Chapter 99

Level Up Heresy Judge – Chapter 99 (99/227)

Chapter 99: The Best Defense (3)

The elite monster lay collapsed in near-death condition.

Above its head hovered a brand marking it as heretical, making it nothing short of an excellent stat farm for Ail.

Increasing both madness and faith stats while evenly boosting favor and church contribution, using the Apostle-exclusive skill “Punishment Execution” to eliminate heretics granted a roughly two-fold bonus.

To Ail, this was a crucial growth point just as important as levels and skills.

However, right now they were still in the middle of an intense undead battle.

Even though he’d taken down the beast solo without help, with many other monsters to face, one might expect Ail to quickly finish off the wounded troll. But he didn’t.

Instead, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he dragged the barely-alive troll to set up an execution pyre in a highly visible spot.

The pyre’s size was adjusted to fit the massive creature, larger than those used for humans.

*GURGLE!*

Amidst the chaotic battlefield, a zombie lunged at him from the side.

With lightning reflexes, Ail drew his longsword and decapitated the zombie in one swift motion.

Dark blood splattered across his cheek but Ail paid it no mind as he moved on.

With stat boosts enhancing his strength, Ail effortlessly lifted the massive troll and chained it securely to the stake where it couldn’t move.

Without delay, he swiftly carried out the punishment before any more monsters could interfere.

*WHOOSH!*

*ROOOAAARRR!*

Blinding white flames engulfed the pyre and the armored troll, whose body writhed in extreme agony.

While players experienced no pain through buffs, it was a different story for monsters and NPCs.

Especially against undead, the holy white flames wielded by heresy judges were practically poison, causing even pain-insensitive undead to scream bloody murder.

Thus restrained to the pillar, the armored troll let out horrifying screams as its body burned away in searing heat.

[You have punished the heretic!]

[Successfully executed the designated punishment according to ‘Sentence Pronouncement.’ Skill effect doubles stat bonuses.]

[Goddess Favor +0.34% (Current 62.84%)]

[Light Church Contribution +75]

[Faith Stat +2]

[Madness Stat +2]

[Burning Execution increases Inquisitor attack power by 10% for 60 minutes.]

“You… you’re insane…”

Players who witnessed the execution firsthand gaped in awe.

It was far more impactful than merely hearing about it or watching recordings – the scene radiated the fanaticism of a true zealot.

Not only that, but even undead monsters attempting to charge Ail hesitated and retreated.

The immense heat from the pyre, which had completely consumed the armored troll, created a fiery barrier that kept enemies at bay.

‘This’ll do nicely,’ Ail thought, glancing around.

Just as expected when he arrived at the village and heard about the sudden defense battle involving a tough elite monster, everything went according to plan.

The dire situation had turned around, players regained their momentum, and enemy forces were being smoothly repelled.

Most importantly, he successfully drew the attention of countless players present.

Of course, for Ail who currently operated with hidden face and username, too much in-game attention could be burdensome, and some might think it odd that he sought such attention.

But Ail’s helmet, normally set to be invisible, was now adjusted to reveal itself, fully covering his face.

While leather or cloth armor often left the face exposed even with helmets, medium and heavy armors tended to cover better.

Additionally, his current equipment featured a visor-style helmet that could be raised or lowered.

With information windows also set to private, there was no worry about revealing his identity to other players.

Moreover, there was a specific reason why Ail wanted to draw their attention.

Warode’s divinity generally gathered influence from earthly events and expended it through interventions.

Currently, Lu had invested massive amounts of influence in mobilizing the entire church to annihilate the Twilight Sect, leaving her reserves nearly depleted.

If this operation against the Twilight Sect succeeded, she could gain more influence; failure, however, would result in significant losses.

But there was no need to simply wait for the battle’s outcome.

From minor actions like proselytizing and heresy trials to expanding church influence, anything related to divinity generated influence.

Of course, individual believer actions would be negligible from a divine perspective.

But Ail knew that as an Apostle, his actions generated far more influence than average believers, providing worthwhile returns for the divine investment.

‘Hmm… after all this, I wonder if there’ll be any reaction.’

Ail subtly glanced around.

