Chapter 218: Advancement

The civilian homes were engulfed in flames, surrounded by panicked and terrified ordinary people.

The three-story building burned fiercer by the second; its old wooden structure, packed with books, was now fully consumed by fire.

Someone had summoned the fire brigade, and kindhearted neighbors arrived with buckets of water—but none could approach the building, only standing helplessly outside.

"Snap!"

A black-armored knight sat on the stairs before the building's entrance, his longsword resting on his knees, still stained with blood.

Every firefighter had frozen in place before even reaching him, paralyzed by his aura.

This was clearly no pious soul—the original occupants of the building lay scattered across the ground, well-known local intellectuals and students.

They wept or begged, their anguish beyond words, yet still could not draw near the fire.

Those who ignored warnings were cut down in an instant by the knight's blade.

"City Guard is here! The Constable is coming!"

Finally, when the local Constable arrived, he brought along a patrol squad; bystanders thought a turning point had come—then

"Snap!"

The black knight rose to his feet, yet didn't even bother drawing his sword, nor did he strike first.

"Clang!"

Less than ten seconds later, he sat back down.

An entire squad of officers and a full patrol unit collapsed before the black knight, felled in an instant by his sheathed blade.

The unlucky men lay sprawled across the stairs—deeply humiliating.

Most absurd of all, the black knight never once left the stairs he sat on.

Having dealt with the intruders, he sat back, pulled out an oilcloth, and quietly wiped and oiled his blade, all while watching the building behind him continue to burn.

The fallen officers stared in stunned disbelief—what kind of monster would burn down civilian homes, attack the police, and refuse to flee?

Did he dare openly defy the Kingdom's authority? Was he waiting for the Radiant Guard to hunt him down?

Could he be the infamous cultist rumored to be active lately? The black armor, the black dragon scales—it was unmistakably evil.

"Move aside! Make way!"

Finally, a group of young knights in silver armor arrived.

They bore the insignia of sword and fist—followers of the God of War Kandela, a strange church that appointed sword-wielding warriors as priests; their leader was even a Holy Knight faintly wreathed in silver light.

Yet all wore white robes and light armor, armed only with simple swords; their shields were small wooden rounds, not tower or large shields—they were clearly only knight apprentices.

Was there a temple of the God of War nearby? Hmm, perhaps—it was said this deity cared little for nobility, so a presence in this ordinary neighborhood made sense.

"Detect Evil!"

As the divine light suddenly descended, Li En sighed—he knew his bait had failed.

The building was already fully ablaze, yet no other cultists had come to rescue this branch—this was odd. Such a large-scale cult shouldn't have only a few members.

The scale of the underground altar couldn't have been built by one or two core cultists—could they really abandon such a vast operation so easily?

"Tch. So this is what it feels like to be targeted by Detect Evil?"

But when the divine spell of Detect Evil struck, every bystander froze.

The brutal arsonist—the black knight who had just crushed the police—emitted not a single trace of red evil aura, nor the white glow of innocence or the pale silver of goodness. Instead:

"Golden light?! What is golden light?!"

"Uh, I've never seen it before either."

Li En sighed, raised his sword, and gave a gentle swing.

It was the same hue of radiant damage—the mark of a Holy Knight.

"Knights, young knights…" The voice of the black knight, surprisingly young, addressed the warriors of Kandela with a teasing tone reserved for juniors.

"Gold is the recognition granted by the Divine when you serve pure goodness to a sufficient degree."

A faint glow spread as he removed his black dragon-winged helm, revealing a face even younger than the knight apprentices.

"I am Holy Knight Li En Sudar. I just dismantled a hidden cult of a false god. There were dangerous artifacts inside—ensure they are burned completely clean."

A false god? A cult? In this civilian neighborhood? In this old museum where people came to relax and read?

It had been here for decades!

If anyone else claimed this, they'd be publicly scolded.

But this was a noble Holy Knight—his words deserved trust.

Yet for all these years, this place had been nothing but an ordinary market—what purpose could a cult possibly serve here?

Doubt and unease spread; the scene remained painfully awkward.

On one side lay the unfortunate officers; on the other, the weeping "Whisperers."

Li En sighed and tugged at a large burlap sack resting on the stairs.

