Chapter 16: The Church of Radiance
2015-05-09
Author: Zhu Sheng Fu Tu
A sharp arrow shot out from the front.
Soren’s ears twitched slightly, and his brow furrowed involuntarily. In an instant, he struck like lightning, directly catching the arrow with his bare hands amid the incredulous expression of the thief who had just shot.
Barehanded arrow catch!
The surroundings fell silent, and the thief, who had just released the arrow, gaped.
He had just seen the paladin get knocked out by Soren in one move. Without thinking much, he shot an arrow to evade the enemy, not expecting such a result, that the opponent could catch the arrow barehanded.
Almost in an instant.
The adventurer party before him realized that collectively, none of them might be a match for this man.
Soren gazed at the group before him.
A paladin, a priest, a wanderer, a ranger, and the last person, wearing a robe, was hard to discern but was likely a spellcaster, either a wizard or a sorcerer.
This was a standard adventurer party!
The paladin and ranger replaced the warrior and barbarian, while the wanderer seemed like a seasoned veteran, his reaction the fastest among them.
This configuration of an adventurer team was sufficient to handle most situations.
The expression on the young priestess’s face changed rapidly, from worry and confusion to puzzlement and contemplation, followed by a look of shock.
Because she recognized Soren!
Half a year’s time.
Soren had not changed much in appearance, but his aura had transformed completely, from a down-and-out thief in Amber City to the most powerful Pirate King on the Southern Coast.
The changes he had undergone made his aura utterly different!
“You!……”
The young priestess took a step forward in surprise, and the nearby wanderer cautionedly held her back. Anriya still wore a face full of disbelief, murmuring, “You are Soren?!……”
Recognized?
Upon hearing the young priestess call out Soren’s name, the others couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Because the man standing before them was undoubtedly unbeatable.
If they knew him, perhaps they could avoid this fight. Though they hadn’t yet engaged in combat, the other members of the adventurer party were already drenched in cold sweat. Soren had taken countless lives on his way here, and this palpable killing intent was something they weren’t capable of resisting at their level. Not to mention Soren also possessed the Gaze of Fear granted by his divinity. Those with even slightly weaker willpower might be scared into submission.
Clang!
Soren sheathed his curved blade, his gaze landing on the young priestess before him, nodding slightly and saying, “Long time no see!”
“You!……”
The young priestess’s expression was somewhat complex as she slowly said, “You’re alive! Great! That day was such a huge event, I’ve been very worried about you and Vivian’s safety. But when I went to the Slums the next day, it had already turned into ruins. I searched for a long time but couldn’t find any trace of you.”
“Is Vivian okay?”
Soren’s expression softened slightly as he gently replied, “Vivian is fine. We left Amber City a day early.”
The young priestess’s face was filled with confusion.
It seemed she had many questions in her mind—like why Soren appeared here, and how he had grown so powerful in just over half a year. After all, following the big event in Amber City, she had worked hard to advance to the Third Tier as a priestess, yet now it appeared she wouldn’t even last a round against Soren.
Soren didn’t reveal much.
He glanced at the other members of the adventurer party and said in a serious tone, “Are you here due to another mission, or are you specifically here to investigate the Fac?”
Silence.
In response to Soren’s question, the others noticeably fell silent. The young priestess showed some hesitation, grinding her teeth before saying, “We received a task to investigate their identity! They are called the Fac, right? Do you know about their identity?”
You don’t even know about the Fac?
Upon hearing this, Soren shook his head, unsure whether they were too bold or eager to find their demise. He said solemnly, “If it’s truly to investigate the Fac, I suggest you return and have higher-level professionists sent over. With your current strength, you might not be able to find them, and if you do, I’m afraid none of you would survive to return!”
Was this scare tactics?
Or was it true?
Soren’s words turned the others’ expressions grave. The ranger and thief exchanged glances and slightly bowed, saying, “Your grace! Do you know their situation? These people have harmed many ordinary people, and recently, some church members have been investigating them.”
With Soren’s strength, whether good or evil, it warranted them to respectfully address him as ‘your grace.’
Soren looked down at the unconscious paladin, thought for a moment, and said, “The Fac. An organization that worships the Evil God. They like to gouge out the eyes of their enemies after killing them, and even more so, they enjoy gouging out the eyes of living people during sacrificial rituals. I’m not certain what strength their followers possess, but I know there are at least two Legendary Professionists among them.”
