Chapter 148

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Chapter 148 (148/227)

Chapter 148: The Oppressive Tyrant (4)

Pwook!

“Kuhheuk…!”

Eil’s sharply piercing sword had penetrated the abdomen.

At the end of a long battle, the district bishop pierced through by the sacred flame-imbued longsword collapsed helplessly forward.

Now completely incapacitated, the bishop was plunged into a near-death state with no way out.

“Huh, you were tougher than I thought. Now, it’s time for you to spill everything you know.”

“Shut… up.”

The bishop outright refused.

Truly fitting for someone bound tightly by faith, there was no way they’d speak so easily.

His tightly shut mouth seemed to display an unshakable belief that wouldn’t waver no matter the torture.

Of course, that’s only true to a certain extent.

“I don’t particularly enjoy this kind of thing, but…”

Kooong!

Eil immediately activated the Punishment Execution skill.

A stake engraved with Lu’s crest rose from the floor, and he bound the now pale bishop with chains before setting it alight.

No matter how hard he struggled to escape, it was all in vain.

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

The undulating flames.

Piercing screams filled the air.

Enveloped in the Sacred Flame, the bishop violently writhed in extreme agony.

But for Eil, this was just another day at the office.

He wasn’t about to let him die so easily.

Paaaah!

A healing light enveloped the bishop.

It was Eil’s continuous healing divine magic, which became much stronger after obtaining the Zealot skill.

As his life force was about to be severed, it surged back up again.

With continuous healing closing wounds only to have them reopen repeatedly.

Apparently being a Bahamut believer, and even more so as a district bishop, the healing effects worked exceptionally well on him.

When things got too close, Eil even fed him recovery potions to keep him alive.

Thus, he thrashed endlessly in pain unable to die.

“So… let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

Eil knelt down and prayed calmly.

All that was left was to wait for the bishop to change his mind.

* * *

[Heresy has been punished!]

The prolonged torture ended with exhausted groans instead of screams.

Indeed, not just anyone can become a bishop it seems, as he didn’t divulge information easily.

But humans inevitably have limits when subjected to endless pain.

In the end, the bishop couldn’t hold out and spilled all the church’s information he knew.

Only then did Eil allow him to die, leaving behind a pitch-black corpse.

Creak!

Approaching the stake, Eil dragged the corpse and threw it into the river.

The bishop’s body sank, bound by iron chains.

‘Took longer than expected. Really not my thing.’

Eil, who seemed to be under some major misunderstanding, turned his head at the sudden sound of movement.

Even though the ritual should be over, Water Church believers had come to check the status since the summoned creature hadn’t appeared.

As the surrounding believers approached looking around cautiously,

Eil quickly hid himself in the dense bushes.

“Bishop! Bishop!”

“Where are you?”

The bishop, who should have been conducting the ritual beneath the waterfall, had vanished without a trace.

Moreover, there were clear signs of violent battle everywhere.

The previously quiet area beneath the waterfall became bustling with the believers searching around.

‘So Bahamut really was targeting Blood Alliance’s territory too.’

Eil quietly remembered the information extracted from the bishop.

The goal of this world event wasn’t just the 9 territories mentioned in the message.

Even Eil felt that mobilizing this much force just to crush the Blackburn Guild was excessive.

That’s why he had a theory.

Greedy Bahamut might be aiming to sweep away the entire polar region.

True to its infamous nature as the god of destruction, it could be planning to wipe out the entire area rather than just parts.

And the confession moments ago confirmed Eil’s suspicions.

‘Blackburn and Blood Alliance are competitors. But if this world event targeted both guilds from the start, they would have united against it.’

If the two guilds were to unite, it would naturally cause headaches.

That’s why Bahamut only revealed part of the target first.

Planning to defeat Blackburn’s nine territories first, then sweep away the remaining polar region territories and Blood Alliance.

‘I need to make these two guilds unite. But I’ll need some solid evidence at least.’

Eil checked the item obtained from defeating the bishop.

[District Bishop’s First Directive]

A directive containing the church’s plans.

This was the first document among many, detailing the number of believers participating in the world event and the rough plan.

However, it contained none of the information Eil was looking for.

‘They said each participating bishop carries their own directive. This must be one of them.’

To convince Blood Alliance even slightly, he needed to obtain the directive detailing the next target region.

