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Chapter 60: Chapter 60: What Are You Going to Do to Me?
With brutal force, Ashu’s carving this time was deeper than anyone else’s ever had been.
To those others, it was just a "tattoo" that scratched the skin, but to this man, it was a knife cutting into flesh.
His back was sliced open like a slab of pork belly, blood gushing out in torrents.
"Ah—"
"You damn bastard, what do you want to do to me!"
He could clearly feel that Ashu wasn’t trying to kill him with a blade, but was methodically carving something onto his back. The thought of the cultist’s mark filled him with terror.
Hearing this, Ashu frowned, then delivered a savage kick to his mouth. Several teeth shattered and fell out on impact. Without missing a beat, Ashu unleashed three Water Bullets in quick succession, piercing through the man’s three remaining limbs.
One arrow to the kidney, limbs shattered and pierced, plus electric burns — the green-haired man was utterly powerless to resist.
As for the others, their fate wasn’t much better. Audrey led the other Cidi Devotees in a fierce onslaught of punches and kicks.
They gave no quarter, not a moment’s pause, ensuring their enemies were beaten to a state beyond bearing.
"The God of Deceit will curse you! Your schemes will never succeed again! Damn you, Vikrant, you betrayed us!"
The green-haired man roared in rage as Ashu finished carving the final stroke of the mark.
Then Ashu grabbed his hair, locked eyes with him, and immediately triggered Cidi Hypnosis.
Despite his grievous injuries, even nearing death, this man’s mental resistance was remarkably strong.
Ashu had to use Cidi Hypnosis seven times before finally putting him under just before death.
"From now on, your new codename is Green Hair. I hereby appoint you Deacon of the Cidi Sect," Ashu said, shaking the man’s green curls as he spoke.
According to Anna, this man’s power was even greater than Vikrant’s. Now subdued, he would naturally be entrusted with an important role.
Finished with that, Ashu didn’t mark the others yet but took him straight to find Bala Cleric.
This guy was stubborn; until the moment hypnosis took hold, he refused to yield.
He was beaten close to death.
Now, he was barely clinging to life.
Ashu threw him at Bala Cleric, who didn’t ask questions. The actions of a "luminous saint" must be guided by divine oracles beyond mortal comprehension. Following the Bishop’s will was the true path of light.
Afterward, Ashu returned to subdue the remaining thirty-six.
Compared to Green Hair, these others were insignificant—mostly subdued in one go.
By the time all were subdued, Ashu’s internal Cidi Evil Power had surged dramatically, coming within a single step of Midaldas’ mastery.
"In fewer than fifty times, I’ll be free from this cage," Ashu thought excitedly. After handing the captives to Bala Cleric, he immediately embraced Anna and Leia, seeking pleasure.
...
Five days later.
After Ashu fed Anna to satisfaction, he felt the Cidi Evil Power inside him reach an unprecedented peak.
It surpassed even Midaldas’ Evil Power.
So.
He began his first bold attempt.
Gazing at the glowing gate ahead, he walked toward it, with Anna and Leia silently flanking him on either side, ready to lend a hand if anything went wrong.
In truth, Ashu wasn’t entirely confident.
If this remedy failed, he would face being consumed by the evil god Cidi. Without the protection of the Divine Mother Goddess’s domain, relying solely on his current strength would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot — utterly powerless to resist.
But he couldn’t stay locked inside the Church forever. To spend his life imprisoned just to kill Midaldas—what meaning would that have?
For the sake of freedom, he had to take this step.
The Church’s gate drew nearer and nearer, and Ashu’s steps grew slower and slower.
When he reached the doorway, he stopped and glanced back at the distant Divine Mother Goddess statue.
After confirming that this time the statue had not shed tears, he steadied himself and took the final step forward.
As soon as he did, an incredibly terrifying Cidi Evil Power erupted from beneath his feet — the same desperate aura that had filled the air when Midaldas first cast his spell.
But this time, there was no Holy Light judgment from the Divine Mother Goddess to shield him.
Ashu’s heart tightened, and he was about to step back into the Church when suddenly, that terrifying Evil Power twisted sharply like a car veering off at 200 miles per hour and flipped away.
"Whew—"
All that landed on Ashu was a gust of dark wind; nothing more.
He wasn’t harmed in the slightest, let alone sacrificed his life.
"It worked."
Ashu grinned widely, unable to suppress the smile tugging at his lips.
Since his transmigration, he had never felt so confined. Though life inside the Church had been carefree and enjoyable, the subconscious feeling of being imprisoned never left him.
"This is amazing!" Anna exclaimed joyfully, clutching Ashu’s arm tightly.
