“Oh?”
The High-Ring Sorcerer from the Peace Church, along with everyone else present, looked at Xia De with strange eyes. Iluna’s “Balance” ability had, of course, been used many times, so both the Church and Iluna understood what kind of results different people would yield.
And based on the recent result…
“Hello.”
Mr. Landau’s tone became respectful. A person with such a benevolent and orderly alignment was worthy of respect anywhere:
“I think the result is fine.”
“Is this a faction alignment test?”
Xia De asked, feigning curiosity. Iluna nodded:
“I also think it’s fine.”
“Then, sir, please come with us into the Church. If you wish to help, we sincerely invite you to join us in resisting the upcoming enemies. The Church will not mistreat any kind-hearted person who offers assistance.”
And so, Xia De gained their trust.
“No problem, but just now, on my way here, I encountered a short, deformed man, and he said…”
Xia De informed the Church that the final attack would arrive in half an hour. Mr. Landau did not doubt Xia De’s words but asked him to describe Joey Barton’s features in more detail.
The group entered the Natural Church within the Gap through the main entrance. Compared to when Xia De first came to rescue Priest Augustus, not much had changed.
Inside, there was almost no mist, and what met the eye were white candles of varying heights and elegantly designed golden candlesticks. Colorful religious frescoes and various styles of sculptures created a sacred atmosphere. Silver threads crisscrossed overhead, intertwining and tangling, and from these metal threads hung metal, stone, wooden, and even bone charms, as well as holy emblems, holy bells, and a series of items with strong Miracle elements.
As Xia De stepped over the threshold, the holy bells chimed like wind chimes, their sound exceedingly pleasant, and it made those carefully observing him breathe a sigh of relief.
The only difference from the last time was that some of the wooden pews that should have been there were temporarily moved to the walls to facilitate the drawing of the ritual array on the ground. Now, a vigorous bonfire was burning in the center of the main chapel, its flames very warm. Just by being illuminated by the firelight, Xia De actually felt his Ling and stamina recovering.
The Orthodox Church had mastered a method of restoring Ling within the Gap; this bonfire was equivalent to a resting point within the Church.
The interior was filled with the scent of high-grade spices; it seemed that a large number of ritual materials had blended to create this aroma. Xia De had expected to see many people here, but a quick glance revealed that, including the dozen or so people who returned to the Church with him, there were no more than twenty people in the main chapel.
“There shouldn’t be only these people; it seems they must be dispersed throughout the Church.”
The ghost seen last time did not appear this time, and besides Iluna, there were no other Low-Ring Sorcerers here; the Ring術士 assigned to the Gap were at least 7th Ring. In the sixth epoch of the material world, besides the Three Great Arcane Academies, only the Orthodox Church had so many personnel.
Mr. Landau subtly indicated that Xia De should not leave the main chapel, then arranged for Iluna to lead Xia De to rest and heal by the bonfire. As for him, he needed to communicate with the real world to relay the information Xia De had just shared.
After approaching the bonfire, his stamina and Ling began to recover at a rate far exceeding that in the real world. And after sitting down by the bonfire, the sense of ease even made Xia De feel as if the slight fatigue in his mind was being soothed away.
Everyone seemed to have something to do, and everyone in this solemn and sacred Church subconsciously lowered their voices when speaking, making the vast, holy Church sound as if countless people were whispering something.
Although an wave of attacks had just been repelled, only a few people were resting by the bonfire. Among them was a young nun wearing a crown of thorns and a white robe.
She knelt on a dark red cushion, hands clasped, head bowed, quietly praying before the bonfire. Judging from the few phrases Xia De overheard, she was a Ring術士 of the Natural Church. When Xia De sat down, due to the closer proximity, Xia De even determined that she was a High-Ring Sorcerer, either Nine Ring or Ten Ring.
In the firelight, Xia De could barely make out her tightly closed eyes, which seemed to be disabled. Her eyes bore continuous thorn patterns that even permeated beneath her eyelids, something a normal person’s eyes could not do.
“This person… couldn’t be the Natural Church’s Divine Descent Body, the Thorn Nun, could she?”
Xia De thought with some alarm, and the strange sense of holiness emanating from her initially confirmed his guess.
Now he understood why the Church had not stationed a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer here.
“Ms. Shirley Wenster.”
Iluna called softly, then introduced the outsider to the nun who looked up, and took out a water bottle, asking her for help with healing. Ms. Shirley Wenster did not speak; she took the water bottle, shook it gently, and handed it to Iluna.
Iluna motioned for Xia De to roll up the sleeve of his right arm, then poured the warm water from the bottle onto his arm from the shoulder.
Although his bone had not been reset, as the water from the bottle flowed down his skin, Xia De actually felt his right arm completely recovered.
Then, the nun wearing the thorn crown summoned a corner of her Destiny Ring, and as the 【Healing】 Miracle Ling Rune flashed, she also cast a Miracle, sprinkling some green light. Tiny specks of light leaped into Xia De’s body, and all the injuries he had sustained since entering the Between Life and Death were healed.
Xia De finally breathed a sigh of relief. His decision to risk meeting the Church seemed to be correct; his current state had returned to the perfect condition he was in when he left the House of the Blind.
As he was thinking about how to communicate with Iluna without others noticing, the nun spoke:
“Sir, may I borrow your sword?”
She spoke carson rick, but her accent was much lighter than that of the Owl.
“Of course, no problem.”
Saying that, he handed over the Night Watchman.
