Chapter 88

"Ryan, if I remember correctly, your ideal... is to fight for your family on the battlefield one day, right? Perhaps you feel somewhat disdainful when you hear stories from a bard, but I think deep down, you also have a bit of longing, don't you?"

Sally, who was usually the center of attention, rarely spoke up, but because of her status as a "candidate priest," her beautiful face, and her rapid progress in divine magic, no one would ignore her serious words. So when Sally stepped in to mediate, the tense atmosphere at the dining table almost immediately eased.

Clearly, in the eyes of these young people, although Sally was mostly silent, her words carried more weight than anyone else's. However, even so, Sally never made Chris and the others feel any pressure—Chris, Elise, and the others all showed signs of relaxation after hearing her speak, knowing that with Sally's words, Ryan and Booker definitely wouldn't continue their argument.

"I—forget it... I won't say it if you don't want to hear it."

None of them were unreasonable troublemakers; the fact that they could come to the seminary showed that they were already "well-behaved" young men. With a beautiful woman mediating, they had both saved face and found a way out. Booker was the first to compromise, sighed, and started gnawing on his bread.

And Ryan was also hit by Sally's "vital point," because he indeed, as Sally said, was full of longing for "war" and "bloodshed."

He often talked about "knights" and "war" with others, and his argument with Booker was also because the other party had attracted too much attention recently, which made him somewhat annoyed. However, he had no real desire to fight. More importantly... if he denied Sally's words now, he would be slapping his own face. Thinking about this, Ryan felt a bit depressed but still muttered, "Those stories are too fake. Real war is nothing like that..."

His criticism shifted from Booker to the "bard," clearly a form of indirect concession.

After chewing a few bites of bread and seeing Ryan close his mouth, Booker turned to Sally and nodded in thanks, then said, "We're going to the market after the prayer... um—let's go take a look, Sally. After all, you haven't been out for a long time."

Knowing that Ryan didn't want to hear the word "bard," Booker winked, indicating, "We're going to listen to the bard's stories, want to come with us?"

"Thanks, but no." Sally shook her head, but looking out the window at the sky, she remembered that her subordinate would come to the church to meet her today. She thought it was inappropriate to refuse so directly, so she added, "...but I'll see you off at the church entrance."

"That would be great." Chris smiled, and the unpleasant atmosphere from the argument immediately dissipated. They then started discussing which shops in the market had the best goods.

Not far away, Bishop Benjamin, holding a letter, came to the dining table and sat down in front of the four priests. After a brief prayer, he picked up the bread for breakfast and asked, "What? Did something interesting happen just now?"

After listening to the explanations of the priests, the bishop, who was usually very lenient with the young monks and nuns, smiled and commented, "Ryan's family has always valued martial prowess. Many people in his family complained when he came to the seminary, so he must be under a lot of pressure. Among these people, the reason he progressed the fastest in 'Punishment' divine magic is not without cause."

"Since it's a harmful divine magic, boys are always interested in it. But speaking of which, Sally's talent in 'Enhancement' divine magic is truly rare in recent years."

The priests discussed the progress of these young people, and the bishop was very satisfied with their talents and determination. However, he still shook his head and sighed, "Although they are progressing quickly, to be honest, I really don't want them to get involved in the war..."

He waved the letter in his hand, and a priest named Ethan asked, "Your Excellency, this letter?"

"It's from Bishop Rubens. He has already set out from the 'Rose Temple' and should arrive here in about half a month." Benjamin usually had a warm and gentle smile, but when mentioning the name of the bishop, his expression turned serious, and he said in a low voice, "But the journey won't be peaceful. The 'Viper Cross' has announced that they will kill the bishop, and these heretics always follow through on their threats. Bishop Rubens's journey... might be very dangerous."

"Should we have the temple guards prepare to welcome and protect the bishop?"

"Of course, I was just about to discuss this with you. The guards on duty at the church today may need to go to the southern armory to re-equip with new weapons, so only two will be left at the entrance." Benjamin put the letter aside and arranged the tasks for the seminary as he usually did, "Ethan, you go visit Count Tatar and thank him for the gold and grain he donated. Maud, you go..."

