Warlock of the Magus World (Chapter 1051-Chapter 1200)

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Having finished the bath, Anya was dressed in a long, loose gown with a few droplets of water on her silky hair. She looked more beautiful than ever, but there was a look of perplexity on her face.

In contrast, Barbara was full of life as she pulled Anya to another area of the plaza.

“Sister Barbara!” “Sister Barbara!” A few little boys who were in the middle of training immediately ran over. At this point, Barbara’s aura changed once more, and she was now like a gentle big sister living nearby as she greeted them kindly.

The huge difference caused Anya to feel like she was still in a dream, leaving her slightly confused.

“These are…” she inquired robotically.

“Lost sheep that the Lord’s warriors found along the way…” Barbara caressed the head of a little boy, looking towards a devil hunter who was guiding them, “How is their homework?”

“They’re doing rather well. These kids can take hardships. Vegeta, in particular, is the most outstanding in terms of his understanding of battle techniques and learning how to read…” Upon hearing this, a trace of pride appeared on the face of the boy who Barbara was caressing.

“You did well!” Barbara’s smile grew even more tender.

“But…” The instructor seemed hesitant to speak.

“What is it? Go on.” Barbara frowned, but it did not seem to mar her beauty. It instead seemed to compliment her, making her seem more delicate. However, the instructor trembled, as if afraid of something.

“There’s a child… who doesn’t understand the lessons at all… and has a poor physique…”

Anya understood the situation from the side. The Giant Serpent Church was taking in orphans, nurturing them into manpower in various areas. A child without any real talent would probably be useless in the future.

“What’s his name?” Barbara followed the instructor’s gaze, and found a petite figure crouched in a corner. It seemed like he hoped to disappear into the shadows.

“Lonce… I think? That should be his name…” The instructor answered uncertainly.

“How can you treat someone you’re so unsatisfied with this way?” Barbara glanced at the instructor, “Have Amik come over, your position is being changed.”

The instructor didn’t dare resist the enraged saintess. He bowed and left without another word.

“Lonce! That’s your name, isn’t it?” Barbara asked as she walked towards the little boy.

“Y–yes, my Lady!” When Lonce looked up, it was like he saw a being of light. The holy rays emanating from her made her appear elegant and warm.

“I believe you have exceptional talent! Don’t mourn for a moment’s failure…” Barbara kindly patted Lonce’s cheeks, causing the flush on his face to extend to his neck.

“But…” Lonce sounded ready to cry.

“If you still can’t handle this, then pray. The Lord will give you courage…”

Lonce gritted his teeth hard. Only by doing so could he stop the tears of shame that were about to surge out of his eyes.

To Anya and the rest, it seemed like Barbara was the perfect saintess. She reached out to Lonce with a glowing hand of redemption, pulling him out of the shadows. The self-abasing boy seemed to grow brighter, with the courage to take on the entire world.

‘So strange.. Why do I suddenly think that way?’Anya wiped at her cheeks, suddenly coming to a realisation, ‘This power of influence… You’ve given me an extremely terrifying and difficult task, Father…’





Chapter 1141 – Hound


Hound

Walking on a cobblestone path, Barbara suddenly turned back to look at Anya.

“What’s wrong, Saintess?” Anya, who was still astonished at Barbara’s display, suddenly felt her heart drop as if she had been seen through.

“Do you know… who those children are?” Barbara’s black eyes carried the traits of the natives, but that didn’t matter. It actually left Anya wanting to get closer to her.

“They should be the refugees and fleeing slaves from the north, right? It’s become common in the past few decades. Saintess Barbara taking them in is an act of kindness!” Anya naturally knew where these children had come from. Refugees and fleeing slaves who couldn’t stand the orcs’ harsh treatment were everywhere ever since chaos erupted in the north.

Unfortunately, even here they would not be guaranteed a better life. Freezing or starving to death was so common that there were mountains of skeletons at the sides of every road and in the plains.

With the situation being so bad for adults, children were even worse for the wear. If not for Barbara’s help, those little imps would probably die from the hunger or cold in the near future. There was nothing wrong with calling her actions kind.

“Yes, an act of kindness!” Anya reiterated.

“Anya… Did you know that the Lord took in a batch of refugees and children from the north when the unrest began? He nurtured them, making priests and scholars out of those orphans… Now, as the grandchildren of these priests return to the mainland, they find their homes still ravaged by war. Things seem even worse than before…”

“Larger families, merchants, and churches would take in a certain number of children before, but now… The market is full. Lonce and the rest have nowhere else to go, and they can only starve to death…” While this was but a simple statement, Anya could see the glint in the saintess’ eyes brighten.

“Anya!” Barbara suddenly yelled.

“Yes!” Anya went forward apprehensively.

“Are you willing to change the north with me?”

‘She wants to break away from the chaos of war and help the commoners recover?’ Anya was shocked, not expecting these desires from the saintess. But another thought occurred to her right after, leaving her shocked. ‘Wait… with her status, it could very well be an order from the Lord.

‘Maybe… Is a divine battle more terrifying than that of the mortal realm about to descend upon us?’ Anya’s heart filled with fear in that moment, but she still managed a stiff nod.

“Good! I believe in the loyalty of the Bane Family, as well as your faith in the Lord.” Barbara nodded in satisfaction.

“Umm… Saintess, may I know how the church intends to end this war?” Anya asked cautiously.

“First we focus on the trade of sacrifice blood between your family and the Blackblood Tribe. That batch of blood essence will be dealt with…” Barbara glanced over at Anya.

“Does the church know everything already?” Anya’s voice showed her uneasiness. After all, not all churches could tolerate such things.



“Massacring commoners, buying slaves to be killed, and pandering to evil gods of other races…” Barbara counted with her fingers as large beads of cold sweat fell from Anya’s face, “Any one of those sins is enough for your family to be consigned to eternal damnation. However… thankfully, the Bane Family is still of some use to our master…” The threat in her voice was obvious.

“Yes!” Anya guaranteed, “The family will adhere to the church’s instructions!”

“Good!” Barbara smiled slightly, though Anya had no right to resist, “Continue the trade with the Blackblood Tribe. I just need our people to take over…”

“It shall be as you say… But…” There was a rare hint of hesitance in Anya’s voice.

“Speak. Is there any issue?” The smile on Barbara’s face did not lessen, but Anya could sense the atmosphere chilling in an instant.

“Well… Our family is only in charge of the collection and processing of the blood essence. The main power still lies with a large business. They’re also in charge of helping us contact the Blackblood Tribe, and take profits from us in exchange for being the middlemen…”

Anya’s words implied that the smuggling into the orc empire had flourished in the darkness of the north. It was such a joke that even the higher-ups of the Silverymoon Alliance were in on the action, rumours abound that Old Mage Elminster had shares in the operation and priests of wealth were acting as guarantors.

“All trade with the Moonwood is controlled by the Blackmoon Merchant Group. We’re only wandering merchants…” Anya’s lips curved in a wry smile.

“Blackmoon Merchant Group? It doesn’t seem to be all that powerful in the north, though?” Confusion shone in Barbara’s eyes.

“It’s a large business group set up in secret, formed in the black market by offshoots of the other large-scale businesses. It controls over 60% of the trade in the north.” Anya’s eyes reflected an obvious mockery.

“How gutsy… The queen of Silverymoon really is quite pitiful…” Barbara shook her head. Although she hadn’t met such situations in her life on Debanks Island, she still had enough experience to understand a great deal.

“Then… who exactly is it that stands in our way?” Barbara asked.