Nightmare Light

Chapter 172 Her Plan
"When those villains surrounded me, I made my final vow to my mother in my heart—if my mother can protect me, I am willing to follow her light for the rest of my life!"

Deputy Bishop Zhao (female version), with her head tilted and legs crossed, her beautiful hair and red lips, looked at Lin Wang, her voice full of magnetism.

"Young man from the North...do you know what happened next?"

Lin Wang remained silent, knowing she would continue speaking—after all, someone who had held it in for decades would surely break down at this point.

Sure enough, the next second she continued, "Later, all those mercenaries suddenly died."

"Dead?" Lin Wang's heart skipped a beat. "You mean, it was the goddess who did it?"

“In that situation, only my mother could save me,” said Vice-Bishop Zhao. “Don’t you think so?”

I suspect... some kind of evil thing in the fog drove those mercenaries insane, amplifying the evil thoughts within them... and then killed them... This version is clearly more plausible...

But Lin Wang knew that at this point, no amount of analysis would be meaningful.

"Continue with your story."

“After what happened that day, I decided to fulfill my vow to my mother—so I used magic to change my appearance and joined the temple… Of course, that’s not all.”

"That day, I asked myself a question."

Vice-Bishop Zhao tossed his long, flowing hair and tilted his head to look at Lin Wang: "If these people who received gifts from the Mother are unfilial children... who will take responsibility for taking back the power they swindled from the Mother?"

"The answer is me."

She smiled and said to Lin Wang, "So, I secretly took control of a battle group within the Holy Army."

Lin Wang's heart began to pound violently.

“Over the years, I’ve controlled this battle group and secretly killed many mortal masters…” she said, then shook her head, “But it’s not enough, too slow, too slow!”

"So, your real goal is to kill a bunch of lay masters on the day of the Enlightenment Festival?!" Lin Wang suddenly stood up. "Are you crazy?!"

“Yes, I’ve been insane since that day decades ago,” Vice-Bishop Zhao nodded with a smile.

She waved her finger: "But you're wrong about one thing—I'm not planning to kill many lay masters... I'm planning to kill them all."

Vice-Bishop Zhao interrupted Lin Wang, who was about to speak, and looked at him: "However, Northerner, before discussing those lay teachers... I have one more question that I need you to answer."

"I have no interest in answering your question." Lin Wang clenched his fist. "I'd rather stop you."

"Do you possess a gift from your mother?" Her voice turned icy. "Don't try to deny it. I've already seen it clearly—you can control your mother's blessings... You must possess a gift from your mother!"

"So that's the real reason why you went to so much trouble to talk to me all this time."

Lin Wang took two more steps forward: "You want to seize my power?"

“No, I have no interest in your power.” Vice-Bishop Zhao shook his head, his expression serious. “I just want to kill you so that what you stole from Mother can be returned to Her.”

“Madman…” Lin Wang shook his head, “But I must tell you one thing: this power wasn’t stolen by me, but forcibly given to me by that madman!”

"You are not allowed to insult my mother!" Vice-Bishop Zhao roared in anger, raising his hand and unleashing a blinding white light upon Lin Wang.

Lin Wang raised his left arm to protect his head and face, while simultaneously raising his right fist and slamming it heavily towards Vice-Bishop Zhao: "Do you think you can beat me?"

But after she became younger, she became much more agile. She lightly jumped back a step and raised her right hand at the same time.

Lin Wang saw it; in her right hand, there was a neatly arranged cube.

"Guess what this is?" she said, and with a forceful squeeze, the cube was crushed into powder.

The powder scattered and fell to the ground. As the powder touched the floor of the stone chamber, the entire chamber began to tremble violently.

"I am indeed no match for you... but I don't need to beat you."

"Once this thing is activated, it will create a demiplane located between the primary plane and the underworld—a completely artificial plane with no entrance, no exit, and no coordinates."

"This demiplane is just the right size to fit the entire temple, including the plaza outside, and all those thieves who stole Mother's wealth!"

“So why should I defeat you?” Vice-Bishop Zhao smiled brightly: “I only need to keep you and those mortal masters outside in this demiplane forever, that’s enough.”

"Moreover, you should feel honored that a high-ranking vice-bishop of the temple, hundreds of priests... and an entire temple warband will perish with you."

"happy?"

The next second, the stone chamber collapsed in front of him and her.

……

About five minutes ago, in the temple square.

Shi Xiong looked slightly puzzled, his brows furrowed beneath his robe as he stared at an unusually young priest not far in front of him.

"Where the hell did this guy come from?" he asked his colleague in a low voice. "Is this guy really a priest?"

“I’m just as confused…” His colleague’s tone was equally perplexed. “To be honest… his divine power is genuine… just like yours and mine, but, but…”

"That's bullshit. What kind of priest would carry a bag and pick up the shoes that lay priests have trampled on in the square?" Shi Xiong interrupted his subordinate.

Not far in front of the two, the young priest who had been accompanying Lin Wang was now bent over, carrying a bag, and wandering around among the laymen in the square.

Every time he saw a shoe that had been stepped on, his eyes would light up, and he would rush over to pick it up and put it in his bag.

Shi Xiong's face twitched slightly. He took a breath, took a few steps forward, and grabbed the young priest's shoulder: "Hey, what are you doing?"

The young priest was taken aback at first, and subconsciously said, "Who wants to steal my business!" He turned his head and saw a strong man standing in front of him. The man was hidden in his robe, but the face that was vaguely visible had majestic and rugged features, and the priest's mark was clearly visible. At the same time, the divine power on his body was so strong that it was dazzling.

The young priest shuddered: "My lord! I...I'm..."

"Speak! Why did you do such a thing, bringing shame upon Mother and the Temple!" Shi Xiong's tone was stern. "You and I both swore an oath before Mother! To dedicate our lives to upholding the glory of Mother and the Temple!"

After hesitating for a while, the young man finally mustered up his courage and said, "Sir, I...I really do want to make money!"

The young priest's voice gradually rose as he spoke: "I think that every year after the Festival of Revelation, there are many shoes left in the square that have been trampled off!"

"This is bad for the temple's image!"

"Secondly, it's actually quite uncomfortable for lay teachers to leave barefoot!"

"If I collect these shoes and sell them to make money, I can also help the lay masters... Wouldn't that actually earn the temple some goodwill?"

After the young priest finished speaking, he straightened his neck, closed his eyes, and showed an expression of resignation to fate.

But after a full half minute, the expected punishment did not come down.

He opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar and powerful priest in front of him. The priest did not punish him; instead, he looked thoughtful and contemplative.

The tall priest raised his head, looked up at the sky, and exhaled a long breath.

"You remind me of someone."

(End of this chapter)