Chapter 4: The Great Secret Believers
Green was right—like birds of a feather flock together. Although Komer subjectively did not intend to turn Ugru into a chaotic town, the influx of immigrants from three different regions, along with scattered migrants of various races, made the streets of Ugru feel more like those in towns inhabited by beings other than mortals. From half-orcs to elves, from barbarians to dwarves, it seemed every race had its representatives in Ugru’s streets. Even the rarely seen merfolk could be spotted occasionally; though they kept a low profile, the rare treasures they brought from the sea caused quite a stir in Ugru. With the arrival of various races, people of different statuses also came to this land through various channels. At that moment, Green’s companions were closely monitoring the two unwelcome guests.
Ugru’s situation had become significantly more chaotic lately—though this was only apparent to the two Rema knights, Jep and Green. On the surface, public order remained quite good, and the daily patrols by the lord’s guards served as a effective deterrent. Seeing the imposing half-orc warriors, clad in armor and wielding great swords and spears, marching in disciplined ranks down the streets, both new immigrants and natives could sense that Ugru was different from before. But ever since the lord’s two friends moved into the castle, people with strange appearances and a strong aura of magic began to arrive in Caucasus one after another. Within just a few days, Jep and Green had come into indirect contact with several individuals who were at least at the level of magicians. Though these people tried hard to conceal their magical auras, they could not hide from the keen eyes of the two Rema knights.
A pitch-black robe covered their entire bodies tightly, leaving only the upper half of their faces exposed. An old rope was tied around their waists in a peculiar knot, with a purplish-red circular metal coin hanging from its long tassel. It didn’t seem particularly special, and though its appearance was somewhat odd, magicians who practiced magic were already different from ordinary people, so it wasn’t something to be overly alarmed about. Yet that circular metal coin was a quite distinct feature—without even looking closely, Jep could tell they were followers of the Great Secret Sect, a sect active in some extraordinary nations in the southern part of the continent. Jep had encountered this Great Secret Sect before in the territory of the Rosenburg Kingdom to the south. Of course, that was a polite way of putting it; in fact, Jep himself had killed three loyal followers of the Great Secret Sect. According to the Light Church’s speculation, the Great Secret Sect was likely a remnant of the former Dark Holy Church or originated from it. It was just unclear why such a sect would reappear in the southern part of the Azure Continent hundreds of years after the Dark Holy Church’s downfall. Although these practitioners of dark magic were not yet comparable to the mages and knights of the Light Church, their strength already shocked the Light Church. Fortunately, such phenomena were still rare in the central and northern parts of the continent.
Although Jep had encountered followers of the Great Secret Sect before, these two guests dressed as monks gave him a sense of dread. This feeling was strange, especially for Jep, who had mastered the divine art of the Heavenly Eye to a high degree. A gloomy, sinister aura seemed to penetrate deep into his heart, causing an indescribable discomfort. Almost immediately, Jep concluded that these two were highly skilled magic practitioners, and their magic was undoubtedly the opposite of the divine arts he practiced—the so-called dark magic arts.
The unhidden aura emanating from them angered Jep. Although the knights of the Light Holy Church didn’t destroy heretics in their sight as mercilessly as the inquisitors of the Inquisition, such dark monks who openly revealed their identities on the lands nominally belonging to the Kingdom of Nicocia in the Caucasus were undoubtedly a challenge to the Light Church—a challenge that could not be tolerated. Though he could sense their considerable strength, Jep had no intention of letting them go.
“Please wait, you two! I am Sir Jep, a knight of the Rema Order of the Light Church, and I have some questions for you!” With a gentle step, Jep, who had dispelled his invisibility, appeared proudly in front of the two dark mages. The strong aura of light immediately alerted them. Such an open attempt to block their path and reveal one’s identity meant something obvious—they thought no one could notice them in this remote land of the Caucasus, but they still ran into opponents. Exchanging glances, the two dark mages stepped sideways, adopting a defensive stance, their hands clenched inside their long black sleeves.
“Heh, Knight Rema, what do you want?” The dark mage on the left retorted rudely, his piercing gaze scanning the knight like lightning from the heavens.
“You must be practitioners of dark magic. I’m not an inquisitor from the Church, but by appearing openly in the kingdom of Nicosia and recklessly revealing your identities, are you deliberately challenging the authority of our Light Church?” Knight Rema didn’t want to waste time talking. He knew it was difficult to persuade such fanatical religious believers with ordinary words. Only through force could they be forced to abandon their resistance and truly submit.
“Sir Knight, I think you’re overstepping your bounds. Whether we’re practitioners of dark magic has nothing to do with you. As for what we believe, that’s our freedom. There are many people in the world who don’t follow your Light Church. Do you plan to kill them all?” The man on the right asked sarcastically, “Your Light Church seems rather domineering. Is this how you interpret your teachings of equality, love, and tolerance?”
“Hmph, no matter how eloquent you are, the honor of the Light Church cannot be slandered by you dark ones. You two had better come with me peacefully. I hope the God of Light will cleanse your minds clouded by darkness and evil.” Knight Rema stared at them firmly, appearing calm as if he didn’t take this matter seriously at all.
“What if we refuse to go with you, Sir Knight? What will you do then?” The dark mage on the left asked in a mocking tone. “We’re here in the Caucasus for our own reasons. We can’t just abandon them to follow you for penance just because of your words.”
“Dare you!” Knight Jep’s face turned blue with anger. He could hear the defiance and mockery in the other’s words—clear signs that he held no respect for Jep at all. Though these two before him were formidable, Jep had already resolved that he would never tolerate such arrogance in his presence. “If you two refuse to accept my invitation, then I’ll have to resort to a less pleasant method to invite you.”
