Chapter 136: Caring Is the Warmest Embrace
After all, the Church of the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence is just a religion that has been developing for less than ten years.
Under the influence of the orthodox Church of the Goddess, it is absolutely impossible for this seductive and pornographic cult that promotes extreme self-indulgence to grow rapidly.
If they dare to openly recruit believers, it won't be long before they are captured by the golden knights who are loyal to the orthodox Church of the Goddess.
Therefore, they have to crawl forward, using deception, capture, temptation, and other means to increase their companions, and then hide in dark caves day and night, indulging their desires like rats.
In various unfavorable situations, the Church of the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence is fundamentally weak, and its strongest force is only equivalent to a C-class adventurer.
After the little girl, who was like a leader, was struck and killed by Loria's succubus shockwave, the remaining people, even if they resisted with all their might, still died under the attack of Coleridge and others.
Everything is over.
Looking at the bodies all over the floor, Loria shook her head helplessly.
If the little girl didn't lie, then she must have suffered from the torture of a group of brutal people since she was very young.
During that process, she somehow made a connection with the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence and gained strange powers.
But that power was not a gift, the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence controlled her through that power.
She thought she had escaped the fate of being a slave, but in reality, there wasn't much difference. With the power she obtained, she still had to submit to the "superior" and give her all to satisfy them.
"A sad life."
However tragic the little girl's past life was, when she deceived innocent people into joining the cult, she had already taken the path to her own demise.
Loria dug a big hole and buried all these women in it, so they could rest peacefully after they died.
Then she searched through the mountain cave again.
Those money and valuable items, they were useless here anyway, so it was better to let her keep them all.
"This money is enough for Doris to eat for a long time, and..."
Loria looked down and saw the red cat costume on her body with a few holes.
The costumes she bought in Creek Town couldn't handle the battles she faced now.
In this battle, she was mostly winning, but her costume tore after a few scratches.
If the fighting became more intense, her costume might burst at any moment.
Although she was wearing a magical light armor underneath, even if the cat costume burst, she wouldn't be completely naked, but the shamelessness boost would be gone.
Loria's plan was to set aside some of this money to have new "battle suits" custom made.
This new battle suit not only had to be shameful to wear, but also had to have excellent defense capabilities.
As for how to make her feel ashamed, we'll slowly figure it out in the simulator.
"Hmm?"
As Loria walked, she arrived in a room that had a completely different style from the other places.
Fun.
Is it okay to describe it with this word?
The main color of the room was pale pink, and the bed was adorned with strings of stars made of colored paper. There were also many toys like building blocks and colored balls piled up in the corners.
"Is this guy's room?"
Loria's hand gently touched a dressing table.
She found a piggy bank on the table and shook it, realizing it was filled with lots of coins.
She also discovered many stickers on the side of the mirror, each one covered in messy and ugly handwriting.
[3/26: Went to a restaurant and encountered a lottery. Won a handheld ball game and felt very happy.]
[4/11: Saved up coins for a long time and finally bought my favorite Hessa Palace building blocks today.]
[5/9: The steps of Mount Kianton are very high. It's a struggle for me to climb each level. I wish I could grow taller.]
[5/21: Suddenly, I really want it, really want it. I can't control myself. It should be something comfortable, but I am a bit scared.]
The so-called stickers were actually pieces of diary entries.
Loria carefully stuck the stickers, opened a drawer, and prepared to put them inside.
But the thing that suddenly appeared in the drawer completely destroyed the warm and playful scene in the room.
The first thing that caught Loria's eye was a cylindrical toy covered in sharp, large particles. There were also clips, pins, nails, ropes, and some common toys nearby.
But the shapes of those toys were unusual. Loria calculated that anyone who used these things would definitely end up covered in bruises!
"Madness and indulgence."
Loria's face slightly changed.
Her gaze rested on the sticker for May 21st.
Even succubi wouldn't like this kind of fetish, but they could find pleasure in this self-inflicted pain that surpasses limits.
This is not a feeling that humans should possess.
"Evil gods, demons who excel at controlling minds."
Loria thought of Vita again.
