Demon Bible

Chapter 90: Judgment Squad

'Not bad at all...' Nemus thought to himself. This was likely the proper way to utilize the Precept of Forgiveness moving forward.

He needed to forgive powerful experts or even extend absolution to entire factions, aggregating their numbers to harvest a wealth of traits and attributes.

'And most importantly, this method will allow me to grow increasingly familiar with the entire Divinity.'

Since he possessed two souls, splitting his attention was a trivial matter for Nemus.

While lost in thought, he continued to observe the infamous Old Bones Tavern.

A scattering of patrons currently occupied the establishment.

However, most of these guests seemed terrified of the light.

They hid behind masks and heavy veils, terrified of revealing their true faces. Thick cloaks and heavy garments shrouded their entire bodies.

Beyond this secretive clientele, his attention was drawn to the two Clerics seated at the bar.

One was the century-old retired Holy Knight, Dong Luo.The other was the ambitious Priest, Dong He, a man just shy of his fortieth birthday.

Dong Luo sat there with unshakeable composure, slowly nursing an unrecognizable beverage.

Dong He, however, glared at Nemus with a dark, brooding expression. Under the flickering tavern lights, his gaze harbored a quiet, spectral intensity.

"Lord Nels..." Das murmured as he trailed behind Nemus, attempting to guide the Holy Knight to a secluded corner to discuss the illicit whale product trade.

However, Nemus merely threw him a sidelong glance. Das immediately understood the unspoken question: 'Do you really have the authority to call the shots here?'

Before the stunned Das could react, Nemus bypassed him and strode directly to the bar.

"Let's talk," Nemus declared. "What's my cut going to be?"

Everyone within earshot froze. Was he actually being this blunt?

"I do not understand what you mean..." Dong He stammered, visibly caught off guard by the sheer audacity of the question.

While everyone in the room knew perfectly well that the meeting was arranged to discuss the whale product monopoly, openly blurting it out like this completely disregarded all tact.

"Enough, Dong He," a gravelly voice interrupted. At this critical juncture, the seasoned veteran stepped in to stabilize the situation.

Representatives from various prominent families had gathered tonight specifically to bear witness to these negotiations.

In recent days, following the scandal involving Westbin, the underground whale product trade had spiraled into total chaos.

Multiple factions were currently vying for control. Although the Old Bones Tavern was undeniably the most powerful player on the board, they struggled to command absolute obedience from the other groups.

Their original plan had been to suppress Nemus's momentum from the start. They wanted to introduce him as a counterweight to their rivals while they acted as the mediators. This would establish the tavern as the ultimate authority over the trade and further solidify their prestige.

Instead, Nemus had seized the initiative, completely upending their carefully laid plans by dragging the core issue right out into the open.

They had already lost the opening exchange. If they tried to play dumb while their opponent threw such a brutally straightforward pitch, any remaining leverage they held would instantly evaporate.

Dong He might have possessed decent talent for cultivation, but his path to power had been far too smooth. When backed into a corner, he simply lacked the grit and composure to tackle the problem head-on.

"The exact cut is negotiable. We are more than willing to extend opportunities to promising young blood, but there is one glaring issue." Dong Luo filled a mug of ale from an inverted keg beside him and slid it across the counter. The rich, earthy aroma of roasted malt wafted toward Nemus.

"How long can you actually hold onto your position?" Dong Luo asked, locking eyes with Nemus as he awaited a genuine answer.

"You have your own troubles with the Dartmenerly family, and Westbin is likely watching your every move from the shadows."

"We orchestrated this gathering tonight, in part, to gauge your true capabilities."

"You must be aware of the intense political struggles raging above us."

Dong Luo was referring to the bitter conflict between the Enclosure Faction and the Governance Faction.

The flames of this rivalry had already spread to Tail Fin Town, fueled by the scandal of the old pastor purchasing illicit materials from heretical cults.

Now, the Clerics within the Judgment Squad who aligned with the Governance Faction were weaponizing the situation. Claiming that the heretics required vast quantities of whale products, they had begun invoking the Judgment Squad's emergency powers.

