The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 238

The crusader who escaped from the forest tried to sit up and flee the moment they saw Yuk Eun-Hyung and the members of his mercenary corps. However, exhausted from running, they couldn't even muster the strength to get up.

Yuk Eun-Hyung approached the fallen crusader. His muscles were visible through the bandages wrapped all around his shirtless body.

With his bulging muscles and messy scars, Yuk Eun-Hyung exuded an intimidating presence like a giant beast. The crusader desperately tried to grab their spear, but they grabbed nothing. They had abandoned their spear while fleeing from the forest. They had no way to stand their ground and resist. A low-ranking crusader like them would never be able to survive meeting the mercenary corps leader Yuk Eun-Hyung without any weapons or holy artifacts.

Yuk Eun-Hyung struck the crusader's stomach.

Thwack!

"Ugh...!" The crusader screamed in agony and rolled on the dirt floor.

Their body was caked with wet mud. It was a pitiful sight. Despite suffering such humiliation, the crusader kept their eyes glued to the ground. Their trembling pupils contained no emotions other than fear. There was not one glimpse of pride nor the determination of a clergyman.

"...Did you run away? Even the word 'moth' would be embarrassing to describe you," Yuk Eun-Hyung said as he alternated his gaze between the trembling crusader and the forest.

When he reached out his hand to his members, one of them handed him a length of rope. Yuk Eun-Hyung tied up the crusader, and then he gave some instructions to his members. Without saying a word, the members grabbed the crusader by their hair and took them somewhere.

Slam!

The members went forward to a pit and threw the crusader in it. The crusader rolled and tumbled inside the pit. Although the pit was not deep, there was no need to worry about the crusader escaping, as their feet and hands were bound together.

"That’s a crusader who fled from battle. We will discuss their disposal," Yuk Eun-Hyung said to the members.

One member’s face was full of wrath as they looked at the crusader who had fallen into the pit.

"...Is there a need for a discussion?"

"..."

The other members nodded silently. They were thinking of their numerous comrades who had been injured or killed by the crusaders. A discussion wasn’t necessary. They all believed that it was right to execute them right away.

However, Yuk Eun-Hyung firmly shook his head. "There's no way the Cult Leader wasn’t able to dispose of such trash."

"Are you saying that they purposely left this one alive? Why on earth..."

"For ours and the Voodoo Cult’s sake," Yuk Eun-Hyung said.

The Cult Leader could have annihilated their enemy if they wanted to. He possessed the power to do so. Yet, there must be a reason why he chose to spare the crusader. Yuk Eun-Hyung speculated that the Cult Leader was considering the future.

If the Cult Leader wiped out the entirety of the crusaders, the Voodoo Cult would become the target of the Romanican Church. The enemy would return with even more forces and target Yuk Eun-Hyung's mercenary corps.

It could potentially ignite a second Holy War. The members understood Yuk Eun-Hyung’s words and nodded their heads.

In their hearts, they wanted to kill the crusader at this exact moment. However, they knew very well that it would be nothing more than a momentary release, but it could cause a significant problem in the long run.

"...In that case, we have no choice but to use them as a hostage."

"Yeah. We also have the option to convert them."

"There is no way we’ll be able to convert them. Those Romanican guys have been brainwashed to the point that it's terrifying."

"But holding them hostages also presents a problem...."

Holding hostages could also become an excuse for a Holy War. There was a possibility that the Holy Army would rally under the pretext of rescuing the hostages. It would be best to convert them into an ally, but these opponents directly reported to the Romanican Holy See. It would not be easy to convert them.

"... Torturing them for information and then releasing them could also be a method of action. It could serve as a warning."

Yuk Eun-Hyung nodded. "The Cult Leader might want that."

From the perspective of the Romanican Church, leaving the Voodoo Cult alive would be the equivalent of leaving behind a bad aftermath. However, from the perspective of the Voodoo Cult, killing Romanicans could also lead to consequences. In that sense, releasing the crusader was also an option.

