Chapter 148 The Temple of the Mad God in Action

For a millennium, divine authority and political power had maintained a gray equilibrium. Whichever side broke this balance first would trigger a direct clash between church and state. Typical examples of this included the government excessively interfering in religious affairs or churches arbitrarily executing secular officials—even a minor bureaucrat—which would touch upon the sovereign's forbidden scale.

The actions of the Church of the Father God had undoubtedly shattered this balance. The most alarming part was that they dared to do it so openly. Was this not courting death? Did they truly believe they could act without restraint simply because a local lord was among their believers?

One must understand that every region had its spheres of influence, and the political power of this particular territory had its own corresponding sphere. Even if the lord chose to look the other way, the direct superior of Baron Belis would not. Once the matter was escalated to the central government, it would likely provoke a severe reaction from above, and at that point, the Church of the Father God would be doomed.

Well, had Sylvanas not made a wager with Link, perhaps the central authorities would have indeed taken action. But having made the bet with Link—and mistakenly believing that Link's strength had already reached the mortal peak—Sylvanas would turn a blind eye even if Link were to completely purge and annihilate all officials in the Crimson Moon Province.

Now, whether Link was executing enemy church members or slaughtering political officials, he had no need to worry about being encircled and suppressed by a large army. He could carry out his desires without any misgivings, and the actions of the Arbitrators were his first steps in establishing absolute prestige.

"As expected, without the suppression of political power, divine authority can run completely wild! I used to detest such ruthless extermination of entire clans, but after standing in this position, I finally understand that some things simply must be done." Listening to Aethelwolf’s report, Link let out a silent sigh. This was his first time wiping out an entire household. In the past, he had abhorred such merciless methods, but upon ascending to a high position and bearing the future of countless souls, that heavy responsibility forced him to make difficult decisions.

However, Link had never been one to indulge in regret. Since the deed was done, there was no point in remorse or self-blame. Moreover, Belis and his family were laden with heinous crimes and fully deserved death. He immediately commended the three individuals who carried out the mission. Afterward, he dismissed Andrusen and Manigault to rest, remaining behind to discuss the next steps with Aethelwolf.

Once everything was settled and Aethelwolf had withdrawn, Link took a deep breath, cold light flashing in his eyes. "The terror of the judgment has already spread, and those fellows in the Temple of the Mad God should be growing uneasy by now. In that case, the backup plan involving the Church of the God of War ought to be activated as well."

With that, Link picked up his pen and began writing furiously, though it was unclear what he was drafting.

Over the next few days, news of the incident in Charles Town spread, eventually reaching the upper echelons of the Temple of the Mad God, plunging them into utter panic. Both Tier 3 powerhouses and Tier 4 experts had perished. This was a heavy blow to the Temple of the Mad God. One must remember that their strongest member was only at the late Tier 4 stage. Suffering the loss of so many experts in a single breath was hardly different from their previous failed attempt to collude with the Church of the God of War in assaulting the Church of the Father God.

The dread brought by the Arbitrators left the upper echelons of the Temple of the Mad God sitting on pins and needles. They realized that their side had severely miscalculated the strength of the Church of the Father God. Originally, they had intended to take advantage of the political instability within the Stellar Kingdom to strike at the church. Who could have foreseen that mere moments after destroying one of the church's chapels, the enemy's retaliation would arrive with such terrifying force? The church had even dared to commit the taboo of slaughtering an entire town mayor's household, acting with complete lawlessness.

Facing this situation, the higher-ups of the Temple of the Mad God could easily deduce with their heels that the retaliation from the Church of the Father God would not stop there. Before long, an even more horrifying revenge would surely descend—one that they were utterly incapable of withstanding.

To counter the Church of the Father God, the Temple of the Mad God immediately mobilized every resource at their disposal. They swiftly contacted the various churches within the Anti-Father God Alliance, sharing the events of Charles Town in hopes of securing reinforcements. At the same time, disregarding the unwritten rule that barred secular politics from interfering in religious power struggles, they secretly informed Baron Belis's direct superior, adding plenty of inflammatory details in the hope that high-ranking official, who held actual military power, would lend a hand.

As a result, although the major churches of the Anti-Father God Alliance were shocked by the retaliation of the Church of the Father God, upon learning that the Temple of the Mad God had resorted to despicable tactics first, responses were sparse. Most adopted a wait-and-see attitude, content to watch the tigers fight from atop the mountain. Only the Church of the God of War—which held a blood feud with the Church of the Father God—and a few churches that had seen substantial portions of their flocks poached by the Father God faction in recent months were willing to help.

As for Baron Belis's direct superior, Baron Ravenel, his reaction was somewhat peculiar. His stance remained ambiguous; he neither promised to move against the Church of the Father God nor declined to do so, merely stating that he would thoroughly investigate the matter. Yet, he took no actual action, leaving everyone baffled as to whether he was intentionally turning a blind eye to the Church of the Father God.

What Baron Ravenel was thinking was unknown even to those closest to him. Only he understood that the Church of the Father God was not an entity he could afford to touch, having successively received confidential letters from two supreme overlords commanding him not to interfere in the affairs of the church—either of whom could crush him to death with a single finger.

Count Lothar and Queen Sylvanas!

Under such circumstances, it would be a miracle if Baron Ravenel made any moves. Had the two overlords not explicitly stated in their letters that he was also forbidden from offering secret assistance, he probably would have already scampered over to Link to pledge his willingness to help unify the religious sector under Link's jurisdiction.

