Peace

"D*mn! Aery, stay hidden! This is not something we can deal with."

"Kyu kyu?"

"Shhh! Don't make a sound and maybe they won't notice us. Whenever you move, you always attract all sorts of monsters. Make sure to not attract these ones."

Hidden in the crevice of a cliff, Two and Aery stared at the meeting of the powerhouses happening in front of them. Somehow, they ended up in this situation.

When Two finally left the hideout of the Cursed Tribe, Aery sneakily escaped and followed him around. The latter was concerned about the little sheep but soon realized that Aery was a great attraction to all the nearby beasts. Wherever he was in the wild, the monsters would naturally move toward him, making it extremely easy to farm as long as he had enough recovery items.

The monsters were generally weak and the pair decided to move to more remote areas where higher level monsters were found. However, they never expected the two big fishes in front of them to appear.

A single man, completely dressed in white, was facing a huge undead army. His face was serene; he showed no fear even as he was staring at the level 60 Reapers. Two was unable to look at the man's level but he had already recognized him.

Having been a member of the church for a short while, he would naturally recognize one of the Commandments of the church.

'Wasn't he supposed to be guarding his shrine in the Domogo Empire? What on earth is the Commandment of Peace doing here?' Two's mind was racing. He jumped in fright as he felt Aery's smooth wool rub against his legs. The little sheep curiously moved forward to take a peek at the situation.

"Necro Valley has been running rampant for quite a while now. Do you think we will not react and let you do as you please? Explain the reason for your actions and go back to your territory at once." The Commandment of Peace loudly spoke. His voice carried over the entire Undead Army.

Two frowned. He had never heard of Necro Valley but for a Commandment to personally make a move, that organization was definitely not simple.

"Who are you? Necro Valley is simply taking back what belongs to it. Once we retrieve back one of our escapees, we will immediately return to our territory." A female voice sounded from the back of the Undead Army but the speaker did not show herself.

"Something that belongs to you? What is it? All the nobles were ordered to prevent people from going to the Valley of Death. No resident of the Sylvester Empire should have stepped onto your territory in the past decades," answered the Commandment of Peace.

"It was an event that took place decades ago, probably even before you were born. One of our members ran away from his duty. To top it off, he was my fiancee at that time. Recently, we detected his energy wavelength again and my task is to bring him back to Necro Valley. I know you are a member of the church but this matter has nothing to do with it," answered the female voice.

At the same time, the undead army split into two, allowing a cloaked figure to stepped forward and face the Commandment of Peace.

From Two's point of view, he immediately noticed the woman's hideous appearance under the cloak. Half of her face was rotten while the other was simply devoid of any skin. Her appearance was closer to that of a monster than a human.

"Maybe you are right. But what's your excuse for massacring the four villages you went through?" sarcastically asked the Commandment of Peace.

The woman frowned. "My Undead summons need to eat before going to hunt. It was they who tried to take advantage of a poor lady traveling alone. I only defended myself. Afterward, I got tired of doing so and simply decided to go on the offensive. Furthermore, my lord, you still haven't presented yourself."

"Tsssk. Of course, you can say that now that there are no witnesses. My identity does not matter. You did not even present yourself, so why should I do so first?"

"It is a basic courtesy for a man to do so but fine. My name is Ivanna, Regent of the Eye of Death," proudly said the woman. The Eye of Death was the information agency of Necro Valley. By using Undead monsters, they could easily collect information across different empires.

"The Eye of Death? If you really lead this organization, there is no way you don't know me. Or is it that I have stayed at the shrine for too long and people already started forgetting about me? In any case, I don't have time to continue this conversation. Please return to your valley."

Silence fell on the mountain. The two parties motionlessly stared at each other. An invisible battle of will was taking place and none wanted to be the first one to break.

Two could feel the atmosphere getting gloomier and gloomier. Until finally, Ivanna spoke. "I have always been curious about the power of a Commandment. You are praised across the entire continent but many claims that you do not deserve all the attention you are given. I guess it is time to find out the truth."

