Witch Troupe and the Undead

"Of course, what are you if not heretics?" The paladin lost interest in continuing the conversation, and simply pulled down the black cloth. The thick black cloth, enchanted with silencing magic, locked the priest's questions inside the prison cart.

"The moon is shining brightly tonight, which seems like a good omen; the Lord is watching over us."

"Moonlight does not belong to our Lord's domain, please be careful with your words." This area around the entrance of the West District is the headquarters of the Moon Mother Church. If the other side hears this, it will inevitably lead to a conflict.

"Sorry, I was just saying." The knight glanced at both sides of the road. After nightfall, there would be no pedestrians on the suburban streets, and even the lights were scarce, since lamp oil was not a cheap resource.

"All inventories are complete, we can depart now." The convoy slowly moved forward along the road, passing through the intersection of the train platform. The train from the mine was quietly parked beside the platform, with heavy ore containers piled up like mountains, and something seemed to be wriggling in the shadows between them.

“We really…” a voice came from the shadows, “Shut up, this is the goddess’s oracle, a clear oracle!” The voice fell silent again, the night absorbing all sound like a giant black sponge. The knights on guard around the caravan in the distance only glanced at it briefly before looking away.

"Wait, there seems to be an aura of evil here, I..."

"Don't move. It's those sinful mages again. It's never going to end."

Previously, the Sin Masters had no conflict with the Goddess's servants; rather, they were all believers. The Goddess's power protected them from being corrupted and harmed by sin when they studied "evil," and they, in turn, provided the Goddess's servants with valuable knowledge and skills.

Every great sin mage is a professional criminologist. In ancient civilizations, they mostly served not only the courts of the Church of Nightfall but also the royal power, playing important roles in justice, interrogation, and pursuit.

By analyzing and understanding sin, defining and comprehending its boundaries, gazing into the abyss just before it's too late, and seizing its power—this is the daily research and power cultivation method of a great sin mage. Of course, nowadays, almost every single one of these sin mages is rushing headlong down the path of evil.

However, this is quite normal. The closer one gets to the abyss, the easier it is to be attracted to evil. The more one understands criminology, the more one knows how to commit crimes. The more one pursues perfection in criminology and evil, the more one cannot resist the urge to commit a "perfect crime".

Even back then, corrupted Sinners were key targets of the Church's Inquisition, and their former colleagues and comrades would even provide assistance. As the Inquisition's most important "Night Executioners" force, these Night Clan warriors were naturally accustomed to distinguishing between Sinners and Sinful Mages, and... how to smell their presence.

Lilith and the others were also waiting in the woods by the roadside.

"Damn it, why was that pastor from the Spirit Response Church arrested too?! Aren't they only arresting heretics?!"

"Uh..." His companion hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should tell the frantic boss that the Inquisition, regardless of which god it was under, was an organization with different names and similar functions, whose greatest function and mission was to "catch cultists."

The God of Desire worshipped by the Spiritual Church was clearly not a legitimate entity, so among these prisoners, he was the least wronged and the one who should have been arrested and brought to justice.

When people arrest dissidents under the pretext of "heresy and heresy," they end up arresting someone who is actually involved in a heretical cult. It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

Meanwhile, inside the prison van.

"Brother, you haven't said a word since just now. Are you also a clergyman who was captured?" The priest looked at a guy in the corner who looked a lot like himself and asked gently. Those who could be captured by those lackeys should also be believers in the Horse-Headed Lord.

"Ah, yes, yes!"

As the only cultist among a group of orthodox believers, this guy is incredibly dangerous. If his identity is exposed, he'll probably be beaten to death in the prison van before he even reaches the Holy City.

"Alas, yet another devout brother has been murdered," the pastor sighed.

"Ah, yes, yes!"

"...Did you even understand?" We're trying to understand you, what are you even doing?

"Ah, yes, yes... I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous..."

"Ah~" The priest seemed to realize something, a look of sudden understanding on his face. "There's no need to be afraid. We are merely using the flames of that heresy to enter the Lord's sanctuary ahead of time."

"..." That's what scares me! You might go to heaven, but I'm a cult member, I'll go to hell! Oh no, according to those priests, I'll be purified, soul and all!

"The Holy Lord of Horse Head will protect us, for we are all beasts of burden in this world."

"..." He really wanted to say that the horse-headed cult leader looked even more like a cult than the one he was running, at least the statues weren't so strange and distorted.

"By the way, is the Holy Lord you worship also a horse head?"

"Isn't it a cat's head?" I answered instinctively, and the entire prison van fell silent.

