Chapter 86

When Connie sensed the release of holy power and found Karl, the first thing he discovered was ruins.

The entire street was severely damaged, and the metal houses looked no different from paper in front of the man.

He now gripped an alchemical golem by the neck with one hand, dragging her along the ground for several dozen meters before slamming her aside. The thing was driven into the metal wall by the immense force. The deafening roar caused the surrounding residents to begin to panic.

The regular guards didn't dare come up at all, because that guy's pupils were like gold.

It was a clergyman, and these guards probably hadn't seen what a high-ranking clergyman looked like since they took office. So when they saw him shatter the metal pavement with just one step, all they could think about was how to escape.

That guy is no normal human being able to handle! They were so sure of it that fear made them retreat, and only the alchemical golems, who had no capacity for thought, were still trying to stop him as they were doing their job.

Connie was a little dumbfounded. He looked at his hands, scratched them, and then slammed them against the metal wall next to him. But apart from the shock making his hand go numb, nothing changed.

Indeed, the difference between a priest and a preacher is like heaven and earth. I really don't want to admit I'm the same kind of monster as him, otherwise I'll always feel like a spineless coward.

But he'd deal with those things later; he wanted to know why Karl was causing trouble in the streets, and why he'd already caused such damage. The Church was also having a headache here; if it was due to some personal grudge, they should stop it immediately. This wasn't good; he couldn't let the results of his long-term infiltration be ruined in a few minutes.

"Senior, what are you doing?" Connie caught up with Karl, who was currently facing off against a group of guards. Although it was called a standoff, for every step he took forward, the guards took a step back. His only act of mercy was perhaps not indiscriminately attacking those around him, but only clearing out those who tried to come at him.

“Good evening, Connie.” Carl glanced at him and said casually, “I’m just making these guys understand what kind of people they want to be enemies with.”

"But our church shouldn't be at odds with this place now; it would consume a lot of resources."

"Don't worry, these guys didn't want this either. Besides, they started it. You've come at the right time. Do you know how to get to the palace?" Karl remembered that this guy was a spy sent by the church. Maybe he knew something.

He realized from the beginning that he had been misled, and had unknowingly strayed far from where he was supposed to go. The palace he could see seemed impossibly far away. The complex seemed to have turned into a giant maze. He was now trying to figure out how to break through this maze, otherwise rescuing Lori would be extremely difficult.

Connie paused for a moment, then realized they were also in such a maze.

He glanced warily around at the guards and alchemical golems that were slowly forming a circle around him. Karl seemed a little impatient and walked over to continue his earlier frenzied act.

“This is the Demon King’s power here; he can distort energy fields.” Connie gripped Karl’s wrist. “With this method, he can cast massive illusions. It doesn’t want you to pass? Why?”

The following sentence is a question asked of oneself.

Logically, that guy should be coming to him immediately to discuss some issues, such as what conditions would allow him to stop. Even if the demons here are capable of dealing with Karl, they shouldn't engage in direct conflict, after all, Karl is a priest and a representative of the church.

But now he is using his magic to distort the energy field to create an illusion, which is not right.

Wait, what if it's an illusion?

The moment this thought crossed their minds, everything around them vanished, and pure darkness formed a vast semicircle, imprisoning them within. Within this area, only the region illuminated by Karl's chanting of scriptures remained.

“Looks like I’ve fallen into a trap,” Karl said softly, looking at the guy standing behind him.

The ruins and the destroyed alchemical puppets had all disappeared, leaving only the guy standing there.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Churiel, the demon recognized by Kakarori, the demon of the collapsing earth. I am also the king of this city. For details about me, you can ask the guy next to you, or go back to the church and check the files related to me. I can guarantee the authenticity of that information; even I didn't expect the church to investigate someone so thoroughly. There are even many things I didn't know myself recorded in the files." The guy tapped the ground lightly with his cane while looking at Karl standing in front of him: "Good evening, Your Excellency."

“Give back the girl who was kidnapped. I don’t want to have a conflict with you. I need to know Lori’s whereabouts within minutes, or I won’t hesitate to contact Dongwu.” Karl said softly, showing no intention of responding politely to the courteous man before him.

“That child’s name is Lori, isn’t it? An interesting name, but she’s a demon recognized by the Demon of Flame and Ashes. In a sense, she’s one of my kind. Consider this my request: please leave. I don’t want to have a conflict with you. I can assure you we have no ill intentions towards that girl; it’s just mutual assistance between compatriots. We also cannot tolerate her following a priest.” Chuliel tapped his staff lightly beside him, and the surroundings changed again. This time, all he could see was an endless grassland.

They stood on the grass, under a hazy blue sky, surrounded by plains.

“We need to sit down and talk about something.” He slowly leaned back, and before he fell, a wooden chair appeared behind him. He sat down, holding a cup of tea. A similar chair appeared behind Karl, and in the blink of an eye, an extremely long stone table appeared between the two of them.

“My lord, please sit down and discuss this.” Connie quickly pulled back the bulging veins on Karl's back; his patience in this regard far surpassed that of the priest. Karl wasn't particularly clever; he was a straightforward fellow who didn't mince words. He never spoke of having a plan or being patient, and he wasn't even good at something as simple as concealing his emotions.

