Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 273 Evil Ethan

When the eleventh bell rang, everyone in Oak City stopped what they were doing. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, like a pre-programmed toggle, as they gathered in the central square of the city hall. There was not a single word spoken; the only sound in the entire city was their footsteps.

Ethan looked down from the second floor of his apartment at the crowds passing by in front of the building. The massive scene reminded him of the zombie migration in the movies, where zombies had lost their independent thinking and were driven only by their physical instincts.

Several Caesars followers who were undergoing purification knelt in the very center of the square. They wore identical golden masks with spiked tubes embedded in their skin, which bulged like veins beneath the flesh. They lowered their heads and stared straight at the ground.

Their bodies have been branded with special masks that will accompany them for life, a testament to their past rebellion against the Golden King.

Charman was in charge of presiding over the purification ceremony.

The man wearing a sorrowful mask stood in the very center of the city hall square, but instead of the golden scepter in his hand, he held a thick piece of parchment.

As per procedure, he read aloud the crimes of these followers of Caesaros to everyone, including infiltrating the palace of Sivarandin, turning scholars of the Golden Kingdom against their cause, and kidnapping Princess Vivian-Galog of the kingdom.

It sounded more like a synthesized voice, emanating from those specially made golden masks.

Cynthia had mentioned to Ethan that the people of the Golden Kingdom did not need to communicate through language; they could understand the Golden King's will directly through their masks. Furthermore, they did not need to waste time on meaningless socializing and rest; this time could be used to make greater contributions to the Golden Kingdom.

Just as Ethan suspected, these voices were deliberately created because the purification ritual was never intended for the residents of Sivarandin who had already submitted to the Golden King, but rather for the rebels who were still mixed in with the crowd.

Ethan noticed many followers of the Old Gods, who were wearing fake masks and seemed to be planning a rescue operation.

Hidden in the mud, Vivian was incredulous—these invaders who had descended from the sky and seized Sivarantin were openly claiming that the others were kidnappers.

She even disliked the term "rebels" from the beginning, preferring to describe them as "liberators."

The purification ceremony was much quieter than she had imagined. There were no religious fanaticisms, no one threw stones or rotten eggs at the sinners; they simply stayed quietly in place, waiting for the purification ceremony to continue.

The harsh, synthesized voice made him very uncomfortable.

"Before pledging allegiance, I want to see your repentance."

The synthesized voice paused for a moment, then said, "Name your accomplices, in the presence of all."

This question caused a stir among the crowd.

When Ethan looked in the direction of the sound, he discovered that a dark red light had appeared beneath the feet of all the believers. This was a symbol of the power of Caesars. A giant circular array surrounded the people gathered there, and as the believers continued chanting, the dark red light temporarily suppressed the golden radiance.

Immediately afterwards, an arm covered in silver-white arm armor tore a crack in the ground. This was an old friend that Ethan had met during the Celebration Trial—the War Lord created by the Father of War. It seems that after inheriting the memories of Caesaros, Kane has gradually become familiar with Caesaros's powers and is gradually getting on the right track.

This truly made him feel gratified.

This was an open conspiracy targeting the followers of the Old Gods, and the followers hidden in Oak City naturally saw through the purpose of the city hall's announcement.

But the followers of the Father of War never backed down, and they were fully prepared.

They were going to summon a war lord in the town hall square.

They never feared the Golden King. In the eyes of the followers of the Old Gods, if their master had not been sealed away and isolated from this world, the Golden King's fleet would have been crushed like a toy.

The opening of the cracked arm brought joy to the believers' faces.

Their prayers to the Father of War were finally answered, and this marked the beginning of a reversal of fortune.

The battle was progressing as they had anticipated. Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the war lord about to emerge from the ground, a long spear fell from the rooftop. The "Hunter" pierced by the spear made a groan of exhaustion as its body crashed heavily to the ground.

A massive figure, shirtless with red markings on his chest, descended from the sky. Amidst the chaos of the "Jackals" falling to the ground, he strode toward Charman in the city center square. He picked up a spear from the ground and hurled it with all his might at the man's chest.

