Blood Assimilation

While the three of them walked in the direction of Church Street, Barian and Zante recollected and informed their 'captain' of the events that transpired during his absence. Holy Knight Randy listened to them with an impassive expression as he walked in the middle of the two Holy Knights.

At some point, Barian and Zante finished their narration. However, when Holy Knight Randy heard about what the Cardinal of the Church of Light had done, he feigned displeasure and suddenly halted his movement.

Then, he angrily voiced his discontentment: "That old degenerate! I haven't settled my score with him after he dared to threaten me! Now he even dared to be so cheap enough to abuse his authority and status as a Cardinal to attempt to denounce my subordinates! Does he think I'm some pushover just because I agree with his demands? Let's see who will have the last say!"

'Authority and status? Like you're one to talk about such things when you abuse yours all the time.'

When Barian and Zante heard his outburst of anger, they readily and openly agreed with him, frantically nodding their heads. However, deep down, they held the words of their 'captain' in contempt. As such, they couldn't help but mock their Captain.

Despite the contempt they held for their Captain's actions, there was only one thing they couldn't deny about him. And that was that Zolat Grant, despite being a prideful person, had made it a habit to shelter people he considered trusted subordinates. As such, Barian and Zante benefited a lot from him as he looked out for them as their leader.

Hence, they were always conflicted between his outstanding leadership as a captain and his distasteful misconduct as a person of noble status. Essentially, he was someone they liked as a captain but did not approve of his actions behind the scenes.

After expressing his frustration through his furious words, Holy Knight Randy's gait became hurried as he continued walking, leaving behind Barian and Zante, who followed him closely. As they tried to keep up with the pace of their 'Captain', they realized that his gait was becoming faster and more menacing as though he was hurrying to murder someone out of spite.

At this moment, Barian and Zante confirmed that their 'captain' was infuriated by the Cardinal's actions. They, too, were angry as they would have either lost their lives or been labeled murderers because of Cardinal Juke, who wanted to use someone as a scapegoat for his unsupervised mission assignment.

After all, the mission given to them wasn't part of the official missions handled by the Holy Knights. Normally, the Pope had to approve all missions before anything else. The selection criteria for missions were usually based on the urgency of the specific mission. In addition, they were based on how probable it was for the Holy Knights to complete it without sustaining any unnecessary casualties.

As the main duty of the Holy Knights was to protect the civilians in the Imperial City, they weren't allowed to frequently leave the vicinity of the city. Only when there were sightings of strong demons causing havoc on the outskirts of human territory would the Holy Knights sortie together with Dungeon Hunters available to confront the demons.

The other reason why the Church of Light was picky with its mission selection was due to the possibility of loss caused by being rash in their judgments or decisions. Their church was more pivotal in fighting against the demons, as members of the Church of Light had the light attribute skills, which was the natural nemesis of the dark attribute of the demons.

Thus, if more people with light attributes were lost as a result of their carelessness, humanity would inevitably lose the war against the demons. For that reason, official missions were always screened carefully before being issued.

Despite knowing this truth, Cardinal Juke deliberately issued an unofficial mission without telling the Pope. Then, he even planned on claiming credit for the mission accomplishment by saying that he used his divination skills to predict the whereabouts of the Vampire Queen.

However, now that their captain had gone missing during the unofficial mission he assigned them, Cardinal Juke needed someone to take the blame for his unsupervised and unofficial directive.

With that being the case, he would have very likely orchestrated the death of Barian and Zante. He would have done this by allowing the Grant Family to be aware of the death of their successor, Zolat Grant. Without a doubt, the death of the Grant Family's successor would have a great impact on the prestige of the family.

The Grant Family would have used every means at their disposal to find the culprit. Furthermore, if they were told that Barian and Zante were possible suspects, they would have tortured them for answers.

Even though Barian and Zante were Holy Knights and light attribute mana users, they wouldn't be an exception to the wrath of the Grant Family. That was just how terrifying and influential the Grant Family was. The only outcome for them would have been their inevitable death.

