39: Chapter 39 What is the First Magician of the Kingdom of Lake?

In the forest outside the town, bathed in moonlight, the howling of wolves echoed loudly.

The town mayor was furious; Haige's actions were tantamount to slaughtering the townspeople.

Kas Town was small and remote, but it still had over 2,000 residents. If Haige and his men were to interrogate them one by one using the Truth Gem, they wouldn't finish even in a full day and night.

Moreover, magical beasts could attack at any moment. Even if Haige and his men were outnumbered by a terrifying horde of magical beasts, they could easily escape, but the ordinary townspeople would have no hope of fleeing.

Taking a deep breath, the town mayor said with a dark face, "I know who killed Bishop Charlie."

The seven Fanatics, who were busy taking out the Truth Gem for lie detection, and Haige, who was walking over to conduct the interrogation himself, all looked toward him.

Haige returned to stand opposite him. In his heart, he wanted to unleash a Holy Light Bomb and blast him to death for daring to conceal the whereabouts of the heretic.

But he didn't do it; he still needed him to provide clues as to where the heretic had gone.

"Speak."

"He is hiding in a cave in the forest north of the town."

Narrowing his eyes, Haige sneered and asked, "How do you know that?"

"I was the one who took him there."

The seven Fanatics gripped the hilts of their swords at their waists, staring at him with emotionless eyes.

Haige raised his right hand, signaling them not to act rashly. "Although your faith in the gods may have once wavered, the gods are merciful and are willing to give you a chance to return to their embrace."

"So, you had better not be lying to me."

Listening to the wolf howls in the forest getting closer, the town mayor nodded firmly. "I can lead the way for you."

Tsk, the departure had been too hasty. He hadn't expected such a heinous incident as a heretic attacking the church, so he had only brought a low-level Truth Gem as per the routine regulations.

A low-level Truth Gem had no effect on knights, but life was precious and worth cherishing.

He had agreed to lead the way so decisively; he probably wasn't lying, even though death still awaited him in the end... Let him live a little longer.

"Release the townspeople, Mr. Mayor, let's go." Haige gestured to the seven Fanatics and, looking at the town mayor, tilted his chin toward the forest north of the town.

The town mayor didn't hesitate. He knew that if he showed even the slightest hesitation, Haige would definitely notice something, so he turned and walked toward the forest with large strides.

"Wait." A calm, moderate tone stopped the nine people who hadn't walked more than a few steps.

Zhang Mu, who had been spying from a short distance away for a long time, felt a pang of emotion as he looked at the terrified townspeople surrounded by the Fanatics and the town mayor who was prepared to die.

He had always thought that stereotypes were wrong, but now it seemed there was a reason why they existed.

When one possesses power, uses that power to successfully control others, and discovers that no one can keep them in check, even the most humble person finds it difficult to remain true to their original self.

Of course, such people certainly exist, but they are relatively rare, and clearly, the Church is not among them.

Seeing the nine people preparing to leave, Zhang Mu stepped forward and walked toward them.

He didn't consider himself a hero, nor did he ever intend to become one.

However, since he had caused the situation, he naturally had to resolve it himself.

To take responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, whether good or bad—that was what the orphanage director had taught him since he was small.

He had taken those words to heart and had always lived by them.

As he approached the town mayor and the others, Zhang Mu raised his hand and pinched the pin behind the badge on his chest.

Although Potter had just warned him not to take it off in the future, he didn't want to implicate Potter and Avril because of himself.

He had the panel, he wouldn't die, and becoming stronger was inevitable; others didn't have that.

"Junior," Avril appeared behind him at some point. Her cool, soft palm reached out from the right and pressed down on the back of Zhang Mu's hand.

"Teacher said that no matter what happens, you are not allowed to take it off again."

Zhang Mu turned his head. In Avril's ice-blue pupils staring at him, he saw himself, and he also saw light.

A man with the courage to take responsibility was filled with a fatal charm, a feeling Avril sensed very clearly.

"But Senior, I..."

"If Teacher were here, he wouldn't allow you to take it off either."

"Let's go." Avril lowered her fair hand and pulled a blue-and-white staff with the texture of refined steel from the wide sleeve of her robe, with a crystal gem inlaid at the top that reflected a faint, ice-blue light.

You are right, Junior. If we retreat here, what would be the point of what Teacher is trying to do?

Zhang Mu looked at Avril's back as she walked forward, smiled, and gently stroked the surface of the badge, tracing the lines of Potter's portrait.

