“I told you, Sheriff, your steadfast materialism will soon be shattered…”

“See? How quickly…”

………………

Thirty minutes later, this aging car, driven by the worldview-collapsing Sheriff, came to a steady stop at their destination.

It was a rather large farm, but it had been abandoned for quite some time.

“This farm is rumored to be cursed by evil spirits. At least ten deaths and disappearances are connected to it.”

Getting out of the car, Charlie Carter held a stack of documents and stood behind Charles Carter, organizing them as he introduced, “Recently, a family saw that the price of the villa here was cheap, so they bought it.”

“But starting a month ago, many strange things began to happen. This family are all devout believers, and the farm itself is registered with the church, so that’s why we were sent here this time… I hope they’re alright…”

“The family you mentioned, are they a middle-aged couple with three daughters?”

“Hmm, hmm?” Charlie Carter, who was looking down at the files, raised his head in confusion and asked, “How did you know, Sir Knight?”

“Because they’ve already arrived…” Charles Carter shook his head, reached out to take the stack of documents, and began flipping through them slowly. “Go handle it, Pastor Charlie Carter…”

“I’m really not good at dealing with these kinds of things.”

While flipping through the documents, Charles Carter followed behind Charlie Carter, who was heading to greet the victimized family, walking forward. The weeds underfoot were quite overgrown and annoying, but what bothered Charles Carter even more was the chaos and malice lingering in this farm…

Step…

Just as Charles Carter was quickly scanning the documents, Charlie Carter, leading the way ahead, suddenly paused. The gentle, comforting expression on his face stiffened for a moment, but almost immediately, the pastor’s face was once again filled with a warm smile as he cheerfully responded to the nearly broken man.

“Don’t worry… If there really is a problem, we’ll definitely help you…”

“Thank you so much, really, thank you…”

Seeing the same gentle smile on the pastor’s face, Charles Carter paused, gripping the stack of documents in his right hand, stopping at the very spot where the pastor’s expression had just changed.

On the weed-covered ground stood an old locust tree nearly ten meters tall, its branches stretching far out. If it were summer, it would probably cast a large patch of shade, but unfortunately, the tree was already withered.

Even though a small stream flowed right in front of it.

Squinting for a long time, it wasn’t until Michael Thompson called out to him from ahead that Charles Carter turned away expressionlessly.

The knight’s longsword in his right hand hummed on its own, sending a burning pain through his palm.

“This is Sir Charles Carter, a paladin directly under the church.”

As soon as they entered the villa, the only one still standing, Charlie Carter, introduced the people sitting on the sofa, but for some reason, Charlie Carter looked a bit pale, and even his usual gentle smile seemed forced. Still, he did his best to introduce the family to Charles Carter.

“This is Smith, Mr. Smith Doyle, and Ms. Ariel Bennett.”

A middle-aged man with a terrified expression, and a woman with heavy dark circles but still in decent spirits—Charles Carter glanced at them and nodded politely. The former just stared blankly, but the latter actually smiled at Charles Carter.

“And these are the three lovely ladies, Sandra Carter, Mavis Carter, and Tina Bennett…” Sitting in the middle of the sofa were three little girls, one of whom looked only about eight years old. Yet all of them had gloomy faces, and their eyes showed a hint of murkiness.

“Evil energy has entered their bodies…”

With a soft sigh in his heart—having been adopted as an orphan in the main world—Charles Carter found it hard to keep a stern face in front of these children, especially since he wasn’t naturally a cold-blooded or ruthless person.

Bending down, the young demon hunter smiled slightly and greeted the children, to the surprise of his three companions behind him: “Hello there…”

“Hello…”

“Hello, sir…”

“Are you the knight from the stories?”

Amid two listless replies, the energetic voice of the little girl stood out. The eight-year-old girl’s eyes widened in disbelief and delight as she looked at Charles Carter, especially when her gaze fell on the knight’s sword in his hand—her dim eyes shone with a brightness beyond ordinary people.

“A knight’s sword—you really are a knight!”

“So, are you here to save us, just like in the stories? Tina Bennett is so scared…”

As if suddenly gaining strength, the previously sickly little girl sat up from the sofa, her small right hand reaching out to gently tug at the hem of Charles Carter’s coat, her big eyes full of admiration.

Charles Carter was taken aback. After a brief pause, his free right hand awkwardly patted the little girl’s head, and his once cold voice softened a bit: “Don’t worry, I will rid this place of…”

Hummmm…