Dear Broom Knight

No place of worship dedicated to the Lord of Storms would ever bar the entry of the Swiftwind Wings.

With a 'bang,' the sealed doors crashed against the walls.

Celes Tia, wielding her Wind Spear, charged headlong into the towering Storm Church.

Behind her, in the alleyway illuminated by the flickering firelight, a subtle agitation stirred.

But it quickly subsided.

Though blinded by greed, the adventurers weren't foolish enough to believe they still had a chance.

Those past instances were merely due to the Lord of Storms clearly wanting to teach High Priest Schroeder a lesson for acting foolishly.

While the Lord of Storms was known for his volatile temper and vengeful nature, he wasn't one to hold grudges.

But now, the one truly facing trouble was the Night Goddess.

The adventurers wouldn't risk their lives betting on whether this goddess would suddenly become forgiving… What had Baron Qingfeng of the territory done to offend her and her church?

For years, their Night Temple had been the least compatible force with Lorry Montes, yet they were the ones causing the most trouble.

They always tried to disgust Baron Lorry.

It was only because this baron had both temper and ability that he was able to fight back every time without losing ground.

If it were them, they probably wouldn't even know why they died.

Encountering a deity who, though ill-tempered, was reasonable allowed for a bit of risk, but if it was… a deity with a terrible temper who considered themselves the only reason, normal people would inevitably hesitate.

The Night Goddess was a prime example of this, and she was also the type who would allow you to resist when she schemed against you, but if you dared retaliate, you would become her mortal enemy.

Of course, on a divine level, though stubborn and biased, she wasn't actually that malicious.

But in the eyes of mortals, that was the impression they got.

The adventurers who dared to stand here were basically experts above level 10, so they wouldn't act 'rashly'.

"Brother…" Pearl asked softly, "They're being so well-behaved, what are we going to do?"

Inside the Storm Church, the sounds of horses neighing, cursing, clattering, and the desperate cry of 'No!' piqued Miss Hamilton's curiosity to the highest degree.

She peeked into the church, trying to make sense of the scene: "Who's screaming so miserably?"

"Probably Bishop Blair!" Almos thought for a moment, "Besides him, no one else in the Storm Church would stand up for High Priest Schroeder's affairs.

This one, though loyal, is truly blameless."

That was the most detestable thing about the Schroeder family.

Especially the High Priest and Duke factions, both had Storm believers like Blair who were pure, steadfast, and had unwavering faith.

They were raised by the Schroeder family, many even adopted from a young age, but they had never been involved in the dark side of things.

They might not have been completely ignorant, but… not having done it meant not having done it.

Even the Lord of Storms wouldn't be displeased with them for turning a blind eye to their benefactor's actions.

The world of nobles cared even less about this.

Who would care if their boss was secretly swindling as long as they were getting paid to do their job?

Of course, because of that favor, these people wouldn't completely abandon the Schroeder family even after its decline.

Even if they pursued other opportunities, they would definitely take care of the two poor children.

If their character wasn't up to par, they would have been sent into that other group by the Schroeder family long ago.

Although they were doing dirty work here, they were really making money!

Even their strength increased rapidly.

High Priest Schroeder and Duke Schroeder, though they died with their family and a few loyal subordinates who were willing to follow them, most of those shadows in the darkness were scattered.

These people understood the Schroeder family's methods the most, and they certainly knew that the two young masters had a trump card that would immobilize them, so they would never turn against their former masters.

Logically speaking, such dark forces should be the first to be wiped out by the major families… but now, the great nobles not only lacked cannon fodder, but also lacked ruthless people who dared to attack members of the Northern Royal Family.

Those who came from the Schroeder family definitely met this standard.

But if they really took in this group of people, those great nobles would no longer be able to do anything to the Schroeder family… at least while these people still had value.

After these hidden hands scattered, only the legitimate Schroeder orphans could use the assets left in their hands.

Those in the dark would definitely be divided up directly.

It was indeed still very wealthy, but it was no longer fatal.

Almos sighed slightly.