“Oh, is that so? We’re eager to see what kind of unpleasant method Knight Sir will use on us.” As soon as those words were spoken, the two men in black moved swiftly in a special posture, clearly trying to prevent a sudden attack.
“Hmph! Trying to stop a train with bare arms—only inviting humiliation!” Knight Jep moved instantly, diving at the man in black on the left like a shadow. But he soon encountered resistance—a swirl of black mist burst from the man’s robe sleeves, distorting the space ahead. Jep could even see the man’s altered form through that distortion—“Dark Binding”!
His body twisted inexplicably, allowing him to barely avoid this vicious ambush. Knight Jep would never underestimate them again. To cast such a dark magic like “Dark Binding” so easily—had it not been for his quick reflexes and years of training in martial arts, even his comrades in the knight order might not have survived this sudden attack.
“Dark Binding” wasn’t an especially deadly spell. But once a knight of the Light Church was struck by this counteracting spell, many of their spells that relied on light magic would become unusable. Though this dark spell didn’t cause much physical harm, it greatly restricted the use of counter-spells. It was an excellent tactic for dark magic practitioners against those of the light. Jep had been prepared, but he hadn’t expected the opponent to cast it so cleanly—he didn’t even sense any change in magic energy when it was used.
Avoiding the opponent’s “dark bindings,” Jepp no longer harbored any kindness in his heart. His long knight’s sword emitted a brilliant glow as it sliced through everything in its path, passing through the black-clad man’s body without hindrance and splitting him in two. Yet Jepp immediately realized something was wrong—the ethereal feeling as the sword light passed through the man’s body made him realize it was a illusion cast by the opponent. At that moment, another black-clad man tapped his fingers rapidly, causing another wave of magical energy to ripple through the air, bringing with it a chilling coldness.
“Shadow Arrows!” Countless grayish-blue shadows appeared in the air, clearly visible. The water elements in the air also condensed rapidly before bursting forth, aiming straight at the Thunderhorse Knight, who was flipping mid-air.
The ice magic seemed to reduce the temperature in the entire space severalfold, making it unbearably cold. The arrows, shooting out at high speed, emitted a shrill whistling sound, almost like actual arrows, which terrified Knight Jepp. A faint wave-shaped shield quickly formed around his body as he charged forward without hesitation. The arrows struck the shield with intense explosions, dimming its color, but it held firm. The Thunderhorse Knight seized this opportunity to pounce, raising his sword and unleashing a torrent of sword energy that swept through the air like a river in flood.
“Ah!” The black-clad man who cast the ice magic clearly hadn’t expected the opponent to attack directly without even trying to dodge. The overwhelming sword energy, capable of tearing apart anything, instantly filled the entire space. It was now too late to cast protective magic, and it would be difficult to withstand such a powerful physical attack. But the black-clad man wasn’t an ordinary foe either. With a fierce stomp, he created a large pit in the thick mud, and a cloud of mud instantly covered him, making him disappear. The sword energy left deep furrows on the ground, and a slightly raised ridge moved rapidly away from the pit, soon disappearing into the bushes in the distance.
Jep was once again astonished. He never expected that the two members of the Great Secret Sect he encountered this time would be such extraordinary masters. Element magic was used effortlessly by them, and ice magic wasn’t surprising at all. It was normal for mages who practiced dark magic to know a bit of other element magic as well. But this hidden teleportation technique was the ultimate method for escaping using earth magic. Although this guy wasn’t yet proficient in it, the fact that a member of the Great Secret Sect who practiced dark magic could not only use ice magic but also master earth-based teleportation made Jep, the knight, tremble at the sect’s strength. Moreover, the presence of such masters in this remote Caucasus region and their intentions were even more suspicious.
Whether it was sighs or astonishment, none of it affected Knight Reima’s judgment or his subsequent attacks. The previous figure had already vanished using illusions, yet this guy dared to pull such a trick right under his nose. If he didn’t teach them a lesson, those guys might laugh at the Light Church for having no strength. Jep rushed forward through the air, his sword emitting another burst of light. Three consecutive cross-shaped attacks were launched, with six silver-white sword beams separating from the sword’s body and heading straight for the ground—the direction in which the Great Secret Sect member was fleeing. His left hand wasn’t idle either; countless glowing orbs formed one after another in his palm. With a loud shout, he sent the orbs flying in a semicircular arc, covering the mound of earth that was rapidly moving away.
A series of explosions rang out on the ground, causing the earth to shake violently—exactly what Jep wanted to see. After being attacked with his chain-ball light technique, the mound of earth kept changing direction, seemingly searching for a better escape route. But this couldn’t prevent it from suffering damage from the explosions. Jep clearly saw the mound trembling several times, indicating that his light orbs had dealt severe damage. Yet he also admired the opponent’s courage—being able to persist in escaping into the bushes under such circumstances. Naturally, this was a direction the opponent had chosen before fleeing. But using such a teleportation technique while injured meant that a slight mistake could result in being trapped in the earth with no chance of escape—this was the most dangerous aspect of earth-based teleportation.
Although the long sword had been sheathed, the Ram Knight’s right hand still rested firmly on the hilt. Jep’s sharp eyes scanned the surroundings, his senses darting across the ground. After a long while, Jep finally sighed—it seemed these two had finally slipped away from his grasp. He had hoped to capture at least one of them, but they managed to escape using earth-basedearth-based escape. It appeared he had underestimated them after all.
Heavy and rapid footsteps, along with a few sharp whistles, came from afar. Without needing to guess, Jep knew they were the footsteps of the Caucasus Lord’s patrol guards. These guys seemed quite efficient, able to detect anomalies so quickly. But since they were always a step behind, for him, they would always be late. Shrugging, he took a light step and vanished into the woods in the blink of an eye.