Chapter 155: The Goddess's Peeping (Bonus Chapter 1112)

Snowflakes drifted through the sky.

But those crystalline crystals did not carry away the thick fog of the Mist Mountains; the two met with a clear, distinct boundary, not the slightest bit mingling.

Herbert pulled Valentina from behind him to his chest, letting her sleep more comfortably in his embrace.

"Huu…"

This was Herbert's tenderness.

Absolutely no "wanting to use Valentina as a dragon-meat shield or battering ram" kind of despicable thoughts!

Absolutely none!

He did not choose the safe road leading to the Mist Monastery, but rashly took a different path, setting out in another direction.

Perhaps because Valentina was releasing dragon's might at every moment, in the first hour or so Herbert did not encounter any danger.

To be precise, he did not even encounter a single living creature.

All the creatures hiding in the thick fog fled at the first sign upon sensing the legendary dragon's might, scattering in all directions.

For others, entering the Mist Mountains was an adventure, a fight for survival, staking their lives to trade for wealth.

But for Herbert, this exploration was nothing more than a stroll.

Just like going home.

"Hmph~ hmph~ ha~ uh~ ah~ ah~"

He hummed a lullaby, gently patted Valentina's back, soothing the child as he swayed deeper into the thick fog.

But he was not blindly wanting to charge straight into the deepest part of the fog in one go.

That would be pure suicide.

After so long, no one knew what the hell was hidden in the depths of the fog — not even Nie Nasha was sure.

This was indeed the remnant of Her divine kingdom, but She had been imprisoned for over a thousand years and had long lost Her perception of this place.

And what remained most abundantly in the divine kingdom's remnant was the divinity She had shed.

Divinity is the most wondrous energy in this world, and the root of a god's power.

It is the source of all divine power, the origin of every miracle.

It is like a special energy containing infinite might and infinite profundity, the foundation that drives the gods.

But not only gods possess divinity; in this world, creatures that possess divinity are not few.

When a mortal obtains divinity and is not destroyed by that terrifying power, successfully merging with it… then it will completely cross the threshold of mortals and ascend to another level.

A divine being!

They possess strength far surpassing mortals, and can also create miracles to a limited extent.

Divine descendants, divine favorites, evil entities, vengeful spirits, acquired divine beings…

The divinity they obtain either comes directly from a god's bestowal, or is taken from the corpses of some ancient beings, or is luckily picked up from an item imbued with divinity.

Fate is wondrous and free; all manner of things can happen.

It is even possible for a descendant of a divine bloodline to unexpectedly undergo atavism at some point in time, obtaining the same concentration of divinity as the first-generation divine descendant — such an outlandish thing.

Before all things are settled, anything is possible.

And because the natures of various divinities differ, the power that divinity bearers can unleash is also not the same.

Various elemental powers, combat abilities, spellcasting abilities, law abilities…

Well then, now you can take a guess.

In a place saturated with divinity, what kind of monsters could a thousand years possibly breed?

The answer is — anything is possible.

Because gods themselves are the most unreasonable of miracles, so it is reasonable for any strange thing to appear.

Although he had Valentina as his bodyguard and fighter, he was well aware that the hungry dragon Young Lady was not invincible under heaven.

He could act recklessly, but not too recklessly.

Herbert's actual goal this time was to find another natural harbor in the Mist Mountains and set the base's location there.

For the current situation, the cost of land transport was too great.

If Herbert's stronghold could possess a harbor, transporting resources by sea would make many things exceptionally convenient.

Although the Mist Mountains were bordered by sea on three sides, two of those sides were sheer cliffs with reefs beneath the water, not suitable for ships to dock.

Only the sea on the Mist Monastery's side was relatively calm, with extremely deep water — a natural ice-free harbor.

But he definitely couldn't brazenly prance right under the monastery's nose; that would purely be asking for a beating — at least not for now.

In fact, Herbert had always harbored a very dangerous idea in his heart, planning to absorb the entire monastery into the future divine church system of Nie Nasha…

There's one ready-made, can we, ah, right?

Very bold, but it didn't seem entirely impossible?

Of course, this matter was a goal that required heavy lifting and a long road; it couldn't be easily attempted in the short term.

This kind of undermining-the-monastery business simply couldn't be rushed.

