Adair offered words of comfort. “Don’t worry, Father Kuang Ruo, Ye Xi and Dean will surely rescue you from this predicament.”
Dean scratched his head, a hint of reluctance in his voice. “If that Berserker Potion is truly as miraculous as you say, I might be able to escape on my own. But to ask me to bring someone along… Honestly, I’m still recovering from old injuries. Without my former strength, I might very well fail.”
Kuang Ruo, forced to place his hope in someone who offered little, looked uncertainly at Ye Xi. He found her eyes gleaming with an unnerving light.
Noticing his gaze, Ye Xi spoke with a serious, almost solemn expression. “Father Kuang Ruo, the time has come for you to dedicate yourself to the organization, to the people, and to the very value of your existence.”
Kuang Ruo cried out, his voice laced with despair. “Are you just wishing for my death?”
Ye Xi shook her head gently. “Don’t say that. I merely hope your death will be a valuable one.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Kuang Ruo shouted, his voice echoing. “You all heard that, right? Expecting this venomous woman to save me is utterly impossible!”
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Ye Xi deliberately spoke, “Please do not slander others in such a way. Sister Celine once told me I possess a heart as pure as an angel’s.”
Believing Celine to be absent, Kuang Ruo scoffed, his words brazen. “Heh, Celine? Can anything that violent tigress says be trusted? Aside from her limbs, all her other sensory organs are highly questionable!”
At this declaration, everyone present scattered. They put as much distance between themselves and Kuang Ruo as possible.
Dean dragged the Duke, who was still seated in his chair, to a corner of the room. Adair, meanwhile, swiftly hid behind Ye Xi.
Left Enforcer, pressing himself against the wall, gave Kuang Ruo a thumbs-up. “Brother, I apologize. Just now, I looked down on you for being a coward, but who knew you were the real man here? If your sensory organs are still intact after this, I’ll buy you drinks and take you to a brothel!”
Kuang Ruo gasped, a chill running down his spine. Even without seeing the others’ abnormal reactions, he could feel the bone-chilling, dark, and terrifying aura emanating from outside the room.
His body trembling, Kuang Ruo slowly turned towards the doorway. There, Celine stood, her brass knuckles already adorned, staring intently at him.
Kuang Ruo: ‘●﹏●’
Overcome with terror, Kuang Ruo stammered, his words barely coherent. “Th-that, that, that…!”
Celine advanced towards Kuang Ruo step by agonizing step. The moment she entered the room, the entire indoor temperature plummeted below freezing.
“This is my house… Uh, please, make yourself at home, demolish whatever you wish! I have money!”
The Duke had initially intended to display his authority and protect his lavishly decorated home. However, Celine merely cast a glance his way, and he instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, repeatedly admonishing himself internally: ‘Wealth is external; preserving my life is the utmost priority.’
“Please, allow me a chance to explain… Wah, ah, ah!”
Celine was beyond words to express her fury towards Kuang Ruo. It seemed he hadn’t courted death enough, as her brass-knuckle-clad fist directly slammed into him.
The scene was utterly brutal. Kuang Ruo’s screams pierced the heavens, while the others in the room shivered, watching the terrifying spectacle. Only Ye Xi wore a smile, a chilling sight, as she murmured, “So that’s how it is. It can be done like this.”
Adair, still hiding behind Ye Xi, shivered. This prompted Ye Xi to turn and look at him with a gentle smile.
“Master, you seem to be afraid? Why? It’s not you who’s being beaten.”
“Afraid? No, no, no.” Adair maintained his dignity, stubbornly insisting, “It’s just a little cold; my body hasn’t quite adjusted. Speaking of which, Ye Xi, you don’t really need to learn this. You’re perfectly fine as you are.”
“No, one must always strive to improve and overcome shortcomings. And besides,” Ye Xi said, cupping her cheek as she looked at the battered Kuang Ruo, “it seems this can ensure certain people won’t act like absolute scoundrels for a very long time.”
Adair’s heart shattered at that moment.
****
An hour later, Celine, holding the unrecognizable, swollen Kuang Ruo, addressed Adair and the others. “I just arrived and don’t fully understand what you need Kuang Ruo for. But it’s alright; I’ve agreed on his behalf. I’ll take him to the church for healing now. There’s still enough time, so I’ll give him another beating.”
Everyone nodded in unison, watching Celine drag Kuang Ruo away.
Adair surveyed the room. The luxurious hall, crafted from high-grade materials, was now a complete wreck. The elaborately carved ceiling had several large holes, the expensive marble floor was riddled with craters, and all the tables and chairs, save for the one the Duke still occupied, had been reduced to splinters. The entire room had transformed into a junkyard.
“Uh.” Left Enforcer looked at the still-startled Duke Buzz. “Can we switch rooms?”
“Switch rooms? Oh, yes, yes, yes, a new room! This is too damn terrifying.” Buzz stumbled out, then suddenly turned back to Left Enforcer. “She seemed to be wearing your Sacred Hall’s nun’s habit. Could it be…?”
