A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 581 Spirit and Fire

Sakya is very cautious, and sometimes he can be ruthless just to be safe.

On the very night he arrived in the city of Upfel, where he sought help, a small team began to enter the countryside from the city's outskirts.

Their actions were secretive and swift. They investigated house to house, and if there were any unidentified statues, props that could be used for rituals, or suspicious symbols in a household, they would knock them down, arrest them, and throw them into a carriage.

The items will be sealed and moved. Those associated with the cult will have their lives decided after a hasty trial, and in order to avoid missing any targets, most of them will be burned.

The "Firebearers" of the Tower of First Flame are responsible for carrying out these tasks, similar to the Star-Robed Mages of the Valuwa Guild. They perform special missions that require strength and loyalty.

For example, it's unlikely that the guilds can "clean things up" now; only their strong intervention will suffice.

The raid went very smoothly. The "harvest" from five or six surrounding villages filled thirteen four-wheeled carts, with people and goods still there, clearly indicating that the underground religious group had spread and developed among the farmers.

Until the early hours of the morning, in the seventh village, far from the city, they encountered something unusual.

The local villagers spotted them, and suddenly everyone surrounded the outsiders, holding torches and waving rakes and pitchforks.

The defensive magic that the firewood carrier casually conjured was enough to withstand the villagers' attacks, and he wasn't afraid of even crudely made hunting rifles.

The three-person team responsible for the village braved the crazed villagers, calling for reinforcements using the [Radio Communication] spell, as they made their way towards the large barn, where the villagers had the most protection.

Before they even arrived, they heard a series of loud banging sounds coming from the barn door. It seemed that the barn and the door had been reinforced with haphazardly placed wooden strips, and even so, the iron locks and chains securing the door appeared to be teetering on the verge of collapse under the impact.

A nauseating stench emanated from every crevice of the building.

Realizing they could not stop the three outsiders, the desperate villagers threw down their weapons and began to kneel and weep before the barn.

The cries gradually merged into one; the louder the crying outside, the more violent the impact from within.

"Prepare for battle." The man carrying firewood finally became serious.

The sound of hinges and wood warping pierced the cries, followed by the most powerful impact. The force was far beyond what an ordinary human could muster; sure enough, the one who smashed through the door was no longer human.

Four or five white monsters emerged, their bodies covered in pinkish growths, roughly resembling gorillas. Some had unusually large arms, others had short, thin, shriveled legs, and still others had twisted or deviated spines.

These monsters were covered in grass and filth, and had many wounds and bloodstains.

Not only were they able to evade the mage's probing attacks, but after rushing out of the barn, they also quickly formed a formation, attempting to surround the three outsiders.

They are resilient, aggressive, and cooperative.

After completing their assessment, the Fire-Carrying Men swiftly unleashed the strongest magic they could muster. A wall of high-temperature plasma rose up around the three of them and then swept past at incredible speed, like a wildfire at its most intense, rapidly engulfing the onrushing monsters and villagers.

After dealing with the situation, the firewood carrier began interrogating the surviving villagers, learning the reason for the village's strange occurrence:

Almost every household in this village had a male member who went to war. Some never returned, while others returned with great difficulty, often with crutches or missing an arm.

In other words, the small village suddenly had a few more useless people.

They received some pensions, but the village was poorly equipped, so money was of little use. Then one day, a mysterious monk came and swindled all the money from these retired Imperial soldiers, leaving them only a few bottles of potion.

Hearing that it could turn them back into normal people, these young people, with a "nothing to lose" mentality, tilted their heads back and drank it all.

Their idea was simple:

If what the monks said is true, it would be wonderful if their lost arms and legs could grow back;

If not, since they've already lost all their money and have nothing left to lose, they might as well end their own lives together.

But they were wrong. After drinking the unknown potion, these people's appetites began to surge. Some of these young people managed to get food, and their missing body parts actually began to grow. The others were overjoyed and tried every means to find food. They were willing to rob, steal, beg, or even eat raw meat and drink blood.

The end result was that the monsters, who sometimes went berserk and sometimes remained relatively calm and did not blindly attack the villagers, were imprisoned in the lord's barn.

Before the monsters were fully burned, the firewood carrier examined their skeletons and found that they were larger than normal, with bone spurs growing on them, even inside the skull. It was hard to imagine how the brain tissue could coexist with them.

After taking samples and packing up the surviving villagers, the three burned down the entire village.

Several similar serious pollution incidents were discovered overnight in remote villages. These "firewood carriers" became igniters, wiping out several poor settlements.

Meanwhile, Saga moved about within the city. He spread his senses as wide as possible, searching for the source of his unease.

There are many sources. Once he pinpoints a location, he will break through the building's obstruction and sometimes even discover altars, gatherings, and exclamations of worshippers.

When these people saw Sakya, they scattered like a swarm of rats, but none of them could escape the range of Sakya's flames.

The fire magic used by the Tower of the First Flame cannot be simply summarized as "evocation." The flames they ignite possess a special quality, with a more powerful ability to expel evil spirits.

This is not something that magic clouds can easily replicate. The root cause is the result of people's continuous worship of fire and its symbols, as well as the gods who hold related powers, since ancient times, accumulating the power of faith.

These accumulations did not dissipate, but were all contained within the "Primordial Flame." It is both the first flame and the source of the primordial sacred fire.

The monks who enter the tower will hold a ceremony to establish a connection with the fire.

Now, the sacred flames begin to burn throughout the city. Sakya is confident that he can control the fire, ensuring that no innocent people are harmed and that no evil goes unpunished.

Shouts filled the air as security teams rang bells to wake city residents, who frantically tried to put out the fire.

The Grand Master watched all this indifferently. Without his permission, the fire would continue to burn, and ordinary people would not be able to extinguish it. But once the purification was complete, the fire would be extinguished quickly according to his will.

"Brilliant spellcasting, able to control so many flames at the same time." A lazy voice and listless clapping suddenly appeared from the rooftop beneath his feet.

"Who are you?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Gregory, the Pope of the Empire."

"The empire has no state religion, so what kind of pope is this?" Saga frowned. He judged that the other party was also someone who had been driven mad by the corruption and torment of dreams, and planned to burn him as well.

"You still intend to burn me?" The wicked monk saw through the other's intentions. "Master, can you guarantee there won't be any wronged souls beneath the flames?"

Gregory half-opened his hand and half-closed it to his ear: "I heard the cries and wails of the common people. You are the one who caused this tragedy. Please listen carefully."

In an instant, a piercing scream poured into Sakya's ears, ruptured his eardrums, and took over his brain.

(End of this chapter)