Chapter 116: After the Long Night (13)

"By the way, those Dark Elf flesh and blood—since they're legendary, are they useful to you?"

A total of twenty-five Dark Elves were lured here to break the prison; now, remnants of various types of flesh and blood remain—according to past patterns, this could be a feast of materials.

【"There will be some, but I advise you not to harbor too much hope."】

Worried Herbert might be disappointed and complain, Nie Nasha preemptively warned him:

【"You've grown accustomed to the high-quality abilities granted by Special Beings; you probably won't value the abilities they offer."】

After explaining Special Beings, Herbert finally understood why Valentina and the others granted such astonishing abilities.

But this was easy to understand: elite individuals drop rare materials—it's perfectly logical.

【"Moreover, the abilities offered by Dark Elves might overlap; in the end, very few will be truly useful."】

"No problem—even the smallest scraps of meat are still meat; why give up?"

Nie Nasha layered armor upon armor, but Herbert didn't really mind—he treated it like a lottery draw.

Pulling cards works this way: whatever you get, you get; don't get obsessed… Of course, if your Blue-Green Modifier is a cracked version, that's another story.

Spend!

【"Then do as you please—I've already warned you."】

"Better than nothing."

Waste is shameful.

Herbert gazed at the sun slowly rising in the east and murmured softly: "After all, I must return to seek justice for myself."

"Naturally, the stronger, the better."

As the boy's whisper faded into the wind, the horizon released its first thread of Bai Guang.

Dawn broke; the long night receded.

The first rays of morning light completely dispelled the night's crimson hue, gently spreading hope and vitality across the world.

Bathing the boy's white hair and gray eyes in brilliant Jin Guang.

Announcing that his dim, endless night had reached its end.

Hum—

The Sacred Scar ignited automatically at this moment, absorbing the morning light and the boy's resolve, faintly showing signs of further spread.

He gazed toward the direction of Shuangjing Wang Cheng and whispered: "Don't rush—I'll be there soon, heh…"

The boy rose to his full height, stretching his arms wide under the sunlight, as if embracing rebirth.

"My dear friends, you'll see me soon—see the 【Winged White Dove】 you speak of."

Recalling the derogatory nickname he'd heard from Blake, Herbert couldn't help laughing: "Heh, Wingless? What an interesting nickname."

Behind Herbert, the slowly spreading Sacred Scar faintly outlined a dim pattern… it seemed to be a pair of wings.

But gradually, the Sacred Scar dimmed again, finally returning to stillness.

Sacred power is slowly growing, but it has not yet fully matured.

It still lacks a moment.

Or…

A single moment of awakening.

While Herbert stood there, arms outstretched in his own "Shawshank Redemption," two Cardinal Bishops were whispering in the Judgment Hall.

With external enemies approaching, the monastery could not have no other contingency plans.

"Any results?"

The Knight Captain retracted a shadow, his expression shifting slightly as he slowly nodded: "Yes, we've confirmed all the heretics have been eliminated."

"Hss!"

Though he'd suspected this outcome, the Inquisitor-General still couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath at the confirmed news, rubbing his bald head, his heart filled with complex emotions.

"This kid… he actually pulled it off…"

When Herbert proposed this risky plan, the Inquisitor-General had strongly opposed it.

Simply because the plan was far too dangerous.

Fishing enforcement is fine—but only if you already possess the strength to resist being dragged into the water when the fish bites.

Otherwise, it's not you fishing the fish—it's the fish fishing you!

Drowned, helpless.

The Inquisitor-General didn't want his promising young man to perish due to arrogance and pride, so he fiercely opposed it.

But unexpectedly, the other two Cardinal Bishops all agreed with Herbert's proposal.

Two to one—minority yields to majority—and the proposal passed!

The Inquisitor-General immediately protested and appealed to the Daodazhu Sect—only to find even the Grand Bishop himself tacitly approved Herbert's reckless behavior.

"Let him try."

"Young people must be given room to make mistakes."

"Aren't you the same? Don't you think I need to remind you of your own youthful missteps?"

Under the assault of resurrected memories, the Inquisitor-General fled in panic, ultimately forced to tacitly approve Herbert's proposal.

But he hadn't given up entirely—he planned to intervene immediately if anything went wrong, then give that overconfident brat a thorough beating.

He must thoroughly knock some sense into Herbert, make him face reality clearly.

That child possesses such astonishing talent and admirable qualities—he absolutely cannot be ruined by arrogance.

And then…

Now, the one who had been harshly knocked back into reality was himself.

"Sigh!"

The Chief Judge shook his head, heaved a long sigh, and said helplessly, "That kid really did it. I never thought I'd live to see the day my own eyes failed me."

Ding-ling, ding-ling…

Bishop Rusty Nail shook his head, the motion setting off a clatter of rivets all over his body, and said calmly, "To be precise, it was they who did it."

"Those heretical creatures really did obey Herbert's commands and arrangements, just as he said, and wiped out every last one of the heretics that attacked."

After saying that, he lifted his eyelids slightly and added with a touch of disdain, "Besides, your judgment has never been any good—don't talk as if this is the one time you got it wrong."

"Hah, I won't stoop to your level."

The Chief Judge gave a snort of laughter and did not keep arguing the point, because he knew he could never out-talk his old friend.

On one hand, that damned nobleman's tongue was far too venomous; on the other, everything he said was the truth.

"Herbert really is full of surprises—he actually managed to begin civilizing those heretics… But even so, those were five Legends."

The Chief Judge couldn't help clicking his tongue at the mere thought of that lineup. Even if he himself had stepped in, it would have taken a tremendous amount of effort, and there was still a very good chance most of them would have escaped after a grueling fight.

He lamented, "Dead to the last one in a single night? That's faster than when our Tribunal's nuns get going!"

Bishop Rusty Nail's eyelid twitched at those words.

Hmm?

"…Wait, isn't your Tribunal only in charge of interrogations?"

The Knight Commander narrowed his eyes, his voice taking on a dangerous edge as he said, "Doesn't the execution of a sinner require the approval of two Cardinals?"

"Oh! Ah, cough cough! You know, accidents always happen during interrogation—tsk! You just mind your Knights and stop fussing over these trivial little details."

The Chief Judge coughed once and waved a hand, saying, "Besides, those people were all heretics weighed down with sin, and the Warden knows it too, so stop getting hung up on it."

"…"

The Knight Commander stared at the Chief Judge with dead-fish eyes for a good while, before finally shaking his head helplessly, letting out a sigh, and closing his eyes in agony.

This idiot.

Truly too painful to watch…

(End of this chapter)