Wubika Kachi returned to the church from Kachi Village.
She still wore a warm smile, but deep in her brows hid a barely noticeable seriousness.
The situation was even worse than she had imagined.
The blessing on Fula came directly from a god; that pure and vast divinity simply could not be removed by her own power alone.
She had hoped to help His Majesty achieve his goal, eliminate all hidden dangers around the Hero, and cut off the possibility of the Hero’s growth.
Yet she still failed because of her own weakness.
The simplest way was to kill Fula directly, but she understood that His Majesty absolutely would not want that to happen.
Kakaki did not overestimate herself; she first knocked Fula unconscious, and then immediately wanted to find the Demon King to handle it.
But she heard from Lisina that the Demon King had already come to the church with the two bishops, saying he had some business to attend to.
She had no choice but to follow back.
“Did someone come today? Everyone looks so happy.”
“Sister Mary, you just got back, you don’t know yet? The Saintess has appeared! This is a blessing from God. Our Holy Order will surely thrive!”
“Yes, yes! I never thought I would get to see the Saintess’s countenance. It’s such an honor. I feel this life is worth it!”
“The Saintess’s beauty is unmatched, her bearing pure and ethereal. Even if a god descended, it would be no different!”
Listening to everyone speak one after another, wholeheartedly praising the Demon King, Wubika Kachi’s smile froze slightly, and for a moment she did not know how to respond.
She could only listen silently, and finally managed to learn of the “Saintess’s” whereabouts.
“The Saintess has already gone out. It seems she went to destroy a heretics’ hideout, and took many Temple Knights and Battle Nuns with her. If you need to see her, you’ll probably have to wait a while.”
“I understand.”
Kakaki’s expression darkened. She felt that luck was not on her side.
‘It seems the news about Fula cannot be conveyed to His Majesty immediately.’
‘She also could not actively go out to search.’
‘After all, in the church, she was disguised as an inconspicuous little nun. Just asking about the Saintess now was already attracting enough attention.’
‘This identity of hers was not suitable for being too conspicuous.’
‘It seemed… she could only wait for His Majesty to return.’
“Here, is this the heretics’ stronghold recorded in the intelligence?”
Vylian stood at the edge of a dense forest, followed by dozens of Temple Knights and Battle Nuns.
According to the intelligence, it was listed as a “suspected stronghold,” but in her eyes, the credibility had already exceeded seventy percent.
Her intangible Mental Power surged out like a tidal wave, thoroughly searching the entire area.
Soon, she locked onto an unusual spot deep in the forest.
Someone had set up an Illusion Array there, with extremely strong concealment. Ordinary people could not detect it at all, but under her investigation, it had nowhere to hide.
“Lady Saintess.” The Captain of the Temple Knights stepped forward, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation and doubt.
“Isn’t it too reckless for us to make such a grand display? With Holy Light blazing the path all the way, the commotion is huge. Probably everyone along the route knows the Holy Order is coming to purge the heretics.”
In his view, the safest way to completely wipe out heretics was to approach quietly and catch them off guard.
That would prevent them from escaping or laying traps in advance.
The Lady Saintess was truly too young and lacked combat experience.
“None of that matters.” Vylian waved her hand indifferently.
“Our mission this time is not only to purge heretics but also to spread the Holy Order’s radiance and justice to the people. Let them see with their own eyes what we are doing. Only then can we win the people’s hearts and gather more faith.”
“But what if they run away? And we don’t know what methods these heretics have. If they are prepared, we might fall into a passive position…”
“They won’t escape.”
Vylian did not explain much.
She had already locked down the entire forest with her Magic Power in an instant.
Whether they tried to flee through underground tunnels or used a Teleportation Array to get away, they could not escape her control.
The Captain of the Temple Knights was momentarily speechless, anxious and frustrated.
He did not know whether the Lady Saintess was confident or arrogant, but he grimly shut his mouth.
After all, he was merely a Temple Knight and had no right to interfere with the Lady Saintess’s decisions.
He could only silently prepare for unexpected situations.
