Chapter 865: Chapter 570: Holy Light Tax? Observations in the Violet Empire

"Especially this Space Element one... hmm, it has great potential." He was referring to Coal Ball.

"You have good luck, kid. Most people are fortunate to earn the acknowledgement of just one Giant Dragon in their lifetime, yet you actually have three.

"Especially a Space Dragon. Let alone owning one, in all my long memories, I’ve only encountered two. Both were World Destruction Level entities, making it completely impossible to form a contract.

"Once this Space Dragon advances to the World Destruction Level, your future journeys into the void will be secure. No entity of the same rank can trap a Space Dragon."

Austin Sage looked at Moonlight nearby, noticing something different. "Has this Silver Dragon mutated? Not bad, its Magic talent is very good!"

The sky darkened, and the light in the forest grew increasingly dim.

"Let’s rest around here." Austin Sage looked around and nodded. "It’s secluded enough here. There shouldn’t be any trouble for now."

The two settled down simply in a forest clearing near a stream. Soon, the night enveloped the Sunset Forest like a giant black velvet cloak.

The light of the campfire danced among the trees, dispelling some of the darkness and bringing a bit of warmth. Raylo and Austin Sage sat around the campfire, while the three little ones nestled beside him, fast asleep.

Just then, faint footsteps approached from a distance. Raylo didn’t get up, but looked in the direction of the sound.

"Some little friends are coming," Austin Sage said.

By the firelight, Raylo saw several figures emerging from the depths of the forest. They wore Leather Armor and carried Bows and Arrows as well as Long Swords, looking like a small adventurer squad. There were only five of them.

"Friends up ahead, sorry to intrude!" the leading middle-aged man called out, his voice loud and clear. "We are a newly formed adventuring squad. It’s getting too dark, and we want to find a safe place to spend the night together. Would it be convenient for us to join you?"

Raylo looked at Austin Sage, who smiled faintly and nodded.

"No harm done. We are all travelers passing through, so it’s a good chance to rest together."

Seeing this, joy immediately appeared on the five people’s faces, and they hurried over. The leader was their squad captain, a middle-aged man in his thirties wearing Leather Armor and carrying a plain-looking Giant Sword on his back. His Cultivation was the highest among the five—likely a Great Knight. The other four consisted of three men and one woman; their Cultivation seemed to be that of ordinary Knights.

They quickly started their own fire, cleaned the wild pheasants and rabbits they had hunted during the day, and began roasting them over the flames. A mouth-watering aroma permeated the air.

The squad members conversed in low voices as they roasted their food.

"Our luck was terrible today. What we caught is barely enough to scrape by."

"You can say that again. The deeper we go into the Sunset Forest, the greater the danger, yet the prey is getting scarcer."

"Sigh, who asked us to be at the bottom? Unlike those Priests and nobles who sit at home and enjoy untold wealth."

"Speaking of which, we still have to blame those guys from the Church!" the girl couldn’t help but complain. "This ’Holy Light Tax’ is outright robbery! Just because they claim all things exist because of God, why should we pay a tenth as the Holy Light Tax? On what grounds? We hunt so painstakingly just for this bit of food, and we still have to cough up the lion’s share to the Church?"

"Exactly!" another man echoed. "If we don’t pay, the Church’s people will come and confiscate everything, and then we won’t even have a bite to eat. Not to mention, I heard the Empire is going to raise taxes again because of the impending war with the Dragon Realm!"

"Yeah, I heard the Empire is enforcing conscription, demanding that all citizens at the Knight level and above dedicate themselves to God and their faith by joining that expedition."

"Why should we! Why should we be the ones sent to our deaths? Those nobles and Church folks all live in the lap of luxury! Why don’t they go fight?"

"Brother, I think after we head back to resupply this time, we should buy some tools and hide in the Sunset Forest. We can build a wooden cabin here and never leave it."

"..."

The aroma of roasted meat mingled with their complaints in the air.

