What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

“Your Excellency the Chief Justice knows his situation, so why haven’t you issued an arrest warrant yet? I cannot understand!” Cardinal Zevin suddenly changed his tone and began to question Stuart, who was of slightly higher rank than him. “Do you know how smoothly his army has advanced? If we cut off their support, how much will this diocese suffer on its own? Are you willing to take that responsibility?”

He astutely realized that Chief Justice Stuart's advice wouldn't carry much responsibility, since he was the one who ultimately made the final decision.

Whether it's credible that Chief Justice Stuart previously promoted Leon Seth is hard to say.

He would naturally be unwilling to accept being asked to take responsibility and do as the other party said, even if they were unwilling to issue an arrest warrant to support him.

Moreover, as the current head of the Southeastern Diocese, he had actually heard a little about the miraculous power of the three high-ranking members of the Prophet Church. He knew that although the Chief Inquisitor was the swordsman of the Church’s commandments, he was not exactly innocent.

But at that moment, an alarm bell suddenly rang, causing Cardinal Zevin to stand up alertly.

"Sir, there's a fire in the parish clock tower. The nearby court has sent people to put it out, so please rest assured!" came the guard's announcement from outside.

"What did you say?!" Cardinal Zevin became even more nervous upon hearing this.

The parish clock tower is located near the courthouse, and the parish's teleportation array is set up underground in the parish courthouse!

It's clearly not natural for the fire to break out there at this particular time, forcing the court staff to be transferred away.

"It seems it's too late. Your Excellency, I hope you're still alive enough to take on this responsibility." Chief Inquisitor Stuart sighed, then immediately severed the connection, as if trying to erase all traces of the communication as quickly as possible.

Chapter 686 The Attack on the Grand Parish

The dazzling white light gradually subsided, and Leon, who had passed through the teleportation portal, saw the scene before him transform from the teleportation chamber of Santa Rosalia Prison into a secret chamber underground in the Southeastern Archdiocese.

What came into his view was a large group of knights and judges surrounding them, and judging from the sound of their footsteps, many more were still on their way.

The knights and judges were all armed, their guns pointed at the uninvited guests who had appeared in the center of the teleportation array.

Four intruders stood on the magic circle: Leon, Freyde, Lamia, and Dorothy. Each of them wore a robe that could block the see-through effect of the Mystic God's blessing and a veil.

The teleportation invasion plan was to be carried out in batches. This was the first wave of people Leon chose to invade the Southeastern Archdiocese. The three strongest fighters, along with Freyd who could use the Holy Land to deal with attacks, were to clear obstacles and ensure the passage was safe before the rest of the people were allowed to enter slowly through the teleportation array.

The moment the unregistered, abnormal transmission occurred, the area immediately went into a state of alert.

"This is the Southeastern Parish. Anyone who comes here, identify yourself immediately. This is the only warning you will receive!" the commander on the other side shouted.

Leon could sense the other person's nervousness. Such a suspicious intruder could easily be shot directly.

Rather than being cautious in confirming, the other party was praying that the person suddenly teleported in was just a church member on an urgent mission. Otherwise, if the person appearing in the teleportation array at this critical moment when the parish was surrounded by the army was an intruder, it would mean that the parish's defenses were in grave danger.

No one answered the commander's question. Only Freyd silently deployed her domain, enveloping herself and Leon in the sacred ground.

"Ok?"

Lamia and Dolucy both glanced at Freyd instinctively, but Freyd didn't even look at them: "Sorry, the area is limited. Good luck to you two."

"Avoid the barrier and fire!!" Seeing that the enemy used the blessing power without warning, the commander finally gave up his illusions and waved to signal for battle.

Leon drew his gun first, using time acceleration to empty the magazines of two pistols, instantly mowing down a group of people.

However, the enemy outnumbered them too many. A barrage of gunfire erupted, and bullets rained down on Lamia and Dorothy. No one dared to fire at the barrier of the sacred land, because the people in the church knew that this blessing could not only block attacks, but also possibly ricochet bullets back.

Dorothy sprouted wings that enveloped her, deflecting most of the bullets that were at bad angles. A few bullets pierced through the wings and struck her body, but she only took a few steps back, her smile remaining largely unchanged.

Lamia's tall figure became the most conspicuous target at this moment. Bullets rained down on her, exploding into dense wounds on her body. Blood spurted out with the shock of being shot, but Lamia did not retreat even a step.

