"I've found him. But before that, can you answer a question?"
"… Please speak."
"Mister Beldt, what's going on?"
The voice from the bracelet was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke. "Laing, I'm sure you know that Beldt is a demonhunter."
"Yes, I know. He's been corrupted by chaos? A master demonhunter who's been famous for twenty years has been corrupted by chaos? " The young man's name was Laing. His expression was solemn as he listened carefully to the Archbishop's recount. Then he began to recall the information he had gathered.
One hundred and fifty years ago, the barbarians in the Chaotic Wasteland in the north gathered a huge army of over five hundred thousand people under the call of Chaos. They went all the way south and destroyed everything they saw along the way. They went all the way to the hinterland of the Empire and even broke into the capital of the Empire.
After the Battle of Fasa, the new Empire was rebuilt from the ashes. The Empire's parliament elected Ludwig as the new Emperor of the Empire. Since the former capital of the Empire, Weissimontz, had been completely destroyed, Ludwig's new capital was Brunswick. However, the corruption of chaos did not recede from the land. Corruption, disease, mutants, and followers of evil gods were rampant in the land of the Empire. The Empire's army could not always be mobilized over trivial matters.
Thus, the demonhunter profession was born. The Empire's internal culture was corrupted and pagan beliefs spread throughout the land like vines. In these dark and obscure times, there was a need for strong-willed cleansers.
Wherever the demonhunters went, they would clean up the infidels and monsters. They would fight against the chaos.
Beldt was one such demonhunter. He became famous twelve years ago when he single-handedly wiped out an entire organization of evil gods. He also won the title of Master Demonhunter.
But Laing was here to hunt down Beldt!
Over the years, the Master Demonhunter had become more and more reclusive. He was less and less willing to communicate with others, not even participating in regular gatherings. He was always secretive, and always seemed to be collecting something.
Five months ago, Archbishop Innocent of the Church of Justice of Nords received a letter from the Master Demonhunter. Beldt asked the Archbishop for help. He said his ears were constantly haunted by the whispers of demons. In his sleep, he dreamed of a sea of blood and endless slaughter. Sometimes he couldn't even control his actions. He was going crazy, and begged the Archbishop to help him.
The Master Demonhunter had always done as he pleased, and had many conflicts with the Church of Justice. After receiving the letter, the Archbishop hesitated, but in the end he decided to see what was going on.
Surprisingly, the Master Demonhunter vehemently denied that he'd ever written to the Archbishop. He said he'd never written to the Archbishop, and asked him not to try to interfere with his life with the matter.
In a fit of anger, the Archbishop took his leave, declaring that the Master Demonhunter had nothing to do with him in the future.
But Pope Innocent was the Archbishop of the Church of Justice in Nords. Not long after he left in a fit of pique, he realized something was wrong. By the time he returned to Bate's residence, the Master Demonhunter was long gone. What was left behind was the horrific scene of his experiments. The Master Demonhunter had experimented on living people, creating a horde of half-human, half-beast creatures.
"I can imagine what's going on. What I want to know is why the Church didn't use divine protection to protect the Master Demonhunter." The young knight sat on the bed in the guest room.
"Because he didn't want to pay the 'price'." With that, the Archbishop cut off the connection. Prolonged communication required a lot of energy.
"… The 'price'?" Laing was a smart man. He knew what the 'price' was.
The Church of Justice wasn't a charitable organization, nor was it a selfless organization dedicated to eradicating evil. They emphasized that 'justice comes with a price', and many of their goods were clearly priced.
The Master Demonhunter, Beldt, didn't want to pay the 'price'.
The Church of Justice was willing to take in the demonhunters, and those who accepted would be granted leave. They would work for six months a year, and the Master Demonhunters would receive blessings from the Divine Blessing at regular intervals. This would protect them from the taint of the chaos.
However, justice came with a price. 40% of a demon hunter's income had to be paid as "protection fee." Many demon hunters were unwilling to sign such a contract. One had to know that the signing of a contract required one to press the holy book and sign it under the witness of a god.
Many demonhunters couldn't accept the terms, and Beldt was one of them.
The Church of Justice commissioned other demonhunters to capture Beldt, but none of them succeeded. When the body of the strongest demonhunter in the Church of Nords, Master Demonhunter Bender, was found nailed to a pine tree in the wilderness, Archbishop Innocent knew that things were going to get troublesome. So he went to Laing.
Ryan's relationship with the Church of Justice was quite good. He admired the Church of Justice's way of clearly marking the price. They didn't hypocritically advocate "God's grace" or "God's gift", but they always clearly demanded a price. They also wouldn't secretly use underhanded means to persecute dissidents, so he always maintained a good relationship with the Church of Justice.
