Chapter 138 – The Useless City Guard

Apprentice-Level Divine Spell—Divine Revelation: Instantly investigates the general situation within a certain range!

“How… how is this possible? Why are those refugees rioting? And why was the city gate blown open?”

Bishop Hodlai’s turbid eyes were filled with shock. The timing of these events was far too coincidental. Just as Doleiz City’s main forces had completed their encirclement of the Tisha Xia’er Church stronghold, the refugees immediately “breached” the city gates on the other side and began attacking the outer nobles one by one. If Hodlai couldn’t recognize a conspiracy at this point, he might as well not be called an old bishop and instead be called senile.

However, the situation’s development left no room for anyone to stand around in a daze. Almost simultaneously with Hodlai realizing something was wrong, dozens of masked figures in gray-red robes silently emerged from the Tisha Xia’er Church stronghold. Their masks were painted with a vivid, dark green spider.

These masked individuals filed out of the large shop and stood sparsely in an open area, silently glaring at the City Guard and the priests.

All the City Guard members nervously gripped their sword hilts. Admittedly, such eerie attire could indeed exert significant pressure on ordinary people.

But most priests and professionals showed little vigilance. In their perception, this group was merely composed of ordinary people without any professional ranks. Though mysteriously dressed, they posed no threat at all.

A young priest even leisurely stepped forward and loudly recited Cuthbert’s creed.

“Sinners, you are destroyers of order—an unforgivable crime. But now, you have the fortunate opportunity to redeem your sins. Abandon your resistance, relinquish your unrealistic evil fantasies, you…”

No matter how fervently the priest prayed, the masked figures paid no attention to his grandiloquence.

Without warning, they suddenly charged at the formation. Their instant burst of speed startled everyone—these masked individuals’ speed had reached the peak of ordinary human capability.

Their footsteps struck the ground, kicking up faint dust, the rhythmic tapping echoing like the crisp beats of a peculiar ritual drum.

“Heh heh, so eager to come die?”

Seeing the masked figures charging en masse, several combat professionals began to flex their muscles. While these followers’ speed was unattainable for ordinary people, it was utterly unimpressive in the eyes of these Apprentice Rank or even Apprentice-Level combat professionals. So they simply waited for the masked figures to close in before swinging their blades down fiercely!

“Hahaha, I love splitting people in half most! Welcome for delivering yourselves to me!”

A ferocious-looking brute directly slashed at a masked figure’s head. He had already envisioned the scene of the masked figure collapsing with a spurt of blood from the skull.

But what happened next froze his shock on his own face. The sharp blade, before even touching the masked figure, was sent flying by a powerful shockwave—along with the brute himself.The seemingly ordinary masked man’s body abruptly exploded, the powerful shockwave instantly killing the nearest Strongman. Simultaneously, a torrent of flesh and mucus transformed into acidic poison drenched the unprepared City Guard. Those splashed by the potent acid immediately had their thin armor and flesh corroded. Dropping their weapons in agony, they writhed on the ground, howling incessantly.

“Ahhhh, it hurts so much, save me!”

“My eyes, I can’t see!”

“Priest, I need healing, I’m dying, ahhhh…!”

This scene repeated at every besieged outpost. One after another, suicidal human bombs fearlessly charged into military formations, buildings, and even into the arms of professionals, detonating without hesitation. The terrifying blasts, coupled with lethal acid, became every soldier’s nightmare.

Most of these City Guard members were merely bullies and slackers in peacetime, only capable of harassing civilians. Faced with such utterly fearless and terrifying enemies, nearly all soldiers chose to “discard their armor and flee.” The remaining professional mercenaries also turned and ran without a second thought—not because they couldn’t win, but because they refused to take risks.

Thus, the “elite main force” guaranteed by the Nobles unanimously fled the battlefield, ignoring their commanders’ furious shouts as they ran!

Eventually, only a few fragile priests remained on the battlefield, slowly chanting divine spells. Many were “competent” doctors from churches with no combat experience, utterly incapable of withstanding the fanatical believers’ suicide bombings.

Within a few engagements, nearly all Apprentice Rank priests were reduced to unrecognizable shreds of flesh littering the ground.

Theoretically, a thousand-strong City Guard should have easily subdued a group of ordinary believers. But now… they were completely terrified.

As the saying goes: the ruthless fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the suicidal. And Tisha Xia’er’s believers were precisely the most suicidal of all!

When Hett received the magical communication in the Lord’s Castle, he nearly coughed up blood in fury. He couldn’t comprehend why the usually arrogant mercenaries and City Guard had retreated so decisively. Had all their reported “flawless records” been achieved through fleeing?

But what’s done was done. Hett could only urgently devise countermeasures. Seizing the precious communication crystal, he roared at the commander:

“Go notify those Nobles immediately! Order them to deploy all their trained private soldiers, death warriors, and professionals! Otherwise, when Kangkai and Bahanger return, we’ll all be doomed!”

At this moment, Hett still clung to some hope. If the Nobles’ private forces and family professionals united, they would form a considerable power that might achieve something against suicide-attacking believers.

However, as the proverb says: misfortunes never come singly, and troubles never come alone.

The response coming through the communication made Hett’s head spin.

“Sir! Sir! Those wretched commoners are all attacking the Nobles! The private soldiers and family professionals are busy dealing with the mad refugees! We… we have no manpower left!”

Hearing the nearly tearful report, Hett’s trembling hands almost dropped the communication crystal. He hastily chugged a bottle of calming magical potion to avoid fainting on the spot.Doleiz was now in complete chaos, and even a seasoned fox like Hett was at a loss about what to do!

But that wasn’t the worst of it. More alarmingly, all the masked individuals were converging toward the Lord’s Castle at this very moment. They dashed silently through street after street, and whenever they encountered any obstruction, a few of their “companions” would break off and resolve it through self-destruction.

The professionals capable of stopping them didn’t want trouble, while the City Guard who wished to intervene were powerless to do so. Thus, their path was virtually unimpeded.

Without a doubt, the Tisha Xia’er Church’s target was the Lord’s Castle standing tall in the center of Doleiz City—or more precisely, the Lord inside, Gollat, who was still snoring away in his wives’ and concubines’ bed!

——————————

Just a quick note since we’re about to go on the premium list: I’m just a college student. Whether to show off or out of rebellion, I told my family to send me only five hundred yuan per month for living expenses, insisting I’d earn the rest myself, and even boasted about achieving full financial independence by my sophomore year.

The cost of living in Nanchang isn’t low, so subscriptions to this book are crucial. Whether I’m eating chicken legs or gnawing on hardtack next month depends on this book. Dear readers, my benefactors, I really need your support! If you have some spare change, consider tipping a bit—please don’t read pirated versions, okay~)

(End of Chapter)