The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

The Painful Esoteric Sect, officially known as the Pain and Blood Esoteric Sect, is one of the Seven Great Mystical Sects.

They worship primal suffering.

Unlike the Life Esoteric Church, which is disorganized and individually governed, the Painful Esoteric Sect boasts a strict and extensive organizational structure.

They have a job division similar to that of the Radiant Holy See.

Their strongholds are scattered across the continent, causing suffering to please their gods and gain power, making them the most dangerous cult—several small countries have already been destroyed due to their wars, with all the citizens massacred, and their blood and wails echoing through the skies.

Sharp had been a Squad Leader for three years now, and currently leads a six-member elite squad, already having invaded several Church worlds in these short years.

He was about to advance to the Third Order, with a combat skill point count of seventeen.

Invading Church worlds and fighting for the borderlands, where they wreak massive slaughter, is also a crucial way for the Painful Esoteric Sect to please their gods.

They are both believers and soldiers.

To them, this elite squad, killing is a trivial matter.

Children, women, or the elderly—it doesn't matter to them; they are all just numbers.

Killing people is no longer significant; what Sharp is researching now is how to make death more painful.

Only suffering can please the gods better.

Sharp, the Squad Leader, also considers himself an artist of killing.

He once carved a fetus from a pregnant woman's belly, letting her bleed to death; He even pulled off a child's nails, burned through their skin, and let them die from infection...

Sharp was immersed in this art of pain.

And he gradually understood that not all lives are created equal.

The suffering of saints pleases his gods more.

So Sharp became an invader of Church worlds, hunting those noble saints, fulfilling the missions of the Painful Esoteric Sect.

Sharp knew that in the Church worlds, those saints wouldn't truly die.

But that didn't matter, Sharp never intended to kill them anyway; it was the suffering that mattered.

He could guarantee making the life of the saints worse than death.

"Squad Leader Sharp."

The team's scout, Kaman, pushed open the door, first offering a respectful military salute. He said with awe and solemnity, "Headquarters has notified us, the passage is ready, our squad should report now."

"The saints of the Astro Church, it has begun."

Sharp slowly stood up, first straightening his collar, attaching the military insignia with a skull to his lapel, donning a deep black military hat, and strapping a slender boning knife to his waist, "Let's move out."

Outside was muddy and damp, with a torrential downpour, dozens of soldiers in skeleton uniforms filed out, forming their respective battalions, and marched in step towards the headquarters.

As his long boots splashed in puddles, Sharp, the Squad Leader, wore a derisive smile on his lips.

Their prey this time was just a bunch of rookies, barely initiated saints.

Upon entering the Nether World and selecting their Holy Relic, Sharp was pleased to find that they could battle the saints during the personality component recognition phase.

The fictitious battlefield was a desolate plain with brown-yellow wild grass rolling up waves with the gale.

Their team's Scout Kaman first used the initial stage magic, "Eagle Eye Vision". The magic turned into a hunting eagle circling above the plains, bringing everything into his sight.

Very clear.

There was also a zoom function.

The Magician John used the Second Order Blessing Magic "Blood Consensus", allowing those who had previously drunk Kaman's blood to share the scout's vision.

They coordinated extremely well.

An eleven combat grey point scout and warrior, a ten magic point magician and priest, a thirteen magic power point assassin, and their seventeen magic power point Squad Leader—this was their most elite Second Order squad.

Scout Kaman had already spotted the enemy and seemed to have noticed something unusual. He clicked his tongue slightly in disbelief, slowly enlarging the image on his screen.

And so the behemoth appeared in everyone's field of vision.

"....?"

Squad Leader Sharp was stunned, he hadn't anticipated it, and the thing just took over the center of his view, exuding the regal aura of a lion and shining with the golden brilliance of the sun, so blatantly magnificent and authoritative.

This was the spirit of a knight.

"...Turn off the shared vision."

The battle had not even begun when they first received a strong mental shock.

Even though the magician had closed off his vision, the roar of the lion remained branded in Sharp's mind and would not fade away for a long time.

At the same time, all of them inexplicably developed a sense of inferiority.

Their morale inexplicably fell by a great margin.

What kind of trick are these guys up to?

The howling wind became increasingly fierce, as if playing music for his arrival, generating a desolate and grim sound as it rubbed against the rocks. At the barren plain's end, the figures of three people slowly emerged.

The one in the lead was none other than Arthur Sunny, the cause of their tremendous feeling of inferiority.

Only three people...?

And they all carried magic wands, not a single warrior capable of taking a hit among them.

Sharp was practically laughing in anger.

Moreover, what kind of creature was leading the way?

Fueled by humiliation that turned into anger, it was clear that Arthur's nakedness had a mocking effect more than anyone else's could.

Sharp drew his boning knife, used the combat skill "Blood Step," and his boots stomped on the wasteland, splashing waves of crimson ripples as he lunged straight for Arthur's neck.

It seemed like it would be a fatal blow.

But it was evident that he had underestimated his opponent.

Arthur raised his alchemically forged superalloy magic wand and blocked the deadly strike. Sparks flew as blade met wand in a clash.

Although Arthur studied magic, he was the legitimate son of the Sun Family, and his father was a demigod-level warrior; naturally, he had the blood of a warrior running through him—with a talent for combat that even priests found astonishing.

He was, in fact, one of the original work's main characters.

Merely using his body's reflexes, he blocked Sharp's attack.

"Fireball Technique," Arthur chanted solemnly.

This spell was very common; it conjured an initial-stage fireball out of thin air and wasn't very powerful.

Sharp wasn't very concerned about it.

But unexpectedly, Arthur lifted his staff with a swing, leveraging his high talent in martial arts to repel Sharp, who took several steps back. Arthur then aimed his wand directly at Sharp's crotch and began to conjure.

This fireball carried Arthur's fiery passion, shining with the noblest knightly spirit.

The soul of the sun, inherited from his ancestors, was now having its moment of full bloom, free from the constraints of clothing.

"Hiss... Aaagh!!"

Sharp was terrified, feeling intense heat between his legs.

Fierce flames surged suddenly, scorching his skin so fast that one could even faintly smell the scent of burnt chicken.

That ball was shockingly red, just like a dazzling fireball!

"Fireball Technique, was it this damn fireball?"

Sharp's facial features twisted in pain, and he cried out in alarm.

He had been too complacent.

Seeing only three fragile magicians, he thought to use "Blood Step" to close the distance quickly and eliminate them swiftly.

But he didn't expect to encounter a strange creature like Arthur, a magician who could both attack and resist.

And to top it off, he used such a ludicrous Fireball Technique!

The damage was average, but the agony and humiliation penetrated deep into the soul!

Who in the world came up with that idea?

Now his teammates were still far from him, and he needed to retreat.

After all, it was just a simple Fireball Technique, and he could still withstand it.

He was about to use "Blood Step" to dodge, but just as he took a step back, he heard Lister's calm and restrained voice; he had already finished charging up.

"Water Sphere Skill."

—"The water sphere is coming!"