Chapter 5

Leaving the apartment safely, Rayne walked for a while and threw the bag he was holding into a roadside trash can five blocks away.

Continuing on, he entered a bus station. Not long after, a bus pulled up and stopped by the roadside.

The bus emitted a large amount of white smoke from its rear, and its shape was similar to a bus on Earth, only larger and more rudimentary. It was divided into two levels, with no glass windows or air conditioning. If fully packed, it could accommodate over a hundred people.

Rayne squeezed onto the bus and took out a copper riso from his pocket, handing it to the ticket collector.

The ticket collector was a middle-aged woman. She tore off a ticket and handed it to him, her gaze lingering on Rayne's face for a moment. Her originally expressionless face broke into a smile: "Young man, there are still seats at the back, please come in quickly."

"Thank you." Rayne nodded slightly and pulled his sun hat down a bit.

He squeezed into the back of the bus, thinking that sometimes being too handsome isn't a good thing, especially when you need to be low-key but end up drawing attention.

"It seems I need to do some camouflage on my face to avoid standing out too much."

Just as Rayne sat down, the driver rang the large bell at the front of the bus, which made a "ding ding dang" sound, signaling pedestrians to move out of the way. The bus then started moving, swaying and gradually picking up speed.

The bus headed east, with its final stop in Rienflar, the poorest area of Longshand City, which the citizens disdainfully referred to as the slum.

In the early days, most of the residents in Rien were newcomers from the countryside who couldn't afford the high rent. They worked in factories during the day and could only live in the most remote parts of the city at night, gradually forming the slum over time.

In any world, poor areas are always a breeding ground for criminals.

Rien is the largest district in Longshand, located in the east, almost occupying a third of the city. However, it has the worst security in Longshand. Various vagrants, gang members, criminals, unemployed people, and tens of thousands of poor people live there, with many dangerous individuals lurking among them. Murders occur almost daily, and countless illegal transactions take place here.

Decent people would not want to live in Rienflar.

This was exactly Rayne's purpose. He didn't want to be recognized by his former classmates and friends, and for the news to leak to Ramsey. Those who could enter the academy were generally well-off and rarely ventured into dangerous slums.

He planned to hide in Rienflar for a while, which would also make it easier for him to act in the future.

His gaze swept across the bus.

Since it wasn't rush hour, the bus wasn't full. The passengers' clothing was mostly simple, or rather, shabby. Each person had a deep sense of fatigue, sitting there with a numb expression, as if they were being tormented by a hopeless life, struggling to survive.

Rayne retracted his gaze, leaned back against the rusty seat, and closed his eyes to rest.

Soon, the bus entered Rien.

The scenery along the street gradually became monotonous, the roads became narrower, and the houses became more densely packed. The streets were noisy, with various vendors crowding the sidewalks, shouting at the top of their lungs to sell their goods: bread, cigarettes, fruit, beer, newspapers, and many other common items.

Homeless people could be seen everywhere in the corners of the streets.

They were barely clothed, some sitting there begging, some lying motionless on the ground like corpses, but no passerby paid them any attention.

The bus driver kept ringing the bell to make the crowded pedestrians move out of the way.

Even sitting on the bus, the smell from the street would occasionally waft in, coming from the drainage ditches, making one feel nauseous. However, the passengers were already used to it and no one complained.

Rayne didn't stay until the last stop; he got off the bus midway.

As soon as he got off the bus, seven or eight ragged children surrounded him. They were all pale and thin, with eyes full of longing and cunning.

Rayne didn't let his sympathy overflow. These begging children were probably not innocent; many of them were also pickpockets. He subtly pressed the money he had hidden on his person and, taking advantage of not being completely surrounded, quickened his pace and ran out of the station, shaking off the group of children.

He walked cautiously along the street, planning to find a cheap inn to stay in as his future base.

Walking through Rien, Rayne's most significant impression was the sheer number of people, everywhere.

This reminded him of the videos of Indian slums he had seen online, where people were packed in, and wherever he went, he was stared at by pairs of unfriendly eyes, making him feel uneasy.

However, even in a different world, Rien was better than the slums in India.

At least in terms of "dirty, chaotic, and poor," Rien only had the latter two, not the dirtiness.

Suddenly, an open space appeared at the intersection ahead.

It was a small square, with a majestic church standing on one side. The church was not large, with two rows of tall round columns neatly arranged on the front, and the walls and dome were made of stone, giving a sense of weight and epic grandeur.

This was a church of the Church of Justice, and there were many such churches in Longshand, each responsible for a specific area.

"No wonder no one dares to approach the square," Rayne thought.

The empire had three officially supported orthodox churches, and the Church of Justice was one of them.

Although the followers of the God of Justice were not the most numerous, this deity was the most authoritative. People both revered and feared Him, and if not necessary, they would avoid dealing with His church.

The God of Justice, "Tyr," had domains including "Justice," "Order," "Law," "Fairness," and "Protection." His followers mostly worked in law enforcement and security.