Raylo listened quietly, ripples of surprise stirring in his heart. For the first time, he realized that the rule of the Violet Empire was so draconian, and the Church’s exploitation so shocking. The Holy Light Tax, forced conscription... These words were truly an eye-opener for Raylo.

Austin Sage, on the other hand, looked relaxed. A faint smile played on his lips, as if he wasn’t surprised by these grievances at all.

The scent of the barbecue grew richer. Grease dripped onto the flames, emitting a loud SIZZLE. Soon, a roasted pheasant with crispy, golden-brown skin was taken off the fire.

"You two friends must be tired from your journey. This pheasant is a little token of our goodwill." The middle-aged captain tore off more than half of the roasted chicken, wrapped it in clean leaves, and offered it over very politely.

Raylo didn’t decline. He thanked him and accepted the food. After advancing to the Catastrophe Level, one could absorb energy from heaven and earth to replenish themselves and no longer needed to eat mundane food. However, this warm, earthly meal was indeed incredibly appetizing.

The only girl in the adventuring squad was about sixteen or seventeen years old. She had a few freckles on her face, but her eyes were very lively. She curiously observed the three differently shaped yet equally absurdly beautiful "cats" at Raylo’s feet.

"Mister, your cats are so cute," she whispered. Then, she tore off a shiny, greasy drumstick from her own portion of roasted meat, cautiously approached Moonlight, and tentatively offered it. "Little one, do you want to eat?"

Moonlight lazily lifted its eyelids, a hint of human-like disdain flashing in its pale golden eyes. It stretched out a furry white paw and swatted at the savory drumstick.

SMACK!

The drumstick traced a parabola in mid-air and landed on the grass nearby. The girl let out a gasp, looking somewhat at a loss.

Before she could even react, a black shadow swept by. The group only saw a blur before their eyes, and the drumstick on the ground vanished without a trace. Not far away, Coal Ball, in its black cat form, was clutching the drumstick and gnawing away, letting out satisfied PURRS from its throat.

The girl was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter at the comical scene. The atmosphere in the forest instantly lightened up considerably.

However, right at that moment, a cold and tyrannical aura crushed down from the sky above the forest without any warning!

WHIMPER!

Deep in the forest, the beasts that had been roaring instantly fell silent, leaving absolute stillness in their wake.

The smiles on the adventurers’ faces by the campfire instantly froze. The middle-aged captain’s face turned ashen. He abruptly looked up at the sky shrouded in night. A massive, hill-like shadow was slowly descending, blocking out the already sparse starlight.

It was a hideous Magical Beast that looked like a bat. A pair of blood-red eyes emitted an ominous glow in the darkness, and the Domain Level coercion radiating from its body made them feel as if a mountain were pressing against their chests, making it incredibly difficult to even breathe.

"It’s... it’s a Blood-winged Horror Bat! A Domain Level Magical Beast!" a young Knight’s voice trembled, his teeth chattering. "It... it was attracted by our firelight and the smell of meat!"

"Run... run!"

Despair instantly enveloped the squad. Before a Domain Level Magical Beast, this group of adventurers, whose highest Cultivation was merely a Great Knight, weren’t even qualified to fill the gaps between its teeth.

A hint of resolve flashed in the middle-aged captain’s eyes as he roared at his team members. "Split up and run! Survive if you can! You people over there, don’t you see the Domain Level Magical Beast? Run!"

He pulled out the Giant Sword on his back, preparing to sacrifice his life to buy his companions even a single second of time. When he looked back and saw Raylo and Austin Sage still sitting by the campfire, he assumed they were scared silly and loudly urged them to flee.

At this time, Raylo had finished gnawing on his half of the roasted chicken. He glanced at the Blood-winged Horror Bat in the sky, which was getting closer and closer, its ugly tumors already clearly visible.

Then, with a flick of his finger, he casually launched a leftover chicken bone that still had a few shreds of meat clinging to it.

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