Judging from his current expression, he looks like he might rush into a fight at any moment.

But unexpectedly, before he could say anything more, Carl had already calmed down. He took a deep breath and sat down in his chair.

“Very good, you are a reasonable person.” Chullier picked up his cup, finished his tea, and looked at him, saying, “My ability is to control energy fields. Within my domain, I can form specific energy fields. The extent to which I can control them is up to me. I cannot control the energy that is being controlled, such as the holy magic you possess or the magic of others. Overall, my ability is not combat-oriented. The most useful thing I can do is to bring peace to the entire city. Also, I can use my spatial knowledge to help me in my daily life.”

Has anyone ever told you that you talk a lot of nonsense?

“Actually, I spend most of my day at the office. I don’t use my mouth while working. So I like to take every opportunity to talk as much as possible.”

"I'm not here to chat with you."

“Neither do I; my time is just as precious. So let’s get down to business, about Lori.” Chullier looked at Karl and said, “I’ll be frank. I want this child to stay here. We’ll provide better accommodations and living conditions, plus a more peaceful environment. We won’t force her to do anything. Here I am the king, and she can be a princess.”

“Why do something so thankless? You already have enough puppets, don’t you?” Karl looked at him and said, “But I’m sorry, Lori is someone I need to protect. Give her back to me, no questions asked.”

“What a strange theory. Since when have priests protected demons?” Chullier laughed, a laugh that seemed both happy and puzzled. “You weren’t so merciful when you were trying to wipe us out. Even now, I have to make sure I’m always of use to survive. I know exactly how the Church will deal with us; they’ll send people from the central church. With just one person, all our resistance is as laughable as children playing house. And where are you taking that demon now? Demons should stay in hell. We can yearn for heaven, but we should never fantasize that it’s a place we can go. Heaven has no place for demons.”

Carl looked at the guy and frowned.

"I have a bad feeling about you, I can't trust you." Karl said this, trying to calm himself down and avoid sounding like he was interrogating a criminal.

"Then we'll see."

He waved his hand, and the surrounding scenery changed again. A massive stone wall suddenly sprang up from the ground. On the stone wall, Lori's image, fast asleep in bed, was projected. Beside her sat another demon, reading a book with the help of a puppet. She seemed to notice this and smiled at Karl, who was off-screen.

“As you can see, this is another demon. She is also the founder of this city. You can also find information about her abilities in the church's archives; she can create things within her own domain by will. Our metals come from here, and we supply the church with a large amount of metal every month. This is one of the reasons why they don't touch us.” After briefly introducing the man in the wheelchair, Chullier looked at Karl and said, “And Lori is also a demon. She's asleep now, and I guarantee she ate something before going to sleep. We have a large safe zone here, and we can make an exception and let her live in the safe zone, providing her with absolutely comfortable accommodations and plenty of food. We will also let her know what it means to be a demon.”

At this point, he looked at Karl and said, "What can you offer, High Priest? I admit you are a great man. You made significant contributions in the battles of Blood Sun and the Undead Tide. During your time in the Church, you eliminated thirteen organizations attempting to incite unrest and saved 2,750 lives. Someone like you is well-suited to return to your original city, which is currently being rebuilt and will need you. You shouldn't be running around with the demons; it betrays the Church's trust in you. Besides, she's a good girl, isn't she? But you can't protect her safety, not even if someone shelters her. Because many people are hostile to us, you can't protect her indefinitely."

"You think you can protect her?"

“I can’t guarantee it, but all the guards in the city, plus the two of us demons, will fight to the death for this child. Also, before the city falls, we will use spatial teleportation to send her to the Land of the Dead. That’s the safest place for demons and demons.” Chullier shrugged: “Just like prey is safe in the forest, I’ve never heard of prey following the hunter being safe.”

“You’re so long-winded, you’ve been talking nonstop since just now,” Karl said, a little annoyed. “But I’m taking this child with me.”

Even though she endured hardship and displacement...

“You’ve got one thing wrong. I wasn’t just concerned about her feelings from the beginning. As you said, I’m a priest, and she’s a demon. My duty is to deal with demons who dare to do evil. The only reason I haven’t destroyed her is because she’s still a good child, a little too good. I even suspect she’s faking it.” Karl shook his head and said, “Let me hand her over to you? Don’t even think about it. This child must be within my sight. It would be best if she wanted to live like a normal human. But when she no longer wants to be ordinary, I will deal with her myself. It’s my duty, and she knows it herself.”

Chullier's expression froze, then he took a slow, deep breath, his eyes blazing with anger as he looked at Karl.

He originally came to the Mans Ordinance chat because he really liked guys like Karl, a priest who was willing to protect demons. He initially thought the priest had some special feelings for the child, so his motivation for persuading him stemmed from the child's perspective.

But he misunderstood; this was just a self-serving fellow. All he cared about was his so-called duty.

Karl slowly rose, looked at Chullier, and said, “I need to see that child now, immediately! Otherwise, I will submit a danger assessment report on you when I get back. How much of a role do you think a priest’s report will play? Don’t think that you can stand up to the Church just because you’ve developed; that’s an arrogant notion. If you have this misconception, I don’t mind making your development start from scratch.”