Sister Shirley Wenster held the sword with both hands, brought it close to her, carefully drew it from its scabbard, and then ran her fingers over the runes on the blade:
“So it’s the Night Watchman.”
“You know this sword?”
Xia De asked curiously:
“This sword is not my original one; I found it in the mountains after coming to Middlesburg.”
“Yes, this sword is very ancient, a relic of the Demon Hunters from the third epoch. There are not many Angel-level longswords passed down in the material world. Although this one is not well-known, we have a record of it.”
She handed the sword back to Xia De:
“The Church once recorded this sword. A famous Prophet from the fifth epoch also performed a divination on this relic. It will be key to resolving a major disaster, and now it appears here… When you obtained it, did you receive any additional information?”
“Its previous owner was a Ring術士 from several centuries ago. That person seemed to believe that this sword could not leave the Sicar Mountain region. That’s why I brought it into the Gap this time.”
The nun wearing the thorn crown nodded:
“Legend has it that the Night Watchman possesses the power to enhance the effects of Miracles, spells, and rituals. If it were inserted into the center of the ‘Holy Tree Mark’ ritual… Sir, after the battle ends, would you be willing to speak with us?”
Xia De understood her intention:
“Yes, let’s wait until the ritual is underway.”
“Thank you for your help; you will gain the friendship of the Natural Church.”
At this time, “friendship” clearly meant that the Church would not take Xia De’s sword for nothing.
Before long, the others who had rested stood up and left; they all had their own duties to attend to, and the Thorn Nun also walked towards the deeper parts of the Church.
Xia De watched her receding back, temporarily placing the fishing rod on his back and the lantern at his waist on the ground. Then, he carefully pulled out a silencing charm from his pocket. But Iluna stopped him, shook her head gently, and then drew a circular symbol on the ground with her finger before letting Xia De place the charm inside.
“There are too many alert rituals here; do not use alchemy items without divine spell markings rashly.”
Although she was speaking, her mouth was only slightly open, so others could not tell she was talking:
“No need to worry about me sitting here alone with you; I am here to monitor you. Although you passed the alignment test and are highly trusted, you are still an outsider. If there are no surprises, you will remain within our sight while in the Church. But aside from that, you can use all the equipment here. You can collect some charms over there, the nuns next to you can add some beneficial enhancements for you, the confessional on the right can now be used as a potion workshop, and as for alchemy tools, they are behind that pile of long chairs on the left.”
Iluna quietly explained that the main hall of the Church had now completely become a war preparation room:
“You rest for a bit, then come with me to resist the undead at the main entrance of the Church; the pressure here is much less than on the mountain. While waiting for Joey Barton to appear, if you kill enough undead, you can also receive rewards within the Church, including high-purity holy water. I’ve taken a liking to a very nice set of alchemical jewelry… This is the wartime reward system; we all must abide by it.”
“They’re really well-prepared. Can it be exchanged for pounds? Ahem, I mean, for you to stay with me? Wouldn’t that be better?”
Xia De replied softly, warming his hands by the fire.
Iluna carefully controlled the rising smile at the corners of her mouth, her pretty face illuminated by the firelight, and she added:
“It’s because you passed the alignment test almost perfectly that you receive such treatment; otherwise, you would only get some food and water… However, you don’t need to worry too much about the situation here. There are many Middle-Ring Sorcerers in the Gap Church, and over 30 High-Ring Sorcerers, including 5 Twelve Ring Sorcerers. Don’t just look at the few people here; actually, one-third have been sent out to clear the outer evil spirits in advance and scout the direction of the next wave of undead.”
After all, the undead didn’t just suddenly appear; they swarmed from a certain direction, so outer reconnaissance was very important.
“Besides the High-Ring Sorcerers of the Five Gods Church, among the High-Ring Sorcerers, three are Fortune Tellers from the Prophet Association, two are professors from Success Higher Medical College, oh, and two are elders from the Apner Library who came from underground. The Fortune Tellers are at the top of the side tower, the professors from the academy are on the second floor responsible for maintaining the ‘Light of Nature’ ritual in the center of the Church—I don’t quite understand it, it’s a Natural Church thing. The two elders from the Library are in the basement assisting with setting up the foundation for the ‘Holy Tree Mark’ sealing ritual. Besides you, no one can enter the passage in front of the Death Door without protection, so the work underground is very complex.”
The “Apner Library” is a Ring術士 organization friendly with the Five Gods Church, similar in scale to the Blood Spirit School. It is said that their headquarters are in an underground cave somewhere on the Old Continent. Their purpose is to protect Knowledge, but unlike the Light Guidance Hermit Order, to which Old John and Mr. Edmund, the Tower Keeper, belong, which collects Knowledge and protects civilization before the end of the world, the “Apner Library” purely takes collecting and preserving Knowledge as its mission.
Members of the Apner Library mostly worship the Orthodox God 【God of Creation and Destruction】 - Lady of Creation, but there are also other strange beliefs. Many black markets for Knowledge on the Old Continent and New World have their shadows behind them.
However, the “Apner Library” and the Three Great Arcane Academies have a very poor relationship, even somewhat hostile.
This is not because the two have conflicting objectives, but because the academies want all of the Library’s collection, and the Library also wants the Knowledge and books spanning two epochs in the libraries of the Three Great Arcane Academies.
Both sides believe the other is coveting their Knowledge—which is indeed the case—hence the subtle hostility.
Of course, this hostility has little to do with Letter-based Ring術士.
In addition, the “Apner Library” also trains its own students in the form of a Miracle academy, but because it is not very famous, Xia De only heard Dr. Schneider mention it.