This was a daily scene at the seminary. After arranging the tasks for the priests, Benjamin came to greet Sally and the others, casually testing their knowledge of the doctrines. If they couldn't answer, he wouldn't get angry; he would just chat and then patiently explain.

The easygoing bishop, the studious monks and nuns, and the peaceful seminary... this was what Sally experienced every day.

...

Time passed, and the sun gradually rose. The streets became busier, and devout believers also began to come to the church for prayer.

The structure of the seminary was simple—a large church that could accommodate hundreds of people, about twenty meters high, was located near the street. Behind the church were the living quarters for the seminary's clergy, another for the temple soldiers, a small kitchen, and a pile of firewood. That was all the buildings.

It was not a designated Sunday, so the number of people coming to pray was not high. In the early morning, the temple guards, under Bishop Benjamin's orders, went to the armory as a group, leaving only two sword-wielding guards on duty. If their strength were to be ranked, these two guards would be the lowest level of the "Rose Cross" army—however, by player standards, their level was not low, at 15, though they had not advanced. In the city of Holier, they were still relatively strong warriors.

The view from the church entrance was not very open. The two guards occasionally patrolled around the temple, but because no one had ever tried to storm the place, they had long lost their vigilance due to the repetitive daily tasks. Their eyes under the helmets often showed laziness and fatigue, and they yawned from time to time, not paying much attention to any abnormalities on the street.

After all, in the entire territory of Eveta, there were very few people who dared to oppose the "Rose Cross." Because of this, they did not notice the few suspicious figures who had been appearing frequently in the street corner...

A man in simple robes, looking like a believer, sat in the shadow of a three-story residential building in front of the seminary. His loose robes fluttered slightly in the breeze, and he looked no different from other believers, except for a small backpack on his back.

Not far away, a man in flashy clothes was playing a Vielle, and whenever a passerby threw a coin into his hat, he would smile and flatter them, then happily place the coin in a black bag behind the wall.

On the other side of the street, a fat merchant was selling small trinkets to passersby. Some children gathered around, and the fat man laughed and handed out some snacks to the children, his friendly demeanor making people feel good.

These three people had been appearing here for over a week. To say they were "abnormal" was not quite accurate, because bards, merchants, and believers appearing in front of the seminary was a common sight. However, if one paid attention to these three, one would notice that they always stayed close to each other, forming a triangle... subtly surrounding the church entrance.

Time passed, and after the distant bell tolled, it was around ten o'clock in the morning.

When Rody appeared on the street in front of the church, he had already fully restored his most powerful combat form—the unique design of the "Hunter's Set" attracted many glances. However, civilians generally had little interest in "adventurers," and in this era, xenophobia was common, so Rody was happy to have a quiet time, avoiding many unnecessary troubles.

Rody didn't dare to directly rush in and name Sally, as Francis's informants might suspect his identity. So he chose to take the second step of the "Degeneration of Priest Nilda" quest, using his former adventurer identity to complete the task with Benjamin and find an opportunity to meet Sally.

This plan had multiple benefits, so Rody was in a good mood as he walked, humming a tune. He approached the seminary.

The guards standing lazily in front of the church had already seen him. Rody took out the letter needed for the second step of the "Degeneration of Priest Nilda" quest, thinking about how to start, but his steps suddenly slowed as his gaze swept over the believers in front of the church.

The tune changed from "The Enemy Enters the Village" to "Pigsy Carries His Wife," and Rody continued humming a chaotic tune. His steps then came to a complete stop, and as he looked around, his frown deepened.

Because he was in the "high-level area" of Holier City, Rody usually kept the "Surrounding Character Status Bar" open. This would not show the specific level, name, or attributes of strangers around him, but it could vaguely indicate the level difference—lower levels would show green, similar levels would show yellow, levels within three levels higher would show orange... the higher the level difference, the redder the color, and if the difference was significant, it would show black.

Most of the civilians in Holier City were lower in level than him, showing green, while a few were yellow. The guards in front of him were bright red, which was normal. However, what was abnormal was... he saw the bard and the fat merchant on the other side were also reddish, and the "believer" sitting in the corner had a name that was almost purple!

In addition, there were two inconspicuous figures with levels similar to his, showing yellow.

Rody narrowed his eyes, instinctively sensing something was wrong.