Chapter 96: The Flame of Purification
Late at night, in Daniels Village.
Yara rubbed her brows in exhaustion.
The group that George had taken away still caused her some trouble.
Daniels Village wasn’t very populous to begin with.
After that group was taken, only just over two hundred people remained.
However, after that day, many families proactively expressed their willingness to form alliances with her, even generously offering her some food and a few sets of iron armor.
At the very least, Yara’s twelve-member guard unit was now armed to the teeth.
She certainly understood that these people synchronously sending her such high-level equipment was meant to prod her into testing the Church’s strength first.
But Yara ignored their hints and simply absorbed the equipment.
In this fragile alliance, she had already paid a high enough price.
It was now someone else’s turn.
For example, the Newman family from Garcia Village.
Knight Wolf Newman was quite close to the Church, even sending several of his family's illegitimate children to it.
She had already paid the price to sever ties with the Church, even going as far as to openly oppose it.
So then, shouldn’t the Newman family show a little sincerity?
Even that bitch Terry had already taken her stand.
Under this kind of alliance, no one cared about the opinions of a family who merely had a conflict with a fellow knight.
After all, the York Territory didn’t only have Knight Wolf.
And besides, Knight Wolf had already left the territory. The leverage was gone, and leaving at this time perhaps was his silent consent.
Thus, after Yara’s hint within the fragile alliance, everyone was waiting for the Newman family to act.
However, the Newman family was dawdling, not even burning down the Small Church in their village.
This brought them considerable ridicule lately.
While Yara laughed along, she understood the Newman family was being cautious.
Even at this time, they would send George to the Church under the Northern Marquisate, as if they weren’t worried at all.
At the same time, the Newman family also wanted to acquire the method to produce Healing Potions from the Church.
This made them even more envious than the enlightening Baptism.
After all, enlightenment had Scholars—even though it was more troublesome than Baptism, the more complicated it was, the better for them.
But Healing Potions could only be produced by the Church.
Without the Holy Scriptures, they would have happily cooperated with the Church.
Unfortunately, the Scriptures and the Church’s behavior made them sense danger.
But Yara believed the Newman family couldn’t be allowed to continue stalling.
She thought the Newman family might need a little “help.”
"Calon!" Yara called out.
"Yes, Mistress." Calon, clad in full armor, responded.
Ever since the complete fallout with the Church, Yara had felt uneasy.
So during these days, Calon had been guarding outside her room in full armor.
However, that unease had faded tonight. She felt that perhaps she could get a good night’s sleep.
"Deliver this letter to a stone pile outside the village. There’s a conspicuous blood-colored cloth pressed atop it."
"After delivering it, you may return and rest," Yara said.
Now that her heart was at ease, there was no need for Calon to stand guard at the door.
After all, this was the Daniels family’s core. If someone could get to her bedside under such circumstances, then Calon’s presence outside the door was meaningless.
"Understood, Mistress," Calon replied.
Because George had taken over forty people, the already sparsely populated Daniels Village felt even more desolate.
Calon walked along the quiet road.
Daniels Village had a curfew, officially due to nighttime danger.
But in truth, it was to prevent people from escaping under the cover of darkness.
Walking all the way to the village entrance and greeting the watchtower guards, Calon slipped out through the open gate slit.
The watchtower guards looked at Calon’s armor with envy.
It signified that he was part of Yara’s personal guard—the most coveted position.
More gold, better food, patrols at the base instead of standing atop a watchtower, exposed to wind and insect bites.
And when the cold season arrived, they would have to endure the harsh winds.
Calon quickly placed the letter and returned to the village.
After sternly scolding the watchtower personnel to remain vigilant, Calon turned back the way he came.
But on the way back, he suddenly looked in a certain direction.
That was where the original Small Church used to be.
Calon felt a hint of pity.
He had once hoped for George and Yara to become a couple.
If their child inherited George’s valor and Yara’s wisdom, perhaps that child could become a Knight.
But George belonged to the Church and had violated the Daniels family’s interests.
So all they could do was set the Small Church ablaze.
Still, Calon wasn’t too disappointed.
Since George was no longer a possibility, perhaps he himself had a chance?
Yara, though only the acting head, had said outright—even if Weilin returned, she wouldn’t marry.
