Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Of course, Lord Raymond! We are absolutely sincere!"

"Great!" Raymond felt as if he had returned to the moment when he was promoted to legion commander, with the same excitement and the same burning passion.

Raymond raised his hand, and angelic light danced above his head, sanctifying the dimly lit corridor.

Raymond enveloped himself in holy light and clouds, with a gentle smile, like an angel descending to earth to offer salvation.

His voice was like the most beautiful holy light.

"Ask me, children, and I will give you what you want."

Faced with such a miracle, the imposter lowered his head and kissed the ground where Raymond stood, like the most devout servant of God.

"Lord Raymond! Our role model! The one who stands at the pinnacle! Please bestow your divine skills upon us!"

Raymond raised his hand, and in his palm, a large mass of droplets of holy light was gathering. Once they finished speaking, he was determined to transform them into holy light liches, even if it meant defying the heavens.

"Lord Raymond! Please pass on your culinary skills to us!!!"

"God of Cookery!! We want to learn how to make glowing dishes too!!!"

"Huh??" A huge sense of doubt shattered all the miracles.

Raymond was completely dumbfounded.

"What do you want to learn from me?"

"Culinary skills! Lord Raymond! We want to learn your culinary arts. Ever since we tasted your cooking, ordinary food can no longer satisfy our appetites. We want to learn the way of cooking that can bring happiness to the world! Lord Raymond! Your culinary skills are astounding! Please, you must teach us how to cook!!!"

Raymond clenched his fists, his body trembling once again, but this time, not with excitement.

"You want to learn... cooking from me, the leader of the Crusaders, the most powerful paladin in history, the calamity of Andrei, the embodiment of justice???"

The imposter stood up and patted Raymond's trembling shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lord Raymond. Even if you are corrupted by the Holy Light, we will not reject you in the slightest. Your culinary skills are simply too amazing. Even if you were a sorcerer-hated paladin, we would still admire you! Please teach me the art of cooking, Instructor Raymond!"

Raymond slapped the imposter against the wall, and the flesh exploded on the wall, turning into a pile of minced meat.

Raymond's roar echoed throughout the entire corridor.

"You don't deserve it! Die, you stupid lich!"

Chapter 320 Radiant Culinary Club

Ariane looked at Mr. Raymond, who stood before her with his arms crossed, grumbling about the shameless liches. It was a pity she hadn't applied for the Flesh and Blood Disguise yet; otherwise, she would have definitely shown a helpless expression.

"Your Majesty Raymond, in the end, did you disperse the liches who tried to follow you?"

"I'm really angry! I'm angry, and it's fair to take it out on them!" Mr. Raymond said, raising his fist high again and slamming it down on the podium in front of him. At the last moment, the fist struck Raymond's own right hand, allowing him to save his podium.

Ellian listened to Raymond's words as if she were watching a child arguing, even though he himself seemed to genuinely believe it was the right thing to do.

I believe that the bishops who nurtured His Holiness Raymond must have crafted a persona of someone who is courageous, unwavering, and never confused. But isn't His Holiness Raymond perhaps a little too righteous?

“Your Majesty Raymond, you must rarely encounter setbacks.”

"Elian, when faced with difficulties, we must be persistent and determined to win." Raymond spoke with a righteous expression, spouting profound truths, before his tone softened.

"Setbacks? Do you think there's anything my force can't solve?" Raymond said naturally, accepting the reality of succumbing to power. "Usually, I can conquer them with my personal charm."

Elian realized how lucky she was to have met His Majesty Raymond; it was a stroke of luck for both of them.

Nuns are compassionate mothers in the holy light, the most outstanding preachers. Unlike priests who are active on the pulpit, they imprint the Gospel of the Lord in everyone's heart with their eyes like the morning light, their smiles like flower buds, and their voices like the gentle breeze.

Elian never imagined that one day she would have to advise her own bishop.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, as if in prayer. Approaching Raymond, she slightly raised her head to look up at his face.

"Your Majesty Raymond, to us you are like the sun. The sun does not hide its light. The sun shines its light equally on everyone."

"But they are liches, enemies of all living beings."

Ariane extended her palm and placed it on Raymond's breastplate, patting it gently. "Yes, Lord Raymond, you are right. But in this world, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal evil. Do you remember what you once said? Liches also have their admirable aspects. If you can see their merits, why can't you accept them, just as Andrei accepted you?"

"You used the power of the Holy Light to make food, and they followed you. The Holy Light is no longer their enemy."

