Chapter 126: Chapter 101: Withered Church and Sad Witch

But in the end, with the death or disappearance of the Sad Witch, the Withered Church truly did "wither away," like a book finally turned to its last page.

Below the Witch in the Church, the Seven Deadly Sins, who were renowned throughout Prole, and their Cultists were annihilated when the Golden Lion’s army broke into Haiwede.

But, as is common with legends, rumors persisted that some of the Seven Deadly Sins had survived, living to this very day by making a deal with a god.

They waited for millennia, all to resurrect or rescue the Witch and restore the Withered Church’s glory on the Prole Continent...

...

Yalian quickly skimmed past the parts where the author inserted their personal biases about the Withered Church, getting to the main point: the Shaking Blade Technique.

The book recorded that the Shaking Blade Technique was first used by the Withered Knights of the Withered Church.

These Knights wore Knight Armor, yet they neither used the Promises common to Contract Knights nor possessed the Eight Virtues revered by Faith Knights.

They wielded longswords with exquisite skill, and at the height of battle, they would slice their own palms with their blades to form a long, hard Blood Blade.

Under a moonlit sky, their combat power could, for a short time, even rival that of a Golden Lion Knight of the same Tier.

However, they hated sunlight—not feared, but truly despised it. When injured, they would drink some of their enemy’s blood, and their wounds would heal.

If the book hadn’t explicitly stated that the Withered Knights retained human characteristics and had no reaction to Crosses doused in Holy Water, Yalian would have almost mistaken these so-called Knights for Blood Demons.

The author wrote that other armies on the Prole Continent described the Withered Knights as such:

"A pack of red-eyed bastards in Armor who claim to follow the Demon Hunter Law. For them, killing people and drinking blood is a daily routine. But the weirdest part is, they actually have the only Golden Demon Hunter on Prole!"

Yalian’s gaze froze on the word "Golden," and she stared in a slight daze.

’A Golden Tier Demon Hunter... As I recall, has one ever appeared on the entire Prole Continent?’

There should be three fragments of the Demon Hunter Law. Correspondingly, there are only three positions available for becoming a Golden Tier Demon Hunter.

But the strangest thing is that ever since the Demon Hunter profession came into being on Prole, a Golden Tier Demon Hunter has never appeared, neither from the Silver Faction nor the Beast Faction.

’And yet these "Withered Knights" actually had a Golden Tier Demon Hunter among them?’

Yalian was taken aback. She continued to read.

Next, the author began to explain in detail how the Withered Knights used the Shaking Blade Technique, and how the Golden Lion Knights countered it.

The book then went on to discuss in depth how the Withered Knights were defeated, how they fell into disarray upon learning of the death or disappearance of the "Saintess" (the Sad Witch) and the Seven Deadly Sins, and how they were routed until only a single Withered Knight managed to escape.

The author’s prose was fluid and vivid, making it seem as if they had personally experienced the epic war that had taken place millennia ago.

Yalian followed the author’s words down the page, realizing the text was nearing its end, leaving only a short sentence:

"That Withered Knight crossed mountains and ranges, finally settling on a lone mountain at the southern tip of the Continent. Using the skills and experience passed down by his former comrades, he created something independent of the Silver Faction and the Beast Faction..."

"The Blood Demon Hunter."

Flipping further, she found that the story of the Shaking Blade Technique and the Blood Demon Hunters ended there.

Further on were topics like "The Possibilities of Hybridization in Beast Hunters After Transformation," which sounded like the kind of research conducted by the hybridization-mad fanatics from the Biological School of the Alchemy School.

"Blood Demon Hunter..." Yalian closed the book, unconsciously murmuring the term.

Ancient historical texts she had once poured over with her companions in the Haiwede Church, and the earnest teachings of her master about the hidden side of the world—it all came bubbling up from the depths of her memory.

It was the third major faction, independent of the Silver and Beast Factions—a school of Demon Hunters said to be inspired by and created in imitation of the Blood Race and Blood Demons.

The abilities gained upon advancement were also mostly related to blood, the Blood Race, and Blood Demons.

Yalian had only ever heard of this school, never encountering it. She had assumed that, like the long-vanished Angels and Mad Demons of myth, it had been buried in the dust of history.

Since no one had ever seen it, stories about it were naturally dismissed as little more than idle gossip.

’But now... this book was confirming the faction’s existence?’

The original text also contained passages like, "The Shaking Blade Technique was adopted by some Demon Hunters in the Prole Alliance Army, but because they lacked the Withered Knights’ easy control over their own blood, their attempts to use it were often unsatisfactory."

"Moreover, ’Shaking Blade Technique’ was merely the name given to the art by the Prole Alliance Army. When they invaded Haiwede, the Witch and Church Country, this technique for overcoming a greater force with a lesser one wasn’t even worthy of a name."

"This was because, for the Withered Knights, it was not an invention but an innate application of their natural mastery over their own blood—like a bird flapping its wings to fly, or a tiger unsheathing its Sharp Claws to tear apart its prey."

The book included other such statements, like, "It is the instinct of the Withered Knights. Why would an instinct need to be learned?"

’Instinct...’ Yalian’s brows furrowed slightly. She suddenly thought of Baron on the tournament stage at the Hunting Competition today.

’As she recalled, he had never revealed which Demon Hunter faction he belonged to.’

’Even tonight, when she gave him a Secret Technique exclusive to the Silver Faction, he hadn’t shown the sort of surprise one would expect from a Silver Faction member receiving such a gift.’

’It was as if a Secret Technique that could be sold for one or two Gold Coins was nothing special in his eyes.’