Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1591: Chapter 318: Iron Fist Invincible Stretta

Vasco seemed to sense that he might have stepped on something, so he lifted his leg to take a look.

Mai Rada was instantly shocked; although the crystal communication tool was shattered, even just the fragments were not ordinary. He feared deeply that the visitor from the Holy Church, Vasco, might notice something unusual.

“What is this?”

In fact, it seemed he was overthinking… Vasco simply lifted his leg, glanced down, and then swept the crystal shards with the sole of his boot into the yard beside the corridor.

Mai Rada’s expression stiffened again, and he was left speechless.

Vasco casually ordered, “Make sure it’s cleaned up properly!”

“…Okay.” Mai Rada opened his mouth, but eventually responded in a daze.

After that, Vasco strode into the room where Father Strala was reciting scriptures, ignoring Mai Rada.

Mai Rada could only silently collect the crystal shards from the yard… They couldn’t be reassembled, and even if they could, they would be unusable.

“Damn it, damn it!” Mai Rada cursed fiercely, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth… against you, a hundredfold repayment!!”

He could only vent his anger verbally; at present, he risked being quickly detained by human law enforcement. How could he deal with a knight from the Holy Church?

In the end, Mai Rada left in a daze.

At the room’s entrance, Vasco stopped because Father Strala stood there, shaking his head slightly, seemingly with a hint of disapproval looking at the strong, elderly man before him.

“Didn’t you say he’s not your student? You’re so concerned,” Vasco remarked indifferently.

“I have a duty to guide those lost lambs onto a bright path,” Father Strala said, drawing a cross over his chest.

“The Sacred Capital is full of lost lambs; even Shenwei Prison has rebellious lambs. Why don’t you return and use your iron fist to enlighten them?”

Father Strala glared and said, “Work starts every day at seven in the morning, ends at ten at night, seven days a week, all year round, whoever wants to go can go!”

“Is this your excuse for staying here?!” Vasco suddenly widened his eyes in disbelief.

…

Of course, this wasn’t the real reason Father Strala hadn’t returned, but the work system at Shenwei Prison did indeed seem that way… Upon reflection, Vasco couldn’t find grounds for rebuttal.

The two glared at each other briefly before Father Strala retreated into the room to continue reciting scriptures and preaching. Vasco leaned against the door absentmindedly.

The congregation in the room, though curious about the burly old man at the door, knew they needed absolute silence as Father Strala was preaching, so they buried their curiosity deep within.

Then came the interactions.

But Mr. Smith left directly after the priest finished preaching, his mood improved somewhat. He was eager to visit his wife in the hospital, so he resigned.

Then another member of the congregation took over… They each voiced inner worries, untellable secrets, or past traumas.

It was a stranger’s turn.

They realized there was a new, unfamiliar young face in the room… black hair, black eyes, seemingly of Eastern descent.

Most town residents knew each other’s backgrounds and deduced that this stranger might be a student at the school… or a new resident who hadn’t been living here long.

“Are you a member of the congregation, sir?” Father Strala asked with a smile.

“No, I’m not.” The stranger politely replied, “I was just passing by and came in for a look… If I’m not a congregation member, am I not allowed to participate? I didn’t know, as no one stopped me from entering outside.”

The priest chuckled, “We welcome anyone’s arrival… Welcome, new guest. You can share your worries here, don’t mind others’ gazes, and don’t be shy about what troubles you can’t speak of because we’re all here to help you.”

“I don’t have any troubles at the moment.” The young man shook his head, “Really, I’m just interested in this place, so I came to listen and feel the atmosphere.”

The congregation didn’t get angry, and neither did Father Strala; he nodded and smiled, “I hope you won’t be burdened by troubles in the future. Blessings to you, young man.”

Of course, this was just a verbal blessing; if it were a different blessing, Vasco would likely intervene and drag Father Strala away… Divine power is not to be lightly displayed before ordinary people, unless they’re clergy members.

Though it hadn’t reached the level of exclusion, Vasco was simply uninterested in those with no faith in their hearts.

“Young man, how does it feel? If it feels good, please consider joining, I’d be happy to recommend you.” A middle-aged man in the room laughed, “This place is simple, unlike the big cities with many rules. You just need to nod.”

Generally speaking, people were overly eager.

“I think… there’s no need for that right now.” The young man slightly shook his head, “Thank you for your kind offer, sir.”

After twice indicating refusal, naturally, no one pressured this stranger any further—after all, the church wasn’t a domineering organization.

But Father Strala couldn’t help feeling quite puzzled now—this stranger seemed just noticed recently, but the gathering had been going on for a while… Since Mr. Smith began sharing his painful story, how was it only now they noticed this young man?

Logically speaking, among all the western faces, an eastern face should stand out, and he should have noticed sooner.

Amidst confusion, a man in his thirties suddenly stood up, interrupting Father Strala’s conversation with the stranger.

“Oh… Is there something, Oley?” Father Strala wasn’t upset, just curious.

The man named Oley lowered his head without speaking, his demeanor seeming peculiar, which immediately drew everyone’s attention.

“Oley?”

Seeing the man still lowered his head silently, Father Strala had to step forward—when Oley suddenly raised his head.

“Do you have any con…”

Before the words finished, the man named Oley suddenly lunged forward, hands reaching for Father Strala’s neck… He even easily caught Father Strala’s throat completely!

This sudden change caused the believers in the room to be shocked!

Vasco outside the door saw what happened, and without any hesitation, he immediately walked in… arriving in an instant!

