Chapter 26: Warlock |
‘Opper''s abilities exceeded my expectations. Manipulating Nest Beasts?’ Nemus swiftly left the area while pondering what Opper had just revealed.
‘What a pity. His combat ability is too poor, and his use of this power is not refined enough.’
‘If I had not intervened, Benjamin might have actually found an opportunity to escape from him.’
Nemus had originally just been heading home to purify his Faith, only to sense the battle unfolding here.
Thus, he took minor action, helping Opper clean up the loose ends.
He was confident that while Opper did not excel in combat, the village chief would not be overly sluggish in handling the aftermath.
Sure enough, the people controlled by the black fur did not hesitate for long before pouncing forward one by one.
Subsequently, a massive amount of black fur spilled out from their bodies and burrowed into Benjamin''s corpse.
This rapidly destroyed any other traces, disguising the entire scene as casualties caused by a Nest Beast rampage.
‘That time was likely the source of Opper''s abilities.’ Drawing on Nels''s memories, Nemus still had a general impression of that event.
The incident occurred eight years ago, right when Nels had first been "exiled" here as an Intern Holy Knight.
The "teacher" leading him was a middle-aged Holy Knight on the verge of retirement due to injuries and illness.
The reason for that early retirement was precisely that Nest Beast incident.
A villager had been quietly parasitized by a Nest Beast and returned to the village.
This subsequently triggered a massive disturbance. Some of the infected ran around in a panic, missing the optimal window for treatment, forcing the middle-aged Holy Knight to deal the killing blows.
He had also been infected with some of the black fur himself.
By the time the old pastor arrived to treat him, it was already a little too late. As a result, some of his limbs were unavoidably affected, leading to his retirement.
‘Opper was parasitized during that incident. Then, for unknown reasons, he did not seek treatment. Instead, he used a special method to control the hair of those Nest Beasts...’
‘There is a high probability that these are the methods of a Warlock.’
‘Regardless, Opper is definitely a talented individual.’
Dangerous Creatures like Nest Beasts naturally had many people researching them.
Any form of power would inevitably draw covetous eyes.
Elevating one''s power in this world was simply too difficult.
Aside from a few fixed methods, an Ordinary Person basically had no path to increase their Number.
Church relics and Miracles, along with resources related to Floating Whales, were the two mainstream categories of items currently used to increase one''s Number.
However, these two avenues were firmly controlled by the Church and the Nobles, with pitifully little leaking out to the public.
The vast majority of people with no path to Advancement could only resort to unorthodox methods.
Following these unorthodox paths, they naturally researched anything that possessed power.
Demonic power, heretic Faith, Dangerous Creatures, and even Calamity Beasts became subjects of study.
It was just that those who journeyed to the Great Earth mostly never returned.
Only a very small fraction of people managed to extract tangible benefits from these unorthodox routes, only to eventually lose control and brew a massive catastrophe.
They would either be captured and taken away by the Clerics of the Church, or end up getting themselves killed.
Although Nest Beasts were only relatively simple Dangerous Creatures, successfully bringing them under control proved that Opper was quite capable.
‘If the opportunity arises, I need to see if I can bring Opper under my control.’ Nemus''s current plans required a large amount of manpower.
He needed to establish his own order and subsequently harvest a massive amount of the Power of Faith.
All of these matters required capable individuals to manage; Nemus could not handle everything alone. As it stood, Opper would be a fine candidate.
However, capable people of this sort were often exceedingly difficult to subdue.
Especially since Opper currently seemed to be developing quite well entirely on his own.
He possessed the ability to mine Whalehide Ore and the channels to sell it. He also likely possessed a Meditation Method along with some exclusive Spells.
‘Without a deeper understanding, I cannot act rashly.’ Nemus could also sense that the waters in this small village ran deep.
Previously, whether it was Downs, Purr, or the Watchman, Nemus had not paid them much mind and struck whenever necessary.
While those individuals all possessed certain methods, their actions clearly betrayed exactly where their limits lay.
Downs went without saying, and Purr was restricted by his identity as a Probationary Village Guardian. As for the Watchman, although he had seemed slightly mysterious before, his actions had exposed his true nature.
Which was summoning the Lesser Demon, Krog.
He had cautiously prevented the Lesser Demon from discovering his true identity and used a pre-arranged covenant to place restrictions on it.
From this alone, one could roughly deduce that the Watchman''s upper limit for handling matters only extended to the level of a Lesser Demon.
Therefore, after Nemus learned that the Watchman would be venturing into the wilderness, he had immediately issued the order to ambush him.
However, the same approach could not be taken with the old pastor and Opper, as their actions had not yet revealed their true depths.
It was just like Nemus himself right now. From the outside, he appeared to be nothing more than a Precept Holy Knight who had lost his potential; being able to contend with an ordinary Iron Rank was already his absolute limit.
But in reality, Nemus''s strength completely exceeded their expectations.
With a brief burst of power, most Iron Ranks would perish at his hands.
‘It is still not enough.’ Nemus thought of the old pastor. The strength the other party had previously displayed was at the Iron Rank, but for an Iron Rank to inexplicably "live in seclusion" in this small village was baffling. Who knew what trump cards the old pastor could pull out.
‘Therefore, I still need to elevate myself.’ Nemus did not feel annoyed at being drawn into the complex web of relationships in this small village; on the contrary, he felt excited.
The various anomalies here all pointed to a larger issue. If he could grasp the key behind it all, he might be able to use it to rapidly elevate his status on the Material Plane.
Through this, he might be able to better construct his very own secret order.
‘I will continue the Purification of the Faith Holy Nails.’ Nemus ignored the external disturbances and immersed his Mind-Spirit into the perspective of Faith brought by the Divinity. He meticulously observed the Faith and utilized his Precepts to assimilate the Impure Thoughts within.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Jacques was staring at the ground covered in shredded flesh sprouting black fur, his expression exceptionally ugly.
By now, the black fur had already lost all vitality.
There was no need for Priests to attempt any rescues either, for there were simply no survivors left.
Standing to the side, Isabella covered her mouth, her expression turning sorrowful.
For some reason, stepping into this area and breathing in the metallic scent of blood, she faintly sensed something connected to her.
It was like murmured ravings, or perhaps a hallucination from a dream.
Then, realization finally dawned upon Isabella. It was a dying exhortation.
When her grandfather passed away, he had been unable to speak. He had merely held her hand and looked at her.
Those increasingly feeble gasps were like a repeated chant, urging her to live well in the future.
And now, she seemed to hear that exact same gasping sound once more.
It was precisely at this moment that Opper arrived with his men and immediately organized a lockdown of the area.
As Jacques watched the bustling crowd, a burning fury ignited within his heart.