In most cases, those who had dealings with the Church of Justice were either victims or those being judged.

Neither situation was a good one, so people naturally kept their distance.

Besides the Church of Justice, the other two orthodox churches in the empire were the Church of Knowledge and Magic, dedicated to the Goddess of Magic, and the Church of the Earth, dedicated to the Earth Mother. These three were collectively known as the Three Divine Churches.

Most of the empire's citizens believed in one of these three deities.

Rayne's family were followers of the Goddess of Magic. In his memory, his mother Marinda was a devout believer, praying to the goddess before and after meals, and whenever she had free time. She was a teacher at the church school in their hometown and a missionary, spreading the light of the goddess's wisdom to her students.

However, the previous Rayne seemed to be less devout, praying only once every ten to fifteen days.

As he passed the square, Rayne glanced inside the church.

Just as he was about to look away, a loud bell rang from the top of the church, echoing far and wide.

At the same time, a group of guards in bright silver armor emerged from the main door of the church, descending the stone steps with loud,整齐的步伐声，来到广场上。

这么大的动静，顿时让街上的行人们停下脚步，向广场聚集过去。

“发生了什么事？”

雷恩和其他人一样，好奇地看着这一切。

广场边的人越来越多，很快就挤得水泄不通。雷恩站在最靠前的位置，想离开也挤不出去了，被迫成为围观群众的一员。

身穿银甲的守卫在广场中间分散开来，他们的盔甲反射出光芒，长剑插在石板地面上，双手压在剑柄末端，一动不动，宛如一尊尊雕像，散发出肃穆与威严之感。

雷恩离守卫只有几步远，趁机观察他们。

守卫的盔甲是一种全身甲，做工极其精良，由完整的金属板锻造而成，由多个部位组装起来，包括胸甲、肩甲、护臂、手套、护腿、战靴等，手肘和膝盖关节都以精巧的锁扣相连，再加上几乎全封闭、只在正面开了丁字缝隙的头盔，整套盔甲的重量大得惊人，像一个铁皮罐头。

如此沉重的盔甲，一般人穿上之后可能连走路都成问题，但这些守卫行动自如，站在那里十分轻松。

这个细节让雷恩感受到了一种强大的力量，顿时记起来，这些守卫是正义教会的“圣剑侍从”。

正义教会有一种极为强大的超凡职业，称为“圣剑士”，通常身穿重甲，擅长剑术与心灵的力量。

每一个圣剑士都是教会从小精心培养起来的，他们是正义之神最忠实的信徒，执行正义之神的神谕，维持秩序，守护法律与公正，是正义之神在凡间的代言人！

而在成为圣剑士之前，这些人被称为圣剑侍从。

圣剑侍从仍然是普通人，只是经过长期训练后拥有一些比常人更强大的力量，作为圣剑士的预备人员，或终身作为教会的守卫。

“当！”

教堂里又发出一声钟鸣，从中再次走出一群人。

为首的是一个身材高大的中年人，他同样穿着全身盔甲，身后有一条白色披风，但没有戴头盔，能够让人看清模样。

他面容刚毅，目光锐利，有一头棕色短发，下巴蓄着短须，身材非常强壮，步伐稳健有力，走动之间姿态堂堂正正，让所有见到他的人都会心想，这是一个值得信任、可以依赖的人。

中年人手里提着一柄剑，比寻常长剑更长更宽一点，但又不是双手剑，看起来既可以单手持剑，也能双手握持。

雷恩注意到，他的胸甲上刻有一个金色的天平，天平中间的支撑轴是一柄剑，剑尖朝下，插在一本法典之上！

“这是正义之神的圣徽。”雷恩以前见过这个徽记，一眼就认出来了。

人们叫出中年人的名字：“邓普斯大人！”

“圣剑士真是威风啊……”

“那是当然，邓普斯大人可不是普通的圣剑士，据说他早就突破到中阶了，可能不久以后就要高升调走。”

邓普斯后面跟着两个守卫，他们抬着一个黑色的平台。

平台用金属铸造而成，只有半人高，中间有一个向下凹陷的缺口，上面布满了暗红色的色块，像是有什么东西溅开后留下的血迹。

这个黑色台子一出来，顿时引起镇民们的惊呼。

旁边有人害怕地低声叫道：“断头台！审判仪式！有人堕落了吗？还是有人诅咒发作了？”

随即，人们就看到了答案。

一个面色萎靡的男人被守卫押了出来，他身上缠绕着一条银色锁链，把上半身捆得紧紧的，双手绑在背后，双脚也锁上了镣铐，艰难地一步一步走下教堂前面的台阶。

“鲁伊斯！”

人群中有人认出了被锁链绑住的男人。

叫作鲁伊斯的男人原本浑浑噩噩，突然被人叫出名字，顿时一个激灵反应过来，大叫道：“放开我！你们要干什么？”