Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 691 - 82: Become an Imperial Knight!

The empire is facing an unprecedented ghoul plague. Initially, the people of Dark Furnace City thought it was just a common cold...

It has disrupted all the knowledge systems of the demon hunters, and even the Goddess of Life's divine power cannot purify it.

Thus, Ethan invited the Goddess of Life's teacher, the Celestial Father who controls flesh and evolution, Professor Bazatous.

"This Old Ba, is Bazatous?"

Valerie felt somewhat numb. She pulled Ave out of the house and asked softly.

She couldn't believe what had happened to the outside world during her year in the contamination zone. When she came to Dark Furnace City, Bazatous was still one of the three major Evil Gods, with followers everywhere across the empire who were growing stronger every day, believing that sooner or later Bazatous's followers would destroy this nation.

That was the prophecy of destruction.

The day Bazatous breaks free from his seal would be the end of human civilization.

And now, Bazatous has already broken free from the seal.

He is consulting with the villagers infected with the ghoul plague at Duke Bellamo's manor, and it turns out he is a good doctor; Ave only conversed with him for less than five minutes, and her eyes were normal again, the golden hair on her head returned to the usual relaxed state Valerie was familiar with.

Valerie admitted that she had been feeling very heavy-hearted before, and she even didn't hope Ethan would bring the infected villagers back to Dark Furnace City.

Without Bazatous's help, they would have to spend a lot of time researching this plague, which reminded Valerie of the scarlet plague of the Second Age. In the worst-case scenario, it could affect the entire empire, therefore leaving these transformed villagers in the contamination zone would be the most sensible judgment.

But then she discovered another issue.

The scarlet plague of the Second Age, the most severe plague in human history, seemed to have been created by the Evil God Bazatous himself.

He is truly an expert in this field, and no one understands the plague better than Bazatous.

"Yes, he is Bazatous."

Ave confirmed, and she understood her teacher's feelings—hearing Ethan perform a consultation for Old God Anapolis on the Western Continent was like her current state with Valerie, "You'll get used to it."

In fact, once you become familiar with Old Ba, you'll find that he is a very easy-going Old God.

It's said that he has been selected as one of the top ten most popular professors of the year at the academy, and his "Art Introduction" class was fully selected by students even before the next semester began.

"What was it with the professor you were talking about?"

Valerie rubbed her forehead with her hands; she felt her mind was still a mess.

Many things that happened today couldn't be thought through.

For instance, if simplified, it's Ethan summoning the true form of an Evil God on the streets of Dark Furnace City—which is definitely a deed worthy of being recorded in human history.

"Professor Bazatous is now teaching at the academy."

"He, Bazatous, teaches?"

Valerie frowned even more, her right hand covering her forehead. She couldn't put these keywords together, and she had just confirmed she wasn't feverish, so her mind was probably clear.

"What course does he teach?"

The only thing she could think of was Bazatous attempting to transform all the academy's Elemental Shapers into his followers for further destruction of human civilization.

"Art Introduction, it's an elective course."

"Hmm... elective course."

The followers of the God of Truth should express doubt about everything, and this seemingly peaceful scene made Valerie think of an even bigger plot.

Perhaps Ethan had made some deal with Evil God Bazatous, and during the year she left the Imperial Capital, the entire Imperial Capital fell under the Evil God's control. When she thought deeply, all the details matched—one year ago, Ethan and others managed to overthrow Pope Julius's rule in the empire with the help of the Evil God.

Only an Evil God could contend with the church's powers at the time.

And her student Ave was being bewitched by the Evil God. She didn't even realize it!

Therefore, Valerie didn't plan to announce her views; premature exposure would only give the Evil God and his followers time to prepare. The true followers of the Truth Society should gather enough evidence to prove their points, rather than persuading others through assumptions.

In a tranquil moment, Bazatous's consultation ended.

All the patients felt satisfied with this doctor with seven eyes. He not only cured the villagers' infected ghoul plague, but he also healed their malnutrition, bleeding gums, and even hemorrhoids.

In the words of the patients themselves, it was tantamount to being reforged.

Now they seemed full of strength.

Valerie secretly took note of the patients' remarks; "reforging" could be interpreted as brainwashing, and being full of strength was a sign of being granted power by the Evil God. The Evil God's followers she knew were always full of strength when performing crazy acts.

She could hardly imagine how much the Imperial Capital might have changed in the year she was away. If Evil God Bazatous could teach at the academy as a professor, the Imperial Capital might have become a flesh manufacturing factory, with the streets filled with hideous Evil God's followers in black cloaks.