She remained expressionless, her eyes gleaming with amber light. The next moment, more blood gushed from her wound, swelling and becoming as viscous as mud, before coalescing into the shape of a monster.

These monsters resemble humans from head to neck to abdomen, with humanoid bodies completely covered in scales and three pairs of long arms, but their heads and lower bodies are like venomous snakes, hissing and flicking their tongues.

The level 3 monster, the Viper Soldier, is one of the monsters that Moyland has bred that can use tools. They are often used to guard temples and serve as laborers.

The monster soldiers created by Lamia spewed venom and pounced out, immediately followed by screams of agony.

Leon also took the opportunity to release a swarm of vampire mosquito bats carrying cursed blood into the monsters created by Lamia. These vampire mosquito bats could not only inject venom, but also revert to cursed blood and turn into poisonous mist the moment they were killed, effectively petrifying the church personnel who came to intercept them.

Third-tier superhumans are already beings that ordinary people can hardly handle with sheer numbers and equipment; they are enough to dominate a battlefield. And this time, the ones invading the Grand Parish are three third-tier witches.

The sounds of battle quickly subsided, and poisonous fog spread outward from the underground teleportation chamber. Lamia released the remaining venomous snake soldiers to scout ahead and create chaos. Then, Leon led the three of them out of the teleportation chamber first.

"It seems the chaos created by your mole wasn't enough. There are still so many defenders, which caused me to take so many bullets." Dorothy took out her pipe, lit a cigarette, and complained, "If I had your resources to send people to handle this, I could definitely do a better job."

"The main job of an inside agent isn't to create chaos, but to warn us when they discover the church is preparing to seal the magic circle. The parish can't defend against our attack, but it can seal the magic circle," Fred calmly retorted. "And are you monsters really afraid of bullets?"

What she said wasn't without reason. Although Dorothy had been shot a few times, she was basically fine. She even tore open the stitches on her body herself to remove the flesh and organs from the wounded areas. She had spare body tissue stored inside her body, ready to replace them at any time.

As for Lamia, although she wasn't in her demon form, she wasn't covered in bulletproof scales.

But the wounds on her body began to heal when she was shot, and the bullet was pushed directly out of the wounds. When the battle ended, she was still unharmed, with only a few traces of blood on her body.

"How's the situation outside?" Lamia asked.

Leon took out a Mystic Badge and placed it in front of him like a walkie-talkie: "Johnny, report the situation."

“We started our formal attack fifteen minutes ago, just made up an excuse with a random explosion,” Johnny’s voice came through. “We’re fine here, it’s all up to you to see how things go.”

As if responding to Leon's action, Freyd also took out a Mystic Badge and made a call: "Alicia, how are things on your end?"

“The engineering corps has destroyed the bridge on the west side of the parish, so no supplies or personnel will be coming from here to provide support for the time being. I am now preparing to infiltrate the church along the planned route to meet up with you.” Alicia’s voice was calm. With her blessing ability, she was more than capable of bypassing the parish’s defenses and launching an infiltration operation.

The attack was launched simultaneously from the outside and the inside, and everything was proceeding according to plan.

"Don't be careless. There are still quite a few superhumans stationed in the parish. We'll be besieged soon. Once the second wave of personnel arrives, we'll advance towards the monastery and take control as soon as possible! If we have the chance, we should try to capture the high-ranking figures alive; we might be able to extract some important information from them," Leon ordered.

Chapter 687 Negotiating with a Bomb in Hand

"A monster has appeared inside the courtroom!"

"The third squad supporting the teleportation array has lost contact!"

"Someone broke into the archives and caused a fire. The fire is under control, and the guards are pursuing the intruder!"

"The main gate is under attack by Viscount Arend's army, and we urgently need reinforcements!"

"The watchtower has been struck by lightning twice in a row. Commander Knight Commander Langte has been wounded. There is a suspected high-level superhuman among the enemy!"

……

Urgent reports from all parts of the diocese piled up on the diocese principal Zevin's desk like falling snowflakes. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, but the cold sweat only poured out more.

Less than ten minutes after the Chief Justice of Stuart issued his warning, the Greater Parish began to be in a state of emergency.

An explosion occurred among the army stationed outside the parish of Viscount Arendt. Subsequently, the Viscount's army deployed siege troops under the pretext of "demanding an explanation from the Grand Parish garrison for the attack." The dispute between the two sides quickly escalated into a conflict.

