luncar instigated to defect, Stone had quite the strength, otherwise, he wouldn't have caught Councilman Colipo's attention and be taken in as his subordinate.
As Colipo's subordinate, Kieran knew a thing or two about Colipo.
Because of that, Kieran believed what Luncar said.
Some of Colipo's actions went against the principle of the Silent Night Secret Order.
Other than that, Councilman Colipo would sometimes do things that harmed others without benefiting himself.
Like …
Like an idiot!
But could an idiot become a councilman of the Silent Night Secret Order?
It was obviously impossible.
Stone didn't understand it at first.
He thought the councilman had something that he couldn't see, a deeper scheme.
However, with Luncar's explanation, everything was solved.
Councilman Colipo wasn't a real member of the Silent Night Secret Order, but a Snake School Demon Hunter!
The news was a huge shock to everyone.
Even until now, some people still couldn't accept it.
But …
Stone turned his head and looked at the hundreds of people in the temporary hideout.
Most of them were his friends and friends' friends.
Unknowingly, they gathered together.
It seemed like he wasn't the only one who noticed something was wrong.
His friends and friends' friends also noticed something was wrong.
It was just that no one dared to point it out during normal times.
After Luncar pointed it out, everything became logical.
Thinking of Luncar, Stone thought of the vow he made before.
"Hope everything goes well for you!"
Stone prayed in his heart since he had a hunch about what Luncar was going to do.
However, his prayers didn't calm him down at all.
Quite the opposite …
His heart skipped a beat.
"Bill, reorganize a group of men to set up the hidden sentries."
Stone stood up and told his friend.
Bill, a scrawny man with long arms, was also one of the five. Without further questions, Bill nodded and walked out.
Bill was a man of few words.
Most of the time, he didn't speak, expressing himself with his actions.
Therefore, after becoming friends, Stone trusted Bill a lot.
He thought Bill was trustworthy.
Likewise, Bill was the same.
Therefore, Bill Gates had carefully selected his people when he was selecting them.
Swords and muskets weren't a problem for the members of the Silent Night Secret Order.
Some of them even brought homemade explosives with them.
They spread out according to Bill's arrangement and hid in the shadows of the civilian district of the Lower Sixth Ring, forming a sharp contrast with the four men guarding the gate.
Torches were planted on the wall.
Braziers were placed on the ground.
The flames were strong enough to light up the building behind them.
It was Stone's Warehouse!
The wooden signboard was brand new and big enough that people could see it from afar without even walking in, let alone an armed priest like Divano who possessed transcendence powers.
He pulled up his black mask, revealing only his eyes.
Then, he waved his hand behind him.
Five figures dashed into the shadows like raccoons, pouncing on their targets.
Hidden sentries?
They didn't exist for him.
Divano chuckled coldly and instinctively wanted to touch the 'remnant' on his wrist.
But at the next moment, Divano's face changed drastically.
The 'remnant' on his wrist was gone!
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