He pulled the opening slightly open, and a chaotic heap tumbled out.

Bloodstained scrolls, a sinister black chalice, and dozens of human-skin books bound with faces.

These nightmare objects rolled across the ground, most still smeared with fresh blood—clearly recent "loot."

"These items must be handled properly. I don't know how many remain—none can be left. Burn them utterly."

Li En gave a brief explanation, but the knights hadn't even heard him—they were staring fixedly at one object that had rolled out: a "sphere," seemingly the skull of a demon.

It had three eyes and four pupils, even strands of human hair—slightly odd. But what bewildered the young apprentices was the aura radiating from the skull.

". t's pure black in Detect Evil?! Aren't evil beings always red?!"

"Look—there's a bit of red at the edges—is that red turned black? I heard seniors say this is the first time they've seen such evil!"

"It's been here? Beneath our neighborhood? We never noticed?"

Demons were mid-tier monsters, but this one—clearly supernatural—was no ordinary demon. Just its skull, three times the size of a human's, hinted at how monstrous its full form must have been.

But the most terrifying object was the broken clock—it radiated pure black light.

"Hmm. It was alive. Recently."

Li En gave a brief explanation, glanced back at the fire, then casually summoned a flame and added more fuel—right before everyone's eyes.

"Um, Knight Li En, could we exchange information? Whose hand is this? The One-Eyed Butcher? The Gray Parrot? Or the Crimson…?" The lead Holy Knight apprentice asked whose evil this was.

The knights were already moving—helping the fallen officers to their feet, and detaining the wailing "Whisperers."

Li En had gained some fame in certain circles, but among the 99% of commoners and low-to-mid-tier warriors, he remained a relatively unknown newcomer.

Most commoners didn't care which knight the Princess had recently knighted, nor did they understand the difference between classical knights and Holy Knights.

"I can't say." Li En replied calmly, leaving the other speechless—You don't even trust your fellow Holy Knight?

"It's not distrust. When you graduate, you'll understand: some evils, their names and information themselves, are corruption. Keeping the world ignorant of them is part of our duty."

Li En gathered his loot and wrapped it securely.

With him guarding it, and the knights offering no objections, the fire was destined to burn without end.

Li En acted with precision—the firefighters he helped up were unharmed; with his aid, they dismantled nearby structures to create firebreaks and prevent the blaze from spreading.

"Crack!"

Finally, the building collapsed.

But unlike the expected collapse, after a thunderous roar, it began to sink inward.

The central section gradually caved in, showering the ground with wood shavings.

The first-floor floor had been burned through; the immense weight had crushed it, revealing a vast hollow beneath.

At that moment, even the "Whisperers" were stunned—they had no idea the place they'd read and chatted in for years hid such a cavern below.

"What is this?!"

"How is this possible!"

The next instant, the crowd erupted in cries.

The collapsed underground passage exposed countless unburned bones and rotting corpses!

Many had already undergone undeath in the negative-energy zone—lowly ghouls, zombies, and skeletons stirred to life.

They thrashed blindly in the flames, slowly turning to ash.

Most absurd of all, spirits appeared in midair—ghostly entities that could only form through black magic, extreme hatred, or negative-energy zones—exceedingly rare.

Normally, seeing one would be enough to spark tales of a haunted mansion—yet tonight, dozens, perhaps hundreds, filled this stretch of land.

Yet they showed little hatred toward the living—only wandered, moaned, and sang mournful songs.

The arriving knights were stunned—how many dead had been needed to create such a realm of tormented souls?

If left unchecked, these undead would multiply uncontrollably; within days, this entire district would be abandoned.

The black-armored knight sighed, then snapped his fingers.

"Snap!"

From him as the center, orange-red radiance spread.

The warm light resembled a miniature sun descending to the mortal world.

Under this sunlight, each ghost gradually faded into nothingness.

Some let out desperate wails before evaporating.

Others regained fleeting clarity, offering the black knight grateful smiles.

Some bowed, some waved farewell, then vanished into the air.

Li En sighed, continuing to sustain the holy radiance, offering these wretched souls one final mercy and absolution.

But suddenly, his expression turned to shock.

"Huh? Did I just advance as a Holy Knight? Third tier? Why does this two-headed monster hate the world so much?"

(End of chapter)