Demon Bible

Chapter 198: Conversation

Gotthard looked the same as before, appearing quite down-to-earth.

He steered the Whale Flying Carpet downward, followed by the female priest holding a book.

It was obvious that the female priest still remembered Nemus fleeing before the battle. Although her face remained expressionless, the disdain in her eyes was quite apparent.

However, this was not the time to deal with personal emotions.

After requesting instructions from Gotthard, the female priest swiftly joined the medical team.

Most of the clerics in the crowd had been injured by a Standard Demon. That Standard Demon used Crimson Control as its main ability, possessing a fast attack speed and a wide area of effect.

The most critical issue was that the enemy's attacks were laced with poison.

Once struck, the victim's blood would undergo necrosis, gradually corroding their bones, internal organs, and other tissues.

The divine arts of an ordinary priest were largely ineffective at dispelling this Blood Toxin.

It required a cleric at the Iron Rank to purge it.However, the Iron Rank priests had already exhausted many of their spells and divine arts during the preceding battle.

Their remaining energy simply wasn't enough for large-scale healing operations.

Once this Blood Toxin damaged the brain, the victim would be truly beyond saving.

On the other hand, Gotthard went with Nemus to see Jacquard Ben, who had been cleaved in half by Nemus's sword.

Of course, this was just a formality.

After all, Nemus slaying the Demon Warlock had been witnessed by over a hundred clerics at the scene.

Under such circumstances, forgery was virtually impossible.

Of course, there had once been a case where a cleric collaborated with a demon, using Illusion Magic to stage a public execution of the beast, and even produced its assimilated and modified vessel as proof.

Due to lax inspections, that individual managed to slip through the cracks, used that merit to secure a key position, and subsequently stole an important holy relic from the Church.

Ever since then, regardless of eyewitness accounts, inspecting and archiving evidence became mandatory procedure for any investigator sent by the Church following a major incident.

Fortunately, Nemus had not faked anything. The corpse was verified to be Jacquard Ben himself, and his body bore heavy traces of erosion from demonic power.

In the secret room beneath his castle, they also discovered his unique Secret Method of transforming Desire into a demon.

The evidence was conclusive, and the facts were indisputable.

The only problem was that the Ben family's accumulated wealth was pitifully small.

However, interrogations of captured family members confirmed that this was expected. Over the past decade, the family's accumulated resources had essentially been drained dry by Jacquard Ben alone.

In his desperation to advance to the Golden Rank, he had gone completely mad.

Everything tied together perfectly. Search teams even found a special black robe in the hidden chamber, a garment capable of concealing an individual's identity.

This indirectly linked Jacquard Ben to the individuals who had previously attacked the Nidon Family. Perhaps those assailants were the very demons he had summoned.

Naturally, this connection was rather tenuous for now. Black robes were standard equipment for any criminal wanting to mask their identity.

It was simply that the Demon Warlock currently stood as the prime suspect.

After all, given his family's destitution and his desperate rush to reach the Golden Rank, combined with his unorthodox cultivation methods, it was entirely logical for him to target the Nidon Family and the Baiter Merchant Guild.

After finalizing the records, Gotthard did not rush to leave. Instead, he levitated into the air, gazing down upon the entirety of Tail Fin Town.

A moment later, an intense light flared, followed by the descent of a terrifying Spiritual Pressure.

The materialized mental will enveloped the entire city in terror. Most of the criminals caught in the act immediately clutched their heads and collapsed, completely stripped of their ability to resist.

Meanwhile, everyday citizens felt something sweep over them, but it passed like a gentle breeze, causing no actual harm.

The mental will possessed by Iron Rank Holy Knights, also known as Iron Will, could resist mental attacks like Illusion Magic and charms. A rare few powerhouses, such as Nemus, could even invert this to suppress others.

Yet, it still paled in comparison to the sheer will Gotthard was projecting right now.

This was the Golden Will unique to the Golden Rank.

Driven by this will, the physical manifestation of his Spiritual Pressure could subject anyone who opposed his intent to overwhelming mental suppression.

It was a flawlessly precise strike dictated entirely by his own desires!

The turmoil plaguing the city seemed to be quelled in an instant.

With that done, Gotthard slowly drifted down, touching ground inside an estate. He came to a halt in front of a detached room.

The door creaked open, revealing the Saint Child Nimes. He tilted his head as he stared at Gotthard, his eyes flickering with fear and wariness.

"Are you here to kill me?" Gotthard had been to Finback Mountain before, and the Saint Child still remembered his aura.

"Why would you think that?" Gotthard pulled over a chair, sitting down in front of the Saint Child as he countered with a question of his own.

"Because it is highly likely that I am a weed," the Saint Child paused, then spoke in dead earnest. "Weeds compete with crops for nutrients, and they can even outgrow normal crops."

"The same applies to me. My existence surpasses that of normal humans."

"And when those humans are put up against me, they lose all competitive edge."

"Since I was not born a natural human, I will inevitably cause a massive disruption to human society." The Saint Child's cognition of this society had progressed at a terrifying pace; his understanding of the world was forming faster than anyone could have imagined.

He had essentially figured out the basic truth regarding himself, the Dartmenerly family, and the broader world.

The Saint Child System was, on a fundamental level, blasphemous.

At least, that was how a portion of the Church's clerics viewed it.

Priests were meant to be shepherds, guiding the mortal flock on behalf of God.

Saints, on the other hand, were the living Spokespersons of the divine. Yet now, certain clerics were trying to manufacture Saints through artificial means.

Therefore, whether the Saint Child wished it or not, his very existence was an affront to the divine in the eyes of many.

This was certainly true in the eyes of Governance Faction members like Gotthard.

Back at Finback Mountain, Gotthard had actually flashed killing intent toward him, though it had dissipated as quickly as it came, never transforming into action.

It was highly likely that Gotthard had spared him solely because he was just an ignorant embryo at the time, having yet to commit any sins.

But now, he had been brought out into the open by the Dartmenerly family and had awakened to the cognition of this world.

Therefore, it was only natural for Gotthard to come and kill him.

"You think too highly of yourself. To God, you are nothing." Gotthard shook his head.

The Saint Child simply stared back at Gotthard. He knew that to a farmer, a weed or two meant nothing either.

But weeds still needed to be uprooted.