In order not to provoke the Archbishop and other high-level members, Herbert could only slowly develop his lower ranks first.

The reformation of Sister Kaplan was going fairly well; her attitude toward Valentina had already improved a great deal, and presumably her attitude toward other monster girls would change in the future as well.

As for the other holy knights, Herbert had not deliberately instilled in them the notion that "monster girls aren't bad."

That would be too deliberate and easily provoke backlash.

Instead, he chose to strengthen his prestige in their hearts.

For the nuns, raise affection; for the holy knights, raise prestige.

In the hearts of those holy knight big brothers, Herbert had already transformed from "a young holy knight with only extremely high talent" into an entirely different image.

Now, in their hearts Herbert was already a heroic figure who "in just one short month had driven the evil nobles of the entire kingdom into a corner, making them struggle in their death throes."

Yes, exactly—a hero.

Herbert had kept the Holy Knights confined to the slums for over half a month, just so they could witness firsthand everything the people of the Frost Crystal Kingdom endured.

He never deliberately told them what their enemies looked like; instead, he gave them the chance to see for themselves.

Let them see what kind of life these people lead, and make them believe all Frost Crystal nobles are evil.

Herbert wants them to understand—that even though I have slaughtered noble families to the last, my actions are entirely just.

Everything I have done is for the poor and suffering, everything is to give them a better life.

Eradicate evil, defend justice.

Through slaughter, perform righteous deeds.

In the name of justice, carry out destruction.

If handled well, these two can be indistinguishable.

This is only the first time, and already such results have been achieved; there will be a second, a third…

Once the number is sufficient, no manipulation will be needed—they will naturally believe everything Herbert says.

They will not even think they have been manipulated.

Because all of it was witnessed with their own eyes!

If all one's deeds are just, then one's heart and actions must be as clear as a bright mirror.

Although there is yet no unified title, Herbert's designation among the Holy Knights has already begun to shift subtly.

From "Lord Herbert" toward 【Crimson Knight】, 【Eye of Judgment】, 【Wings of Vengeance】…

These titles remain undecided, because Herbert has not done enough yet—not enough to earn a title that convinces everyone.

But Herbert is not in a hurry; he believes that one day he will surely earn a title filled with reverence, like others.

As Herbert contemplated his future plans, he kept walking, striding forward through the mist.

He took the straightest possible path between two points, heading straight for his destination.

He could have had Valentina drop him directly at the port, but his main goal this time was to first scout a safe and reliable route.

If a path could be traversed only by him alone, it would have no reference value.

He aims to build a secluded paradise capable of normal communication with the outside world—not an island hidden deep within the mist.

After walking for several hours, having covered one-third of the journey, Herbert gradually slowed his pace, frowning at what lay ahead.

"This is…"

Before him appeared an unexpected situation.

A lake.

A vast lake stretched before him, boundless, blocking his path.

The water was deep blue, showing no sign of life; five meters from shore, it plunged sharply into darkness, turning black-blue, the bottom utterly invisible.

"What's going on here?"

Herbert compared his previously drawn map with his memory of the route, certain beyond doubt that this lake had not existed here before.

In his planning, this lake should have been to his left—he had deliberately avoided it.

Did I get lost?

Herbert frowned, thought for a moment, then shook his head, dismissing self-doubt.

"No, impossible."

"I never get lost in darkness—how could I stray in mist?"

"Did my trajectory veer left today?"

Herbert chuckled bitterly, joking: "But surely the lake didn't grow legs and walk over here? That'd be ridiculous… sss."

He fell silent, his brow twitching involuntarily.

Come to think of it—hey, don't say that.

In this world, such absurd things aren't entirely impossible.

"Nie Nasha, can you sense anything alive in the water?"

【"…"】

The Harmonic God, unusually serious, sensed carefully for a long while, then whispered: 【"There's something… possibly related to me, but I sense no malice from it now."】

Herbert also sensed the water—but felt only joy.

The water element here was abnormally vibrant, even more so than the water Fu Leimei controlled, constantly responding to Herbert's summons, calling him into the water.

(Come!)

(Friend, come here.)

(Join us!)

(Hurry!)

Herbert felt no malice from the water element, but he resisted this urgent, relentless calling.

