Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 146 Instant Kill Thousand Miles Away
The mining area was not quiet even after dark. Many believers still sat in the open space outdoors, using the dim light of candles to hammer on the mined stones with iron chisels and stone hammers, breaking down the irregular boulders into blocks of stone for easy construction.

Led by the knights, the warriors of the Inquisition continued to patrol key locations throughout the mining area. Only the cathedral construction site near the gentle slope had a moment of peace, after all, no one would stay there at night.

"Stop! Who are you? Why are you here?" On the muddy construction road leading to the cathedral, two soldiers of the Inquisition who had just changed shifts shouted at a group of believers who were walking upwards.

This group of believers seemed to be carrying something on their shoulders, and each of them was holding a tattered linen bag.

"Sir, we are the believers responsible for drawing prayers and prayer flags..." A gray-haired old man who was the leader of the group stepped forward and bowed humbly to salute the patrolling soldiers of the Judgment Army.

The soldiers looked at each other in confusion, "Drawing prayers? Why are you going to the church construction site in the middle of the night instead of staying in your tent to rest?"

The old man quickly untied the bag on his back, revealing the scattered sacrificial supplies and offerings inside. "The construction schedule is urgent. The high priest instructed us to engrave the prayers of the holy scriptures on the pillars of the foundation in advance. This way, we will have more time to assist the priests with other tasks during the day..."

The Inquisition soldier nodded, feeling quite touched. "Then there's no need to work all night. Well, your kindness is very kind. Bring more torches and candles. May the light always shine upon you devout people."

The old man bowed repeatedly and watched the two soldiers who were on duty slowly walk towards the camp. His pair of dark eyes looked strange under the light of the torch.

The group shouldered their backpacks again and walked towards the church construction site on the hillside in unusual silence.

……

"Father, will this really attract the attention of that... that being?" the scarred middle-aged man asked anxiously. "We've tried countless methods in the past, but it seems difficult to please Him, let alone summon Him into the real world..."

The old man glared at his son and whispered firmly, "What do you know? This time, I truly received a revelation from Him during my dream prayer. Otherwise, why do you think we took such a big risk to come here?"

After he finished speaking, he glanced around at the others and decisively ordered, "Time is running out. We could be discovered at any time. Start preparing for the ceremony immediately."

"The three of you will be responsible for handling the sacrificial offerings. You and I will assist me in drawing the ritual array. The rest of you will be divided into two groups, responsible for observing the situation outside and reporting to us in a timely manner."

Without wasting any more time, everyone immediately opened their backpacks and began to act separately in silence.

Someone pulled out a series of strange-looking sacrificial items from their backpacks—a shrunken fetus wrapped in beeswax, strange insects still trembling in a viscous liquid, and horrific, bright red tumors devoid of any bloody smell...

The old man held a pen made of black swan feathers in one hand and a delicate silver bowl in the other, constantly dipping the liquid into it and quickly drawing a large number of strange and evil symbols and inscriptions on the floor of the church hall, which had not yet been roofed.

He had repeated these rituals countless times, and even if he was blindfolded, he would not make any mistakes. However, no matter how he tried in the past, he could never achieve his goal.

As the preparations for the ceremony were completely completed, the old man's originally calm eyes gradually turned into fanaticism. He called out to the other family members who were still in the hall, took the offerings handed to him by them, and carefully placed them in the predetermined positions of the magic circle, while starting to recite the extremely familiar ritual prayers.

"A great being wandering in endless emptiness."

"The one who reigns supreme in the shadows, the silent demon of the heart, the master of mortal desires."

"I beg for a response, for attention."

"I beg for a response, for attention."

"I beg for a response, for attention..."

The old man kept muttering to himself, and his body was completely prostrated on the ground with his forehead pressed tightly against the ground. The others followed suit, muttering the ritual incantations with the old man.

In the quiet air, invisible weak cyclones seemed to suddenly appear and circle around the ritual formation.

From the depths of the distant darkness, there came layers of heavy sighs, as if emitted by countless people at the same time.

……

High Inquisitor Zack Hyde had just finished his daily nightly prayer ritual. With the help of the assistant priest, he cleaned his face and hands with clean warm water, put on his light white priest robe, and prepared to go to bed.

His residence was a marching tent exactly the same as that of the other Judgement Army troops. It was located in the Judgement Army's camp in the center of the valley and looked inconspicuous.

Except for the assistant priest who was in charge of his daily life and the subordinate knights close to him, no one else knew which of the hundreds of tents he would rest in after nightfall.

This was also an effective strategy he used to avoid being ambushed by high-level spellcasters at night. After all, although the Bloodline Knights were numerous, they could not withstand the high-level spellcasters' ability to fly with the wind. Their mobility was too strong and they could be easily caught off guard.

