Chapter 615: Resistance of the Cult of the Crypt

Chapter 615: The Crypt Church's Defiance

The massive ladybug, carrying over twenty Order adjudicators, forged ahead, while the earth dragon followed slowly behind, its neck raised with an air of reserve and pride.

The subterranean highways were not built in the conventional sense; rather, road zones seemed to have been designated, where massive demonic beasts used their titanic bodies to grind the rocky ground perfectly smooth.

There was no road in the underground world to begin with, but as more beasts trod upon it, a road was formed.

Ahead appeared a structure with a domed roof resembling a theater, and from the grand entrance down to both sides of the road stood lizardmen soldiers clad in armor.

The lizardmen held a status akin to "cockroaches" in the underground world; they were immense in number and bred rapidly, and though they could not rival humans in intellect, they possessed a unique trait: they could evolve by devouring the bodies of their own kin.

Thus, beneath the feet of the armored lizardmen soldiers standing on either side of the road at this moment "lay" the corpses of many of their brethren.

Karen believed that when the Crypt Church chose the lizardmen race, they must have conducted thorough research, concluding that breeding them for use as low-level clergy offered the highest cost-effectiveness.

In fact, this method of cultivation was likely something the high officials of the Crypt Church had deliberately refined many years ago, solely to improve "rearing efficiency."

Looking at the faces beneath the helmets, which were almost indistinguishable from ordinary humans save for the single tail trailing behind their posteriors, Karen could not help but feel a wave of emotion; time and again, he had sensed darkness within the system governed by the Church of Order, yet that darkness always fell within the boundaries of his cognition, whereas the inner workings of other churches often dealt him a subversive shock.

One would subconsciously find it preposterous: why did such a model still operate in this world?

Yet such was the reality, or rather, this was the true countenance of the world constructed by the gods and the churches that adhered to them.

Where exactly did the Church of Samsara get all those skeletons of the deceased stored in the Valley of Samsara?

Was the first batch of indigenous inhabitants within the Gate of Samsara truly gathered piece by piece through the painstaking labor of the God of Samsara, who searched everywhere for the souls of those who died natural deaths?

And this method by which the Crypt Church bred lizardmen... if applied to human beings, could it not be used in the same way?

The ecclesiastical circles had always maintained a critical stance toward the God of Order's slaughter of deities at the end of the previous era, and even the Church of Order did not deliberately publicize this period of history;

The Church of Order's demand that other churches step back half a pace to leave room for the Laws of Order, coupled with the current absolute dominance of the Church of Order, had long since drawn dissatisfaction from the entire ecclesiastical world.

Yet the truth remained that without the powerful rise of the God of Order in the late era, and the aggressive expansion of the Church of Order in this era devoid of gods, the world could not possibly look like this.

Those local adjudicators of Order, holding the Laws of Order as they issued warnings, expulsions, and judgments against aberrant demons and believers of other churches, might now seem somewhat overly ritualistic, but in the earliest days, it was precisely those initial local adjudicators who, using the faith watered by their own blood and lives, forced back the influences of the other churches.

Therefore, if the major churches wished to engage in outrageous deeds nowadays, they could only choose to do so secretly within their core territories; outside, if things escalated or triggered some natural disaster, they would have to fear accountability from Order;

Precisely because of this, the society he beheld when he first opened his eyes in this world was one he could relate to and understand in most aspects, save for a lower level of technology.

But this was not something inherent or meant to be.

It was truly the God of Order and the Church of Order that had forcibly carved the secular world out of dark ignorance and protected it.

Karen closed his eyes, his fingertips tapping gently against the railing.

Sometimes, a single experience, a single scene, a single touch, could strike the depths of one's heart.

Those routinized, cliché, and formalized words, titles, and discourses were suddenly understood in their truest sense.

Karen had read the book *The Light of Order* several times; every church had its own *Light of Order*, differing only in name, but now, Karen wanted to find time to read this book once more.