The weaver worshipped by the Hidden Leader didn't seem like a clean person. Although his methods seemed gentler than the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence, who knows what the true situation is?
"Loria？"
Just then, a small head suddenly popped up at the door.
Doris walked in slowly, and when she saw the toys in the corner, her eyes suddenly lit up.
Loria quickly grabbed her and said, "Wait until we go back, I'll buy them for you. Let's leave these things here."
Doris pursed her lips but ultimately obediently withdrew her hand.
Loria led Doris outside the cave, and Coleridge and the others were already waiting there.
The wizards were not interested in the Church of the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence's past; they were interested in that "divine power."
But this "power" is too twisted and can control the mind through the body.
Therefore, despite some people wanting to extract a part for research, they ultimately gave up due to the opposition of the majority.
"We must have limits in our research. We must never let our research lead to the world's downfall."
These words struck a chord in some people's hearts.
They once admired the power of the gods, but after seeing those twisted women, they finally understood why the realm of the gods is an untouchable forbidden area.
"Are you done with your tasks?"
Coleridge asked.
Loria nodded, "There's nothing interesting left."
"Then let's bury the hole."
This was the result of a previous agreement, and Loria didn't object.
Under the disturbance of Earth Magic, the cave suddenly collapsed, and the entrance was completely blocked. From the outside, you couldn't tell there had ever been a cave here.
"Halfway through."
Loria looked at everything with a complicated expression.
She wasn't upset because she couldn't find evidence of cooperation between the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence and the Minister of Finance.
She just remembered the last words the little girl said.
"What would happen if I were controlled by my own power?"
There would probably be a super promiscuous woman in the world.
This woman has endless energy and she constantly promotes herself wherever she goes, just thinking about it is terrifying.
Loria wasn't scaring herself.
You should know that in the simulation, it only took her a little over two months to endure a two-day, two-night battle with the powerful Dragon Mother without falling down.
Once she truly succumbs, the guildmaster's small frame would probably be crushed by her in less than a day.
The only good news is that the guildmaster won't be wearing her hat anymore, because the guildmaster was already gone before wearing the hat.
"Let's go."
Loria set off on her journey home.
On the way, she began to investigate the "Where is God?" event.
As she had suspected, this event is related to the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence.
After killing the little girl, she received a notification that the event was complete.
[Special Event - Where is God?]
[Did God guide the people or did the people guide God? What does it mean to God when a believer is devout? On the day that prevented God's descent, more doubts arose in your heart.]
The task is done, reward acquired:
1: Optimist - Improved
2: God's Blessings
3：Skill Advancement Cards x2
4: 5 points of free attribute points"
Loria flipped through the event rewards.
"Optimist - Improved: Despite being in pain, you can still feel happiness due to physical reasons and can block out the pain."
Compared to the original optimist, this new talent has an effect of shielding pain.
This made Loria think of the followers of the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence, who also seem to be able to shield pain.
The difference is that this pain-shielding effect can be turned off.
Loria decisively chose to turn it off.
She worried that having a body that could feel happiness no matter what might lead her down a path of no return, and that it's necessary for the feeling of pain to still exist.
The second reward, "Blessing of the Gods," replaced her original ability, "Blessing of Monster Girls."
"Blessing of the Gods": You have gained the approval of the "Gods," fixed stamina +3.
Originally, you had to come into contact with monster girls in order to temporarily increase stamina by 3 points, but now it's always in effect.
After using all 5 of her free attribute points to add to stamina, Loria's base stamina reached 98 points.
"Only 3 more points to go before reaching C level."
The female knight was in a very good mood.
Three points is not far.
When the time comes, as long as she creates a big mixture in the simulation, stewing the guildmaster, Luciene, and Miss Plump Sheep together, she should be able to increase her endurance by one or two points. Then she can do some challenging tasks to make up for the small amount of endurance she lacks.
Loria's gaze finally fell on the skill advancement card.
Because she only had two cards, which were not enough to upgrade Healing Through Breathing, she simply used the card on "In all seriousness" and upgraded it to Level 3.
