Chapter 29

"Hey, buddy, haven't you noticed that people have been looking at us strangely lately?"

Tim is a knight commander of the Holy Church's branch stationed in Sulfur Mountain City. Even in this underground city full of "evil" residents, he maintains the good habit of regular patrols, even though maintaining law and order is not their responsibility.

It must be said that no matter how corrupt and degenerate the upper echelons of the Holy Church may be, the grassroots paladins and priests who diligently follow the teachings of the Holy Light, helping the weak and eliminating "evil," are the reason why the Holy Light is widely recognized by the world. They are also the root cause of the Holy Church's influence extending to most human kingdoms.

On the surface, the paladins are very accustomed to such daily patrols, helping citizens, and if they encounter villains, they draw their swords to eliminate evil, of course, all for free...

However, in this special city, Tim and his colleagues' daily patrols initially caused a lot of trouble and were not welcome.

But despite the poor results, Tim himself felt quite proud. After all, their recent experiences, if told, could easily become epic legends in taverns.

For example, they raided a dark elf con artist who was defrauding an old woman (in fact, the city management was escorting the old lady home), attacked a bizarre necromantic ritual of the undead (which was actually a famous skeleton dance troupe's performance), and destroyed a super-large bone spirit tower of an evil lich (which was actually a theme park's Ferris wheel, which I had just built. Of course, I later sent a huge fine to Old Bill, and it's said that these fools are still cleaning the toilets of the entire troupe every day as punishment).

They also saved an innocent girl who was about to be turned into a statue by Medusa (the poor Medusa sculptor was terrified and repeatedly emphasized in his report that he was kidnapped and coerced by a group of lunatics shouting "Holy Light" to turn the statue back into a person). For example, they challenged and drove away an ancient red dragon that was attacking children. By the Holy Light, it was actually planning to swallow the children whole...

Heaven knows, that day, Little Red was just indulging in her maternal instincts, playing "Brave vs. Dragon" with the children in the park, but a group of "big kids" tried to join in... Fortunately, Little Red was in a good mood that day, so Old Bill was able to dig these tin cans, with only their heads sticking out, out of the sand in the park, instead of directly holding a funeral...

Of course, they paid a price. After all, the angry parents whose children were frightened were not easy to deal with, especially when their heads were stuck in the sand as targets, and after a wave of "attacks," it took them many days to wash off the stench of rotten eggs and tomatoes from their heads.

It wasn't until they finally realized they were not in a human kingdom on the surface, understood the extremely special environment they were in, and recognized that their actions were not eliminating evil but creating panic and chaos, that they learned their lesson. Most importantly, it was the high fines and detention notices that made them wiser.

At least, they understood that this city has its own laws and order, and that this city does not need them to fight evil. They finally stopped seeing a chaotic race and shouting "Holy Light, that evil is worth a battle" before charging in...

Well, Tim has learned that in this city, this is not called fighting evil but "intentional injury," which can land you in jail. The most ridiculous thing is that this city has banned the duels that the nobles promote, full of chivalry, calling them "premeditated murder," a serious crime.

Of course, there are always stubborn fools and fanatics who don't learn. In such cases, they are sent back to the surface by a transfer order under the protest of Sulfur Mountain City.

Tim is better. After making a few mistakes, he at least developed the habit of looking before acting and gradually got used to the daily life where "chaotic paws" walk the streets.

In fact, when he learned that the dark elf city management knight corps also believed in the Holy Light, he even considered pursuing a non-human wife. After all, the Holy Light teachings don't specify that your wife must be human, and the few attractive female priests in the church always had hundreds of admirers buzzing around them, so he knew he had no chance.

But soon, he gave up. The female dark elves, although they believe in the Holy Light, still retain some dark elf traditional views. For example, dark elves are a typical matriarchal society, and in their traditional families, the word "husband" (servant father) is roughly equivalent to a slave...

However, the strangest thing is that after learning this, some colleagues who were usually indifferent to ordinary women and focused on their careers became even more eager to pursue those female elves, especially the female elf Momo who likes to use whips...

Well, Tim, who vaguely guessed something, also kept his distance from those increasingly strange colleagues.

But after that chaos, he felt that something had changed again. In the past, the citizens looked at him with some caution and vigilance but still managed to be friendly. Recently, the caution has disappeared, replaced by sympathy, and there's that strange nickname.

"Leftover Knight! That illiterate orc lady's mispronunciation is understandable, but why are the flower shop owner and the restaurant waiter also getting it wrong? Recently, I've been getting discounts and special offers for no reason, and when I walk down the alley, someone suddenly shouts, 'Don't give up, tomorrow will be better.'"

"Hmph, just being called a Leftover Knight a few times, what's the big deal? We are the 'leftover knights,' what's wrong with that name?"

Lucas is his contemporary, known for his kindness, always helping people fix pipes and deliver water, earning the nickname "Good Lucas." However, since the day before yesterday, he has been strangely cool, making ice in the dormitory, which is quite odd. Tim pulled him out for a patrol, guessing that he had some troubles and wanted to help him relax.

