Chapter 145: The Evil Incident Subsided

A plainly dressed priest holding a staff descended from the sky. Whether it was Corps Commander Bourbone Sylvis or the other young nobles, everyone around lowered their heads in a bow, expressing their utmost respect.

A noble with a peculiar look on his face hurried to run away upon seeing this.

Before he had taken more than a few steps, his head was cleanly severed by Bamond. Bamond strode up to the priest and said respectfully, "Bishop Camille."

The priest gave a slight nod and tapped his finger gently on the severed head of the noble. The external disguise shattered instantly, revealing a bizarre mask to everyone present.

At the exact same time, across the entire Basia Main Camp, the heads of over a hundred young nobles exploded, and they dropped dead on the spot.

Standing at the edge of the camp, Vale witnessed the entire scene with his own eyes. He touched his own head, feeling a lingering wave of fear.

Not far away, one of the nobles whose head had exploded was none other than the commander of the Fourteenth Transport Battalion—a veteran officer with a wealth of combat experience who had inexplicably perished right before his eyes.

Bishop Camille cast his gaze around the surroundings and once again unleashed a divine spell that enveloped the entire Basia Main Camp. Apart from a few nobles whose faces twisted as they let out agonizing wails, no other traces of evil deity power were discovered.

"Bourbone, the evil deity's conspiracy has been thwarted. The rest is up to you."

"Bishop Camille, I understand," Bourbone replied, bowing slightly.

A short while later, guards belonging directly to the Celop Corps Headquarters came forward and took away all the nobles who had shown abnormalities.

Vale looked at the dejected nobles hanging their heads in despair, shook his head without saying a word, and then returned to his own tent.

The divine spell detection unleashed by Bishop Camille just moments ago served to judge the alignment of everyone in the entire camp.

As long as an individual's alignment leaned toward the evil side, an involuntary stress response would almost certainly be triggered.

Usually, everything was fine and people maintained a facade of civility, but once the Church discovered an alignment shift, one could only pray for their own survival.

Not long after Vale returned to his tent, Bamond came to his quarters once again. He stationed the two cat-masked female swordsmen who followed him outside to keep watch, strictly forbidding anyone from approaching.

"Third Uncle." Vale looked at Bamond's unprecedentedly solemn expression. Feeling no panic within, he spoke in a calm tone.

Bamond asked in a grave voice, "Vale, did you know about this in advance?"

"Yes."

Without any explanation or lies, Vale answered bluntly.

The two stared at each other in silence, neither uttering a word.

Ten minutes later, Bamond was the first to break the eerie atmosphere. "I know what you are worried about. If something like this happens in the future, you can come directly to me. You have grown up, and you think more deeply now, but your third uncle still wants to say this: we are family. Whatever you do not wish to tell me, I will not press to find out."

"Third Uncle, I understand." Vale forced a smile onto his stiff face and said to Bamond.

Bamond stepped forward, pulled Vale into an embrace, and gently offered words of comfort.

Shortly after, Bamond left the tent. Vale sat alone on his bed, his mind continuously replaying the earlier scene as a long-absent fear welled up in his chest.

It had been so close. Had he accepted the invitation from the commander of the Fourteenth Transport Battalion, he might have also become a vessel for the evil deity's power, controlled by that grotesque mask.

"Danger truly is everywhere. Just a fraction of a difference, and I would have died without a burial place."

"Be careful. Be cautious."

From now on, he had to maintain his guard in everything he did, and hold an extreme, twelve-fold level of vigilance toward anyone who suddenly appeared overly hospitable and warm.

Over the next half month, the situation gradually subsided.

Among the nobles whose alignments had shifted, the most severe cases were publicly executed.

Those in the second tier were stripped of their noble status and drafted into the Church's penal battalions.

The minor offenders had their personal fortunes confiscated to serve as military funds and were sentenced to ten years of service in the army's miscellaneous labor battalions to atone for their sins.

Regarding the fate of these people, some gloated with schadenfreude while others felt deep sympathy. As for Vale, he naturally belonged to the former group.

The underlying reason was that a staggering sixty percent of the Hax family's young nobles within the Celop Corps had alignment issues. The entire family was now facing scrutiny from both the Kingdom and the Church.

If fifty percent of a family's members exhibited alignment shifts, the Hax family would not only face the risk of having their titles demoted, but the entire clan would also be escorted to the royal capital and placed under house arrest for two centuries.

By that time, whether their ancestral lands would still belong to them remained entirely uncertain.

"This is truly wonderful news. Kyle, take a seat as well and share a few cups of wine with me to celebrate."

Vale immediately produced a bottle of ordinary wine, had someone bring over two simple side dishes, and began celebrating right there with Kyle.

As Vale's personal attendant, Kyle was naturally well aware from his master's accounts that the Hax family had once attempted to assassinate Vale, though they had failed.

Watching his master's hostile family meet their downfall made him equally happy.

"A petty man's revenge lasts from dawn till dusk. I've been wishing for the downfall of the Hax family every single day, but I never expected it to come so soon."

"My Lord, if the Hax family attempts to purge their own ranks first to mitigate their risks, will they be able to evade the investigation by the Kingdom and the Church?" Kyle asked with a puzzled expression.

"Hahaha, do you really think the Kingdom and the Church didn't anticipate that?" Vale chuckled involuntarily, then continued, "The moment the order for investigation was issued, it meant the Hax family was already completely under control. All their members have been placed under house arrest; even suicide is impossible for them."

"The sudden collapse of a millennium-old Marquis family will probably panic the other noble houses. I just wonder how the Kingdom will handle the aftermath," Vale said with a hint of melancholy at the thought.

"Still, seeing the Hax family fall brings me immense joy."

Seeing this, Kyle stopped asking questions and wholeheartedly accompanied his master in drinking.

At this very moment, on the other side of the main camp, the Kingdom's Eleventh Magic Legion and Seventeenth Legion had completely suppressed the Celop Corps' Second Legion, which was led by Amond Hax of the Hax family, and were conducting a much more meticulous investigation of all related personnel.

Throughout the entire process, Amond, the Count of the Hax family, offered no resistance. As a core figure of the clan, he was well aware of the internal rot within the Hax family.

Late at night, a man in a black robe entered the tent where Amond was being detained.

He removed his mask to reveal his true face, who was none other than Celop Corps Commander Bourbone Sylvis.

"Amond, if your particular branch doesn't have too many problems, I will try my best to find a way to have your direct lineage spared and separated."

Amond looked at Bourbone with a bitter smile. "Brother Bourbone, it's going to be very difficult. I know the internal state of the family all too well. I should have stepped in to clean house a century ago, but unfortunately, I grew soft-hearted."

"Besides, the Ex family will not let go of this opportunity. They will definitely pressure the Kingdom to impose even harsher punishments on our family as a warning to others."

Hearing Amond's words, Bourbone fell into an uncharacteristically heavy silence.

The Ex family held immense influence within the military, maintained equally close ties with the Church, and shared deep connections with the Duke of Moravia. As long as they pushed from behind, virtually all other factions would yield.

After all, no one was willing to wade into muddy waters for a dying Marquis family.