Volume 1 Chapter 533

Chapter 533: Today, I Will Hit You; It Won’t Work for Anyone Else

Lolth was quite sensitive to the sounds of fighting and the magical fluctuations generated by Superoperators’ battles.

In the Abyss, every day, the demon race and magical creatures engage in combat—this refers not to life-and-death struggles fought with full force, but to intense yet seemingly relaxed skirmishes where they hold back.

Such occurrences are relatively rare in the main plane, where magical creatures seldom fight for reasons other than "hunting" or "territory disputes."

In the Abyss, magical creatures can start a fight without any reason.

A mere exchange of glances, as long as the power gap isn’t more than one whole rank, is enough to spark a battle.

It isn’t about asserting dominance; they simply enjoy fighting.

Humans in the main plane rarely engage in such behavior.

Even in the martial Ryman Empire, a "duel," which they consider quite romantic, is a rare event that might not occur even once a year.

Thus, sensing the excitement of a "fight" on the main street was quite a surprise for Lolth.

Although the combatants were too weak, barely matching the lowest level of abyssal monsters, it almost made Lolth overlook the scene.

"Oh—someone is fighting?"

Lolth’s face lit up with curiosity, and she turned to Dorothy.

"Dorothy, should we go take a look… it’s only Elite Level."

Dorothy, who was initially uninterested in such matters, simply wanted to find a place to stay with Teacher Lolth and share the same bed.

But seeing Lolth’s eager expression, she nodded.

"Hmm, if the teacher thinks the Elite Level isn’t a ‘threat’…"

Dorothy agreed, albeit reluctantly.

Lolth happily devoured the melon in just a few bites.

"Oh dear, nothing will happen!"

Then, with great enthusiasm, she pulled Dorothy forward.

Unexpectedly, the street was devoid of onlookers.

Instead, everyone kept their distance.

Even the nearby fruit stand had closed.

Lolth, dragging Dorothy through the hurried crowd, appeared quite peculiar.

But Lolth also found the others strange.

Don’t these people want to see the excitement?

With this thought, Lolth finally pushed through the crowd and saw two groups of people fighting.

To her surprise, both sides were dressed in the attire of the Holy Lieto Empire.

Each bore the emblem of the Holy Lightannulus on their shoulders—though these were not the standard garments of The Church of Light, but rather slightly extravagant and ostentatious noble attire.

One side had four individuals, the other seven, each accompanied by a carriage.

The elite, formal knights channeled the power of Holy Light into their weapons, cursing and slashing at each other.

"You damn old party… Are you here to cause us trouble? Do you think that by waiting here, Your Excellency the Bishop will favor you?"

"Just a mere viscount, and you dare to disturb our lord and criticize how we receive the bishop—this is not the Holy Empire; do you really think we won’t fight back?"

"You rascal, you really need to be taught a lesson!"

"What an impudent fellow, he even has the audacity to raise his sword!"

As the people on both sides exchanged these words, Lolth watched them recklessly unleash their extraordinary powers and attack each other, showing no concern for the potential danger to nearby civilians and buildings, and shrugged.

"Oh dear, I think I understand why everyone here looks at Holy Lightannulus as if they were seeing a plague god…"

Lolth sighed as she thought this, and Dorothy gently nodded.

"Teacher… are these guys also from The Church of Light?"

"No, these guys are nobles from the Holy Empire," Lolth pinched the bridge of her nose, "as expected, nobles everywhere behave the same way…"

She sighed, then turned her gaze to the chaotic battle among the eleven people.

This was indeed a petty squabble not worth mentioning, and even Dorothy thought it was a rather embarrassing fight.

However, for the ordinary townspeople around, most of whom were just apprentices, this was an extremely unfortunate encounter.

It was like meeting a slime in the wild, plain and ordinary, but for an average person, this was a terrible misfortune.

The two knights’ swords clashed together, and one knight’s sword broke, sending half of the blade flying backward.

Spinning with the power of Holy Light, it flew towards the civilians by the road.

