Chapter 701

After the commoner finished speaking, he sighed repeatedly.

In front of the commoner stood several Temple Knights and a magician.

One of the Temple Knights asked the commoner a few more questions, then turned to look at the magician.

The magician gave a slight nod.

Only then did that Temple Knight walk over to another Temple Knight and say:

"My lord, he hasn't lied!"

The other Temple Knight stepped into the room, fixed his gaze on a symbol on the wall, and said coldly:

"The Demonic Cross of Starlight, the Evil Moon, the dripping heart—these symbols resemble the mark of some evil deity. But the Church's specialized analysts have already deciphered them; one vague location is hidden within the information. Let's go investigate there."

Her voice revealed her to be a female Temple Knight!

Since the two Emperors of the Flame Empire are both Empresses, many women in the Flame Empire have become exceptionally independent.

Now, within the Order of Temple Knights, there is a dedicated Female Temple Knight Division.

Do not underestimate this Nushendian Knight Corps.

They are all under the special care of Meng Ying and Sister Qing Ling, each possessing formidable strength.

Their numbers are few—only a thousand—but all of them are above Fifth Rank!

Even the squad leaders among them are mostly Sixth Rank!

They are also one of the core Knight Corps of the entire Church army.

Since women are naturally more meticulous, this investigation into evil incidents has largely been entrusted to these Nushendian Knights.

Night fell.

A squad of twenty Temple Knights, along with several magicians, quietly arrived outside a village.

The village held no lights—pitch black.

"This must be it, Tersa, go check first."

The female squad leader of the Temple Knights said.

"Yes!"

One Temple Knight slipped into the village.

Inside the village, all was silent—no human voices, only the chirping of insects and birds.

"Captain, there seems to be no one inside."

Tersa slipped back.

"Let's go in and search."

The female captain led all the Temple Knights inside.

They began searching house by house.

But the village was completely empty—not a single person remained.

"Captain, come quickly!"

At that moment, one knight shouted.

The squad leader hurried over and saw, on a house at the village center, a mark carved in fresh red blood: the Demonic Cross of Starlight, the Evil Moon, the dripping heart!

The mark still looked freshly carved, its blood not yet dried.

"Trouble!"

Seeing the mark, the captain realized something and her expression changed slightly.

"Sssss!"

Suddenly, outside the village, Wan Jianqi fired!

"Raise shields!"

The captain remained calm under pressure, issuing a quiet command.

Though they were all female knights, their strength was far from weak, and their reactions were swift.

In an instant, the twenty Temple Knights formed a circle, raising their shields and enclosing the several Temple Knight magicians in the center.

"Dong dong dong dong!"

Immediately, a rain of arrows descended, striking the Temple Knights' shields.

"Swoosh!"

Stronger crossbows launched long bolts that slammed against their shields with dull thuds.

Yet their shields stood firm as mountains; any arrows that slipped past were stopped by their armor.

The arrow rain lasted over three minutes before ceasing.

Outside the village, a deafening roar of battle erupted.

Then, thousands of fully armed warriors stormed into the village.

"Kill them all. Killing more civilians has less impact than killing Temple Knights. If we kill Temple Knights, panic will spread. Once the people are terrified, we'll ignite nationwide unrest—see how you handle it."

Outside, a warrior on horseback spoke coldly.

Yes, they used that mark as bait, deliberately luring Temple Knights here.

Day one: target large numbers of civilians to incite panic.

Day two: target Temple Knights to spark even greater panic!

Day three: they would carry out further actions.

Of course, if the Flame Empire responded fiercely, they would retreat temporarily.

Once the Flame Empire relaxed, they would resume their game with it.

In short, these people from the Zi Jin Empire had prepared for a long war—to exhaust the Flame Empire completely!

This is also the revenge of the Purple Gold Empire's gods!

"Team combat: Teams 1, 2, and 3 follow me to kill the enemy; Team 4 protect the mages."

Inside the village, as thousands of warriors surged in, the female captain swiftly gave her order.

Facing thousands of warriors, she was about to launch a counterattack!

Immediately, she roared and charged out first, her heavy sword slashing straight at the fastest-moving enemy.

The man raised his shield to block the female captain's sword.

But it had no effect—her sword split his shield in half, then continued its momentum, striking the man himself…

Meanwhile, in the other three directions, the other three five-man teams moved in perfect coordination, swiftly killing the advancing enemies.

"Boom!"

The mages in the center began casting spells; each spell claimed dozens or even hundreds of lives.

Outside the village, the warrior on horseback turned pale.

Because these twenty-odd Temple Knights were terrifyingly strong!

The thousands he brought were no weaklings, yet they were being mowed down like wheat by these twenty-odd Temple Knights.

In just a short time, more than a third of the thousands he brought had been killed by those twenty-odd Temple Knights!

"What kind of Temple Knights are these? Why are they so strong?!"

The warrior on horseback's face darkened.

He squeezed his thighs and spurred his horse toward the female captain.

What greeted him was the female captain's heavy sword!

The warhorse didn't even neigh—it was split clean in two by her sword, then her blade met the warrior's sword.

"So heavy!"

The warrior's heart stopped beating!

His sword, before his own eyes, shattered piece by piece!

"Crack!"

The warrior thought he was dead—until the female captain's sword suddenly shifted, the flat of the blade slamming into his armor, knocking him senseless and rendering him unconscious.

"With strength like this, you dare cause chaos?"

The female captain stamped her foot on his body and said coldly.

"Your Majesty, over a hundred attacks on Temple Knights occurred across the empire last night, but none succeeded. This is the list obtained through magical hypnosis by the Church's mages."

In the grand hall, the female giantess Hester handed a list to Meng Ying.

The list was densely packed with names, many of whom were renowned throughout the Purple Gold Empire.

They were all powerful nobles, famed in their regions.