Heroes' Prison

Chapter 1016 - 961 Pain Acolyte

In the ruins of Sally Garden, Huang Yi sat there all alone.

Perhaps in the heart of every man, there was once such a girl, whom he could only glance at from afar, not knowing her name, never crossing paths, like a dream from youth.

The silhouette of that girl by the window is the dream of Huang Yi’s youth, now completely traceless, as if it never existed. In comparison, Qin Shiyu, who grew up with him, is real, someone tangible and visible after waking from a dream, someone who can bring him peace.

Huang Yi stared for a long time, finally letting out a faint sigh, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"Don’t come any closer!" At that moment, a nervous voice of a young boy echoed faintly from behind a nearby ruin.

"Little one, praying when you’re about to die is useless!" An evil voice followed closely.

Huang Yi’s heart tensed, and he immediately followed the voice.

When he reached the vicinity of the ruins, he suddenly saw a familiar flag buried within the collapsed brick walls, the exposed part covered in dust, vaguely showing the word "Slay" on it.

Slaying Flag!

It was the banner of his forces; regardless if it was the Hero Guild, Hero Empire, or Heroism Religion, they all used the Slaying Flag, with only slight differences in detail.

Huang Yi observed closely and discovered that within the collapsed brick walls of this ruin, there were many shattered stained glass windows, domes, red benches, frescoes, etc... Judging from these building styles, this must have once been a Heroism Religion church temple.

The Heroism Religion is one of the largest gamer religions worldwide, with church temples spread across multiple countries, and over a hundred million believers entering to pray every day. As the birthplace, Hero’s Continent’s church temples fill every city of significant size, with the Slaying Flag flying wherever you go, and Thornbush City is no exception.

Huang Yi quietly hid behind a broken wall and looked towards where the voice was coming from.

In the nearby ruins stood a boy of about eleven or twelve, his small face dirty, clutching a broken sword tightly, nervously facing a statue standing amidst the debris.

The statue was actually of Huang Yi!

This statue was originally enshrined in the Heroism Religion’s temple. Despite the temple’s collapse, the statue remained standing amidst the ruins.

However, at this moment, atop the head of the statue crouched a member of the Demon Clan!

This demon’s appearance was almost human, but its skin was black, with a pair of black fleshy wings on its back, surrounded by a circle of black Demonic Qi.

He draped a black monk’s robe, his head shaved bald, with bloody engravings on the bald head glowing red, appearing eerily mysterious. Both of his eyes were blind, leaving only two ugly flesh cavities.

Pain Acolyte!

Huang Yi immediately recognized the identity of this demon.

In the Eternal Ancient Era, Groer the Remnant, the most loyal demigod follower under the command of the Queen of Agony, founded the Agony Demon Sect with the Queen as its deity, establishing countless Temples of Agony. The followers of the Agony Demon Sect were known as "Pain Acolytes." In order to gain pain, they had to perform an evil ritual of self-harm before joining the sect, such as cutting off their ears, amputating their limbs, or blinding themselves, to prove their faith in agony. Although each Pain Acolyte was crippled and their bodies incomplete, their power was incredibly strong, with some even being world-level powerhouses. They deeply understood the essence of pain and often traveled across the universe spreading pain, expanding the followers of the Agony Demon Sect.

By the time of the Primordial Era, Groer the Remorseful Sect Leader personally traveled to The Second World to spread the Agony Demon Sect. The unparalleled genius of the Feathered Race at that time, Johns, was attracted to join the sect, becoming a Pain Acolyte. He self-mutilated all his feathers, wholeheartedly studying the teachings of agony. Later, Johns reversed the teachings of the Agony Demon Sect, comprehending the true essence of holy faith, breaking away from the Queen of Agony, and eventually achieving Divine Enthronement, leaving behind the famed "Gospel of John." Repeatedly chanting this gospel could help people resist the allure of the Agony Demon Sect. Additionally, the feathers he once mutilated turned into one hundred thousand "Feathers of Johns," becoming treasures longed for by priests in later generations. Possessing one could enhance their Power of Faith, granting them greater Holy Light power.

Through this event, the Agony Demon Sect also became well known to the people of The Second World in later generations.

