NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65: The Blood Clan's Plot
The commoners were almost scared speechless at the scene before them.
They were all drenched in cold sweat.
A few of them had no idea when Sivis and the Church's female knight had appeared at the door, or how much they had overheard.
Just a few seconds ago, the people in this dormitory had been spewing vile insults at the Church.
Even if the female knight hadn't heard the insults directed at her, she had certainly heard the attacks on the Church.
If she were to execute them all according to Church law, it wouldn't be considered excessive!
In an instant, the commoners were trembling uncontrollably, unable to speak. They wanted to beg for mercy but could only mumble a few broken words like "I... I'm sorry." and "Spare me! Please spare me!"
The two aggressive disabled men who had been there earlier were even more stunned by Vikalina's arrival.
"Sorry... we... we didn't..." The two men couldn't form coherent sentences and, in desperation, began to kowtow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After the sharp sounds, their foreheads were nearly bleeding. This all happened so quickly that Sivis and Vikalina didn't have time to stop them.
After a few more kowtows, the female knight finally reacted, walking to their side and forcibly pulling them up. But with the strength of Vikalina's grip, the two disabled men went limp and their eyes rolled back, nearly fainting.
They felt that even if they lost their lives, it might not be enough to satisfy this high-ranking Church official.
They had heard of the Inquisition within the Church, where the tortures were so horrific that death was a luxury for those who fell into its hands.
They felt... they were likely to face such a fate!
Subsequently, the two men heard the female knight's words, which were like a judgment, causing their tears to flow even more.
Wait a moment. The disabled men, who were already terrified, realized that what they were hearing didn't seem right.
"I apologize to you. I was the one who was shortsighted before."
"You need jobs, not my inconsistent support. I'm sorry." The female knight bowed deeply, her expression serious.
She turned to Sivis. "Mr. Sivis."
Vikalina adopted a respectful demeanor. "I was the one who was shortsighted before. I am willing to take responsibility for my mistake. Please, rehire these two gentlemen. I am willing to pay any price for this."
As she spoke, she drew her sidearm and tapped it against her shoulder, showing her resolve.
This scene caused the commoners present to faint on the spot.
What was going on?
What were they seeing?
A high-ranking official from the Church apologizing to them?
A Church representative bowing to them?
The latter part made sense, Sivis, a great figure, being treated with respect by the Church's female knight was reasonable!
But could they, mere commoners, deserve such treatment?
Church officials, who usually held their noses high, were actually pleading with Lord Sivis for two commoners to have jobs?
Were they dreaming?
Recalling the female knight's previous actions, the two disabled men finally realized that they weren't dealing with a hypocrite, but a genuinely kind knight who truly wanted the best for them.
It was just that the knight had initially, with good intentions, caused more harm than good.
The two men, flustered, looked at Sivis and then at Vikalina. "You... how can you... how can we accept your apology?"
They fell to their knees again and resumed kowtowing. "We can't bear it, we can't bear your apology. We were wrong, we were wrong. We've caused you trouble!"
Watching this farce, Vikalina was also taken aback.
"No, it's I who should apologize to you."
"No, no, no! You didn't do anything wrong!"
"It's my fault."
"Lady Knight, it's we who have failed to appreciate your kindness..."
...
After several exchanges, Vikalina finally stood up and helped the commoners to their feet, a touch of frustration in her voice. "I really did make a mistake."
"Mr. Sivis pointed out my error. You don't need to treat me this way. My actions were truly thoughtless." The female knight gestured toward Sivis.
To her surprise, the commoners' terrified expressions eased considerably. They were still uneasy about a high-ranking Church official apologizing to them.
But when the matter was linked to Sivis, it seemed to make sense to them!
"If Lord Sivis can persuade someone from the Church to change their mistaken views, that's perfectly normal!"
In the minds of the people, Sivis was a living saint!
His name carried more weight than any noble or Church official!
"Lord Sivis, it's you..."
Immediately, the commoners' faces showed deep reverence.
Seeing that the situation was finally resolving, Vikalina let out a sigh of relief.
She looked at Sivis, her eyes sparkling. Indeed, this was the person who could guide her to change the world—facing the current predicament, she had been at a loss, unsure how to win the trust of the commoners.
Sivis had solved everything the moment he appeared.
Vikalina quickly organized the chaotic thoughts in her mind into a clear line. The situation was indeed difficult to handle, but she now had a perfect solution—
She looked at Sivis. "Mr. Sivis, what should I do now?"
