Chapter 230

In the whole Church, no, perhaps even in the whole Tianmian City, few would dare ask her that directly—except Yue Chengzhang, there are hardly any.

The Holy Maiden's voice held no anger; instead, she was happy to help him out of his predicament.

"About twenty years ago, Lei Zhao was dispatched to a frontier region to take charge of a small town on the verge of abandonment due to resource depletion and aberrant beast harassment—'Morning Star City'."

"Under his governance, the city's population returned, trade revived, its defenses became impregnable, and he even improved the local source crystal mining technique, revitalizing the once‑depleted ore vein."

"Morning Star City went from being almost forgotten on the map to attracting increasing attention; its prosperity and stability even drew the gaze of Tianmian City's residents."

Yue Chengzhang listened silently, able to imagine what kind of city that was; though he had never been there, he began to respect this senior from that time.

"The value of Morning Star City aroused the covetousness of certain people in Tianmian City; they eyed the new source crystal vein there, demanding that the Church 'take over' Morning Star City and recall Lei Zhao, all under the pretense of 'another important assignment'."

"Lei Zhao refused."

Yue Chengzhang said softly, unlike the decadent man he sees now, the Lei Zhao of those years was not someone with a good temper.

What's more, the Church's proposal is no different from a weasel paying New Year's respects to a chicken.

"Well, he refused, and he himself knew that those covetous parties weren't after developing the city, but wanted to squeeze out its value, then discard it like a piece of trash."

"Then what?" Yue Chengzhang pressed.

"After that... an aberrant species surge erupted near Morning Star City; though the defenses could have held under Lei Zhao's command, the supply lines were 'unexpectedly' cut off entirely, and calls for help vanished without a trace."

Yue Chengzhang's heart sank; he could already guess the outcome.

"Lei Zhao held out for three months; on the eve of the city's fall, he exerted his last strength to send away a group of the city's elderly, weak, women, and children."

The Holy Maiden's voice lacked emotion, merely informing Yue Chengzhang in full of that little‑known past, even though it represented the Church's darkest side.

"After the city fell, they piled baseless charges on Lei Zhao—'poor command,' 'obstinacy causing delays in reinforcements,' and the like—branding him a 'criminal' who abandoned the city to flee."

Yue Chengzhang clenched his fists, knuckles whitening; he knew the Church's internal corruption, so he knew those people were truly capable of such deeds.

If not for someone above him, those corrupt nobles would likely have already disposed of him by similar means.

"After that, Lei Zhao vanished; the Church kept the matter deep under wraps, files were sealed, and those in the know were either transferred or chose silence."

"It was only years later that news of him surfaced again, when his name appeared on the personnel roster of the Dome Field Operations Department, formally announcing his break with the Church."

"Who is the person who pinned the blame on him?" Yue Chengzhang's voice was low, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the sword hilt.

The Holy Maiden fell silent for a moment, then slowly uttered a name that was not unfamiliar to Yue Chengzhang.

"At the time, the Church's archbishop was Hu Rui."

A high‑ranking figure who once wielded tremendous power within the Church, born of an old aristocratic family.

As for why he is "former"...

Because that person had long been dead beneath Yue Chengzhang's sword.

Yue Chengzhang had an impression of that person, and together with Hu Rui's faction, they were completely uprooted in the "Great Purge" five years ago.

Dereliction of duty, corruption, collusion with external forces, framing of colleagues...

Hu Rui's guilt was proven; at the time, it was the Holy Maiden herself who signed the execution order, and she personally led the team to arrest him.

Does Lei Zhao not know that his enemy is already dead?

No, as long as Lei Zhao has investigated the Church, he would certainly know about that "Great Purge".

Hu Rui was indeed the mastermind, but back then, who besides him chose to stand by coldly and secretly fan the flames?

In Lei Zhao's eyes, it was the Church's rigid, corrupt system that was the root of that tragedy.

Lei Zhao's hatred was never limited to Hu Rui alone, but extended to the very Church that let his ideals crumble and turned everything he guarded into scorched earth.

Yue Chengzhang remained silent for a long time; he could understand where Lei Zhao's weariness in his eyes came from—it was the fatigue and disappointment after his ideals collapsed.

"I'm telling you this not to make you sympathize with him or question your own stance."

The Holy Maiden's voice is always that calm, and Yue Chengzhang has grown accustomed to it.

She won't be troubled by any extra emotions, because she still has more to do.

"Rest assured, what I've always believed in is neither the lofty 'Church' nor the so‑called 'God'."

Yue Chengzhang opened his mouth slowly, his voice as firm as ever.

"What I believe in is what you told me back at Mitra Academy: 'Let the ordinary people of this world live well'."

The past is set in stone; the tragedy cannot be undone.

All he can do is grip his sword tightly, protect what he can protect now, and cut away the thorns ahead.

For that, he will spare no cost.

——————————————————

And at this moment, Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu, who had successfully escaped the Core scene under Lei Zhao's cover, finally got a chance to catch their breath after evading the Supervision Bureau's pursuit.

Hey........ you really shouldn't say that, that kid really is a damn 'genius'.

Lu Mu wiped the dust off his face and grinned.

Fireworks? Mutation pollution? This approach is so wild it has no bounds—those Supervision Bureau guys must be green-faced by now! Haha!

Bai Mu Yun didn't smile; his face remained pallid, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

He naturally understood Lu Mu's meaning.

Ying Duo's actions tonight seemed crazy and chaotic, but in fact they precisely struck the weakest link in Tianmian City.

The Supervision Bureau protected Tianmian City too well; those living there were as if in Eden, completely isolated from potential dangers, which instead gave them an opportunity to exploit.

Lu Mu lacked the brains for such things, while Bai Mu Yun simply couldn't be bothered, because it wasn't necessary.

But that kid Ying Duo, self-taught, happened to share ideas with someone from the Mutation Department, which gave Bai Mu Yun a chill down his spine.

He saw a familiar shadow in Ying Duo—the very person who had forced his life to become this wretched state.

And Lu Mu kept going on and on there.

"Tianmian City is overprotected." Lu Mu continued to sneer, his tone laced with his usual mockery.

"It's gotten to the point where the people inside have almost forgotten what the outside world looks like, forgotten what Mutation really is—just a little 'fireworks' would be enough to keep them supplied, tsk, we should have done this long ago!"

"Shut up, Lu Mu." Bai Mu Yun finally spoke, and a crow's chattering became unbearably noisy.

A tall figure appeared silently before the two, Lei Zhao still wore that inconspicuous work uniform, his face expressionless, but the eyes that are always weary were unusually sharp at this moment.

His gaze swept over Lu Mu, finally settling on Bai Mu Yun.

The air instantly grew somewhat stagnant.

Lu Mu restrained the grin on his face, sat up straight, his eyes showing unabashed vigilance.

Although he was rescued by the other party, he held little goodwill toward this Field Operations Department "colleague."

Lei Zhao ignored Lu Mu, his gaze locked tightly on Bai Mu Yun; that look contained no interrogation, yet it was more oppressive than questioning, a scrutiny that gathered too much disappointment and anger.

"Why?" Lei Zhao's voice was hoarse, "Why use that method?"