I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 131 Uneasy
The town of Meadow is unusually quiet at night. Even without a curfew, no one wanders around. When they hear people moving around outside, the locals lock their doors and windows tightly, showing no interest in what is happening on the street.

In a world with extraordinary powers, sometimes watching the spectacle can be life-threatening. Unknown diseases and curses are impossible to guard against, even for professionals. From losing your head to an unplanned pregnancy, anything is possible. If you want to live a long life, you should avoid watching those strange things.

Old Joe didn't care at all that the guards weren't dispatched.

Anyone can be a guard; for professionals to do it is tantamount to self-degradation. They are all people with little potential and talent. It's better to hope they don't cause trouble than to rely on them for help. In this regard, the Adventurers' Guild and the Church are obviously more reliable.

However, without that negative energy ring, Old Joe felt a chill all over his body, which made him unable to help but stand next to the beautiful female pastor in the church: "Luna, do you feel that the necromantic aura is a bit strong tonight?"

"Hmm?" The church pastor frowned upon hearing this. She reached out but felt nothing. However, the old man beside her was also a level 9 warrior. The fact that they could still be at this level after retirement meant that their intuition was very reliable, otherwise they wouldn't have survived this long as cannon fodder on the front lines. "What makes you say that?"

“Ever since I injured my knee, it always hurts when it rains or when the aura of the dead is strong. Look at the moonlight, it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain, but my legs aren’t feeling well again.” Old Joe coughed as he spoke, “Should we be on guard?”

“As members of the church, we carry equipment and tools to fight undead creatures, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Luna said, glancing at his knees. “But are you sure about this?”

“Of course, this could be a matter of life and death. How could I dare to deceive a powerful and beautiful priest?” Old Joe said, drawing his longsword. “Look at me, I’m fully armed. To be honest, I feel a conflict might break out right now. After all, the fact that the man ran away means he has something to hide. They only have two choices: lie in wait or run away.”

Hearing this, Lü Na's expression turned serious: "Sitting idly by and waiting for death is never the choice of cultists. Whether they serve evil gods or demon lords, it will only lead them to cause greater destruction, trying to spread fear and unease in the material world in order to spread their influence."

She then looked at the novice priest beside her and said, "Brother, go to the church and inform the paladins and the Guardians to be on standby. Inform that mage Batista that we may need the support of an elite garrison. This is not a drill. I want to see everyone mobilized within half an hour."

"Old Joe, order a conscription of all adventurers in the city. If they hunt undead creatures, the church will pay double the normal fee. If nothing happens tonight, they'll still receive a 10-gold fee, also paid by the church, but they must cooperate with the church's actions."

The monk hurriedly left with two guards. Old Joe breathed a sigh of relief and called to the liaison officer beside him to call for reinforcements: "Priest, what do you think we might encounter tonight?"

“Normally, there aren’t any big fish in a rural place like Beer Town.” Luna frowned and quickly thought of the recent intelligence: “However, we heard that a level 6 cultist who worships the Undying Monarch was found in the neighboring Barley Village. And the news brought by the Paladin Deva this time seems to be about a level 6 cultist and a ranger of similar strength. If they all belong to the same faction, then your feeling of the necromancy earlier was correct.”

Old Joe nodded hurriedly upon hearing this, feeling somewhat annoyed that he should have used something else to bribe the priest. Just then, a member of the friars came to report: "Pastor, we have found the escapee. He hanged himself under a tree."

"Oh?" Lu Na and Old Qiao exchanged a glance, both looking incredulous. "Don't touch the body, take me to see it."

Five minutes later, the two appeared under an elm tree. Old Joe looked at the hanged man and sighed, "It really is Terry. I didn't expect him to be so foolish." "This is not right. Even if he really betrayed Deva, it would take a month from investigation to imprisonment. Given his status and strength, he is most likely an accomplice. He is basically not guilty of a capital offense. If he admits his mistake, he could be released in 10 or 20 years. He was probably murdered."

As Luna spoke, her palm emitted light, and a dark purple shadow quickly appeared on Terry's body. This confirmed her suspicions: "Don't move the corpse. He's cursed, most likely with some kind of infectious disease or something vicious."

Everyone was startled upon hearing this, but fortunately, Luna, as the priest in charge of the military town, was also a proper level 10 priest. She quickly removed all the spells from the corpse: "Has the paladin arrived? If so, please move the corpse down."

Paladins are immune to diseases, so they have no choice but to take responsibility for it, not to mention there are no safety issues with a priest present.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the body hadn't exploded while being moved down, praising Pastor Luna's exceptional skills. However, Old Joe noticed something amiss as he approached: "Wait, this looks like strangulation. This isn't suicide; it's homicide!"

Hearing this, everyone around frowned. The paladin standing to the side was puzzled: "Murder? Internal strife among the cultists?"

“Terry has been exposed. If he was just a briber and not a cult member, he will most likely go back home or hide. But he will most likely seek refuge with the local leader. Clearly, his master has abandoned him.”

As she spoke, Lü Na tapped her fingers: "Now that we've been exposed, we definitely have to move. Otherwise, if the paladins keep using their evil detection abilities, they could figure out the size of this town in a day. They'll probably be desperate. Everyone, be on high alert! Honor and glory await us. Drive out the lady's enemies and protect the city's peace!"

Upon hearing this, all the church members became excited. They rubbed their hands together and inspected their weapons, while the paladins began to don the shield of piety.

Since the cult members usually operate in the shadows, they certainly don't have the strength to shake the local church. In addition, the church has a numerical advantage in fighting on its own soil, so this achievement is practically free.

However, Lü Na felt uneasy, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong for the moment, so she could only start casting protective spells on the people around her.

As prayers were sung, the anti-evil magic circle was activated, and golden runes shimmered around the Guardians of the Faith. Moments later, arcane light shone from the southern city gate, and dazzling fireworks lit up the sky. However, the ringing bells sent chills down the spines of the city's still-sleeping residents. Even the most tipsy drunkards were jolted awake and pulled out all their coins to buy a room to rest.

That was the sound of bells signaling an enemy attack.

(End of this chapter)