Ethan found himself surrounded by the Evil God’s followers, each one eagerly awaiting his response.
This was a tavern themed around the Evil God, so the food service offered meats and plants of indistinguishable origin.
For the followers of the Evil God, the number of people one killed seemed to equate to the honor they carried.
"Just eight or nine..."
As the author of "The Good People of Ximu Town", Ethan found this somewhat embarrassing.
Laughter came from behind, but with Lindong present, the patrons dared not be too obvious. They could only resort to a sarcastic tactic, with one person deliberately questioning the person opposite, "Hey, how many people did you kill last week?"
"Five, or six? Oh, if you count the guards chasing me, it should be nine."
In the eyes of the Evil God’s followers, having killed only seven people was akin to being the weakest of the weak, only worthy of sitting at the children’s table during a gathering.
Ethan roughly surmised the reputation system among the Evil God’s followers—the more people you killed, the more respect you received from others. They seemed to rely on this as a way to judge each other’s strength since they couldn’t get badges acknowledging their rank like those recognized on other continents. Thus, before taking action, they found it challenging to accurately assess each other’s strength.
However, the waiter wearing a ram-head mask looked at the dark crystal on Ethan’s ring finger, which emitted a red glow.
He said, "You’re lying."
The laughter grew louder, with one "kind-hearted" person closest to Ethan covering their mouth and reminding him, "You might not know since it’s your first time here, but reporting a higher number to the Evil God’s waiter is useless; it gets seen through immediately."
Many newcomers unfamiliar with the situation often liked to boast about their kill count, trying to portray themselves as ruthless killers. When exposed, their faces would turn red with embarrassment—one of the patrons’ favorite daily amusements. Those newcomers often wished they could burrow into the ground and would receive some derogatory nicknames.
They had seen braggarts claiming to have killed hundreds, but never heard of anyone overstating by only seven or eight.
This newcomer looked like an honest person, with a rather poor imagination that made them seem a bit pitiable amidst the laughter.
Yet Ethan was utterly confused. He recalculated carefully and tentatively said, "Nine?"
The dark gemstone on the ring still glowed red, and he could only seek help from Teacher Cat.
"Usually, a discrepancy within five wouldn’t be detected," Lindong explained. "The real question isn’t ’how many people have you killed,’ but ’how many souls have you sacrificed?’"
Ethan was even more puzzled.
Lindong, with a mischievous smile, explained, "In a way, your magic could be seen as a sacrificial ritual."
The Evil God’s followers sacrificed souls to their god, while Ethan sent those twisted souls back to where they belonged.
Ethan understood but had no way to answer.
The question arose, how many people were in Riverside Town?
There was no census in those days, so he could only vaguely say, "It should only be the number for a small town’s population."
The laughter stopped, and the expressions on the faces of the Evil God’s followers stiffened, for everyone saw the dark-tone gemstone on the waiter’s ring emit a green light, indicating that the "newcomer’s" answer was recognized by the Evil God. The more astute patrons caught the implication of that statement.
The "newcomer" used the term "only," seeming to imply dissatisfaction with this number.
Even the waiters of the Evil God expressed their highest respect to Ethan, placing their left hand on their chest and making a strange gesture, "May darkness return to the world!"
And Lindong, in a falsetto voice with a trembling note, delivered the final blow to the patrons, "Those people were just ignorant; there’s no need to kill everyone over minor matters."
I’m not a psychopathic killer!
Looking at the patrons who were as silent as cicadas in winter, Ethan shouted in his heart, his "kind-hearted" adviser taking a deep breath upon meeting his gaze and suddenly grabbing a dining knife from beside his plate, stabbing it vigorously into his own right hand.
The dining knife pierced through his palm, blood splattering everywhere.
Seeing this, the waiter stepped in to mediate, "Please, you two, follow me."
He opened a hidden door in the floor behind the bar and led the way down.
Lindong seemed in a great mood, humming a little tune as he followed, with Ethan last. Only after all three figures had disappeared did the patrons clutch their chests, breathing rapidly as if they had survived a great ordeal.
Ethan followed the creaking wooden ladder downward, passing through a moldy-smelling wine cellar. When the door at the end of the wine cellar opened, a dilapidated alleyway came into view, populated with people whose bodies had mostly undergone mutations. Some had hunched bodies and lost all their hair, resembling the gardeners he had seen in the contaminated zone; others retained a human contour on their upper bodies, while their lower bodies had been transformed into beast-like forms, crawling on spider-like legs.
Once the waiter left, Lindong whispered into Ethan’s ear, "Those with changing body color, those who have lost all their hair, are the followers of Evil God Bajatos. Oh, here, they should be called the Heavenly Father. Calling them by their name is considered offensive by many believers. I know of a shop here run by the Heavenly Father’s followers, and inside you should find the knowledge you’re seeking. However, the shopkeeper is an odd person and may likely do some strange things to believers of other Evil Gods."
"I understand the principle, but why did you say what you did upstairs? I’ve never planned to kill anyone."
Under the swirling mask came Lindong’s mischievous laugh, "Now you’re already known as a notorious killer among the Evil God’s followers. Information circulates quickly among patrons here, and it won’t take long before your reputation spreads. This way, if you plan to come here alone next time, it will be much more convenient for you to move around...However, I recommend you take me with you. If you plan to steal forbidden books or cursed items from the shop, I can help cover for you."
Ethan had no choice but to bear the title of "mass murderer," even though it was the highest praise among the followers of the Evil God.
However, unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of returning to this creepy place.
These narrow alleyways were like a labyrinth. Geographically, this place should be beneath the Black Sea, and Ethan had no idea how the followers of the Evil God managed to establish a stronghold under the ocean.
All the shops were crammed together, and the things on the shelves were usually objects that would make any normal person avoid them.
Standing in front of the store named "The Heavenly Father is with You," Ethan felt uneasy.
Teacher Cat mentioned that the shopkeeper was an eccentric person and one of the oldest followers of the Evil God. If even Teacher Cat found them odd, it must be something shocking beyond measure.
Hope everything goes smoothly.
He wished in his heart, yet as soon as the two stepped through the door, the obese, bloated figure behind the counter rolled towards him like a ball, collapsing with a "thud" in front of him.
The ball exclaimed, its murky eyes seemingly unable to see clearly, "Is it you, Chosen One!"