Chapter 1980 - 536: See Whose Blood Runs Dry First_5

Ryan was stunned.

As a good citizen who received a good education at the Church School, he immediately shyly lowered his head, wanting to avoid eye contact.

And those few guys following behind him also slowed their pace when they saw the sneaky guy stop and decided to observe a little longer.

Looking at the motionless Ryan, the girl smiled shyly at him as if she knew him.

"My home... is just behind, do you want to come with me?"

Ryan didn't nod, but like a marionette, he allowed the shy girl to take his arm and walked timidly into the shaky door.

...

Ten minutes later, the shabby house stopped shaking.

Ryan lost a silver pound.

But he wasn't at a loss, because he bought his love with just a piece of paper.

And the shy girl extinguished the candle on the table, not out of shame, but because candles aren't cheap.

He lay on that damp cot like a worn-out dog, eyes fixed on the moldy beam, panting for breath.

The sound of clothes rustling in his ears left him momentarily confused as to who had truly purchased whose dignity.

The girl had her back to him, carefully folding the brand-new Campbell Silver Pound before tucking it into her innermost garment.

Her actions were gentle, as if dealing with her beloved.

Looking at her frail back, Ryan, in his moment of sagacity, suddenly had a ridiculous thought.

The Priests at the Church School always say Roland City is a land blessed by God, with no demons, only brave knights and chaste ladies.

He thought those Priests were serious, yet there are quite a few devils hiding in the shadows, like that girl, for instance.

Thinking of this made Ryan suddenly happy.

At least, he wasn't the most blasphemous.

And if, by chance, Judgment Day truly arrives, the discerning Holy Light will certainly forgive an innocent like him...

...

The night was deep, and the central district of Roland City sank into a troubling silence.

In Baron Wickton's office, the candle had burned down to its last remnant, the wax dripping down the silver candlestick and solidifying into a twisted snake shape.

The serpent seemed to be hissing, hiding the mockery dangling from its venomous fangs within the shadow cast by the candlelight.

Unlike the peacefully sleeping Ryan, Baron Wickton had many worries that kept him awake.

Especially now, with a thick Encyclopedia spread open on his desk, cold sweat soaking the collar of his shirt.

"Saint Sis above... I didn't expect the corruption of Chaos to have reached such a severe level, with such blasphemous books appearing downstream of Rushing River!"

It was confiscated from a smuggler recently hanged by the Royal Guard.

Sir Skidgin heard of his fondness for Thunder City's writing, so he privately "reimbursed" the item meant to be burned as a gift for him.

To be honest, although Sir Skidgin was a gentleman skillful in social matters, his knack occasionally terrified Baron Wickton.

This guy probably has no idea what he's doing!

Seeing entries discussing the King and legitimacy, only made Wickton's scalp tingle, and he slammed the book shut.

"I didn't expect Edward Campbell to be so insidious, quietly forging this blasphemous dagger... No wonder the Light of Praise didn't choose him, no wonder Saint Sis's curse turned his hair white!"

Forcing the cursed whisper from his lips, Baron Wickton's expression held anger, fear, and a hint of bewilderment.

Doesn't this guy fear retribution?

This sharp dagger has no eyes; today it can pierce the heart of the Devalu family, tomorrow it could slice the throat of the Campbell family!

Why unleash this evil monster?!

Wickton took a deep breath, forcing himself to push the book to the table's edge, temporarily avoiding those blasphemous words so the syrup-coated poison wouldn't sway his resolve.

Republic...

Such a wonderful term.

If Ryan's Nobles could unite like the Campbell Nobles, even without citizen support, they wouldn't have reached this point.

Though well aware of the Encyclopedia's danger, he was too occupied dealing with another crisis pushing the Kingdom into the Abyss.

That crisis is the famine.

Having resolved the citizens' inability to buy bread, Baron Wickton now had to tackle bakers unable to afford flour.

And it wasn't just an inability to buy bread; the fury brewing since the winter fire was now boiling over like never before.

He feared people's wrath would invite Calmandes's corruption, the Chaos Evil Spirit known as "Flame of Destruction."

Transcendents could bully Mortals without concern, but they couldn't attract Chaos's strength.

Those beings are even more nefarious than Devils of Hell, for Devils merely seek to corrupt beliefs, whereas those beings aim to reshape them entirely.

They target a physical reshaping.

The distortive malice won't just alter their souls, but will transform their physical vessels, trapping them in an endless Abyss of reincarnated worst habeas forever.

Recalling the terror of it, Wickton felt a chill, quickly rising from his desk to rush towards the massive Kingdom map on the wall.

His gaze swept over plains and rivers, landing on the eastern part of the Kingdom—that border area known as Twilight Province.

There, the Kingdom's elite Lion Heart Knight Order, led by Radiant Knight Heigmer, was locked in a prolonged stalemate with a group identifying as Salvation Army madmen.

It's an outrageously expensive war of attrition.

Due to the local Nobles' uncooperativeness, every grain the Knight Order needed had to be transported long distances from Roland City.

If this expense could be spared, he could at least use the saved budget to buy some grain from the Nobles and bring it to Roland City to appease the boiling resentment.

And if these grains are insufficient to quell the overwhelming ire.

At least when Chaos's corruption arrives, Roland's Nobles can rely on Radiant Knight Heigmer's sword rather than hoping for the uncertain potential of the Transcendent...