Chapter 394

Chapter 324: The Spy

On the outskirts of Tivyán, by the Moonflow River.

Under the cover of night, raging fires were burning fiercely. Thick smoke billowed from the villa by the riverside, with flames occasionally bursting out of the windows. The entire two-story mansion was engulfed in flames, spreading rapidly.

Amidst the flames in the building, continuous tremors and roars could be heard. Walls shattered from time to time, and charred corpses were thrown out, accompanied by the beast’s howls that echoed through the fire.

“Tsk… d*mn it, are the Church’s crusaders all mad? Burning down evidence like this!” Edmund flew through the air, hovering above the blazing house. He couldn’t help but rub his forehead as he looked down. Anreyus’ actions would certainly destroy any valuable clues.

They had found Davik’s hideout because they discovered clues about him at Alex’s hideout, tracing their way there. They originally intended to find more clues about the Wolf bl**d Association within this hideout, but the reinforcements that came to support them rushed in and started burning everything.

“Even though they are handling a heretical issue, shouldn’t the Church send in Inquisitors for such covert operations? Why did they suddenly send a Crusader? I really don’t understand!”

Edmund muttered in confusion. Within the Church’s system, the Crusader Order and the Inquisition were two critical enforcement agencies. The Crusader Order was military in nature, while the Inquisition was police-like, one focused on direct purification and destruction, the other on investigation and interrogation.

Generally, the Church would mobilize the Inquisition for internal affairs and heresy issues. For dealing with heretical gods, the Church would deploy the Crusader Order. In complex situations, both might work together or coordinate with local An Yin Bureau. However, this cooperation was clearly not handled well this time.

Regardless, the fight inside had already begun. Although Edmund was very unhappy with Anreyus’ rash action, he couldn’t just watch as the opponent fought alone. Both were made of chalk, and in a one-on-one battle, there were many variables. He had to provide immediate support.

Then, Edmund summoned the air currents around him and dived towards the burning mansion through an open window, officially joining the battle.

…

At that moment, in Smith’s villa, another intense battle was ongoing in an area not yet affected by the intense flames.

In a spacious room, the nun wielding a slender sword faced two Beastmen constantly attacking her. Against the powerful vitality and ape-like Beastmen, Vania initially struggled until she applied her healing ability in combat, which began to change the tide.

Vania’s blade cut through black fur and flesh, leaving deep wounds. Soon after, soft orange-yellow light caressed the wounds, quickly healing them. However, this healing was merely superficial. Underneath the seemingly ordinary skin, the connections were fundamentally wrong. Nerves, bl**d vessels, and muscles were tangled into a mess, with bl**d vessels supplying bl**d in the same direction connected incorrectly, causing bl**d to collide internally, muscles twisted into knots, and pain nerves stimulated from all directions.

Abnormal bl**d flow, abnormal nerves, abnormal muscles… After incorrect healing, the wounds displayed even more severe damage to the body. Under Vania’s deliberate manipulation, these Beastmen’s external injuries were worsening internally, slowing their movements as they cried out in pain.

“This is the revelation Akka gave me, combined with the effect of the healing priest’s ability? Incorrect treatment is more harmful than direct harm… It’s truly terrifying… If I were guided by the Holy Mother, wouldn’t this have been avoided…?”

Wielding her slender sword, Vania thought to herself as she watched the scene before her. Healing priests guide wounds to heal according to their will. As monks and nuns often focus on spiritual practices, they usually lack expertise in human anatomy. Thus, most healing priests rely on praying to the Holy Mother for guidance when using their abilities.

However, Vania was different. Under Akka’s divine revelation, she possessed the knowledge of a skilled surgeon. With this knowledge, she could guide her abilities independently. A wound, to her, could be healed or made worse, turning it into a more severe lesion than the original injury.

While ordinary healing priests could produce similar effects without praying to the Holy Mother, Vania’s results were superior. She could turn minor wounds into serious lesions because, even when treating incorrectly, she could do so precisely and efficiently with her knowledge.

Such usage of healing priest abilities was something the Church had never mentioned to Vania before; it was Dorothy who brought it up during their conversations about Vania’s new abilities. Initially, Vania thought Dorothy’s suggestion to use the Holy Mother’s power in this way might be sacrilegious, but now, in this situation, she had no choice.

“Mother, please forgive my sins. Use your healing power to cause this harm and suffering… This is to deal with a crisis… And… healing power is incredibly effective against enemies!”

Vania thought to herself. At that moment, the two Beastmen in front of her, suffering from internal injuries caused by her “healing,” were severely hindered in their movements due to muscle distortion, blocked bl**d flow, and nerve pain. They began to wail in agony as their bodily functions were significantly impaired.

Seizing an opportunity, Vania thrust her sword straight, piercing the right eye of one Beastman and pulling it out. The Beastman howled and ran wildly, covering its bleeding eye socket before finally breaking through a window and falling downstairs. Then, Vania’s sword struck again, piercing the chest of the last Beastman and pinning it to the wall.

“It’s done…”

Seeing the last Beastman defeated, Vania sighed in relief, but what happened next made her tense again.

The Beastman pinned to the wall grew weaker as it struggled, and when it reached a certain point of weakness, a red gem on the sword handle suddenly emitted red light. Then, the weakened Beastman’s body began to wither and dry up. Seeing this, Vania released the sword handle and stepped back, watching as the Beastman nailed to the wall visibly turned into a mummy. Once it fully became a mummy, the red gem on the sword handle dimmed.

“The sword that Miss Dorothyia gave me is… an extraordinary item… a bl**d-sucking extraordinary item?”

Looking at the mummified Beastman nailed to the wall, Vania murmured. At that moment, another voice sounded behind her.

“To be precise, it absorbs ‘the cup.'”

Hearing this voice, Vania was momentarily stunned, then turned to look. She saw the sickly Davik approaching her. After the chaos in the villa, Dorothy took the opportunity to let Davik escape surveillance. Now, they finally had a chance to meet.

“Huh… it’s Miss Dorothyia. What should we do now?”

Seeing the puppet, Vania sighed in relief and said. Dorothy then manipulated Davik to walk forward, pulling the Heart-Eating Staff Sword from the chest of the mummified Beastman, and immediately responded.

“We need to leave immediately. The An Yin Bureau and the Church’s chalk are besieging the werewolf Smith upstairs. That werewolf and this house may not hold out much longer. You should leave quickly, directly through that window…”

Feeling the constant loud noises and vibrations coming from upstairs, Davik told Vania, then pointed to a nearby window that had been shattered by the Beastmen, indicating that Vania should leave from there.

“Alright, let’s talk outside…”

“You only need to go out. There are people from the An Yin Bureau and the Church outside. If we’re seen talking, it would be bad for you. So, just go out yourself. Oh, and take this.”

As he spoke, Davik pulled out something and threw it to Vania. After catching it, Vania examined it closely and realized it was a twisted handcuff. Vania recognized this handcuff—it was the one that had been on Davik’s hand, taken off by Smith and discarded. It bore the An Yin Bureau’s landmark sigil.