I ascend to the throne of God with arcane magic.

Chapter 518: Ilmater, the God of Suffering
Green Wind City, Wright Street District,

It was already completely dark, and Li Si was strolling on the deserted streets.

The street was gently covered by a layer of light moonlight, hiding the unbearable things on the street, as if the whole world was immersed in a peaceful ocean. The cobblestone road glowed faintly under the faint starlight, and every step was accompanied by a long sound, which slowly rippled in the empty streets, adding a bit of loneliness and tranquility.

The low houses on both sides of the road are closely packed together, with windows closed and the houses completely dark, as if the entire street is asleep.

Observing the situation around him, Li Si shook his head slightly. It seemed that the cultists or those evil gods had caused quite a stir recently!
Not to mention going out for a stroll at night, even staying at home had to be done cautiously, and there wasn't even a candlelight to be seen.

Li Si controlled the enormous mental power and transformed it into countless tentacles, which continued to spread outward from his body, carefully exploring every detail.

In Li Si's perception, the seemingly peaceful houses around him actually had quite a lot of residents, and there didn't seem to be anything unusual.

Li Si even noticed that some people were secretly looking through the cracks in the windows, carefully looking at him as he stood on the street in a somewhat unscrupulous manner.

These residents will live on Light Street in Green Wind City, and naturally they are those who have difficulty making a living.

Even though so many people have gone missing recently and they knew they might be in danger if they continued to stay here, they still stayed.

After all, many of them may not have any savings, let alone leaving Cuifeng City, they don’t even have the ability to go to other safe neighborhoods.

Is this the only way to avoid danger as much as possible and silently pray to the gods for good luck?

This is why the Church of the Gods is willing to provide shelter to these civilians. In this case, it can gain more support from the people and harvest their faith.

Li Si did not think there was anything wrong with this. In this extraordinary world full of danger and evil, the existence of the Church of the Gods provided shelter to these ordinary people to a great extent, giving them spiritual peace and comfort.

At least it is better than many cults in Li Si's previous life that were purely fraudulent.

Li Si originally wanted to find a few residents to ask about recent events, but after thinking it over, he decided not to.

These ordinary people stay at home every day. Even if they know something, it is probably just hearsay, and they don’t know how many times it has been processed.

Moreover, by knocking on the door at this time, Li Si felt that he might very likely scare those ordinary people to death, or even become a part of someone's story.

When the Gordon Kingdom, Archibald Kingdom and Palo Federation were at war, that was when the evil god's followers liked to cause trouble the most.

The most common practice among those evil cultists is the ritual of life sacrifice, killing living beings and dedicating their vitality and souls to the gods they believe in.

Although there are other plans, they are basically the same old things in a different form.

After all, in a sense, there is not a clear distinction between evil gods and righteous gods, and in fact the relationship between many evil gods and righteous gods is not that hostile.

The distinction between evil gods and righteous gods is largely due to human perceptions.

The righteous gods are those who are willing to provide them with shelter and gain their faith, while the evil gods are those who are accustomed to harvesting their faith by spreading terror and enjoying fear and awe.

The biggest difference between a righteous god and an evil god is how one gains faith in them.

Therefore, the reason why evil gods and their believers often cause disasters and destruction is that gaining vitality and souls is not their main goal.

For ordinary people, death is the greatest horror!
Because the awe and faith brought by the fear of death are what the evil god values ​​most.

The life and soul offered to the gods in the life sacrifice ceremony can not only strengthen the power of the gods and their kingdoms to a certain extent, but also serve as sacrifices for the gods to condense the incarnation of God in the Gaia world.

Of course, there are also many evil gods who naturally like the taste of death and blood, which is to a certain extent the influence of the priesthood they possess.

Just like the elven noble who intended to assassinate Li Si in the Elf King City, wasn't it because the god he believed in preferred believers who could offer more important sacrifices to Him?

So, what exactly do the evil god believers who appeared in Cuifeng City want to do?
If the god he believed in loved the taste of life and soul, this petty ritual of life sacrifice was nothing.