Chapter 236 Crossroads

The western plains were peaceful under the cover of night. The wide dirt road stretched towards the Holy City. As the main road connecting the Holy City and the Imperial Capital, this road had been repeatedly and tirelessly patrolled by paladins and patrolling cavalry. Apart from harmless creatures like the "horned rabbit," there were no monsters or bandits around.

The fact that a woman carrying a child could walk all the way from the capital to the holy city on a pilgrimage speaks volumes about her safety. However, for the escorting team, even on such a safe road, the atmosphere was one of extreme tension and vigilance.

Every so often along the main road, a wooden lamppost with a brazier hanging from it can be seen, guiding travelers and pilgrims. On both sides of the road are flat farmland and occasional sparse woods. The harvested farmland gleams with a faint silver light under the moonlight. Simple fences separate the road from the farmland, with clumps of dried flowers and grasses scattered among them.

A purple-furred horned rabbit emerged from its burrow. This harmless monster's horn could emit arcs of electricity to scare away predators, but that was all it could do. It cautiously weaved through the weeds of the abandoned farmland, watching the passing convoy of vehicles, their wheels making a rhythmic crunch as they rolled over the soil.

"Whoosh!" The sound of an arrow piercing the air made the little creature shudder. It was about to burrow into its nest when a sharp arrow pinned it to the ground.

"Not bad archery skills~" The judge calmly nodded to the hunter not far away. Hunting rabbits and wolves does not require a hunting permit, and hunting monsters does even less so.

Most of the monsters living here are harmless. The few dangerous monsters are not enough to satisfy the hunting needs of the nobles in the capital. These harmless monsters are also an important source of income for the nearby residents and villagers.

The hunter lowered his worn-out felt hat, bowed slightly to the caravan, picked up the horned rabbit, deftly fastened it to his belt, and then searched for his next target.

The horns of a purple horned rabbit are worth about five copper coins, and its fur is one copper coin more expensive than that of a regular rabbit. As a low-value magical paper material, magic workshops and academies buy it in large quantities.

Purple horned rabbits are one copper coin more expensive than normal horned rabbits. However, most of the purple ones on the market are dyed purple with the juice of purple stone flowers, rather than being natural. Natural purple horned rabbits are very rare, with only one in several hundred being natural.

As for the horned rabbit meat, it was no different from ordinary rabbit meat; it would only end up in some stew pot. The hunter hurried across the fields and back to his hut, where several visitors were already waiting for him.

"Did you observe carefully?"

"Look carefully," the hunter casually tossed the hard-won horned rabbit into a corner, as if it were nothing more than a worthless piece of trash.

“Three mercenaries, two paladins, one battle priest, one inquisitor, plus six guard cavalry, and some armed monks.” “The mercenaries are from the Iron Hand Mercenary Group; they have a very good reputation.”

The Iron Hand Mercenary Group is a well-known mercenary group near the capital, renowned for its reputation, and its fees are not cheap.

"It seems the Holy City Church has guessed what we're going to do, and they've strengthened their defenses." A normal convoy escorting heretics wouldn't need such a powerful security force; there are seven superhumans alone, and six more near-superhumans.

Paladins are not a separate path of transcendence. Most of them are warriors and knights who serve the church. Because the church is usually more financially powerful, paladins have better equipment and training. Some paladins with inspirational talents will also try meditation and prayer to guide divine power into gifted power.

Some paladins are actually former battle priests who have switched professions, abandoning some of their holy magic training in favor of developing extraordinary physiques and learning close-quarters combat techniques. Therefore, they cannot be simply regarded as ordinary warriors who do not understand any magic or supernatural powers.

"Two paladins, the older one is the one-eyed Ike. He participated in the Holy War fifteen years ago and lost an eye. Don't underestimate him."

"The War of Holy Light? The battle against the Serpent Temple in the south? I heard that the Holy City lost its last organized Holy Knights, otherwise it wouldn't have succumbed to the Emperor's scepter."

The Serpent Temple is a typical cult that worships a divine lord monster and sacrifices living people. At first, the church didn't pay attention to it, but when they started capturing local church priests and nobles as sacrifices, they launched a large-scale holy war.

However, due to the characteristics of the southern swamps, a large portion of the church's elite forces and armed forces were taken away by traps, diseases, and those strange and bizarre swamp magics during this battle. Having lost its last organized knightly order, the monks, mercenaries, and a small number of paladins and battle priests were clearly insufficient to fight against the Empire's power.

