After Quentin was personally praised by the Black Mage, the Lord of the East bestowed Quentin's father with the family name Brown and gave him the title of Viscount. The Lord personally recruited a team of 20 knights for him, as well as providing him medicine so he could be as strong as a Knight.
The Duke had no choice but to accommodate him.
"Viscount Brown, there must be a misunderstanding. Let us discuss later."
The banquet was soon broken up, with everyone feeling unhappy or filled with feelings of grief and hatred. Adam and the others came to the mansion's Council Hall at the invitation of the duke.
Viscount Brown stared daggers into Adam and repeated, "Your Excellency, I need an explanation.'
"He attacked me, so I killed him," Adam replied briefly.
Viscount Brown was stunned, and even the Duke was taken aback. Adam's statement sounded more like a declaration of war than an explanation.
Viscount Brown's veins were visibly popping on his forehead as he turned to William and the others, "You all knew about this?"
William nodded.
"I see, hah..." Brown sighed, before laughing at himself. He rushed out of the chamber without saying anything else.
"Young man," the Duke looked at Adam with a wry smile. "I hope you understand the emotions of a father who discovered that they lost their son." As an ex-apprentice, the Duke understands the power of magic, so he could only convince Adam to relate to Viscount Brown.
Adam didn't care, speaking directly, "Your Excellency, I am the leader of this mission. Brief us on the mission."
The Duke already knew that Adam was the leader -- he was the strongest after all, so he could only keep his worries in his heart, "You should already know the premise of the mission. However, while you were on the ship, the entire west of Madeira Island has fallen, and the south is currently under attack by the Supreme God Cult."
"Father, did the Supreme God Cult hurt you?" William asked anxiously.
"That's right," the Duke answered fearfully. "A priest was appointed among the civilians and he started to absorb other civilians around him, shouting that the True God was about to enter this realm before massacring the entire town. I heard he casts spells solely using the blood of his victims, as well as cutting at his own body. Every ordinary person who touches his blood dies. The most terrifying thing? The corpses get reanimated; controlled by him."
"So, Your Excellency, this magic isn't enough to hurt you?" Crystal inquired.
"Yes," the Duke nodded. "Although it hurts for ordinary people, it means nothing to apprentices like you. I thought of it before, but just as I was about to land the killing blow, he desperately rushed to my side and exploded, penetrating through my defensive magic."
"Your Excellency," Ophelia suddenly piped up. "Did you retain the flesh of the priest?"
"Of course, do you need it now?"
"Yes."
The Duke got up, taking a small mass of sealed flesh and blood suspended in a jar, "Only this mass of flesh remains of him, Ophelia. Be careful, it is still very aggressive."
Ophelia undid the seal of the jar, and strong magic burst out instantly. The mass of flesh distorted immediately, pouncing at Ophelia.
Ophelia wasn't phased at all, catching the flesh with her bare hands.
"Don't touch the flesh with your bare hands! Otherwise, you'll... oh."
Ophelia squashed the mass of flesh with a ruthless grip. Under the shackles of her unique magic, the mass of flesh stopped writhing around in her grip.
Ophelia picked out a piece of the mass of flesh and swallowed it, calmly saying, "This is a low-level life form. Its only form of reproduction is via infection of other vectors."
Adam remembered that William once said that Ophelia joined a laboratory, and now it seems that the laboratory she joined must be a laboratory researching body refining and blood magic.
Ophelia didn't care for the Duke's disgusted gaze and continued, "I lack a greater sample, but if it really is this weak, then there shouldn't be any problems."
A gorgeous, beautiful girl, eating disgusting flesh capable of infecting normal humans in a nonchalant manner. It would weird anyone out.
The Duke suppressed his disgust and continued, "This may be insignificant for apprentices, but for ordinary people, we have no way of defending ourselves from the threat. Please solve this matter as soon as possible, or Madeira Island is done for."
"Only the priests possess this ability?" Adam asked.
"Not just the priests -- from what I've heard, all of their abilities different from each other. Some draw power from nature, others draw power from humans. However, one thing is for sure -- they were all ordinary people before."
William noticed a huge problem -- even if the four of them were relatively powerful, these gods had the ability to bestow powerful magic onto ordinary humans.
"Father, are the infected dangerous?"
"They're vulnerable," the Duke answered. "They can be killed with ordinary weapons, so the only real threat is the gods themselves."
The four then moved into a luxurious room to rest. However, Adam suddenly asked William, "Who awards the titles of Duke and Earl?"
William was still worrying over his father, and he was considering teaching Adam's meditation method to his father. Upon hearing this question, he was stunned, "Of course, the King of Madeira Island. The royal city is in the middle of the island."
"So why aren't there any apprentices from there?" Adam inquired.
"They don't actually hold much power. If a Mage decides that nobody in the royal city is qualified, then the Mage would never visit the city in the first place."
Adam nodded, getting up to retreat to his room. However, William hesitated and stopped him, "Adam, my father, he..."
Adam waited.
"Can I teach my father your meditation method?" William asked.
Adam looked at William strangely, unsure why he was asking this question in the first place. William bowed his head, thinking Adam would refuse, but Adam simply replied, "Of course. If you pay the amount for my research, whoever you teach is your freedom."
"Thank you, Adam!" William thanked loudly, rushing to his father's room.
...
Meanwhile, Viscount Brown summoned all of the knights before him in his mansion.
"Lord Brown, what is the matter?" the Knight Commander inquired. He was of old age, and will remain a knight for the rest of his life.
The rest of the knights waited for Viscount Brown's orders.
"My child, who was supposed to be a Mage, is dead. Quentin Brown is dead."
This caused an uproar among the knights. Because of Quentin were they able to live comfortably under Viscount Brown. Now that he is dead, can Viscount Brown's title be preserved, or snatched away?
"I believe all of you know of the Supreme God Cult," Viscount Brown said, expressionless.
"Of course," the knights answered in unison, unclear what the Viscount's intentions were.
"Kyle," Viscount Brown addressed the Knight Commander directly. "You are of old age, and your strength will only dwindle from here on out. The rest of you -- many of you are nameless, with no titles!"
"What are you trying to say, my Lord?" Commander Kyle asked.
"Without power, all of you will be under the rule of mages. However, I have a way for all of you to obtain power."
Commander Kyle's face contorted in horror, "You want us to join the Supreme God Cult? Are you crazy? The mages would never let you go."
"Mages?" Viscount Brown chuckled. "No, they are apprentices of a mage, just like my son..."