Chapter 157: Unease
Is Matthew afraid of being hunted down?
Of course he's afraid!
Before fully growing, potential alone cannot be converted into immediate combat strength.
Facing the relentless pursuit of the Pale Church, Matthew couldn't guarantee he'd survive unscathed.
This evil church, which has been hunted and targeted by many kingdoms and organizations for thousands of years, still exists to this day.
That alone speaks to its secrecy and strength!
What's more, Matthew had personally fought against a high-ranking priest of the Pale Church and knew they possessed legendary-level combat power.
So it's only natural to be cautious!
However, the Smart before him was just an ordinary occultist.
He wasn't worth the Pale Church spending a great deal to cast a high-level "Seeker" curse on him.
The data-driven examination both inside and out confirmed this point.
Yet Matthew didn't bother refuting it; he simply drew his slender sword and swiftly swung it down.
"Ah...!"
Smart, the occultist, had his hands chopped off, and the intense pain and fear made him scream even louder.
Casually flicking the blood off his sword, Matthew signaled Yaya to release her grip.
He grabbed Smart's head and pressed it into the soft, muddy pit.
"Ugh..."
"Gurgle..."
"No...don't..."
"..."
The unspeakable stench from the foul water crawled into Smart's nose and mouth.
Smart, who had joined the Pale Church seeking a longer life and greater pleasures, was certainly not someone with strong willpower.
He was quickly reduced to a sniveling mess, begging and struggling, nearly vomiting from the ordeal.
Matthew's actions were unusually brutal.
Even Yaya was quite curious, having never seen Matthew this furious before.
Felicity silently watched the scene unfold before her.
She didn't know what Matthew's purpose was, but she vaguely felt like something within her had been switched on.
The occultist Smart, who had just been so high and mighty, wielding the power of life and death,
Was now groveling like a dog, pleading for mercy, which made her feel an eerie sense of disbelief.
But this was reality!
Cold, harsh reality!
At the same time, deep within Felicity's heart, a stronger desire for power awakened.
If she had the strength Matthew had, her family wouldn't be in crisis, and her captain and teammates would still be alive...
She resolved to get stronger!
After fully absorbing all the information about Mobile Casting and the other three specializations, Matthew tossed the tearful Smart aside and finally asked:
"What's your purpose for coming here? Think carefully before answering."
Spitting out the foul mud from his mouth, Smart coughed heavily, not daring to look at Matthew's cold eyes, lowering his head and howling:
"The altar! It's to activate the altar!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the cold sword tip pierced his throat, and with another swift stroke, his head was severed.
Blood splattered, falling into the muddy pit and quickly swallowed by the murky muck.
Matthew ignored the kill notification, using his sword to lift Smart's space belt from his waist and casually cast "Cleanse."
Watching Matthew so adeptly kill and loot the body, Felicity, who had been silent the whole time, couldn't help but bite her lip.
Who wouldn't be afraid?
But Matthew seemed completely unaware of it, tossing the storage belt to Yaya before turning to glance at her and saying:
"We need to leave!"
Before Felicity could react, Yaya, holding the storage belt, grabbed her and flew up with a powerful beat of her wings.
With a "Feather Fall" spell cast on himself, Matthew looked down at the faint red glow emanating from the ground below and, after smacking his lips, said under Felicity's shocked gaze:
"So the altar that activates automatically when enough people die in a short time—turns out to be the Pale Church's handiwork!"
Felicity lowered her head and witnessed a scene she would never forget in her lifetime, illuminated by the faint red moonlight.
Smart's headless corpse was slowly moving toward the altar in the pit!
The bodies of the thugs, even the traitor she loathed, had already risen in a strange manner.
The corpses gradually lost their color, leaving behind a glaring shade of pale.
The glowing altar suddenly emitted an invisible wave, passing through everything.
However, nothing seemed to happen.
As the mist gradually swallowed the scene below, Felicity realized she was flying higher and higher.
"What's the deal with that altar?"
Forcing herself to suppress the fear in her heart, Felicity stubbornly lifted her head and asked Matthew.
Matthew, now piecing together this new puzzle about the Pale Church, had a flashback to the desolate and ruined state of Sweetwater Town. Patiently, he explained:
"As you saw, the altar was activated. All those who died within a certain range became sacrifices to activate it."
"As for the purpose, the Pale Church must be trying to open that underground ruin."
Underground ruins!
Felicity was no stranger to them. Having spent over a year adventuring in Bloodmoon City, she had participated in at least ten ruin excavations and explorations.
But she couldn't understand what kind of ruin required such a bizarre altar to open.
What exactly is the Pale Church?
And who is this mysterious Arcanist?
What's the difference between using everyone else as sacrifices and using her as a sacrifice?
Even though her mind was full of questions, Matthew himself was feeling a bit of a headache.
Don't be fooled by how easily he disposed of the occultist Smart—that was all thanks to Yaya's might!
If it had been just him doing the fighting, while he was confident he could take down this mid-level occultist, it certainly wouldn't have been that easy.
It wasn't that Matthew didn't want to interrogate Smart more thoroughly, but he knew full well that someone of Smart's level wouldn't have more information than he already knew.
Plus, the altar had already been activated, and Matthew couldn't be sure of its true purpose.
But one thing was certain: the Pale Church must be very focused on it.
The murloc camp, located near the altar and the ruins, must have already fallen within the Pale Church's sights.
It's even possible that Bay Territory itself had come under their watch.
That's why Matthew had acted so decisively.
The longer he delayed, the greater the chance of exposure.
Now, Matthew needed to rethink his plans and prepare to deal with the Pale Church's next moves.
As the murloc camp came into view, Matthew glanced at the silent Felicity and felt a bit of regret.
The timing wasn't right!
Yes, the reason Matthew had been so kind to Felicity was because he recognized this still relatively young adventurer.
In the future, the name of "Emerald Dragon" Felicity would be renowned far and wide.
Matthew didn't have much personal history with Felicity, but he knew very well the importance of her future identity—Vice Leader of the Dragonborn Guild.
The shiny "+5" Luck value on Felicity's attribute panel confirmed to Matthew that he hadn't mistaken her for someone else.
The reason Matthew chose to build goodwill with Felicity instead of recruiting her as a tool was because of her other identity—sister of the Governor of the Eastern Province!
A true big shot!