Demon Bible

Chapter 110: Three Interns

Fights between bottom-tier gangs involved very little skill.

It was simply a contest of who was more level-headed and who had more courage.

Having gained a certain degree of invulnerability through a sliver of demonic power, the leader of the Black Star Gang only suffered superficial flesh wounds, even though the enemy's blades had left several bloody streaks across his body.

In contrast, the members of the Rope Gang had their bones shattered by his bare fists and feet, leaving them writhing and wailing on the ground.

As the fierce battle concluded, very few people remained in the alleyway.

With the Rope Gang members groaning on the ground, many of the laborers who had initially been drawn to the commotion seized the opportunity to slip away in the opposite direction.

The only ones left at the scene were the gang leader, Fass, and four or five men who had surrounded the leader earlier. Al had originally wanted to run as well, but he could not bring himself to abandon his friend Fass, so he stayed behind.

"Let's fall back for now and rally our forces. In a couple of days, I'll smash the Rope Gang!" the leader declared, glancing down at the dimming Inverted Pentagram Ritual Array and the few Rope Gang members scrambling away at the far end of the alley.

He then led the few brothers who had passed the test away from the scene.

Because Fass had proven his worth by spotting the Rope Gang's ambush early, the Black Star Gang leader had even pulled him close, treating him as a trusted confidant.After all, most people at the bottom rungs of society lacked the courage to stand up. Since Fass possessed such bravery, he was considered a rare talent.

Given the circumstances, Al found it inappropriate to step forward and call Fass away.

He could only grit his teeth and follow, planning to find an opportunity to explain the gravity of the situation to his friend and drag him out of this mess.

By the afternoon, three figures appeared near the alleyway.

Behind them trailed several Rope Gang members with bruised faces and arms resting in slings.

"Is this the place?" The three Intern Holy Knights advanced into the alleyway without waiting for a reply.

"There is indeed a lingering Demonic Aura." The Breathing Techniques practiced by Holy Knights mostly included specialized methods for detecting demons.

Through these Breathing Techniques, if the air currents they inhaled contained a Demonic Aura, the technique would trigger specific changes to alert them.

"Was this the work of the Floating World Society's remnants?" a blond Holy Knight asked, a hint of resentment in his voice.

The Floating World Society had ties to demons, and some of their followers wielded demonic power.

Thus, whenever a new wielder of demonic power surfaced, his instincts naturally pointed toward the Floating World Society.

In truth, this was a perfectly logical assumption. With the core of the Floating World Society captured, the stragglers could not simply return to an ordinary life.

Their ambitions would continue to drive them to establish new, smaller religious orders and expand their influence.

At this thought, the blond Holy Knight's spirits lifted.

"Lord Nels has given us a second chance. This time, we'll teach them a lesson they won't forget!" the blond Holy Knight declared, brimming with motivation.

He had previously set out to deal with the Whale Dung Beetles, only to be secretly sabotaged by members of the Floating World Society, resulting in his injury and failure.

According to the rules, he would have had to wait over a year before he could apply to become a full Holy Knight again.

Now that he had been granted a second opportunity, he was naturally overflowing with gratitude.

Driven by this second chance and old grudges, the remaining two Intern Holy Knights were equally unwilling to let this opportunity slip by.

Even the foul stench that perpetually hung over the South District seemed to vanish from their senses.

On one hand, they extracted relevant information from the Rope Gang members, such as the identity of the person wielding the demonic power and his home address.

On the other hand, they began tracking the traces of the Demonic Aura and questioned the locals to see if anyone had noticed the direction the group had fled. Unfortunately, the Black Star Gang leader's parents had died early, and he possessed no fixed residence.

As for the surrounding residents, most wanted nothing to do with the trouble. No matter what they were asked, they all pleaded ignorance.

Some were even the very people who had gathered around to watch the brawl earlier, but out of fear of being arrested, they kept their mouths firmly shut.

The three Intern Holy Knights were simply too green. After a busy afternoon, they failed to glean a single piece of useful information.

In the end, it was the Rope Gang members who uncovered a clue through the threat of violence.

A laborer named Fass had neither returned home nor shown up for work.

It was highly likely that he had been seduced by a demon and become a believer.

The Rope Gang had already taken his parents into custody.

In truth, the three Intern Holy Knights looked down on these so-called gang members.

The Rope Gang was nothing more than a minor syndicate at the Seventh Street Docks, formed by a few former boat trackers and laborers.

Their leader's Attribute Value probably wouldn't even exceed five; he likely couldn't even withstand a single sword strike from them.

Gangs like these were essentially trapped in an endless cycle.

Initially, they were established by dock workers to protect themselves from being bled dry. Over time, however, they gradually lost sight of their original purpose. The gang members stopped working and turned around to leech off the very people they were meant to protect.

When their actions became too excessive, oppressed youths would naturally rise up, secure support from external factions, overthrow the current gang, and establish a new one.

And then the cycle would repeat itself.

Most Intern Holy Knights were nobles who had received a comprehensive education.

Among their case studies was the evolutionary history of such minor gangs.

"If it weren't for this so-called Construct Protocol, we wouldn't even need to step foot in this dump and endure these people's hospitality," a young man with short hair and triangular eyes grumbled.

He glared at his surroundings with deep disgust.

The so-called Rope Gang had offered them their finest provisions, but in his eyes, it was trash that not even his family's servants would touch.

Did those peasants from the Rope Gang honestly believe he would grant them preferential treatment over such garbage?

"Brent, don't show your disgust so openly," replied another Intern Holy Knight named Galen, who wore a headscarf that also covered the lower half of his face.

"We still need to use these people. They control the local turf, and they are far more adept at tracking down individuals in this area."

"Give them a sliver of kindness, and they will work exceptionally hard in hopes of forging a connection with us."

"Enough. Our top priority is finding the member of the Construct Protocol and uncovering their organization's structure through him." The blond youth, feeling a vague sense of discomfort from their conversation, interrupted.

"We cannot squander the opportunity Lord Nels has given us!"

"Gabriel, will you stop bringing up Nels every time you open your mouth..." The short-haired Brent instantly bristled at the blond's words, but Galen held him back.

Unlike Gabriel, Brent hailed from a noble family. Most of his elders had ties to the Judgment Squad, and his uncle had previously been defeated and humiliated by Nemus. Because of this, he never had much of a favorable impression of the man.

Having been dispatched to the Dung Path the first time, and now forced into the South District the second time, he still harbored a fair bit of resentment toward Nemus.