He strode after her and calmly stopped the nine people: "Wait."

They turned around subconsciously. When the town mayor saw clearly that it was Zhang Mu, his expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to say something, Zhang Mu waved his hand to signal him not to.

"This person, what was the Bishop's name again?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter." Zhang Mu's mouth curled into a mocking arc. "That piece of trash Charlie was killed by me."

"..."

The air stagnated for a moment.

"Clang—"

Seven longswords were unsheathed, sounding as one, and the air was stirred up again.

"heretic!" the seven Fanatics shouted, fanning out to surround the two standing side by side.

Haige slowly walked to the front of the Fanatics' encirclement, his gaze wantonly sizing up Zhang Mu, finally resting on the badge on his chest.

A magic family, huh... Hm?

A somewhat familiar badge...

"What are you looking at, you bastard?" Feeling uncomfortable being stared at, Zhang Mu snapped back immediately.

"Heh." Haige chuckled. "I hope you can still curse like that when you are tied to the cross and the flames are lit beneath your feet."

"Mom, it's Mr. Zhang Mu." In the pile of townspeople, Lia, who was short and covered in a gray robe with only her chin exposed, whispered, wanting to come over here.

But she was held back tightly by her parents.

Zhang Mu heard her and knew who it was, but he didn't look in that direction.

"Two heretics, then. Execute judgment!" Haige glanced at Avril and ordered the Fanatics.

They raised their longswords, white light enveloping the blades, and charged.

Avril and Zhang Mu raised their staves, channeling magic power to cast spells.

A fight to the death was imminent, but it was abruptly interrupted.

Thud—

An invisible Mental Energy swept across, and except for Zhang Mu and Avril, everyone else present instantly felt as if their minds had been struck by a giant hammer.

"It's been a long time, Haige."

Potter held that wooden staff, which looked like a withered branch picked up in an autumn forest. "What do you want to do to my students?"

"Clang—"

Seven longswords returned to their sheaths simultaneously, and the seven Fanatics retreated together, only stopping when they were behind Haige.

Anyone in the Lake Kingdom with a bit of knowledge knew Potter.

The moment the Fanatics saw him, they understood that this matter was no longer something they could interfere with.

Haige's consciousness was still in a daze. After a long while, he shook his head and looked up at Potter.

It's him? Why would he be in Kas Town?

Students? No wonder, I thought the badge looked familiar...

It doesn't matter; even if it is him, he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on me!

After pondering for a moment, Haige raised a confident smile:

"Bishop Jarvis is my mentor. Even if I were to die in the wilderness, he would do everything in his power to hunt down the killer."

"Mr. Potter should understand what I mean."

Potter flashed a mouthful of white teeth. "Why are you hiding so far away?"

Hearing this, Zhang Mu finally noticed that Haige was quietly moving his feet backward, causing the Fanatics to retreat as well.

Being discovered, he silently stopped his small movements and was silent for a moment. "Mr. Potter,

The Church has been tolerant enough toward mages. As long as mages do not use magic to attack others in human settlements, even using magic is not considered the use of force.

But this time, your students attacked the church and killed the local bishop.

Such an act of defiance must face the judgment of fire.

Even if you kill me here, you won't be able to escape. Instead, you will be implicated, and the Church will mobilize overwhelming force to capture you."

"Mr. Potter," Haige advised earnestly, "It's just a student. Your life is long; you can just find another one, right?"

The Church was not only terrifying in its strength, but its sphere of influence was also vast.

Except for villages that could be wiped out by magical beasts at any time, from the capitals of various countries down to the most remote corners of small towns, there were churches established by the Church.

Haige's warning was not a bluff.

If it were a minor conflict, hiding in deep mountain villages and not showing off everywhere, the Church might not bother with it.

But violent conflicts are forbidden in human settlements; this is the Church's taboo, and touching it means certain death.

For any defier who has the guts to violate this church rule, the Church will go to any lengths to mete out the punishment they deserve.

Otherwise, what would other mages who are watching coldly think?

Haven't seen you in a few days, has your Church gone soft?

You yell every day that anyone who dares to cause trouble in human settlements will be killed, and now that someone has done it, how are they still running and jumping around?

Potter naturally knew this too.

But he was not worried, smiling: "How about we make a bet?"

"If I win, you destroy the monitoring crystal and pretend that what my students did never happened."

"And if you lose?"

"I will commit suicide on the spot."