Chapter 390: 【Self-Redemption】

The arrogance and self-importance that were originally faintly revealed have now turned into panic and hesitation; Xia Duo can feel the struggle in the other's heart, but he feels not a shred of sympathy.

Regardless of what the other's true purpose is, it is ultimately tainted with shadows; could one really expect him to sympathize with a potential enemy? And just as the other's expression gradually returned to calm, Xia Duo glanced at Laidun, signaling him to speak; having long since received his Indication, Laidun immediately summoned a mass of Holy Light, enveloping the surroundings, and demanded:

"Holy Words and Holy Deeds, do not lose my heart! Ke'er, I represent Lord Xia Duo to question you: do you harbor evil intentions toward Daxia Territory?"

"I do not!" Ke'er answered quickly, almost subconsciously blurting it out.

But faster still was the feedback of the Holy Power; the moment after he said "I do not," a large expanse of Holy Light surged from Ke'er's body and dissipated into the surroundings, rendering this interrogation scene quite sacred.

Holy Power originates from the bestowal of the Lord of Radiance and is the result of one's own practice of the Doctrine, but it is also the result of "Faith"; once Faith is shaken, the Holy Power reacts immediately.

"He lied!" Laidun whispered.

Being a Cleric and lying under the witness of the Radiance Will naturally causes the Holy Power to dissipate, not to mention that there might be circumstances behind this answer that violate the Doctrine; Laidun glanced at Xia Duo, asking whether to continue.

Xia Duo certainly wanted to continue; since the other party had the intent to be an enemy and had clearly violated the Doctrine, and even delivered himself to their doorstep, how could there be any reason not to continue!

Thus, Laidun continued to ask: "Ke'er, do you knowingly ignore the Doctrine despite knowing where it lies?"

"I, I—" Ke'er's expression changed drastically, finally realizing something was wrong, but at this moment, being within the Holy Light, he could not help but answer; various thoughts battled in Ke'er's mind, and finally, he gritted his teeth and squeezed an answer through his teeth, "Yes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, he immediately fled the area covered by the Holy Light, leaving behind a trail of dissipating Holy Power in his wake.

Just after running out of the area covered by the Holy Light, Ke'er plopped to his knees on the ground, continuously chanting the Sacred Proverbs of the Lord of Radiance, completely ignoring that Xia Duo and Laidun were still nearby.

"What is wrong with him?" Xia Duo asked curiously.

"He is undergoing Jiusu."

Seeing this scene, Laidun also felt a bit uneasy; watching a fellow Cleric of the Lord of Radiance fall before his eyes, he had not expected the Domain of Honesty to have such an effect.

Thinking of this, he could not help but glance at Lord Xia Duo; the Lord had just instructed him to interrogate Ke'er regarding his Faith—could it be that the Lord had already foreseen this?

Xia Duo certainly could not have foreseen anything in advance; he just wanted to use this to conduct an experiment. After all, for him, Clerics were an entirely different system, and some experiments were not suitable to try on Laidun, but it did not matter with an enemy.

And this time, he had also roughly grasped some keys; if it were not in Daxia Territory, perhaps there would not be such a good effect, as the Doctrine of the Lord of Radiance says to obey the ruler, which also includes him, the local Lord.

Of course, the prerequisite for all this was that Ke'er himself truly had areas where he violated the Doctrine, and he had to know that he had misinterpreted it; if he misinterpreted it without knowing, Xia Duo was not sure if it would still be effective.

However, if one truly misinterpreted the Doctrine, perhaps one could still obtain Holy Power, but one could never reach Divine Vigilance; in other words, one would get stuck once reaching a certain level and could not advance further.

And from another perspective, Xia Duo also discovered that this so-called Doctrine actually has a large margin for error; what a Cleric should truly align with is the Holy Power, not the Doctrine.

After all, the Doctrine is also written and defined by people, while the Holy Power is the most direct link between the Cleric and the god.

In just a moment, Xia Duo had insight into the little secrets regarding Holy Power and Clerics; however, being able to be discovered by him, perhaps this was not a secret at all, which inevitably made him think of conspiracy theories again.

But even if there was a conspiracy, it was too far from him; for now, how to deal with this Ke'er was still a bit of a headache! Jiusu?

Is it a charlatan's trick to deceive others and himself? Or is it truly the case? Just watching Ke'er, who was continuously chanting the Sacred Proverbs, Xia Duo also discovered that the Holy Light dissipating from his body was no longer directly vanishing, and there were faint signs of it re-condensing.

Xia Duo could not make up his mind for a moment; logically, cutting him down with a blade would be the most direct way, but cutting him down would mean a complete break. He had not even figured out what the Rodney Territory behind Ke'er was all about, so naturally, he could not be so reckless.

Furthermore, Xia Duo had another concern: up to now, everything he had done was still justified, but killing a Cleric might get him a mark from the one in the heavens, and he did not intend to do that for the time being.

Instructing Laidun to bring a squad of soldiers to watch over Ke'er, who was still undergoing Jiusu, Xia Duo returned to the small tent and contacted Aiboke; for such matters, one should consult an experienced elder.

However, the next moment, Aiboke actually teleported over directly, "Where is that Ke'er you mentioned?"

"Right outside, next to the Altar."

Xia Duo flipped open the tent flap and walked out of the small tent first, and Aiboke also walked out; in front of the small tent was the Altar Square, where a person looking like a Priest was kneeling on the ground, surrounded by Laidun and a squad of soldiers who were off-duty today.

"The Territory is built quite well!" Aiboke looked around and praised, then came to the Altar.

At this time, Ke'er had still not stood up, but the Holy Light that had been diffusing around his body had completely converged; Xia Duo heard that he had already chanted to the final part of the Proverbs.

"My Lord, may your order be done on earth as it is in heaven; glory and holiness, all belong to you!"

Aiboke also quietly watched Ke'er finish the last sentence without any urging; who could not feel awe for the Lord of Radiance! Soon, Ke'er stood up from the ground, completely ignoring the soldiers who were pointing their Long Spears at him; he fixed his gaze on Xia Duo, his eyes calm.

It was different!

The moment Ke'er stood up, Xia Duo realized that the other party was different from before; his demeanor was composed, without a trace of arrogance or self-importance, and even less of any panic or hesitation.

It was as if he had become a different person! This is Jiusu? This is too exaggerated! Xia Duo was greatly shocked; he had not considered at all the possibility that Ke'er was acting the whole time—at the cost of Holy Power and Faith, letting the Lord of Radiance accompany him to act?

This is absolutely impossible!

Then this Jiusu is truly terrifying!

For a moment, Xia Duo could not think of what to say, and Ke'er had already spoken, "Lord Xia Duo, I apologize to you for my previous mistakes; Rodney Lord has designs on the Green Pearl Forest, please forgive me!"

After saying this, he stopped speaking, just looking straight at Xia Duo, without any emotional fluctuations.

(End of chapter)