Looking at the bloodstains on the floor, the nun wanted to step forward to help Buzhaqi up and heal his wounds, but she was suddenly pulled back by a golden rope formed of Lightforce.
“Archbishop…”
Upon seeing it was Beikeze, the nun immediately lowered her head.
Like a child who had done something wrong, she did not dare to look at him.
Bishop Beikeze had just ordered her to clear the Church of the Faithful, yet she had failed to stop Buzhaqi.
Seeing the nun’s self-reproach, Beikeze simply shook his head and signaled for her to leave first.
Beikeze then looked toward the Chapel emitting a soft glow and at Buzhaqi, who was kneeling in prayer before it.
‘The seventeenth…’
He originally thought only ordinary people would be affected, but he hadn’t expected that even someone at the Deep Black rank like Buzhaqi would be influenced.
Beikeze had noticed something was wrong the moment Buzhaqi left the Church.
Walking through the Black Mist inevitably led to being tainted by something foul.
He had ordered the nun to clear the Faithful specifically to prevent them from seeing Buzhaqi if a problem arose.
‘This is already the seventeenth time since the base was established…’
Beikeze’s gaze darkened as his fingers rubbed incessantly against his staff.
Ever since he had forcibly suppressed several signs of chaos, Beikeze realized that he had been targeted by a certain existence within the Black Mist…
They had been watching the Church.
After telling the nun to rest and return in one hour to clean the Church, Beikeze gently closed his eyes.
With the codes and regulations of the Faith constantly being refined in his mind, Beikeze turned and walked toward his office.
He needed to pick up his pace as well.
Meanwhile, golden light overflowed from the Chapel and slowly flowed into Buzhaqi’s body.
The moment he raised his head, Buzhaqi looked at the spot where Beikeze had been standing, a flash of complexity in his eyes.
The dangerous aura surrounding Beikeze had grown even heavier.
The wound on his forehead gradually healed under the influence of the Lightforce, and it was now completely restored.
Touching the spot on his forehead where a faint pain still lingered, Buzhaqi was in a terrible mood.
People might think the base was absolutely safe, but very few knew the true situation.
If it weren’t for Beikeze, Buzhaqi didn’t dare to imagine how bad things would be right now.
“His Holiness is occupied with a myriad of affairs and is busier than us. We cannot rely on His Holiness for everything…”
Those were words Beikeze had once said.
Buzhaqi shook his head, feeling the core within him that constantly radiated a warm glow, and subconsciously clenched his fists.
‘Naar, wait for me.’
He should have realized sooner.
Something was already wrong with Naar.
His Holiness might not have noticed, but as the person closest to her, Buzhaqi had already recalled all of Naar’s various abnormalities.
While there was still time, he had to find her as quickly as possible!
***
“Goblins… ugh!”
The hoarse voice sounded as if it were oozing pus, making it extremely uncomfortable to hear.
The man was thin, with a fleshy tumor bulging from his forehead as if another head were growing out of his own.
Several knights were pinning him firmly to the ground.
He wore a severely torn mage’s robe, and the slightly lustrous badge on his chest barely allowed one to identify him as an Archmage.
“How is it? Is there a Bishop willing to come?”
A younger knight nearby hesitated for a moment before answering, his voice filled with excitement.
“The Bishops are all unavailable!”
“Then what are you so excited about!”
The words of the younger knight left the others pinning the Archmage speechless.
Currently, only a Bishop possessed the ability to purify Corruption.
If no Bishop was willing to come, it wouldn’t matter how long they held him down.
“No, I haven’t finished! It’s His Holiness! His Holiness is coming!”
The younger knight shouted out, feeling a bit aggrieved.
Hearing that “His Holiness is coming,” the knights were momentarily stunned, and their grip on the Archmage involuntarily loosened.
“Arrgh…”
Snapping back to reality due to the Archmage’s struggling, the knights’ faces displayed a mix of emotions—excitement, and disbelief.
“Are you… sure His Holiness is coming?”
One did not lie about such things.
His Holiness was so busy; how could he be coming when even the other Bishops were unavailable?
“I’m certain!”
The younger knight guaranteed immediately.
“I swear it on my Faith in the Goddess!”
