Was it some kind of coincidence?
Before Kyle Keller could announce the closure of the red-light district, something completely unexpected had happened which was far more devastating to the inner city rules!
The Holy Orchard had been corrupted by the Sorcerer’s Shadows!
It started with an Acraepoid who was driven by famine to steal some food from the orchard. He was killed by the guards.
It was nothing out of the ordinary. None of the people paid any heed. But on the following day, traces of Abyssal Moss began appearing in the Holy Orchard!
It…
The people could only relate to one thing. Could the Abyssal Moss spread from Acraepoids who were tainted by them?
As the rumor broke out from nowhere, the Acraepoids who were infected by the Abyssal Moss became targets overnight. What used to be sympathy or dismissal had now become hatred and animosity.
In the Flame Burrows.
Claudia smiled seductively upon Grimm’s return. “She’s consoling Naya.”
Grimm looked away from the middle-aged Acraepoid female.
“Coincidence? Rumors? It’s impossible for them to appear out of nowhere. This must be arranged by the hidden Demon-Hunter Sorcerer. If this mission to collapse their faith leads to something bigger, the Battle Command could make this a Rank-2 Honor Badge mission.”
Grimm could not help but compliment the effort. “This Demon-Hunter Sorcerer who is hidden in the city is certainly far-sighted and extraordinarily wise.”
“The fact that you can help in the mission means that we can achieve more from the Demon-Hunting expedition. It’s a surprising catch within these two months.”
Claudia asked smilingly. “What, have you identified the hidden sorcerer?”
Grimm pondered for a moment before saying calmly. “Basically, it’s the one I have in mind. How about you?”
“I have listed four candidates. I have yet to decide.”
After saying so, Claudia left the room gracefully. She was probably meeting up with Commander Kyle Keller.
The ancient dark collection of temptress sorceries was extraordinary in infiltration missions.
Two days later.
“No… you can’t treat her like that. Naya is a loyal citizen to the Dark Destroyer Infernal God, you can’t treat her like that, sob, you can’t…”
The middle-aged Acraepoid lady was crying with Nyo. She was struggling, yet she could not stop the team of Acraepoid Warriors from carrying away the sickly little girl who had black fur growing out of her whole body.
Today, the Dark Destroyer Temple had sent out the order to quarantine and centralize those who had been afflicted by the Sorcerer’s Shadow to prevent the spread of the shadows.
The commanders and temple priests had made the painful decision to destroy some of the fruit trees that had been infested by the Abyssal Moss to stop the infection from spreading.
The fear that was set off from this event started to linger amongst the Acraepoid Warriors.
This would mean that they would get less ration in the future. It would then mean that their privilege would be reduced, and thus they would have to starve like the rest of the Acraepoid citizens!
At such a time, the Dark Destroyer Temple Priests had ordered the arrest of all those who were afflicted by the Sorcerer’s Shadow.
Nyo and the middle-aged lady’s cries were but one of the many tragedies happening in the city.
The next day.
“Wuwuwuwu…”
Hundreds of Acraepoid ladies had been arrested in the red light district. They were stripped of their clothes and tied up in a bundle, chastised by the public. They were blamed for desecrating the faith of the great Infernal Gods and for being deviants of the religion.
Among them, Nyo was weeping at the receiving end of the blame.
The male Acraepoids, who had fallen to their lusts, were whipped thrice by Commander Kyle Keller. Some Acraepoids called the punishment tough love.
But underneath all that, there were so many Acraepoids that shared the same views as Nyo and Naya. They were filled with anger and pain as they wept silently.
It was not their fault. They just wanted to survive in this world. Why must the Infernal God treat them like this?
Their once faithful eyes slowly turned. They became confused and doubtful.
Commander Keller raised his leather whip in a glorious stance, enjoying the cheers of a champion and the love of his citizens. He turned his head back and unintentionally looked at the figure who was standing on top of the towering Flame Burrow.
“Dia, I’ve proven my faith!”
Right at this moment, there was a commotion at the square. A few Acraepoid Warriors flew in and shouted, “All city, battle stations! An Acraepoid who had been tainted by the Sorcerer’s Shadow had transformed and hurt the priest, he’s escaped from prison!”
The transformation of the Sorcerer’s Shadow generally referred to the creatures in the abyss that had mutated. It was a rare occurrence in the world that was ruled by the Acraepoids.
These warriors were now saying that an Acraepoid had been transformed by the Sorcerer’s Shadows?
