The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 368: Leaving to Another Place

The village head’s mind couldn’t process what he was seeing in front of his eyes. A creature that was supposed to help them was obeying the enemy instead?

"What the hell happened? My lord said that this summon would obey only the devils and that the way of summoning could only be known and performed by us. But what is this?!" He couldn’t understand what had gone wrong, and he refused to believe that his lord had deceived him with false information. So why?

His thoughts came to a halt when the person standing on top of the giant beast suddenly appeared right in front of his face. The village head tried to move his body, but he couldn’t due to his grave injuries.

Without much resistance, Aldrian picked him up effortlessly with one hand, grabbing his head.

"Y-You... who are... you?"

Aldrian ignored his question and closed his eyes, delving into the village head’s memories. Once he was done, he simply released his grip, letting the village head’s body drop to the ground. The impact made him grunt in pain.

"Are...you also...a devil cultivator?" the village head asked through his pain.

However, Aldrian did not answer him. Instead, he looked at some of the people near the village head who still had shallow breathing. They were barely alive after that one sonic attack, but for Aldrian, as long as they were still breathing, that was enough.

He continued checking their memories one by one. When he was done, he looked at them with an expressionless face.

"It’s confirmed. These are the same ones who attacked my parents that year," he thought.

Without warning, Aldrian suddenly disappeared, taking the village head and three others with him, leaving behind the Paladins, who remained on high alert as they cautiously surrounded the great Peng.

Their souls still trembled, and now, being even closer to the giant beast, they felt an overwhelming unease. The thick devil energy emanating from the great Peng clashed with their holy energy, making them deeply uncomfortable.

The great Peng merely glanced at their movements before ignoring them altogether. To the great Peng, they were nothing more than flies, and it simply waited for its master’s return.

After a few minutes, Aldrian reappeared alone and approached the Paladins. They were still on edge, unable to relax in the presence of the giant beast. Worry lingered in their minds—what if the creature suddenly attacked them?

"Don’t worry. This giant beast won’t do anything dangerous as long as I control it. You’ll have to get used to this kind of presence in the future because there may be other beasts like this—or even more powerful," Aldrian said.

Arthur and the others were stunned, but then Arthur looked at Aldrian.

"So the devils have many creatures as powerful as this, just waiting for the right time to be summoned?"

"That is correct. And I plan to show this creature to the world so they begin to realize what kind of beings they will have to face if an all-out war breaks out with the devils," Aldrian replied.

The Paladins’ faces turned grim as they thought about it. They believed that the prophesied time marked the outbreak of another great war with the devils. And if this giant beast was only a fraction of the devils’ power, then winning wasn’t even a possibility—they could be wiped out without much resistance.

Fortunately, Aldrian had discovered this formation in time. If not, the future would have been disastrous.

"Young master, did you already know the truth about Buran Village? That these villagers were actually fakes and, in reality, devils?" Arthur asked.

Aldrian smiled at his question.

"More or less. Although you couldn’t detect it, I deduced it from the fact that the hideout was directly connected to the village houses. It became clear that the devils had already occupied the entire village."

Arthur and the others were stunned but then sighed. When they first arrived in the sky above the village and met with the village head, they hadn’t noticed anything strange and thought nothing of it. However, the oddities began to surface when they started the evacuation.

There were no children among the villagers, and the elders’ movements, though seemingly natural at first, felt off—almost as if they were pretending to walk like elders.

The most telling sign that these people weren’t real villagers was their reaction when the giant beast emerged from the ground. While they all appeared shocked, there was no real panic or fear—just surprise, nothing more.

When the devils finally attacked, the Paladins, though shaken by the great Peng’s presence, were able to block the assault. As king-stage cultivators, they had already anticipated an attack, so the devils’ offensive did not pose a real threat to them as long as they were prepared.

"All the real villagers have already been killed by the devils. To summon a creature of this strength, they needed many sacrifices, and they have been doing this for years. They were also behind many of the crimes that occurred within the church’s territory, all to gather more sacrifices."

