Chapter 409: The Angel, the Dragon Maid, and the Nun

On this day, the believers of Radiant Shengcheng went mad.

They saw the Lord's angel walking among the mortal world.

The angel with crimson twin wings streaked past outside the Shengcheng, leaving a blood-red scar across the sky like a blade's edge.

After many years, the Battle Angel of the Sun God had once again descended from the divine kingdom to save the suffering of all living beings.

They cheered and rejoiced; they ran to spread the word.

It was as if the annual Sun Festival had arrived.

Lately, they had been in this state of excitement and agitation all along.

The Sun God, long absent, had stirred at last — manifesting a divine miracle and issuing an oracle.

And He had even dispatched His angel to help them clash with the minions of Miss Xie Shen.

He had not abandoned the world.

He had never given up on us foolish mortals!

The Lord above!

May radiance be eternal!

May the Lord of the Blazing Sun forever shelter us!

Moreover, because some people first saw the figure of the crimson giant dragon, and then the dragon suddenly vanished while the angel abruptly appeared… combining these, they naturally formed some associations.

They firmly believed that the angel who had appeared this time — His true form was a giant dragon of immensely massive size!

And very likely an ancient existence from legend!

The above… was what ordinary believers thought.

But the upper echelons, who truly had the qualifications to know the truth, understood that things were not so.

The Sun God had indeed stirred recently, but no one knew what the appearance of the blazing sun at the dead of night actually meant.

He had also not issued any oracle, nor told them to wage war against the Lieri Sect.

And the truth of the so-called "Lord's angel" was even more silencing.

They knew that it was not an angel sent down by the Sun God at all.

Then, should they explain it to them?

There was no need to explain, nor any necessity to.

From the very beginning, what they had wanted was for Mist Monastery to lend them that angel battle armor — the true purpose was actually to make the "angel" appear.

Now, although the process was not what they had imagined, the result still achieved the original goal, and was even a little better than what they had initially envisioned.

Moreover, it was not that they had figured it out — it was that the other party had directly admitted it themselves.

After appearing, the angel did not linger; it swiftly flew across the sky above the Shengcheng, and in the blink of an eye arrived before the Gao Ta where they were.

Perhaps because of the aura emitted by the crimson battle armor, the protective barrier of Radiant Shengcheng showed no reaction at all, tacitly permitting the "angel's" entry.

The angel gently landed upon the high platform of the Gao Ta.

Tap.

Then, without any riddles meant to mystify, the "angel" did not dawdle in the slightest, and directly raised a hand to the helmet.

As the helmet was removed, cascading snow-white long hair spilled out from within, radiating dazzling brilliance under the resplendent sunlight.

It even made the already sufficiently bright space shine all the more.

That handsome young angel, holding the helmet, gave a slight smile to the crowd whose expressions were somewhat dazed and bewildered.

He gave a small nod, and in a clear voice addressed everyone: "Brothers and sisters beneath the blazing sun, fearless warriors who resist the darkness — please allow me to pay you the highest respect."

"Herbert Albert, of Mist Monastery, answering the summons of an ally."

"I greet you all."

The youth's smile was incomparably brilliant and sunny, yet it made the heart of everyone who saw that smiling face suddenly clench.

Thump-thump!

As if they had sensed a threat, or as if their spirit had been seized by that handsome smile!

For a moment, no one actually spoke up.

"……"

The entire great hall fell into silence; every gaze was fixed tightly upon Herbert, staring without shifting for an instant.

This youth possessed a startling charm.

Not merely regarding appearance, but even more so in temperament — even in aura!

On this youth's person, they had actually faintly sensed the aura of "the Lord"!!?

He… was actually favored by the Blazing Sun?

And judging from the aura lingering on him, the grace he had received was even far more than that of the vast majority of those present.

Indeed, within the entire Shengcheng, those who could rival this favor were probably only the Sun Pope and a few God-Blessed.

An enviable grace.

He was one loved by the divine.

But… this was very wrong!

