Splash!

"Aargh!"

Sylvester's spear sliced faster than one could see. Not only that, he had mastered the ability to maneuver the spear mid-air using the little hand movements and air element. With this technique, he could do slight course corrections in real-time.

And the spear pierced straight into the half human-half goblin's chest with such force that he was thrown back and crashed into a tree, along with the spear which drilled through the tree trunk.

The Bright Mother was fine, just scared as she lost strength in her legs. Sylvester quickly walked over to her and extended a helping hand. "Get up, Bright Mother. The church sent me. I am Priest Sylvester Maximilian, often called the Bard of the Lord."

The woman took his hand as if he was the god himself. "W-We knew it! They finally sent someone! Our misery will be over now… thank you, Lord Bard."

"Here, some minor healing crystals are in here. Help the other women, and get clothes for those who don't have them." He advised and looked at Gabriel. "Help them, please. I need to get some information from that heathen."

Saying that, Sylvester walked towards the half-goblin man. He had specifically aimed his spear only to hit the man's non-vital parts. This was because he'd have to write a lengthy report soon, and he had to know the reason behind everything.

"You will die. There is no denying it. But there can be mercy in how you die, and that's up to you. Answer me, and I shall show leniency. Lie, and I will forget all human decency." Sylvester warned as he rubbed a dagger's tip on the man's neck.

"Argh… I will… tell you! We're just children of human slaves from the Goblin tribe. We have nothing to do with any killings. They only sent us here to kidnap pure women and bring them to our Goblin clan leaders. Think, please, we want women to breed them, use them... killing is a waste.

"T-The killing was not our decision. They made us do it according to the deal!"

Sylvester looked around. The faces of Sir Dolorem and Sir Arnold changed after hearing that. Some conspiracy was going on, it seemed.

"Who made you kill them and why?" He asked.

"I-It was… I can't tell you, or they will kill my family and me." The man cried.

Sylvester was having none of it, however. He glanced at Felix and ordered. "Kill one person from the boat randomly whenever he refuses to answer next."

Felix nodded and walked to the boat in an instant. Seeing this also weakened the half goblin's legs. But he could not fall down either, being impaled and stuck on the tree.

"Give me the answers then!" Sylvester roared.

The half-goblin cried and yelled a name. "Inquisitor General, Van Joseph!"

"That old man from Rathburg?!"

It was as if the thunder fell. Sylvester understood the implications of the words of this man. "Stop slandering the General. Why would he do such a thing?"

"I'm not lying! He allowed us to take whichever Bright Mother we wanted as long as we killed a few of them as per his command. I know not why. I just did it as he asked."

Sir Arnold was angered and walked forward to punch the man in the guts. "How dare you speak so foul about General? He is the holiest of us all."

"Do you believe we could conduct all these kidnappings for so long without getting caught? Without getting found out by many other inspectors the church sent? Open your eyes. Your church is not that holy."

"I will kill you!" Sir Arnold raged.

Jax scoffed from a distance. "This is why I didn't join the church. Delusional as ever."

Sylvester, however, pushed the man away as he smelled no lies. "Calm down, Sir Arnold. We need him alive to see if he's lying or not. However, we do not need others. Felix, kill the rest of these heathens."

"No! Please…"

But Sylvester did not care about the pleadings. "I'm sure the pure women were also pleading the same before you killed them… r*ped them. As I said, expect no mercy from me."

Felix didn't waste a moment and checked the boat first to see if there was any Brought Mother on it. But it seemed these were the female counterparts of half-goblins.

Seeing that, he simply sank the boat into the water. The rest of the work was done by the cannibal vines as they pulled everyone down and killed them slowly.

The one Sylvester had caught could only watch and cry in anguish. But his cries seemed to be inaudible by everyone else... he didn't exist in others' eyes.

'How do I proceed now? If what this man said is true, then this thing will turn too big. Are the previous inspectors involved too? It indeed didn't make sense why the previous Sanctum Inspectors didn't see the pattern." Sylvester wondered silently.

But, there was only one way to make things clear. It was to confront the accused and ask him questions directly. But he felt uncomfortable returning to the Inquisitor General's camp, as the man held authority over the men and could easily order them to counter accuse him of something.

"Nothing is decided yet. We are Sanctum Inspectors and must investigate all angles before ending the case. We shall return and ask the Inquisitor General himself. Until then, you must control your emotions, Sir Arnold. Remember your vows. You are a servant of Solis first, not your commander." Sylvester nearly scolded the man.