For it was different; other churches often merely spun around in their own doctrines or worshiped a utopian realm of their own imagination, whereas the Church of Order alone had truly changed the world through practical action.

This was the true essence of Order.

The meaning of a church's existence was, paradoxically, to oppose divine intervention in this world.

Oh, what a twisted existence it was;

And yet,

It was truly quite lovely.

Karen smiled, and when he opened his eyes again, he found Dina staring at him with great gravity.

And in the distance, Lady Oggie and Icelee were also looking at him.

Hmm? What is it?

Miss Dina asked, "Were you just... gaining an epiphany?"

"I just happened to think of a few things and pondered them for a moment. What is wrong?"

Dina nodded and said, "A pure luster of Order emanated from your body just now. I sensed it, sensed it very clearly."

"My apologies for disturbing you all."

"Congratulations, I know that such an epiphany is rare to come by," Miss Dina said.

"Yes, I am rather fortunate."

Karen took a deep breath, feeling thoroughly refreshed.

In truth, Miss Dina had misunderstood; he was not gaining an insight into his realm of power, but rather into his own path. Sometimes, when you persist along a path, you encounter bewilderment, and the best way to dispel that bewilderment is to let facts speak for themselves.

Miss Dina averted her gaze. Just moments ago, as Karen stood by the railing, his silhouette in her eyes had suddenly overlapped once more with that of her foster father.

In her childhood memories, her foster father would often stand before the window, silently contemplating alone, and an identical luster would emanate from both of them.

You could never know what they were truly thinking, yet you could perceive the shifts in their emotions—be it bewilderment, perplexity, clarity, soaring resolve, or joy!

This proved once again that her initial dislike of him upon their first meeting yesterday was not due to her being willful or unreasonable; he truly resembled her foster father. It was not just the gestures, habits, tone, or propriety, but even the deeper aspects that were so strikingly similar.

When she returned this time, should she mention him to her foster father?

Subsequently, Miss Dina shook her head slightly, discarding the thought directly.

Her status was unsuited for bringing up any work-related matters to the High Priest; it would arouse the High Priest's distaste, and if she truly did, it would be viewed as a transgression in his eyes.

Not only would she be punished, but Karen might also be penalized along with her.

When the time came, the High Priest might truly send someone to construct an inner world to lock her away, and then throw Karen in to keep her company.

Miss Dina did not possess the sentiment that being imprisoned with such a handsome young man would be a form of bliss; she merely thought of being locked up with this person, who would lecture her non-stop from morning till night...

Heavens, how terrifying!

Lady Oggie had also sensed the ripples of Karen's epiphany just now, and she possessed far more awareness than Miss Dina. This kind of insight, which could affect those around the person experiencing it, generally appeared only within true thinkers.

During her journeys following the Whip-wielder, she would occasionally detect this feeling from him, and other grand figures of the Church of Order would occasionally exude it as well, most noticeably the High Priest.

When she first began to follow the Whip-wielder, she was not yet in her complete form and had not matured; Foden, who was not yet the Whip-wielder at the time, frequently accompanied the High Priest before he attained his current station.

That man... could always suddenly bring an immense weight of thought upon others, like a mountain standing there, motionless, yet already making it difficult for you to breathe.

But what distressed Lady Oggie was that in order to explain the origin of her hatred toward Karen, she had altered her own memory in that particular fashion; in her current memory, Karen was a lecherous rogue who had molested her.

However, the aura Karen displayed now was so profound and filled with intellectual depth.

This instantly caused a twist and deviation in her cognitive memories; one could not imagine a mature, steady man of profound thought holding her from behind, his hands groping her body while his lower half pressed and rubbed against her, all while casting a deep gaze and uttering many thought-provoking words.

Even a dragon could not comprehend the birth of such a fetish.

Icelee's perception was far simpler; she purely felt that her department chief's silhouette just now was truly charming.

The young girl had admired Karen from early on, though she had long since abandoned any notion of anything happening between them; she and Blanche felt more like pure celebrity admirers.