"Compared to the Church of the Cross in the Middle Ages, they're much better!" But there was no point in thinking about it.
Taking off his chainmail, Ryan set up multiple alarms vigilantly. Then, he put his warhammer and one-handed sword on the edge of the bed and leaned on the soft down pillow. He sighed in a low voice, "A foreigner, huh …"
Yes, Laing was not a native of this world. He was a foreigner.
By chance, he had transmigrated from the blue planet to this world. But the so-called transmigration was not as beautiful as he had imagined.
He spent three whole days shuttling through a strange passage filled with all kinds of illusions.
In the passageway, he met a mysterious man with long black hair and golden armor. He had his own fortuitous encounter.
When Laing arrived in this world, he found that his body had turned into that of a three-year-old child, and the wild dogs by the roadside were drooling at him.
His adoptive father, Lord Norman of Orteny, was passing by at that time. Thus, Lord Norman adopted the child and named him Laing, which meant lion. Because Laing's bravery in fighting against the dogs reminded the knight of a lion fighting against a large group of wild beasts.
Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye. When he was eighteen, Laing embarked on a journey. His footprints covered half of the Kingdom of Nords, from the frontline against the northern barbarians, to the capital of the Kingdom of Nords, Winter City. From the densely populated holy land of Nords' spellcasters, Sky Castle, to the present Ulan Town. Laing continuously hunted monsters and those fallen ones to exchange for rewards from the Church of Justice. He also took on some missions from various lords. Today, he had accumulated quite a bit of savings.
What would the future hold?
Lying on the bed, Ryan gradually drifted off to dreamland …
In his dream, he seemed to have returned to his hometown, a country under the red flag. The roads were still so congested, and he woke up early every day to squeeze in the subway to go to work. He worked hard just to support his family, and worked hard to save money to buy a house. His parents were gradually aging, and fortunately, they lived in the same city. Every holiday, he would visit his parents and go out to play with them. His father's warning, his mother's nagging, although the work was hard, it did not make him feel depressed.
It was just that everything was slowly becoming blurry. It had been twenty years since he came to this world. His memories of that world were still quite clear, but the faces of his parents and friends were no longer bright. It was as if they were covered with a layer of shadow. In confusion and faint sadness, he felt as if he was falling endlessly in the darkness, falling …
He woke up in the middle of the night, and when he touched his face, it was full of tears.
The next morning, Laing woke up early. After eating breakfast, the sky outside was still pitch-black, so he sat on a seat in the hotel's lobby and stared blankly at the snow outside.
"I … It would be better if I was really a foreigner, but a homeless person is worse than a rich dog." The young man sighed slightly.
"Sir, you're up so early!" The hotel owner was sitting behind the bar, washing the bowls and cups. When he saw Laing sitting in the hotel lobby early in the morning, he casually said, "Sir, you went to bed early yesterday. Later, Mr. Bard told the story of our Nord's hero, 'Sledgehammer' Laing. It was really exciting! The atmosphere was so lively, it's a pity you didn't hear it. "
"Hehehe, 'Sledgehammer' Laing, is it? His story, I hear it every day, and even see it with my own eyes every day. " The young man just smiled. When the hotel owner repeatedly asked if he had been a knight squire of 'Sledgehammer' Laing, he just smiled and did not answer. Instead, he asked in return, "A few days ago, was there a tall and thin man wearing a cloak, a tall round hat, trousers, and black boots who came to stay here?"
"… I don't know." The hotel owner immediately showed a vigilant expression. He put down the bowl and clay cup in his hand, and his tone took a turn for the worse. "I'm sorry, sir, but it's a rule of our business to not reveal the information of other customers. If you're here for this matter, then you should give up!"
After saying that, the innkeeper stretched his hand towards a certain spot under the counter. However, the knight's reaction was faster. He suddenly waved his hand to indicate that he meant no harm. Then he brushed his cloak aside and said, "If that's the case, can you tell me now?"
A silver badge of a wolf's head appeared in front of the hotel owner.
"My lord, so you're the White Wolf Knight! I'm very sorry, please forgive me, my lord! "After seeing the badge, the hotel owner's face turned pale and he quickly apologized.
"You're right not to reveal the information of your customers. Whatever business you do, you have to abide by the rules of this business. That's not wrong, but now, as a knight of the kingdom, I order you to tell me the details." Laing said in a deep voice.
"Yes, my lord!" The hotel owner quickly put down the small crossbow in his hand and told Laing what he knew.
"Three days ago, a tall and thin man in strange clothes came here …"
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