“I’m not familiar with the younger one. He’s probably a newcomer from the Holy City. But considering that you can hit three priests with a single brick in the Holy City, the probability of him being a battle priest is not low. This means that the other side has at least three and a half spellcasters.” Inquisitors are usually considered to be half spellcasters. They are proficient in various spells against demons and evil spirits, but they are slightly less skilled at dealing with people.

"The insignia of the Guard Cavalry seems to belong to the 'Brotherhood of Blood Hunters,' and they are elites sent from the Holy City. They are well-equipped." The Guard Cavalry are near-supernatural beings, and their training has reached the limits of mortals, which means they can use heavy armor and weapons.

Each guard cavalryman requires nearly a hundred gold coins to arm, and they are the church's only remaining professional combat force. However, their numbers are not large, and they can only barely maintain the church's current interests.

As for the armed monks, there's not much to say. They are essentially armed militia composed of believers, with slightly higher combat strength than regular militia, but only slightly stronger. The only problem is that most of them are fanatical believers, and once they cooperate with priests, they become fearless and ruthless. Moreover, they know how to cooperate with clergy in combat.

"We have the advantage in numbers and spellcasters. As long as we choose the right ambush location, we can close the equipment gap between us."

The priest said in a deep voice, "The ambush location is ready." The caravan slowly approached the crossroads. Unlike the previous places, this area was covered by a dense forest of fragrant trees. The wooden road signs were faintly visible in the shadows of the trees. The stone shrines at the crossroads were completely shrouded in shadow, and the candles in front of them had been extinguished, making the knights feel the hairs on their bodies stand on end.

"Why haven't these trees been cut down yet? They look a bit too..."

"See these fragrant trees? The local lord wouldn't dare cut them down unless he wanted a complete crop failure next year."

Shrines to the Earth Goddess are even found along the roads leading to the Holy City. Putting aside the fact that ordinary farmers have an almost fanatical devotion to the goddess, if these shrines were demolished, the church would likely incur public wrath.

The fact that the Earth Goddess is the only known deity with definite "divine punishment for the destruction of a nation" remains means that no one dares to gamble on whether their castle will be buried in the ground.

"Ah... Loving Mother Earth, please forgive me!" The paladin quickly clasped his hands together and bowed in apology. He also had his own land and manor. If the goddess really caused a complete crop failure, then he would have to enjoy the fruits of the Redemptionists' reforms ahead of time—maintaining his basic vital signs with plain water, bread, and vegetables, and almost permanently saying goodbye to cheese, desserts, fatty meat, and spices.

"Don't worry, no one will make a move in the goddess's sanctuary." Unless that person wants to eat shit instead of food next year, this fragrant wood forest is her sanctuary. After the caravan entered the campsite by the crossroads, they relaxed their vigilance somewhat, but still did not unload the draft horses. They only fed them bean feed and added a few eggs as a supplement.

Several cavalrymen rekindled the extinguished campfire in the center of the camp and began to cook dinner on the campfire. Of course, the prisoners also needed a meal to sustain their vital signs, to ensure they wouldn't die before being sent to the stake.

"Creak~" The winch slowly pulled the bowstring, and then the archer put three steel bolts into the firing slot. This type of steel winch crossbow was a common weapon for close and medium range before the advent of magic crossbows, and it was enough to penetrate most shields and medium armor at close range.

However, with the advent of the magic crossbow, this type of steel crossbow became much rarer. Compared to the magic crossbow, which could fire cheap wind crossbow bullets, this weapon was not only difficult and time-consuming to load, but also had lower accuracy and lethality.

The only noteworthy feature is its ability to fire three bolts at once, creating a fan-shaped rain of arrows to suppress the enemy. The sound of the crossbow's clattering mechanism made the night watchman grab his shield and raise it. Almost instantly, the powerful crossbow bolts struck the shield with a dull thud.

"Enemy attack!" The monks and guards grabbed their shields and moved toward the vehicle. The judge decisively kicked the fire away, sending the burning wood flying toward the direction of the attack, illuminating both the enemy and himself.

"Whoosh~" One after another, hunting arrows flew out, their target not the knights who were impossible to pierce, but the draft horses pulling the carriage. "Lord!" Just as the holy light curtain descended, several light arrows flew out and crashed hard into the shield.

"You must remember your promise. The goddess has granted your request, but you cannot take the body away, nor can you damage the shrine or this grove."

The earth pilgrim, dressed in an earth-yellow robe, said solemnly that he had received a divine message that he could turn a blind eye to what was happening here, but there were still some rules to follow, such as not setting fires and not damaging the earth or the shrine.

An attacker wielding a logging axe rushed out from the shadows and slammed it into the shield of a monk soldier. The wooden shield shattered instantly, but the axe was also jammed. The lumberjack, who clearly had no combat training, was stabbed in the stomach by the monk soldier. However, before the blood could drain, holy light of healing fell upon him.

