Volume 1 Chapter 547

Chapter 547: Civil War!

Tina could sense that the enemies outside the Torture Tower were far beyond her ability to confront.

The oppressive force was even more intense than that of Gandhi Alter—rivaling even her sister Froer.

This was undoubtedly a being of a higher level than the Holy Domain, now present here.

They were certainly much stronger than an ordinary initial stage of the Holy Domain.

This makes sense, considering that "Hillenbrand Town" and the name of its master, Lolth, are no longer obscure—they have changed significantly!

Any powerful individual from across the continent would need to weigh their worth before stepping into this place.

In Hillenbrand Town, several battles have occurred. Even without precise information on the combatants’ strengths, intelligence agencies could detect the battle waves and deduce that there were several clashes here that even legends would find challenging to match.

Moreover, the captives here are all quite renowned, which has inadvertently boosted the intimidation factor of Hillenbrand Town and Lolth among the natives of the main plane.

Those who still believe they are not very famous or noticeable are probably only the overly optimistic Lolth herself!

Since the Church of Light dared to send someone alone, this visitor must be confident in their ability to defeat Lolth or at least escape unscathed.

And they must be stronger than the combined forces of the Lady of Light and Janine Irene!

However, despite this, Tina did not abandon her resistance.

During this period, while diligently managing the affairs of Hillenbrand Town and enhancing her governance skills, she did not neglect her duties as a maid.

Cleaning and maintaining the Torture Tower, Tina Leinster Newmoon, the Elven princess, did not miss a single day.

Although most tasks involved simple chores like activating magical machines, replacing dust boxes, and magic crystals, the real daily work she did by hand was probably only organizing Lolth’s last sleeping place, hand-washing Lolth’s personal clothes, and cleaning Lolth’s everyday toiletries…

But Tina continued to become more familiar with the structure of the Torture Tower.

She also became increasingly adept with the permissions Lolth had granted her!

She even discovered many rooms she had never entered before.

For instance, the most crucial area of the Torture Tower—the control room.

The transfer of the Torture Tower to Hillenbrand Town was executed by Lolth in the control room.

As for access to the control room… Lolth had naturally opened it to a few girls long ago.

Whether it was Tina, Isabella, Kanor, or Dorothy, they all had the right to enter.

They could even take control.

But Lolth had not informed them—she felt it was not necessary to mention, thinking she could tell them when it was truly necessary for them to go to the control room.

Now, Tina also learned about the control room during her cleaning, so she could…

Control the Torture Tower and counterattack against enemies!

Opening the door to the control room, Tina infused her magic into the control panel.

After seeing the artificial Divine Throne control panel of the Plague Divine Kingdom, Lolth learned from it and absorbed advanced technology, using ancient integrated runes here to upgrade the operating system.

Although Tina’s magical skills were nowhere near as advanced as Lolth’s, and she did not understand the structure of the Torture Tower or the function of each magic circle as well as Lolth, with the help of this simpler interface and Tina’s not-so-stupid intelligence level…

She still understood how to use the Torture Tower!

After infusing magic power, Tina, with her high-level permissions, instantly activated the main control room’s interface.

Without the flashy startup sounds and animations, the magical image representing the torture tower instantly appeared on the crystal-crafted "screen" before Tina.

A significant portion of the tower was bathed in a red glow.

This signified that approximately half of the magic circles had sustained damage.

About one-third of the magic circles, while glowing red, also flickered incessantly, indicating they were completely offline and beyond further use.

Tina’s brow furrowed in concern.

"How dreadful… Who dares to assault Master Lolth’s torture tower!"

Tina exclaimed with a hint of anger, manipulating the console before her with her magic.

After some adjustments, Tina successfully activated the torture tower’s sensing and analyzing magic arrays.

A new image materialized on the crystal—a young man clad in a black robe, standing defiantly before the torture tower.

Beside the image, his details were neatly annotated in the common tongue.