But along the way, no matter what Tim said, Lucas remained silent, just staring at the withered purple lily. Now that he finally spoke, it was a good sign!

"Lucas, what's wrong? You've been acting strange these past two days, everyone is worried about you."

The concern from his companion warmed Lucas's frozen heart. After a long silence, he sighed deeply and finally spoke about what happened the day before yesterday.

"The day before yesterday, a girl said she wanted to marry me."

"Wow! That's great news!! Why are you so unhappy?"

But soon, the tragic experiences of his colleagues flashed through his mind, and many tragic possibilities came to his lips...

But seeing Tim's hesitation, Lucas guessed what he was thinking and shook his head.

"The girl wasn't a demon or a fallen angel trying to corrupt me. My rank in the team isn't high enough to deserve such treatment."

"Then?"

"I'm not as unlucky as Fink and Wenlan. The girl I met wasn't an orc lady over forty or a cute boy. She is very cute, with a heart-shaped face, an innocent and sweet smile, and skin as smooth as jade. She always bounces around, giving off a vibrant and adorable aura."

"Why are you so sad then?" Tim was puzzled, given how good the conditions were.

At this, Lucas smiled with a nostalgic look and said softly.

"She handed me this flower and said, 'Big brother knight, don't be sad. Xiao Xin will be your wife.' Her smile was as warm as the sun, and her sweet voice was as enticing as honey, but..."

Instantly, the sky turned from clear to rainy, and Lucas's face fell.

"... She's only nine years old, nine years old!! So young, I'm not an animal!!"

Seemingly understanding the problem, Tim sympathetically patted Lucas. Just as he was about to say something, Lucas's lips curled into a smile.

"But, she said she would marry me when she grows up. Ha ha, she even said that by the time she becomes an adult, I should have saved enough money to buy a house and a mount."

Tim was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he managed to say, "Well... congratulations."

"Ugh!!" But Lucas, who still had a hint of his earlier pride, just lowered his head and hugged the withered purple lily, sobbing.

"Lucas, don't cry. Waiting ten years isn't a big deal. Look at me, I'm almost thirty-five and still single. You'll only be thirty-seven in ten years, much better than the others in the team."

"Ugh, no... not ten years!!"

"Huh? Even a few more years isn't a problem. We leftover knights can wait!!" At this point, Tim understood what "leftover knight" meant and why he had been getting those strange looks and sympathy.

But hearing Tim's comfort, Lucas became even more upset and sobbed loudly.

"I... I can't wait! Ugh ugh ugh!! Not ten years, but... two hundred years!! She's an elf and won't be an adult for another 200 years!! That means she thinks I won't be able to afford a house for 200 years!! 200 years, by the time she grows up, I'll be ashes!"

Hearing this, Tim could only hug his brother, who had a rare stroke of luck but was now more hurt.

"Maybe we should try Nanhxiang. I heard that many city guards there at least get housing."

---

The recruitment for Nanhxiang went incredibly smoothly, successfully poaching a third of the church's personnel in Sulfur Mountain City within three days, with more people signing up continuously...

The judicial system of Kalong City is also under construction. In two months, after the first batch of Nanhxiang short-term training program graduates, the new administrative and judicial systems of Kalong City will be operational.

Then, the original fragments sent to Kalong City will be able to collect the faith in law and justice from the city, granting the judicial personnel the power of law to support their law enforcement and trials. When this enters a virtuous cycle, the restoration of the artifact, the Original Codex, will be faster.

Once the city is incorporated into the legal system and the citizens recognize and believe in the law, the power of law in the entire world will gradually increase, granting even stronger powers. Perhaps, the original Holy Light also spread this way.

Once the faith in law spreads, people's views on non-humans may no longer be limited to the chaos or order represented by their race. This second perspective is at least the beginning of reconciliation.

"Since completely eliminating one faction is impossible, let's try to sow the seeds of reconciliation and exchange. Now, even the paladins in Sulfur Mountain City have learned to judge good and evil based on the crimes committed rather than the race. At least, there is a possibility of success."

However, at this moment, I can't see that far and am only troubled by the daily tasks at hand.

The accumulated evil points are now 49,888, and the day of resurrection is not far off. But the recent daily tasks, such as "kill a hundred humans" and "destroy several orc families, leaving no survivors," are too cruel to twist, and I've been penalized a few points. If this continues, how can I be resurrected?

"Daily task: Cause a massive public nudity event. The more participants, the more spectators, and the more screams and exclamations, the higher the reward!"

I fell into deep thought. Due to the recent daily tasks being too cruel and abandoned, this task with a prank-like nature became a timely rain.

"Sir, perhaps we need help from others."

Knowing my task, Elisa said.

I nodded and then released my messenger bat...

"Old Bull, I hear you're doing well lately. I, the lich Roland, have a favor to ask. I heard you have good relations with the Wild Druid Alliance. Here's the thing..."

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