“Given your strength, it’s basically a d*ath wish.”
Silence.
The young priestess’s expression stiffened as she slowly said, “But the church can no longer mobilize personnel. Recently, the vampires have been acting unusually, and higher-level priests have been sent to deal with them.”
Vampires?
Could it be related to the Vampire Son?
Soren furrowed his brows slightly and asked in a deep voice, “What unusual activity have the vampires been exhibiting recently?”
The young priestess hesitated for a moment before responding, “Many vampire minions have appeared in both the south and north. We suspect that a vampire church is continuously transforming ordinary people into vampires. Recently, the priests of the Lord of Radiance are gathering manpower as the spread of vampires greatly threatens ordinary lives, and all the higher-level members of the church have been dispatched to deal with them.”
It seemed it really was connected to Vampire Son Reinhardt!
As a deity with the vampire profession endowed by the Evil God of Fear, he needed enough believers to expand his divine power.
Ordinary people could not become his believers.
His core priesthood is that of the Lord of Vampires, which greatly limits the range in which he could acquire believers. So, if he wanted to expand his faith, he would have to transform others into vampires. However, with too many vampires, it would inevitably threaten ordinary people. After all, it goes without saying that vampires’ nourishment comes primarily from living beings. The emergence of too many vampire minions would undoubtedly be a disaster for ordinary people. Such an event would inevitably catch the Lord of Radiance’s attention, and the young priestess, as a follower of the Dawn Light, often needed to cooperate with the church of the Lord of Radiance.
Because the Dawn Light is one of the deities in the Radiant pantheon!
“Should we help her?”
Soren found himself pondering. He had a fair bit of confidence in dealing with the Fac, but he wasn’t fond of dealing with paladins, and the others might not necessarily trust him.
However, resolving the issue of the Fac for them might allow for a way for the Church of Radiance to concentrate their efforts against the Vampire Son.
As a keystone of the Good Faction.
They would absolutely not allow the spread of creatures like vampires, which meant that the Church of Radiance’s opposition to the Vampire Son was all the more pronounced, rendering reconciliation nearly impossible.
The Vampire Son was currently Soren’s greatest enemy.
And as the biggest Pirate King of the Southern Coast, he wasn’t necessarily a match for him, considering the other party had already achieved divinity.
Soren didn’t like owing others favors.
So after pondering for a moment, he said solemnly, “Follow me. I’ll help you track them down!”
Having said that, he turned and walked in a specific direction.
The adventurer party behind him exchanged surprised glances, then turned their gaze to the young priestess. Upon seeing her nod, they immediately rushed forward to help the unconscious paladin before quickly following Soren’s pace.
A wanderer who looked like a Legendary Professionist.
With this grace helping them, their chances against the Fac were undoubtedly significantly increased.
Soren’s tracking ability was never weak. Essentially, after each battle, his base skills received slight improvements. However, because these improvements were rather scattered, he paid little attention to them, so there was no need for concern. (Note: Each battle resulted in small upgrades of one or two points in base skills that weren’t specifically listed.)
Currently, his overall basic skills had improved by twenty to thirty points compared to the past, with enhancements in outdoor survival, searching, intimidation, and listening being particularly noticeable.
Soren tracked swiftly.
The adventurer party behind him could only wake the paladin and quickly follow along.
A debate arose from behind, seemingly the awakening paladin stubbornly wanting to purge the evil. Soren had no intention of getting involved in this, but if the opponent dared to challenge him again without knowing their own d*ath, he would assuredly show no mercy.
One day passed just like that.
Soren swiftly advanced along the traces left behind, while the adventurer party kept up. The paladin seemed very averse to him, yet due to being knocked down by Soren, there was still some fear in his eyes.
If they truly engaged in battle.
They would probably last only a few minutes against Soren.
The next day.
The traces Soren was following became more apparent, indicating that the Fac was likely moving in larger numbers, perhaps over ten, hence the leftover traces were quite clear.
They tracked the Fac to a place in the Northern Region called Withered Leaf Town.
As they approached the town, the traces left by the Fac in the wilderness lightened significantly, but based on Soren’s intuition, the Fac should have entered this town.
“This is it!”
He stopped, turned to look at the others, and said solemnly, “The Fac should be inside; your target is too obvious.”
“Spread out; two people should act together.”
………………(To Be Continued ~^~)
