Boom!
Under the helpless gaze of the many powerhouses gathered outside, the Grand Duke within the barrier — eyes filling with despair — suddenly detonated.
Corrosive pus mixed with flesh and blood splattered across the white barrier membrane, nearly making
"To kill a duke right before our very eyes! This is a grave provocation against Silvermoon City!"
If they could so easily curse-kill a legendary mage, didn't that mean everyone currently standing in the hall was equally unsafe?
"Report!"
At that moment, a high-ranking mage stumbled in, panic clearly etched on his face.
"What happened?" Elminster frowned, bypassing Alustriel's authority to ask directly.
"We've just received word — Count
In an instant, the entire hall fell into absolute silence. Every person stared blankly at the spot where the legendary Grand Duke had died without leaving a single trace of a corpse.
"So you're saying… the enemy's bloodline in Silvermoon City has been completely wiped out in a single instant?"
Elminster suddenly felt an extremity of cold pierce through to the depths of his soul…
"The bloodline curse of the
Raylin withdrew his gaze.
When a god's wrath is unleashed, the punishment that descends is something even ordinary powerhouses cannot withstand!
A mere curse could claim a legendary mage's life — and even his soul — under the watchful eyes of countless powerhouses. Such was the terror of wizardry!
With the complete annihilation of the legendary duke's entire bloodline and clan, Raylin forcefully announced his arrival to all the powers of the North — and to the gods themselves.
…
"An insult! This is an insult to our entire order of Paladins!"
Lefinia gazed upon the panicked city, at the death reports still streaming into her hands, her face bearing the eerie calm that precedes a storm.
Countless scions of the Eirek Count's family had perished without cause — and the horrifying manner of their deaths had sent shockwaves through all of Silvermoon City.
After all, the Legendary Grand Duke's family, when combining both the main line and its various branches, numbered in the hundreds within New Silvermoon City alone. A significant portion of them had been cursed to death in broad daylight.
The chaos that erupted in the aftermath — compounded by opportunistic rogues and adventurers looking to profit from the disorder — only deepened the turmoil.
To Lefinia, who had been entrusted with maintaining public order, this was a personal affront to her duty! A disgrace she could never wash away in her lifetime!
"Paladins, move out! Assist the garrison in restoring order!"
She issued the command without hesitation. Dozens of grim-faced Paladins surged forth from the temple, their formidable prowess scattering the opportunistic rabble in an instant.
As the city gradually steadied and the faint sounds of weeping and wailing rose into the air, the expression on Lefinia's face only grew heavier.
"A mass cursing that killed hundreds in a single stroke — if we fail to apprehend the true culprit, I will have no answer for the Queen who trusts me, nor for any of the freemen under my protection…"
Lefinia quickly began piecing together the identity of the mastermind behind the attack: "Could it be an enemy of the Grand Duke? A Lich seeking to harvest souls? Or even an evil god spreading terror?"
Lefinia understood all too well that if this affair involved a true deity, it would bring tremendous trouble.
Yet her inner sense of justice would not permit her to retreat.
"Lefinia!"
At that moment, another Cardinal approached her side, his face ashen and grim, dark enough to drip with rain.
"We just received the latest transmission. A message from Ironsword Fortress — a family there has been annihilated simultaneously. The timing and the symptoms are identical to the Duke's family, exactly the same…"
"Could it be…" Lefinia's brow twitched.
"Yes! That family is a branch of the Duke's clan, one that separated from the main line a hundred years ago and has resided in Ironsword Fortress ever since. But at the very moment the Duke's family was destroyed, every member of that household died in the same sinister fashion — from the Count who led them down to the infants in the collateral lines. None were spared. Even being inside a temple at the time was useless…"
A flicker of fear crept into the Cardinal's eyes. "The temples in the Central Kingdom have sent us the same report — another branch of the Grand Duke, located in the Central Kingdom, has also been wiped out…"
"A bloodline curse spanning the entire continent?"
Rafinia murmured.
"That's right, and it's not all. Several similar cases have cropped up among the other nobles in New Silvermoon City — it even includes a couple of grooms and gardeners. It's caused a great deal of panic, but we all know what's really going on…"
The Cardinal continued speaking.