Soon, everyone arrived at the edge of the Illusion Array.
Vylian did not hesitate. She raised her hand and gathered a pure Holy Light, with no incantation, no preparation.
A dazzling pillar of light instantly fell from the sky, slamming into the location of the array with earth-shattering force.
A thunderous roar filled the air, and dust flew everywhere.
Where the light pillar landed, it blasted a huge crater. The surrounding trees were vaporized instantly, and the Illusion Array shattered under the Holy Light’s assault.
A chunk of the forest was blown clean away, and the ground was overturned several layers deep.
If there had been any traps or hidden sentries inside, they would have been completely vaporized by that extreme Holy Light.
Only in the center of the crater did a thick stone door inside a cave remain intact under the impact of the light pillar.
Vylian had deliberately held back; she was not trying to blast straight into the ground and annihilate everyone.
The Temple Knights and Battle Nuns behind her were already stunned, their weapons nearly slipping from their hands.
What level of power was this?!
That Holy Light Pillar falling from the sky like a waterfall was nothing short of a miracle from a god descending!
This was the Lady Saintess? So strong it was frightening.
No wonder she said nothing else mattered—it was because the Lady Saintess was already so powerful that no schemes or tricks needed to be taken seriously.
Vylian paid no attention to the amazement behind her. Carrying the Holy Maiden Staff, she walked slowly toward the stone door.
For some reason, she thought that villains really liked using caves as secret bases. Once inside, there would surely be a vast open space, with an altar for offering sacrifices to gods in the center.
She gently raised her hand and pushed casually.
The indestructible stone door, which ordinary people would need to work together to move, crashed to the ground.
Vylian expressionlessly walked slowly into the cave.
The Temple Knights and Battle Nuns behind her snapped back to reality and quickly composed themselves to follow closely.
“Die, you dogs of the False God!”
Suddenly, several dark figures leaped out from the shadows on both sides of the cave. They were all dressed in black robes, exuding a dense yet strange aura of life.
Armed with various weapons, they instantly surrounded Vylian and her group, their eyes filled with madness and killing intent.
The Temple Knights and Battle Nuns hastily formed a defensive circle, assuming combat stances to protect Vylian at the center.
Everyone’s faces turned grim. They had indeed stepped into a trap.
The overall strength of these heretics was far greater than they had anticipated.
The Holy Order’s elites were in the central region, so combat power in this remote mountain area was naturally not very strong.
But for these heretics, this place was their important stronghold.
The difference in conditions was also the fundamental reason the Holy Order found it so hard to completely eradicate the heretics.
They began to think: the Lady Saintess should not have been so reckless. Charging into the enemy’s base without any preparation—what was the difference between that and walking to her death?
That attack just now was indeed shocking, but it had failed to harm the heretics’ foundation.
Now, trapped in the narrow cave, the Lady Saintess’s Holy Light power would probably be difficult to use effectively.
They had seen too many mages from noble families who could unleash astonishing power in open spaces but became completely restrained in confined areas, their combat power sharply reduced.
The situation was urgent. The Captain of the Temple Knights did not have time to think further and immediately commanded in a deep voice.
“Knights, construct Battle Aura shields to protect the nuns! Nuns, start chanting immediately to boost combat power!”
“Hmph, don’t waste your energy on futile resistance!” one of the black-robed figures shouted, his eyes full of mockery.
“This is our home ground. We will receive the Protection of Life God! How dare you barge in so arrogantly—looks like you don’t take us seriously!”
As soon as he finished, the mages among the black-robed figures began chanting.
Eerie incantations echoed through the cave. Their chanting speed was more than twice as fast as the Holy Order’s nuns.
Cold sweat trickled down the Captain of the Temple Knights’ forehead.
At the very least, the Lady Saintess must not fall into the heretics’ hands.
“Lady Saintess, your subordinates will do everything in their power to open an escape route for you. Please leave immediately and find the Archbishop for help!”
Vylian lowered her eyes, looking at the knight captain whose face was set with determination. Her tone was flat.
“There’s no need for that.”