Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 624: Section 438: John Wick(4)_2

Chapter 624: Section 438: John Wick(4)_2

"I think we should find someone professional to interrogate him," Malin said, pointing at the captive who had been thrown to the ground, addressing the Duke.

"Of course, I’ve already contacted the Church of Justice in the city to have them meet with him," the Duke replied and turned to look at his heir who was preparing to lead the team out, "Shelton, halt the previous mission and take your men to fortify the hunting camp. Dear Faye, take your sisters and gather up the children, hand them over to Sir Colin’s care as he has enough experience to look after them well. Inform our Bishop that if anyone is not behaving, to use this staff I gave him to hit me!"

Having said that, Duke Brice tossed his walking stick to his lawful wife, who was also a giantess. She nodded at his words and turned to start shushing the still-chattering children.

"The captive you brought back is very valuable. Tell me, Sir Malin, would you like a reward? As a Duke, I am clear about rewards and punishments," the Duke looked at Malin.

"There’s no need, Your Grace. I simply did what a High Priest should do. If you insist on giving something, then please make a donation to Brother Colin’s orphanage. The amount doesn’t matter, Your Grace, as it’s the thought that counts," after saying this, Malin smiled, took his leave from the Duke, and walked over to Faye and the others.

The girls had been continuing their grill party, and Clovis and the others had already come over to enjoy it. Malin first washed his hands in the bowl of Holy Water, then used a towel dampened with Holy Water to wash his face before accepting the plate of grilled meat passed to him by Clovis.

"I thought you would be busy in the woods all afternoon," Nova said, looking at Malin, "And what curious clothing you have on. There’s no spell formation reaction at all. I watched you with my own eyes, and once you moved about 24 meters away, I could no longer see where you were."

"Rewo could see up to 40 meters away, but any farther than that, he couldn’t make out anything," Rewo said while handing over a bottle of Purification: "Malin, you captured a prisoner."

"Yes, I tossed him by the creek. If he were a zealous follower, he would have plunged his head into the water and drowned himself, but he did nothing," Malin analyzed, "That was my little test."

"What if he really had drowned himself?" Faye asked.

"No need to worry about that. I had Melo watch over him. If he really wanted to drown himself, it would have proved that we caught a big fish. That guy would rather drown himself than betray his so-called brethren under torture," Malin explained.

Speaking of which, there is a clear division in this world for the followers of the four gods.

Followers of Sinspawn are not too fussy; it’s all about feeling good. The reason why so many followers of the God of Art and Beauty become corrupted is that many of these followers eventually become captives of their own instincts. These are the easiest to recognize; those dressed flamboyantly are often the ones.

Followers of Chaos are more difficult to define because not all Chaos followers are those who kill indiscriminately. Many anti-Chaos cults also worship the local avatars of Chaos. They refuse to fall and stick to their principles, waging war against the legions corrupted by chaos. Take the Great Demon Dwarf, for instance... speaking of which, it’s a mystery what happened to his head in the end, haha.

Then there’s Jianqi, the most troublesome of all. Its followers are cunning and good at hiding the truth. Deception, schemes, everything that seems evil to ordinary people is wonderful for them. But Malin believes that once these people are identified, they must die — he’s confident he won’t spare any Jianqi followers; their death would be the greatest contribution to the world.

Last of course is Nagoth, whose followers are easy to spot. Corruption, boils, undead - things that would clearly seem chaotic to others are like a father’s blessing to these followers, as if they’ve fulfilled their desire not to die. Unfortunately, in Malin’s view, while they achieve their undead wishes, their shells become prisons for their souls.

True children of Nagoth may ignore pain, but before they become one, these followers suffer and are tormented by pain and disease. Only the most deluded survive.

And then they become a new, walking source of disease.

"Sir Malin, where did you find the captive?" someone responsible for intelligence management came over. Malin pointed on the map in his hand, "Near here, we found them at a clearing beside the stream in the woods. There’s a stream nearby. I personally suggest that you avoid using natural water downstream of the stream until it’s purified. Have the Mages prepare more Magic Water or have the Church purify and collect the natural water," he said.

"Yes, Your Grace, I will certainly pass on your message."

"Regarding the work of the Church, just give instructions to the subordinate units of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest," Malin didn’t want to give blind orders, and after speaking, he bit into a piece of grilled meat, hmm, brushed with honey, perfectly roasted, a craft of Faye’s.

At first, the captive was quite defiant, but when the Church’s professionals took over, he cried while spilling everything he knew.

Followers of Nagoth had established a large camp in the northern woodlands, with several units summoned from Chaos.

Malin immediately called up a Paladin Squad from the Church of Justice and a Punisher Troop from the local Church of the Goddess of Harvest.

Learning of the incident, the local Bishop of the Church of Justice turned the Paladin Squad into a full turnout, and both the Church of the Goddess of Harvest and the Church of the Goddess of Benevolent also dispatched a large number of troops.

They stood boldly behind Malin with their flags flying high.

The first of Duke Brice’s subordinate forces arrived—a knight from a hunting camp nearby, who brought with him his own family, his wife, his eldest son, his second son, and his eldest daughter, six knights from his domain, and eighty militiamen.

For Sir Knight, the term ’full mobilization’ was not enough to describe his action of rallying his entire family and retainers in one fell swoop.

Five minutes later, another knight arrived, along with their mutual lord—Baron Fashim Kaydron, who brought the second knight with him.

Seven minutes after that, the first Druid group appeared. In Duke Brice’s territory, there was a small contingent of Druids, unlike in Carterburg, and here the Druids mostly engaged in healing and Purification tasks.

So Malin had no choice but to summon two vacationing Druid masters from Carterburg, who, upon hearing they were to strike at Nagoth, came without a second thought, and readily agreed to Malin’s request that they turn into Storm Crows for aerial reconnaissance.

Duke Brice decided to wait another half hour—with that, several barons nearby would bring their troops, and with sufficient military strength, combined with Church forces and Mage Tower members for support, they should be able to take out the Chaos encampment.

After all, by that time, the ratio of human to Chaos forces would have reached four or even five to one, and there was no way the Nagoth followers could fight better than those fanatically devoted, especially with a large number of firearms joining in, making Duke Brice even bolder in deploying his troops—the woodlands in that region weren’t dense, and the firing distance between both sides could reach up to 200 yards or more, plus the Mages were adept at using flames against Nagoth’s units.

Fire was the most effective tool when dealing with Nagoth followers and some Chaos units.

Since it was a battle formation, Malin decided to bring along Faye and the others—the spare food supplies would serve as seats for the girls, who could sit on the benches on both sides, and when the time came, they would only need to throw fist-sized Fireballs or erect some fire walls.

Otherwise, the reproachful glances of these maidens would be enough to torment Malin.

Besides, Malin did not believe in taking chances; with satellites in the sky, any movement in the Nagoth camp would be detected, and the idea of encircling human forces?

Ha, maybe in their next life.