Chapter 434

Chapter Fifty-Seven Demons and Madmen Part One

Dark clouds piled up in layers.

When dusk fell, dividing the horizon, the sky and sea were bathed in a halo, turning into two diverging patches of crimson and azure.

And far away from the magnificent seascape, in the coastal woods already devoured by flames, and in the villages that had turned into ruins, slaughter continued unabated. Fanatical cultists pursued and plundered, surrounding groups of three or five scattered knights who fought back desperately, backs against each other. Children hid in corners, crying silently; livestock caught on fire ran for their lives, soon collapsing with a loud thud, only to be pounced upon by the heretics, who tore them apart and ate greedily, blood dripping from their mouths.

The hyenas and jackals from the Eastern Continent rampaged, trampling this already impoverished beach without restraint, turning it into a dead zone. Sometimes they would fall after being stabbed, but soon stood again, their viciousness growing fiercer. They were like demons crawling out of hell, raising their knives to tear apart the knights defending the village, stripping them of their armor, seizing their swords, and using these as weapons to harm all living beings here. The demons laughed wildly, their bodies burning with demonic flames, leaving nothing in their path, not even a blade of grass.

In an open area a few miles away from the firelight, over a hundred bloodied, half-dead church knights knelt in rows, their hands bound behind their backs, some even stripped of their clothes. Countless heretics surrounded them, while less than ten meters away, a group of villagers, ragged and terrified, stood together.

Among these villagers, more than half were people left behind when the legion withdrew—men, women, and children—while the remaining were elderly who couldn’t keep up with the evacuation speed.

These people were captured by the heretics, expecting certain death. However, they were surprised when the demons, madmen, and savages from the East, who had butchered the knights so cruelly, did not harm them excessively. Instead, they gathered these obedient and compliant individuals here.

So lucky…

Those who dared to resist the demons were dead, but they survived…

Though the villagers who couldn’t evacuate in time felt relieved, they still felt anxious and fearful about what was to come, their limbs numb and bodies weak. Some wet themselves, others didn’t even bother to wear pants, but at such times, no one cared about anyone’s dignity. Shame was buried deep under overwhelming fear.

Facing the bewildered and frightened eyes of the villagers, the knights kneeling nearby, equally exposed, felt ashamed to look.

The knights felt guilty for failing to protect these people. Despite not knowing the heretics’ intentions, they understood the fate awaiting the villagers. This shame and anger were mixed with fears they were unwilling to admit, helplessness, a desire to survive, and the knowledge that they would die soon, though they did not know how or when. In this torment, a trembling fear gradually spread from their depths, piercing their bones.

Yet, the pride of the knights prevented them from acknowledging this fear. Instead, they spat out bloody foam, channeling their complex emotions into angry words, shouting and cursing at the surrounding heretics.

“A bunch of untamed wild dogs! Evil wretches who make deals with demons! Have the guts to kill me—”

“Ugh!”

“Stinking bugs from the East! Your methods are despicable! Your strength is disgraceful! Do you think this will win? The gods will see, the great ones will see your evil deeds, and punish you with divine retribution—”

“There’s no need to dirty the eyes of the Great Lord! Once our captain regroups, none of you will leave this land alive!”

“If killing you once doesn’t work, we’ll kill you ten times, a hundred times!”

The knights raged impotently and then burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha!!!”

“We are knights with noble faiths! Even if we die today, the great god will embrace us! But you, these wild dogs! Filthy wretches who worship demons without any principles! Your filthy souls will become the demons’ food! Go ahead and revel now! Soon, you will all go to hell! Hahahaha—”

“When the church’s faith brigade arrives, the miraculous punishment will descend upon you! Our comrades will twist off your heads and avenge us!”

“You’re going to hell!”

“Senseless wild dogs—”

Amidst the cacophony, someone suddenly rose to resist, charging at the heretics holding sharp knives, faces deranged, seemingly still immersed in the slaughter. They knocked down one or two before being swarmed by other cultists and hacked to death, their bodies hung on trees in the distance.

The villagers fell silent, too afraid to watch.

They thought to themselves: How foolish, thank goodness I didn’t resist…

The heretics laughed even more maniacally: “Did you hear what they’re shouting?”

“Punishment through divine miracles? Faith brigade? Do they think such things can stop us… These stubborn and pitiful knights, even at the brink of death, still indulge in foolish fantasies.”

“They don’t even know who we are.”

“Ahaahahaha—”

Amidst the chaos, Mr. J, standing aside, dug his ears, finding it somewhat noisy but remained silent, not interfering with anyone.