Thinking about what would have happened had their captain not returned, Barian and Zante gritted their teeth in exasperation as they shuffled behind Holy Knight Randy, who led the way toward Church Street, where the Church of Light's sacred building was situated.

After walking through the path on the outskirts of Entertainment Street, Holy Knight Randy marched forward, and at some point, he arrived at the outskirts of Market Street, where small-time sellers set up their stalls to sell items.

While walking with a stern expression on his face, he suddenly heard a series of surprised reactions behind him. He turned and glanced around wondering what had happened.

Then, he heard Barian speak as he pointed in a certain direction. At the same time, he felt a tingling sensation in his mind that instantly caused him to become aware of what was going on.

"Zante, that guy over there is the bastard that scammed us, right?"

"You're right, I noticed him too. But why is he walking with that musclehead?"

"Forget about that! That son of a b*tch! I'll go and kill him for messing with us!"

"Wait! What do you think you're doing right now?"

"Don't stop me, Zante! That motherf*cker lied to us!"

"Have you forgotten that the Captain is here with us?"

"So what? You proceed ahead and follow the Captain back to the church. I'll catch up with you guys later!"

"Seriously, are you out of your mind right now? So what if that person had lied to us? Haven't we already found the Captain? Can't you see what matters most? Moreover, do you think you can beat him in a fight? Or have you already forgotten what happened last time?"

While Barian and Zante were in a heated argument, Holy Knight Randy silently walked past them without alerting the duo.

A few seconds later, Barian and Zante were abruptly startled when they noticed that, at some point, their captain was heading in the direction of that young man who had scammed them.

Barian suddenly muttered in puzzlement: "Wait… Why is the Captain walking toward that bastard?"

Zante replied: "Who knows? Perhaps the Captain wanted to talk to Gutz? Although I don't remember the two of them getting along in the past. Anyway, let's follow him and see what's going on."

…

A few hours ago.

As Gutz and Incarnation Randy were about to head further into Market Street to visit a Weapon Shop recommended by Gutz, they were suddenly sidetracked from their initial course. That was because Incarnation Randy became interested in some items along the way. As a result, they spent the next few hours checking different stalls selling different items.

Incarnation Randy purchased some miscellaneous items from those stalls. Afterward, he followed Gutz, who led the way toward the center of Market Street, where all the expensive and high-quality items were sold.

However, before they could walk more than two meters on the path they chose, Incarnation Randy suddenly halted his gait as he noticed that someone was following them. Before he could turn around, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"We finally met… Uhm… Brawler Randy?"

"Who?"

"Your name, of course! I just decided that on the spot!"

"Do I know you?"

"Of course, why don't you look again?"

Holy Knight Randy: 'Hey, play along with me. I need to deceive the two Holy Knights following me.'

Brawler Randy: 'So those two idiots are also here? This must have been planned by the main body. Then, I'll just play long. Moreover, I don't want those two idiots chasing me for revenge.'

"Oh? You're that Holy Knight Captain? Have you found your subordinates?"

"That's right. Thanks to you. I can't express my gratitude enough with words, so how about I invite you to my family sometime?"

"That wouldn't be necessary. I only did what I promised your subordinates.

"Oh? So my subordinates were the ones who sought you out for help?"

"That's right. As passionate as they were about finding their Captain, I couldn't resist helping them to the best of my ability. Anyway, I have some business to attend to with my friend here, so please excuse us."

"Alright. Then let us meet someday to discuss your rewards."

"As I said, there's really no need for rewards or gratitude."

Brawler Randy: 'What the hell are you doing saying these things? Can't you see that I'm busy right now?'

Holy Knight Randy: 'The act needs to be realistic enough for them to believe. Otherwise, it'd be pointless.'

Brawler Randy: 'Whatever! I'm leaving, so let's end this exchange right here.'

"If you refuse the reward, then why don't we become friends? What do you say to that?"

"..."

Brawler Randy: 'Why are you so annoying?'

Holy Knight Randy: 'Just answer the question and this will be over sooner.'

"Okay, we can become friends. Then, see you later."

Brawler Randy abruptly turned to Gutz and said: "Gutz, let's go."