Chapter 973. A Gift for the Liberation Movement

In multiple districts in Ceollach City, the holy temple members split up. Some went to douse the fire. The rest fought the spirit beasts. The tasks weren’t difficult. The spirit beasts were mostly weaker than them. Aside from their weird body parts and the flames they spewed that burned nearby buildings, nothing about them seemed special, or so they thought.

They soon learned that was not the case. Almost all the spirit beasts they killed rose back to their feet and continued fighting. They had to obliterate the spirit beasts to prevent them from coming back to life. More perceptive Holy Temple members later noticed that they didn’t need to destroy the spirit beasts’ entire bodies, only their heads. Without the heads, the spirit beasts stayed dead.

Despite knowing the method, they still spent a great deal of time eliminating the spirit beasts. It took them longer than they should have because they mostly had to fight the same spirit beasts twice.

Tian Jung smacked one of the flying spirit beasts with his bronze crucifix hammer. The strike broke many bones in the spirit beast, including its wing. It lost its flight and dropped to the ground. Before it could rise, Tian Jung dropped right atop it. His foot landed on the beast’s head, shattering it.

Tian Jung looked around. Most of the spirit beasts were slain, and the conflagrations had been reduced to embers. They should wrap this up soon. What came after was to investigate how this mess came to pass.

When he thought the crisis had passed, a loud boom sounded from the City Shrine. He looked over and was shocked to see that a part of the majestic building had blown up. A massive, dark red beam shot out of the crushed part.

This scene drew everyone’s attention. All the Holy Temple members stopped what they were doing and turned to the City Shrine.

The dark red beam soon died down. Not long after, another explosion occurred from the City Shrine. This time, on its roof. A massive creature emerged from the destroyed roof. It took Tian Jung a few seconds to realize what the creature was.

"A... A noble dragon...?" Tian Jung asked. Why was it in their City Shrine? How did it get there?

Then, he noticed the dragon wasn’t alone. Riding atop its head was a humanoid being made of shadow. Tinges of flames adorned the shadow.

A thundering voice was heard. "Citizens of Ceollach City! Heed my words! I am the Demon Savior! A liberator who will deliver you from the oppressed life under the Holy Temple!"

The voice came from the shadow person atop the noble dragon. It was very loud. It could be heard even from outside the city. This was not achievable simply by injecting aether into one’s voice. Tian Jung knew that the shadow person must have used a broadcasting talisman to amplify his voice.

"My first step in liberating you is to rid you of the person holding your leash, a cardinal who rules over this city with an iron fist and uncompromising tyranny. I have done it! I have slain Cardinal Tian Yong!!"

Hearing that, Tian Jung couldn’t stay composed. "Liar...!!!" He yelled. He charged toward the City Shrine. He rallied other holy temple members. "Initiates, deacons, priests, bishops! With me...!!!"

His call didn’t interrupt the shadow being’s speech. It was too soft compared to a voice amplified by a broadcasting talisman.

"This is my proof to you that the Holy Temple’s hold on you is not absolute!" The shadow being continued. "They can die! They can be defeated! They can be overthrown! I offer you a chance for freedom, but you must rise and fight for it if you desire it! The time for quiet submission is over! It is time to make your voice known! Rise, people of Ceollach City. Do not waste this gift I have bestowed upon you! Rise, and join the resistance movement...!!!"

After the speech, the noble dragon flew upward. It unleashed another blood-red beam from its mouth. The beam crashed into the barrier above, which protected the city. The barrier held for a few seconds before the beam tore through it. There was now a gaping hole at the top of the dome barrier.

The noble dragon flew out from that hole, carrying the shadow being with him. The Holy Temple members were not even halfway when the two flew out.

The Holy Temple members didn’t stop just because the enemies had flown out. Whether the shadow being’s claim about slaying Cardinal Tian Yong was true or not, destroying the City Shrine and making such an announcement was still a great insult to their order. They could not let either the shadow being or the noble dragon escape.

However, when they flew out of the hole in the barrier, they couldn’t see either enemy. They looked around, trying to locate the two in the blackness of night. They couldn’t. They didn’t understand how something as huge as a noble dragon could vanish so swiftly. A noble dragon was fast, but not so fast that it could completely vanish in such a short time.

Tian Jung didn’t join the chase. He rushed into the City Shrine. He had Resurrection Talismans ready in his hand. He spotted signs of carnage inside the destroyed reception hall, but saw no corpses. One item caught his eye: Tian Yong’s armor and a mostly burned robe. The armor was damaged and filled with cracks. He couldn’t find the person wearing it, which meant there was nothing for him to resurrect.

Beside the broken armor was a Divine Emblem. Tian Yong’s name was engraved on it. He wailed at this discovery. He swore in the Divine’s name that he would find this shadow being and exact vengeance for his sister’s death.

In the city, after Holy Temple members flew away to chase the shadow being and the noble dragon, many people left their homes, broke curfew, and set fire to multiple Holy Temple-owned facilities.

The incident in Ceollach City was later known as the first incident when the Holy Temple lost control over their law and order. The city also became more unruly afterward, and was believed by many to be the birthplace of the resistance movement. But most of all, it was known as the first city where the Demon Savior was seen.

*

Amon quietly cruised through the night sky. Unlike the lower world, the sky in the upper world turned dark at night, similar to the surface world, except it had fewer clouds.

Di Ying had returned to the black space ring once they breached Ceollach City’s barrier. Amon then used the invisibility talisman. Combined with his Concealed Spirit Body, he was impossible to find once he was out in the open.

Amon sent a message via a battle puppet, informing Dao Su of the success of their experiment. The altered beasts used at Ceollach City were those imbued with the Undead Pestilence Poison. It gave the altered beasts the ability to reanimate after death, allowing them to fight again. He told Dao Su to imbue all future altered beasts with this zombie trait.

Amon used Lin Li’s position to get his bearings. With his speed, it took him less than an hour to catch up to Peng Chi’s caravan even when they had left half a day earlier. He saw that Nao Pei, Nao Mei, and the other mind practitioners who didn’t enter Ceollach City had rejoined their group.

Lin Li ditched her disguise and returned to Amon’s black space ring. Amon replaced her and sat beside Nao Dou, who asked, "What exactly did you do?"

Amon grinned. "You will hear about it when we reach our next city."

"Tch, do you need to keep us in suspense?" Nao Dou complained.

"You should appreciate the suspense. It’s a rare thing for a mind practitioner such as you."

*

They travelled for a few days before they arrived in the next city, Liudhard City. There, Nao Dou learned what Amon had done in Ceollach City after their caravan left. His jaw almost dropped to the ground when he heard it.

Amon did say he came to the upper world to fight the Holy Temple, but Nao Dou never truly took it to heart, even after the incident with Inquisitor Lei Xiang. He considered it the daydream of someone who didn’t know how high the sky was. But after hearing about Cardinal Tian Yong’s assassination and the proclamation made by the Demon Savior, he no longer doubted Amon.

Perhaps Amon was indeed the one who could bring change to this upper world. Maybe he was their best chance to topple the Holy Temple. He had shown the resourcefulness and the determination required to pursue this goal.

Perhaps in ten years, after his service ended, he could bring Nao Zuanyi and the other mind practitioners whose souls were trapped inside the secluded village into a world where they no longer needed to hide.