"But those bastards would rather be a cook than a paladin! They have no holy light in their eyes!"

"The Holy Light is our faith, Your Majesty Raymond. We give willingly, and the Holy Light bestows its grace."

"Demanding others to give before giving in return is not faith; it's a commodity. The power of the Holy Light has no hierarchy; it's just that we've kept it on a pedestal. Your Majesty Raymond, this situation should change, and it's in your hands."

Raymond remained silent.

Outside the chapel, the imposters, eager to learn cooking, were still praying. They knelt outside the chapel door, watching the faint light filtering through the cracks.

“Should we keep waiting? I mean, look, Lord Raymond has smashed some of us. Maybe he’s not going to teach us today.”

Soon someone refuted his statement.

"The most important qualities for a chef are patience and a persistent spirit of research. I believe that our sincerity will bring about change."

Rumble...

A tremor like an earthquake struck beneath my feet.

But when the imposter shifted his gaze to the door, he discovered that the noise wasn't coming from inside, but from behind him.

They did not see the light of day.

But darkness followed.

"Feeding...reproducing...long live darkness..."

In the darkness, one after another, bloated mushrooms appeared in the imposter's line of sight.

Mr. Darkness quickly ordered a halt to the advance and reached the very top of the group.

He looked at the group of imposters kneeling on the ground, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Aha! I see. You're the crusaders of the Holy Light, aren't you? But Raymond broke your legs and left you outside!"

Mr. Darkness opened his arms.

"Don't worry, my friends! Your allies have arrived! I, Darkness, will give you justice today!"

"Come on, join my Dark Mushroom Army!!!"

The imposter dodged the mushroom man's outstretched arm, its spores bearing an unhealthy, pale green hue.

“I know who you are, Mr. Darkness! You are an enemy of Lord Raymond! We will not side with you!”

Darkness was momentarily stunned.

He scratched his head.

"Raymond's followers? Liches? A new breed? I mean, what are you guys after following that big oaf?"

The imposter was furious.

"I will not allow you to insult our God of Cookery! The art of cooking is not to be profaned!"

Darkness laughed even more heartily.

"Hahahaha, the cooks of the Holy Light. You bastards are truly the best of the liches."

"Stop talking! How about joining the literary society? I'll give you a pass without an exam!"

"You are all imposters, tormented by hunger, aren't you? Join my Black Mushroom Legion. Your hunger will be satisfied forever."

The imposter examined the mushroom-men closely: their pale skin and murky pus around their mouths. One of the mushroom-men, right before their eyes, ate a lich, then spat him out. The spores multiplied and devoured him, eventually turning the lich into a lifeless mushroom-man.

The mushroom people abandoned their pursuit of delicious food, combining hunger with spore reproduction, and became monsters that are forever eating and forever destroying.

This is exactly the opposite of what the imposters pursue. They endure hunger desperately in order to devote themselves to studying food and look forward to the happiness that food brings when it bursts in their mouths.

The imposters stood up, their spines straight, pointing directly into the darkness.

"We, the Radiant Culinary Club, will never collude with your Dark Mushroom Gang. On the contrary, one of us must break for our own pursuits!"

"Food is king!"

"Raymond above! Delicious food above!"

The darkness emitted a sinister, grotesque laugh.

"Since you are so stubborn, don't blame me."

"Dark Legion! Tear these idiots to shreds! Devour their flesh and blood to expand my legion! Before the Chapel of Holy Light, once more unleash the power of darkness!"

"Holy Light! It will surely perish!!"

"Hoo hoo hoo hoo!!!!"

Upon receiving the order, the mushroom-men surged towards the imposters like a tidal wave.

The outcome was decided almost instantly.

Once the mushroom man's spores touch the imposter's skin, the caps will quickly appear on his flesh and begin to devour it.

The damage caused by the imposter's attacks, whether magical or elemental, was roughly equal to the mushroom's regeneration rate.

The imposters had to shed their fleshly disguises before being completely consumed. Although their lich forms were capable of fighting, their willpower to satisfy their hunger was slowly fading as their hunger waned.

Everything seemed to be settling down soon. Seeing this situation, every member of the cooking club felt the pressure.

They are waiting.

A leader.

The doors of the chapel slowly opened.

The light shone generously behind the lich.

"George, you must have died of your brain too."

"Haven't you learned your lesson after I've beaten you up so many times?"

Raymond, the God of Light Chef, is with the Radiant Culinary Club.