In the name of the true god

That day, which was Monday, September 24, 448 of the Christian calendar, at 2 p.m.

Exhausted to the point of near collapse, Tang Ping and the other workers at hatch number three finally completed the task assigned by the foreman without incident.

The intense labor that lasted for more than eight hours only earned him 90 copper coins as payment.

Even with the lowest possible expenses, Tang Ping would need to earn 110 copper coins a day just to make ends meet, but having only eaten a pound of bread in the morning, he simply didn't have the energy to take another shift.

So hungry...

So thirsty...

My palm hurts so much...

Thankfully, Jude trained this body to its full potential; otherwise, if an ordinary person were to be struck like that, they would probably lose half their life.

Tang Ping, who hadn't rested all night, walked towards the cheap apartment while still feeling sleepy. Then he remembered that the same bed could only be used at night, so he had to stop and think about where to go next.

The tavern should be open for business by now?

Why don't we go over there first to eat and drink something, warm up a bit, and maybe gather some information while we're at it?

Soon, Tang Ping arrived at the nearest tavern.

Pushing open the wooden door, a wave of heat, a mixture of smells of alcohol, tobacco, and sweat, hit me.

Tang Ping subconsciously raised his hand to swatt away the flies that flew towards him, then covered his mouth and nose, walked around the nearly full round tables, and sat down at the bar.

"What would you like to drink?" asked the middle-aged bartender with a thick beard behind the bar.

"What kinds of wines do they have?" Tang Ping had no idea.

"If you want to quench your thirst, drink light beer or dark beer. If you're here to drown your sorrows, then drink gin."

"What about food?"

"We have bread, cheese, salted fish, and stew here."

Tang Ping, who considered himself to have a moderate alcohol tolerance, nodded slightly: "A light beer, a pound of bread, and a stew."

The light beer was first pushed in front of Tang Ping. He picked it up and took a small sip. It wasn't too bad, but he drank half a glass in big gulps because he was so thirsty.

Then, before he could think about how to naturally strike up a conversation with the bartender and glean some useful information, a sensitive conversation broke out from near the fireplace.

Because the tavern was quite noisy, Tang Ping tried hard to listen, but he only caught a few key words: "fire" and "priest".

It's not hard to guess that the fire was most likely caused by the noise he made last night.

But what's the situation with the priest? Could it be that the fat wizard's death has attracted the attention of the Holy Church?

Tang Ping took a deep breath, suppressing his unease, and casually chatted with the bartender: "I think I heard someone mention a fire and a priest. What happened?"

The middle-aged bartender was pouring drinks for another customer when Tang Ping asked him a question. Without looking up, he replied, "There was a fire in the warehouse by the dock late last night, and someone died in the fire. A priest from the Holy Church came to investigate at noon because of it."

This actually attracted the attention of the church...

Tang Ping took a sip of his wine and asked casually, "Isn't a fire a normal occurrence? Why did it alarm the priests? Could there be more to this than meets the eye?"

"The detectives who arrived at the scene first found a lot of empty bottles, so they suspected that the deceased had been a customer here. They even brought me an old photo to identify him." The middle-aged bartender shrugged. "Unfortunately, that photo is at least twenty years old, and the body was burned beyond recognition. Even if the deceased had recently bought something from me, how could I possibly recognize him?"

Old photos from at least twenty years ago?

How did the detectives and priests find out the fat wizard's true identity so quickly?

Tang Ping's expression was slightly unnatural: "Could he be a wanted criminal?"

"I don't know," the middle-aged bartender said dismissively. "But the priest's involvement is most likely related to some kind of heresy."

"Is there any progress with the priest?"

The middle-aged bartender glanced at Tang Ping and joked, "I'll go to the church and ask for you sometime."

Tang Ping gave an awkward smile.

Another worker, sitting at the bar and looking slightly drunk, chuckled softly: "Heh, I suggest everyone keep their eyes peeled lately. If we really manage to encounter heretics at the docks, we can make a fortune by exposing them to the church."