“No.” Left Enforcer vehemently denied it, maintaining a professional smile. “She is Father Kuang Ruo’s confidante. She simply thought our Sacred Hall’s nun’s habits were of good quality and quite attractive, so she wore one. We are quite distressed by this, but she absolutely does not represent the image of a Great Sacred Hall nun. If you don’t believe me, think of Sister Meryl. How could nuns from the same church be so vastly different? They are, after all, nurtured under the same doctrine; their personalities couldn’t possibly be so diametrically opposed.”
Duke Buzz seemed convinced. He was quite familiar with Sister Meryl and had a very deep impression of her: gentle, considerate, approachable, always wearing a warm smile that made people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze. How could that violent, merciless, cruel, large-breasted, beautiful woman possibly be a nun of the Sacred Hall? Haha, it was impossible.
Holding this thought, Buzz arranged another room for Left Enforcer and the others. Then, he suddenly remembered a crucial question: if the woman in the nun’s habit wasn’t from the Great Sacred Hall, who should he seek for compensation for his property damage?
Buzz felt a jolt of fear recalling Celine’s demonic appearance. After some thought, he said to Dean, “Later, you go and discuss the compensation with that woman. Not too much, just ask her to cover a tenth of the property damage.”
Considering Dean’s personal safety, Buzz no longer expected Celine to pay the full amount. But Dean flatly refused. “Don’t even think about it! Are you trying to get me killed?”
Buzz, displeased that his most capable subordinate was such a coward, retorted, “Are you even a man?”
Dean scoffed. “You’re a man too, why don’t you go yourself?”
“Cough, cough.” The Duke awkwardly cleared his throat. “How can I, a Duke, contend with a mere woman? It would diminish my status too much.”
“You’re worried about status; I’m worried about my life. With her close-quarters combat skills, I’m afraid if my feet aren’t fast enough, I’ll be left there permanently.”
“Are you still my most trusted subordinate?”
“Not anymore! Our ties are broken!”
“You…”
Dean and Buzz bickered over who should approach Celine for money. Behind them, Adair quietly asked Left Enforcer, “Is Sister Celine really that powerful? Father Kuang Ruo didn’t even fight back when he was beaten like that.”
“Celine’s close-quarters combat is utterly crushing for Kuang Ruo. Even a Sealed Knight wouldn’t want to be tormented by Celine like that. If he doesn’t resist, she just hits to keep him alive. If he dares to fight back, she truly beats him to death.”
“But I remember Sister Celine specialized in chainswords, didn’t she?”
“That’s right, Celine was indeed stronger with chainswords at first. But later, three imbeciles voluntarily became punching bags, accompanying her to practice combat techniques. So now, when Celine wants to kill, she uses her chainsword; when she wants to beat someone, she uses her brass knuckles.”
Adair vaguely recognized the identities of two of them.
“Those three imbeciles are…”
Left Enforcer chuckled. “You’ve already seen two of them. If fate allows, you’ll see the last one with your own eyes.”
****
After Kuang Ruo’s ‘eager’ agreement, matters became surprisingly simple. All they needed was for Kuang Ruo to administer the Berserker Potion to that creature, then assign two people to restrain its movements. After that, they could simply wait for the creature to burn through its own life force.
Ye Xi and Dean, the prime candidates for restraining the creature, readily agreed. Although the potion would triple its abilities, neither Dean nor Ye Xi believed that a mindless plant creature, even with a threefold power increase, could pose a threat to them. Its attack trajectory and methods wouldn’t change, meaning at most, the time needed for evasive maneuvers would simply increase.
Duke Buzz and Adair would observe the battle from a kilometer away, while the Heresy Inquisition Squad would be responsible for handling any unforeseen circumstances. With the operational plan confirmed, the members of the Heresy Inquisition Squad returned to the church to increase the dosage of the Berserker Potion, ensuring the creature would burn out even faster.
Duke Buzz and Dean argued until the very end without deciding who should go claim the compensation. Ultimately, Duke Buzz, with a flash of shrewdness, said to Left Enforcer, “Consider that small amount of compensation as your reward. After all, she’s so familiar with your church; you’ll certainly have an easier time collecting it.”
‘No, it won’t be easy for us at all.’ Left Enforcer felt his bones turn to jelly just thinking about asking the still-furious Celine for money.
“Alright, alright,” he said, agreeing on the surface. This amount of money was truly insignificant. He heard Celine was about to resume her ‘business,’ and he expected many masochists would be lining up to hand her money.
Just as Left Enforcer was preparing to leave, a small, adorable creature suddenly rushed in. It was Yuzu, who had been missing since the operational meeting began. They charged directly into Ye Xi’s arms, then provocatively barked at the commotion behind them.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
From the direction Yuzu had turned their head, a cacophony of barking dogs also echoed. Ye Xi looked over, spotting several noble breed dogs running towards them with an aggressive demeanor.
Though they didn’t move erratically upon seeing Yuzu hide in Ye Xi’s embrace, they all glared at Yuzu with furious eyes. Ye Xi also noticed that some parts of these dogs’ bodies appeared to be losing fur, with skin exposed, making these normally highly ornamental purebreds look rather grotesque.
Duke Buzz looked over, and upon seeing the dogs’ pitiful state, he cried out in alarm. “Jieke, Limu… What happened to you all!”
Following them, several pet handlers arrived, panting. Seeing Duke Buzz’s tearful expression, they stood awkwardly to the side, unsure of what to say.