"Hah… those debauched fools, siring all those bastard children, and now there's a mess to clean up…"
A faint sense of satisfaction stirred in Rafinia's heart. She had heard rumors about the extravagant and chaotic lifestyles of the upper nobility.
"The trouble is… some of the bloodline descendants of ducal families that even we didn't know about still couldn't escape the bloodline curse…"
The Cardinal's face turned grave. "This is the power of a deity! An evil true god has announced his arrival to us…"
Rafinia nodded in firm agreement.
A curse capable of blanketing an entire continent — in her mind, no existence other than a true god possessed such might. Even a high-level legendary lich wouldn't qualify!
Only a near-omniscient deity could wield such immense and terrifying power!
"These evil deities are the greatest threat to our righteous cause!" Rafinia clenched her fists, but failed to notice the bitter smile flickering across the Cardinal's face.
'To slay every bloodline descendant across the continent — separated by countless mountains and rivers — in a single instant… Even among evil gods, very few possess such an ability. These are among the most terrifying existences…' The Cardinal sighed inwardly.
As someone who knew far more about deities than most, he naturally understood the horror of the mastermind pulling the strings behind this.
"Paladin Commander Rafinia, the Church's task for you is to assist Queen Elasro and maintain the peace and stability of New Silvermoon City… Surely you don't intend to abandon your post?"
The Cardinal sighed internally, though his expression hardened.
……
After he left, Rafinia's expression instantly darkened, and the knight's longsword in her hand let out a terrifying buzz.
From the Cardinal's words just now, she had clearly caught a tone urging her to swallow her pride and comply. Was the Church truly not going to move against such a vicious evil god?
Even though Rafinia understood that the path of justice sometimes required necessary compromise and concession, this matter had far exceeded her bottom line.
"Could it be... that even the Church of my Lord has begun to fill with darkness and corruption?"
Though she knew she shouldn't, a trace of darkness still settled over Rafinia's heart and began to spread with terrifying intensity.
In the shadows, the expression on Rafinia's face grew stranger still, while a sliver of dark crimson light blazed ever brighter and more dazzling...
……
"O gods... please forgive my sins, do not let this terrible curse find me..."
"Any god at all, please protect me, and Coco, and Rafi and the others..."
"
"Great deity, whoever you may be, wherever you come from, I thank you for destroying Count Eirek and avenging my family..."
The golden threads of faith in the void multiplied several times over in an instant, transmitting numerous messages that were entirely within Rean's expectations.
The horror of cursing an entire family to destruction — especially one guarded by a Legendary powerhouse — had already set off a massive wave of panic throughout New Silvermoon City.
And the only ones who could offer these commoners spiritual shelter and comfort were the gods!
It could be said that after Rean struck, the number of believers in New Silvermoon City surged considerably, and the depth of their faith grew dramatically. The wealthy and the nobility began donating generously to the Church, as if doing so could keep misfortune from finding them.
All the temples welcomed a new wave of harvesting, and inevitably, much of the stray faith leaked away and was devoured by Rean.
Spreading terror and harvesting faith — this was simply the way evil gods operated!
Worship born of power and fear could just as easily win the devotion of commoners!
As the very architect of this catastrophe, it was perfectly natural for people — driven by fear and terror — to pray to him and seek his protection.
The Plague Goddess, the Ocean Goddess, and other deities employed much the same methods as Rean.
"Though the threads of faith aren't very strong, they're still a massive supplement... mortals..."
Not only fear, but a great many other emotional currents flowed along the threads of faith and into Rean's awareness as well.
Every action of a true god touched the entire material world, and what Rean had just demonstrated could be considered a rather unconventional form of "divine miracle."
A vast quantity of divine power was absorbed by the divine office, then transformed by the divine fire, becoming Rean's own accumulation.
Yet Rean's eyes held a cold indifference, utterly unmoved by such worldly fanaticism.
"Once the Black Moon Trading Company and the Duke's family are dealt with, the obstacles in the plan will be cleared... The trade with the Black Blood Tribe should be put on the agenda as soon as possible..."
As for the possible enmity and retaliation from good gods, Rean cared not at all!
It was they who had provoked him this time. How could the majesty of a true god tolerate such blasphemy? No matter what means Rean used to punish them, it would not be considered excessive!
Moreover, he himself was an evil god!
If he did not create some terror and leave behind a fearsome reputation, would he even be an evil god?