Once they left the underground market safely, Arminius let out a low chuckle. "I gotta say, that was something else. Using your own deity to close a deal like that? Bold move. Real bold. But hey, who am I to judge? If it works, it works."
He tilted his head, grinning. "Still, you are not worried? I mean, ticking off a storm god does not exactly sound like a great long-term investment."
Rohan glanced at him. "The Lord gave me the code. It means I can do anything I want with the code."
Arminius just chuckled when he heard Rohan's answer.
At that moment, Rohan realized he needed to give Edmund and David the code as well, just to make things consistent from now on. He had not given them the code before simply because it had not exist back then. The code only came into existence after he realized he could get ingredients worth hundreds of gold coins from a simple made-up code.
This is not a scam. This is a fair exchange, he convinced himself.
Afterward, he and Arminius continued on their way, and by evening, they found themselves in front of a bonfire where Keana and Belluci were roasting a whole deer.
"You arrived at just the right moment. The meal is almost ready," Belluci said in her warm voice.
Keana gave a brief nod while her attention was still on the fire, offering no greeting at all.
After they sat down, Rohan asked, "Where is Luciana?"
"Bathing," Keana replied.
He nodded, and after a moment, he handed all the books to Keana, while Arminius passed the alchemy ingredients to Belluci.
Keana glanced down at the stack in her hands, then back at Rohan and Arminius while her grip tightened slightly. "…Thanks," she said, quiet but steady.
After a beat, she added, "I will make good use of these."
Belluci, on the other hand, lit up the moment the ingredients touched her hands. "Oh, this is wonderful. Truly."
"Thank you, Arminius. I promise I will create something worthy out of these."
"But..." she frowned, "these ingredients are a lot more than I asked for. Arminius, are you sure the money I gave you was enough to cover all of these?"
Arminius smirked and flipped a total of 250 gold coins to Belluci. "Your money, you can take it back. And you're thanking the wrong guy here. Credit goes to Rohan. I'm just the charming middleman."
He spread his hands with a grin. "And hey, good news, all those ingredients? On the house. Zero. Free. My favorite number."
Belluci then looked at Rohan. "Really? How? You guys are not... stealing these, right?"
"Of course not. It was all thanks to the Lord, so you should just thank Him," Rohan said while feeling embarrassed, as he had essentially asked her to thank himself.
Belluci, still looking confused, slowly muttered, "Thank you, Storm God."
Rohan stared at her, then nodded, while Arminius just chuckled beside him.
Afterward, Keana began to read the book, while Belluci held the ingredients close, already lost in the possibilities of what she could do with them.
And moments later, Rohan explained that the plan had failed and that he would have to relocate the church farther from the city.
Instantly, Arminius responded with a smirk. "See, this is what I have been saying. You walk in, make a strong impression, maybe crack a few skulls. Problem solved. Quick, clean, effective."
Rohan shot him a look of disdain. Yeah, a great way to get us all killed.
"That is… unfortunate," Belluci said softly, though her tone remained steady and reassuring. "Still, if it would ease your burden, you may take whatever funds I have. It should sustain the church for a time."
"No need. I will relocate," Rohan said firmly.
Soon after, Luciana returned from the lake and joined them to eat.
After finishing his meal, Rohan rose to his feet and walked toward the church. With a simple gesture, he summoned two skeletons and commanded them to dismantle it.
However, to his surprise, the church did not budge. Even after Rohan used all his strength to pull at the door, he failed to make any progress. It was as if the wooden structure had become completely indestructible.
Rohan then summoned the Lightbringer and cast a lightning strike upon the church.
The thunderous boom startled his followers, yet the building remained standing, entirely unaffected.
Rohan was unsure whether to feel pleased or concerned about this development. He had never expected the wooden church he built to become an indestructible fortress.
Soon after, he noticed Arminius and Luciana approaching.
"Right, quick question. Are we moving out, or are we just trying to see if the church survives a lightning strike?"
"Well," Rohan sighed, "I tried to dismantle it, but somehow the church suddenly became indestructible."
After they heard him, Arminius and Luciana looked at him in disbelief. Curious, they immediately cast summoning spells. Luciana summoned a giant mammoth, even larger than the church, while Arminius summoned a red monkey.
Without hesitation, they ordered their summons to attack the church.
Rohan, equally curious to see whether the church was truly indestructible or if he simply lacked the strength to move it, did not object as Luciana and Arminius unleashed their attacks.
The giant mammoth charged and rammed its tusks into the church, but with an earth-shaking boom, the tusks shattered on impact.
The red monkey attacked next. It inhaled deeply, then released a stream of fire, attempting to burn the church, but the flames failed to even char the wooden exterior.
