Chapter 70: Priest

Dawn was breaking.

The sound of footsteps gradually rising on the street and the thin cooking smoke rising from the chimneys awakened the border town of Kalanfur, located in the southeast of the Servia Kingdom, from its sleep.

The howling rain and thunder that had lasted all night, accompanied by the dark clouds melting away with the night in the light of dawn, gradually ceased.

Xia Nan walked on the street with two swords on his back.

The moist and fresh air, carrying the scent of soil after the rain, poured into his nasal cavity with his breathing.

Making his already full and spirited spirit even more vigorous.

"Whoosh-flap."

A slight and obvious sound of wings flapping came from overhead.

Raising his eyebrows to look, a silver-white robin flew across the sky swiftly and nimbly.

It stopped on a raised eave nearby, quite leisurely grooming its feathers with its sharp beak.

Seeming to notice Xia Nan's gaze, it stopped its movements and stared at him blankly.

It tilted its head.

"Xia Nan, we're here."

Beside his ear came the Halfling's reminder.

He instantly came back to his senses, his gaze looking to the other side of the street.

That was a magnificent and spectacular church.

The off-white exterior walls were constructed from flat, smooth stone bricks, the flying buttresses supporting both sides revealed a sense of order in their complexity, and the towering spire stood beneath the firmament, scattering soft and conspicuous brilliant light in the morning sun.

Xia Nan marveled at the beauty of the church.

But at the same time, looking at the magnificent and huge building before him, a strange feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

The location they were in right now was already the town center of Kalanfur, and the houses on both sides of the road were clean and neat, with detached small buildings and large shops everywhere.

But compared to this church, they looked dusty.

The impression it gave him was like a modern glass skyscraper suddenly erected on a street piled with messy utility poles and dilapidated signs in the suburbs of a fifth-tier city in his previous life.

As if all the nutrition of the surrounding area, and even the entire town, had been absorbed and gathered here.

Out of place.

"This church is built... not bad."

With a somewhat inexplicable tone, Xia Nan sighed.

"Aren't they all like this?" The Halfling was not surprised, "Not every god is as indifferent as the Lady."

"Building this kind of place as magnificently as possible is also conducive to them harvesting... uh, collecting faith."

For the Halfling's words, which might sound offensive, the sheriff had no obvious reaction.

Just pretending not to hear, he walked in the front, carrying Jeff's stretcher with the guards.

Several people walked into the church.

Compared to its magnificent exterior, the interior structure and decoration of the building, while equally complex and elegant, showed a few more touches of refinement.

Thick walls supported the arched ceiling above, carved pillars fell from both sides, reddish-brown pews were arranged longitudinally, spotless, and the smooth, clean stone brick floor refracted the warm morning light, as if golden light had been laid on the ground.

And the most eye-catching thing was the huge stained-glass window in the front hall of the church, facing the main entrance.

The gorgeous but not messy colors flickered with dreamy luster under the glow of the dome, making people involuntarily cast their gaze toward the window as soon as they walked into the church—

That figure with a blurred face and long silver hair.

He held a heavy law book in his left hand and a simple-styled scale in his right.

Deep within the golden sun scattering endless brilliance behind him, one could faintly see the blurred outline of a castle.

"Sun God of Contract and Order, Amaunator."

Various symbols of power, which were extremely indicative, made Xia Nan recognize the identity of the person on the window at a glance.

Firmly remembering the other's image in his heart, his gaze followed the velvet carpet between the wooden pews, all the way forward.

What came into view was a middle-aged man with a kind face.

A yellow and red robe was bright and conspicuous, and the holy emblem of the golden sun was hung on his chest with a bright red silk ribbon.

The overall styling looked more like a judge than a priest.

His eyes were closed, his head slightly raised, and his lips were moving, as if he were performing worship.

He was not affected by the sound of footsteps coming from the door.

Devout and focused.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, after the worship ended, that he slowly opened his eyes.

His calm gaze swept over the group, and finally, with an inquiring meaning, stopped on Ingram at the front of the line.

The sheriff hurriedly took two steps forward and stopped at the steps beside the altar.

With his hands naturally hanging by his sides, he lowered his head:

"Sir, a townsperson suspected of being infected with undead power attacked the inn in town last night."

"A merchant who was resting there, and also my friend, was therefore eroded by negative energy, and I hope to receive the healing of the holy light."

Hearing this, the man who looked like a priest had a calm expression, his gaze crossing the sheriff and stopping on Jeff on the stretcher.

He nodded slightly:

"Very well."

He looked at Xia Nan and the other beside him, his language gentle:

"These two are..."

"They are adventurers traveling with the merchant."

Ingram replied.

"Thanks to them, a tragedy was avoided last night."

Hearing this, a smile with a sense of approval appeared on the priest's kind face, and he spoke slowly:

"The Lord's radiance will protect you, brave travelers."

Xia Nan nodded in response.

But he couldn't help but ponder in his heart.

Undoubtedly, this kind-hearted middle-aged man before him was the priest of this "Sun God" church.

Judging from his facial appearance, he was about forty years old?

Considering that supernatural power existed in this world and the other held such a special position.

His age should be even greater.

On the other hand, judging from the way the other communicated with the sheriff, the relationship between the two—

Perhaps... superior and subordinate?

While pondering, the priest had already walked down from the altar and came before the group.

He held a scepter made of reddish-brown wood in his right hand, with a yellow crystal the size of a baby's fist embedded at the top.

With a glance, Ingram understood and bent down, untying the bandage wrapped around Jeff's wound.

In an instant, accompanied by the pale bone shards and eye-stinging flesh and blood revealed before his eyes, a thick smell of blood permeated the air.

The priest's expression didn't change at all, just raising the scepter in his hand toward Jeff's severed leg.

Buzz—

Bright and gentle light rose brilliantly from the yellow crystal at the top of the scepter.

Almost instantly effective, the granulation tissue at Jeff's severed leg squirmed and knotted, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xia Nan stood to the side, his expression calm on the surface, but waves surged in his heart.

"Good grief, this effect is much better than a healing potion!"

His gaze instinctively looked at the middle-aged man with a gentle expression in front, guessing secretly:

"Professional?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 71 =====