Let alone asking the evil god to send down his incarnation, it is even difficult to attract the evil god's attention.

According to information obtained by Li Si from the president of the Mercenary Guild, nearly two to three hundred people disappeared on Light Street during this period of time.

Although it was terrifying for ordinary people, it was nothing to Li Si who had seen "big scenes".

Not to mention the sacrificial ceremony at the Elf King's Court, even the ceremony where the Lord of All Beasts descended as his divine incarnation in Brilliant Light City was far grander than this scene.

So, if it is not for the coming of the evil god, then what do these evil god believers want to do?
Offer sacrifices and pray for the evil god's power?

Enhance your own strength? Create evil magic items? Attack the neighboring kingdom's army? Or simply want to take advantage of the chaos to harvest a wave of vitality?

"Ok?"

Li Si raised his head slightly and looked at the street in front of him.

He felt several people approaching him quickly.

The speed was very fast. The leader should be a gold-level professional, and there were two people following behind him.

Their target was clear, and they were heading straight towards Li Si.

"Come to find me?"

Li Si stopped and stood on the street quietly waiting for the other party to arrive.

Soon, three figures appeared in front of Li Si, observing him warily.

Standing in the front was a middle-aged holy warrior wearing silver armor. His sturdy muscles outlined lines of strength under the silver armor. Each piece of armor was carved with fine patterns, shining with a sacred and inviolable light.

This holy warrior has a resolute face, a strong chin line, a straight nose, and a calm look in his eyes. The years have only left a few imperceptible fine lines at the corners of his eyes, but they have added a bit of calmness and majesty.

In his right hand, he held a shining holy sword. The blade was slender and sharp, emitting a faint holy light. It was proof that it had been blessed by divine power and was extremely conspicuous in this dim street.

Behind him was a young paladin and a priest, staring closely at Li Si.

Li Si quickly identified the identities of these three people.

The clergy of the Church of the Suffering God!
They did not hide the holy emblem tattooed on their clothes, which was [pale hands bound by red ropes], which was also the symbol of Ilmater, the god of suffering.

Ilmater, the God of Suffering, is a moderately powerful deity of lawful good. His areas of divine responsibility are endurance, suffering, martyrdom, and perseverance.

Ilmater is a great being with a kind heart, gentleness, and peace. He is willing to bear the suffering for the entire world that has suffered. He and his believers care deeply about children and young lives. Although he is caring and patient, he can show an extremely cruel side when faced with beings that harm those he protects.

Ilmater, the God of Suffering, is the god who cares most for humans and believers. He has the most loyal followers in the entire Gaia world. Even among the righteous gods, the God of Suffering is a very special existence.

The same is true for his followers, who often fight on the front lines against the followers of the evil god.

Li Si knew that among the churches of the gods in Cuifeng City, the most powerful one was the Church of the Suffering God. The three people in front of him were clergymen of the Suffering God, so it was normal for them to appear here.

After all, no matter which Orthodox church it is, if such a large-scale disappearance of residents occurs in the city where it is located, it will definitely be unable to sit still.

"It's so late, what's your name, and why are you here?"

Ebel frowned as he looked at the young man in front of him. After discovering Li Si approaching through the church's holy artifact from a distance, he rushed over directly.

The young holy warrior standing behind him opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by Ebel's hand. He could only stand aside and stare at Li Si with a very vigilant look. The situation in the Wright Street District has been quite bad recently. In order to rescue the evil god believer as soon as possible, Ebel has been staying here with his colleagues in the church.

Originally, the appearance of this young man in front of him at this time was quite suspicious.

But when he saw Li Si for the first time, for some reason Eberl subconsciously felt that Li Si was definitely not the evil god believer they were looking for.

Moreover, his spiritual sense was also giving him a vague warning that something bad would happen if he attacked the young man in front of him.

Li Si smiled and ignored the hostile look of the young holy warrior. He came here to catch the followers of the evil god. It was not a good thing to have a conflict with the clergy of the Orthodox Church. Wouldn't that mean he was helping the followers of the evil god?

