Chapter 168

Chapter 140 Forced to Act

Tsk, what does that mean?

Do they not trust me or something… If they don’t want to say, then fine!

Feeling somewhat frustrated, I turned my head away and saw below Teresa leading the monks silently into an adjacent narrow alley. They moved quickly, seemingly planning to encircle from the other end to prevent anyone from escaping in case of an emergency.

With me here, how could they possibly escape… But to be safe, her actions were indeed correct.

“Be careful, people are coming out.”

“It looks like they’re preparing to collect the goods… Keep your eyes on them.”

Hearing the conversation between the woman and the hook-nosed man, I focused my gaze over there. Sure enough, two people came out of the small building.

The leader was a strong man with his upper body bare and a large bald head. He had a joyful smile on his face as he walked and kept talking to the man beside him who wore a top hat. I strained my ears to listen carefully.

“Cooperation… Can be trusted… I’ll take this batch…”

“Thank you for your care all along…”

There was wind on the roof, so I couldn’t hear everything clearly, but I could generally tell they were making a deal.

The two men walked all the way to the truck at the door. The top-hat man looked incredibly small compared to the strong man, yet his posture was much more courteous, almost overly so. The gesture of lifting his hand to comb his hair seemed familiar to me.

… Ah! I remembered, isn’t this the guy who used to say “this humble one” when picking up children from the orphanage in the Winter City?

I remember him vividly; he was the chief administrator of the Katarama orphanage. His name was… what was it again… why would it be him!

Is he from the Gate of Truth?!

I couldn’t help but look towards Teresa… She had already reached the end of the alley with the monks, observing the situation from behind the buildings. Due to the distance, I couldn’t see her expression.

Since he’s the chief administrator, the man who says “this humble one” should be her deputy… I’m sure she must feel terrible about it.

If he’s behind all this… No, relying on just a chief administrator wouldn’t be enough to make the royal city open its doors to these heretics; there must be someone else with real power behind the scenes.

The top-hat man began directing people to unload the cargo, carrying four boxes into the small building. The boxes were sealed, making it impossible to determine which one contained the reed grass… Was it to hide it?

It seems we need to split up our actions.

I turned my head, ready to speak to the woman beside me.

But the situation changed in the next second.

Two children suddenly darted out from a nearby house.

The children were dirty, their clothes tattered, and their long hair covered their faces, making it hard to tell if they were boys or girls. They seemed to be playing and running joyfully toward the truck before anyone could react.

The children were confused, seemingly only curious about what the adults were doing.

“Not good…” the woman beside me murmured.

“We need to get the children away, quickly!”

But it was too late.

The strong man looked around, then signaled to those around him. He slowly drew his sword from his waist and quietly approached the children.

“Damn!”

The woman beside me cursed, and then heard the hook-nosed man ask, “What now?”

“Shut up and prepare to act.”

I stood up, flexing my ankles.

As the top-hat man hurried to the side of the strong man, his appearance was anxious. Suddenly, the wind howled.

Whoosh—

A golden arrow sliced through the air, piercing the strong man’s shoulder in an instant. This caught him off guard, causing his massive body to stagger and struggle to regain balance, glaring angrily in Teresa’s direction.

One of the monks slowly retracted his right hand, still faintly glowing with gold.

“Punishment Miracle… They are the church’s lackeys!”

“Fall back! Damn,

“Quick! Where do you think you’re retreating to?”

Boom—

The ice spears beneath my feet exploded in all directions, sending my petite body soaring into the sky on an ice column.

All I could hear was the howling wind, which forced me to squint. I felt the upward thrust of my body gradually diminish… stop… then start to plummet freely.

I aimed for the direction where the muscular man was, pressing my hands tightly against my sides. My feet were frozen with ice, like a cannonball, straight towards him.

Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—

Watch out for my headbutt!

“I… f*ck you…”

I faintly heard his trembling exclamation.

Thud—

My head collided with his chest, causing his well-built pectorals to instantly cave in. The sound of bones shattering echoed, and the muscular man, who was three times my size, bent over. In the next moment, he crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Boom!

Dust and smoke filled the air.

Using the momentum of the collision, I flipped backward and landed steadily. I held my breath and quickly retreated to the two children. They seemed to be in shock, standing still and too scared to move.

I picked up one child in each arm. I couldn’t use Moon Step; such high-speed movement would hurt them. So, I turned around and ran toward the street entrance.

Behind us, chaos erupted.

Men and women screamed in terror. Infants wailed loudly. Flying debris clattered to the ground. The startled horned beasts stomped their iron-shod hooves. Above, the figure of the man from Canri passed by. There was the sound of the bell ringing from Teresa’s side.

“Charles!” someone yelled desperately, and I recognized that voice as the muscular man’s.

“You told me it was safe here! How dare you put me in danger!”

“I’m not… I didn’t… What’s happening… Why are the Church people… I don’t know either…” the man with the hat spoke timidly and helplessly.

“Let’s die together!”

Boom!

A wave of heat surged from behind, and flames crackled fiercely.

“What… Who are you… What is this…”

“It’s on fire! I’m burning! Ah—!”

“Ahhhh—”

Heart-wrenching cries echoed endlessly. I was anxious, so I quickened my pace and shouted, “Don’t touch the fire—!”

Then I realized I had said something useless and immediately shouted again, “Don’t let him bleed!”

“How can we fight without letting him bleed?!”

The question seemed to come from the woman from Canri.

“Use blunt force!”

“Quickly, kill him, kill him!”

“The people are on fire… Save the women and children first, hurry!”

“It’s too hot! We can’t get close… It’s too late…”

Finally, I reached the alley entrance. I suddenly braked hard, causing a screeching noise. The pretty boots smoked from the friction. After steadying myself, I put down the two children who were too frightened to speak. I said to them, “Run.”

But the two children’s legs were weak. They fell to the ground, unable to move.

I couldn’t care about them anymore; at least this place was relatively safe.

I immediately turned back, ignoring the pain on my face from the wind. I used Moon Step and rushed back.

In my line of sight, dark brown flames burned through the road ahead of the alley, setting the surrounding houses ablaze. The closer I got, the more intense the heat became… This clearly wasn’t a novice heretic; it was at least on par with Varal.

Above the flames, a familiar golden bell hung in the air… just like the miracle the old man in the robe had performed on me before, but much smaller. Despite its size, it was enough to render everyone below immobile.

I saw the woman holding the baby kneeling on the ground, her face full of despair as she looked at the approaching inferno behind her. She wanted to run but couldn’t move her body, unable even to stand. The infant she held tightly seemed unable to breathe, its wrinkled little face already turning purple.

From afar, I heard the usually gentle nun angrily berating, “Foolish!”