On the hastily erected fire, tongues of fire that rose upwards with the help of the wind devoured Bernard's body.

Aside from the spells of the priest and paladin, fire is the only thing that can purify the undead.

Khaliat stood by the fire, his tall body slightly rickety. He was just an ordinary hunter, without any god-given powers, and what was happening made this originally enthusiastic and hearty young man a little overwhelmed.

Filly stood far away, suddenly feeling a little sad. Bernard came from a village that had been hit by the plague, and the bodies of those who died of illness were usually thrown into the fire pits outside the village, and sometimes the sick might not even be dead......

Bernard escaped that fate, but now he is still reduced to ashes in the flames.

It was he who simply cut off Bernard's head with a long sword. Risek, who arrived later, stared at the separated undead with a pale face, and was speechless for a while.

The Anktans are no strangers to necromancers and their undead minions. Their land is vast and cold, with only a handful of densely populated cities, each village and town far from each other, separated by uninhabited mountains and forests, but hiding the remains and battlefields of ancient elves, dwarves, and orcs.

There have always been many necromancers who walk in the darkness, tirelessly searching, trying, trying to get their hands on the power that the gods have forbidden humans to grasp—death and rebirth, eternal life. Perhaps the original creator of this spell had good hopes, but after thousands of years of hiding in the dark, it has long since been twisted to the point of hatred and curse.

The ghosts of the night have been the deepest fear of the Anktans since childhood, believing that lifeless gazes and silent wails can easily destroy human souls. And now, the spirits of the dead appear in the holy place where the temple was built for Nesses, and they can't tell if it's a test or a bad omen.

Both Ed and the kid named Joan nearly lost their lives, and panic spread like wildfire, making Filly wonder if he was too impatient to agree to Ed's "initiative" in the first place.

He regretted his carelessness, he really didn't expect the enemy who had been operating in the shadows to act so quickly and blatantly.

But if the other party wants to cause panic and take advantage of the chaos, then he has obviously succeeded.

Filly heard the uneasy whispers of people in every corner, fear tearing apart the hypocritical tenderness among believers. They looked at each other with gloomy eyes, and they gathered in small groups to whisper.

The bond between them is not strong in the first place, and between the previous believers and the newcomers, who have lost their memory, and even between the amnesiac, the trust brought by the common faith is blind and fragile, and once there is a crack, it will quickly collapse.

The paladin, who was also distrusted, casually leaned against the door, oblivious to the suspicious gazes that were cast at him. Even Ed, who dragged Hoane back from the zombies, questioned his bravery because he knew he wouldn't be harmed. They say the undead were most likely summoned by Ed, or his accomplices, such as Fili, to put on a play to clear his suspicions and create more panic. Otherwise, how could the twisted undead be knocked down so easily?

Fili knew that Risek had made people look at the two little ones who had been frightened by the undead. That's a good thing, at least he doesn't have to be distracted to protect Eddard anymore, and Eric will take good care of their "little brother".

He knew that he was also being watched, but since no one had come to ask him about his guilt, he happily shrank aside and quietly observed everything.

The object of his suspicion, Nigel Estes, also chose to sit on the sidelines. Occasionally, they met their gazes, and then looked away as if nothing had happened. And Filly still couldn't find any conclusive evidence that the man was the culprit.

Now he believes that the appearance of Nethers has nothing to do with the necromancer. Forging a god is nothing more than rallying the power of the believers to do something that the undead can't, but the appearance of that zombie clearly destroys everything. The current situation is more like a necromancer trying to stop the rise of a new force. The plague may have been their handiwork, but it was stopped by the priests of Nesses, who may have wanted revenge.

If that's the case, it's easier to find the mage.

Before the afternoon of that day, Kharyat had already been approached and asked to leave on various apparent pretexts.

Khaliat did not agree, but his tough attitude clearly caused discontent, and if it had not been for the haste of Risek to pacify him, a riot would have been inevitable.

"The undead haunt the night, and it takes at least three days to get back to the nearest village from here, so who can be sure that there will be no danger on the way......? As long as you don't go out alone, it's safer to stay with everyone. Besides, the priest is on the way, and the undead are nothing to them......"

