Clyde kept talking, while Lin Lei remained silent.
"Haha, Lin Lei, you must know by now who your real enemy is. But can you really take on the Temple of Light?" Clyde laughed maniacally, bordering on hysteria. Knowing he was doomed to die, he now wished nothing more than for the world to descend into ever greater chaos.
"Is what you're saying true?" Lin Lei's voice was low and somber.
In truth, Lin Lei already believed what Clyde had said, because only this could explain why the Church of Light had bestowed upon Clyde a Holy Domain magic scroll.
"True, false — you should know for yourself," Clyde laughed wildly.
Lin Lei fell silent.
"Lin Lei, think about it. You're a magical genius, and a Dragon Blood Warrior at that. In the eyes of the Church of Light, you're far more promising than a ninth-level warrior like me who was artificially elevated through secret techniques. In the future, you'll be a Holy Domain ultimate warrior and a Holy Domain Grand Mage. If not for that, even if you killed me, the Church of Light probably wouldn't have the heart to kill you," Clyde cackled.
Lin Lei understood this reasoning.
"This Clyde is likely telling the truth," Derinkoort's voice echoed in Lin Lei's mind. With Derinkoort's worldly wisdom, he was far better at judging whether someone was lying than Lin Lei.
Lin Lei trusted Derinkoort completely.
Meanwhile, six cold, purple-robed men were walking along Keyan Street in Hest City. The natural aura of elite power radiating from these six purple-robed figures made the people around them instinctively step aside.
The six headed straight for Clyde's estate.
They had no idea what had just transpired there.
"Vitas, are the ascetics up ahead?" one of the purple-robed men whispered.
The golden-haired purple-robed man leading the group nodded. "Yes. As far as I know, the ascetics have been staying here with Clyde. This mission is of critical importance — it would be best if we set out together with them."
These six were the Supreme Deacons of the Religious Tribunal.
They had only just arrived in Hest City from elsewhere and only knew this address. They were unaware that the ascetics had already departed just minutes earlier — they had missed them by a hair.
"Hm? Why is no one here?"
When the six entered Clyde's estate, they looked at one another in confusion. The other five Supreme Deacons all turned to Vitas, the leader of this operation.
"Let's check inside," Vitas said flatly, and the six proceeded deeper into the estate. But the place was completely deserted.
"Lin Lei, let my father go! My father has already told you everything!" A voice called from the direction of the back courtyard entrance. All six Supreme Deacons immediately turned toward the source.
Their expressions turned solemn.
"Lin Lei?"
The six exchanged glances.
"Lin Lei? Listed on the Red Roster of the Tribunal — to be killed on sight." The six Supreme Deacons quietly made their way toward the rear gate of the back courtyard.
The Religious Tribunal maintained two lists: the Red Roster and the Black Roster.
Those on the Red Roster had to be killed if encountered, but there was no need to expend excessive effort pursuing them. The Black Roster, on the other hand, meant the target had to be killed at any cost.
In truth, given Lin Lei's potential and the future threat he posed to the Church of Light, he should have been placed on the Black Roster. However, within the Church's internal deliberations during the pursuit, they reasoned that since Lin Lei was outside the Church and the chances of him discovering his mother had been killed by the Church were slim, they placed him on the Red Roster instead.
The Supreme Deacons of the Church of Light's Religious Tribunal were terrifyingly powerful — all six were ninth-level powerhouses. They crept silently toward Lin Lei.
In the narrow alley behind the estate's back courtyard.
Lin Lei's steel-like dragon tail was wrapped tightly around Clyde.
"Let your father go?" Lin Lei stared at Salk, his voice cold. "I let your father go, but who will give me back my father and my mother? My mother was killed by the Church of Light, but your father bears at least half the blame. And my father's death — your father bears most of the responsibility for that as well."
As he spoke, his dragon tail constricted even tighter.
"Cr-cr-crack—" Strange sounds emanated from Clyde's body as he writhed in agony, strangled by the dragon tail.
"Aagh— Lin Lei, just finish me off with one strike!" Clyde groaned in torment.
"CRACK—"
Both of Clyde's arms, crushed within the tail's grip, snapped apart. His waist, now squeezed by Lin Lei's dragon tail, had been crushed thin as a woman's slender midsection.
"Die."
Lin Lei looked down at Clyde and tightened his tail once more.
"Cough!" Clyde's mouth sprayed a torrent of fresh blood, his face flushed crimson. Between coughing fits, chunks of shattered organs spewed out with the blood.
At that moment—
Clyde's waist had been completely severed, his spine snapped clean through. Only a strip of raw, bloody flesh connected his upper and lower halves.
Clyde let out a few more "ahh—ahh—" groans, his face beet-red, and within seconds he stopped breathing entirely. His soul vanished from the face of the world.
In that moment, Lin Lei felt no pleasure at all.
All he felt was profound grief and sorrow.
"Father, Mother — can you see this?" Lin Lei thought to himself.
Salk, Caesar, the princess, and the members of the Frenzied Thunder Team all watched Lin Lei, many of them gripped by fear. Witnessing Clyde's gruesome death, they dared not seek vengeance. All they could do was pray that Lin Lei would leave.