Moreover, more spells and projectiles flew toward the priest who was casting a buff spell, forcing him to stop preparing the buff spell and instead cast a protective spell.

For priests, prioritizing self-protection on the battlefield is a fundamental strategy. Even if they cannot cast spells to help their allies, it means they are consuming the enemy's precious spellcasting power. Usually, it takes at least two or three spellcasters of the same level to completely suppress a spellcaster.

Therefore, spellcasters rarely do this on the battlefield, unless... "the enemy has far more spellcasters than we do!"

"They're all low-level spellcasters!"

"Even the lowest-level lightsaber can kill a monk soldier instantly!" The Inquisitors were not as optimistic as the guards and priests. The Inquisitors understood the truth that "the lowest-level spells can be deadly attacks" better than anyone else. In their careers, the number of unfortunate souls who had been caught off guard by the low-level spells of those cultists could fill all the graves behind the Church of Judgment.

However, as the guards formed a defensive line with vehicles and began loading their magic crossbows, the attackers found themselves in some trouble.

Those knights, clad in enchanted armor, were simply no match for these ordinary farmers and lumberjacks who had been converted into combatants. Even with the aid of spells, the stark differences in experience, physique, and equipment between them made it difficult to sustain their offensive.

"Consecration!" A holy light shone on the shield and hammer. Ike slammed his shield down, taunting his opponent. In the instant the latter froze, a shield bash sent the man flying. Then, driven by supernatural power, the massive warhammer, weighing at least eighty pounds, roared and smashed a low-level armed believer to the ground. His bones were easily shattered into pieces as easily as a reed.

The screams made the attackers pause for a moment, and then holy light enveloped them. However, even with the magical enhancement, the priests did not have a strong holy magic heritage. They could only suppress the opposing priests and judges by sheer numbers. It would be difficult to take care of the two paladins and three mercenaries.

"..." On the other side of the forest, Lilith gathered her hair up, and fig leaves slowly burned on the small ritual altar. In the smoke from the incense, magic drawn from the illusory concept of "original sin" wove itself into shape like threads under the guidance of the fig wood staff.

"Sloth!" A lazy wind blew by, and both attackers and guards felt a weariness that emanated from the bottom of their hearts, as if the best thing to do at this moment was to lie down and have a good sleep.

"Mental spell! Use Invigorate now!" the Inquisitor shouted. The priest decisively sacrificed one of his shields to unleash a quick "Consolidate Faith" spell. This spell can greatly enhance a person's faith and will, thereby generating resistance to mental spells.

However, they clearly misunderstood the Great Sin Magic. While it resembles mental spells in appearance, it is not a mental spell. Instead, it draws power from the concept of nothingness, and the influence on the opponent's mind is merely an external manifestation.

"Burning Fury!" Another Sin Mage released several light butterflies. The pink light butterflies flew through the chaotic battlefield and attached themselves to an attacker wielding an iron axe.

Instantly, his muscles bulged, and his entire body was engulfed in crimson flames. He swung his axe fiercely at the knight's shield in front of him, carving a deep gash into the enchanted steel shield. The immense impact forced Old Ike back half a step, a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face.

It seems that this ordinary person suddenly reached the power level of Extraordinary II, and what kind of evil power is this blood-red flame? As for the man wielding the axe, anger surged from the bottom of his heart, transforming into tangible power like a berserker, and his whole body was filled with a feeling of omnipotence.

Mental magic can also incite anger, but anger is just anger. Even in a state of extreme anger, it can only cause anger for a moment, at most making people lose their minds or use anger to resist more serious mental effects, such as abnormal mental states released by enemies, such as "disheartening". However, it is useless against materialized mental spells, such as telekinetic bombardment.

However, the Great Sin Magic is different. It comes from the power of the concept of nothingness. In other words, the angrier you are, the more power you draw from your anger. It is a visible, temporary supernatural power that can be granted. This power comes from the extraction of your own life force and mental energy, and is essentially no different from the berserk state of a berserker.

In ancient civilizations, this kind of magic used by the Sinner was also part of "tactical magic," and it was very useful on the battlefield.

"Envy grips me!" The shadow thorns tightened suddenly, wrapping around the heart of a weak-willed monk soldier. Some abnormal emotion spurred him to swing his weapon at the back of the nearest guard cavalryman.

Purple thorns visibly wrapped around himself and his enemy. Sensing something was wrong with his teammate, the cavalryman instinctively punched him away, but the thorns on his body tightened instantly, the sharp spikes piercing through the metal armor like phantoms, digging into flesh and tearing through muscles and blood vessels.