Yuk Eun-Hyung was lost in thought. Should he spare the escaped crusaders or kill them?

The fact that he had to contemplate such a thing was distressing and pitiful. The crusaders did not have to worry about the aftermath that would arise once they butchered the Voodoo Cult.

But when the Voodoo Cult killed the crusaders, one had to worry about what would happen next. It was all because of the difference between the power and status of the Romanican Church and the Voodoo Cult.

Thump, thump.

Yuk Eun-Hyung started to move forward with a dark expression. He looked down at the crusaders with empty eyes, descending into the pit.

Thump.

Yuk Eun-Hyung grabbed the crusader by the neck and lifted him up.

"Ugh, grr...!"

The crusader struggled as they dangled from Yuk Eun-Hyung’s thick arm. Their screams turned into pitiful groans.

Veins bulged on Yuk Eun-Hyung's thick arm. The crusader's struggling body went limp, their eyes lost focus, and their mouth hung open. Yuk Eun-Hyung continued to strangle the crusader’s neck.

Thud!

Just when he thought he had completely cut off the crusader's airway, Yuk Eun-Hyung let go of the neck. The corpse fell back into the pit. Yuk Eun-Hyung brushed off his hands and climbed up from the pit. The members watched him in silence.

“It should be fine if they’re considered missing rather than dead."

Yuk Eun-Hyung pointed to the crusader’s lifeless body. "Strip off their clothes and keep them. They’ll be of use to us. After burning the body, throw it into the sea."

His voice remained calm as usual. There was even a slight smile on his lips. His reaction was so composed that it was hard to believe he had just killed someone. However, Yuk Eun-Hyung did not consider crusaders to be humans. Therefore, he decided not to even think of what he had just done as murder.

***

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa...

The hail summoned by Ye-Jin continued to pour down relentlessly. All the hail avoided Do-Jin and rained down only on the Cult Leader. Do-Jin looked up at the clouds and saw hail pouring down from the clouds. The hail was red, tinged with blood and fire.

It was a miracle from the Book of Revelations, a powerful and dangerous miracle replication that even clergymen commonly known as high priests were reluctant to use frequently. No, this couldn't even be called a replication spell. It was a display of a miracle that hadn’t happened yet in this world.

"..."

The hail poured down toward the Cult Leader and piled up. A mountain made of red hail had formed where the Cult Leader had been, burying the Cult Leader deep inside the pile of hail.

The hail, which had been pouring down fiercely, came to a stop. Even after the hail stopped and the clouds disappeared, the red hail that buried the Cult Leader remained unchanged.

Do-Jin and Ye-Jin silently looked at the mountain made of hail. The surroundings were quiet. The silence that came suddenly after the hail poured down was even deeper than before.

Ye-Jin had been trembling from the aftermath of using the miracle from the Book of Revelations, and she suddenly collapsed. Her head hurt, and she struggled to breathe. A strange sensation overwhelmed her. Was it drowsiness or dizziness? Her eyes kept closing shut. Nevertheless, Ye-Jin somehow managed to keep her eyes open, and continued to stare at the mountain made of hail. The Cult Leader buried in the hail showed no signs of movement.

Ye-Jin smiled. "...We did it!"

Thud.

As soon as she said those words, an ominous sound echoed through the ground.

Fwoosh!

Along with that, a massive fireball fell from the sky.

The fireball engulfed the mountain of hail that covered the Cult Leader. The hail burned, turning into black ash, melting in an instant. Amidst the distant smoke, ashes, and the dancing waves of red and massive flames, someone holding a staff emerged from the inferno.

The Cult Leader emerged through the fire. The flames had only consumed the hail. There were no burn marks on the Cult Leader's staff, mask, or poncho. The Cult Leader walked confidently toward Ye-Jin. The flames that had melted the hail clung to and followed the Cult Leader.

