Chapter 326: The Gloomy Eye
In the camp of Payne Village, Roland has returned to the lord's side.
"...In other words, you have obtained the seal of the Knights of the Dawn... I think you should establish a new Knights of the Dawn, Sir Roland. I am happy to provide you with financial assistance."
Leon suggested to Roland.
"No, I've learned that rebuilding New Dawn doesn't require money. Of course, I do need a place to house these guys."
Roland twisted the "Bright Choice" onto the hilt of his sword.
Li Ang nodded: "Then let's do it in Lion Lake City. Once we recapture Lion Lake City, this will be your base. But before that, we have to kill the Devourer first... You should know about these heretics, right?"
The two Knights of Dawn and Dusk knew the most about heresy. Leon felt that Roland probably knew some information.
"Lord Leon, the 'Devourer' is recorded in the Temple of Justice. Its name is Aigrim, which means 'Gloomy Eye'. We believe it is a demon from the abyss, not a species from this world."
Roland does know a lot of information.
Many years ago, Aigrim appeared on the continent of Barkley, and the Knights of Dawn once fought against it.
That was actually when the Kingdom of Pendor had just fallen.
At that time, the Barclay Empire had just fought a war that lasted for several years with the Bacchus Empire for a share of the Pand cake, and was in the stage of recovering from the war.
The long war caused many conflicts in Barclay, and various strange sects emerged everywhere. Although the official belief of the Barclay Empire was the goddess of justice Astalia, there were more people who believed in the dark goddess Erida or other evil gods than those who believed in the goddess of justice.
Because the goddess of justice has not descended on earth for hundreds of years, but some evil gods can actually bring power to believers...
At that time, there were many people who claimed to be followers of the Dark Goddess. They searched for living lives everywhere. They would peel off people's skin and use a portable mobile altar to offer the bloody people with peeled skin and flesh to their god.
However, the believers at that time used flesh and blood as sacrifices not to gain power, but to summon a powerful warrior - the heretic supplicants at that time called themselves "summoners".
In fact, these "summoners" themselves are not sure whether the sacrifices are really offered to the Dark Goddess...
But what is certain is that they can indeed summon a terrible creature from the altar - the devil.
Those were real demons, with red skin, sharp horns on their heads, and bat-like wings on their backs - they had nothing to do with humans, nor were they fallen. Their red skin was not the result of skinning, but was simply that way.
This demon has been recorded in various places and has varying qualities.
The summoned demons are of different sizes, with the smallest being less than one meter tall. Although ferocious, their combat effectiveness may not be as good as Anson's when he first went to the battlefield.
But the big ones are more than two meters tall, with great strength and extreme ferocity, and can easily fight ten people alone.
Most importantly, this kind of demon can be controlled by the person who summons it - it is said that this is probably some kind of soul contract.
This has led to a gradual increase in the number of summoners, and more and more people believe in the Dark Goddess, and everyone wants to summon a powerful fighter who only listens to them.
The continuous appearance of remains and demons in various places soon plunged the entire Barkley continent into panic. This panic seriously affected the post-war recovery process of the Barkley Empire, and naturally it could no longer sit idly by.
Then the Knights of Dawn came out in full force, and various legions began to hunt down the followers of the Dark Goddess and identify them as heretics.
In fact, this was the main reason why Barclay did not participate at all when the Bacchus Empire tore up the agreement and suddenly sent General Osa to invade the Pande Continent; it was also the reason why Barclay did not take the opportunity to send troops when the Bacchus Empire collapsed - it was not that he did not want to get a piece of the pie, but it was because Barclay’s own country was in chaos at the time.
Buckley's official purge of heretics lasted for several years.
During these years, some heretics began to intensify their evil rituals in order to resist the army, and eventually summoned an extremely terrifying warrior - the Demon Giant Warrior.
This is the official name of the Barkley Empire. It is said that they are some demons with strange powers, extremely tenacious vitality and no humanity.
At that time, some scholars within the Knights of the Dawn believed that this was the source of evil summoned from the abyss, and perhaps this was indeed the case.
This summoned creature is very powerful, and ten Dawn Knights may not be able to deal with a demon giant warrior.
Afterwards, the heretics gathered a large army with the heretic supplicants and the demon giant warriors as the core, and began to confront the Barclay Empire head-on.
However, during a ritual to summon a demonic giant warrior, a heretic priest made a fatal mistake.
The summoning did not fail this time, but something went wrong with the summoned creature.