Over the past three months, they have gathered a great deal of intelligence about the Golden Kingdom, including its highest authority—the council composed of subjects personally selected by the six Golden Kings. They are the Golden Kings' representatives, and only they are allowed to wear masks with unique expressions, which are said to be gifts given to them by the Golden Kings themselves.

It's not difficult to find them.

They all possess near-eternal life, and no matter how severe their injuries, they can recover completely in a short time.

The enormous figure moved with lightning speed, appearing in front of Charman in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, the spear in his hand pierced straight through Charman's body, pinning him to the pillar. Dark red energy surged into Charman's body through the wound, and the wound, which should have healed immediately, began to spread outwards, the dark red energy tearing his body apart.

"You always manage to crush the enemy with overwhelming force, but you actually have no experience in direct combat, right?"

A cold smile appeared on the attacker's face.

Behind him, the War Lord's summoning was complete. Beneath his silver armor lay only deep darkness, and his pair of dark red wings contrasted sharply with the golden light outside the square. The War Lord's greatsword slashed down, and the entire city hall was instantly destroyed by the aftershocks.

More hidden followers removed their masks and joined the battle.

This was the beginning of change; not long ago, they received some exciting news.

Despite some setbacks, Princess Vivian successfully reached the Empire and delivered the letter to Ethan. Perhaps it won't be long before the allied forces of the Empire and Ophira launch a general offensive against the Golden King.

Ethan might already be on his way to the front lines.

There could be no more exciting news than this.

"I want to know the reason."

Charman's voice sounded calm.

"Reason? What reason?"

"The reason why people still walk into the trap even though they know they are destined to fail."

He seemed to see right through the attacker's mind.

In fact, everyone involved in the operation knew that the hope was slim. With their strength, they were simply not enough to contend with the Council of Six and the large-scale "Jackals". Even so, they still planned the attack with a death wish.

For faith and glory?

The followers of the Father of War would never abandon their comrades; desertion is almost synonymous with betrayal.

Without the attacker needing to answer, the thoughts deep within his mind were already extracted, and when he realized that this was a suicide attack, Charman could not hide the disappointment in his eyes.

A bunch of brutes could never shake the rule of the King of Gold.

In contrast, the followers of the Demon King Sincarlo were much smarter. They did not participate in the attack, and most of them left Oak City on the day the announcement was made at the city hall, heading to other cities to continue their infiltration.

They had already considered the possibility that their brainwashed companions might betray others, and they also sensed that their days ahead would become increasingly difficult.

If even one person is brainwashed, it will implicate many more infiltrators.

During the meeting, the followers of the Father of War clashed with the followers of Sincarlo. These reckless warmongers decided to fight to the death, vowing to perish with the enemy even if they rescued their comrades. Before the operation, each participant was prepared to kill their brainwashed comrades.

In their view, this was to defend the honor of their comrades.

“One of the leaders is called ‘Rattlesnake’... She’s currently in the capital, at Duke Stan’s house.”

Every word Charman spoke chilled the attacker. He saw the War Lord storming into the city hall, unstoppable, and under the War Lord's cover, his pre-arranged squad successfully escorted his captured comrades. Everything was unfolding exactly as he had envisioned.

It was so perfect that it felt somewhat unreal to him.

They encountered no resistance; even a member of the Council of Six was impaled by his spear and pinned to a pillar.

The power of the Father of War is tearing Charman's body apart, yet he is instead constantly reading the secrets that exist in the deepest part of his mind.

"If you lose this war in the end, it will be because there are too many people like you."

Upon hearing this, the attacker gritted his teeth, drew his spear, and vowed to utterly destroy Charman.

However, what immediately came into view left him stunned.

Everything he saw in the battle scene turned into a phantom in an instant, including the war lord, and everything became translucent until it disappeared completely, replaced by familiar crowds and identical masks. They stood in the same place from beginning to end, quietly waiting for everything to come to an end.

He then walked up to Charman without anyone noticing.

