Chapter 149 Destroying the Temple of the Mad God

It was a slaughter without any suspense. Although there were many formidable fighters on the side of the Temple of the Wild God, the Apocalypse Knights could complement one another, and their combined strength far exceeded one plus one, not to mention that over fifty Apocalypse Knights were fighting in unison now. The combat power they unleashed could even rival an ordinary army of three thousand men.

In the world of Solak, unless one reached the seventh tier, no expert, no matter how powerful, could stand against a multitude of thousands. Facing the Black Blade Knight Corps, which possessed the might of a thousand-man army, the people of the Temple of the Wild God met a truly tragic fate. What shocked and angered them even more came shortly afterward: the Church of the God of War betrayed them. They actually joined forces with the Black Blade Knight Corps to deal with the Temple of the Wild God.

As it turned out, the Church of the God of War had already been subverted by the Father God Church. Over the past days, while the Father God Church appeared to be inactive, it had actually been quietly colluding with undercover agents within the Church of the God of War to launch a coup. They purged the higher-ups of the Church of the God of War, installed a new puppet arch-bishop, and completely brought the Church of the God of War under the control of the Father God Church.

When the Temple of the Wild God prepared to move against the Father God Church, the reason the Church of the God of War responded so enthusiastically was precisely because they had been instructed by the Father God Church. The objective was to closely monitor every move of the Temple of the Wild God and orchestrate today's plan to lure them into a trap.

In this battle, the forces of the Temple of the Wild God were completely annihilated, and sixty to seventy percent of their high-level experts perished as a result, leaving them unable to stir up any more trouble. Even if they still held trump cards, they could no longer pose a threat to the Father God Church.

Therefore, at Link's command, the three major departments of the Inquisition moved out collectively to sweep through the various branch churches of the Temple of the Wild God. Assassinations, massacres, torturous executions, and covert killings emerged one after another, advancing step by step toward the enemy headquarters. Wherever they passed, the adherents of the Temple of the Wild God were executed in the name of heretics, with only those willing to surrender being spared. However, those who surrendered would next face thorough brainwashing education until they became loyal believers of Link, and they could not hope to gain freedom before that.

This once-prominent church was eroded piece by piece under the suppression of the Father God Church, leaving the Temple of the Wild God utterly helpless. Upon learning that the elite force sent out to capture targets had been entirely wiped out, they had already lost the greater momentum. Even worse, the Father God Church struck them down using righteous grounds—the attacks on the branch churches and the assault on 'Aria' had been brought to light.

Although the Temple of the Wild God flatly denied it, the Church of the God of War jumped out at the critical moment to testify to the crimes, leaving the Temple of the Wild God with no way to defend themselves. The Father God Church also stood on the moral high ground, leaving people with nothing to say. After all, whether it was the branch church being attacked, the presiding priest being killed, or the candidate for Holy Maiden almost being captured, any single incident was a direct slap to the face of the Father God. Even if the Temple of the Wild God carried out a frantic retaliation, it would be considered normal.

Now, the only authority capable of halting the conflict between the two churches was the government. However, Baron Ravenell, the official in charge of this region, suddenly fell bedridden, claiming to have caught a severe cold and being unfit for work. He instructed his subordinate officials not to meddle in extraneous matters and simply to attend honestly to their own duties. And by this so-called extraneous matter, any intelligent person understood he meant the conflict between the Father God Church and the Temple of the Wild God.

With the government refusing to interfere, the dispute naturally could not be quelled. Watching the Father God Church continually raid their branch churches and slaughter their followers, the Temple of the Wild God could no longer endure. They immediately brought out the last-resort treasures kept at the bottom of their coffers and offered numerous benefits in an attempt to induce other churches in the Anti-Father God Alliance, as well as some that had been watching from the sidelines, to come to their rescue.

Faced with this situation, a few churches were indeed tempted. However, seeing that the major churches showed no reaction whatsoever, they suppressed their desires and ultimately refused to help the Temple of the Wild God, maintaining an attitude of sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight to the bitter end. Having failed to secure any allies, the Temple of the Wild God grew desperate and frantic. Their High Priest summoned all the remaining experts within the church, brought forth their ultimate foundational town-church treasures, and invited out all the secluded Elder Supremes who rarely showed themselves in the mortal world, preparing for a fight to the death with the Father God Church.

A Temple of the Wild God that had completely emptied its trump cards truly possessed some strength. Merely fifth-tier powerhouses numbered three, fourth-tier powerhouses exceeded seven, and there were numerous third-tier and sub-third-tier fighters. Coupled with their secret town-church treasures, it would indeed be rather difficult for the current combat strength of the Inquisition to contend with them.

After several probes, the Temple of the Wild God discovered that the combat capability of the Inquisition was merely so-so, and thus presumed that the Father God Church possessed only that much strength. Therefore, on the morning of January 28th, taking advantage of the exhaustion of dawn, they launched an all-out assault on the inquisitorial army, intending to wipe out all the combat forces of the Inquisition in a single breath.

For this raid, the Temple of the Wild God adopted a mindset of succeeding or perishing, holding nothing back. They unleashed 120 percent of their combat power, leaving the inquisitorial army shaken and barely able to hold their ground.

Yet, just as the Temple of the Wild God thought victory was within reach, a magnificent colorful light curtain suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping every member of the Inquisition. In an instant, everyone felt their combat power surge, becoming unprecedentedly powerful.

Immediately afterward, Link's voice echoed from the sky: "The sharp blades of the Father God, this is the light of prayer. You have received the blessing of the divine. Go forth, my children, and annihilate those ignorant heretics!"