The demon that finally walked out of the altar did not have the tough skin of ordinary demon undead warriors, nor did it have huge bat wings to indicate its identity. Instead, it looked like a sacrifice, with bright red flesh and blood exposed - or rather, it was the sacrifice itself.
However, the skinned corpse revived.
But everyone knew that this was definitely not the sacrifice.
Because its pair of large gray eyes are extremely terrifying and make people's hearts palpitate. It exudes silent oppression all the time, and is surrounded by gloomy black fog.
It was also from that day that it got a name that spread throughout the continent: Aigrim, which means "Gloomy Eye".
As soon as Aigram woke up, he brutally killed the high priest who summoned him.
The unfortunate heretic supplicant had his skull pierced by the devil's claws, his brains were sucked out, and it is estimated that his soul was also sucked out.
Perhaps without the brain one would not become a Fallen One. Anyway, this high priest did not become a Fallen One. He only left behind a brainless corpse.
At the same time, most of the heretics who were relatively close were attracted by the black mist and the incantations emanating from Aigrem, and automatically tore off their own skin and flesh in a very short time, turning into pieces of bright red flesh and blood that were almost identical to Aigrem.
That was also the earliest group of fallen people recorded in historical documents.
Only some believers who were farther away at the time managed to escape.
The terrifying thing about Aigrim is its assimilation ability.
The black mist and spells on it can make people lose their minds like drugs, unable to extricate themselves, and even make people spontaneously gather around it.
Soon, a group of bandits, slave traders or rogues gathered around it. These people were willing to indulge in Aigrim's spell and gradually degenerated into skinless creatures that were completely non-human.
Then a large number of Fallen began to rampage across Barkley.
Some of the heretics who survived and still had good intentions in their hearts came to their senses. They took the initiative to tell the nearby villagers about this and asked them to find the Knights of the Dawn to fight against this powerful demon that was completely uncontrollable.
At the same time, a miracle occurred in the temple of the goddess of justice - Astalia issued a decree to the Knights of the Dawn, asking them to eliminate sin from the earth, otherwise the goddess of justice would not be able to set foot on the earth.
As a result, the Barclay Empire increased its efforts to clean up heretics, and the Knights of the Dawn began to use force to purify at all costs, and began to implement cremation. Any heretics discovered would burned to ashes to prevent the emergence of new fallen people.
The struggle with the heretics and Aigrim lasted for several years, and the Barclay Empire sacrificed a large number of warriors and lost the best opportunity to conquer Pendor and Bacchus.
After countless battles, the heretics were finally driven out of Barclay and fled to the continent of Pendor.
The Knights of the Dawn also claimed that they killed Aigram, and said that when he died, black fog filled the sky and various wailing sounds continued for several days.
This made the Knights of Dawn suddenly become the messengers of justice and the incarnation of the goddess, and their status and reputation reached the peak.
But after Aigrim disappeared, the Dawn Knights gradually became arrogant and cruel - they did not want the purification operation to end, because it would give them many privileges...
As a result, the Knights of the Dawn's purification of heretics gradually turned into the exclusion and persecution of other beliefs.
In the end, it even escalated to the point where they could find any excuse for blasphemy to do whatever they wanted, until they themselves were exiled.
"That is to say, this is a demon from another world, and it was the first to create the Fallen... But the Three Prophets can also create the Fallen. What is their relationship with Aigram? I remember... the Three Prophets knew you."
Leon thought of the three prophets again, and remembered that when Roland dealt with the three prophets, one of the female prophets recognized Roland.
“The Three Prophets do know me.”
Roland nodded. "They were originally priests of the Temple of Justice. Thirty years ago, when I first became a Knight of the Dawn, I received a mission to capture them. At that time, I led a team to hunt them down, but they suddenly disappeared. As for their connection with Aigram... they stole a code kept in the Temple of Justice. It is said that this code was found on the body of the priest who accidentally summoned Aigram. We call it the Heretic Code."
This is very important information. Li Ang perked up: "Heretical Code? What does that code say?"
"I don't know... It is a taboo and also evidence of heresy. Only the Inquisitor, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Dawn, can read it."
Roland shook his head: "But..."
His expression became a little strange, as if there was something he didn't want to say.
"But what?"
Leon looked at Roland's conflicted expression.
"But I know that many people have peeked at the Codex heresy."
Roland sighed and said to Leon.
"Huh...Okay, now I understand how the Twilight Knights were formed..."
Li Ang also sighed.
