In that very instant, The Reverend, who had been keeping a close watch on the movements behind him, thought he had seized an opportunity.

“Hand of Radiance!”

He shouted, unleashing a divine spell.

Suddenly, a brilliant light burst from his body, and countless points of light appeared in the air, quickly condensing into a radiant hand.

Devon was shocked—this was exactly the spell he had been guarding against!

This radiant hand possessed terrifying power. He had seen it before, easily piercing a werewolf’s chest, extracting its heart, and burning it to ashes—no mere flesh and blood could withstand it.

In his panic, his hand reflexively tightened. With his immense strength, a series of bone-cracking sounds rang out beneath his grip, and The Reverend’s neck was instantly twisted like a rope.

The Reverend’s legs kicked, his head drooped limply, and he lost all signs of life—just like that, he was finished.

At that moment, the Hand of Radiance had already reached Devon’s chest, causing him to feel a searing, burning pain, even scorching his clothes.

But with the caster dead, the spell ended there. It hovered in the air for a few seconds, then dissolved back into points of light and vanished.

Devon let out a huge sigh of relief, only now realizing he was drenched in cold sweat.

Immediately, his face turned bitter. He hadn’t expected to accidentally kill The Reverend—now things were truly serious!

Before, it was still manageable; he was merely exposing The Reverend’s lechery, and might even have been rewarded by the church.

But now, he had killed The Reverend, and that meant nothing but trouble.

A servant of God could only be judged by the divine—this was the iron law of the church.

On the continent, for a commoner to kill a clergyman, for any reason, was a grave crime!

The Church of the Lord of Radiance would surely hunt the murderer to the ends of the earth.

If Devon wanted to defend himself, fine—he could go plead his case before the deity in person!

Perhaps the townsfolk didn’t know this, but over the years, Devon had read quite a few books—not for nothing. His knowledge far surpassed that of the average villager.

With things as they were, he couldn’t stay in Vito Town, or even anywhere in the Storm Kingdom—he had no choice but to run.

His dream of becoming a knight was over before it even began.

When The Mute Servant saw his master dead, his eyes instantly turned red. Instead of advancing, he retreated, running back into the rear hall of the church.

This youth’s strength was too great, making him wary—he needed to retrieve his dagger before dealing with him!

Chapter Four: The Frost Warrior

Inside the church, Devon didn’t hesitate any longer. Using all his strength, he dragged a woman and The Reverend’s corpse, dashing madly out of the church.

With The Reverend dead, he was even more determined to expose the man’s lechery and gain the moral high ground.

As soon as he reached the church square, Devon ran while shouting, “Everyone, come and see! The Reverend was with a woman—I caught them in the act, and he even tried to kill me to silence me!”

Devon’s voice was so loud it carried far, almost half the town could hear him.

People in the church square immediately gathered around, staring in shock at the two people Devon was dragging.

“Hey, isn’t that Martha?”

“What… what happened to The Reverend? Why is he dead? And why is he naked?”

“Hiss—why is Martha only wearing a single piece of clothing…”

Widow Martha, desperate to protect her reputation, slapped The Reverend’s corpse with all her might, crying and cursing, “He’s a demon! He’s not The Reverend, he’s a demon! He forced me, he forced me…”

By now, a large crowd had gathered around Devon, with even more people rushing over.

Everyone was talking at once. Though shocked, they were already inclined to believe Devon’s story.

After all, if The Reverend hadn’t been with a woman, why would he be naked? And how did his clothes end up on the widow?

As for the attempted murder, people were half-convinced, half-doubtful, since The Reverend had always seemed gentle and holy—it was hard to imagine him doing something so ruthless.

But just then, The Mute Servant burst out of the church!

His face was twisted with rage, and he held a gleaming dagger. As soon as he appeared, his eyes swept the crowd, and upon spotting Devon, he said nothing, just charged over with a grim expression.

Devon had been watching for him. He pointed and shouted, “Look, it’s him! The Mute Servant! Look at his hand, look at the dagger he’s holding—he’s coming to kill me!”

As he spoke, Devon ran toward his wooden cart—he needed to grab his woodcutting axe.

The townsfolk had first heard Devon’s words, and first seen the disheveled man and woman he was holding. Now, seeing The Mute Servant really holding a weapon and looking murderous, no one doubted Devon anymore.

The people of Vito Town were tough and bold. Seeing this, their blood was up.

Both The Reverend and The Mute Servant were outsiders, and now one of them dared to act so brazenly in Vito Town—did he really think the townsfolk were easy prey?

If they didn’t beat him until he was looking for his teeth on the ground, their anger wouldn’t be satisfied.

Someone roared, “That dog servant dares bully our Vito Town folk—get him!”

The townsfolk responded in unison. Immediately, more than a dozen strong men grabbed whatever crude weapons were at hand—thick wooden sticks, hoes, stones—and charged at The Mute Servant.