Chapter 181: A Storm is Coming
Chapter 181: A Storm is Coming
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Three Legendary Level mooks came to his home turf to die so Baiyi had zero reason to worry about any damage they could possibly cause him.
He was curious about their identity though. If he wasn't mistaken, those three must be from Godsfall, because upon quick reflection he had decided that he was too kind and likable in his daily lives to make any enemies from people other than the cult.
He had just finished converting all of his mana into Void energy when the three men in grey robes stepped back simultaneously. With surprised and terror in their voices, they cried out, "Violator!"
Does this count as a self-introduction? Since there was only a group of people who would address Baiyi with this term and they were the judicial paladins.
The question is why did three judicial paladins sneak into my house like thieves in the middle of a moonless night? Baiyi thought as he casually extended his right hand as he faced three daggers made out of combat chi that flew towards him. When the daggers came into contact with his gauntlet, a black flame lit up in a millisecond and the combat chi blades were burnt into nothingness.
The process was too quick for the eyes of the Legendary Level paladins. To them, it seemed like all Baiyi did was block their attacks with his own hand nonchalantly without emitting sparks typical of Combat Chi blocking. They didn't feel any remnants of magic either. It was as if he was just brushing off dust.
An idea formed in the three judicial paladins' minds. They looked at each other and nodded meaningfully at one another.
Suddenly, the fabric on their chests started burning. When the dust cleared, it uncovered a burning symbol underneath.
That's a very familiar symbol. Have I seen it before on a demon's body? Baiyi thought as he watched his opponents' speed and strength increase dramatically. He calmly extended two of his fingers and clamped the opponent's long sword that was stabbing down from above.
The blade let out a piercing cry of metal bending as it was held tightly between Baiyi's fingers. He eyed the pale, terrified face underneath the robe, perplexed, "How did you people get corrupted?"
As he was speaking, he raised his left hand and opened his palm.
On both his left and right side, a long sword was each stabbing towards him with haste. Baiyi muttered, "Submit to the Void…"
He balled his hand into a fist. An eerie shockwave immediately erupted out of him and the three judicial paladins, who were mustering every ounce of their strength to attack Baiyi, suddenly stopped in mid-action, blood spouting out from their mouths as they fell limply onto the ground.
This was another way of using Void Energy, a technique that was similar to one of the phenomena of physics back on Earth. The technique radiated high-energy vibration through any medium and damage the internal structure of an object through resonance. Baiyi called the technique Voidwave.
Compared to the all-consuming fire of Black Flame [TL: Not Amaterasu?], the formless power of Voidwave was far more cruel. The judicial paladins could have protected themselves with Combat Chi shields but they had underestimated the energy of the shockwave. Their lack of anticipation had caused their shields to be easily ruptured, baring their organs to Baiyi's attack..
If they had used all of their Combat Chi to protect themselves, coupled with their power-enhancing symbol, they could probably withstand the attack twice instead of being instantly immobilized.
To be honest, Baiyi did not use too much of his actual strength because he needed the intruders alive for questioning. If it wasn't for that purpose, those three's internal systems would have immediately been crushed and they would have been dead, instead of merely lying on the floor puking out pulps of their damaged organs.
The three men paled. It wasn't their first time ambushing dangerous Violators, but their own mastery of dark arts was nowhere close to the devil before them. How long had this Violator been around? How did he evade the all-seeing eyes of the Judicial Court?
Of course, they weren't the ones judging. They were being judged by Baiyi.
"Alright, fess up. Who sent you people?" Baiyi used his mana to line the three up. He studied the symbols on their chest and asked, "And what's with that symbol?"
Primary observation informed him that the symbol was similar to the one that Tiamat had but they weren't exactly the same either. Although both symbols enhanced one's power, this one seemed to be far weaker and more subtle without a scent of evil. It was like a normal power-enhancing mark, but according to the Paladin's memory, tricks like power-enhancing marks were frowned upon by the Church.
Or maybe the Judiciary Court is progressing with time?
Unfortunately, while he was meticulously debating with himself on what kind of questioning methods he should use, those three quietly activated a trigger within their body. They immediately burst into flames.
Even though Baiyi had kept them alive, but after the attack, their lives were already hanging by a thread. A simple move was enough to send them all the way to the other side.
You did not tell me that judiciary paladins are capable of committing suicides! Baiyi cried out in frustration at the Paladin in the Void. This was already his second failure in capturing an enemy alive.