As for Purr, because she was not a believer of Order and moreover slept with Karen almost every night, she felt nothing special toward this.

She simply continued to focus on patting the dragon's rear. My, who would have thought a dragon's backside could be so soft and squishy, meow.

If they could raise a dragon at home, using her as a cushion would surely be extremely comfortable, and they wouldn't even have to worry about air conditioning in the summer.

However, at the thought that the main event coming up involved a bone dragon...

Oh dear, wouldn't a bone dragon be terribly bumpy and uncomfortable to sit on?

Crouching in the corner, Kevin kept his eyes shut tight, though his tiny heart throbbed with an unceasing flutter.

While Pur and the others still wondered if some hidden bond linked Karen to the God of Order, the hound had known from the very beginning, with absolute clarity, that no such relation existed between them.

Yet by that same token, as the erstwhile white glove of the God of Order, Kevin was the first dog to confirm that the path this fellow now trod was identical to the one the God of Order had walked in ages past.

Others might remain ignorant of the size and warmth of a palm, but a glove knew it intimately.

To this reality, Kevin had long since resigned himself, sensing it to be a cruel trick played by Time—a punishment for his sheer audacity in probing into forbidden temporal secrets. When he ascended to godhood in the previous era, the God of Order had already reigned supreme over the divine realm; must he now, in this present age, piece together the very path that would lead a new God of Order to the apex of grandeur?

Kevin turned his canine head, opened his eyes, and gazed at Pur, who was still idly stroking the dragon's hindquarters.

He smiled.

...

The earth dragon ground to a halt before the theater entrance, where the score of Order inquisitors ahead had already dismounted from their ladybugs.

Karen originally intended to descend, but seeing Lady Augie standing motionless upon the steps leading down, he checked his advance and waited.

Moments later, as if adhering to a prearranged schedule, a dozen more large ladybugs arrived in succession, bearing members of other divine orthodoxies; their numbers, however, were sparse, with a mere two or three atop each mount—typically a single principal figure accompanied by two attendants.

Karen originally intended to descend, but seeing Lady Augie standing motionless before the steps leading down, he halted his stride and felt no urgency to go.

Acolytes of the Earth Church began unrolling strips of scarlet carpet, five in total, one of which linked directly to the earth dragon ridden by Karen's party, while the remaining four stretched toward the other ladybugs.

Miss Diana stood with her arms crossed, her gaze darkening with displeasure; evidently, she took great offense at the notion that other orthodox churches could enjoy an status equal to her own.

Every soul carries a distinct mission, and when one enjoys the privileges befitting a certain rank, one must also stand prepared to shoulder the corresponding burdens.

Here, for instance, at this very moment, she, Diana, ought to be accorded an entirely peerless reception.

Yet the Earth Church had played a sly trick here; though they had not dared provide the others with a private earth dragon carriage, they had nevertheless sought to conjure an illusion of balance in every other regard.

Was this truly the conduct expected of a subordinate church?

As for Lady Augie, her refusal to descend the staircase stemmed precisely from her keen perception of the Earth Church's petty schemes.

She was a living paradox. By all rights, she had achieved her full adult growth only by consuming the vast resources provided by the Church of Order, yet this in no way hindered her current yearning to break free from Order’s shackles;

while seemingly irrational—resembling a creature eager to wipe its mouth and flee after gorging itself—the sentiment became perfectly comprehensible when compared to those mortals in secular nations who harbored immense disdain and hatred for their own kin.

Once fully grown, a being naturally craved more, such as freedom, and she, after all, was a dragon.

At the same time, however, this did not prevent her from burning with fury on behalf of the Church of Order at the Earth Church's current maneuvers, for she herself had sprung from the Earth Church and was now inextricably bound ever tighter to Order; if the Earth Church dared entertain such rebellious notions, it directly infringed upon her present interests.