Seeing the younger knight’s assurance, the others finally breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes filled with anticipation and fervor.
Aside from the time they had seen His Holiness up close when he bestowed their knighthoods, they had never had another chance to see him again! This was a rare opportunity.
“His Holiness is here!”
Amidst their anxious and expectant waiting, the younger knight ran in from outside, his face flushed with excitement.
Outside, Muxuan looked at the humble house, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped inside.
The moment he entered the room, a pungent odor—a mixture of blood, decay, and the metallic scent of rust—assaulted his senses.
Several knights were struggling to suppress a thrashing figure.
The tattered mage robes on the man still showed hints of former elegance, and the dim Archmage badge on his chest barely served as proof of his identity.
Muxuan’s gaze narrowed slightly as he walked toward the man and slowly knelt down.
“His Holiness!”
When the knights saw Muxuan, they were extremely excited and fervent, but they did not dare to relax their grip in the slightest.
They could not cause trouble for His Holiness or leave a bad impression!
Glancing over the weary faces of the knights, Muxuan nodded in approval.
He then looked at the Archmage who was being held down.
The man’s condition was abysmal.
He was terrifyingly thin, his skin an unhealthy grayish-white.
A large, constantly writhing tumor grew from his forehead, as if something were struggling to emerge from beneath the skin.
Incoherent, raspy sounds came from his throat, occasionally interspersed with broken phrases like “Goblins… ugh!”
His clouded eyes were filled with pain and madness.
Muxuan frowned slightly.
As he lowered the tip of his Crosier, a soft golden halo instantly spread out like an invisible barrier, isolating the interior of the small house from the outside.
The thick, sickening scent of Corruption was immediately dispelled by the Lightforce.
He stepped forward, his gaze wary as he examined the distorted figure of the Archmage on the ground.
This matter seemed more serious than he had anticipated.
“Let him go.”
Muxuan’s voice was calm but carried an unquestionable authority.
The knights obeyed and released their hold, but they remained in a semi-circle, warily watching the Archmage.
Once freed, the Archmage did not attack immediately.
Instead, he curled into a ball, his body trembling violently.
He gripped his Head tightly with both hands, his fingernails digging deep bloody furrows into the tumor on his forehead as he let out agonized whimpers.
Qiansitelin entered the room silently, standing half a step to the side and slightly in front of Muxuan.
Her aura was heavy, and her expression was solemn.
‘Very dangerous.’
That was Qiansitelin’s first impression.
Staring intently at the Archmage, she lowered her voice and said to Muxuan, “Your Highness, that thing in his forehead… it’s very dangerous.”
Muxuan nodded, his eyes also filled with caution as he looked at the Archmage.
He could feel that the man’s Corruption was not just simple pollution; it was mixed with a very strange power.
Muxuan raised his Crosier again.
The light at the tip solidified into a sharp arrow of light, which then directly pierced the tumor on the Archmage’s forehead.
*Squelch—*
A dull, wet tearing sound rang out, like a leather bag full of rot being punctured.
The surrounding knights instinctively moved back, holding their breaths.
Dark red, tainted blood sprayed from the wound, carrying a suffocating stench and an even more terrifying level of Corruption.
This Corruption was over ten times more concentrated than before.
Even though Muxuan had used a Lightforce barrier to isolate them, the knights still felt a wave of dizziness and nausea, their faces turning pale as they retreated another step.
The spray of tainted blood did not last long and was firmly contained by the Lightforce barrier.
The light arrow seemed to cause more than just physical damage; the Lightforce it contained acted like a white-hot brand, remaining in the wound and constantly searing whatever was inside the tumor.
“Aaaaaagh—”
An inhuman scream, a mix of high-pitched shrieks and the sound of grinding metal, erupted from the Archmage’s throat.
His curled body suddenly snapped straight and convulsed violently, as if he were enduring unbearable agony.
The veins on the backs of his hands bulged, and his clouded eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
As the light arrow dissipated and the blood spray subsided, an unknown metal block with a dark metallic luster was revealed within the tumor.
“All of you, get out.”
Looking around, Muxuan’s voice dropped low.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the knights immediately responded.
“Praise the Light!”
They left one after another.
“His Holiness is truly powerful!”