Sivis was also taken aback.
Was this the same strong-willed and independent female knight from the game in his previous life?
Asking him about everything?
Sivis felt...
Had he brainwashed Vikalina too effectively?
For some reason, he found it both surprising and not surprising.
Because...
Sivis felt that he was almost convinced by his own arguments, let alone Vikalina, who was wholeheartedly pursuing the change of the world.
He thought for a moment, looked at the female knight and the commoners, and quickly made a decision.
The two disabled men were rehired, and everyone, including them, was fined a month's salary—this was punishment for their attack on the Church and Vikalina.
Sivis genuinely wanted to help the commoners, but he didn't see himself as a saint.
He only seemed kind because the other nobles in this world were absurdly and ridiculously cruel.
Sivis had come to this world to be at the top, and he naturally had to punish the commoners for their insolence!
Initially, he thought he would need to explain his actions to Vikalina and had prepared his arguments.
To his surprise, Vikalina didn't ask a single question. She just looked at him with complete trust, nodded thoughtfully, and seemed to understand something.
The female knight had become blindly trusting of Sivis!
Her goal in Minnet City had shifted from protecting the people, rescuing Werner, and building the Radiant Great Array to guarding Sivis at all costs and absorbing his teachings!
Everything else was temporarily unimportant!
Sivis's face was full of helplessness — what exactly did she understand?
"Vikalina now practically worships me like a god..."
He stared at the female knight's brave and beautiful face, and he had to admit...
Sivis felt extremely pleased!
Anyone would feel a bit elated to be so adored by such a beautiful young girl.
...
Meanwhile.
In a corner of the temporary lodging, a rat crawled out from the ground.
Its blood-red eyes were fixed intently on Vikalina.
The rat's vision transformed into a message, transmitted to the sewers of Minnet City.
In this area filled with sewage, a figure silently watched the images transmitted from the rat's perspective.
He suddenly trembled, causing a nearby brick to crumble into dust.
"Damn!"
"What's going on with that female knight of the Church? Why is she always orbiting around Sivis?"
The figure thought to himself. He was the one who had previously turned Conning and Flora into Blood Clan members.
Since Sivis and the Church had joined forces, he had forced himself to remain calm, not acting immediately but waiting for the right moment — on one hand, he was spreading blood servants and creating chaos to force the Church to crack down, and on the other, he was looking for a good opportunity to attack Sivis.
The figure from the Blood Clan saw through the young noble's true strength: he possessed an extremely pure power of holy light, which had a strong killing effect on the Blood Clan, capable of even injuring him with his own power
But it was just an injury!
The figure discerned that Sivis was only at the ninth rank of Bronze, and he would need to team up with the Silver-Rank female knight or act with the Church's personnel to pose a real threat.
So he had been plotting, using the threat of the blood plague to force Sivis to be separated from his allies.
The figure waited and waited, feeling extremely frustrated.
The Church's people, as he wished, went out to patrol and hunt down Blood Servants in the city, but they acted with extreme caution, or more bluntly, they were downright cowardly, and had barely impacted the expansion of the Blood Servants.
But the female knight's movements were quite unpredictable. She remained active around the Daister family's residence where Sivis was.
The Blood Clan figure waited for a long time but couldn't find an opportunity to separate Vikalina from Sivis.
Out of frustration, he could only continue observing Sivis while looking for other ways.
Now...
After observing Sivis and Vikalina's state again through the rat he had infected, the Blood Clan figure was no longer as agitated as before.
He flashed a cold smile.
"Finally, it's about to end!"
No matter how much concern Vikalina had for the young noble Sivis, she was still a typical "fool" who adhered to the Church's teachings, and she wouldn't abandon the common people in other areas just for one Sivis.
The Blood Clan figure knew that by guarding the Daister family's residence, Vikalina could protect many people, as a large number of commoners had gathered there due to Sivis's recruitment.
So even if he ordered the Blood Servants to launch a full-scale attack, he might not be able to create a situation that would convince Vikalina to leave and rescue another area first.
But he could use another method.
"Mr. Sylar, I'm counting on you."
The Blood Clan figure called out in his mind.
On the other side, a blond man in extremely elegant armor sat in a hotel outside the church.
He perceived the voice in his mind, and a flash of crimson passed through his eyes.