Chapter 446: The Sword Saint

Outside Dusk City, green banners surrounded the city walls so tightly that even standing on the highest tower and looking out, one could not see the end of the military formation.

The soldiers on the city walls couldn't help but swallow hard, the citizens in the city had faces filled with despair, and those commoners outside the city had simply given up struggling, either being dragged into the Green Forest Army's ranks or becoming the latter's reserve rations.

Uprisings in this forest had always been like this.

If this fire didn't burn until nine out of ten houses were empty, if it didn't kill until rivers of blood flowed, it would never stop.

Looking at the massive army outside the city, the Viceroy, Baron Alaric, had a face full of sorrow and prayed silently in his heart.

Saint Xisi above...

At this moment, besides praying and waiting, he had no other way...

Outside the city, in the Green Forest Army's camp, the high-spirited men in green headscarves were building fires to cook.

"Quartermaster" Silas was looking at the map with an expressionless face, staring at the northern wall of Dusk City as if pondering something.

At this moment, a cloaked figure appeared silently behind him and said in a hoarse, shrill voice.

"Aka is dead, in the Wheat Field Village area of Sparrow Wood Fief... He was killed by the Sword Saint Gangte."

Beneath the cloak was a cunning, treacherous rat face, with cold, vicious glints flickering in its two mung-bean-like eyes.

Yet in front of this Quartermaster, it was as docile and obedient as a hamster.

There was no other reason.

It was only because the human thing in front of him was someone who had passed the Trial of Greed, and a God-Chosen designated by the "Gluttonous Rat" Geluo.

Under the orders of the Gluttonous Rat, the "Rotten Flesh" clan entrenched in the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain would follow his greedy sacrifice and complete the great ritual to please the Gluttonous Rat.

And the so-called "Gluttonous Rat" Geluo was exactly the alias of "Claw of Eternal Hunger" Uergeosi in the Ratman Kingdom.

They were one and the same.

This was also the real reason why the Green Forest Army's supplies had never been interrupted.

It wasn't because they could scrape up grain that even the lords couldn't, nor was it because they were more valiant in battle than their fellow countrymen; it was simply because they had a backer greater than the Kingdom standing behind them.

And as Silas's secret support, the Rotten Flesh clan not only transported grain and weapons to the former's army through underground tunnels, but also dispatched the clan's elite "Plague Tooth Assassins" to the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng to assist the former in intelligence activities, and planned a series of sabotage actions including kidnapping, poisoning, and so on.

The power of a single province could not possibly be their match, and the foolish King was turning a blind eye and indulging this great fire...

However, they had encountered trouble after all, and it was even greater trouble than Princess Ailin Campbell.

The Sword Saint had entered the fray.

After listening to the Plague Tooth Assassin's report, Silas's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Gangte, huh? It's that guy again... Our 'Butcher' Malaji seems to have died at his hands as well."

The Plague Tooth Assassin lowered its head.

"Exactly."

Three of the twelve leaders were already dead, and there was also a defector who had betrayed the True God.

Yet Silas wasn't panicked at all; instead, the corners of his mouth curled into a meaningful smile.

The logic by which Chaos Apostles obtained power was completely different from that of Saint Xisi's believers.

For instance, the apostles of the Mist of Deceit needed to weave vast conspiracies to shroud more people, while the apostles of the Claw of Eternal Hunger needed to incite greater and more extreme oppression.

Only with oppression could there be resistance.

Whether the oppression was passively endured or actively generated under their provocation, there was no difference in the result; both could inject them with power from the Void.

Including himself, the twelve "Apostles" chosen by the ritual were all sacrifices.

Whether it was Gangte or the Campbells, the more they killed, the stronger the power of Chaos would be on this land!

When they have killed until only one apostle remains, or perhaps when they have slaughtered all twelve apostles... at that moment, the true Chaos Chosen will descend upon this land.

Therefore, Silas wished that Gangte and Princess Ailin would kill more; it would be best if they killed everyone, killing all the apostles except for him!

Especially if they killed that "Green Headscarf" Unlike Kailan; the Empire would soon see a Purple Crystal-tier apostle, and then like a bumpkin, exclaim that this was impossible!