By utilizing the Grid and Church Spells, they had started to monitor and police countless shadowy corners and supply chains that usually operated outside of their jurisdiction. "Only by cementing your authority as a Great Knight can you hope to weather this political storm," Dong Luo added.

"If the heretical cult remains active, if Westbin is left unchecked, if the Judgment Squad continues to breathe down our necks, and if you fail to resolve your own personal crises, your seat will crumble beneath you. Even if you turn a blind eye to our operations and refrain from making arrests..."

"...This lucrative business will still bleed out and die." Dong Luo was simply laying bare the harsh reality of their situation.

As things stood, the Floating World Society—the twisted cult tied to the old pastor—remained entirely active.

The Governance Faction was shamelessly using their continued existence as a convenient excuse to heavily police the distribution of all whale products.

Furthermore, due to the prolonged vacancy of the Great Knight position, no unified internal opposition had formed against them. Smaller, under-the-table transactions could still slip through the cracks.

However, the lifeblood of this enterprise was scaling up the operations.

Without a massive volume of trade, the generated profits might seem like a fortune to an Ordinary Person, but they were little more than pocket change to the heavyweights sitting in this room.

Dong Luo himself had few worldly desires left, but Dong He was still relatively young. He still clung to a glimmer of hope that he could ascend to the Golden Rank.

The other factions were in a similar boat, driven by the ambitions of the Nobles who led them.

They maintained lavish, private strongholds in the untamed wilderness. From these fortresses, they oversaw the brutal excavation and production of resources stripped from the Floating Whale. They were the primary producers in this deadly economy.

The problem was that funding such massive, clandestine operations required a staggering amount of capital.

Without the river of gold that flowed from large-scale transactions, their bloody mining operations would inevitably collapse under their own weight.

The other major power player in Tail Fin Town, Bishop Rhine, was notoriously eccentric. He refused to lift a finger to aid the Governance Faction, yet he did absolutely nothing to impede them either.

Consequently, Nemus had suddenly become the linchpin holding everything together.

Only an active Great Knight possessed the formal authority to command the Judgment Squad to back down from their aggressive surveillance.

Furthermore, he would ideally need to obliterate the Floating World Society. Once the dust settled, the Judgment Squad's emergency privileges would be revoked by default.

Only then could their shadowy enterprise truly stabilize.

This delicate balance of power was exactly why the moment Nemus had begun poking his nose into the whale product trade, these kingpins had scrambled to arrange this secret summit.

They were bleeding money and time, and they could afford to waste neither.

"I see," Nemus chuckled, a dark smile playing on his lips as he raised his frosted mug. "It seems our partnership will be quite fruitful."

The suffocating tension in the tavern finally began to dissipate.

"Crushing the Floating World Society won't be an issue, nor will dealing with Westbin. However, as a newcomer, I currently only have two reliable subordinates. I will require some... assistance." As he spoke, Nemus shot a fleeting glance at Krew, who was standing nearby with his head bowed. The young man looked as though he profoundly regretted following Nemus into this viper's nest.

'Are they really just openly conspiring to violate Church doctrine in broad daylight?!'

"But do not worry, I will not be asking any of you to provide manpower," Nemus added smoothly.

After a pregnant pause, Nemus slowly swept his gaze across the room.

He took in the sights of Dong Luo, Dong He, and the assorted representatives of the region's largest smugglers and producers.

"Back when I was stationed in Finback Village, I acquired several loyal helpers. Naturally, some of their backgrounds might be a bit... unsavory."

"Some of them you might even recognize. So, could you do me a small favor?" The moment the words left his lips, the shrewd veterans gathered in the tavern immediately read between the lines.

The lingering chill in the air vanished completely, replaced by the low hum of relaxed murmurs and hushed laughter.

A few of the more secretive representatives even reached up and pulled away their heavy masks and veils, rising to their feet to offer Nemus a toast in silent solidarity.

By brutally shutting down Dong He's initial attempts to suppress him, Nemus had proven his formidable capability.

And now, by deliberately exposing a fabricated flaw—his reliance on criminal associates—he had signaled that he was just as corrupt as the rest of them, successfully earning their trust and acceptance.

A preliminary Covenant had been forged.