Risek's argument for preventing people from leaving is quite practical and easy to accept - at least much more acceptable than Khariath's black-faced rant that "fleeing at such a time is a betrayal of Nethers".

When night began to fall, everyone gathered in the hall according to Khaliat's orders, but they could no longer hear their usual laughter.

Fear is clearly written in everyone's eyes. Fili was a little worried, he still didn't know if the necromancer was hiding in the ruined city or in the crowd...... And once panic breaks out in the crowd, the situation will be difficult to control.

He moved his gaze to a corner of the hall, where Haryat and Risek were whispering over something. The two young leaders were clearly inexperienced - in such a panicked situation, even if they disagreed, they would have to find a place where no one could see it.

Fili grabbed his beard, which was getting longer and longer, and walked over to Harriat and Risek, and the two young men closed their mouths tightly as he approached.

They were suspicious of him in the same way that he was suspicious of Nigel.

Filly thought helplessly, and pointed behind him with his thumb: "Seriously, it's not a good idea to have everyone huddled together like this, and if someone sneezes a little, they'll scurry around like a rat that has been poked in the nest......"

This is clearly not an appropriate analogy. Khariatt's face became more and more ugly.

"What do you think? They don't have the sword you have to defend themselves against!"

He growled.

The hilt of Filly's longsword was covered in old leather, and the scabbard had been replaced with an old one when he set out from the Temple of Collins so as not to look too conspicuous, but once pulled out, even the average person with little knowledge of weapons could tell that it was not something that could be bought for a silver coin or two in the market.

And slashing the neck of an undead with a sword without changing his face is certainly not something that an ordinary hunter can do.

Filley unconsciously scratched his beard again.

"I haven't thanked you yet. Risek glanced at his companion and spoke politely, more composure than Khariart, but he expressed the same suspicion in a gentle tone: "The howl of the undead makes me completely unable to move...... But that doesn't seem to have much of an effect on you. ”

"No, no. "I'm a paladin." ”

There was a long silence.

Filly looked left and right at the two equally blonde and dumb faces in front of him, and suddenly felt a little funny.

The impact of this simple name on the two young men seemed to be no less than that brought by the undead who had been burned to ashes.

"Paladin...... ......" Halyat repeated stumbling, blinking several times, but still not recovering.

"That's right, paladin. Filly smiled and said, "Why, hasn't Nesses found his knights yet?"

"No...... The priest said there might be a first paladin among us......" Risek replied a little dazed, then came back to his senses, "You're not a knight of Nethers?"

Fili shook his head: "Nyo, the god of water, is my goddess, and I act at her will. ”

Annoyance gradually replaced consternation, and Kharyat asked in an unkind tone, "So it was your goddess who made you hide your identity and blend in with the followers of another god?"

"Uh, what? Of course not!"

Filly unconsciously raised his voice. He finally understood what a terrible poison "doubt" was, and he just said it in passing, which he would normally say when he introduced himself!

"Then you have deceived and betrayed both gods at the same time. Khaliat's face tightened, stubborn as if he had changed someone.

"Oh, children, don't be so nervous!" Filly laughed as he threw up his hands, "I'm not your enemy!"

"There are many kinds of enemies. Haryat was still glaring at him.

"Is that what your priest taught you?" said Filly, with pure curiosity on his face, but a little irritation, "Those who serve the other gods are your enemies?"

Khaliat's face changed, and his gaze drifted to Risek.

"Of course not. "But how do we know if you're a paladin or not?"

This question is much easier to accept.

"I can attest to it. "But shouldn't we go somewhere else?"

It was a remote corner, and perhaps no one could hear what they were saying, but the stares behind it made the usually smug and dull Fili feel a little tingling.

They had chosen an unoccupied room in the corridor behind the hall, but before Filly could speak, a young man hurried in and whispered something in Risek's ear.

Risek was silent for a moment, then whispered back, and after the young man had left, he turned to Fili, and the look on his face immediately made Fili think that something was wrong.

"Before you 'prove' anything, Paladin," Risek stared at him and said slowly, "Can you tell us where your two 'younger brothers' have gone?"