He had no weapon in his hands and was forced to kneel in humiliation before his enemy.

What exactly happened just now?
He never fought in the first place.

The summoning squad, just like him, knelt before their enemy, while his companions, now wearing golden masks, were repenting, reciting the names of Rattlesnake and many others.

The repentance process reached Duke Stan, the capital of Sivarantin. He was one of the first people to be awakened by the "Shadow Lamp." He resolutely rejected the Rattlesnake's proposed evacuation plan and was willing to stay in the capital as an inside agent. Thanks to his help, Princess Vivian was able to escape the capital successfully.

Princess Vivian is key; the scholars of the Golden Kingdom seem to value her bloodline highly, and whatever their plans may be, they must act first…

What terrified the attacker even more was that, although those people didn't seem to be speaking, he could easily understand their thoughts.

He felt a cold touch on his face. He raised his hand and felt the cold touch. He also felt the six tubes piercing his skin, but he did not feel the pain he had imagined.

Let me explain it to you briefly.

He heard another unfamiliar voice behind him. Turning around, he saw a mask with an angry expression.

The owner of the Angry Mask never lingered on him, but instead looked at Charman with a meaningful gaze. "Here, whatever your plans are, they are absolutely impossible to realize."

The facts that are harmful to the Golden Country will be rewritten.

Any act that defies the will of the King of Gold is impossible to accomplish.

And this was his reminder to Charman.

Charman remained unmoved. He glanced with pity at the attacker crawling before him, a sight he had witnessed countless times, and which no longer stirred any emotion within him.

"You're nothing special, and no one will remember your name."

Charman said, “You’ll soon become like them, and you won’t have sadness or anger in your heart anymore… As long as you don’t have hope, you won’t be disappointed.”

The attacker did not speak; he knelt on the ground and remained motionless.

His body went against his will, a process that every resident of the Golden Country had to go through.

Meanwhile, the rebels opened their hearts to the Golden King, confessing everything they knew in their repentance.

This is the final step in the purification process, which will save him a lot of trouble in his future work.

Duke Stan, and the Rattlesnake...

"I know a guy named Diablo. He's characterized by his moldy pink hair and likes to wear a black mesh shirt. He used to be the head of a mafia, and people in the underworld called him 'Boss.' His magic is called 'Crimson King,' which can cut through time and speed it up!"

Soon, someone else revealed the names of the rebels he knew: "There's another one named Dio, with blond hair. He's a vampire, and his magic can freeze time for up to nine seconds!"

?

vampire?
Charman felt something was amiss as he listened. He looked around and quickly noticed the anomaly.

Who is actually repenting?

The drawbacks of the golden mask became glaringly obvious at this moment; the lack of communication made it impossible for him to determine who was using the golden mask to deliver the message.

"Who's talking?"

He was met with a long silence.

Just as Charman was getting to know the situation, new information arrived.

"None of my family members understand!"

........................

"What exactly are you doing?"

Vivian's eyelids twitched violently a few times as she watched Ethan clutch a golden mask he had somehow found in his hand. For some reason, the sound seemed to ignite the most primal rage in humans, making her want to punch him the moment she heard it.

"I have carefully studied the principles behind the gold mask."

Ethan argued confidently, "Theoretically speaking, its function is equivalent to a large online chat software."

What is a large-scale online chat software?

"It's easy to understand. As long as I post a message, other people can see what I posted immediately."

Just now, his experiment was successful, and Mr. Charman received a report from him.

He anonymously reported that Diablo and Dio were also members of the rebels.

"Furthermore, I discovered that this large chat room seems to have some vulnerabilities."

"Vulnerability?"

"It's just that other people can't block me."

A smile appeared on Ethan's face.

In Vivian's eyes, this was the most evil smile in the world, countless times more evil than any evil god.

She had a vague premonition that Ethan was brewing a terrible plan, one that could be "inhuman" in nature.

"if……"

Ethan coaxed, "I mean, what would happen if I kept reposting stories in this big chat room?"

(End of this chapter)