By comparison, for Uergeosi's plan, that "Saintess Kalian" who didn't play by the rules was instead the greatest threat.

And, that "wasted" sacrifice, "Iron Bull" Bulunnan, was the most regrettable.

Silas even began to suspect that that guy wasn't a God-Chosen of Saint Xisi at all, but another force intervening in the situation of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng.

But who could it be?

It couldn't be Hell...

They were indeed driving the undead, but the talk of that Holy Spirit and the Sword Saint's attitude made him unable to make up his mind.

Silas pondered for a long time without an answer, and finally decided to start from the problem itself.

He turned and looked at the Plague Tooth Assassin kneeling on one knee, and said in a gentle voice.

"... Apostle of the Rotten Flesh clan, I need you to help me do one thing."

"What thing."

A flash of severity crossed Silas's eyes.

"Finish her."

The Ratman assassin was slightly surprised and looked up at him.

"Isn't she your sacrifice?"

"That is correct. We did indeed grant her a glorious mission at the beginning, permitting her to join the Great True God's Divine Kingdom as a martyr or a submissive, but unfortunately... Aka, who went to persuade her, died halfway."

Silas nodded, speaking in a tone tinged with a hint of regret, as if he had made some difficult decision.

"Perhaps she and we were not fated. We can only change our approach and send her, obsessed and unrepentant, to meet her false god."

The Sword Saint having arrived in Sparrow Wood Fief was a problem.

But since he hadn't gone to see that "Saintess" and instead chose to camp in Wheat Field Village, dozens of kilometers away, he must also be suspicious of the so-called "Saintess" identity.

Since that was the case, let the Ratman assassins go first.

They would never have any misgivings.

In Sparrow Wood Castle, Luo Yan, sitting before the desk, opened his eyes, his bright pupils filled with surprise.

"... Sword Saint?!"

On my turf?!

He had indeed noticed the stone inn in Wheat Field Village and that swordsman carrying a greatsword, but he had never connected this person to the legendary Rock Sword Saint.

After all, the span was indeed too large; no one would ever think that a man looking like a mercenary would actually have the strength of a demigod!

Luo Yan had seen demigods from the Empire in the Holy City, such as the famous Marshal Lako; that guy's aura and presence were far too high.

Furthermore, the weirdos who had come to Wheat Field Village during this period weren't just that guy; there were plenty of people with faces full of stories.

There were down-and-out nobles pretending to be refugees, farmers pretending to be nobles to swindle people, and even guys claiming to be the "Son of God" himself or the "Second Saintess."

The targets he paid attention to, directly or indirectly, were not just that greatswordsman alone.

Once order was lost on a piece of land, all sorts of monsters and demons would breed.

Just as Luo Yan was thinking quietly, You You's anxious voice and that milky-white fog emerged together.

"Lord Demon King! Something terrible has happened, the Sword Sword Sword Saint is now only dozens of kilometers away from you! What should we do!"

"What are you panicking about? Isn't there still dozens of kilometers?" Luo Yan glanced at You You floating beside him and said calmly.

Although he was indeed a bit panicked inside, it didn't prevent his face from still wearing an expression of indifference.

Actually...

There was nothing to panic about in the first place.

That Sword Saint had already been living in Wheat Field Village for almost a month; if he really had any ideas, he wouldn't have waited until now.

It was fortunate that he had played it safe just now and hadn't directly used the "Butterfly of Myriad Phenomena" to teleport over.

Otherwise, if he had flashed onto the Sword Saint's face, he would have had to put back on the "Prince Kelin" disguise he had just taken off.

As for not taking action, that was impossible; he would have to enter the fray himself if at most half of the players died. After all, no matter how important the players' gaming experience was, he couldn't let the Chaos Apostles slaughter his people.

But having said that, this demigod-level Sword Saint's strength was a bit awesome; he actually took out this Chaos God-Chosen in one move.

He didn't even use his Domain!

One had to know that that was a Chaos God-Chosen; in terms of pure strength, they were much stronger than peers under the Saint Xisi belief system.

"... But Lord Demon King, what if that Sword Saint comes knocking?" Seeing that the Demon King was indifferent, You You couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Luo Yan replied calmly.

"What's the rush? Isn't there still the Saintess."