"I've been here for two thousand years… How should I know that they have changed?" the Paladin replied ruefully. "From what I know, they have always conducted their arrest in broad daylight— never sneakily in the night! They would never send a small three-man unit to capture a Violator, too. Usually, it's a ten-men troop led by an inquisitor."
"Something smells fishy…" Baiyi muttered, scanning the three corpses with his Psychic Energy. At least there was one corpse with its limbs still intact.
The search ended without him finding any physical items on their body that might hint at their identity although he did detect some remnants of Holy Energy reacting against his energy. This proved that those people had indeed once possessed holy powers. They had abandoned the trademark power of sanctity bestowed to them as paladins and instead used Combat Chi.
If they hadn't exposed themselves back then, Baiyi wouldn't be able to tell that the three assassins were actually three judiciary paladins.
"There are too many unanswered questions…" The Paladin was just as bemused. "Regardless of how a judicial paladin conducted themselves, they are still a branch of the paladins. They should have the same ideals and practices as a paladin. Their source of power should only be Holy Energy…There was never a case of them using another source of power."
"Besides, holy power is drawn through sheer faith and prayers, it would never degenerate as the body ages and withers… So to have it regressed, there can only be one possible explanation."
You mean… Corruption? Baiyi finished the Paladin's thoughts. Even judicial paladins could be corrupted?
"Those who walk in the light may also fall to the dark side. It's not impossible for something like that to happen," the Cleric interjected. "If the Paladin and I could fall, who's to say others can't?"
There is still a very big gap between you and them, you know, Baiyi replied with a hint of objectivity. He had no idea what corrupted those judicial paladins, but these two were definitely spiraling down a very different rabbit hole.
"It might be related to that Godsfall cult," The third walker who once belonged to the Church, the Shadow, suddenly chimed in. "Look at the remnants of the tattoos on their skin."
Baiyi crouched down to get a better look. It was true; there were some remaining black marks on the corpses. A closer scrutiny would reveal that the mark looked like a jutting horn. Studying it closely, Baiyi recognized the horn, it looked similar to the flame tattoo that he had seen before.
If it was not for the Shadow's keen eyes, the clue might have been overlooked.
Well, well, well. Corrupted judicial paladins had joined the likes of the Godsfall cult, huh? No wonder their cult grew so big. I assume these paladins aren't the only ones who had lost their faiths! Baiyi sighed as he cleaned up the aftermath of the battle using Black Flames. After that, he finally cast out a barrier as the night returned to tranquility.
At first, when he had identified the enemies as judicial paladins, he had been worried that his real identity was exposed. He even started thinking about how to escape the Church, but it seemed like things weren't as simple as he had expected, while it was certainly not as terrible as he had initially thought.
The three men must have came under the orders of the Godsfall cult with the sole purpose of vengeance. He had sabotaged their plans back in Wyllspringshire, so it wasn't the least bit surprising that they would react by seeking retribution. The part that didn't add up, however, was why send three judicial paladins to do that? Was the enemy unafraid of their plans being exposed with that move?
The fact that they sent three Legendary Level fighters was like they acknowledged Baiyi as a worthy opponent and looked down on him at the same time. Logically, three Legendary Level paladins against one Intermediate Level Soul Armature was definitely an overkill.
But Baiyi had obliterated an entire army of demons back in Wyllspringshire, which was something those three could never hope to do. So why did the cult send three heavy-hitters just to act as cannon fodders?
Although it was true that Baiyi hardly saw Legendary Level fighters as a challenge, it was only true if he could employ Void Energy in his combat. Frankly, back when he was battling Undine and Leo he was also forced to use his trump card.
So Legendary Level fighters weren't as pathetic as those Voidwalkers had said. It wasn't that easy to reach that level in the first place, most organizations would not be so inefficient and wasteful as to use Legendary Level fighters as cannon fodders.
The situation had become very interesting. Too bad Baiyi couldn't find more clues, so he had to set the puzzle aside for the time being. He was thinking if he should report the existence of traitors to the Church and maybe even exaggerate the entire incident a bit to provoke the Church into conducting a mass purge of its people. Then maybe the Judicial Court would be completely uprooted.
Without those ruthless pack of canines, Baiyi would finally be able to do everything to his heart's content!
As he discussed his thoughts with the Voidwalkers, the light of a new day broke. The Soul Armature continued his ritual of sending the two girls to school.
Little did he know that a storm was brewing within the walls of the quiet Academy.