30: Chapter 30 Gods are so useful!

Kas Town Church.

Inside the solemn main cathedral, the two-story-tall statue of the god was lifelike; its divine eyes, in particular, contained a glimmer of light, as if a real living being were watching over the mortal world.

On the neatly arranged pews, the Believers wore solemn expressions, hands clasped over their chests, heads slightly bowed, listening intently to Charlie praying on the pulpit at the very front.

After a long while, the ceremony concluded, and the Believers stepped forward one by one, pulling the few copper coins from their pockets and stuffing them into the donation box.

Watching the Believers file out of the church, the heavy doors closed shut.

The benevolence and gentleness in Charlie's eyes faded away; keeping up this act every day was quite tiring, so he decided to take a break.

Just as he was preparing to return to his bedroom, the main door was pushed open a crack from the outside, and a Believer slipped in.

Believers were different from ordinary followers; the former were those who had officially joined the church and received an identification badge.

"Lord Bishop." The Believer approached. "A Guard from the garrison just came by and said that Captain Rone has gone to see off a guest."

Charlie was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected such good luck. After waiting only one night, that guy had already walked out of the town.

With the magic scroll I gave him, he is bound to die at Rone's hands. I need to speed up my progress on this end as well.

Once I deal with the mayor and then silence Rone, even if the magic family behind that guy comes looking, they won't be able to find out that I was the one who orchestrated this.

Even if they manage to track me down, without eyewitnesses, they wouldn't dare do anything to me.

It was even less likely that the church's higher-ups would send high-ranking Believers carrying Truth-Seeking Gems to investigate just because of their accusations.

After clarifying the sequence of events and ensuring there would be no slip-ups, Charlie smiled.

"Go call the mayor and tell him I have something to discuss with him." After speaking, he pondered for a few seconds, worried that the mayor might refuse, and added, "Tell him this is a divine oracle sent down by the gods."

The Believer's face was full of piety, mixed with a hint of envy.

He had only recently joined the Kas Town Church, and he had heard from his seniors that Bishop Charlie was the only lucky one here who could communicate with the gods and receive a divine oracle.

"I'll go right away." The Believer bowed in salute and backed out of the room.

Seeing that the person had left, Charlie immediately returned to his bedroom to retrieve a bottle of milky-white potion, went into the kitchen, ordered the chef to prepare some desserts, and then went to the dining room to wait.

Soon, three plates of desserts sweetened with cane sugar were served. Waving the chef away, he poured the potion into two of them.

Then, he pushed those two plates toward the seat opposite him.

Just as he finished, the mayor walked in, following behind the Believer.

Just as Charlie had expected, the mayor sat down opposite him: "Bishop Charlie, regarding the divine oracle..."

"First, taste the desserts I had the chef carefully prepare."

Interrupted, the mayor showed no impatience and grabbed a piece of baked white bread, stuffing it into his mouth and chewing.

Watching his throat bob a few times as he swallowed the bread, Charlie smiled: "The gods have sent down a divine oracle. In seven days, the Kas Town Church will dispatch all its Believers, including myself, to carry out a mission to clear out the magical beasts outside the town."

"At that time, I hope the mayor can mobilize the Guards to provide assistance."

The mayor was stunned for a moment. He had thought the meeting was to inquire about the progress of arresting the outsider, but it turned out to be about magical beasts.

Although he didn't understand why this greedy leech had suddenly changed his ways, since it was a divine oracle and could solve Kas Town's current troubles, it was a good thing after all.

"Of course, Bishop Charlie, I will prepare immediately."

Having said that, he was about to get up and leave, but Charlie stopped him, his fingers pressed together and straightened, pointing at the desserts on the table: "Waste is a shameful act."

The mayor didn't dawdle; he sat back down and wolfed down the food, while Charlie took small bites of the dessert in front of him.

Before long, the two porcelain plates by the mayor's side were clean. He stood up, gave a greeting, and walked straight out.

