Chapter 551: Death and Cremation Officer

Everyone in Shi Ying Town was on edge after just enduring a self-defense counterattack.

With the Archbishop Arturo's roar.

All the guards present locked their gazes like lightning onto the Holy Flame Team and the people from Gale City.

Shi Ying Town lacked sufficient troops and had no distinction between military branches—police and combat soldiers were all mixed together.

These were soldiers who had survived defending their homeland.

They knew better than anyone how powerful and precious the magic rings Luo De had distributed for free were.

Kill Luo De?

Your battle fury hasn't even faded, and you're saying this right in front of me?

The atmosphere instantly turned tense and hostile.

Even the young man Hilem, who was lame, shifted from a smile to a cold, expressionless stare.

He pulled out a dagger from somewhere unknown and had already crept up behind Archbishop Arturo.

"Oh? Kill me?"

Luo De smiled warmly, his arm still extended forward.

He looked up.

Sure enough, the wound was healing rapidly.

Unlike spiritual or magical healing, the healing energy of the Holy Flame Sect carried a sense of open, radiant sunlight.

Natural spiritual energy was colorless and odorless.

Magic forged from spiritual energy was cool and solemn.

Hmm.

Could this be a new type of energy system?

Luo De used the power of 【Maintain Domain】 to preserve a portion of the residue for Kalist to analyze.

Ahead.

Archbishop Arturo realized his slip-up and, with the support of many followers behind him, regained his footing.

He looked around and immediately turned pale.

Soldiers who had placed their hands on their sword hilts now subtly formed a circle.

He raised his torch again and, after a brief recitation of prayer verses.

His expression calmed.

"My apologies—I misspoke."

At these words, Cliff, the mayor's assistant, who had been drenched in cold sweat, seized his lifeline.

After all, the Holy Flame Sect had been brought here by their Gale City.

Now screaming "Kill this man!" was no different than if he himself had said it.

He leapt forward hastily and explained:

"Archbishop Arturo traveled all night! He's elderly—he must've been dazed from the carriage ride! Mr. Luo De, please don't take it personally—he's got bad teeth and talks through them! He meant to praise your mercy! Yes, that's it!"

Yet.

The Holy Flame Sect gave no quarter.

"What I mean is, for the new world, please, Mr. Luo De, die."

"What?"

Cliff was struck as if by lightning, his face filled with panic.

Archbishop Arturo's gaze grew resolute; he shook his head with a look of pitying sorrow:

"Mercy? Mr. Luo De carries sin, wields plague energy, and bears the 【Cruel Mark】. The lives he's taken must number in the hundreds—how could he possibly be called merciful?"

"Archbishop Arturo! Watch your words!!"

"Mr. Cliff, thank you for your guidance. We thought our mission was merely to eradicate possible plague—but we've unexpectedly caught a big fish."

Facing Archbishop Arturo's thanks.

Cliff was utterly frantic, his shirt soaked through with sweat.

He glanced at Luo De's expression and then roared at the Holy Flame Sect:

"I warn you—don't speak nonsense! Mr. Luo De, I had no knowledge of this! I only came to treat the wounded of Shi Ying Town! He's slandering me! He's slandering me!!!"

Luo De ignored him.

He turned his gaze back to the elderly archbishop.

The halfling Lily, representing the Righteous Alliance, had investigated Hot City and clearly stated in her letter that the Holy Flame Team had deep ties with the Igo Church.

It would be strange if the Holy Flame Sect, evolved from that team, had no connection at all.

Luo De spoke plainly:

"You're backed by the Igo Church, aren't you? What do you intend? Just say it outright."

"The Igo Church is the state religion of Aitheron, overseeing all faiths within the kingdom. Our legitimate new sect naturally has ties to the Igo Church."

Archbishop Arturo's expression turned pleading: "As for our purpose, we've always sought only to eradicate plague. But now we have one additional goal—Mr. Luo De, you're obstructing the new world's progress. I beg you—could you please just die?"

Luo De shook his head.

He was done talking; he raised his hand to order their arrest.

"How dare you!"

Cliff could hold back no longer.

With a cold face, he lunged forward, his palm sharpening as he rapidly gathered spiritual energy.

He slashed one approaching believer's throat.

As blood sprayed, the hood flew open.

It was a middle-aged woman, smiling strangely as she toppled backward.

The other guards instantly erupted into action, surging forward.

The Holy Flame Sect members had low spiritual reserves—the guards could handle them easily.

Luo De stepped back, staying out of the fight.

Cliff, drenched in blood, approached—only to be blocked by Tally's shadow spell.

He could only plead again, insisting he and Baron Lam knew nothing of this.

The witch Dimea whispered beside him: "I used a lie-detection spell—he truly has no knowledge or motive for this."

"Hmm. What do you think about the Igo Church and this Holy Flame Sect?"

"Lately, the Igo Church has absorbed and recognized many new faiths. The Holy Flame Sect is just one of them. For a monotheistic church, acknowledging new faiths means splitting the number of believers—that's abnormal."

"New faiths… do they share anything in common?"

Dimea paused.

She pinched her chin in thought, pushing her baby fat cheeks even rounder.

"I never thought of that before… Come to think of it, they all seem centered on sacredness, order, life, light… and their actions appear to be those of cremation officers—burning corpses to prevent plague, since battles produce so many dead."

"Oh, so they're doing good work."

"Yes. And cremation officers demand no wages or rations—even the enemy Heaven Flower Kingdom rarely attacks them on battlefields after combat… Perhaps that's why these new sects formed so easily."

They sounded like they were doing something right, something good.

But Luo De didn't care.

Though outwardly respectable, he was always double-standard, fiercely protective, and full of stereotypes.

He was convinced the Igo Church was plotting something sinister.

As they spoke.

A loud bang—arresting the Holy Flame Sect encountered trouble.

During the struggle, one sect member's thick yellow leather robe suddenly erupted in flames.

The sudden burst of heat flung outward, knocking down two or three soldiers.

They were too close—the yellow robe seemed to be some kind of flammable material, igniting in a chain reaction.

Interestingly,

As the flames erupted, the Holy Flame Sect members vanished one by one, as if by magic.

At the center, Archbishop Arturo raised his torch.

He smiled, gazing at Luo De with deep meaning: "We'll meet again."

With that,

He prepared to activate the same escape method.

But a thin filament of black liquid metal had already reached his back.

As the flames exploded, the black liquid metal surged violently, forming a massive jackal's head with a terrifying, all-consuming maw.

Archbishop Arturo turned in shock—his smile froze.

Boom!

Flames erupted.

Blood sizzled and vaporized.

The yellow robe, now empty, vanished with the headless corpse.

(End of Chapter)