Secular political powers remaining neutral in religious disputes was an unwritten rule upheld for millennia and an unspoken consensus throughout the religious world. Anyone who dared violate it risked facing a joint crusade. The reason Count Lothar and Queen Sylvanas forbade their subordinates from directly aiding the Church of the Father God was precisely this. Furthermore, it served as both a test and an opportunity for the church; only by unifying the religious realm through its own strength could it command genuine conviction and achieve true prosperity.

With Baron Ravenel refusing to intervene, the Temple of the Mad God had no choice but to ally with the large and small churches under its banner and handle the matter themselves. Yet, much to their dismay, apart from the Church of the God of War, the other participating churches were mediocre at best, each harboring opportunistic thoughts of fishing in troubled waters, making them utterly untrustworthy. Meanwhile, the Church of the Father God had remained completely silent since wiping out the Belis family, falling into an eerie stillness that only heightened their anxiety.

By now, the leadership of the Temple of the Mad God was in fierce internal turmoil, locked in endless debate over whether to launch a proactive strike or adopt a passive defense. Those advocating for an active offense argued that while the Church of the Father God was formidable, it was not invincible; with a proper strategy, even if they could not destroy the church, they could deal a fatal blow. Conversely, those demanding a passive defense insisted that the true strength of the Church of the Father God remained unknown, and a proactive assault would simply be throwing sheep into a tiger's den. Given the power the church had displayed in Charles Town, throwing all their internal experts into the fray would merely be serving themselves up as fodder on a platter.

This meaningless wrangling continued unabated among the high command of the Temple of the Mad God, indirectly reflecting the deep factionalism within the church. Coupled with a leader lacking genuine resolve, the execution capability of the Temple of the Mad God fell far short of the Church of the Father God, trailing even behind some minor sects.

Amidst this chaotic squabbling, the Church of the God of War suddenly brought forward a major piece of news that finally brought closure to the debate among the leadership of the Temple of the Mad God. The intelligence was simple: Aaliyah, the Saintess-in-training of the Church of the Father God, would soon be replacing Link to inspect the branch chapels and pacify the populace. She would travel light, accompanied by a small retinue of guards—merely a dozen or so individuals.

The existence of Aaliyah was already widely known in the outside world, and who was unaware that she was the apple of Link's eye? Capturing her would undoubtedly force Link to submit.

Thus, driven by immense pressure and temptation, the high command of the Temple of the Mad God made a "difficult decision" to join forces with the Church of the God of War to ambush and capture Aaliyah during her inspection tour of the branch chapels.

And so, in the blink of an eye, the date arrived at December 28th. Just as the intelligence reported, Aaliyah set out with a dozen-odd guards, visiting the branch chapels one by one along the prescribed route to soothe and inspire the faithful, even personally performing baptismal blessings for some of the most devout believers.

As a result, the Temple of the Mad God, which had still harbored lingering doubts, finally set its mind completely at ease. After coordinating their plans, they prepared to strike while Aaliyah was en route to another town.

To this end, the Temple of the Mad God once again bribed several officials, having them blockade the official highway under the pretext of public business, thereby forcing Aaliyah's entourage to take a detour and setting the stage for an ambush along a rugged mountain trail.

The Temple of the Mad God attached supreme importance to this operation, deploying half of their internal experts—totaling over fifty people. In the initial charge, more than forty leaped out, leaving just a dozen in reserve, with the clear intent to capture Aaliyah in one fell swoop. Their assault went smoothly at first, beating the defending Holy Knights back step by step, until a breakthrough shattered the knights' defense line and left Aaliyah completely exposed.

Simultaneously, the Tier 4 experts of the Temple of the Mad God, who had been waiting for the opportune moment, made their move. Two of them surged forward simultaneously—one blocking interference, the other moving to seize the target—and finally managed to capture Aaliyah from beneath the protection of the Holy Knights.

Faced with this outcome, the members of the Temple of the Mad God were overjoyed. However, their jubilation was short-lived. Aaliyah, who intelligence had claimed possessed no strength to truss a chicken and knew only low-level magic, suddenly launched a counterattack. She drew a massive black rune-etched greatsword and instantly decapitated the Tier 4 expert holding her. This scene shocked everyone present, leaving the jubilant members of the Temple of the Mad God momentarily brain-dead with disbelief.

‘Aaliyah’ paid no heed to the stunned members of the church. She cast a cold glance at the corpse of the Tier 4 powerhouse, a wisp of gray smoke rising from her palm as she lightly stroked her face. In an instant, her appearance shifted dramatically, transforming into another woman with silver-gray pupils. She was none the less than the former Lotus Knight, and now Apocalypse Knight—Myrine Campbell. Her emotionless voice rang out clearly: "Hmph, falling for a mere disguise technique. A bunch of trash."

As it turned out, Myrine had used the Apocalypse Knight's disguise skill to assume Aaliyah's appearance. This disguise technique was exceptionally potent; unless observed at close range, powerhouses below Tier 7 would find it difficult to detect. Since the strongest member of the Temple of the Mad God was merely at Tier 4 and had no chance of making close-range contact, how could they possibly see through it?

Myrine had successfully deceived every single enemy.

Realizing they had fallen into a trap, the commander of the Temple of the Mad God quickly roared for a retreat and fled first. However, at that exact moment, a secondary force emerged, surrounding the men of the Temple of the Mad God with a powerful surge of dark energy. They were none other than the premier legion formed by the Apocalypse Knights—the Black Blade Knights!

While the Temple of the Mad God had studied the powers of Holy Knights and thus managed to suppress a dozen of them through sheer numbers, they had never encountered Apocalypse Knights. With virtually the entire force of over fifty Apocalypse Knights deployed and sharpening their blades, how could they possibly let the members of the Temple of the Mad God escape? A completely one-sided massacre began.