The First Order

Chapter 1129 An embarrassing screw-up

The Shadow Door appeared and disappeared quickly.

Everything transpired so quickly most people did not even know what had happened! In any case, they knew a black hole had suddenly appeared, and a hand slapped the archmage like lightning before disappearing.

The slap rang loud and clear in the silence that was being observed. Everyone was stunned, including the archmage himself.

However, nothing else happened after the slap. All of what had occurred in front of the solemn Vaduz Cathedral felt like it was an illusion.

Indeed, more than 10,000 people had experienced the same hallucination.

Due to limited space at the front of Vaduz Cathedral and the high number of worshippers that had turned up for service, the worshippers’ line snaked all the way to the other streets. Thus, the believers at the periphery did not know what had happened. However, they felt that the ceremony today… seemed a little different.

Gradually, the crowd at the back started checking with those in front of them. Everyone wanted to know what was going on.

The atmosphere in front of the cathedral started getting noisy. Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosu kept both his hands under the red “bedsheet” he was wearing, acting as though nothing had happened.

It was Ren Xiaosu who slapped the archmage, of course. It was not that Ren Xiaosu had anything against him, but he wanted to see if a so-called archmage could continue reciting incantations under his interference.

As it turned out, the archmages had never received any form of stress training before. With just a slight disturbance, their incantations would get interrupted.

This was not to say that archmages were weak, but that any normal person who hadn’t undergone any training would react like that.

In the past, everyone could only see how carefree the sorcerers were when they cast their spells. It was only Ren Xiaosu who paid any attention to the flaws in how spells were cast.

Then, after a long hard night of thinking, Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized his relatively insignificant Shadow Door power might just be the true nemesis of the sorcerers.

The sorcerers knew full well their greatest fear was suddenly being approached by an enemy. If they could not react in time, they could very well end up dying. Therefore, most sorcerers would pick gladiators with outstanding close combat ability when choosing their stewards.

In that case, was there a more suitable power in this world than the Shadow Door for getting close to a target? There might be, but there were definitely not many.

It could be said that once Ren Xiaosu figured out a unique way to use the Shadow Door, it would become impossible for any sorcerer to recite high-level incantations against him.

Even if Ren Xiaosu were to label himself now as the archnemesis of sorcerers, it would not be an exaggeration.

Next to him, Melgor, Li Chengguo, Liu Ting, and everyone’s jaws slowly dropped in shock.

Ren Xiaosu felt he needed to blend in as well, so he slowly opened his mouth wide.

The archmage stood on the red carpet and swept his gaze across his surroundings. However, he did not discover anyone unusual.

In front of him, the tens of thousands of people dressed in red were like multiple sets of twins.

The archmage looked at the other four sorcerers next to him who were also confused.

Was it an attack by another sorcerer? No, this was not sorcery. At the very least, the archmage had never seen a spell that allowed someone to travel through space at will.

This was not sorcery!

The archmage turned around and looked at the dense crowd of worshippers in front of him. He knew he could not waste any more time wondering what had happened. No matter who the culprit might be, they could only investigate the incident later. Right now, the most important thing for him to do was to continue with the service. Otherwise, the worshippers would start doubting the Berkeley family!

The archmage held his Eye of True Sight in one hand while he received a scepter from the sorcerer next to him with the other. Then he plunged one end of it heavily onto the ground.

When the scepter landed, the worshippers went silent again.

The archmage said in a clear voice, “God has revealed that everyone here is a sinner. As his loyal successor, I will bear the punishment on everyone’s behalf. After I strike my palms together, all of your sins will be washed away. That is the grace of God.”

Ren Xiaosu asked in a whisper, “Aren’t sorcerers supposed to be the gods? Why does he call himself a successor of God now?”

“The predecessors who died are the true gods, while he who is still living is their successor.” Melgor said, “When he dies, his descendants will also worship him as the true god and sculpt a statue of him to be placed in Vaduz Cathedral.”

“Then what if the cathedral gets filled with statues one day and can’t fit any more of them? Are they going to throw out a few?” Ren Xiaosu asked curiously.

Melgor did not answer for a long time. He thought to himself that his steward’s train of thought was way too random. The four sorcerers next to the archmage protected him, with him firmly in the center. They were afraid something would happen during the rest of this worship service.

The sorcerers were prepared to attack if something similar happened again. The archmage nodded slightly while looking at them. He plunged the scepter in his hand towards the ground again. “The sins of sinners have been washed away. And now, we offer our faith to the gods.”

After that, he started chanting again, “There is __11

Pah!

“Sinners, you will be baptized—”

Pah!

“We’re almost done with the baptism!”

Pah!

“Are you fucking done yet?!” The archmage’s head was buzzing. He had been slapped silly and lost his ability to think straight.

With Ren Xiaosu’s strength, a slap was more than just a slap.

The four sorcerers next to the archmage were on full alert throughout. However, the opening of the Shadow Door was too random and happened too quickly, so they could not react at all.

How could the sorcerers who had been reveling in their high positions for such a long time possibly react faster than Ren Xiaosu?

The archmage was slapped four times in a row and could not even complete a single incantation. What the hell was fucking going on!

The archmage had fallen into a half-conscious state. A junior sorcerer hurriedly got someone to help him back into the cathedral. Then he shouted to the spear-wielding guards next to the cathedral’s entrance, “There’s a great sinner here who has turned to the Devil. That person has aroused the anger of God, which we’re now being blamed for. Quick, find him!”

When Ren Xiaosu heard this from within the crowd, he sighed emotionally. Quacks were indeed just quacks. Regardless of whether the situation was fully figured out yet, all they needed to do was make up some lies to hoodwink others.

How impressive!

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However, Ren Xiaosu had shown mercy this time. If he were really ruthless, he could have turned the archmage’s head into paste with those slaps. But if that happened, Vaduz City would definitely get locked down quickly and everyone would get trapped here. Ren Xiaosu’s target was Ghent City, so he did not intend to waste too much time at this place. Moreover, the Berkeley family was already on the verge of revolting. So having an additional archmage fighting against the magus order was an added strength for the internal strife.

All of a sudden, all the worshippers in red started fleeing in all directions. Ren Xiaosu and Melgor also retreated back to the relay station.

Vaduz City was plunged into chaos.

As soon as Ren Xiaosu and the others got back to the relay station, they saw that Qian Weining was already calling for the guards to get the horses out of the stable. When he saw Melgor, he hurriedly said, “Your Excellency Lord Melgor, something big has happened in Vaduz. We have to leave this place quickly. Otherwise, the trade caravan will get trapped here. If we get delayed for a day, the costs of the expedition will increase. It takes money to feed the horses and the people.”

Ren Xiaosu asked, “Can we leave at a time like this?”

Qian Weining thought for a moment and said, “Don’t worry, sir, I have my ways.”