Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1599: Chapter 326: Lost Lambs

“Black Religious Congregation!”

The moment the force field appeared, Vasco reacted immediately. Several squire candidates, considered elite students ready to leave the training camp for experience, reacted swiftly. Almost instantaneously, as Vasco’s voice echoed, they unleashed a strong divine power.

However, lacking previous exposure to the horror of the Field of Corruption, their divine power had just exploded when the field’s corrosion hit them like venom, instantly making several squire candidates show painful expressions.

“Do not use divine power!” Vasco shouted, then crossed his hands in front of him and broke through the window directly.

The squire candidates stopped releasing divine power and indeed felt the pain diminish… But if they couldn’t use divine power, with only a fraction of their martial prowess, they feared they could exert only a tenth of it.

Yet Dagonet was entirely unaffected by the Field of Corruption.

He casually glanced at several squire candidates with distressed faces, then looked at Father Stretta, who was indifferently cutting steak, and suddenly replied with a laugh: “Father, your place is certainly lively tonight.”

“Yes, all lost lambs,” Father Stretta chewed his beef heartily. “Being lambs, they’ll be slaughtered.”

“Isn’t that something a kind-hearted priest should say?” Mr. Clown retorted with a grin.

Father Stretta suddenly looked up, “Is your Knight Agency really planning to recruit me? Fine, I’ll join right now and wreak havoc upon you. Wait until your agency battles the Black Religious Congregation first and weakens them; only then might they spare the Holy Church some trouble.”

Several squire candidates widened their eyes in disbelief… Father, even if you truly think that way, shouldn’t you keep it to yourself?

“Father seems really to harbor deep feelings for the Holy Church?” Dagonet showed no hint of anger.

Father Stretta replied expressionlessly: “After all, several of my former lovers are in the church, and I should look after them somewhat. But this time, I’ve used up all favors, and the church’s affairs are none of my business.”

The young squire candidates were again startled… This former Warden of the Shenwei Prison is indeed as Mr. Vasco claimed—blunt beyond measure, with no taboos…

Dagonet squinted and said: “What if the Knight Agency and Black Religious Congregation fight fiercely with heavy casualties, and the Holy Church takes advantage of it for a large-scale faith invasion? What’s your plan then, Father?”

“No plan,” Father Stretta replied resolutely: “For every church member that comes, I’ll hit one; for two, a pair. No matter how many come, I’ll send them back as long as you keep paying my salary, let me rest 360 days a year, and I’ll work for you until I die!”

Even Mr. Clown seemed a bit overwhelmed by such a shameless priest, reluctantly suggesting: “Father, why not let the Black Congregation take you away? You could directly wreak havoc at their headquarters, wouldn’t that be better?”

“Too far!” Father Stretta declared seriously: “My Atang won’t acclimate!”

“Really want to kill this old man?” Mr. Clown rose laughing… Beneath the smile lay a killing intent as the restaurant’s temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

Father Stretta sighed and spread his hands: “You’re not my match. I don’t want to cripple you. What if your queen asks me for medical expenses? This church doesn’t receive Holy Church funding, living entirely on donations! Look around, how many patrons can there be in this small place? You really better not come closer, or I’ll punch you to death!”

Dagonet continued to grin, but his figure vanished instantly.

“So fast!”

Several squire candidates couldn’t even track Dagonet’s path… They felt a chill down their spines—a terror that hadn’t even spread throughout their bodies—and yet were stunned by the scene that followed!

A silhouette flew backward out of sight… In the air, drops of blood scattered—the Clown knight!

Father Stretta merely sat there, retracting his fist, and glanced at the hole that Dagonet blasted into the wall, “I told you not to come over. Out of respect for your queen, an animal lover, I won’t kill you this time!”

The squire candidates were now incapable of thinking.

Father Stretta sighed again, kindly watching the young men and women, advising: “Eat, do not waste food. Understand that every grain comes from hard work. As followers of the Lord, learn to be grateful and cherish… Understand that being a background character requires the awareness to project astonishment as passersby, to better highlight my prowess!”

Speaking of which, why does it feel off?

“We… we’ll support Mr. Vasco!”

Finally, perhaps the team leader among the candidates stood, hurriedly leaving the restaurant… Can’t afford this confrontation, out we go.

…

As Dagonet rose, he instinctively spat out some bloody foam, “That fist is really hard, almost comparable to Farael’s… Seems I’m too weak.”

Yet his face showed no trace of dejection. Mr. Clown raised his head, noticing Vasco now standing on the church rooftop, seemingly facing off with someone.

Mr. Clown wiped away the blood at his mouth corner, standing slowly… As he rose, a whisper began, ancient elven spell words surfaced on his body.

Round Table Twelve Knights, [Sir-Dagonet].

How could he not armor up at this moment… Only by donning [Sir-Dagonet]’s Armor of Legacy does one truly become the Twelve Knights.

Dim light fluctuated as Dagonet blended into darkness.

Simultaneously, voices echoed from the rooftop.

…

On the rooftop.

Vasco kept a solemn gaze on the woman clad in black-orange armor… and the young man standing beside her.

Unlike this mysterious woman, the young man beside her showed no desire to conceal his appearance… Vasco’s mind raced through the information controlled by the Holy Church about notable figures in the Black Religious Congregation, yet found nothing on this mysterious young man.

The Field of Corruption had fully formed, enveloping the entire church… Assessing the radius, it reached roughly fifty meters, affecting nearby residential quarters and causing instant unconsciousness among the residents.

“Looks like yesterday’s lesson wasn’t enough,” Vasco remarked coldly. “The Black Church seems to be swelling… Do you truly believe that with this Field of Corruption, you can attain invulnerability?”