There is no need to worry about this problem during the day. The Judgment Army's magic-breaking crossbows are not vegetarians. Over the past few hundred years, they have made these evil wizards who fly around in the sky like flies suffer a lot.

Not long after he lay down, he suddenly felt a surge of restlessness in his heart, unable to even meditate and fall asleep peacefully. His incredibly powerful heart, now awakened from his bloodline, beat heavily within his chest, causing him to suddenly feel an inexplicable jolt of fear, and a thin layer of cold sweat formed on his back.

Oh no! Something unusual has happened!

The High Judge sat up without hesitation, without even putting on armor, he drew his glorious longsword from the weapon rack, opened the tent curtain and rushed out.

The white-robed priest Raphael came running from a distance, shouting warnings at him as he ran.

"Master Zack! Something bad has happened in the church...in the church!"

Zack Hyde's eyes narrowed. He turned the hilt of his sword against the priest's body, which had almost crashed into his arms due to anxiety, and shouted, "Calm down! What happened? What happened to the church?"

The priest's face was filled with horror, seemingly still in a state of disbelief and fear. He kept muttering, "Cultists! There are cultists who have infiltrated the church. They're actually... performing... a blasphemous ritual in the church that summons the devil!"

What a blasphemy this is! Absolutely unforgivable!

When Zack Hyde was young, he followed the Knights of Inquisition and traveled in the southern countries for several years. He experienced countless battles, big and small, to eliminate heretical beliefs and devil believers. Naturally, he knew very well what these fallen ones were planning.

Through sacrifices and summoning rituals, they wanted to pollute and desecrate this newly formed new parish, spread fear and depravity among the believers, and shake their devout faith.

"Summon the Bloodline Knights immediately and come with me to the church." Zack Hyde roared through gritted teeth, "I will make them pay a heavy price. When the dawn rises tomorrow, I will watch them weep and wail at the stake with my own eyes!"

The High Inquisitor, accompanied by dozens of mid-level Bloodline Knights, rushed to the church construction site at an extremely fast speed and discovered that several ordinary Inquisition soldiers were fighting fiercely with swords with several people dressed as believers outside the church hall.

He snorted coldly, wielded the sword in his hand with one hand, and his whole body turned into a stream of blazing white light and rushed into the crowd. In the blink of an eye, he saw those cultists who were resisting stubbornly, covering their severed hands and feet, lying on the ground struggling in pain.

"Don't kill them directly yet. Use divine magic to alleviate their injuries. Once I've dealt with the cult leaders inside, let them all receive my Lord's divine punishment!"

After saying that, he rushed into the church without looking back.

The summoning ritual did cause some abnormal evil energy fluctuations, but fortunately he arrived in time and the most terrible result did not happen.

The demon arrived as promised, unattracted by the ritual.

The group of cultists, led by a gray-haired old man, were now huddled in a corner of the hall, holding simple weapons, staring at Zack Hyde, who had rushed in first, with extremely hostile eyes.

"You are a bunch of filthy rats from the sewer!" The High Judge grinned and slowly approached with a long sword in his hand.

The old man spat a mouthful of bloody saliva on the ground in hatred, and sneered fanatically, "You damned charlatans! One day you will pay for your evil deeds!"

Zack Hyde laughed heartily, "Hahaha! I want to see who will pay the price first..."

He got stuck in the middle of his words, and there was a wheezing sound in his throat as if he was coughing up phlegm. The white-robed priest who rushed in with him wanted to go forward and support him, but he waved his hands away randomly.

"Hehe~ Ugh... Ugh..." Zack Hyde suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black and red pus and blood into the sky, mixed with a large amount of flesh and blood that looked like internal organ fragments.

He staggered two steps and suddenly heard several strange noises behind him.

Bang!Bang!Bang!
What exploded behind him?
Zack Hyde turned his bulging neck with difficulty and slowly looked back.

But they were horrified to find that the heads of several Knights of the Judgment Army who had awakened their bloodline talents, including the white-robed priest Raphael, suddenly exploded strangely, leaving only their necks gushing with blood and their bodies slowly kneeling on the ground.

"Why... did this happen? Demons... you, succeeded?"

The High Judge turned his head again, looked at the cultists who were also terrified, and asked with difficulty.

Before the other party could answer, a strange flush suddenly appeared on his face, causing Zhu Jian to kneel on the ground in extreme pain.

After a "puff" sound, Zack Hyde's eyeballs were squeezed out of his eye sockets and fell to the ground with a "pa" sound.

Then, his head finally made a terrifying crackling sound, and then slowly split open. Blood mixed with scarlet brain matter flowed down his neck, staining his pure white robe with endless crimson...

(End of this chapter)