It felt like the start of a horror story.

"Maybe I should just turn back?"

【"…No, no need, hehe."】

After a long hesitation, Nie Nasha finally exhaled, smiling with deep meaning: 【"Oh~ So it's this!"】

【"Alright, I know what's inside. Go ahead— if you're lucky, you might gain quite a few benefits."】

"Hmph."

Herbert rolled his eyes, grumbling: "You just have to drag it out, don't you? You mysterious bastard!"

【"I'm not pretending—I'm a god, after all~"】

"Shut up. A sealed god has no right to speak."

【"Heh!"】

Herbert bickered with Nie Nasha while carefully prying the Sceptile off himself.

He set Valentina down gently on a patch of grass nearby, took off his outer shirt, and draped it over her.

"Mm? Mm… haaah…"

Valentina surfaced for a brief moment of clarity, but the reassuring scent filling her nose let her clutch the garment and quickly drift back into deep sleep.

And her reaction put Herbert's mind somewhat at ease.

The fact that she could fall asleep so peacefully proved this eerie lake water posed no threat to the intuitively sharp Valentina.

So even if something really did go wrong, it probably wouldn't matter, right?

Herbert pulled off his tall boots, rolled up his trouser legs, and tentatively stepped into the lake water.

!!!

A powerful surge of vitality flowed up from the cool lake water—rising from his feet, shooting through both legs, and spreading through his entire body—drawing an involuntary breath from Herbert.

"Haaah…"

(Friend!)

(Good friend!)

(Walk further ahead!)

Feeling the ever more joyful summons, Herbert's smile grew more sincere as he said softly, "Hehe, no rush."

He did not immediately follow the water element's call forward, but stood in place, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing.

What Herbert did not know—and what even Nie Nasha failed to notice—was that while he stood quietly regulating his breath in the lake water, a pair of ice-cold eyes had been watching him for quite some time.

Snowflakes drifted down.

A petite humanoid figure condensed from ice and snow appeared on a distant high mountain by the lake. Her gaze crossed several kilometers, pierced through the mist, and from on high… secretly observed Herbert's every move.

The moment Herbert entered the Mist Mountains, fine snowflakes had begun to fall from the sky, and that dark cloud had been chasing him the whole way.

If he had known more about the Xuenushen Sect, he would have noticed this point—the snowflakes are the goddess's eyes.

"If She wishes, every snowflake can become Her eye, an extension of Her domain."

The Snow Goddess has turned her gaze upon him!

"That mortal…"

Ordinarily, She would not come to this place, because it represents the existence of a certain taboo.

But at this moment, the Snow Goddess would rather risk it than look away.

The reason was simple.

She was somewhat annoyed.

In fact, without exaggeration or bias, citing only the historical records—most female deities are quite the grudge-holders.

As the most powerful females in this world, their more delicate minds make them pay greater attention to small details of certain matters.

The Snow Goddess was somewhat annoyed at that human boy who had dragged out a saint in her own temple to threaten Her bishop.

But at the same time, She was also somewhat curious about why he wanted to help Her expand Her faith.

You provoke Me, then offer Me tribute—what exactly do you mean?

Mortal, you have successfully caught a goddess's attention!

So She was willing to risk being noticed by other deities, just to observe this boy closely.

But She never expected that, the moment She began watching, She would discover Herbert had walked right into the Mist Mountains in such a suicidal manner.

Is he trying to get himself killed?

"…What on earth have you come to this dangerous place to do?"

The Snow Goddess was still pondering when she saw a massive purple tentacle shoot out of the lake water, lunging toward Herbert.

"Mortal!?"

Bonus update progress: (12/94)

Three updates today, but still ten thousand characters—better emotional flow, and friendlier to average subscribers.

Monthly tickets have hit 5000, officially entering the 50-ticket-per-extra-chapter phase. Begging for monthly tickets—

Some of you may have missed it: I've decided that the last week of this month will be daily updates of twelve thousand characters.

……

Recommendation: "Tokyo, But I'm a Lying Scumbag Fox"

Though the premise is a bit cliché, the plot is light and fun, the protagonist's personality is vivid, the cons are cleverly designed, and reading it feels unexpectedly comfortable—it's a fox story~

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(End of chapter)