The mysterious woman… Lamias, at this point, glanced at the young mansion’s owner beside her, feeling unprecedentedly emboldened, and said with a radiant smile: “Of course, if facing someone like you, Mr. Vasco, who has tempered your body for decades, the answer might be different… But now, how many paladins in the squire training camp have bodies like yours, iron-wrought… not to mention those naturally frail magic-practitioners.”

She actually intended to mention priests but reconsidered due to Stretta’s strange nature among them—after all, the Holy Church likely only had one Stretta, otherwise the Black Religious Congregation wouldn’t have mattered.

“Thank you for taking care of things yesterday. In return… today, allow me to properly show my gratitude.” Vasco wasn’t angry—though this woman was detestable, he had to admit there was some truth in her words about the current state of the Paladin Camp within the Holy Church.

“My target is solely Father Stretta.” At this moment, Lamias took a step back, “Today, your opponent is not me…”

Saying this, Lamias whispered to Boss Luo beside her, “This old man is yours to handle… just keep him occupied and there will be no problem.”

Before the action began on the church’s side, she had already had a brief exchange with Boss Luo.

The agreement this time was that Boss Luo would provide some assistance on the premise that Lamias’ success couldn’t be guaranteed—specifically, by playing an auxiliary role.

He wouldn’t directly take action against Father Stretta, but he could leave the choice to Lamias between Vasco and several Squire Candidates.

Those Squire Candidates might pose some threat if it weren’t for the Field of Corruption, but within it, they were of no concern at all to Lamias… at this moment, Vasco was the greatest obstacle… choice?

There’s simply no need for any choice… After a single request, Lamias leapt away.

“Where are you going!”

Seeing this, Vasco instantly fumed, and he leapt out, his speed extremely fast—yet in that moment, something quietly entwined around his leg—he was yanked back to the rooftop with enormous force!

Vasco looked in shock and anger at the black-haired young man before him… by his side, a chain had appeared out of nowhere, binding him.

“My task is only to keep Mr. Vasco here for ten minutes.” Boss Luo waved his hand, “Ten minutes isn’t long, we don’t even have to stand up for it.”

“Ignorant fool…” Vasco suddenly sighed, his previously wrathful expression became calm. He took out a bottle from his body, broke the neck with his fingers, and poured the liquid inside into his mouth. “Don’t think this field can restrict me…”

As he spoke, a terrifying wave of divine power erupted from Vasco’s body!

At the same time, the power of the Field of Corruption frantically infected Vasco’s colossal holy power—but an extraordinary scene unfolded; the corrosion speed didn’t slow down at all, yet it couldn’t penetrate Vasco’s body!

Inside him, a continuous outburst of divine power occurred, achieving a balance with the corrosion… it was like a protective membrane, resisting the corrosion external—but no, it was as if it was feeding the corrupting force! As much as it was corroded, his body erupted with that much, ultimately reaching a point where there was no impact on the playing out of his divine power.

This constant eruption relied on the secret treasure of the Holy Church, the effect of highly concentrated Holy Water—madly overusing the body’s abilities, something Vasco wouldn’t dare to attempt if he hadn’t been training his body relentlessly for decades.

The method, though simple and rudimentary, was extremely effective… before a true way to dismantle the Field of Corruption was found, this allowed Vasco to restore his peak combat power in the short term.

“Ten minutes?” Vasco sneered coldly, and with a maneuver, the two armor plates on his wrists morphed, instantly transforming into gauntlets covering his fists, “I can at most spare you ten seconds!”

With that, he punched out, the vast divine power even vibrating through the space, yet unaffected by the surroundings, demonstrating a mastery of power that had reached a profound level.

Boss Luo’s evaluation was… probably six to seven tenths of the power of the Fiery Cloud Evil God from the Shen Zhou Administration Bureau without wielding the Amber Knife.

And Vasco was a pure human, essentially not a [Non-Human].

Among humans, he could be considered formidable.

BAM—!!

The fist filled with colossal divine power collided with an invisible force, the sound resembling the boom of ten train tires exploding simultaneously!

“How could…”

Such a terrifying strike was blocked… Vasco looked in disbelief at the scene before him!

Not only did his fist fail to shake his opponent… it couldn’t even reach their body.

“Mr. Vasco, don’t overdraw your divine power like this…” Boss Luo shook his head, and with a wave of his hand, several more chains shot out, entangling Vasco’s arms and legs at a speed faster than he could react.

Vasco couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

He heard Boss Luo casually say, “If It feels that I’m deliberately making things difficult, that wouldn’t be good.”

It…?

Vasco felt his mind go blank at this moment, the unstoppable stream of divine power within him seemed to break like a dam, disappearing without trace… consequently, in the absence of divine power, the Field of Corruption’s erosion also ceased.

He found himself utterly powerless…

“Ten minutes isn’t long…” Boss Luo at this moment loosened the chains, “Oh… now it’s nine minutes instead.”

With the chains released, Vasco was completely free, but at this moment he… dared not move.

——If It feels I’m deliberately making things difficult, that wouldn’t be good.

——If It feels I’m deliberately making things difficult, that wouldn’t be good.

——…

In his mind, only the words of the mysterious youth endlessly echoed… It, It… It!

At this point, Vasco felt his whole body go cold, as if he had plunged into the eternal ice of the extreme north that never thaws… a fear and chill that one can never forget in a lifetime.

He collapsed right there on the church rooftop, his face ashen.

…

Down below, a pair of eyes, concealed in the shadow, had witnessed everything, and now conveyed shock—the Clown Knight.

Just as he intended to hide even deeper, he noticed the young man on the rooftop glance down seemingly unintentionally, and he instantly froze all over.

This guy, more terrifying than Farael tenfold… a hundredfold!!