"Let Midaldas weep in the dark River Styx. The one who’s taking the stage now is the master who plays both sides—black and white alike," Ashu said with a laugh.
After these days of intense cultivation, his power had grown. He was just one breakthrough away from ascending into the ranks of Archmage.
This rocket-like progress was mainly thanks to the massive boost from Divine Points.
Besides that, the Cidi Sect was now on solid footing. Using Cidi Hypnosis, he could guarantee every Cidi Devotee obeyed him without question.
Those converted from the God of Deceit’s devotees were now following his orders, deceiving Vikrant’s perception.
Making him believe these people were ordinary, carrying out his plan for a comeback.
So today marked Vikrant’s death day—kill him, and celebrate "breaking out of prison."
If they didn’t kill that guy, he would keep causing trouble forever.
At this moment.
Unaware, Vikrant was leisurely enjoying wild game outside the city, not knowing Ashu had not only tracked his location but also controlled everyone around him.
He was like a bird trapped in a cage; even if he tried to fly this time, escape was impossible.
"Let’s go. Time to wipe out the ’buyers,’" Ashu said, stepping forward.
...
Before long.
The three of them arrived thirteen miles northwest outside the town of Riven. Here lay a dense forest—a perfect place to hide.
Forty-seven members of the God of Deceit Devotees, plus Vikrant himself—forty-eight in total—were enjoying a leisurely midday break deep in the forest.
Before Ashu’s naked eyes could spot Vikrant, Anna, relying on her twelfth level of spiritual perception, said, "Vikrant has been locked onto. Should we take a long-range preemptive shot?"
"Of course," Ashu replied. "This time, I won’t give him the slightest chance."
Forget about honor, righteousness, or fairness. Ashu didn’t care about any of that. As a transmigrator, he believed only hard action that actually worked counted as true strength.
He immediately pulled out his Demon Slayer Holy Crossbow, loaded a Demon-Hunting Arrow, and, with Anna’s precise aiming, prepared to snipe.
"Any news from your sexy mistress lately? She even left you that expensive Demon Slayer Holy Crossbow," Anna teased upon seeing the weapon.
Ashu didn’t know how to respond.
If system prompts counted, then yes, there had been news about Vivita.
"Whoosh—"
After firing a silver Demon-Hunting Arrow, Ashu quickly changed the subject: "Charge!"
The arrow flew ahead at high speed, and the three of them followed behind.
The arrow struck Vikrant, who was resting, with perfect accuracy. Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and it failed to hit a vital spot, only piercing through his foot.
Sensing danger, Vikrant readied to use the God of Deceit Devotee’s secret technique to escape a second time.
But just as he was about to act, at least twenty attacks struck from all directions.
They weren’t from Ashu.
They were from the very God of Deceit Devotees and Parishioners who had once helped him rise.
"You—!!!"
Vikrant was stunned, but he had no time to defend himself and was immediately hit by over twenty attacks.
"Boom—"
When the dust settled, Vikrant was badly wounded all over, with multiple broken bones.
"You scum... why?!"
He gritted his teeth through the pain, asking bitterly and confused.
No one answered.
The one who spoke was Ashu, who had just caught up.
"Why? Good question. Because you should have died alongside your nephew, but you refused to give up."
Vikrant’s heart skipped a beat. He turned toward the voice and saw the young Bishop of the Holy Cultivator Guild branch standing there.
"You?! Impossible! You’re just a Bishop of the Divine Mother Goddess. How could you possibly turn God of Deceit’s Devotees? You all! Snap out of it! Have you abandoned the honor of the God of Deceit? Why are you standing with him?" Vikrant roared.
The group didn’t respond to his questions. Instead, they all respectfully knelt before Ashu as he approached.
Seeing this, Vikrant was dumbfounded.
Even if the God of Deceit Devotees were no good, would they kneel to a Bishop of the Divine Mother Goddess the moment they met?
He couldn’t understand why the God of Deceit Devotees were behaving this way.
How could this be?
"Hold him down," Ashu said with a cold smile, issuing the order.
"Yes, Bishop," came the obedient reply.
Hearing this, Vikrant despaired. "Bishop? What... what are you all?"
At that moment,
Ashu used his Magical Essence control power to gather Vikrant’s blood and drew a ritual pattern on the ground.
"I hereby offer the first gift to the god Cidi in the name of the new Cidi Sect," Ashu declared.
Cidi?
Vikrant’s eyes widened in shock.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
The ’Bishop’ they referred to wasn’t the Bishop of the Divine Mother Goddess—it was the Bishop of the god Cidi!
In other words, the God of Deceit Devotees whom he had sent to corrupt the Holy Cultivator Guild’s grassroots members had themselves been corrupted first—by the Cidi Sect!