"My Lady, you may descend now," a lizardman captain of the guard said, ascending the steps beside the earth dragon to offer a deep bow to Lady Augie.

Lady Augie offered no reply; she merely opened her jaws, and in the next heartbeat, the lizardman captain's head vanished entirely, his headless corpse tumbling down the stairs with a succession of heavy thuds.

"Mmh..."

Lady Augie let out a soft hum, gently wiping the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.

Karen happened to witness this entire spectacle firsthand.

Though she possessed a tall, imposing, and curvaceous figure, Karen had never once regarded her as an ordinary woman, and reality bore out his judgment; her devouring of a lizardman’s head was executed as effortlessly as snapping up a candied date during afternoon tea.

Naturally, the incident provoked an immediate uproar below, and a throng of inquisitors clad in the vestments of the Earth Church rushed forward to bear away the luckless captain's remains, while savvier attendants swiftly rolled back the other four red carpets.

Yet the truth remained that although the Earth Church had made haste to correct its course after this display of wrath, their very audacity in attempting the slight signaled a desperate urgency to rid themselves of Order's dominion.

"This matter must be reported," Karen remarked.

Miss Diana nodded, adding, "They shall have to be given a stern warning after this."

As a master, one occasionally refused to loosen the leash not out of a stubborn denial of the hound's freedom, but because one knew all too well that upon gaining liberty, the first thing the dog would desire was to turn and bite the hand that fed it.

Lady Augie then spoke up: "It is their own naivety. They believe that by leaning on other churches, even orthodox ones, they can dilute the control exerted by Order. The Earth Church is fundamentally a highly fractured coalition; once their tie with the Church of Order is severed, no other church will ever respect the unwritten rules of engagement as Order does."

Order desires you to be a dog, yet it is never stingy with the kibble, whereas other churches might well exploit you for nothing in return.

Miss Diana led the way with Lady Augie following close behind, while Karen, Aisley, Pur, and Kevin brought up the rear; descending the steps, they proceeded inward along the red carpet, while the other twenty-odd Order inquisitors followed behind upon the velvet path under the guidance of their captain.

Upon entering the venue, Miss Diana was escorted away first, and immediately thereafter, Karen's party was led in a separate direction.

Before long, Karen was conducted into a second-floor viewing box, overlooking an arena reminiscent of a boxing ring, or rather, a grand stage designed for the display of contestants in a pageant.

Presently, candidates from the Earth Church would ascend the stage in successive cohorts to showcase themselves; if chosen, a candidate was obliged to follow their selector, though if a single individual were claimed by multiple parties, they would retain the right to make their own choice.

However, this process was divided into distinct tiers; for instance, the selection pool presented to the ordinary Order inquisitors below was entirely separate from the one reserved for Karen and Diana.

Different tiers corresponded to vastly different levels of treatment, ensuring that no errors or overlaps would disturb the hierarchy.

In the past, when Foden selected Augie, the arrangement had likely been settled beforehand via backroom dealings, rendering the live event a mere formality; it was impossible for Lady Augie to be carried off by ordinary inquisitors who possessed only modest family backing, for their rank of privilege would never have sufficed to nurture her growth.

Once Karen took his seat within the box, he noticed numerous matching boxes situated across the arena, yet likely because Lady Augie's recent act of biting off a head had been too fiercely savage, the boxes originally intended for the participants of other churches now sat entirely vacant; the Earth Church had relocated them to the common seating below, albeit in an isolated section, which in turn forced the ordinary inquisitors of the Earth Church to sit in much tighter quarters.

The Earth Church seemed utterly resolved to take measures to erode the exclusivity of the Church of Order's influence.

If events truly unfolded along this trajectory, it remained highly uncertain whether that bone dragon would ultimately be conceded to Diana in accordance with their unspoken agreement.

"Woof."

Kevin looked toward Karen and let out a bark.

Pur translated: "The stupid dog says this isn't the conclusion, this is..."

Karen nodded and said,

"This is merely the prelude."