"Why wasn't that heretical code destroyed?"
Lisa Dilan suddenly asked.
Roland didn't answer. He obviously didn't know.
Leon gave an answer: "If you think about it from the positive side, then to fight against heretics you need to have a deeper understanding of heretics. But if you think about it from the negative side... With the Heretic Code, there is a basis for judging heretics, and everything the Knights of the Dawn do can be 'just' - anyway, any excuse for 'blaspheming the goddess' can be written into the Heretic Code. This is the basis for the Knights of the Dawn to obtain privileges. They can use the Heretic Code to counter the decrees they want, and such a good thing certainly cannot be destroyed."
Lisa Dilan suddenly realized.
Roland sighed again silently .
Indeed, if one wants to define not washing hands before meals and after defecation as heresy, then just write a line in the heresy code: "The decree of the dark goddess Erida: Do not wash hands before meals and after defecation."
The reverse operation is actually equivalent to customizing the law.
If someone disagrees, just look at the code of heresy and say, "Look, everything you do every day matches the heretical doctrines. If you are not a heretic, then who is?"
"Let's talk about Aigrim... How did the Knights of the Dawn defeat it?"
Seeing that Roland was feeling a little uncomfortable, Leon changed the subject. He wanted to find Aigrem's weakness.
"There is no record of this, and we don't know..."
Roland shook his head.
"There is no record? How come? ... Then, did Aigram do anything special?"
Li Ang frowned.
He felt that the story of the Knights of the Dawn killing Aigraim was probably a lie, otherwise they would not have failed to record the process of killing Aigraim.
At least the hero who killed the demon should be recorded, right?
If such deeds were not recorded, it would only prove that the Knights of the Dawn had no idea how Aigram disappeared - otherwise they would have made up a biography of the demon slayer.
"Aigrem is special indeed. From the records I know, Aigram will actively seek out those who are greedy or have evil intentions. Those with evil intentions will be assimilated by it as long as they get close to it. The more sinful a person is, the easier it is for them to be attracted to Aigram. At the same time, Aigram likes to devour the souls of those with high martial arts skills, turning them into powerful 'Fallen Ghosts', so Aigram is also called 'Devourer'."
Roland answered confidently: "This has been recorded in many documents, but I don't know what method it used to attract those people."
This statement is more credible. The three prophets actually attract people with greed in their hearts. After all, flies don't bite seamless eggs.
However, most people should have gaps...
"When the Knights of the Dawn were fighting it head-on, did anyone suddenly become a Fallen?"
Leon began to think, if he were to fight Aigrim, would the warriors suddenly turn against him? Or, would the brothers who died in the battle suddenly become Fallen and turn against him? This would be the most troublesome thing.
"There is no record of this either... I'm not sure. But maybe there is, otherwise it wouldn't have taken the whole country's efforts for several years to eliminate Aigrim. It is said that the entire Barclay Empire was devastated by that time."
Roland thought about it and made a guess.
Leon and Lisadiran shook their heads together. It was obvious that they both felt that the Aigram had not been dealt with.
"If anyone with evil intentions will be assimilated by it as soon as they get close to it... then I'm afraid no one can kill him..."
Lisa Dilan sighed: "Who doesn't have some evil thoughts?"
Yes, who doesn’t have some evil thoughts?
Several people were silent.
"Well, since the Knights of Dawn claim to have defeated Aigram before, let's let the Knights of Dawn take the lead and give it a try. After all, they have always called themselves messengers of justice, so they must have no evil intentions..."
Li Ang stroked his chin and began to look at the map.
"Dawn Knight? You're not talking about us, are you?"
Reynard swallowed his saliva and said, "Sir Leon, although we are not afraid of death, I think we are definitely no match for that thing..."
"No, I mean the Knights of the Dawn who have been hunting down Sir Roland... Of course, if nothing unexpected happens, they are also hunting down you."
Leon smiled at Leonard and said, "You are traitors in their eyes."
"You mean, the Knights of the Dawn came here? They took the initiative to fight against the Devourer Aigrim and save the people? I don't think they are so great now..."
Leonard shook his head in disbelief.
"They should be here in the next two days, and they really came here on their own initiative. When I first got the information about the Devourer's appearance, I informed Guangxiao Bay. I sent someone to inform them that the traitor Roland they had been chasing was in Lion Lake City..."
Li Ang openly told Roland about his "informing" and said, "And now you have the seal of their Grand Commander, so I think they will be here soon..."