"I am Li Si, the leader of the White Dove Mercenary Group."

"I have accepted the commission from the Mercenary Guild and am here to deal with the followers of the evil god that appeared here."

Go ahead, Li Si took out a rolled up parchment from the storage ring and handed it to Eberle in front of him.

"Mercenary."

Since when did mercenaries get involved in dealing with the evil god's followers?

The biggest help that the mercenaries could provide was some useful intelligence. Apart from that, Ebel had never seen any mercenary take the initiative to intervene in dealing with the evil god's followers.

Besides, isn't this the responsibility of the Church of the Gods? Why do you say this with such a matter-of-fact look on your face?

Eberle was a little bit unconvinced, but still took the parchment scroll from Li Si.

After opening it, Eberl discovered that this was indeed a commission issued by the Mercenary Guild, and the content of the commission was indeed about the possible evil god believers in the Light Street District.

What surprised Ebel was that this commission not only had the seal of the Green Wind City Mercenary Guild, but also the seal of Prince Gerard.

Why would His Royal Highness the Prince entrust the leader of a mercenary group to deal with the affairs of the evil god's followers?

Is there something special about this young man named Li Si?
For some reason, Eberl suddenly felt that the name Li Si sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere?
But he just couldn't remember it.

"This is real."

After thinking for a moment, Eberle nodded and returned the parchment in his hand to Li Si.

The mercenary guild's commissioned parchments were all made using a special method and were very easy to identify, not to mention Prince Gerard's seal.

"I am Abel Nogra, a paladin of the Chapel of the Emerald Phoenix."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Eberle."

Li Si said with a smile, and then asked:
"Are you looking for the evil god believer who is hiding?"

".really."

Facing Li Si's confident question, Eberle was a little surprised, but still answered:

"Although we have discovered another sacrificial ritual site, it is clear that this was also abandoned by the evil god believer on his own initiative."

"that?"

Li Si noticed the key point revealed by Eberle.

"Yes, it has now been confirmed that the evil god believer who secretly abducted those residents and arranged the life sacrifice ceremony was a single person."

Eberle nodded and said that he was becoming more and more curious about Li Si's identity.

Eberl, who has been baptized by the power of Ilmater, the god of suffering, has the ability to sense the kindness and malice of others.

Li Si had no hostility towards them, which was why Eberle was willing to reveal some information.

It is always good to have an extra helper, and the Li Si in front of him is likely to be stronger than him.

"Mr. Ebel, do you know which evil god this evil god believer believes in?"

Li Si asked about the thing that concerned him most.

It is obvious that the clergy of the Church of the Suffering God have not yet caught this follower of the evil god, which is quite interesting.

Although it would be easy for the evil god to hide if there was only one follower, the other party was still sacrificing his life and had no other helpers. How could he have evaded the pursuit of these clergy for such a long time?

Unless the other party's ability is very special!

"do not know."

Eberl's expression looked a little grim, but he still spoke truthfully.

"That's it, I understand."

Li Si was not surprised by this result.

"Then I'll leave first."

After greeting the three people in front of him, Li Si walked leisurely into the alley next to him and disappeared into the shadows.

Ebel and the other two witnessed Li Si's departure. The young holy warrior standing behind Ebel couldn't help but ask first:
"Sir Eberle, that man is so suspicious, why did you let him leave?"

"You told him so many secrets. What if he has bad intentions?"

"Let's go!"

Ebel ignored the young paladin's questions and even inquiries and turned back to where he came from.

In desperation, the indignant young paladin and the calm young priest followed him back to the temporary church station.

"Are you saying that the Gordon Kingdom did not arrange for anyone to come, but instead commissioned a mercenary group leader to do it alone?"

Zolf looked at Eberle in front of him and asked with some confusion.

"Yes, Lord Bishop."

Eber nodded and said:

"That young man named Li Si gave me a strange feeling, but I don't think he was hostile."

"Li Si?"

Zolf tapped his head a little and murmured softly.

Suddenly, he raised his head, looked at Eberle in surprise and said:
"That elven sage?"

(End of this chapter)