"Identity: Intruder"

"Race: Human (55%), Dwarf (33%), Elf (12%)"

"Affiliation: High rank of The Church of Light (70%), Lolthlinda (11%), Nobility of the Holy Empire (7%), Others (12%)"

"Occupation: Priest (94%), Mage (3%), Knight (1.7%), Others (1.3%)"

"Main magical attribute: Holy Light Power"

"Spell and skill rank used: Level 7"

"Hostility: Very strong, fierce enemy"

"Danger level: Extremely high"

"Realm: Holy Domain Middle Level – Unknown"

"Weapon equipment: Unnamed Sacred Tool 1, Unnamed Sacred Tool 2"

As Tina absorbed the information and scrutinized the intruder’s visage, a wave of frustration washed over her.

Indeed, it was the high-ranking members of The Church of Light, striking while Master Lolth was absent!

But still… if a maid cannot safeguard the house merely because her master is away, that would be utterly incompetent!

Who could this adversary be?

A Privy Bishop? A Cardinal in red?

Or perhaps a contender for the next Papal seat?

A formidable ascetic cultivator?

The head of the Heretic Tribunal?

It mattered not!

His sole identity, as determined by the torture tower’s judgment system, was clear.

Invader.

Thus, the only task that lay before Tina was his eradication.

She continued to channel her magic, somewhat awkwardly activating the magical array of the torture tower.

After a few moments, she initiated a mode that Lolth could likely activate in the blink of an eye.

"Cooperative annihilation combat mode."

"Buzz—!"

The entire torture tower trembled violently.

Then…

All the magical arrays burst into radiant light.

The Director of the Heretic Tribunal, who was in the process of slowly unfurling his whip, sensed the tower before him suddenly erupt into a frenzy.

His expression remained icy, devoid of any trace of fear.

"As it should be."

"Only when evil bares its fangs does it become more worthy of purification."

He spoke coldly, winding the long whip around his staff…

Then, he silently turned his head away.

Despite the overwhelming and chaotic magic emanating from the torture tower, which would normally leave anyone too distracted to notice anything else…

He still detected the faint, almost imperceptible magical disturbance behind him.

"You should not have used Shadow Magic…"

As if sighing, he pivoted his staff and tapped it into the empty air.

In the next instant, the staff struck what seemed like nothingness, yet it produced ripples as if it had hit something solid.

And then…

A dazzling light erupted, revealing a concealed, petite figure, which was forcefully pressed to the ground!

The Director of the Heretic Tribunal gazed down at the girl before him, noting her beast ears and the swirling Shadow Magic around her, his face filled with unmistakable disdain.

"Qiong, Shadow Magic, half-orc, conspiring with the demon race…"

"Your sins are more than sufficient for ‘purification.’"

Qiong, lying on the ground, heard his words, lifted her head, and grinned, exposing her sharp, neatly aligned canine teeth.

"You shouldn’t focus solely on the Shadow Magic."

With a tone of mockery, Qiong retorted calmly.

And then…

"Pure!"

The girl cried out as she brought down her sword with unwavering determination from above!

This was Ann’s most powerful strike…

From confronting the evil god to this young man from The Church of Light, who was even mightier than his own sister, it was always the same strike!

Even the director of the Heretic Tribunal, who regarded him as an adult would a child, was momentarily taken aback by the sheer force of the attack. He sidestepped to evade the blow.

"The Seven Kingdoms, Clean Spring Palace…"

He identified the origin of Ann’s technique but chose not to elaborate further.

He refrained from uttering words like "judgment," "purification," or any accusations of guilt.

Having narrowly avoided the strike, the young man’s sense of impending danger lingered. Suddenly, a chilling voice reached him from behind.

"Frost."

A sharp drop in temperature accompanied the cold steel of a knight’s sword as it pierced through his back.

"Thud—"

As if slicing through a sack, the blade tore through the black, gold-trimmed robe and impaled his body.

Isabella gazed at the warm blood staining her sword, momentarily stunned.

Though this was part of her strategic plan—three consecutive attacks culminating in her own decisive strike…

She hadn’t anticipated such a devastating effect.

