Gospel of Blood

Chapter 361: When the demonic rises by a foot, the righteous rises by a yard

T/N: The Chinese idiom “魔⾼⼀尺，道⾼⼀丈” (mó gāo yīchǐ, dào gāo yī zhàng) translates to “the higher the devil climbs, the higher the divine way rises” or more literally, “when the demonic rises by a foot, the righteous rises by a yard.”

This idiom means that no matter how powerful evil becomes, righteousness will always surpass it. It suggests that good will ultimately prevail over evil, as the forces of good will always be stronger than the forces of evil. (ChatGPT)

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Is there also an ancient temple beneath the capital city?

Charlotte was surprised.

But along with her surprise came a sense of realization.

Ancient temples were hidden underground and were inherently secretive. If the Blood Demon Cult used this place as a base, it was indeed possible for the church to overlook it.

However, Charlotte was also puzzled.

There was an ancient temple beneath Lutecia. How could the Holy Court, which prided itself on being so well-informed, not know about it?

She remembered that the ancient temple in the north had statues she could merge with.

After some searching, Charlotte’s gaze naturally fell upon the altar.

There, indeed, was a familiar statue identical to the one she had merged with previously.

However, after having merged with one ancient statue, Charlotte’s perception seemed to have become sharper in certain aspects. Although the statue was identical to the one in the north, she noticed a difference.

This statue appeared too new.

She stepped closer and examined it carefully, soon realizing that it was a fake.

This statue was not the original, nor did it contain any blood divine power, only some impure and mixed blood magic power.

The statue was connected to the temple’s barrier, emitting a faint magical power similar to that of the ancient temple in the north.

This barrier was to isolate external investigations.

However, this ancient temple’s barrier was obviously weaker than that of the northern temple.

The northern ancient temple’s barrier could block even the gaze of Gods once activated, but this one couldn’t.

Otherwise, Charlotte wouldn’t have been able to successfully “descend” here.

Charlotte roughly understood the reason.

The barrier of the ancient temple was established with the statue as its center. Since the statue was a fake, the barrier was naturally a weakened version. This was why Charlotte’s “will” could be projected here.

After pondering for a moment, Charlotte examined the “ritual” before her.

Her gaze fell on the intertwined and hideous blood vessels on the statue. She quickly realized that this statue was part of the ritual or, more precisely, a container for collecting blood energy.

Following the blood vessels, Charlotte saw them extend underground, connected to a mysterious array of grooves. The grooves had turned black and red, with some foul blood still inside.

Combining the sacrificial array on the altar with the divine symbol of the Blood Demon Archduke, Charlotte concluded.

This was not a God’s Descent Ritual but a Sacrificial Ritual, a place where the Blood Demon Cult offered sacrifices and bloodline power to the Blood Demon Archduke in hopes of divine favor!

Charlotte then thought of the scene when she summoned the Blood Demon Priest.

She had a thought, turned around, and searched the hall. Soon, she found several unconscious children in a corner.

They looked pale and wore tattered clothes, clearly from the outer city’s poor families.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes, her gaze darkening.

She became bloodborne by accident, and despite turning into a dark creature, Charlotte had always adhered to the principles of being human and never harmed the innocent.

Seeing the Blood Demon Cult using innocent children as sacrifices increased her disgust for them.

“Sebastian mentioned that there had been cases of the Blood Demon Cult’s sacrificial events in Lutecia recently, and some children from the outer city had gone missing. It must have been the Blood Demon Cult abducting people for sacrifices.”

Charlotte pondered.

The Blood Demon Cult was even more rampant than she had imagined, daring to be so brazen even in the heart of the Crescent Diocese.

This meant they either had grand plans for Lutecia or were confident they wouldn’t be detected by the Holy Court.

She exhaled softly and looked at the children in the hall, contemplating how to rescue them.

At that moment, the temple doors were knocked heavily.

Charlotte turned her attention back and then said in a deep, raspy voice.

“Come in.”