"It seems the town mayor here doesn’t care about anything…"

Lolth sighed softly and then…

From her wide sleeves, the disguised Rod of Eden slipped out.

"Buzz—"

The broken half of the knight’s sword seemed to suddenly lose its power, hovering in mid-air.

If it did not belong to someone wielding the power of Holy Light, Lolth would not have been able to do this so easily.

But these guys are using a power of the Holy Light that is clearly related to The Church of Light, but not quite authentic, so it is easy for Lolth to handle.

The Rod of Eden itself has enough power.

She could even make everyone else present stop.

Although she was keen on seeing the spectacle, Lolth could not stand such reckless behavior that showed no concern for ordinary people.

This is normal in this world, but… if Lolth sees it, she will not let this normal situation continue.

The eleven people present, all movements on both sides came to a halt.

Weapons, limbs, spells, everything seemed to freeze.

And the first reaction of these people after being stopped…

Was surprisingly, that they all became angry.

"Hey—who did this! Stop it right now!"

"Are you looking for trouble? Do you want to interfere with our Holy Empire’s matters?!"

"Don’t push your luck!"

Even though the strongest among them were only Elite Level, their tone was entirely different from the typical Elite Level mercenaries found in South Sotua.

They were outrageously arrogant.

Even Dorothy frowned slightly upon hearing them.

"Teacher, they are so irritating."

Dorothy whispered, and Lolth nodded gently in agreement.

"What a bunch of scum. Although I often feel fortunate that the standards for wielding Holy Light powers aren’t too stringent, seeing this makes me wish the God of Light would… raise the bar a bit."

Lolth remarked, sighing.

Those fellows seemed to have noticed Lolth holding the Rod of Eden, and then…

From the carriage behind them, two voices of inquiry emerged one after another.

"The attire of an outpost priest… which church do you belong to? Why are you still loitering in South Sotua… what are you up to?"

"Don’t obstruct us, you know there’s an outpost bishop returning to the empire! We are preparing to welcome Your Excellency the Bishop! He will arrive here today!"

Both voices were more subdued than their attendants, yet still brimming with arrogance.

Hearing this, Lolth sighed once more.

"How utterly vexing."

She sighed, then caressed the Rod of Eden.

"If I had known, I would have dressed more elaborately."

Through their words, Lolth clearly grasped their intentions.

They likely assumed she was a priest wanting to return home or someone attempting to get close to a bishop like themselves.

But unfortunately…

They were mistaken.

"Hey, you! I’m speaking to you—don’t think you’re special just because you’re a church priest; I’ve been in the knight’s order too!"

"If you let me know which parish you’re from, you’re in deep trouble!"

The two presumptuous individuals continued to blather, but Lolth was thoroughly exasperated.

Dealing with these foolish, self-important nobles was one of the things Lolth found most detestable and troublesome.

The pleasant mood from savoring the delicious honey fruit was completely ruined.

She quietly gripped the Rod of Eden upside down, extended her finger, and began tapping back and forth between the two chariots.

"Little turtle, don’t move; whoever it points to is who it is."

Murmuring words that no one understood, Lolth’s finger then halted on the carriage surrounded by seven people.

Then… she moved straight ahead.

After taking just a few steps, the attendant whose sword had been broken earlier swaggered forward.

"Hey, Your Excellency the Priest, our master has a question for you — we are all children of the Lord, isn’t it rude to act like this?"

Lolth glanced at him, initially tempted to curse him as a "fool," but upon reflection, she realized that such behavior did not align with her current persona.

Thus, she altered her demeanor.

"You, who cannot even recognize your own sins, dare to speak of the master’s life?"

As Lolth uttered these words, she fiercely swung the Rod of Eden in her hand.

"Thud!"

The staff struck him squarely on the chin.

With just one blow, it rendered the Elite Level individual unconscious.

Although Lolth is not adept at close combat…

That is only relative to higher-tier battles.

Among all those present, even within several miles around Guomu Town…

There is no one yet who would make Lolth question her "proficiency."