"Little one!" At this moment, the Pain Acolyte spoke again, spreading his black fleshy wings, casting a shadow that enveloped the little boy, his voice filled with temptation: "Instead of fearing us, why not become one of us? I am a High-Ranking Acolyte of the Agony Demon Sect—Crippled Eye. I have seen believers of countless religions, but rare to find one like you who prays to the God of Slaughter even facing death, showing your sincere piety. We need such devout followers. If you are willing to convert to the Agony Demon Sect, worship Her Majesty the Queen of Agony, we will grant you immense power. You’ve seen it. Our Demon Clan is invincible, having occupied countless such cities, destroying countless religious temples. The seven Demon Kings are about to gather, and when they do, the whole world will submit to us. The Heroism Religion can’t protect you. Converting to the Agony Demon Sect early is your only way to survive!"

The boy’s face showed stubbornness, holding his head high, he looked straight at the Pain Acolyte and said, "What about the Queen of Agony? Even her avatars were slain by the God of Slaughter and the others!"

"Hmph! Reckless!" Crippled Eye snorted coldly, demonic Qi boiling around him, turning into wrath, "This time, Her Majesty the Queen of Agony condensed six avatars. Power was too scattered, making each avatar not powerful. Even so, the God of Slaughter and the others used their strongest power, sacrificing their lives, to barely kill one of Her Majesty’s avatars. If Her Majesty were to send out a super powerful avatar, by then, even if fifty Gods of Slaughter came, they’d be crushed under a single finger of hers. I’ll give you one last chance. If you still refuse, you’ll end up like this God of Slaughter!" With that said, Crippled Eye’s wings folded violently, striking at the statue.

"Boom!" The next moment, the statue exploded into countless pieces, crashing down mixed with the ruins on the ground.

Among them, the head rolled precisely near the broken wall where Huang Yi was hiding, stone eyes staring directly at Huang Yi.

"If you have the courage, everyone can be a hero!" Suddenly, the boy’s expression became solemn, reciting the teachings of the Heroism Religion, devoutly uttering four words—"God of Slaughter Descending!"

As his words fell, a mass of milky white light suddenly surged from the boy’s body, gathering in the air before him, quickly forming into a man!

This man had four pairs of extraordinary wings; the first pair was blazing with fierce flames, the second covered in scales, the third thin as cicada wings, and the fourth dripping with fresh blood.

In his hand, he held an elegant golden axe scepter, covered in delicate light red engravings, the apex of the axe hilt sculpted into a roaring Golden Holy Dragon head, its dragon pupils blinking, occasionally shooting out bright gleams.

This summoned man was none other than Huang Yi!

Those four pairs of wings were the mark of his Divine Class after reaching the Third Tier—the Wings of the Demonic God. That majestic golden axe was his exclusive Divine Instrument Embryo—Wrath of the Godslayer!

Huang Yi, hiding behind the broken wall, was momentarily stunned but quickly realized that the boy had used a religious skill of the Heroism Religion to summon his clone!

The Heroism Religion’s religious skill was initially set by Huang Yi himself, named [God of Slaughter Descending]: The Heroism Religion worships the God of Slaughter, and the God of Slaughter will protect the Heroism Religion, blessing each believer. After a brief prayer by a Heroism Religion believer, they can use this skill to summon the God of Slaughter’s clone to aid in battle. The strength of the God of Slaughter’s clone varies randomly, ranging from 50% to 100% of the God of Slaughter’s attributes. The clone possesses most of the God of Slaughter’s talents and skills, excluding special talents and skills. The clone lasts for 1 minute. Each use of this skill consumes 20 faith contribution points, decreasing by 1 point for every level of faith the believer improves. Cooldown time is 1 day.

This skill is one of the most powerful skills in all player religions because Huang Yi is among the strongest players worldwide, and even a clone with 50% of his attributes possesses combat power far beyond ordinary. If the clone reached 100% of Huang Yi’s attributes, it would be formidable, equivalent to Huang Yi’s own attributes, though the clone is system-controlled in combat, lacking Huang Yi’s flexibility in tactics and strategy. Moreover, it lacks some special talents and skills.

As long as someone is a believer of the Heroism Religion and has enough faith contribution points, they can use this skill to summon his clone. This also proves that the boy is indeed a believer of the Heroism Religion, one who prays regularly and accumulates enough faith contribution points.

"The God of Slaughter’s clone? Useless! Unless he himself arrives, only then can he fight me!" Crippled Eye blinked his hollow eyes, staring straight at Huang Yi’s clone, seemingly able to "see" it.

The Demon Clan generally possesses the "Heart Eye" ability. Although the Remnant’s eyes were blind, he could still see everything around him.

After Huang Yi evolved into the "Eyeless Demon" form, he had no physical eyes yet possessed the "Heart Eye" ability, which at times was even more useful than physical eyes, unaffected by fog, smoke, darkness, blinding, and other visual interferences. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)