The doors slowly opened, and three black-robed Blood Demon Cultists entered. They wore hoods that only revealed their pale faces and crimson eyes, clearly all bloodbornes.

They respectfully bowed to Charlotte.

The leader stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

“Priest, the envoy of the Apostle has arrived and is waiting in your study.”

The envoy of the Dark Apostle?

Charlotte immediately became vigilant.

She nodded slightly, her face expressionless.

“Understood.”

The three Blood Demon Cultists stood aside, ready to follow Charlotte.

Charlotte felt awkward.

She didn’t know the way to the study.

Her gaze fell on the three Blood Demon Cultists, pondering how to ask them to lead the way without arousing suspicion or perhaps sending them away to act alone.

At that moment, she noticed one member glancing at the children in the hall.

Sensing Charlotte’s gaze, the member quickly looked away, but Charlotte felt a trace of nervousness from him.

Hmm?

Nervous?

After “descending”, perhaps due to the “will projection” from the Dark Night Castle, or using a Blazing Sun body’s power…

Charlotte found her perception much sharper than usual. For instance, she could vaguely sense the emotions of these Blood Demon Cultists now.

The other two had consistent emotions.

Reverence, fear, longing…

But the one who peeked at the “sacrifices” seemed strange. Though fearful, he was also anxious, nervous, and worried. No reverence. No longing.

Charlotte grew even more curious.

Her gaze lingered on that member. Noticing her gaze, he grew more guarded and tense, as if ready to attack her any moment…

Charlotte looked away, not wanting to provoke him further.

Using the Blood Demon Priest’s body wasn’t suitable for fighting, exposure would be costly.

But even though she looked away, her senses stayed on that cultist.

He seemed problematic.

Strengthening her perception, she discovered more details.

His aura seemed off.

Though he had a bloodborne aura, it was mixed with something else.

Charlotte discreetly linked to the Dark Night Castle, activating 『Blood Summoning』 to enhance her perception. To her surprise, there was no star representing this cultist in the crimson star sea.

This Blood Demon Cultist… wasn’t a bloodborne!

Not a bloodborne?

Charlotte’s curiosity deepened.

She decisively increased the input of blood divine power to further enhance her perception and finally discerned the state of this Blood Demon Cultist.

His aura wasn’t mixed, he had used some method to conceal his true aura with that of a bloodborne!

The bloodborne aura wasn’t genuine either, it must have been from some extraordinary item.

When Charlotte peeled away the layers to identify his true aura, she was at a loss for words.

The aura was familiar.

It was the aura of holy power, fused with extraordinary power, and its strength was roughly at the Second Tier Silver Moon…

He was a Demon Hunter Knight disguised as a Blood Demon Cultist!

This discovery was unexpected for Charlotte, but upon reflection, it made sense.

This was Lutecia, the capital city of the Crescent Kingdom, and the base of the Holy Court’s Crescent Diocese.

If the Holy Court couldn’t maintain dominance here, then the first church of Myria would indeed be incompetent.

Thinking this, Charlotte’s feelings became complicated.

The Blood Demon Cult likely believed they were well-hidden and seemed to be planning something big in Lutecia. Yet, who would have thought their movements were already exposed to the Holy Court, which had even infiltrated them? They were probably being baited!

With this realization, Charlotte’s mindset changed.

She had initially planned to secretly report the Blood Demon Cult to thwart their schemes and prevent large-scale casualties in Lutecia. But now, it seemed everything was under the Holy Court’s control.

She decided not to report but to take advantage of the situation between the Holy Court and the Blood Demon Cult!

Of course, she first needed to relocate the children used as sacrifices to a safe place.

As for how to transfer them…

Charlotte glanced again at the disguised Demon Hunter Knight.

Although he was well-hidden, Charlotte, using her sharp “God’s descent” perception, sensed his concern for the children’s safety.

Charlotte’s mind settled.

Demon Hunter Knights varied in character, and some turned a blind eye to innocent harm for personal gain. She didn’t know when the church discovered the Blood Demon Cult’s plan or how they dealt with previous sacrifices, but at least now, this knight cared about the children’s safety.