You You: "... But, that's a demigod, sigh? She's just an ordinary person; can she handle it?"

Luo Yan smiled faintly and said calmly.

"She probably couldn't handle it before, but after my training... she has no more problems."

Being an ordinary person would instead become an advantage.

Her soul didn't have his mark; let alone the Sword Saint, even Saint Xisi himself couldn't see anything.

And that Sword Saint was very polite to ordinary people; in this point, he was a bit like himself.

If lucky, she might even be able to win the Sword Saint over to the Salvation Army's side, or at least help them resolve some obstacles.

You You looked in surprise at the Demon King, who looked calm and as if everything was under control, and a feeling of admiration couldn't help but arise spontaneously.

Worthy of being Lord Demon King.

He's going to hide behind a woman again...

With the death of the "Executioner" Aka, the rebels outside Wheat Field Village, fearing the Sword Saint's reputation, threw down their weapons and surrendered one after another; however, anyone could see the forbearance behind that fear.

It was obvious that they hadn't repented for their crimes; they just felt that they were going to die, so they took off the headscarves on their heads.

How to deal with these nearly five thousand captives became the problem that followed.

Some players suggested bean-pasting them to turn them into ghouls, which was safest and could also earn some experience, but the vast majority of players felt this was too extreme; after all, these NPCs were quite human-like, and it would be a pity to kill them.

But no matter what ideas they came up with, it ultimately depended on the Saintess's wishes, and the Saintess asked her behind-the-scenes Son of God for instructions.

The merciful Flame King pondered a little and decided to give these ordinary people, blinded by Chaos, a chance.

Outside Wheat Field Village, at the logging site near the river, nearly five thousand people squatted on the open ground, looking around in panic.

At this moment, they were like cattle and sheep on the sacrificial altar, having lost all the appearance of showing off their power earlier.

Salvation Army soldiers holding pitchforks and muskets surrounded them tightly, standing in battle array.

Although until a few months ago, both sides were in the same camp, now they served different masters.

If the Saintess gave the order, the Saviors, who had long since had their eyes turned red from killing, would never go soft just because they had eaten a few full meals.

Time lasted until evening, and the dusk dyed the rushing river red.

The Hell Dwarves lying downstream still didn't dare to come up from the river, shivering and waiting for the humans upstream to decide a winner.

Demon God above...

These people are truly ruthless when killing their own kind. The Calamity Castle on Broken Rock Peak also often changes lords, but... isn't it enough to just have a fight outside the castle and decide the winner?

Why be so ruthless?

This isn't the first time changing bosses, and of course, it can't be the last.

Actually, with a clear conscience, in terms of the lower limit, the human race is still much higher than the dwarves' nemesis, the Ratmen, but the Ratmen are too ugly after all, so it's hard for dwarves to empathize with those guys.

Just when everyone was holding their breath and waiting, a fast horse galloped from the horizon.

The messenger dismounted and took out the document sent by Sparrow Wood Castle to the nearby outpost via carrier pigeon.

The leading chiliarch, seeing the Saintess's emblem, immediately stepped aside and stood with the soldiers, waiting for the messenger to read the oracle.

"... According to the laws of the Kingdom of Ryan, rebels shall be executed by hanging! However, the Saintess says, My Lord has the virtue of cherishing life; He has pardoned your death sentences. Be grateful for His mercy!"

The rebels, whose knees were weak, were moved to tears, kneeling one after another to thank Him, rejoicing that they had saved their lives.

At least this hurdle in front of them had passed.

Looking at the grateful thieves, the messenger paused and then raised his volume to continue.

"However, the death penalty can be pardoned, but the living penalty is hard to escape! Your hands are stained with the blood of your own kind; letting you go just like that cannot comfort the wandering souls on this land! You must labor in the fields, or log in the forest, or rebuild the houses you destroyed on the ruins... until He says you can go back."

No one objected.

On this land littered with corpses, not killing captives was already an incredible mercy. As for becoming the victor's spoils, that was nothing more than a common occurrence.

If there were a port, they would generally be branded and stuffed into Imperial merchants' cargo ships to be sold to plantations in the New World.

And when there was no port, they were mostly sent to the lord's mines; only a few lucky ones would become serfs again and return to the life before the war.

