50: Chapter 50 The Temple's Response and Rewards

The subsequent events unfolded rapidly.

Less than half an hour after receiving news of cultist activity, a squad composed of Temple of Wealth punitive knights and priests charged out of the temple gates on magical warhorses, their horseshoes striking dense sparks against the stone road.

At their head was a tall man clad in full-body silver armor, with the holy emblem of the Temple of Wealth engraved on his breastplate. He carried a warhammer on his back, its head's runes glowing faintly in the morning light.

He was followed by four heavily armored knights and two high-ranking priests, with every person's warhorse saddle equipped with blessed weapons capable of inflicting extra damage on undead creatures and chaotic monsters.

Several hours later, the punitive squad returned.

The warhorses' hooves were stained with dark purple slime, and the silver-armored knight's warhammer still bore uncleaned monster bloodstains.

The lead punitive knight captain had a private conversation with Richard in the temple's secret chamber for a moment, confirming the full situation inside the mansion.

The captain's expression was grim from start to finish; he was not doubting, but rather digesting the information.

It was clearly not his first time dealing with chaos cults, but every time he encountered a sacrificial site of this scale, any rational person would find it unbearable.

It was just like seeing a cockroach in your home; it is very likely that a whole nest of them is already hidden away.

That afternoon, the Temple of Wealth officially sealed off The Noblewoman's mansion, announcing that all property would be confiscated by the temple and subjected to a "purification ritual."

Of course, the official explanation was that these items might be tainted with dark aura and must be handled by professional clergy, as they were unsuitable for ordinary people to touch.

The Pirate Council did not step forward, did not refute, and did not intervene; this was enough to speak volumes.

Golden Island claimed to be an absolutely safe neutral zone, yet a cult sacrificial stronghold, disguised for several years or even decades, was hidden on the island, and the Pirate Council either did not know or pretended not to know.

Regardless of which it was, it was enough to make them lose face to the point where they dared not openly compete with the Temple of Wealth for influence over this matter.

The next afternoon, a representative from the Pirate Council arrived.

He was a middle-aged man wearing an exquisite gray suit, claiming to be Blackbeard's private secretary, with his hair combed meticulously and a cunning smile on his face.

He shook hands with Richard in the temple's reception room and, in a very sincere tone, thanked them on behalf of Blackbeard for "assisting in the discovery of the evil forces hidden on the island."

He then handed over a heavy leather bag containing a full one thousand gold coins; this was hush money.

The secretary did not say it explicitly, but the implication between the lines was very clear.

They were to align their story externally: that this matter was discovered proactively by the Pirate Council in conjunction with the temple, the perpetrators had been killed on the spot, and everything was now safe.

Richard accepted the leather bag; it would be a waste not to.

After returning to the temporary lounge provided by the temple, he divided the gold coins into two piles.

Five hundred gold coins were handed directly by him into the donation box of the Temple of Wealth; besides paying for the medical treatment, it was also a gesture of his position.

A gray-robed temple clerk raised his eyebrows high when receiving this donation, then quickly reported the matter to his superior.

That evening, the punitive knight captain who had previously spoken with Richard came to the lounge in person and handed him an amulet worn on a silver chain.

The amulet was only the size of a thumb, with a silver casing, and embedded inside was a milky-white holy crystal cut into a small square, with the holy emblem of the Goddess of Wealth and a circle of intricate protective runes engraved on its surface.

"Young adventurer, I must warn you, the waters run very deep here." The captain did not smile when he spoke, his tone calm, like a veteran giving advice to a recruit.

"This is not a matter for adventurers of your level to get involved in. Leave Golden Island as soon as possible. This amulet can defend against evil spells, but it has limited uses, so don't waste it."

"Respected Knight, we understand. Once my teammate's injuries have recovered, we will leave Golden Island immediately," Richard replied.

He immediately used Appraisal to check it, which revealed that this amulet counted as a disposable magical item, capable of passively casting a low-level Protection from Evil spell three times.

Richard hung the amulet around his neck and tucked it into the collar of his leather armor.

He visited the treatment room again; Morpheus's eyeball had already been reimplanted into his eye socket by the high-ranking priest.

The muscles and nerves around the eye socket had been reconnected and healed under the influence of divine magic, but the eyeball itself still needed time to adapt to the new blood circulation.

The high-ranking priest said that his vision would recover, but it might be sensitive to bright light in the short term and would require gradual recovery.

Morpheus lay on the treatment bed; his purple eyes could already open, and although his pupils were still somewhat unfocused, at least his eyeballs were moving.

When he saw Richard walk in, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but his throat was too hoarse to speak.

Richard stood by his bedside for a moment, then placed his cleaned robe and staff within his reach before turning and walking out of the treatment room.

The remains of the wealthy merchant's daughter and that guard were found in a corner of the mansion's basement, along with a large number of other disposed-of corpses.

The temple cremated them, and the ashes were placed in a simple yet heavy ceramic jar, with the seal covered in wax.

The priest said they could take the ashes back to return to the wealthy merchant, with the temple acting as a witness.

A week later, when the merchant ship they were traveling on docked, it was already evening, and the sea breeze blew towards them, carrying that familiar salty, fishy scent.

There were fewer people at the Blackwater City port than when they had left, and several pirate speedboats had disappeared at some point.

The fish market in the dock area had also closed early, leaving only a few old fisherwomen squatting by the pilings, mending fishing nets.

Richard did not delay and led the group directly to the wealthy merchant Griffin's mansion.

The wealthy merchant's expression was grim when he took the ceramic jar.

He held the ash jar in his arms and stood in the living room in silence for a long time.

The curtains in the living room were all drawn, the light was dim, and several servants were hiding in the hallway, not daring to make a sound.

After his wife took the ash jar, she clutched it tightly to her chest, and when she turned around, her eyes were already red.

The wealthy merchant fulfilled all his promises—a reward of two hundred gold coins, plus two bottles of healing potions contained in thick, small crystal vials.

The bottles were sealed with the seal of the Temple of the God of Healing, and the labels were written in neat Common language, reading "Ordinary Healing Potion" along with the name of the producing temple and the batch number.

The market price was a full fifty gold coins per bottle, and they were often unavailable even if one had the money, usually being snapped up by adventurers as soon as they hit the shelves, or sold directly at auctions for an even higher price.

Finally, he handed over a golden membership badge tied with a black silk ribbon—the highest-level membership qualification for the Black Silk Chamber of Commerce.

With this, one would receive a 20% discount on all items purchased or sold at any shop under the Black Silk Chamber of Commerce, and could participate in the guild's internal auctions and purchase high-level magical items at any time.

Richard divided the two hundred gold coins in their hotel room, forty for each person.

He did not divide the two bottles of healing potions; he wrapped the bottles in a soft cloth and tucked them into the innermost compartment of his backpack.

Richard said, "I will keep these two bottles of potions. Whoever is most severely injured in battle will have priority to use them. Any objections?"

Jinbao winked and said, "I hope I never have to use them!"

Cecilia only looked at Richard with gentle eyes; that gaze indicated that she had long agreed with all of his decisions.