With his muscular arms, he directly grabbed Oley by the back of the collar and easily lifted the person up with one hand. But Oley still stubbornly gripped Father Strala’s neck, so Vasco forcefully bent Oley’s fingers, and with a cracking sound, one of Oley’s fingers was easily bent!

Something bizarre happened: Oley, whose finger was broken, seemed completely unfazed by the pain… Vasco snorted coldly and exerted force again, this time forcefully separating them.

“Vasco!” Father Strala suddenly shouted.

Vasco, who was ready to use force to knock people down, heard the voice, frowned, and ultimately just pushed Oley aside—at the same time, he understood what Father Strala was reminding him.

In the room, not only Oley but the other believers also became abnormal… They became expressionless, but their gaze intermittently showed a terrifying aggressiveness!

“Are you okay? What’s happened to them? Are they under some evil technique?” Vasco retreated to Father Strala’s side and asked directly.

The priest, who had just been choked hard by Oley, seemed fine, and now merely frowned and said, “If someone is using evil arts here and I’m unaware, you still dare to invite me back… It seems it’s a secret drug.”

“Secret drug?” Vasco was momentarily stunned, then started paying attention.

In the air, there seemed to be a faint fragrance—it was the scent of flowers, easy to overlook—but Vasco recalled, there were no flowers in the church, and Strala was planting vegetables in the yard!

“Maybe it’s your sinner.” Vasco asked directly.

Father Strala said irritably, “Who else could I have offended? Over the years, I’ve only offended the Pope, right? But at least I left.”

Vasco shook his head—he had never seen Father Strala act so mischievously—and directly started, knocking those believers who had lost their senses to the ground, one by one.

He was measured in his actions, merely knocking them unconscious; Father Strala naturally didn’t stop him excessively… but he vaguely felt as if he had forgotten something.

He carefully looked at the believers knocked down by Vasco, trying to find what puzzled him… but before he could think deeply, a commotion sounded from outside the room!

…

The believers attending various activities suddenly went berserk, not only frantically destroying things within the church but even fighting with each other.

Vasco pushed out from the inner hall all the way, finally stopping in front of a frenzied pregnant woman, helplessly grabbing and then tying her up.

Until he and Father Strala reached the open space outside the church, they both showed serious expressions.

On the roof of the church, at some unknown time, a woman wearing strange armor and a black upside-down V mask stood!

Most of this armor was black, but its patterns glowed orange-red… a sense of foreboding engulfed Father Strala and Vasco’s hearts.

“Who are you? Why are you attacking the church?” Vasco coldly snorted; as one of the senior members of the Holy Church’s Paladin Corps, he never feared most Non-Humans in the world.

The mysterious woman on the roof did not speak but suddenly stretched out her hand, palm open… From the palm fell a pendant.

Vasco and Father Strala’s expressions slightly changed upon seeing the pendant the woman took out; Vasco spoke in a low voice, “Holy relic from Pechersk Lavra? Are you with the Black Religious Congregation?”

The woman merely laughed, and simultaneously, the entire church was enveloped in darkness… seeming to originate from the power of this so-called holy relic from Pechersk Lavra!

Yet, as a true holy relic, it naturally wouldn’t produce such bizarre dark power.

Therefore, the moment the darkness engulfed the church, Father Strala realized something, “You… have actually reversed the holy relic?!”

“One is a former Warden of Shenwei Prison for the Holy Church, and the other is one of the oldest Paladins still serving—I really want to see if you two are as formidable as the rumors say.”

The mysterious woman finally spoke… it was a rather sharp, stiff voice, evidently processed specially.

“Hmph! Remnants of cultivation! Saves me the trouble of searching high and low everywhere!” Vasco sneered at this moment, “Today, you’ll be purified!”

He was evidently one of the oldest Paladins; Holy Maiden power surged immensely, bursting forth now as if to break through the darkness before him.

Yet in just a moment, the divine power Vasco emitted suddenly dissipated… light dimmed all at once.

“Vasco, don’t use divine power!” Father Strala promptly reminded at this time, “The holy relic has been reversed; now what’s being emitted is Fallen Power… For those who practice divine power, Fallen Power is equivalent to the most terrifying poison! The more divine power you release, the faster the erosion becomes and the quicker you fall!”

Vasco snorted lightly and directly leaped, punching at the mysterious woman without using divine power, only relying on his honed body!

Even so, the punch still smashed a big hole in the church roof!

The cross on the roof directly collapsed, and the mysterious woman easily dodged the attack, now directly reaching for Father Strala.

But just as the mysterious woman was about to seize Father Strala, this somewhat portly and slightly bald priest suddenly erupted with terrifying Holy Light, and his fist wrapped with dazzling radiance directly shot out!

The mysterious woman hastily crossed her arms in defense but was thrown back after taking a direct hit from Father Strala’s punch, crashing into the church… with a crash, the church wall shattered.

Father Strala immediately pursued… chasing the mysterious woman down, punch after punch!

Even a battle fanatic like Vasco couldn’t help but feel sorry for the mysterious woman—Father Strala’s punches really hurt!

Iron Fist Invincible Stretta, this was someone who suppressed criminals in Shenwei Prison for half a century!

But Vasco suddenly remembered a question, “You old bastard!! Didn’t you say not to use divine power?”

“Hmph! Trash Vasco! My divine power is cultivated by myself, yours is borrowed, how can they be the same!” Father Strala snorted coldly at this time, “Relying on God is worse than relying on oneself!”

“Warden Strala, let me see this so-called Iron Fist!”

A black light burst out of the church, and it was indeed the mysterious woman—except now, she had a pair of wings made of black light behind her.

Just like the legendary fallen angel