Charlotte quickly decided. She looked at the “Blood Demon Cultist” and said in a deep voice.

“You, these sacrifices are yours.”

“Their extraordinary blood is impure and unsuitable for offering to the Archduke.”

This explanation also covered up the interruption of the ritual.

The disguised “Blood Demon Cultist” was momentarily stunned, while the other two showed envy.

Sacrifices were carefully selected, and even if deemed unsuitable by the priest, they were still valuable sources of extraordinary blood.

Bloodbornes had an inherent thirst for blood.

The disguised “Blood Demon Cultist” quickly lowered his head.

He respectfully bowed to Charlotte and, under the envious gazes of the other two, took the unconscious children away.

Watching him leave, Charlotte sighed in relief.

Leaving the children with the Demon Hunter Knight ensured their safety.

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte turned her stern gaze to the other two Blood Demon Cultists, who were still focused on the departing sacrifices, and said in a deep voice.

“Lead the way. Let’s meet the Apostle’s envoy.”

The diversion of the sacrifices had shifted their focus, and they hadn’t noticed anything odd about Charlotte’s command. They respectfully bowed and led the way eagerly.

With someone leading the way, Charlotte relaxed.

She wasn’t worried about her identity being exposed. The Dark Apostle was a Blood Duke, and the envoy of a Blood Duke would most likely be a Blazing Sun.

A Blazing Sun, at the same level as Bertrand, wouldn’t be able to see through Charlotte’s “possession” without thorough investigation.

Following the two Blood Demon Cultists, Charlotte left the temple hall.

Outside the hall, there were no other Blood Demon Cultists. Charlotte only sensed a few scattered bloodborne auras. As for the non-bloodborne followers, there were none.

Clearly, even for the Blood Demon Cult, this place wasn’t accessible to just anyone.

Charlotte observed the number of bloodbornes in the ancient temple, finding it was just right—six in total.

Including her temporary body, there were seven, matching the number of stars she saw in the Crimson Star Sea.

Charlotte split her focus, using the map of Lutecia provided by Sebastian and combining it with the positions of the bloodbornes in the Crimson Star Sea and her own coordinates, analyzing the exact location of the ancient temple.

She was surprised to find that this ancient temple was beneath the Royal Plaza of Lutecia.

Charlotte pondered.

The Central Council Hall, where the Central Conference was held, was also in the Royal Plaza. Could it be that the Blood Demon Cult was targeting the Central Council?

“Priest, we have arrived.”

The respectful and flattering voice of the Blood Demon Cultist interrupted Charlotte’s thoughts.

Looking up, she found herself in front of a teleportation array.

A teleportation array?

Could it be leading to the surface?

Charlotte’s heart stirred.

She looked to the side of the teleportation array, where a clothes rack stood with noble attire hanging on it.

Charlotte glanced at her priestly robes and understood. Without a word, she changed out of the priestly robes and into the noble attire, while the Blood Demon Cultists obsequiously activated the teleportation array for her.

The next moment, the array glowed, and Charlotte was transported.

She found herself in a noble mansion, with the chimes of a distant clock tower, likely from the Lutecia Cathedral.

She had reached the surface, and within the inner city.

Next to the array stood a butler, an ordinary human, but Charlotte sensed the dark power of the Blood Demon Cult from him.

He was also a follower of the Blood Demon Cult.

“Count, Master Richard is here and waiting in your study.”

The butler bowed respectfully.

Richard?

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

There were many people named Richard in the Crescent Kingdom, and she had met one just yesterday.

She had some guesses. She nodded slightly and followed the butler into the estate.

This time, she didn’t need guidance. Most Myria noble studies were on the second floor of the mansion, usually on the south side, and Charlotte identified the study through the windows at a glance.

Entering the study, she found a young noble waiting.

It was none other than the eldest son of Count Gaston, Richard de Gaston, whom Charlotte had briefly encountered at the city gates.

He glanced at Charlotte, his handsome face expressionless.

“Bertrand de Chevalier, your actions yesterday… crossed the line.”