People’s fear and reverence served as highly effective tools for the Goddess of Light. An out-of-control elite monster rampaging across the battlefield seemed perfect for gathering such reverence.

And his prediction proved accurate.

[Your Faith deepens further.]

[Faith Stat +0.1]

[Madness Stat +0.1]

[‘Judge of Light, Lu’ sponsors you.]

[Light Church Contribution +150]

“It’s been a while, my lady.”

A smile crept onto Ail’s lips.

* * *

Thus concluded the defensive battle that brought a momentary threat.

After thoroughly burning the armored troll, Ail officially joined the fray and made significant contributions against the waves of undead.

This earned him considerable experience points and money as quest rewards from the royal investigation team sent to the area.

Though called an investigation team, there were only three members, none of whom contributed directly to combat. They relied entirely on hired adventurers to hold back the monsters.

Continuously defending the village in what could be an endless war of attrition offered little benefit, especially with mounting responsibilities preventing the kingdom’s army from deploying reinforcements.

Still, even hiring adventurers meant sustaining costs that would eventually become burdensome.

‘So I decided to take care of it myself.’

[Single Quest: Investigate Strange Occurrences (In Progress)]

Taking matters into his own hands, Ail accepted the quest directly from the complaining investigators.

Naturally, the investigation team had no reason to refuse such an offer, promising substantial rewards upon success.

Initially, they seemed hesitant knowing Ail was a heresy judge from the Light Church, but ultimately acknowledged the judges’ expertise in these matters.

CLUNK!

Exiting through the palisade gate, Ail scanned his surroundings.

The open plains stretched wide ahead, but dense fog obscured his vision.

Though usually a foggy area, the thickness had increased since the defensive battle began.

“Hey! Are you really going out there?”

A male voice suddenly called from behind.

Turning his gaze, Ail saw a player peering down at him from atop the palisade.

“It’s dangerous to go alone…” the player warned.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine,” Ail replied with a wry smile, waving as he departed.

The players on the palisade watched his retreating back in silence.

“Hmm, not as crazy as he looked in the videos, huh?”

“Yeah, unless that mark above your head appears, then all bets are off.”

“*gulp*”

Leaving the murmuring players behind, once Ail had put enough distance between himself and the village, he deactivated his vision-obstructing helmet.

The thick fog already made seeing difficult.

Plus, while wearing headgear constantly could feel somewhat suffocating depending on the person, so he preferred not keeping it active all the time.

Feeling considerably better, Ail pulled out the map obtained from Sebera, checking his location as he continued forward.

“How’s it going on the Twilight Sect side? Making progress?” Ail asked seemingly into thin air.

No players or monsters were anywhere near him.

Yet, as if waiting for the question, a message suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[‘Judge of Light, Lu’ smirks confidently.]

[There is no force that can oppose the will of the omnipotent goddess!]

Her attitude exuded supreme confidence.

While the system messages always felt somewhat sassy, it did seem the conflict against Benaron was progressing better than expected.

Clearly, with all five executioners from the Heresy Interrogation Office taking the lead, things must be chaotic within the Twilight Sect.

These individuals who hunted monsters and demons across the continent had now focused solely on eliminating them, a task beyond the Twilight Sect’s ability to handle.

Still, despite the favorable developments, one lingering question remained.

“Why did you issue that revelation? It didn’t seem entirely necessary.”

The amount of influence consumed by Lu issuing revelations to the executioners was tremendous.

Mobilizing the entire Light Church was indeed a massive intervention.

Of course, if everything proceeded smoothly, they could recover even more influence.

However, Benaron, one of the Seven Demons, was an immortal existence capable of destroying divinity itself.

As long as he existed, complete annihilation of the Twilight Sect was impossible, and even with success, there would be limits.

Had she possessed that much influence, it would’ve been wiser to use it elsewhere rather than eradicating the Twilight Sect.

‘She’s acted differently than usual until now.’

Previously, Lu refrained from unnecessary interference no matter how frustrating situations became, and clearly rewarded within defined limits.

Even with the third title “Madness,” her actions in this regard had been consistent.

Considering her past behavior, this recent intervention was definitely uncharacteristic.

But she simply displayed another message before Ail.

[‘Judge of Light, Lu’ turns her head and shrugs.]