Overall, the world's development of power was not far from what Lin Tuo had speculated.
He asked about the "cultivation methods" and learned that while these practices were not entirely secret, commoners rarely had any chance to access them. They circulated mostly among the upper classes and elite armies.
That much did not surprise Lin Tuo. In a society so rigidly stratified, knowledge gaps were natural.
As for the Church, their faith centered on the "Creator God."
Religious texts claimed that in the beginning, the Creator God forged this world. Pitying its barrenness, He sailed a silver vessel through the void, bringing myriad beings to descend here, to thrive and multiply until today.
Lin Tuo could not deny a flicker of satisfaction at hearing this part.
At least, these people had not entirely forgotten him… though the story was clearly embellished and distorted.
But when Carter described the Church's use of "divine oracles" to massacre wizards, that brief satisfaction evaporated.
"You mean the Kingdom's Church claims it is following an oracle—purging the wizard class?" Lin Tuo's face darkened.
"Yes. The Church says wizards are the Devil's servants. But look at my niece and nephew! They're just ordinary children. How could they possibly worship demons?" Carter could not help venting his grief.
Lin Tuo ignored him. Inwardly, he knew: the so-called demon talk was almost certainly a fabricated excuse. Human history on Earth had seen such atrocities before.
"Didn't the wizards resist?" Lin Tuo pressed, frowning.
Carter shook his head bitterly. "You must be from the southern continent. In the north, wizards have been in decline for centuries…"
Perhaps because of his own family's bloodline, Carter knew this history well.
A thousand years ago, the continent's Wizard Associations had rivaled even the Church, at times even suppressing it.
But as generations passed, the innate gifts of wizards waned.
Fewer and fewer children were born with potent natural "spells," and the effects of those gifts grew weaker.
At first, cultivation methods could offset this decline. But as the knight and cleric orders expanded, the once-dominant wizards lost ground.
In truth, most wizards still possessed excellent cultivation talent. Had they shifted quickly to learning new arts, they might have endured. But out of pride, they clung stubbornly to their innate gifts.
The result: rifts and schisms, disputes over theory and tradition.
The already fragile "Northern Wizard Association" collapsed, and the wizards scattered into families and apprenticeships—isolated lineages with no unity.
Only in the distant south, Carter said, had wizards embraced new spells in time, and there they still prospered.
But in the north, especially within the Kingdom of Drey, wizards became little more than a weak, fragmented rabble—helpless before the Church's united knights.
Even the few strong ones could not stem the tide, and fled where they could.
"Over the past year, the powerful wizards have been either slain or fled south. Those left behind… cannot resist at all." Carter sighed deeply.
So that was it…
Lin Tuo's eyes glinted with surprise. Declining bloodline abilities? Fewer gifted births? Could this be a matter of genetics? Like a thinning inheritance, growing weaker with each generation.
"Also… there's something wrong with those knights," Carter suddenly added.
"Oh?"
"Yes. I've met temple knights in my youth. But these hunters—the ones chasing wizards—they are not the same.
Darker. Crueler. Fanatical. Bloodthirsty. As if they were no longer human, but machines of slaughter."
Through their talk, Carter had become sure Lin Tuo was not from the Church. Otherwise, why ask such questions? To him, this mysterious youth must be some powerful southern wizard.
Thus, he spoke without restraint.
"Machines of slaughter…" Lin Tuo echoed thoughtfully.
"Yes. If you don't believe me, just look for yourself. The monastery in town—they only arrived yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes.
Dozens, hundreds of wizards, chained in iron, dragged behind horses like beasts.
Bloodied, wounded. Boys, women, even children—hauled through the streets like livestock."
Carter shivered, the horrific memory flashing again before his eyes.
Lin Tuo frowned, unsettled even physically. "Dragged alive? They weren't executed?"
"No. They say the captured must be brought alive to the Holy City, to be judged by the Pope himself."
"I see…"
Lin Tuo leaned back in the heavy chair, his confusion deepening.
On the surface, the events seemed clear. Yet his unease only grew.
For why now?
According to Carter, the Kingdom had been stable, peaceful. The Church was already supreme in faith, the wizards broken and weak.
Neither crown nor Church had reason to ignite such a frenzy. Both already enjoyed firm authority.
Perhaps Carter's view was too narrow, his knowledge too limited.
But that dark tug in Lin Tuo's chest refused to fade.
"No… I need to see for myself. Perhaps I should approach the Church directly."
As the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly turned toward the castle's direction.
"Someone's coming," he said.
"What?" Carter blinked. Then he saw the "southern wizard" stride out, and hurried after.
Together, they reached the rear terrace. From that height, they could see the castle gates.
There, a troop of riders had arrived—swords at their sides, cloaked in black. The wind caught their cloaks, flashing the metal armor beneath.
"Temple knights! The Church—they've come…" Carter's face drained of blood, his knees almost buckling.
From the way they rode, this was no polite visit.
Had they been discovered? But how?
Then Carter's gaze caught on a familiar figure—his steward, bowing obsequiously as he opened the gate.
"So it was your servant who betrayed you," Lin Tuo said calmly. "Hiding people in a castle… it was bound to be noticed."
"He…" Carter's eyes bulged with fury. Rage surged, but he swallowed it down.
No time. He turned and sprinted back, grabbing a basin from the kitchen on the way. Bursting into the hidden room, he splashed cold water over the unconscious siblings.
"Ahh—"
They woke with a gasp, confused. "Uncle…"
"No time! We must go!" Carter's hands trembled as he dragged them out, though deep inside he had little hope left.
But as they reached the terrace, the boy—Morey—suddenly froze. He stared down at the gates, eyes wide.
"It's him!" the girl gasped, pointing.
"What—?" Carter turned, dumbstruck.
There stood the "southern wizard," at the very gates.
Around him lay dozens of knights, blood stenching the air.
…
…
"Now, perhaps we can talk properly."
At the gate, the cold spring wind blew as Lin Tuo gazed impassively at the knight-captain sprawled before him, limbs shattered.
Around them, the Church's armored riders lay broken and crippled.
Yet not a cry of pain escaped them. The air was thick, eerie, chilling.
Lin Tuo had not meant to fight. He only wanted to question them—after all, Carter's word alone was no basis for judgment.
But when the cloaked knights saw him, they did not hesitate. They surged forward like beasts spotting prey, utterly unlike rational men.
"Heretic… heretic…"
The knight-captain, bloodied and gasping, repeated the word in a low, chaotic growl.
"Is that all you can say?" Lin Tuo sneered, reaching down to seize a fallen longsword. With a flick, he tore aside the black cloak.
And froze.
The man's face turned instinctively away from the sunlight, flinching.
His skin was corpse-pale, his eyes wholly black—no whites, no pupils, only abyssal darkness.
No longer human.
"So I was right." Lin Tuo's gaze hardened. One by one, he stripped back the others' cloaks.
All the same. White skin, black eyes, shrinking from the light.
"What are you?" His grip tightened on the blade.
"Heretic… heretic… the darkness will consume you… your sins will be judged… you cannot escape… God is watching you…"
From the captain's hollow eyes seeped black miasma as he chanted the words.
Lin Tuo's last doubts burned away.
He stepped forward, drove the sword through the man's chest, and pinned him to the earth.
Coldly, he whispered:
"You're right. Your evil will be judged. You cannot escape… God is watching you."
End of Chapter.