“Of course! When His Holiness descended from the sky back then…”
Faint sounds of discussion drifted in from outside, causing a slight smile to touch Qiansitelin’s otherwise solemn face.
“Your Highness, they truly revere you.”
She looked at Muxuan with a mischievous grin.
“Could you show me too? I’d like to see Your Highness descend from the sky as well.”
Seeing the smirk on Qiansitelin’s face, Muxuan’s lips twitched, his tone a bit helpless.
“Enough. Get ready. Now we have to deal with this thing.”
As he spoke, Muxuan felt a sense of relief.
If he hadn’t come, or if it had been a Bishop, they wouldn’t have been able to resolve this.
Once it exploded, not only would this small base suffer, but even the large-scale bases nearby would be impacted.
‘Goblins… hmph.’
Putting those thoughts aside, golden light poured from Muxuan’s body as he stood up and moved his fingers.
The golden light quickly transformed into fine threads that wrapped around the tumor on the Archmage’s forehead.
The moment the golden threads tightened, a burst of malicious impact suddenly erupted from the metal block!
This impact carried an indescribable coldness, spreading indiscriminately into the surroundings.
Muxuan had been prepared.
The Lightforce around him instantly enveloped the Archmage, isolating the impact.
Qiansitelin frowned.
Just as she was about to speak, the Archmage’s body arched violently, and he let out a piercing, shrill scream.
At the wound on his forehead, the dark metal block began to “writhe” intensely, threatening to break free from the golden threads at any moment.
Several black tentacles shimmering with a cold metallic light pierced through the flesh around the metal block, lashing out wildly and severing the golden threads.
After cutting the threads, the tentacles did not attack Muxuan.
Instead, as if they possessed an independent consciousness, they quickly lunged toward the Archmage’s temples and carotid arteries—two fatal points.
‘A destructive self-destruct command…?’
“Hmph!”
Muxuan snorted coldly, and an even more massive amount of Lightforce surged from his body.
It traveled along the severed golden threads, causing them to extend instantly and wrap tightly around the tentacles emerging from the metal block.
Then, a tooth-aching sound of corrosion rang out.
Thick black smoke billowed from the surface of the metal block, and its dark luster faded at a visible rate.
The Archmage’s violent convulsions stopped, and he went limp on the ground, leaving only weak, death-like gasps.
The golden threads once again covered the wound on his forehead.
Under the searing Lightforce, the metal block in the tumor continued to emit black gas before slowly dissipating.
“Goblins…”
Muxuan’s eyes turned cold.
The scenes he had witnessed in The Prison had already earned the Goblins a spot on his list, and now they had pulled another stunt.
These Goblins… they truly were capable of anything.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
Standing by his side, Qiansitelin’s eyes were filled with both gravity and concern.
She now detested the Goblins to the extreme as well.
“I’m fine.”
Muxuan took a deep breath, suppressing the rising anger in his heart as he slowly stood straight.
He glanced at the dying Archmage on the ground and waved his Crosier.
Points of golden light fell like rain, covering the Archmage’s body and slowly healing his wounds.
“The Corruption has been cleared. For now, there shouldn’t be any issues. As for the mental shock… that will depend on him.”
Muxuan was powerless regarding the man’s mental exhaustion.
When he would wake up depended entirely on himself.
Furthermore, this Archmage might know something about the whereabouts of the Goblins.
He couldn’t handle the trouble at the underground palace yet, but surely he could handle Goblins in other places?
After staring at the Archmage for a moment, Muxuan looked at Qiansitelin.
“Should we wait a bit longer, or… perform a full-scale search?”
Muxuan’s low voice caused Qiansitelin to blink in surprise.
But once she understood his intent, she let out a smile.
“Your Highness, there’s no need to rush. The reproductive capacity of Goblins is extremely strong. Even in this environment full of Black Mist, their numbers are massive. Besides, we don’t have enough manpower right now. A full search isn’t realistic.”
Looking at Qiansitelin’s smile, Muxuan fell silent.
But when his gaze shifted back to the Archmage on the ground, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
That metal block had carried a trace of a connection.
With Qiansitelin’s abilities, tracking it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Then… we’ll go with a targeted strike!”