After the upgrade, the skill cooldown time decreased from 8 minutes to 5 minutes, the duration increased from 60 seconds to 120 seconds, the temporary increase in mental attribute increased from 12 points to 15 points, and the probability of countering negative effects, such as charm, increased to 30%.
The improvement is obvious, considering that the probability of countering negative effects was only 15% when she first obtained this skill.
The reason why Loria chose to upgrade this skill was because she just had an encounter with a "god."
Your body is already strong enough, and your spirit shouldn't be left behind!
She hopes to make her spirit as strong as a fortress, so that next time she encounters a "god," she won't be defenseless.
Half an hour later, Loria returned to Claren City.
Walking between the rainy and gloomy city, she occasionally heard people talking about the finance minister.
It seems that the rumors spread by Liya and the others have had quite an effect. It's hard to say how many people believe them, but it has definitely sparked widespread discussion.
"Once news of the downfall of the Church of the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence reaches his ears, he will definitely be very anxious, right?"
Loria smiled slightly.
This smile didn't last long, as she thought of the Hidden Leader again.
This group of lunatics has officially started a war. Under their call, many demons and monsters have attacked the empire. It won't be long before Claren City gets caught in the crossfire.
The finance minister was feeling restless, and Loria was not feeling well either.
"We cannot stay here for long, we must solve the problem quickly."
At first, Loria didn't plan on doing anything to the finance minister, but now that she was close to becoming a level C adventurer and had already gotten rid of the finance minister's "strategic partner," she felt like she could give it a try.
"I'm back."
Loria and Doris stood at the doorway, gave a shout, and then Loria opened the door and walked in.
To her surprise, there wasn't a single person in the room, not even the guildmaster, who had trouble walking.
"What's going on?"
She searched the room but couldn't find anyone. When she discovered half-eaten food on the dining table, her heart sank.
Something went wrong!
She went to copy the secret lair of the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence, but to her surprise, her own house had been stolen.
The guildmaster has trouble walking, Miss Plump Sheep is not good at close combat, and Luciene is best at "generating electricity". With this combination, how will they fight against a powerful enemy?
"How annoying!"
Loria was so worried that her eyes turned red.
How could she stand by and watch the guildmaster, who had helped her so much, die in vain?
"Come with me to save people."
After bringing Doris along, Loria hurriedly walked out.
Although she didn't know where the guildmaster went, she had a simulator. She could search and simulate at the same time.
Loria had just stepped out of the door when she heard laughter in her ears.
"Guildmaster Adeline is amazing! Not only does she have a great figure, but she's also incredibly strong!"
Is that Luciene's voice?
Loria quickly followed the sound and saw Luciene and Miss Plump Sheep pushing the guildmaster towards her.
She immediately rushed towards them and asked, "Where did you all go?"
After saying that, Loria felt a bit regretful. Her tone was too harsh.
However, the three people across the way seemed to not care about this. Luciene said, "Just like Mr. Coleridge mentioned, Loria has indeed returned."
Miss Plump Sheep interrupted, saying, "the guildmaster was worried that you might not be able to handle things, so she was prepared to help you. But when we arrived at our destination, you were already gone. There were only officials sent by the finance minister to investigate the situation. the guildmaster quickly dealt with them using her two swords. Then, we encountered my father who informed us that you had come back, so we hurried back here."
"..."
Loria was speechless, with her mouth slightly open. She couldn't form a complete sentence.
"Let's keep eating."
The guildmaster nodded at Loria, she was always calm like this.
Loria followed along, during the meal, Miss Plump Sheep and Luciene kept asking her about the process of opposing the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence. She patiently explained everything, and the two of them got very excited, making the house sound like a marketplace. Only the guildmaster and Doris remained calm as usual.
But the guildmaster didn't seem as calm as Loria had imagined.
As they were talking, Loria noticed that the guildmaster was holding the chopsticks the wrong way and hadn't realized it this whole time.
On the surface, the guildmaster didn't show any concern, but she was actually listening very carefully.
Loria's heart warmed.
Romance feels nice, but there are things that feel even nicer than romance.