Tang Ping's memory was slightly stimulated by the word "exposed".

He recalled that in another world, in order to eliminate heresy to the greatest extent possible, the four holy churches united with kings and prime ministers of various countries to promote a system of generous rewards for whistleblowing and strict punishment for cover-ups throughout the world.

The most well-known example is the bounty of at least 500 gold coins that can be awarded by the local church for providing just one clue about a wizard or resonance sorcerer who is later deemed to have some value.

This is equivalent to my salary as a loader for a year and a half!

Anyone who dares to cover up or fail to report incidents involving wizards or resonance sorcerers will be burned at the stake once the church verifies their involvement, with no chance of pardon!

Depend on……

Tang Ping forced himself not to look pale and racked his brains to reply, "...Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky. From childhood to adulthood, I've only witnessed the execution of heretics once and heard of a few heretics."

"Definitely. Those heretics aren't stupid, how could they possibly expose their identities so openly?" The worker was just saying it; he didn't really intend to turn the huge dock upside down by himself.

Tang Ping had originally planned that if the other party asked him what heretics he knew, he would naturally mention Edmund Ravenscrow, who was involved as a wizard.

Since I vaguely remember this name, others might have heard of it as well.

Even if others don't know, this kind of ordinary chat won't cause any hidden dangers.

But the worker didn't follow his plan at all, so he had to be more direct: "Have you heard of Edmund Ravenscrown?"

The atmosphere at the bar changed slightly.

"Hehe." The neighboring worker chuckled, "Those were people from many years ago."

The middle-aged bartender saw that Tang Ping's glass was empty: "Would you like another one?"

"Okay," Tang Ping replied.

"You seem quite young, it's rare that you can remember Edmund from back then," the middle-aged bartender remarked as he refilled Tang Ping's drink. "What else do you know?"

The reactions of the others were beyond Tang Ping's expectations.

Judging from this, Edmund did indeed make a name for himself in the past.

He said vaguely, "I only know that he seems to be quite capable."

"More than just powerful. Edmund is undeniably the most powerful entanglement wizard in history." The middle-aged bartender emphasized solemnly, "Back then, he constantly recruited and rescued his kind who were hunted and imprisoned by the Holy Church, wandering every corner of the continent, spreading heretical beliefs, and attempting to overthrow the Church's rule. The Holy Church, in conjunction with various countries, launched hundreds of extermination campaigns against Edmund, but he repeatedly managed to escape."

Tang Ping was startled.

The Edmund I encountered in that mysterious space turned out to be the most powerful entanglement wizard in history?!

Depend on……

If I had known he was this amazing, I should have become his apprentice immediately!

The middle-aged bartender continued, "However... just when everyone thought that this thorn in the side of the church would sooner or later turn the whole world upside down, His Majesty Leonard, who was then the Crown Prince of Florence, personally laid a trap and finally arrested him after paying a heavy price."

"So Edmund is in prison now?" Tang Ping couldn't help but ask for the answer.

"Heh, you didn't know that?" a worker chimed in. "Not long after he was imprisoned, the four holy churches organized a public execution, with His Majesty Leonard, the greatest contributor, personally carrying out Edmund's execution by firing squad."

died?

Tang Ping was stunned.

The middle-aged bartender then added a crucial piece of information: "It was originally thought that the death of a number one criminal like Edmund would surely deal a heavy blow to the heretics, but no one expected that the madman would actually utter a curse on the execution platform before he died—of course, from the heretics' perspective, this is a great prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Tang Ping asked dryly, still struggling to process the news of Edmund's death.

The middle-aged bartender lowered his voice with apprehension: "That madman claims that the gods worshipped by the four holy churches are false gods, and that the year 450 of the Christian calendar will be the year of divine descent. At that time, the only true God will descend upon the world and slay the true heretics."