They could tell at a glance that Herbert was not a follower of the Sun God; there was none of that familiar feeling upon him.

Yet, this very "outsider" had actually received more of the Sun God's favor than they had!!?

What did this mean?

It meant that Herbert possessed an astonishing quality that could make the Sun God overlook His "irreverence"!

Perhaps talent, perhaps will, perhaps destiny… they could not know.

But no matter what, they could all be clear of one fact — it was not that Herbert had chosen the Sun God, but that the Sun God had chosen Herbert.

Even if you do not believe in me, I will still bestow my blessing upon you.

Clearly, Herbert carries significant secrets, but they could not easily probe into them.

This envy-inducing, even jealousy-provoking favor, if granted to any Sun God devotee, would be enough to make him a true Chosen of the Divine.

No…

Even if Herbert is not a devotee of the Sun God, he is still a Chosen of the Divine.

Undoubtedly!

The favor of the gods is tyrannical; whether you accept it or not, They do not care.

Not all gods are as reasonable as the Ice Goddess, who would first ask Herbert whether he wished to become their Chosen—and if not, then forget it.

In most cases, the gods choose mortals as their Chosen without considering the mortal's feelings.

My favor is upon you—what does that have to do with you?

Whether you accept it or not, you are forced to accept this favor.

If it is the favor of a righteous god, it grants the Chosen special abilities.

But if it is the "favor" of a False God, the outcome may be entirely different—they will be forced onto a twisted path full of thorns.

……

Everyone stared at Herbert in silence for a long while, and Herbert made no move to speak, quietly waiting for them.

"Cough, cough."

The first to recover was the Citadel's Warden, who cleared his throat twice and gave Herbert a slight nod.

"You… uh, brother of the monastery, welcome to your arrival."

He quickly recovered from his initial shock, regaining his usual composure, and smiled helplessly at Herbert: "You've caused quite a commotion."

After learning Herbert's identity, he connected it to all the previous mysteries.

They now knew which faction the giant dragon belonged to—it was truly one of their own!

Not a self-inflicted ploy by the False God, but reinforcements summoned by their own side.

It's just that they didn't consult us first—they went straight to the front lines and slaughtered wildly.

Herbert shrugged and smiled softly: "All for justice."

He offered no further explanation for why he made those "possible" dangerous moves that might escalate the war.

He merely made one point clear—that everything he did was solely to eliminate more False God's minions.

Yes, everything I have done is for justice.

My heart and deeds are as clear as a mirror; all I have done is for justice!

When has Herbert ever had even a hint of selfish intent?

Never!

"I see…" The Warden, hearing Herbert's reply, found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Should he rebuke him?

That was clearly impossible.

After all, what Herbert did was merely fulfilling the duty of a normal Holy Knight.

From this perspective, there was nothing to criticize.

Then, should he praise him?

Logically, they ought to commend Herbert for "repelling the False God's minions" and rescuing his comrades.

But emotionally, everyone present was reluctant to do so.

The appearance of the Crimson Dragon had disrupted their original plan, rendering many subsequent preparations impossible.

According to the original plan, they intended to continue luring the enemy deeper, seeking an opportunity to deliver a devastating blow to the Nieyu Sect.

Although this might cost the lives of some devotees, it was still acceptable compared to the ultimate goal.

"This…"

The atmosphere grew awkward again; the Warden hesitated, not speaking immediately.

Herbert naturally sensed the oddness.

But he saw through it and said nothing, making no inquiry.

If you're going to play dumb, play it fully.

Herbert did not boast about his "achievements"; instead, he asked with visible concern: "My lord, have I done something wrong?"

Yet he did not reflect on whether his actions had been too reckless; he thought in the most "simple-minded" way possible.

"Oh! I understand—I know where I went wrong!"

"Is it because we didn't kill enough enemies? Do we need to eradicate them completely? Is that it!"

Without caring how others reacted, Herbert nodded with an expression of sudden realization.

Is it because I didn't kill enough? Is it because I didn't kill thoroughly enough?