And other families wouldn’t let their elite sons marry into a woman without even the title of Matron.
So Calon felt he still had a good chance. After all, he was now the strongest warrior in Daniels Village.
And among the personal guard, he was the closest to Yara.
As he indulged in his pre-sleep fantasy, Calon suddenly noticed a faint light in the direction of the Small Church.
His brows furrowed. Weren’t those people already taken away? Why was someone still sneaking around the Small Church ruins at night?
Placing one hand on his sword’s hilt, Calon began walking toward it.
At first, for the sake of appearance, after burning down the Small Church, Yara did not order anyone to level it.
Later, because George had taken people away, there weren’t enough manpower to level the Small Church either.
So as soon as Calon arrived, he could see the source of the fire.
It was a piece of black charcoal placed on the Lord’s Throne.
Calon still remembered that it was originally a half-body-sized cross, but it had burned down to just this small section in a single fire.
And Calon also remembered, Yangzhi had called this cross a Holy Relic. Calon had heard that those Dark Creatures called their treasures Holy Relics.
"True Holy Relics wouldn’t catch fire." Calon chuckled, preparing to go to the well behind the Small Church to draw some water to extinguish the flame.
After all, if it truly caught into a larger blaze and burned down the nearby houses, they would once again have to waste already scarce manpower.
Only, before he could turn around, that faint flame suddenly surged and spread out.
This is—?
Calon was horrified. Before he could react, the flames swept across his body.
Yet, he didn’t feel any burning.
Looking toward the village, this expanding flame hadn’t ignited the wooden houses either, but swept across the entire village like a wall of fire.
"What is this thing?" Calon frowned tightly.
At that moment, faint screams echoed by his ears.
He sensed something was wrong and ran swiftly toward the stronghold.
He had to protect his Mistress.
On the way, he saw several people screaming in terror.
They were already wrapped in those flames.
Some were running, some rolling on the ground, but none could extinguish the fire on them.
And Calon saw that their bodies weren’t charred like in an ordinary fire, but rather melted like burning candles.
Calon felt a chill, his body trembled, and he quickened his pace.
Inside the Daniels Family stronghold, there were now torches running everywhere.
They were screaming in terror, but the flames on their bodies couldn’t even ignite dry straw—only wrapped tightly around their bodies.
Without slowing, Calon charged to the door of Yara’s room and shoved it open.
He saw Yara, wrapped in flames, with her pale skin seemingly dripping with sweat.
Or rather, was it melting wax?
So he thought, and then heard Yara speak:
"So this is the Church’s trump card, huh."
Then he felt the light of the fire dim, until it became complete darkness.
And just before that darkness, he vaguely heard the sound of armor falling to the ground.
"Flames that cause no pain and don’t even burn clothes, huh." Yara looked at Calon, now burned to nothing.
Now, there was only a pile of armor on the ground.
She raised her hand and saw her own fingers beginning to melt.
Taking a breath, her bodily functions still operated normally.
"Maybe I’ll die painlessly like Calon did?" Yara laughed.
"How merciful indeed."
On her desk lay an opened Holy Scriptures of the Lord.
She reached out to flip a page, using the light of her burning body to read the words on it.
When she had been awakened by the screams, Yara had already seen herself ignited.
After the initial fear, she quickly regained her composure.
Looking out the window, those running and screaming in the village were mostly those near the stronghold center.
These were either servants of the Daniels Family or the village guards.
Further away, only two or three commoners were caught by the flame.
Most others only hid inside their homes, watching these torches with terror.
Yara understood—this was the Church’s retaliation.
No, according to George, this was the Lord’s punishment, the Lord’s wrath.
Yara also understood—their alliance had lost.
They had never expected the Church to wield such a powerful Mystery, and that the Lord would not seize it.
This was something they never foresaw, nor could comprehend.
Before today, if someone had claimed that the Church’s Mystery could be this powerful, Yara would have laughed in their face.
But now, perhaps before Morning Star rose tomorrow, their fragile alliance would be dissolved.
Only, the price of dissolving this alliance was the Daniels Family.
However, Ando was still there, still alive—so the Daniels Family hadn’t been entirely wiped out.
"Don’t do anything foolish, Ando—" With those words, Yara’s body was consumed entirely by the flames, leaving only her clothes falling softly to the floor.