The Paladins clenched their fists, fury and shame washing over them. They had been completely unaware of the devils’ scheme within their own land. Their negligence had allowed so many to die, and they felt as if they had failed in their duty.

Sensing their emotions, Aldrian spoke firmly.

"Paladins, listen! You are not gods who know everything under the heavens. The only reason they were able to do this was because they had help—the traitorous Carsius! Don’t waste your guilt on yourselves, and don’t let it consume you. The real perpetrator is him."

The Paladins exhaled, finally letting go of their lingering thoughts. Aldrian was right—the traitor was the one who had made all of this possible.

"Young master, where are the surviving devils?" Arthur asked.

Aldrian smiled. "I’ve already placed them somewhere to await their judgment."

As for the ones who had attacked his parents, he had something special in mind for them. They would make a fitting gift in the future.

Aldrian then turned his gaze north. "It looks like the commotion here has already attracted people from Oris Town. Many cultivators from the church branch there are approaching this place," he said.

Arthur and the others were confused, they couldn’t detect anything. That meant Aldrian’s range of perception far exceeded theirs.

"Let’s move out. It’ll be troublesome if we have to deal with this right now," Aldrian said.

Suddenly, the giant beast whose presence had been weighing heavily on them vanished, shocking the Paladins. After that, Aldrian and the others also disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the now-empty village and thousands of devil corpses for the approaching cultivators to find.

--------------------------

More than thirty minutes later, a large group of cultivators arrived at the site and took in the scene of destruction. Countless corpses exuded devil energy, and the lingering remnants of that energy in the air sent a chill down their spines.

The strongest among them, a peak Grand Duke-stage cultivator clad in knight armor bearing the church’s symbol on his chest plate, stood frozen in shock.

"What is going on here?!"

He was the mayor of Oris Town, appointed by the church. While still inside his mansion, he suddenly sensed a terrifying surge of devil energy accompanied by a horrifying screech from afar.

Everyone in the town felt it, and panic quickly spread as they feared a massive devil army was attacking. It was an incomprehensible thought, given that their region was far from devil territory, located in the southern part of the Heavenly Direction Church’s domain.

Then, he saw it—a massive flying creature silhouetted in the distance. The townspeople saw it too, and fear took hold. Chaos erupted, and even the town guards struggled to keep the situation under control.

However, the strange thing was that the giant beast did not approach the town. Instead, it landed in the direction of Buran Village, its screeching echoing through the distance. Though it was far away, its massive form remained visible, instilling deep fear in everyone who saw it.

The mayor immediately reported the sighting to the main church in Heavenly City and awaited reinforcements. However, it would take time for aid from the capital to arrive.

After waiting for several minutes and seeing no movement from the beast, he made a decision—he would lead the town’s army to investigate. Despite his fear, he needed to assess what that creature was and how much power the devils had gathered there.

They advanced toward the giant beast with caution but maintained considerable speed. However, just as they approached, the massive creature suddenly vanished, leaving the mayor and his group stunned.

He pressed forward, and upon arriving at the scene, they were shocked by the devastation, the village lay in ruins, and countless corpses emitted devil energy.

The town mayor remained on high alert, wary that the creature might return. Despite his fear, he spread his senses, searching for any survivors.

"Search for survivors! See if any villagers remain! Check everything for any abnormalities!" he shouted. His men, though visibly shaken, obeyed his orders without hesitation.

As they carried out their search, the mayor carefully scanned the surroundings, hoping to find any clue left behind.

"My lord, I found something!" one of his men suddenly shouted, drawing the mayor’s attention.

He quickly approached. "What is it—" His words stopped mid-sentence as his eyes fell on a message carved into one of the standing trees. It stood out conspicuously from the others, as if placed there deliberately.

The writing seemed fresh, glowing faintly with the energy of heaven and earth, indicating that it had been inscribed not long ago.

Don’t worry about the commotion, it has already been taken care of. The prophesized one and his group are here, fulfilling their duty.