Even Lolth’s smallest shortcoming is an insurmountable peak for them.

Lolth surveyed the remaining individuals present.

Just as she anticipated, since Lolth did not unleash any formidable extraordinary energy waves and only subtly enhanced her strength with a divine spell, these individuals did not feel entirely outmatched by her.

The Superoperators of this world are far too reliant on sensing magic!

Yet, for Lolth, their Magic Perception is astonishingly poor!

"How dare you ambush us!"

"Boss, are you alright?"

"Prepare to die, you scoundrel!"

The remaining ones shouted in anger and charged forward. Lolth observed them and elegantly brushed her pristine Rod of Eden with her sleeve, as if it had been tainted by something unclean.

"It seems that you all truly do not comprehend your sins."

Lolth spoke these words and took a step forward.

She raised her hand, and the Rod of Eden collided with the head of a man charging at her, producing a perfect thud.

"Thud!"

Another step.

This time, the Rod of Eden struck under a person’s ribs.

"Smack."

The back of the neck, the knee, the bridge of the nose, the heart.

A rhythmic sound resonated, and in an instant, all seven of them had fallen.

Lolth approached the carriage and lifted the curtain that obscured the view inside.

What she saw was a sweating, rotund noble.

His robe, adorned with the pattern of the Holy Light annulus, was stretched into an oval shape by his belly.

"It appears you have a profound misunderstanding of the doctrine of ‘temperance’… my lord."

Lolth spoke these words with a calm demeanor, and before he could muster a response, she swung the Rod of Eden over her shoulder as if preparing to strike a baseball or golf ball.

Then, with a forceful motion, she brought it down upon his ample flesh.

"Ah—!"

A scream erupted as the noble from the Holy Empire convulsed in agony, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.

"Y-you, you, you… I shall lodge a complaint with your parish! Upon my return to the Empire, I shall inform His Majesty of everything!"

He wailed in pain, his words laced with curses.

"Cease your wailing. Were you truly of any importance, you would not need to greet anyone personally; a simple invitation would suffice," Lolth retorted coldly. "But fret not, I shall not show favoritism. The teachings of the Lord shall descend equally upon all of you who require discipline."

Her gaze then shifted to another white carriage and its quartet of guards.

The four men, sensing the gravity of the situation, wisely discarded their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

"It’s all a misunderstanding… We are all… we are all compatriots and brethren…"

The leader stammered, his voice trembling.

It was evident to all that a strike from the Rod of Eden… was excruciatingly painful.

These men, accustomed to clashing weapons in combat, had never experienced such a brutal blow!

This was a stark contrast to the ways of the Holy Empire.

Lolth paid him no heed.

She leapt from the carriage, and then…

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"If a brother or sister errs, it is our duty to guide them back to the righteous path."

Observing the four guards who had succumbed to unconsciousness, Lolth spoke with a serene tone.

She glanced up at the carriage, and to her surprise, the golden curtains parted of their own accord.

From within emerged a man of even greater girth, laboriously maneuvering his bulk.

"My lord… I… I am acquainted with Bishop Carpenter. I am here under the orders of the Sixth Prince to escort him…"

He managed a strained smile, invoking a name.

Lolth’s expression turned contemplative.

"Oh, Carpenter and the Sixth Prince."

She was, of course, entirely unfamiliar with these individuals and could only feign contemplation.

After a brief five-second charade, her face contorted into one of disdain.

"If you feel aggrieved, by all means, take your grievances to them."

With these words, Lolth swung the Rod of Eden towards his midsection, sending him sprawling to the ground, where he rolled several times like a ball.

"I shall seek lodging at an inn ahead. Since you mentioned the bishop’s arrival today… let him seek me out upon his arrival."

Lolth’s voice was icy and commanding as she spoke.

Having said her piece, she beckoned to Dorothy.

Dorothy, her eyes sparkling with admiration, approached with small, eager steps and naturally took Lolth’s hand.

"So dashing… teacher."

She uttered these words, her face upturned, radiating adoration.