"Brother, don't think about it." Pearl, who knew her brother well, quickly said, "No one in our family has that ability, including you."

The Schroeder family could achieve this because their most basic ability was to cultivate people and understand people's hearts and minds.

This should be the family's innate attribute.

Even smart people with enough experience and observation could only do a passable job… How could there be no mistakes?

Pearl said with a smile: "Probably because his sons and daughters were all too useless!"

The Schroeder family didn't necessarily produce heroes in every generation.

Under normal circumstances, that was impossible.

Even the royal family, with a wider range of choices, couldn't guarantee that!

However, High Priest Schroeder clearly wasn't willing to accept this outcome… He probably planned to do it himself when his descendants weren't up to par.

Anyway, the Storm Church had many experimental subjects.

What was most wicked about him was that the people who actually did that were basically some unwilling old fogeys from the Storm Church, as well as some branches of their family.

The reason why the Storm Main Temple didn't dare to completely abandon him and still tried to protect him in front of the Lord of Storms was also because if High Priest Schroeder was willing, he could wipe out half of the Main Temple… not because there were too many people involved, but because there were too many people connected.

Even the church, which didn't allow marriage and childbirth, could have children in droves, and some marginal positions could become family inheritances! Moreover, this god didn't require them to adhere to a pure world.

However, except for the gods who insisted on their own chastity, who would have some requirements for the servants in their temples, other gods hardly cared about this.

Even existences like Shar wouldn't care if their followers were surrounded by handsome men.

For the gods who were high above, humans and intelligent magical creatures were not much different.

The gods of this world were even less likely to do things that violated objective laws.

Therefore, those who didn't want to marry and have children basically didn't want to.

There were so many beautiful and desirable things in the world, right?

But people immersed in power easily fell into the trap of 'Why should I pass on what I have put so much effort into to others?'

Those who couldn't figure it out would naturally create so-called families.

The Lord of Storms' tolerance of his followers also turned the Storm Church, which was originally a gathering of elites, into small factions.

Other churches were actually similar, the Earth Church even played out a country!

The Storm Church at least kept a bit of face, at most letting its own people become Dukes of Photography.

If the Northern Royal Family hadn't withstood the Schroeder family's wave after wave of attacks, the North would probably have gone down this path in the future.

Of course, more importantly, the Schroeder family's backer in the Storm Main Temple wasn't strong enough to be used at will.

The Northern Kingdom was established under the Lord of Storms' own witness… Even the greedy people in the Main Temple wouldn't dare to do those rotten things in front of the god.

The Lord of Storms, although he only hated the things he saw, he wouldn't care who was in front of him when he dealt with things.

He liked to descend upon the earth in the form of a storm, and never used any earthly body, so his understanding and feelings for humans were somewhat separated.

He would really strike hard, especially against those caught in the act.

Therefore, these high priests were successful because of their families, and also failed because of their families.

Those who could be seduced by High Priest Schroeder were basically all people in the family who had high status but not much ability, but still wanted to live for hundreds of years and continue to enjoy themselves.

Only they would hate their lack of talent so much that they would do anything, and only they would be so indifferent to the things strictly forbidden by the Lord of Storms.

Because they rose to high positions not because of the favor of the gods, but because of their father's doting.

Of course, now these people were all executed after the Schroeder family's affairs were exposed.

But no one believed that High Priest Schroeder had no handle on them.

The most poisonous and vile mud pits were all crossed by these people… He and Duke Schroeder clearly didn't follow suit.

Even their sons and grandsons didn't take this risk because of their lack of talent.

But he must have received some inspiration.

Otherwise, how could the fourth generation have produced two good seedlings with good talents in both literature and martial arts?

But this must not be an abnormal method, but some research results that increased the probability of excellent talent.

This was a research result that every family with inheritance would consider and have its own set of methods.

Although some people must be jealous, but… it hasn't reached the point where they have to make trouble for them.

After all, this kind of research is generally only useful for their own bloodline.

Almos couldn't help but laugh, "Still, too greedy.

The mistake that smart people are most prone to making is wanting to control everything in their own hands."