On the other hand.
Grimm and Claudia could clearly sense the presence of a figure who was filled with the stench of a blood regression spell. They could not help but smile coldly.
A transformation that was induced by the Sorcerer’s Shadows? Clearly, the hidden dark Demon-Hunter Sorcerer had casted a blood regression spell.
Whoosh!
Grimm shouted, “Follow me!”
Leading a few Acraepoid Warriors, Grimm and the warriors were as fast as the shadows as they went in pursuit by following the stench of the blood regression spell.
“Hmm? It’s actually here? Could it be…”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Grimm led the Acraepoids back to his own home. They saw a monster that was hiding behind the middle-aged Acraepoid lady.
The monster had reached a height of two meters, its body was covered in black fur. Its body was disfigured. Some parts of its exposed skin were squirming continuously as if something was about to come out. There was a strange-looking tail behind it.
“Mom, I’m scared…”
The monster cried out in a hideously hoarse voice. In the ears of the other Acraepoids, who were panicking, it sounded like a growl.
“Naya? Is that really you? Wuwuwu, how…”
The middle-aged Acraepoid lady wept. Grimm’s face turned ‘pale’ as he yelled out, “Careful ma’am, don’t get infected by this monster!”
After saying so, he disappeared in mid-air. The sword in his hand was burning profusely with the Infernal Powers. The monster was easily slain by him.
“Hmph! The Sorcerer’s Shadow has really turned an Acraepoid into a monster, those damned sorcerers!”
Grimm cried out loudly and ran to the middle-aged Acraepoid lady to console her, “Ma’am, are you alright? Don’t worry, the great will of the Dark Destroyer Infernal God will protect you and your daughter.”
There was only emptiness and anger in the middle-aged Acraepoid lady’s eyes, but she had nowhere to vent out her frustrations. In a sarcastic tone, she wept, “Yes, the Dark Destroyer Infernal God will protect me, huhuhu…”
Grimm let out a sigh. He turned to the Acraepoid Warriors behind him and said, “Take this mutated corpse back to the priest. Only by channeling the divine power of the Dark Destroyer Infernal God would we be able to cleanse the monster corpse from its sins.”
What they did not know was that he had dusted a layer of powdered magical stone on top of the corpse.
“Yes.”
The Acraepoid Warriors carried the body back to the Dark Destroyer Temple. Grimm consoled the lady for a while before leaving the Flame Burrow to settle the commotion outside.
A week later.
“Burn them all!”
“Burn them all!”
“Burn them all!”
The frenzied Acraepoids were chanting in terror. Most of the Acraepoids had become gullible. They now believed if they could cut off the Acraepoids that were infected by the abyss, they could stop the Sorcerer’s Shadow from spreading in the city.
People began to treat them like “Solanie the Sorceress” and burned those who were infected by the Sorcerer’s Shadow to release the fear and anxiety that had long accumulated within them.
Though, in the eyes of the real sorcerers, their efforts were laughable.
Grimm and Claudia left quietly. Through this small town, Grimm had a clear understanding of the Abyssal Moss in its initial outbreak stage.
He believed that in just a few years’ time, the whole Dark Destroyer Kingdom would go through what this small town had gone through.
And this was not even counted as a localized cataclysm.
Hovering in the sky, Claudia’s lips curled upwards to reveal an evil smile.
“Who could’ve guessed that the Demon-Hunter Sorcerer disguised himself as a priest. I guess his next step is to desecrate himself and make the people completely lose faith in the Infernal Gods, and then have them publicly burn the flag of the Dark Destroyer faith? Heehee, how very interesting.”
What else would work better to deface the Dark Destroyer Infernal God other than having the medium between the Dark Destroyer Infernal God and the people desecrate himself?
The tragedy that had fallen upon Nyo and Naya was just a taste of what was happening in Fort Santalum.
Their mother, once the most faithful servant of the Dark Destroyer Infernal Gods shall be the first to tear apart the flag of faith. The anthill would soon crumble.
Grimm’s original aim of infiltrating Fort Santalum was to gather intelligence. He did not expect to have a hand in the secret mission of invoking the collapse of the Acraepoids faith.
Based on the Dark Demon-Hunter Sorcerer’s wise planning, it was merely a matter of time before the mission would be complete.
Grimm picked up a bloodstone and mumbled, “I hope this Bloodstone isn’t a rare energy crystal in this world.”
Whoosh! Whoosh! The two Acraepoids disappeared.