"..."

The Cult Leader approached Ye-Jin, staring at her silently for several minutes. It seemed as if he was observing her.

The heat from the flames that clung to the Cult Leader's body licked Ye-Jin's face. Each breath she took felt suffocating as the heat entered her. Her body trembled with fear.

Drip, drip.

Then, blood flowed from under the Cult Leader's mask and fell to the ground. A dark red circle was engraved on the dirt floor. The Cult Leader turned around and walked back into the forest without doing anything to Ye-Jin. With the staff in hand, he walked with a slightly faltering step.

Ye-Jin silently looked at the blood spilled by the Cult Leader. She couldn't wrap her head around what had just happened. Why hadn’t the Cult Leader killed her and Do-Jin? Why did he simply return to the forest? Judging from the bloodshed, the Cult Leader didn't seem entirely unscathed. Even so, he must have had enough strength to kill Do-Jin and Ye-Jin.

Yet, the Cult Leader just walked away. Why? No matter how much she thought about it, Ye-Jin couldn't understand the Cult Leader's actions.

"Do-Jin─!!" Then, a voice echoed loudly from behind the ranks.

It was from the direction of the disaster devastated by the snake. Do-Jin took a deep breath. The aftermath of the spell had yet to wear off. After a few seconds of calm, deep breathing, his mind finally cleared up.

He turned his head toward the direction where he had heard a voice, only to find that John, whom he thought was dead, was alive and calling out for him. Furthermore, behind John, there were dozens of crusaders lined up and walking toward him. It seemed that John had called for reinforcements.

While the reinforcements were rescuing the fallen crusaders who had been attacked by the snake in the rear ranks, John rushed toward Do-Jin.

"What happened to the Cult Leader? Did you take care of them, Do-Jin?"

"...They escaped. No, they slipped out of our hands."

Strictly speaking, they hadn’t slipped out of his hands. The Cult Leader had let Do-Jin and Ye-Jin go. John nodded and looked at Do-Jin, respect apparent in his gaze.

Feeling guilty for receiving such a gaze, Do-Jin lowered his head and said, "How did you call for reinforcements? There was a snake in the rear..."

"That snake was just its shed skin."

"What?"

"Right after it subdued the entire rifle squad, the snake shed its skin and returned to the Cult Leader," John said, bowing his head down. "...The crusaders in the front ranks went into the forest themselves because they were afraid of the snake's skin."

Do-Jin lowered his gaze to the ground. The Cult Leader summoned the snake using his staff and used it to subdue the rifle squad in the rear ranks. They left the snake skin behind. The crusaders in the front ranks were oblivious to this. Believing that they couldn't retreat as long as the snake was in the rear, the crusaders had advanced into the forest.

All of that had been part of the Cult Leader's scheme to lure the crusaders into the forest.

John looked up, still gazing at the dense forest. "What happened to the crusaders who went into the forest? Did anyone come out?"

"No, not a single person."

Do-Jin shook his head.

"Then we have no choice but to go in with reinforcements and search..."

Swoosh!

That was when it happened. A strong wind blew. The forest created by the Cult Leader swayed in the wind. The once massive tree roots and leaves shrunk as they fluttered in the wind. The forest that the Cult Leader created instantly disappeared just as quickly.

In place of the vanished forest, dozens of eerie sculptures remained. John, Do-Jin, Ye-Jin, and all the crusaders present stared at the eerie sculptures.

"Ah, uh, ah..."

"I repent, I repent, I repent..."

"It's my fault. It's my fault, my fault. My..."

All the crusaders who had entered the forest were trapped in thin plant stems in the shape of a cross. Wrapped around the plant stem, unable to move, they mumbled incomprehensibly.

Some recited prayers, while others repeated a verse from the Holy Book over and over. Some shed tears, and some drooled.

"... "

The murmurs and whispers of the crusaders spread through the wind, scattering in all directions.

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