Around that time, the clock tower near the courthouse caught fire, and the teleportation array was attacked. The guards quickly lost contact, and then monsters appeared inside the courthouse. Support teams sent to investigate lost contact one after another.

Logically speaking, the number of people that a teleportation array can teleport at one time is very limited, which means that those who suddenly attack from the teleportation array are probably multiple high-level superhumans.

Those capable of summoning monsters must be powerful witches. If Viscount Arend is indeed Fenrir himself, as His Majesty Aaron II accuses him, does that mean he has sided with Moirand?

The teleportation array has fallen into enemy hands, which means that the enemy can continue to invade the parish, while they are temporarily unable to obtain support from other parishes.

Judging from the chaos caused by the sudden fires in the clock tower and archives, it was clear that the enemy had already planted spies within the diocese. Cardinal Zevin realized that the enemy had probably taken action shortly after he agreed to the support of the Church of War.

Now how to do?

Should we first recapture the Inquisition's teleportation array to secure support from other dioceses, or concentrate our efforts on repelling the army's attack before encircling and annihilating the invaders?

Cardinal Zevin was momentarily at a loss, a situation even more complicated than the Saintess incident.

"Have the nearest troops seal off the entire block where the courthouse is located, and then have all the Knights of the West District support the main gate..." He tentatively came up with some contingency plans.

Before he could finish giving his instructions, the cathedral's captain of guard suddenly pushed open the door and entered: "Lord parishioner, an intruder has appeared outside the cathedral, claiming to be Viscount Arend, and says he wants to see the parishioner!"

"!?"

Cardinal Zevin abruptly stood up, wondering if he had misheard.

Viscount Arendt must have been teleported directly from St. Rosalia Prison. Putting aside the fact that he personally led the raid on the parish, his appearance outside the heavily guarded cathedral at this time, as the culprit, suggests either that he has come to surrender, or... to "behead" him.

Cardinal Zevin felt a chill run down his spine at this thought. He hadn't paid attention to Fenrir's case, but he had heard some rumors about it. The reason His Majesty the Emperor hated Fenrir was because Fenrir had murdered Knight Commander Dawson of the Church of War.

He was merely a cardinal with a second-order blessing, mostly handling clerical work, and he didn't think he was stronger than the current knight commander in terms of ability.

“Since he claims to be a suspect, why don’t you take him into custody?” Cardinal Zevin glared at the captain of the guard.

At such times, regardless of whether the person is Viscount Arendt or not, any suspicious person appearing in the parish is undoubtedly an intruder and must be arrested on the spot.

"That 'Viscount Arend' has a masked guard by his side who wields the blessing of the sacred land, estimated to be at the second level. For now, no one can get close to him, and no attack can touch them; the only option is to keep their distance and surround them," the head guard said.

"Then let's wait until the blessing of the sacred land runs out before we make a move... Oh, right, take the badge over first, let me confirm it myself."

Cardinal Zevin thought about it and still felt that he should meet this Viscount Arend to see if he was really him, but he didn't dare to confront him directly, so he could only take this compromise approach.

“Well…” the captain of the guard thought for a moment, then added, “There’s one more thing. This Viscount Arend also asked us to tell you that he’s carrying a red mercury weapon!”

Cardinal Zevin froze on the spot at that moment.

Just minutes later, Cardinal Zevin personally led his guards out of the cathedral and looked down from the steps at the two men who were surrounded by the Knights.

Wearing the uniform of the Grand Inquisitor, Leon had one hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, and the other hand he was holding something that looked like a hammer, with a lead ball attached to a short iron chain.

Behind him, Princess Freyde, veiled in a long robe, held a rapier and remained motionless, maintaining the barrier of the sacred land like a low-key attendant.

Cardinal Zevin gasped when he saw the "shot put".

He was not involved in the Red Mercury weapon project, but as a member of the Cardinals, he had the right to know information related to Red Mercury in the Church's top secrets, and also knew the appearance of the Red Mercury weapon.

Although he dared not face Leon directly, he still suppressed his fear and came out to confirm the existence of the Red Mercury weapon himself.

If what Leon said is true, then he has the power to burn down half the parish.

But he still held onto a sliver of hope and forced himself to remain calm as he spoke: "Viscount Arend... no, Leon Seth, you here have, through your foolish actions, admitted to all the charges against you by His Majesty the Emperor. You are an enemy of the Church, have committed numerous heinous crimes of apostasy and blasphemy, and are also suspected of colluding with enemy nations. Now you dare to stand here so brazenly. It seems you are mentally prepared to be judged by the wrath of God, aren't you?"