As soon as she finished speaking, the ground under the Commandment of Peace exploded as two purple arms grabbed his ankles; it was a level 70 Earth Revenant. At the same time, dark fumes appeared right behind the man as the figure of a level 80 Angel of Death appeared.

Without a sound, her scythe sliced through the air and cut through the Commandment of Peace's neck. Ivanna smiled as she watched the scene. The Angel of Death was her strongest summon. After countless rituals, a captured Fallen Angel was slowly turned into an Angel of Death.

However, her eyes widened as she looked at the scythe pressed against the Commandment's neck. "What? How is that possible? Why did the scythe not slice it?"

The commandment of peace nonchalantly looked at the Angel of Death before pushing the scythe away with his left hand. "Seems like the world really forgot about me. I am Argen, the Commandment of Peace. Let me help you inferior self understand what happened. In my presence, no damage can be dealt or taken. This is my passive ability, [Armistice]."

"What? Impossible! What kind of skill is that?" exclaimed Ivanna. She furrowed what was left of her brows and ordered all her monsters to attack. The Angel of Death furiously hacked at the Commandment of Peace. At the same time, the Earth Revenant dug his claws into the Commandment's legs while two other ghosts appeared and attacked him mentally.

However, the Commandment did not move at all. "Since you attacked me first, I guess this gives me the right to fight back."

He smiled as he took a step forward. Ivanna instinctively took a step back. As she saw the man approach. "You! Stop right here!"

Despite her shouts, the Commandment of Peace did not halt his steps. Instead, he hastened his pace.

"You! You think necromancers only depend on their summons?"

[Mortal Ray]

A bright black beam shot toward the Commandment of Peace but his HP bar still remained untouched. Without a care in the world, he continued to walk forward even as a barrage of attacks landed on his body.

"You... What are you doing? Didn't you just say that no damage can be dealt or taken? Why are you drawing your sword?" exclaimed Ivanna. Her voice shook as she hurriedly tried to leave.

However, the Commandment of Peace did not give her a chance. His long blade sliced through the air, decapitating the poor woman in a single strike. All Ivanna's summons trembled as they were forcefully returned to the dimension they came from. As their mistress died, they were unable to remain in this world.

"I represent Peace. Armistices and negotiations do not always work and sometimes, the only way peace can be achieved is by destroying my enemies. This is the real ability bestowed upon me, [Betrayal]. Three times per day, I can attack my enemies. It is just too bad that you are so weak. I only needed one strike."

Two shivered as he looked at the headless body of the woman. It all happened way too fast. The huge Undead army disappeared in an instant. They seemed invincible and yet, they were all annihilated with a single attack.

'So this is the power of a Commandment. No wonder Duncan said the Aries died to collect information about the powers of the Commandments. If they all had powers like that, it would indeed turn the tides of a battle in an instant,' thought Two.

A chill went down his spine as his gaze met that of the Commandment of Peace.

"Come out. I have long noticed your presence. Aren't you Two? Why did you not return to the church after the battle? You know we have been searching for you everywhere?" The Commandment of Peace returned to his usual carefree expression but Two knew very well that he was in danger.

Since he had already been discovered, he stepped out of the crevice but pushed Aery deeper inside. He knew the church was after the Beast Cores and would not hesitate to take the little sheep's life for it. Having played with Aery for a little while, he became attached to it and did not want it to die.

"Are you Sir Argen? When I woke up, I found myself in an unknown area. I will return to the church very soon now that I know the way back. It is just that I have been encountering many monsters on my journey. It is not easy to travel alone," said Two.

"Really? That's fine then but why did you say you were alone? Isn't there a special sheep hiding with you? Bring it back with you and submit it to the church. You will obtain a lot of merits. Not only is it carrying the Aries' core, but it also has a core itself! That's two cores of the Sacred Beasts!"