Hearing these words, many could not help but look up, only to see Link standing atop Bailing's back, holding the Angel Alliance and looking down from above. That colorful light curtain was precisely the divine spell 'Blessing' inherent to the Angel Alliance, and all members of the Father God Church had now seen their attributes boosted by twenty percent.

Link's sudden arrival and intervention caught everyone completely off guard, while also immensely boosting the morale of the Father God Church faction. Combined with the twenty-percent increase in combat power, they immediately erupted with terrifying might, suppressing the Temple of the Wild God, who had previously held the upper hand.

Even more terrifying was that although the Apocalypse Knights did not practice Holy Light and could not receive Holy Light healing, they possessed quite a few healing and support skills specifically tailored for themselves. Moreover, the Apocalypse Knights belonged to a class with tenacious vitality. Therefore, even when injured, no one ever died; wounds could be treated immediately. How could it be so easy to die?

Consequently, the side of the Temple of the Wild God quickly collapsed. Facing this sudden and drastic change, their morale was thoroughly crushed.

At this critical juncture, the Temple of the Wild God once again displayed their fanatical side, intending to use their town-church treasure—an object resembling a platter—to attack Link in a desperate bid to drag everyone down with them.

However, how could Link, observing the situation from above, allow the Temple of the Wild God to have their way? The moment he detected their intention, he transmitted a thought to Bailing. Bailing instantly crackled with lightning, releasing a blue thunderbolt that struck the rear of the Temple of the Wild God, reducing all those members attempting to use the town-church treasure into charcoal.

Even though there were fifth-tier experts among that group, facing the wrathful strike of Bailing—a spirit beast whose strength approached the seventh tier—they could only fall with bitter resentment.

This single strike completely shattered the morale of the Temple of the Wild God faction, causing their forces to collapse like a falling mountain. Yet how could these ruthless members of the Inquisition allow them to escape? Relying on the buffing effects brought by the Angel Alliance, the inquisitorial army pursued them relentlessly, blocking and executing all the forces of the Temple of the Wild God. Even if some surrendered or begged for mercy, they were ignored completely. For these executioners acting in the name of the god, slaughtering fanatics who dared to resist to the bitter end brought no psychological pressure whatsoever.

Watching his subordinates slaughter the enemy, Link could not help but take a deep breath to calm his emotions. This was his first time witnessing a massacre. Although the order for slaughter was given by him, seeing it with his own eyes and simply giving an order felt completely different. The impact and shock were unsettling to the mind, producing dual physical and psychological discomforts.

Yet, despite wanting to vomit, Link forced himself to watch the entire process of the slaughter. This was his responsibility, and also his obligation. Since he had issued the command to slaughter the heretics, he had to bear the consequences brought by that command. If he did not even dare to look the process in the eye, he would inevitably develop a psychological shadow in the future and become indecisive, and his efforts over these past days would be cast to the wind.

Shortly afterward, the massacre ended. Only a handful of individuals, including the High Priest of the Wild God, were taken prisoner; the rest of the Temple of the Wild God had been entirely slain. Link then descended to the ground, enduring his internal discomfort to individually commend the inquisitorial army, who were covered in blood and flesh fragments. This drove the zealots into extreme excitement, causing them to loudly shout long live the Arch-Bishop.

After his subordinates' emotions settled, Link approached Pierce, the High Priest of the Wild God, and said, "Pierce, do you have anything else to say?"

Pierce gazed blankly at Link for a moment, then closed his eyes and spoke in an unresigned tone, "You are Neil Ye? I never imagined you would appear here and single-handedly turn the tide!"

"It seems you are very resentful of the outcome. But this is a battlefield, isn't it? With your intelligence, you could never have foreseen the enemy's backup plan," Link said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Pierce angrily cursed in agitation, "Foreseen? You say I couldn't foresee it? Are you questioning my intelligence? Neil Ye, who couldn't foresee such a petty trick of yours? It's just that, even if one foresaw it..." Ending his sentence, he was left with an expression of sheer grievance.

Link naturally understood what Pierce meant: even if they had foreseen it, the inadequate strength of the Temple of the Wild God itself could not change the situation. The Father God Church had already formed an overwhelming advantage over the Temple of the Wild God, one that could not be compensated for by cleverness.

Without continuing the topic with Pierce, Link asked with the composure becoming of a victor, "Do you have any last words?"

Hearing this, Pierce's expression changed repeatedly before finally revealing a ferocious look. "Very well, Neil Ye, your appearance caught me by surprise. But, you little bastard, don't think you'll have an easy time of it. Before the battle began, I hired assassins to go to the Father God Church. They were originally meant to target you, but since you came here, they will go after someone else instead! Neil Ye, even if you rush back now, it'll be too late. The ones I hired are two seventh-tier experts; they will surely turn your trash of a church into a river of blood! Hahaha~~~"

"Seventh-tier assassins? How could there be seventh-tier assassins? Could it be... did you summon those two demons, the Billy brothers?" Link's heart skipped a beat, and he asked in a deep voice.

"Correct, it is those two brothers! Neil Ye, your church is finished, finished! Hahaha~~~," Pierce laughed wildly at the top of his lungs, while those surrounding him wore expressions of shock and anger.

The Billy brothers were a notorious pair of assassin brothers on the Ouro Continent. Most other seventh-tier powerhouses would either pledge allegiance to a faction or live in seclusion, refusing to stoop to undignified work. The Billy brothers, however, were an exception. They had engaged in assassination work for years; as long as the price was right, they dared to kill anyone. Moreover, their remuneration was not money, but women. To hire them, one had to provide one hundred young and beautiful virgins for their enjoyment. And the enjoyment they spoke of was true enjoyment—they would literally suck the blood of those one hundred maidens dry!