Chapter 358: Divine Punishment

"Stand up," Charles ordered in a cold tone, cast [Arcane Eyes] skill on him, and analyzed him.

'Alder Firestoe… He is a peak Rank-4 Warlock, already awakened five bloodline spells, and has a unique skill Red Hands. Hmm? Is he an illegitimate child of Firestoe royal family?' He furrowed his brows for a moment and soon spoke.

"I have a job for you, Mortal."

Meanwhile, Alder stood up with staggering footsteps and bowed his head.

"I'll not disappoint you, Your Eminence!"

His voice contained a trace of reverence and awe.

"Good. I want you to help me with something."

Saying so, Charles took out a small pouch from his space ring and gave it to him.

On the other hand, Alder took the pouch, looked into it, and soon widened his eyes as he noticed that pouch was a storage artifact!

Unlike Edhen World, storage artifacts were rare to see in this Fire-Elemental Plane.

He soon woke up from the shock, peeked into the void pouch, and saw many identity documents inside.

Alder first took out a few documents, read the names one by one, and soon showed a confused look on his face.

The main reason for his confusion was that those identity documents belonged to the firm believers of the Sacred Temple!

'Priests, Clerks and Templar Knights…'

Noticing the confusion on his face, Charles shook his head and spoke.

"They are sinners. Instead of worshiping our Guardian, they are now worshiping a Human. It is pure blasphemy, Alder! I want you to hunt them, cleanse their corrupted soul, and place their heads in their houses as a warning." Charles's icy voice echoed in the gloomy night.

Meanwhile, Spider's expression turned into a shocked one.

In truth, he locked his Inner World from the very beginning and knew that no foreign force tried to enter inside.

'But His Excellency instantly saw through my secrets! As expected of the messenger of our Guardian Deity, he is indeed an Angel of Fire.' He stared at Charles in admiration and respect.

In truth, Charles's curse spell remained in his Dark Space and continued influencing his original consciousness.

This curse spell was not an enslaving spell, but it's more like a brainwashing spell!

But unlike the other ones, this spell could even brainwash powerful entities.

Although the Dark Space acts as a bridge between the body and Inner World, it was a vulnerable spot for every life form.

That's why Charles's [Burning Thoughts] spell works better on the enemy than Rank-2 [Fire Seed] spells.

'But if I want to brainwash him completely, I need to come here from time to time and talks to him frequently. Or, I need to give him some orders and show him how good I'm. This spell also has a weakness, though. If I got defeated by some powerful entity in front of these brainwashed servants, these people would start to show hesitation and then lose faith in me. Then, the spell would also lose its effect.' But Charles didn't put too much thought into this weakness.

If he chose to walk on the path of Divines, he would've shown some concerns over this issue.

'They are the ones who always rely on the faith power.'

Thankfully, he didn't choose that path.

Meanwhile, Alder remained clearheaded and analyzed his current situation.

'If I kill those firm believers, a large number of Sacred Humans will come for my head! Moreover, most of them would be Rank-4 powerhouses! It will do no good for anyone.'

He wasn't afraid to sacrifice himself.

But he was afraid that his sacrifice might go meaningless.

He then thought for a moment and finally asked.

"Will my action anger Lord Adur, Your Eminence?"

Meanwhile, a chuckle escaped out of Charles's mouth.

"Don't worry about his retaliation. Soon, I'll strip away his strength and cripple him. Then, I will take care of him when the right time comes." Charles paused for a moment and then added calmly.

"Also, spread the news that a new Champion has already arrived. She'll fight for the commoners, erase the discrimination, and will rule you all."

"C-Champion? She?" Alder acutely grasped the information and soon nodded his head in understanding.

Without waiting for Alder to speak, Charles waved his hand and added.

"Although our Guardian is the most forgiving, she is still angry at her children. If you guys continue to worship Adur instead of our Divine One, she might get pissed and cast a Divine Punishment spell on everyone. So, convey this message to the public and warn them. I don't want to see this peaceful city disappear from this world."

Upon hearing his words, Alder's face turned green.

"D-Divine Punishment?" He sucked in a cold breath and hurriedly thought of announcing it to the whole city.

'But would they believe these rumors?' A bitter smile appeared on his face.

If he didn't meet the Angel of Fire today, even he wouldn't have believed that their Guardian Deity was still alive and well!

"I'll take care of it, Your Eminence. I'll try my best and convey your message to the masses." He said in a solemn tone.

Meanwhile, Charles was pleased by his response and nodded.

"Good. I'll also recruit a few more trusted mortals and send them to you. You can form a small organization and proceed with the plan."

As he said those words, he cast [Flame Teleportation] spell on himself, enveloped his body in a crimson flame, and disappeared from there.

Meanwhile, Alder looked at where Charles disappeared before, then turned his gaze towards the tall black tower and soon turned solemn.

"The legends are real. Our Guardian Deity is still sleeping in the dungeon and is watching over us. Lord Adur. No, you don't deserve the 'Lord' title. It seems your time has come." He muttered in a cold tone and soon retracted his gaze.

Then, he turned around and started walking towards the nearby staircase.

…

In the meantime, Charles reappeared in another part of the street and started searching for suitable candidates.

He continued to search for the next two days and finally selected more than ten Red Humans.

Although those candidates were not as popular as Alder, they were Rank-4 Warlocks and could help him accomplish the first mission.

Once he recruited them, he told them to contact Alder and send them away.

On the other hand, Alder also summoned his lackeys and told them to spread rumors about the Divine Punishment and the new Champion's arrival.

These two matters became a hot topic in all parts of the city for the next few days.

Although Sacred Temple members and city garrison members tried to suppress the news, their attempts went futile.

But what made Charles feel shocked a little was that Adur personally arrived at the First District and told the masses not to believe in those baseless rumors!

After that, the topic of the new Champion's arrival and the Divine Punishment started to die down.