Whether it was the knights sacrificing themselves or the heretics taking pleasure, Mr. J did not interfere with either side’s actions, showing no interest, not caring or asking. He just slowly walked

In front of the villagers.

Then he stared at his little finger that had just been used to clean his ears, blew on it, and then flicked it, his mouth twitching nervously.

“I said… what do you think? How do you feel about this?”

His voice was not loud, but amidst the surrounding curses, it was unclear yet distinctly heard by every villager.

They looked panicked, exchanging glances with each other, then lowered their heads one after another, unsure how to respond, too afraid to speak, even to look at Mr. J, the demon leader they had already deemed in their hearts, with those sharp, ghostly eyes.

They were afraid of drawing the demon’s attention, being devoured alive.

“Scoundrel, demon…”

Suddenly, a trembling, clear voice sounded from the crowd.

The villagers turned their heads towards the source, seeing a thin, small girl, a yellow-haired lass, her malnourished body originally hidden among the crowd, barely noticeable. But after she spoke, the villagers subconsciously made way for her, either sidestepping or stepping back, exposing the little girl to Mr. J’s gaze.

The little girl was visibly frightened, her clenched fists trembling violently, her breathing rapid, as if uttering those two words had drained all her strength and courage.

But unlike most people, even though she was very scared, her widened pupils were fixed on Mr. J. When the demon looked at her, she shivered slightly, tightening her body, but did not avoid his gaze.

Standing beside her, an old man who appeared stiff and hunched, hurriedly shielded the little girl in his arms.

The villagers recognized them as the village chief and the chief’s daughter.

They hadn’t managed to escape…

They had always been flattering and giving gifts to those knights. Once, they even forcibly collected eggs from the villagers, all given to the团长大人. On the surface, they talked about how the knights were heroes protecting them, giving them the best… but in reality, weren’t they just hoping that if they lost, the granddaughter could run away with them?

Now that they couldn’t run, they still wanted to meddle. The girl was usually timid, barely speaking to strangers, yet today she couldn’t help but speak up…

Perhaps the demon might have spared us… Maybe he has something for us to do, we won’t die, and if we do a good job, we might even get paid…

If only it were so…

After all, we are innocent, this isn’t our fault…

But with what the girl said, if it angers the demon, we will all be doomed…

The villagers were on edge, instinctively keeping a distance from the village chief and the little girl.

Mr. J saw their reactions.

He waved his hand: “No, no, you might be misunderstanding me. I’m not asking how you view me. I’m saying… ah, but you mentioned the demon just now. It was that little girl who said I was the demon… I know she was talking about me… Even if you don’t say it, I understand that you must be thinking the same thing. That’s understandable.”

“No, we didn’t think that…”

Hearing Mr. J say they thought the same, the villagers panicked.

“We don’t think you’re… that demon… You haven’t killed us…”

“Yes, we… we don’t think so…”

“That’s just what the village chief’s daughter said… Not us… We didn’t say anything…”

They were terrified.

Terrified that with one word, everyone here would be killed—these infidels hadn’t killed them earlier, only those who resisted. This proved they had a chance to live. These people, though frightening, might be good people who wouldn’t kill innocents, especially since they hadn’t resisted…

“Hush…”

Mr. J put his finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

So they all fell silent.

And the curses of the knights across from them became even more piercing.

If only those knights would shut up…

The villagers thought in unison.

Just let them kill us…

Why shout so loudly…

Don’t drag us into this…

With the villagers silent, Mr. J nodded in satisfaction, continuing: “You fear me, think I’m a demon, believe you’ve worked hard all your life fishing here, but the fish you catch can’t be sold because there are few merchants around… Actually, you probably never considered selling them. The fish you catch are only enough for yourselves. You are honest, hardworking people, living a tough life, too scared to even fall ill. I truly understand you, really, because I’ve been through such days.”

“In fact, they all misunderstand me… I mean the knights kneeling over there, and those temporarily not kneeling before me, priests, bishops, etc., I won’t list them all, but in short, those people, like you, have a deep misunderstanding of the Gate of Truth. Or rather, they misunderstand me, believing we are demons—”

“You are the demon! You killed so many…”

The little girl’s clear voice rang out again, then was muffled by the village chief.

“Girl, don’t speak, don’t speak…”

The old man looked alarmed.

His hearing wasn’t good; he couldn’t hear clearly what the demon was saying, nor could he hear the girl’s cries.

But he keenly sensed that the moment the girl shouted, those villagers he had known and cared for, who had lived alongside him, their glances towards this side carried something unfamiliar, no longer the kindness he was accustomed to.