Luciana and Arminius quickly dismissed their summons and stepped back with their mouths slightly open, still unable to believe the church had withstood such a ferocious assault.
Even Keana and Belluci were surprised.
At that moment, they all wondered if their construction skills had been so exceptional that the church they built had become an indestructible fortress.
"This is not a coincidence," Luciana said. "It is a message. The Storm God does not want us running. He wants this place defended."
No. I never sent such a message.
Arminius smirked. "Exactly. I'm hearing destiny, I'm hearing opportunity. We stand our ground. No relocation, no taxes, no problem. And if the Octavian family does not like it? Well, that sounds like their problem."
For a brief moment, Rohan glanced at the two.
"Do either of you have any idea who the Octavian family is?" Rohan asked while he rubbed his face.
"One of the three great families of the Belithorian Kingdom?"
"Why are you so worried?" Luciana asked. "Aren't you a devout believer? Or is your faith only convenient when things are easy?"
Arminius nodded while he folded his arms. "We just pray a little louder, maybe throw in some enthusiasm, and boom, the Storm God might just personally lodge a literal stone up the Octavian family's asses."
"True," Luciana added, her gaze steady. "If nothing else, the Lord may decide we are worth the trouble."
Arminius snapped his fingers. "See? That is what I'm talking about. Divine backing, perfect timing, and a very unfortunate day for the Octavian family."
Staring at his two followers, Rohan did not even know what to say.
Sorry, but our Storm God is not actually that strong, and he definitely is not helping us. In fact, he's standing right in front of you.
Of course, Rohan kept that to himself.
"Look," he finally said. "This is what is going to happen. We are not paying anything. And if the Octavian representatives come to tear the place down, they can try."
"And no, there will not be any fighting. We are not strong enough to face them. If we foolishly start a war, the Storm God's believers will be the ones who suffer."
Luciana studied Rohan for a moment before giving a small nod. "Fine. We hold our ground, but we do not provoke a war we cannot control."
Arminius raised a finger and was just about to speak. However, he couldn't. Suddenly, holes appeared in both his head and his heart, and dark blood burst outward in sharp, violent sprays.
He was not the only one. Luciana, Keana, and Belluci suffered the same attack. Blood scattered through the air as they were hurled away by the force of whatever struck them.
Just like the others, Rohan was unable to react in time as he was struck in both thighs, forcing him to his knees as all strength left his legs.
And a split second later, he summoned the Armor of Asgard. Just as the armor fully materialized, two more unseen projectiles slammed into his shoulders. This time, they failed to pierce. Instead, the impact hurled him several yards back.
In the span of a single second, a surge of conflicting emotions crashed over Rohan.
First came confusion. Who had attacked them, and why? Why aim for his thighs? If that first strike had been directed at his head, he would already be dead.
Then came fear. In an instant, everyone but him had been completely annihilated. Near the church, his followers had enhanced strength. And yet despite that, they were still getting incapacitated with ease.
And finally, realization took hold. The attack had failed to pierce his armor, which meant only one thing. Whoever had attacked him could be killed. And for some reason, their objective was not to kill him, but to capture him instead.
And then, exactly one second later, another attack came. This time, Rohan finally realized these attacks were completely unnatural, like arrows made of compressed wind.
"Devour."
This time, however, their trajectory twisted midair, as if space itself had been distorted. It was unclear when it happened, but a sapphire blue sword had appeared in Rohan's right hand. Its golden hilt was shaped like a radiant crest, gleaming with an otherworldly light.
The sword, Soul of Leviathan, absorbed the incoming attacks by force, swallowing the invisible spells into its blade as if they were nothing more than mere gusts of wind.
Now, noticing where the attack came from, Rohan lunged forward. Thanks to the unique properties of the armor, he was able to move despite the severe wounds in his thighs, as if the armor carried his body forward, ignoring the limits of flesh and bone.
Using every inch of strength in his body, he pushed himself ahead, creating a loud boom in the process.
In just a split second, he had covered nearly a mile of distance.
And there, Rohan could sense it. Not too far from him, someone was watching. He still could not see exactly where, but Rohan was hoping another attack would come. That way, he could determine the ambusher's location.
And just as he hoped, the next invisible attacks came.
However, unlike what he had expected, more than ten invisible projectiles shot toward him at once, coming from ten different directions.
But still, such spells, despite being invisible, were tangible, meaning they could be absorbed by the sword. And that was exactly what happened.
After every invisible projectile had been absorbed, Rohan noticed a faint movement, something trying to slip farther away from him. At that moment, he was finally able to pinpoint his enemy.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the direction he believed the enemy was heading. And just as he expected, Rohan caught sight of a figure with pointed ears, attempting to flee.
"I don't know what business an elf like you has with me, but you're not going anywhere."