Her opponent was at least two levels above her…

How could this be possible?

Isabella glanced down at the knight’s sword in her hand.

Even if it was a weapon nearing the caliber of a Divine Artifact, the wielder… was still herself.

Years of memories flashed through Isabella’s mind, and in a split second, she reached a realization.

It’s a trap!

Isabella’s eyes widened as she observed the weakened Ann and the subdued Qiong, and she shouted.

"Run!"

Her cry was urgent, but it was already too late.

The cold voice of the young man before her overpowered her shouts.

"To harm others without remorse is a grave crime."

"To ignore teachings and obstruct guidance is a disgrace."

"Those without faith and laden with sin… deserve purification."

Green vines coiled around the staff, and the Holy Light emanating from it intensified.

The Holy Light split into three, each targeting one of them, like swords poised above their heads.

No…

There was another force.

It was directed at the torture tower.

Isabella finally grasped the enemy’s intentions!

This was a divine spell that could only be activated after the enemy had been severely injured.

This man was from the Heretic Tribunal…

She had also studied the legions and masters of The Church of Light, gaining some insight into the unpredictable and bizarre methods of the Heretic Tribunal!

The abilities of the Heretic Tribunal primarily focus on the strong suppression and erosion of various types of magic and divine power, as well as…

Powerful counter divine spells.

They, along with ascetic cultivators and some Paladins, possess a shameless skill where the harder they are hit, the stronger their counterattack becomes!

They utilize the power of Holy Light in a manner akin to the characteristic of "Judgment."

If you use magic to inflict damage, the power of Holy Light will actively destroy your magic even more!

This man deliberately took this sword strike—his own attack is hardly lethal to a Holy Light Pastor who is two levels higher.

And the most vexing tactic of The Church of Light in battle is that some priests and Paladins, led by the Heretic Tribunal, rely on their strong recovery abilities to exchange damage for damage…

A Superoperator strong enough to wield the power of Holy Light can afford to forgo defense.

As long as they do not perish on the spot, after retreating from battle, a little healing from the sacred tree can turn fatal wounds into serious wounds, serious wounds into light wounds, and light wounds into mere scratches.

Moreover, being injured also has a rebound effect…

It makes sense that for so many years, no force on the continent has engaged in a large-scale battle against The Church of Light.

They may not be weak, but once on the battlefield, they will truly face a grueling ordeal against The Church of Light.

Of course, Isabella also understands that this tactic is highly risky and not many can master it…

But when it occurs, it signifies that the other side is confident in achieving victory.

The director of the Heretic Tribunal thinks just like that.

"Accept the purification…"

He said this and was preparing to cast his spell.

But…

Suddenly, a white light shot out from within the torture tower!

It was another force of Holy Light!

The same source of Holy Light, pure and radiant, shattered the spell that the Director of the Heretic Tribunal was gathering, causing his attack to collapse before it could be unleashed!

Isabella, freed from the restraints, drew her sword, grabbed Ann from the ground, and along with the also-freed Qiong, they swiftly left the scene.

The director of the Heretic Tribunal raised his hand, pressed it against his wound, and a flash of white light appeared, staunching the flow of blood.

The wound healed rapidly, and even his pallid complexion from blood loss began to regain its healthy hue.

He looked up towards the direction of the torture tower.

"Her Holiness… did well."

He murmured softly, and the Lady of Light, lowering her arms, observed the director of the Heretic Tribunal through the window.

"Ah—Lord Director, you truly came to silence me."

She sighed as she lowered her arms.

If she had been uncertain before whether the Director of the Heretic Tribunal was there to save her, after seeing the spell he prepared, the Lady of Light understood.

This man… at least does not care about his own life.

Just like the previous Directors of the Heretic Tribunal, he is a madman so obsessed that he twists even the will of the Lord.

"Prepare for battle, Irene…"

"But what we should truly prepare for is to betray the church."

The Lady of Light said softly, and Janine Irene shook her head.

"To protect you, even when facing the director of the Heretic Tribunal… is not betrayal!"