Chapter 614: Cannibalism

In the end, Loren decided to leave his clothes behind. They still carried his scent, and the others should be able to smell it.

Even if they couldn't smell it, seeing Loren's signature black robe would be enough for them to figure it out.

"Anna, you're really getting more and more twisted..."

That wasn't said by Loren, it was Mirrorheart's jab.

"Is that so?"

Anna didn't seem bothered in the slightest, just wearing a puzzled expression.

"You two, both of you shut up... We'll rest today and set out tomorrow."

Loren let out a sigh. Anna had sunk to the point where even Mirrorheart thought she was a degenerate.

At least Anna hadn't sunk to the point of demanding Loren's tears or anything...

The night passed peacefully. Since they were setting out the next day, Loren, Mirrorheart, and Anna didn't stay up too late gaming in their trio. When they woke up the next morning, everyone was refreshed and full of energy.

"Let's go."

After finishing breakfast, the group walked to the door, ready to set off.

Mirrorheart had prepared quite a few lunchboxes, but since Scarlett wasn't around, carrying them wasn't very convenient, so Loren didn't bring too many.

Preservation wasn't an issue at all. Loren knew preservation magic, it was from the Epidemic sequence.

"Master, what should I turn into?"

When they were about to depart, Starnight was at a loss. She didn't know what form would be most convenient for travel.

"Turn into a dragon."

There were things faster than dragons, and things steadier than dragons, but only a dragon was both fast and steady with excellent endurance.

"Okay."

With that, Starnight transformed into a Fire Dragon. She lowered her head so Loren could climb aboard easily.

Though Loren didn't actually need to climb. He tucked Veronica and Mirrorheart under his arms and leaped straight onto Starnight's back.

"Let's go."

Starnight had been flying all over the place a lot lately, so even without Loren giving her directions, she knew where the desert was. It was the only desert on the entire Western Continent.

Once everyone was settled, Starnight flapped her wings and soared into the sky.

"So this is what riding a dragon feels like..."

Veronica sat on the dragon's back, feeling rather excited.

She'd heard about dragons in all sorts of stories long ago, but this was her first time actually seeing one in person.

"Don't forget to use your Arcane Ability to help cover Starnight's tracks."

Loren reminded her just in time.

He'd already activated the Hermit card's effect when they first set off. Having Veronica use her Arcane Ability was just an extra layer of insurance.

...

"The biggest victims of war are always the civilians..."

Standing at a high vantage point, Loren had a clear view of the devastation below.

The God of Bountiful Harvest's territory contained many small nations. These nations weren't worth much protection, so the Bountiful Church simply allowed them to be slaughtered.

The Bountiful Church was like a machine with no humanity at all, always making the optimal choice, maximizing profits.

Of course, the "profits" here were for the high-ranking members. The lives of those at the bottom were just chips to be spent.

Loren merely sighed at the sight. The other witches didn't feel even a ripple of emotion in their hearts.

"Starnight, while you're at it, look for anyone slightly stronger down there."

Loren drew Bloody Battle and ran his hand directly across its blade. His hand didn't even leave a mark.

Bloody Battle was dull as hell right now, worse than an ordinary knife. What Loren needed to do was help it evolve as quickly as possible, otherwise, it was completely useless.

Even if Loren wanted to use dual-wielding style, Bloody Battle wouldn't deal any damage when it hit someone. It was less effective than a wooden stick.

"Master, there's a group of Demons in the Plague Church's army up ahead."

"Demons?"

Loren quickly looked down. Sure enough, there was a group of Demons in the military camp throwing a feast.

Except their food was people. There were Plague Believer prisoners, and also Plague Believers themselves.

Some of them were even soldiers.

And the high-ranking members of the army saw this happening but turned a blind eye, showing no surprise at all.

The Demon leading the group was massive in size. He certainly had the look of a strong person.

"Good, they're the ones. Get ready to land."

Loren patted Starnight's neck, signaling her to descend.

...

"I saw those Demons eat my boyfriend with my own eyes! Are we really just going to stand here and watch them butcher our own people like this?"

In the military camp, a soldier spoke with tears streaming down his face, accusing the leader.

There was blood splattered on his armor, but he himself wasn't injured.

The leader could see what he was really after and dismissed him casually:

"Don't you still have plenty of other boyfriends? ...Whatever, next time we catch an old man, I'll give you one first. Now get the hell out of here."

"Alright."

Hearing this, the soldier's face instantly lit up with joy, and he ran off.

After he left, the leader let out a sigh:

"Isn't he just a Mid-tier mage? Always coming around to threaten me..."

As he spoke, the leader rubbed his rear, as if he'd been hurt there before.

"These Demons might not distinguish between friend and foe, but they're certainly useful. No wonder the Church of Pain didn't wipe them all out..."

Demons weren't top-tier in combat, but against low-to-mid-tier fighters, they had an overwhelming advantage.

Huge builds, immense strength, high defense, hard to kill, plus unique magic. Ordinary armies simply couldn't handle them.

After finishing his musing, the leader started tallying up the results of the last battle.

With the Demons around, they'd suffered few losses, and the soldiers they did lose were either killed or eaten by the Demons on a whim.

But their gains were equally slim. The Demons had nearly slaughtered the entire town, and the prisoners who would have been very useful could only be used as military rations, or to satisfy the soldiers' desires.

Still, at least it was an easy victory. He hadn't forgotten that the purpose of war was to weaken the faith in the God of Bountiful Harvest.

The only issue was that there weren't enough prisoners to satisfy the soldiers.

"Kill all the Plague Believers first, but leave those Demons alive."

"What?"

Hearing the sudden voice coming from inside the tent, the leader snapped his head up. Loren was standing not far from him, giving orders to the witches.

"Lo... Loren..."

News of Loren's return had already spread across the entire world. Loren had long since become a nightmare in their minds.

If Loren had the Jealousy Witch's Arcane Ability, he'd be completely unstoppable right now.

"Any last words?"

Once the witches had all left, Loren turned his gaze to the leader.

"Master Mentor... I admire you so much..."

"Too lazy to listen."

Loren snapped his fingers, and the leader was instantly engulfed in Sin-Burning Flames. He didn't even last a second before turning to ash.

After dealing with the leader, Loren walked toward the group of Demons.

Anna moved quickly, reaping the Plague Believers' lives like she was cutting grass. She didn't even make a sound, and the Demons who were busy eating people didn't notice anything wrong.

"You people are eating humans."

Loren walked up to the Demons and made a casual remark.

Seeing that someone actually dared to come and condemn them, the leading Demon set down the half-eaten corpse in his hands and sneered:

"Don't you humans eat cows, sheep, and chickens too? What's the matter? Are only humans off-limits when it comes to killing and eating meat?"