Charlie stared at the receding figure, inwardly marveling that he must be favored by the gods.

He had originally thought that the potion needed to be taken for seven consecutive days and that there might not be enough time, but he hadn't expected that because the mayor was so old and frail, the potion would take effect immediately.

He could clearly perceive that the mayor's aura was gradually weakening; by evening, his Knight Magic would be completely sealed, and he would become an ordinary old man.

"Call two Believers." Charlie looked at the Believer standing to the side. "When the moonlight covers the earth, send Mayor to meet my god."

The Believer was somewhat confused. The mayor had always cared for Kas Town, having spent almost his entire life for the town's prosperity, and the townsfolk loved him dearly.

Thus, he asked hesitantly: "Lord Bishop, church rules prohibit armed conflict within the town, and besides, the mayor..."

The second half of his sentence was cut off by the gaze Charlie swept over him: "This is a divine oracle. He has committed the sin of blasphemy; when cleansing a heretic, there is no need to worry about the location."

"I understand." The Believer nodded solemnly; a divine oracle could not be wrong, and he had an obligation to eliminate the heretic who blasphemed against the gods.

After he left, Charlie summoned five more Believers: "The three of them, Nuosi, defied the gods by using force within the town. When they return to the church tonight, judge them."

Watching the five Believers turn to stand Guard at the gate, Charlie smiled.

In this life, the thing he was most grateful for was successfully joining the church, because...

"The gods are just so useful."

...

North of Kas Town, a dense forest.

Zhang Mu stood at the edge of the forest, looking it over with some amazement in his heart.

The massive tree crowns overlapped layer upon layer, letting in almost no sunlight. The trees were towering; had Zhang Mu's vision not been greatly enhanced by the influence of magic power, he would have been unable to see the branches at the top.

"With this scale, and no one regulating or charging fees, this would make timber companies on Blue Star cry with envy."

Muttering this, Zhang Mu glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye without leaving a trace, the corners of his mouth curling slightly, and he walked deeper into the forest.

About five minutes later, a dozen or so Guards followed closely behind and arrived at this spot.

Rone crouched down to examine the weeds that had been trampled on the ground, then stood up and waved: "Follow!"

As the captain of the Kas Town garrison, although his talent was poor and he couldn't cultivate transcendence, having long been led by the mayor into the forest to hunt wild beasts or magical beasts, he still possessed basic tracking skills.

Running along the trampled traces of vegetation on the ground, as they ventured deeper into the forest, Rone felt increasingly strange.

His speed was fast, and he was about to reach the dangerous area where magical beasts were active, so why hadn't he caught up yet?

The combat power of wild beasts and magical beasts was vastly different; the dozen of them were not afraid of wild beasts, after all, they were all armed with spears and wore full-body armor.

But if these few ordinary Guards, armed with mundane iron, encountered a magical beast, their only chance of survival was to feed the beast until it was full before all their companions died.

In the past, dealing with magical beasts was always done by the mayor holding them off from the front while they moved around to deal additional damage.

With the mayor not present, Rone dared not enter, or even approach, the areas where magical beasts were active.

Chasing to the edge of the magical beast area, he raised his hand to signal a stop, staring at the walking traces on the vegetation extending inward, his face gloomy.

Bishop Charlie said that guy hadn't learned magic yet, and if he hadn't practiced with weapons either, his combat power might be inferior even to an ordinary Guard.

Why did he have the guts to venture alone into the dangerous area inhabited by magical beasts?

Have I been deceived?

Goosebumps broke out all over Rone's body, and he shivered involuntarily. He turned around, intending to retreat the way they came: "Withdraw from the forest, quickly!"

"Since you're already here, why not chat for a while before leaving?"

The unforgettable, familiar voice rang out from behind. Rone's neck felt like a rusted gear as he stiffly turned around.

The guy who had once beaten him up was leaning comfortably against a tree trunk not far away, holding a wooden staff with a transparent crystal gem at the top.

A chill shot straight from the soles of Rone's feet to his heart.