‘There are six bishops left. I need to finish quickly before the believers realize they’re being targeted.’

If they realize the bishops are being targeted, it would seriously disrupt things.

Whether he could take down all the bishops in time alone was questionable.

But right then.

Rustle!

Nesha appeared pushing aside the bushes.

A believer of the Shadow Church, not the Water Church.

Startled by her sudden appearance, Eil tried to pull her down.

“At least crouch… when did you take care of those guys?”

Looking at the pitifully scattered corpses.

All the believers searching the waterfall were assassinated without even letting out a scream.

What’s more, Eil didn’t sense her killing them and approaching at all.

Though he thought his senses had improved greatly, her skills were still astonishing.

“Are you here about this world event too?”

Nesha nodded at Eil’s question.

Still carrying the ‘Silence’ penalty, she was unable to speak.

Clearly she was here to stop the event like Eil, despite dealing with the traitorous dark elves earlier.

“In that case, great. You’ll need to help me stop these guys.”

Eil brightened at her silent response.

With Nesha’s help, skilled in stealth and assassination, things would be much easier.

But before he could explain about the directives,

“I already found the directives.”

Writing on parchment, Nesha poured out 6 directives from her inventory.

Among them was the final directive of the bishop, detailing Bahamut’s true objectives.

“Wha…”

Seeing this meant she successfully assassinated all six remaining bishops without any commotion – truly impressive for a professional ‘Shadow Watcher’ class.

‘Anyway, we’ve gathered basic evidence… though whether they’ll believe it is another matter, but it’s better than nothing.’

“We should go back now.”

“Yeah.”

Nodding, Eil stood up.

Having eliminated all seven summoned bishops, the battlefield situation would improve significantly.

Now all that remained was convincing Blood Alliance to join the defense.

‘Might go smoothly… or get a bit intense.’

* * *

“They’re coming!”

“Prepare for battle!”

Blackburn Guild, entrenched in the fortress focusing on defense, was put on high alert again.

Because a new force, different from the Water Church, was approaching with troops.

Numerous users waving red flags.

Among them, Blood Alliance’s striking emblem was clearly visible.

“Damn… it’s started already?”

Eil, having escaped the enemy lines and returned to “Fallen One’s Fortress”, hurriedly moved.

Just arriving back at the base, he was greeted by the sight of two armies facing off menacingly.

“Unity!”

“Unity!”

The cries from the group preparing for siege.

Contrasting with Bahamut’s believers temporarily retreating to regroup, Blood Alliance’s guild members were gathering and forming ranks.

Clearly aiming to use this opportunity to completely destroy their competitor Blackburn.

‘This collision will be disastrous.’

Unable to sit idly by, Eil immediately took action.

“Just stay here. I’ll take the directive.”

“How do you plan to handle it?”

“With words.”

Striding confidently, Eil approached Blood Alliance’s side.

Approaching a guild in the middle of war preparations without clear identity was a dangerously risky move.

Suspected as a spy, his head could fly off at any moment.

Naturally, Eil was stopped by threatening guild members.

But standing surrounded by spears, he boldly announced he wanted to see their guild leader.

“That face looks familiar…”

“That’s Eil from Light Church!”

Blood Alliance members recognizing Eil’s named player status murmured.

The messenger quickly informed the leader, reaffirming that being known in Warode isn’t necessarily disadvantageous.

Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to see the leader.

Eil was no longer just a named player, but an executor, one of the highest positions in Light Church.

A position where even leaders of large guilds wouldn’t easily meet.

Someone whose visit warranted the leader’s personal attention.

‘Everyone’s equipment is quite impressive indeed.’

Passing by Blood Alliance members, Eil subtly observed them.

Blood Alliance was a guild formed by users from the second-generation VR game ‘Lin Age’.

Having many older members, they possessed more financial power than average users, allowing many to equip expensive gear – exactly as rumored.

Recently gaining strength rapidly and acquiring territories in the polar region, they were rising to become regional powers.

Their rapid growth fueled by the unity and wealth of their members was quite remarkable.

But using the Water Church to oppose Blackburn in this situation was a fatal mistake even for them.

‘If talking doesn’t work, I’ll have to make them listen somehow.’

Under subtle tension, Eil continued moving forward.