Eventually, the healing crystals cured all the Bright Mothers of their minor bruises. But, sadly, it would take time before the mental scars reduce.

"Priest Sylvester, look at this cage." Sir Dolorem suddenly called him.

Sylvester moved to see and was left speechless at the sight. Inside the cage were four people, two adults, and two children. But, they were not normal.

"Beastkins? What are they doing here?" He asked as he watched the humanoid bear family sitting in the corner of the cage, looking scared. The male and the female had kept the two little kids hidden.

The Half-Goblin, known to go by the name Gobo, was asked about the Beastkins.

Since the man had lost all hope and his will was crushed, he monotonously answered. "We got them from Beastaria to sell them to noble lords and make money to prolong our operation here."

Sylvester was honestly sympathetic about this Beastkin family. They, too, were as much of a victim as the Bright Mothers. And from the scared looks on their faces, they knew how the church treated sub-humans.

However, not today. Sylvester was the boss, and his words were supreme. Although Felix had equal authority, even he knew he was less of a leader.

So Sylvester lifted his right hand towards the Beastkin family and sent a wave of light. The little chubby bear kids looked at him with awe suddenly.

Then he started singing and made a halo behind his head, instantly changing the surrounding mood. The Bright Mothers closed their eyes and began to pray quickly. Sir Dolorem and Sir Arnold did the same. However, Felix and Gabriel were used to it.

♫Blood is not what makes one a heathen.

The Lord does what he does for a reason.

From the depths of the deadly sins,

One must know how to stay awake,

Must never let their will break.♫

♫There shall be light for all eventually.

All must accept, by duty or unintentionally.

The land, be it here or beyond.

The warmth of Solis is one around.♫

♫Your mind is a pond right now.

You must open it to the sea of warmth.

Allow your inner believer to come forth.

So say the name of the Lord.

This bard promises you won't be ignored.♫

The Beastkin family, on the other hand, appeared to have a strange light in their eyes. They looked at Sylvester intently, as if they were looking at a god.

'Good, worship me, you poor souls. That's the only way for you to survive.' Sylvester thought as he felt the smell of worship from the family.

"Solis is just and kind. He does not care if you look different, for we live on the same land where the sun shines. Get up, tell me your name." He asked the family softly while opening the cage.

"I-I am Kobo Gozira, and this is my wife and children… my Lord. They speak not your language."

Sylvester nodded. He could hear the strange accent in the man's voice too. But the fact that the man even knew it was amazing. "Good. Sir Dolorem, push that new dinghy into the water."

Then as he made small talk, the small dinghy was set up and prepared to head out at his order.

Sylvester helped the Beastkin family get in. The family looked normal, except for their tails and the bear's ears and nose. The kids, however, seemed strange. One had a furry body, while the other only had ears and a nose to be recognized as a Beastkin. Similarly, the two adults appeared to have human skin but bear ears, nose, and tail.

"Follow the stream of water. You will be out of Mangroves soon enough. Then head left, and you shall arrive at Libertia." Sylvester said and even handed them some food.

Kobo knelt on the boat towards Sylvester, tears clear in his eyes as he did not expect to be let go. "Thank you, great Lord. I will forever remember this kindness."

Sylvester shook his head. "I am no lord, just a servant of the light. It is my duty to help people out of their plight. Go now. May the Holy Light enlighten your paths."

With that, the family was let go. Sir Arnold was not happy, however. "Why did you let them go? They are heathens! We should have ended them."

Sylvester shook his head. "You did not see what I did. There was worship in their eyes after seeing my light and hearing the hymns. They were very accepting of the faith. I have seen many even coming to Holy Land in Pilgrimage months.

"And from what I have read about them, they don't follow one main god, which leaves them open to accepting other religions. From what I saw in their eyes today, they are now believers, but imagine when they spread the word and instill awe and respect for Solis wherever they live?

"We may just get some more Beastkin believers with this. "

Sir Dolorem agreed. "Winning them over with warmth and love? The first Pope said that in his book. It seems those words stand correct for you."

Sylvester nodded as he looked toward the downstream. 'I hope the family survives, and we'll meet again.'

"Maybe… just maybe, when the peace is gone, and war resumes, these Beastkin clans will help us. However, before that, we have to clean our own homes." Sylvester added as his aura changed back to fury.

"Let's head back. First, the Inquisitor General must prove if he's a boon or bane to the church—He must truthfully answer or be removed like cancer."

___________________

Get Monke High!

**669 Stones = Bonus Chapter!**

APE TOGETHER STRONG!