Chapter 188: Chapter 186: Just When Nothing Was Supposed to Happen, the Unexpected Occurred

After Walter and Vanessa got a handle on the situation, he led the six heretics away.

Before leaving, he gave Vanessa a particularly meaningful look, his eyes filled with shock and awe.

In most regions, the Divine Hall and the Lord are natural rivals. Their respective powers are frequently balanced—something the Holy Court deliberately set up to keep the local Lords in check.

Walter had always thought Vanessa was, like him, a Tier Three Mage.

But after this battle, he realized she was not only Tier Four, but far from an ordinary Tier Four at that.

That was pretty awkward.

Walter couldn’t help but recall all the things Vanessa had done over the years.

She never fought or vied for anything, just quietly did her duties as the High Priest each day, never interfering with his rule over Star Ash Town. Only when he tried to do something out of line would she step in and stop him.

Walter felt deeply grateful—grateful that, every time Vanessa stood out, he gave her enough respect for not contending for his assets, and didn’t push her any further. Otherwise, Star Ash Town’s Lord might have been switched a long time ago.

That said, if she’s already Tier Four, why not go to a big city like Southern Border City to be a bishop, and instead stay in this backwater as a High Priest? What’s Vanessa really after?

Walter couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.

...

The ruins of the Divine Hall.

After Walter left, Vanessa casually tossed the shark aside into a corner and turned to Hilia.

"Alright, spill it. What exactly happened?"

She looked at Hilia. Her gaze was still gentle, but there was a trace of sternness beneath the warmth.

Hilia bowed her head, looking very much like she was admitting her mistake: "I really don’t know. I just went to the Star Spirit Forbidden Land on an adventure, accidentally found a Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association base, destroyed it, then came home and treated patients with you."

"You went to the Star Spirit Forbidden Land and even found a Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association base?"

Vanessa was surprised.

Is that base really so easy to find?

She had lived here for decades and had never discovered a heretic base nearby.

Well, maybe Hilia just got lucky.

Vanessa asked, "You destroyed their base, and that’s why they came to the Divine Hall?"

Hilia shook her head, looking especially innocent: "Obviously not. Remember what they said when they came? They said they wanted us to help treat them..."

Vanessa nodded, "Yeah, I recall. That Tier Four heretic lost control as soon as he saw you, said you’d stolen their God-given Spiritual Object. What was it?"

Hilia took out the Sea God Divine Fragment, "This—it’s a very rare Heart of the Magic Puppet."

Vanessa reached out to take it, but Hilia quickly blocked her:

"Don’t! A high-intensity Heart of the Magic Puppet will impact the soul. If you touch it, you’ll pass out. If your soul is weak enough, you’ll even die!"

Vanessa paused, then smiled, "But you’re totally fine, aren’t you, Hilia? If you’re fine, I’m sure I will be too!"

Hilia still shook her head resolutely: "No way! My soul’s been strengthened by a God, so I can withstand it. But Vanessa Mom, your soul hasn’t been strengthened—if anything happened to you, I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life!"

Seeing how determined Hilia was, Vanessa had no choice but to give up.

She looked thoughtfully at the Sea God Divine Fragment, as if suddenly understanding something: "So, maybe they weren’t tracking you at all, but just happened to see you carrying this Heart of the Magic Puppet when they came for treatment and recognized you."

Hilia nodded repeatedly, "Yes! That has to be it!"

Off to the side, Rose simply smiled in silence.

He knew perfectly well those heretics would pursue them, as long as the Sea God wanted that Divine Fragment back.

Of course, he wasn’t about to say that.

When it came to the Sea God, the less Hilia knew, the better.

After all, the Holy Court now worshiped the Main God and the Twelve Main Gods.

Granted, it was strange that the Sea God ignored the Holy Court’s Power of Faith and went to absorb faith among the heretics instead.

All those questions would only be answered if they ever met that Sea God in person.

"Well, looks like it really wasn’t your fault. But next time you do something like this, report it to me first. If I hadn’t just advanced to Tier Four by chance, those heretics would’ve massacred all the people in Star Ash Town."

"I really didn’t expect anything like this to happen."

Hilia was exceptionally sincere in admitting her mistake at this moment.

Of course, confessing was one thing, shirking responsibility was another—and that was absolutely necessary.

Either way, this was all the heretics’ fault!

After filling Vanessa in on what had happened yesterday, she also mentioned that she’d already reported the situation to Holy Court headquarters.

Vanessa nodded, "Good. The Divine Hall was due for repairs anyway. Now that it’s destroyed, we might as well rebuild it from scratch."

"But before reconstruction, help me retrieve all the important things from inside the Divine Hall! Now! Immediately!"

"You got it, Vanessa Mom!"

The rescue efforts got underway with fiery enthusiasm.

Of course, the rescue targets weren’t people, but all the archives and valuables inside the Divine Hall.

The two Assistant Priests saw this and came to help as well.

But their physical strength wasn’t as good as Hilia, Vanessa, or the two’s Magic Puppets.

The Magic Puppets were the main force for searching through the ruins.

Hilia suddenly thought of something: "Oh, right, Vanessa Mom, didn’t that Tier Four heretic have a Magic Puppet?"

"He did. I took it apart. I even scattered its Magic Puppet Heart," Vanessa said gently.

Hilia: "..."

Vanessa laughed, "His Magic Puppet was totally corrupted, driven only by pollution. Its Heart of the Magic Puppet was the same—useless to us. Better to scrap it all."

Hilia replied, "I see. I’d thought to dismantle his Magic Puppet for parts to sell, to cover the Divine Hall’s losses."

Vanessa said, "It’s fine. A Tier Four heretic is worth much more than his Magic Puppet."

Hilia nodded and fell silent again.

That Tier Four heretic was still lying off to the side like a stray dog.

As the two Assistant Priests carried stuff past him, they’d give him a couple of kicks to show their disdain.

Hilia didn’t kick; she didn’t want to dirty her shoes.

While they searched the ruins, outside a large crowd of townsfolk had gathered. Every so often, warm-hearted people came over to ask if they needed help.

"High Priest Vanessa has helped us so much! It’s only right that we help you clean up!"

"Yeah! High Priest Vanessa has always done so much for us—now it’s our turn to help you!"

"These damned heretics, coming to the Divine Hall to cause trouble! Tui!"

Faced with so much goodwill, Vanessa could only helplessly use Magic Power to boost her voice so everyone could hear: "It’s not that we don’t want your help, it’s just that the heretics destroyed the Divine Hall and left a lot of pollution behind. If you touch it, you’ll get sick—or worse, shorten your lifespan and grow old fast.

"I appreciate everyone’s kindness, but as Mages, this is our job. You all just get on with yours."

Someone shouted, "If the High Priest won’t let us help, why don’t we bring lanterns to light up the place for her instead?"

"Great! I happen to have crystal lamps at home!"

The townsfolk scattered noisily, going about their preparations.

Hilia couldn’t help but smile.

So nice...

But the next moment, her smile froze.

Because Rose’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind:

"A heretic has escaped."