Valerie quietly observed the friendly conversation between Ethan and Old Ba. The topic sounded bloody, full of plasma and human limbs, clearly planning a cruel Evil God ritual!

"Teacher, you haven't been back to the Imperial Capital for a while."

Ave patted Valerie on the shoulder, pulling her back to reality from the madness of the ritual.

Ave noticed Valerie's unusual behavior and guessed what her teacher was thinking. She could only sigh silently—this was a common trait among the God of Truth's believers. They were always prone to conspiracy theories, and explaining things to her teacher would not only be ineffective but would deepen her suspicion, making her think Ave was brainwashed by Ethan.

Fortunately, this was not a big issue.

In this regard, Ave could only express that as long as her teacher was happy, it was like a fun detective game.

Before leaving Dark Furnace City, Ave left a letter for Duke Bellamo, mentioning their encounters in the contaminated zone, the Blackrave Clan, Morganna, and her children.

With the departure of "Hunger," the entrance to the contaminated zone was completely sealed, and Duke Bellamo would no longer have to worry about people disappearing near the post office of Dark Furnace City on the fourteenth day.

Afterward, they visited the cemetery of Mr. Fisher and his wife, who were buried together.

Upon returning to the new cabinet, Ave had many tasks to tackle, such as forming a group to thoroughly investigate the Security Office in Dark Furnace City. Although Sheriff Shuga was already dead, he had left behind a mess that needed to be addressed.

The group, filled with different emotions, stepped into the Teleportation Array leading to the Imperial Capital.

Valerie was mentally prepared, even if a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood awaited her, she resolved not to show too much surprise.

However, when the light dissipated, what met her eyes was a bustling city.

On the streets, humans bustled about, and the heavy pressure from a year ago had long vanished. People no longer had to worry about suddenly being taken away for questioning by the Judicial Court or Church members while chatting on the streets.

Wealth, freedom, prosperity.

This was the current Imperial Capital. Valerie also saw the rising smoke on the dome of the Artisan Association and saw many new vehicles on the streets that she'd never seen before. This once-dying city was now brimming with vitality.

This softened her gaze considerably.

Although the conspiracy theories of the Evil God couldn't be completely dispelled, at least the people of the Imperial Capital seemed happy now.

Until a dragon roar from the clouds shattered this peaceful scene.

A wyvern descended from the sky and stormed into the bustling market before any guards could react. Its claws swept through the crowd, and the prosperous street was instantly stained with blood and flesh.

Valerie's pupils contracted, the stark contrast left her dumbfounded on the spot.

Immediately after, she saw the Imperial Knight Commander, resplendent in silver armor and wielding a Holy Sword, appear on the street. However, instead of confronting the dragon in the clouds, she faced a part of the market, saying some ambiguous words.

"Does it seem familiar? Such scenes are happening in cities across the Empire; you might be next!"

!?

Valerie's heart tightened at once.

She never expected the Empire to be more dangerous now than it was a year ago. At least during Julius's rule, dragons harming people weren't a frequent occurrence in major cities.

The speech from the Other Shore continued.

"Unless you make the most important decision of your life, proving to yourself that you have the strength and courage! Join the Imperial Knight Order, become a peacekeeping elite! Be a hero, a living legend, become an Imperial Knight."

"Snap—!"

There was another strange sound from behind one of the stalls in the market, and Valerie turned towards the sound, only to find a Tree-man carrying a bizarre device.

An even more ridiculous situation unfolded.

Those market residents who died under the wyvern's claws nonchalantly got up, picked up their arms and heads, and reattached them to their original positions. The wyvern also slowly settled in the center of the market, and the Other Shore tossed a roasted duck at it, which it swallowed in one bite.

The evil dragon and the gruesomely dead citizens stood together harmoniously, eagerly discussing everything that had just happened.

Valerie's brain finally short-circuited, emitting a wisp of smoke.

In this aspect, Ave was indeed akin to her.

"Ave."

She had no choice but to seek help from her student, "What are they... doing?"

Ave glanced at the Other Shore, then at her own dumbfounded teacher.

She recognized the market's extras; they were followers of Bajatos, minions brought by Nightmare to the Imperial Capital, and were professional corpse actors in Old Ba's Legendary Pictures.

But she found it difficult to explain all this to her teacher in simple words.

"Ave?"

Valerie, full of confusion, was still waiting for her answer.

"Ahem—"

Ave cleared her throat lightly and replied in a deep tone, "Become... an Imperial Knight!"