Chapter 323 - 036: Transformation
Chapter 323: 036: Transformation
The Magic Fire Pit burned fiercely, and the leaping flames cast long shadows across the walls.
“Father!”
Leonard’s reverent voice echoed in the quiet hall.
Erodion nodded slightly, “There’s only the two of us here. Better call me ’teacher’ instead.”
Leonard replied, “Yes, teacher.”
Erodion then asked, “Speak. What’s the matter?”
Leonard said, “All preparations are complete. The church is already awaiting our command. What do you think…”
Erodion remained silent and instead raised his head to gaze at the galaxy overhead.
At the same time, a coil of flame gradually enveloped his body and ascended, slithering like a serpent. As his hand extended skyward, a burst of fire immediately erupted, sketching an astral diagram in the air.
Erodion squinted at the diagram, comparing it to the constellations above for a few moments.
Then, he nodded, “Begin.”
…
In a remote and unnamed village within the Seven Kingdoms.
“Hear ye, people of this village! You are hereby conscripted by Baron Ackerman. All men taller than a wagon wheel are to come forth immediately to follow the Baron to Storm Canyon for battle!”
A knight on a tall horse charged into the village with several soldiers, cracking his whip as he issued commands. Behind him, the emblematic banner of noble authority stood high and fluttered in the wind.
The villagers frowned as unease spread through the crowd.
An elder stepped forward humbly, saying, “Honorable Knight, our village has already been conscripted three times. The older men are nearly all dead, and only some half-grown children remain. Could it be…”
“Shut up!”
The knight’s sharp voice interrupted him. Without hesitation, he lashed the elder fiercely with his whip, sending him flying.
The knight declared imperiously, “The war is upon us, and this battle is crucial to the Ackerman family’s honor. As subjects of the Ackerman family, it is your duty to heed the Baron’s summons. Fighting for the family’s glory is a privilege you should feel honored to bear!”
Several nearby villagers quickly ran forward to assist the fallen elder, helping him up. Meanwhile, a half-grown boy stepped out, angrily shouting, “Why did you hit him?!”
The knight’s fury flared instantly, “A filthy peasant dares to speak to me with such tone?!”
“It seems you rabble need a lesson in knowing who’s master here!”
With that, he drew his Cross Sword and kicked his mount’s belly. The warhorse neighed sharply and charged directly towards the boy.
The crowd turned pale with fear, and the boy froze in terror, rooted to the spot.
Just as catastrophe seemed inevitable, the piercing whistle of arrows suddenly erupted.
“Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!”
A volley of arrows came from the knight’s flank and rear, striking him and sending him tumbling from his horse.
From the other side of the village emerged a group of people.
They wore matching leather armor with a cross emblem etched onto their chests, their expressions solemn and dignified.
The knight scrambled to his feet in a panic. “Who are you?!”
“Clang!”
A cold metallic sound answered him, as a middle-aged man drew his Cross Sword and leapt forward, lunging at the knight.
The knight’s expression shifted as he hurriedly raised his sword to parry.
“Clang!”
The clash resounded sharply.
The Cross Sword etched radiant lines of cold light in the air.
The fight lasted only a few brief exchanges. A deep gash opened across the knight’s neck, blood spurting uncontrollably.
The knight clutched his neck, choking out incredulously, “A… High-level Knight…”
With that, his body convulsed before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
The soldiers accompanying the knight were also routed by this group, and the noble banner had fallen to the earth.
Defying the Lord’s conscription and killing the knight sent to deliver the summons was unequivocally a grave crime. By the law of the land, every single peasant here would deserve to be executed by hanging.
Yet, there was no fear or regret on the faces of the villagers. Instead, as they stared at the dying knight, their expressions unanimously carried a sense of satisfaction.
“Grandpa! Boo hoo! Grandpa! Wake up!”
A heartbreaking cry rang out as a young girl threw herself onto the fallen elder, weeping.
The elder, already advanced in age, had been flung by the knight’s whip and now lay motionless on the ground, seemingly gravely injured.
“Child, do not fear. Let me take a look.”
Just then, a gentle voice spoke as an older man stepped forward from the group. He wore a ceremonial crown and a white robe, holding a long golden staff in his hands. His body exuded an aura of divinity.
This was a priest from the Freemasonry Church, someone the villagers had regularly sought for blessings. It was he who had first brought the teachings to this village.
The priest approached the elder, extending his palm. A sphere of white radiance quickly formed within his hand, enveloping the elder below. The elder’s injuries began healing at a visible rate.
Before long, the elder regained consciousness.
“A miracle! It’s a miracle!”
“The Divine has manifested! The Divine has manifested!”
The little girl cried out in gratitude, “Thank you, thank you, priest. You saved my grandpa.”
The priest smiled kindly, “No need to thank me, child. It was Father who spared your grandpa. I simply carry His will.”
Then, the priest turned to face the villagers.
He raised his golden staff high, the gemstone at its head refracting dazzling rainbows in the sunlight. His aged voice carried an uncanny resonance, akin to a church bell tolling inside each person’s chest:
“Take a look at these whip marks!” He suddenly tore open his white robe, revealing a back crisscrossed with savage scars, old and new intertwining like a web. “Twenty-five years ago, I too was the son of a blacksmith. Because I refused to surrender our last half bag of wheat, the Lord’s steward strung me on the village gallows and whipped me thirty times—right over your village gate’s oak tree!”
The crowd gasped audibly, and several elders clutched their mouths—recognizing the distinct Y-shaped scar.
“But Father showed me the truth!” The priest flung his arms wide, his white robe flapping like a dove taking flight in the breeze. “The Nobles are not born rulers—they are thorns parasitizing your flesh and blood! They measure infants with chains, reap your sweat through famine, and decorate their castles with your corpses!”
Suddenly, his scepter erupted with dazzling holy flames, revealing illusory images within: pregnant farmers dragged away as tax collateral, crippled veterans rotting in castle trenches, children sobbing amidst burning fields.
“But the Holy Fire will burn away the thorns!” The priest stepped forward onto the noble family’s fallen banner, each step leaving white lilies blooming in the scorched earth.
“Father says, ’Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.’ Not crawling—but—” He abruptly shattered the knight’s armor with his staff. “Come wielding plows and hammers! Forge the oppressor’s castles into free men’s forges!”
The villagers’ pitchforks and scythes suddenly emitted faint glows, while the old blacksmith’s hammerhead shimmered with golden runes. The priest’s voice transformed into palpable waves of light, enveloping the entire village:
“Today, you are no longer Ackerman’s livestock, but the seeds of a new dawn! Follow the Holy Fire’s guidance to Storm Canyon—not to bleed for the Nobles—” He pointed his staff skyward, revealing a burning cross star in the clouds. “But to ignite the wildfire that will destroy all shackles!”
The tattered cloth doll in the little girl’s arms suddenly opened its jewel-like eyes, singing a bright hymn in a clear, childlike voice. More and more villagers joined in singing, their tools glowing brightly and forming a brilliant constellation, consuming the last remnants of the noble emblem.
…
Similar scenes unfolded across every corner of the Seven Kingdoms. The Freemasonry Church, which had previously worked in secret to grant spiritual solace to ordinary peasants, finally stepped into the spotlight, guiding the oppressed masses to declare war against the Nobles.
A sweeping reform that would forever alter the established order of the Seven Kingdoms was rapidly engulfing the land…