Chapter 402: Chapter 321: Iron Blood Bishop

In the midst of a deathly aura, the airship filled with members of the Witch Council slowly departed from the Eco-Ship.

Jiuyue stretched lazily as she watched the airship disappearing into the distance.

This was her plan. When faced with sudden foreign enemies, her people would unite like never before. This unity was the secret to the witches surviving the Church’s relentless pursuits over the years.

Thus, the sudden arrival of the Calamity Witch was enough to evoke those unpleasant memories among the witches, unifying them once again and temporarily putting aside the decisive battle with the Ashen Church.

The leader she referred to was A’Jing.

There was no better leader than the Dawn Witch. She had bid farewell to A’Jing, and it was unknown how long it would be until they met again.

The journey that followed was not easy.

For Jiuyue, playing the role of the Calamity Witch was a fine experience. It involved some extent of true characterization. If it hadn’t been for her encounter with Duan Mingyuan, she might have turned into a genuine major villain.

Ten minutes after the airship left the Eco-Ship, communication from it was terminated.

This was the last trick A’Jing had taught her before departing.

The guards on the ship, as well as the wizard whose neck had been pierced by a spike earlier, were all crafted from paper. While playing the role of the Calamity Witch, Jiuyue also took on the duties of the props team.

Meanwhile, Fu Ling and Duan Mingyuan had already arrived at the Ashen Church’s main flagship on a small spacecraft and had completed their meeting with the commander in charge of this mission.

Inside the retro-style religious building, Duan Mingyuan met the Judgment Chief, whose rank was only below that of the current Archbishop.

An elderly man with a white beard, wearing a grey robe.

He held a scepter with a dazzling ruby embedded in it, which emitted a captivating strength.

"Judgment Chief."

Fu Ling bowed first to the expressionless elder, according to the hierarchical division. The Judgment Chief ranked much higher than her.

She had heard many legends about this elder since her childhood. In the eyes of the Ashen believers, he was a living legend.

The elder had participated in the wars on Wizard Star when he was young and had personally chopped off the head of the Witch Ancestor of that era. It was said that wherever his troops went, wizards would scatter and flee, earning him the title of "Iron Blood Bishop."

However, the Iron Blood Bishop did not come out unscathed by the end of the war.

He was injured in the right eye by a witch during a defensive battle, a wound that was incurable.

Fu Ling saw the eyepatch the elder wore. Beneath it, the partially visible flesh still seemed to be festering.

After the wars on Wizard Star ended, the Iron Blood Bishop had visited the Department of Life Sciences’ Eco-Ship four times, seeking a cure for his eye disease. The last time he visited, Fu Ling was just a graduate freshly introduced by her mentor for an internship on the Eco-Ship. That consultation was also presided over by her mentor.

Regrettably...

The curse inflicted on the Iron Blood Bishop’s right eye was beyond ordinary.

Even though they replaced his right eye with a new one and removed all the necrotic flesh, they still couldn’t completely remove the curse. After a few years, his eye would decay again.

Since then, it seemed that the Iron Blood Bishop had completely given up any hope of curing his right eye and never visited the Eco-Ship again.

Feeling the atmosphere turn somewhat oppressive, Fu Ling tried to make small talk, "Judgment Chief, we have met before. Do you remember me? I arranged the schedule for the last surgery, and Bai Kou was my mentor."

"Don’t mention that criminal’s name in front of me!"

The Iron Blood Bishop’s sharp left eye swept over Fu Ling, and an unprecedented pressure overwhelmed her, making it hard for her to breathe.

A burning pain surged through her body, causing her legs to buckle, and she almost knelt on the ground.

Duan Mingyuan quickly supported Fu Ling’s shoulder, preventing her from falling to the ground.

Fu Ling’s plan to cozy up had backfired, and the initial negotiations did not seem to be going smoothly. Seeing Duan Mingyuan supporting Fu Ling, the elderly man turned his gaze toward him, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.

"Is there a misunderstanding here?"

Fu Ling steadied her breath and asked softly.

She didn’t know what had gotten into the old man; the last time they met, although she had heard that the Iron Blood Bishop had a bad temper, he had not unleashed his anger on unrelated people.

On the contrary, the bishop had even expressed his thanks on behalf of the Ashen Church to those staff members who assisted in the surgery.

"Secretly colluding with the Witch Council, collecting ritual materials for them, all of these were the deeds of that sinner."

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned deathly silent.

Fu Ling broke out in a cold sweat—someone had denounced the dealings between the mentor and Jean Saintfield!

It was fortunate that the mentor had left earlier; otherwise, given the Iron Blood Bishop’s intolerance for even the slightest fault, he might have already started coercing a confession.

"Before I pursue your crimes, you have five minutes to explain the purpose of your visit."

"Actually, we discovered members of the Witch Council on the Eco-Ship."

Fu Ling clenched her teeth and stuck to the original plan, revealing the news about the Witch Council, "However, we have already taken control of the situation, and transported them to a small rescue vessel. Now, the guards are escorting them here as a gesture from the Department of Life Sciences to meet with you all."

Of course, that airship was never meant to arrive here.

As they conversed, the Dawn Witch should have already taken control and left this Star Zone at a faster speed.

The Iron Blood Bishop did not respond but looked at Duan Mingyuan, "And you?"

"I am here to ensure the safety of Director Fu Ling."

Duan Mingyuan earnestly said, "I heard that the Ashen Church has a habit of killing at will, so to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, I came specially to accompany Director Fu Ling."

What in the world are you saying!

Fu Ling felt a darkness before her eyes.

The atmosphere between the parties became tense, just as she had predicted.

The guards on the flagship picked up their weapons, clearly ready to capture them at the bishop’s command.

Although Duan Mingyuan spoke the truth, this was clearly not the time to discuss it.

Yet, the Iron Blood Bishop laughed, "I have heard about your case; the brave believer reported your words to the church before his martyrdom."

The martyr referred to naturally being the falcon who had recently died on the ship.

This made Fu Ling’s face look even more unsightly.

If this had been during the height of the witch-hunting era, Duan Mingyuan’s previous remarks would have been enough to have him put on the stake.

Duan Mingyuan continued to try viewing the witch-hunt movement through an objective, dialectic lens, but for the Ashen Church, they needed neither objectivity nor dialectic, and there was no room left for it.

Anyone who did not join them in hunting witches would be considered an accomplice.

"However, the martyr’s report was too brief, so I am willing to give you another chance to defend yourself."

The Iron Blood Bishop looked straight at Duan Mingyuan and asked in a seemingly gentle manner, "What is your view on witches?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read