Though Herbert did not say it aloud, his expression and gestures made one thing clear—he would return immediately, at the first command, and send them all to their deaths!

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The Warden's brow twitched—he immediately realized something.

This damn fool is also a killer.

The Mist Monastery was regarded by many organizations as a conservative faction.

They never meddled in conflicts between divine sects; they acted only to eliminate evil, quietly fulfilling their duty by guarding sealed artifacts.

The Sun Church, however, was regarded among the righteous sects as an extremist faction.

These extremists, who could not tolerate even a speck of evil, loved nothing more than eradicating evil utterly, wishing to wipe out the entire evil force.

But at this moment, the conservative Herbert felt that this group of extreme sun-worshippers was a bit too conservative.

The extremists thought the conservatives were too extreme, and the conservatives thought the extremists were too conservative.

This was truly magical realism.

"Cough, cough!"

The guard captain coughed, quickly cutting off Herbert's "enlightenment," and said in a low voice, "There's no need for that. You have already done more than enough; now you need to rest."

"We have long since prepared a place for you to rest."

This was also the heartfelt wish of the others.

Just obediently go rest!

Stop stirring up trouble, especially stop disrupting our plans!

"Since you say so, then thank you for your consideration."

Herbert did not refuse, nodded slightly, and calmly accepted the guard captain's kindness: "But before that, please allow my companions to enter the Shengcheng as well."

The guard captain nodded lightly and said instinctively, "That giant dragon? As for it… wait, companions?"

Those who came this time were not only Herbert and that giant dragon, but also others?

And experts at that?

Thinking this, his mind stirred, and his gaze fell upon the Shengcheng's gate, where some commotion was now appearing.

At the gate at this moment, many people were looking at the three figures outside the city.

His gaze first caught the two at the back — those two figures, one tall and one short, both wearing traditional-style nun's habits of the monastery.

Although their figures were not conspicuous, and the nun's habits also covered the vast majority of exposed skin, these two nuns possessed an unusual charm that made one unable to resist letting one's gaze fall upon them.

However, even though these two beautiful figures already possessed charm enough to draw the eye, the gaze of the vast majority of people at this moment fell upon the figure walking at the very front.

It was a spirited maid with a tall, slender figure, her bright red hair simply tied into a single ponytail behind her head.

Wait, why is she a maid?

"Hm!?"

The guard captain squinted at Valentina, sensed the aura on her, and understood that this was the human form of that crimson giant dragon.

Why was that crimson giant dragon, which possessed epic-level strength, currently dressed as a maid?

Huh?

Although his heart was full of confusion, the guard captain, who had seen much of the world, still held back. He did not act rashly, but instead turned his gaze to the two figures behind Valentina.

"Who are they?"

On the figures of those two nuns, he sensed a faint, elusive abyssal aura — they were probably not good sorts either.

"They are my servants."

Herbert spoke calmly, saying softly, "I know the doubts in your hearts. They are indeed not ordinary humans, but rather alien races from the Abyss."

"They once committed mistakes, but have already recognized their own errors, and are now striving to cleanse the sins upon themselves."

"I have brought them along this time also in the hope of letting the radiance of the Lord of Blazing Sun shine upon them, to further purify the sins upon them."

After Herbert finished saying this, he raised his head and looked at the crowd present, whose expressions varied.

Obviously, not everyone could accept his explanation; they instinctively showed resistance toward the bloodline of the Abyss.

But perhaps because of Herbert's "angel identity," even so, these people did not act rashly, and still turned their gazes toward the guard captain, awaiting his decision.

Thus, Herbert also looked toward the guard captain, gave him a slight nod, and asked, "Is it acceptable?"

"After having destroyed so many of Miss Xie Shen's minions, can they qualify to enter the city?"

Is this qualification enough?

"…"

Facing the gazes of Herbert and the crowd, the guard captain, who held the deciding power, fell silent, his brows tightly furrowed.

"They…"

(End of this chapter)