"What kind of evil magic is this?! What kind of evil magic are you using?!" The young paladin, seeing the defenses on the verge of collapse, panicked. This evil magic was definitely not the Holy Lord's power; it was too bizarre. "Demons! Heretics!!!"

"No, it's not our magic, there's a third party involved..." The priest realized something was wrong, but now they had the upper hand.

"Abandon these heretics, let's retreat!" The inquisitor decisively issued the order. Heretics could be arrested again, but the loss of the church's fighting force here was a real loss, and the other side's hijacking of the prison van also proved that they were indeed heretics. Seeing the church members begin to abandon the vehicle and retreat, the attackers stopped pursuing.

"Clang!" The short sword cleaved through the chains and shackles, and the priest forcefully pulled open the carriage door. "Brothers, you're safe now. Um... what's wrong with him..." A guy with a bruised and swollen face was huddled in the corner of the carriage. "A heretic." The priest straightened his clothes, trying to wipe away the blood, but failed.

“We must leave here immediately, or the church’s lackeys will soon summon reinforcements.”

"What about him?"

"Ignore him. He's a true heretic. It makes no difference whether he's burned to death by the Holy City or we are."

The attackers came and went quickly, and the Great Sin Mages breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, they were prepared. Lilith approached the prison cart only after the attackers had left. "Pastor Ryan of the Church of Spiritual Response? Your people have entrusted us to rescue them..."

"In the name of night and stars!" The moonlight suddenly disappeared, and an unsolvable darkness enveloped the surroundings. All sounds and lights vanished into the night, with only a few starlight points still falling, forming a cage of faint light that illuminated the bruised and battered priests and sinful mages, making them the brightest and most conspicuous targets in this darkness.

"Sinful sorcerers...it seems you have forgotten the fears you once had." A voice echoed from all directions in the darkness, its source impossible to discern.

"Thorns!" Illusory thorns surrounded the mages, forming a temporary wall, but no one felt safe, because the enemy was in the dark, and their numbers, types, and strengths were completely indistinguishable. For mages, the most hated thing was this kind of battlefield where they knew nothing!

Chapter 237 The Main Business of the Church of Night God

“Four sinful sorcerers…” A faint voice came from the darkness, “What a surprise. I thought we wouldn’t encounter anything like this again after we left the valley. It seems that with the goddess’s return, some things are also reviving.”

The commander of the Night Hunters muttered to himself. Their mission was to capture and interrogate the heretic. But now it seemed these heretics had gotten involved with the sorcerers of sin—a truly unexpected turn of events. Or was this some kind of divine guidance?

"Use Starwrap, everyone. Do not make contact with these sinful sorcerers." The order was transmitted along the faint starlight. The Night Clan hunters were very experienced in dealing with sinful sorcerers. Most of the Great Sin spells had a prerequisite: all of their arcane arts required "capturing a target." In other words, there were no "untargeted" spells.

Whether it's a psychic bombardment, a morale booster, or a demoralizing wave, the psychic ritual can be released or unleashed in an open area without a specific target. However, the Great Sin Ritual cannot target non-existent targets, targets that are not physically present, do not possess sinful magic, or targets that the caster cannot accurately target.

Starting with "Dark Veil" followed by Starbound Movement Mode is a basic maneuver against these corrupted sorcerers. "Do not enter the area of ​​those thorns, act according to the canon." The illusory purple thorns are locked onto the mage himself. As long as you don't step near the mage, these thorns will not produce any counterattack effect, only a pure defensive function.

"Whoosh!" Several short arrows shimmering with starlight flew over. These arrows, thrown by hand, were not very powerful; their real killing power came from the stellar divine power they carried.

"Bang!" The thorn whip struck the starlight, exploding into a series of dazzling stars. However, these stars were like stickers on a black curtain, failing to illuminate the environment at all. The light butterfly that was flicked out lingered in the air for a long time before turning into smoke and disappearing. It had not locked onto its target.

After unleashing its arrow, the hunter activated Star Entanglement mode and left the spot. "Butterflies..." the commander murmured. Then Lilith sensed an extremely ominous aura descending from the sky. "Get out of the way!" A burst of starlight fell, transforming into swirling milky-white butterflies. Countless butterflies chased after the mages, like a magnificent storm.

"It's a blessed holy art!" This was a holy art mode I had never seen before, and these light butterflies had an extremely strong perception and restraining effect on the great sin magic power on my body. The thorn defense surrounding my body was quickly reduced to a thin, almost invisible phantom.