"Who can represent the judgment of God? You?" Leon chuckled softly, then lifted the flail with some difficulty. "I only know that the true wrath of God... is here! Red Mercury, Your Excellency Cardinal, I'm sure you can't have been unaware of it, can you?"

“Bluster! Your only option now is to surrender and order your troops to cease their rebellion!” Cardinal Zevin tried his best to keep his expression from giving himself away.

"You can check whether it's a bluff or not." Leon took out a sealed test tube made of sacred material, inside which floated a point of fiery red semi-solid, constantly releasing heat and making the surface of the test tube slightly hot.

Leon threw the test tube out of the barrier of the sacred land, and a knight immediately ran to deliver it to Principal Zevin for confirmation.

The parish chief, Zewen, examined the sample in the test tube with a tense expression. The characteristics of the sample were indeed no different from those of the red mercury he had seen before, and it was also constantly releasing heat. However, this did not mean that the ball-like object was a red mercury weapon.

Just as he was about to raise a question, Leon suddenly let go, letting the hammer fall to the ground.

With a loud crash, the lead ball, which wasn't particularly heavy by its size, shattered the marble below the steps, leaving a cracked crater.

Cardinal Zevin's face immediately fell; that unusual density was indeed characteristic of red mercury.

“If you only believe me if I detonate it, I don’t really mind doing that,” Leon said, looking at the Cardinal.

Chapter 688: Fighting without bloodshed

Cardinal Zevin quickly came to believe Leon's threat, not out of a sense of caution or a desire to err on the side of caution, but out of genuine belief that the man before him would actually do it.

Leon appeared calm and collected in his words and actions, but when combined with the content of his threats, Cardinal Zevin felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

His intuition told him that Leon's threat was real, and that making such a threat was as natural and habitual to the man as eating and drinking.

Fenrir has obtained the Red Mercury weapon, and it is probably the kind of self-destructing incendiary bomb developed by the Church of War. That is why he is standing here with a servant who has the power of the Holy Land.

If he wanted, he could burn every living thing within a radius of several kilometers, leaving only himself and the person beside him standing unharmed.

Among the church personnel present, only a small number showed the same nervous expression as the parish chief; most were simply puzzled by the parish chief's inability to conceal the seriousness of the situation.

Only a minority of people in the church knew about the existence of red mercury. Most people did not realize the seriousness of the situation. When the apostate Viscount Arend produced such a thing, the parish priest Zevin was inexplicably frightened.

“You dare not do that. If you do, you will only invite the church’s relentless attack, and there will be no room for negotiation!” Diocese Chief Zewen tried his best to overcome his nervousness and persuaded him.

“If I continue to do this, I might actually have a chance to sit down and discuss things. If I can’t, then I’m truly doomed.” Leon didn’t care about the other party’s threat at all. “But don’t worry, Your Excellency the Parish Master, the reason I brought this here is so that I can have a proper discussion with you and resolve the current problem with minimal casualties.”

"Discuss?" Cardinal Zevin was a little confused for a moment.

“I believe you’ve already figured it out; I don’t necessarily need to use this. Now my troops are well-prepared, and I’ve also seized the passage from St. Rosalia Prison to this teleportation array. I’m sending a group of elite troops to attack the main gate from both inside and outside. How long do you think the diocese’s defenses can hold out?” Leon asked Cardinal Zevin.

“Don’t underestimate the power of this diocese!” Cardinal Zevin retorted.

“But no matter what, my side has a better chance of winning now.” Leon said, picking up the red mercury incendiary bomb that had fallen to the ground again. “And with this in mind, you have no chance at all. In that case, I think you should actually hope that the situation doesn’t become too favorable for you.”

If the parish chief Zevin manages to turn the situation around, Leon, driven to the brink, will use the Red Mercury incendiary bomb to completely destroy the main part of the parish.

Leon didn't care whether this thing could scare Cardinal Zevin, since he wasn't going to use it to intimidate him anyway.

Cardinal Zevin refused to cooperate, so he continued his attack according to plan. If things went smoothly, he would take it; if not, he would have to use the precious red mercury incendiary bombs. Only by occupying the Grand Diocese would he have a chance to obtain the relics stored there and then manufacture more red mercury.