Ronald was instantly intrigued.

This week, he had been staying in Waterfall City, pretty much adopting the mindset of a beach-shorted elder on a sunny beach vacation. Apart from complaining about the administrative efficiency of the local government, he had been roaming around, experiencing the quaint yet distinctive aura of the city.

Such random street-side invitations...

It seemed like attending wouldn't be a problem, right?

Ronald hesitated a moment, prompting the girl to be even more persuasive:

"Sir, please come and see."

"We're different from the other messy promotions in Waterfall City. At the morning assembly, the high priest will reveal truths that have never been disclosed to the world."

It was still early, and Ronald didn't have anything pressing to attend to.

Considering the girl's enthusiastic invitation, and mulling over how he had managed to deal with folks like Bapulor himself, what harm could a regular folk church do?

Thus, Ronald nodded:

"So... shall I check it out?"

"Yes!" The girl's face lit up with joy, and she gripped Ronald's arm more tightly as she began jogging toward the back.

The so-called morning assembly was in a deeper part of the residential area.

Ronald followed the girl into a relatively large villa, which looked no different from any other residence but actually served as their church's headquarters in Waterfall City.

Of course, it might even be their global headquarters.

Or possibly their only base.

After all, other places had only just started picking up and hadn't had the chance to spread yet.

Ronald carefully observed the followers inside the villa.

There were quite a few of them, and they were very distinctive.

With an even number of men and women, all of them had significant differences in appearance and physique—to put it simply, the people were either handsome or beautiful, or somewhat unfortunate in looks.

At this moment, Ronald's keen hearing also picked up the voices from the hall:

"The great god of love once said that people should divide their love equally among everyone. But from the moment of birth, people are immediately corrupted by the filthy secular world, and the unfortunate ones become ugly."

"So, please care for your fellow church members."

"That's the key to our unity, mutual love, and the promotion of our teachings…"

Ronald didn't even need to continue listening.

Just from this, he had already guessed what this church, or rather this folk cult, was all about.

"..."

"I thought I'd gain some insight…"

A disinterested expression appeared on Ronald's face.

He then immediately withdrew his arm from the girl's embrace.

Noticing the change, the girl, who had already asked for his name on the way, showed a reluctant expression:

"Ronald, let's keep going."

"I think after we share love, we'll definitely be compatible, don't you want to try?"

As she spoke, the girl almost pressed herself against Ronald.

Sadly for her, Ronald now felt like a tourist who didn't want to walk any further and just wanted to head back to his hotel to rest.

So, a look of alienation appeared on his face:

"I think…I'll just look around by myself. Is there any food here?"

Ronald suddenly changed his approach.

Moreover, he even slightly employed his spiritual power.

Because, as he was refusing, he suddenly sensed a magic fluctuation indicative of a spell being cast within the villa.

For a regular folk cult, checking it out himself and then calling the police was naturally the most normal course of action. But if it involved a mysterious Caster, Ronald didn't mind intervening.

The girl, being just a regular person, was naturally controlled by the spell.

"The food is in the dining hall on the east side of the first floor. You may help yourself."

"Thanks."

Ronald waved to her and then swiftly left the villa's hall.

A few seconds later, the girl regained consciousness from the spell.

She turned her head to look at the hall, which was now empty of Ronald, stamped her foot in annoyance, and walked out.

It was obvious.

She was going to the street to find the next cult member.

...

Meanwhile, Ronald was quite at ease in the villa.

The church was in its early stages with a loose recruitment mechanism for its members. Combined, no one cared or noticed an outsider in their headquarters.

Ronald leisurely strolled to the dining area.

After picking up some good-looking food that could be eaten on the move from the table, he headed toward where the magic fluctuation had occurred.

Passing through the corridors and around a room hung with many portraits,

he entered a room, seemingly converted from a bedroom and now adorned with various strange items. There, Ronald saw the casters who had used the spell earlier.

—Two beautiful young people, a man and a woman,

—were tying up a small child to a column.

The child, with a blank stare, was unable to resist, clearly under some kind of spell that controlled his mind.

Snap, snap—

It was really time to stop just watching.

Ronald swallowed the food in his hand and clapped to alert the two individuals.

"Could you please let the child go?" he said.

"I don't want to interfere with your preaching, but harming a child is really not good, especially using spells."

"The caster?" The female of the two first reacted, then immediately radiated hostility, "I advise you not to meddle. We should mind our own business, lest you provoke..."

"Kena'er, wait."

At this point, the other young man seemed to understand.

He carefully examined Ronald's appearance, then spoke with a gentle expression and tone:

"Sir, you might be mistaken."

"We just think this child is quite talented, so we wanted to check if he fits well with our school's spells. You must know about the recent changes in the world, so..."

During his speech, the young man moved closer to Ronald.

His gentle demeanor and gaze almost perfectly matched that of the girl who had invited Ronald earlier.

Could this be acceptable?

Ronald had no intention of cultivating a relationship with these people.

Seeing the attitudes of the man and woman before him, he simply waved his hand downward.

Thunk—

The approaching man immediately fell to the ground.

Ronald had controlled the power of the spell skillfully and appropriately, knocking the man unconscious instantly.

Seeing this, the woman realized the gap in their power and without a moment's hesitation crashed through the window of the room.

"..."

"I'm already here; you might as well not leave."

Such a tactic was naturally impossible to escape from Ronald's grasp.

It was just a word of power.

The resolute female caster also collapsed.

"..."

Looking at the two casters lying on the ground, Ronald nodded slightly, then went to untie the child tied to the column.

Just then, a more powerful magic fluctuation came from the hall,

along with a loud and familiar voice:

"Ha ha ha—"

"Everyone kneel down!"

"If you dare to move recklessly, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

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