Two bit his lips. The situation was complicated. Aery had indeed been detected for a while now and when facing a Commandment, there was no way for him to protect Aery.

Seeing his hesitation, the Commandment of Peace said, "What? Is there a problem? Don't tell me you are planning to protect an Aries? Two, I had a much higher opinion of you. You know I like to resolve things peacefully..."

Two took a step back. His gaze fell on the crevice where he saw a tiny pair of scared eyes looking at him.

The Commandment of Peace took a step forward. He still looked carefree and friendly but just that one step put a large amount of pressure on Two. He instinctively wanted to step out of the way but forced himself to block the Commandment as he drew his sword.

"What? Could it be that you want to fight? You watched what happened to that woman, right? This is a kind reminder that I still have two strikes left today."

Two took a step back and even almost stumbled on a rock. However, he forced himself to stand firm and refused to move. If he did, Aery would be dead for sure.

"Too bad. I knew you were a bad seed. I will send you back to the graveyard where you can go and repent for your actions." The Commandment of Peace slowly raised his blade but at that moment, a series of hisses sounded from the ground.

A hole appeared in the ground from which a woman jumped out. A large cobra was wrapped around her right hand. The woman lightly laughed and said, "Oh, looks like I found someone. You, I have a few questions to ask you." She pointed her finger at Two.

"Madam, may I know who you are? Please do not interfere in the matters of the church," calmly said the Commandment of Peace. He lowered his blade, fully aware of the strength of the opposite party.

Two stared at the woman. He could not see her level but immediately noticed that she was different from the average person. Her looks were only average but her eyes attracted Two's gaze. Those eyes did not belong to a human; instead, they looked more like the ones of the Cobra. She had vertical pupils.

"Hmmp. Madam? Do I look that old to you? And who are you? Did I talk to you? Go away and wait for me to finish my questioning."

"Looks like this world is full of cocky women," said the Commandment of Peace. He smiled as he repositioned himself.

"Tssk. Don't compare me to that Lich. Besides, you did not even kill her and only destroyed her physical body," answered the woman.

Two froze. The scene in front of him suddenly changed. The Commandment of Peace lunged at the woman with his blade fully drawn. Two wanted to warn her but to his surprise, a bright light suddenly blinded him.

When he opened his eyes again, Two was completely stunned. In front of the woman was a life-size statue of the Commandment of Peace holding his sword in an offensive posture.

'No... This is not a statue... This is the real Commandment of Peace! He was petrified!' exclaimed Two in his heart.

"Now that we have that annoying guy out of the way, do you mind answering a few questions?" asked the woman with a sweet voice as she turned her attention to Two.

The latter felt a shiver run down his spine. "Yes. Please ask."

"Well... Did you recently encounter a dungeon master who has a Harpy Queen as a monster? My child here detected a special scent from you," said the woman as she showed the cobra wrapped around her arm.

"This... Indeed I did meet them. Why?" asked Two.

"Just asking. Do you know the way to his dungeon? This fellow wants its revenge but with his terrible sense of direction, it is impossible to find our way back to the dungeon in question."

"Well... I don't know the location of his dungeon but I can show you where I last met them. It was about one week ago. Continue in this direction. Maybe the Cobra will find the trail back once it goes there," said Two as he pointed in a particular direction.

"Alright. Thanks. You don't have to be so nervous. I have long detected the Aries hiding in the crevice but I am not interested in his core. My bloodline is too different. If only he was a Scorpio instead. Well, you can take the equipment of these guys as a payment. Farewell!"

As abruptly as she appeared, the woman jumped back into the hole and disappeared.

Two looked at the scene in a daze. It was only after Aery rubbed itself against him that he woke up. "Aery. Let's go back to the Cursed Tribe. Going outside is too dangerous. If we did not meet that woman, you might have died. From now on, we'll listen to Duncan a bit more."