All the rebels were rejoicing that they had survived; as for what the messenger said later about labor reform, striving for lenient treatment, and being able to get land after reform, they didn't listen very carefully.

After all, who among those sitting here hadn't heard enough of the lords' pretty words, and only rose up because they couldn't survive?

Not to mention not believing the lords' words, they hadn't believed Unlike Kailan's words either; following Aka was just because they could eat their fill.

However, although they didn't listen carefully, Gangte, who was watching from afar, listened very carefully.

Even, when hearing the second half, an incredible expression appeared on that resolute face.

He was a mercenary who had traveled north and south; when he was young, he had helped lords fight many wars, and it wasn't strange for both sides to declare victory and send captives to work on farms.

After all, farmers couldn't afford ransoms in the first place; ransom merchants would only look for those citizens or mercenaries whose families could afford the money.

However, he was hearing for the first time about "labor for the purpose of reform and becoming a new person," and distributing land to prisoners of war was even more unheard of.

At least on this land, this Saintess Kalian was the first to do so.

She didn't drive them to labor for the sake of enslavement; on the contrary, it was to let them repay past mistakes in order to strive for tomorrow's freedom.

This incredulity lingering in his heart even surpassed his surprise at the successive descents of Chaos God-Chosen, and even more surpassed his astonishment at the decline of his own strength.

"... Perhaps, she really was sent by Saint Xisi."

At least in his impression, there was no lord more merciful than this Saintess.

Perhaps the Empire wouldn't be happy, and the Church wouldn't acknowledge it, but since she was the person most suitable for this place, he seemed to have no reason to interfere with people's choices...

With the messenger finishing reading the Saintess's oracle, the sky finally turned completely dark.

Gangte returned to the inn alone and found everyone looking at him in astonishment, as if they had seen Saint Xisi himself.

He wasn't surprised by their astonishment; this wasn't the first time he had faced this situation.

He just returned to his seat calmly, placed his greatsword aside casually, and then picked up the wine pot to pour himself a glass of red wine, looking at Old Hanke, who was dumbfounded, and squeezed out a smile he thought was natural, but in reality, wasn't natural at all.

"Everyone don't look at me, keep drinking... haha." He laughed dryly twice and was the first to drink it all in one gulp.

That day, everyone drank until they were dead drunk.

Although this wasn't the Sword Saint's original intention—he just simply wanted to treat everyone to a drink—but unfortunately, others couldn't guess his thoughts.

Except for Yurien, who had poor alcohol tolerance and didn't participate at all, and the players who were trying to trigger hidden quests, not a single person dared to stop.

This chasm between mortals and demigods was destined to be resolved only by time.

And this was also one of the reasons why he didn't want to expose his identity at the beginning...

A day passed.

On the morning of the second day, a thousand-man troop arrived at the outskirts of Wheat Field Village, took over five thousand captives from the local garrison, and used breakfast time to complete the identity registration of the captives.

Because this work had been repeated countless times, the household registration personnel accompanying the army handled it quite skillfully.

Thanks to the citizens from Dusk City and the priests in the castle who turned a blind eye, the "literacy" work personally deployed and even personally participated in by the Saintess was proceeding quite smoothly.

Plus, the Imperial common language itself wasn't difficult, so many Salvation Army soldiers had learned basic spelling, at least able to remember a few common names and place names.

After a day of rest, this expeditionary force would take the five thousand prisoners of war to the border of Sparrow Wood Fief.

There was a village that had once been occupied by Ratmen; the nearby baronial fief had turned into scorched earth, with only a broken manor perhaps able to recycle some useful materials... besides that, everything had to start from scratch.

Also going together were three hundred returnees, who would act as guides and rebuild that land together with the people traveling with them.

On the other side, also setting off at the same time was Gangte, who had been thinking for a long time.

However, his direction wasn't the border of Sparrow Wood Fief, but the capital of this countship—Sparrow Wood Castle.

At the entrance of the newly opened stone inn.

Looking at Yurien, who was reluctant to part, Gangte had already thought about what to say, but forgot his lines when the words reached his lips.

After a long silence, he stretched out his thick palm and placed it on the boy's shoulder, patting it twice gently.

"I'm going on a long journey. During the time I'm away, remember to take good care of yourself."

Intuition told Yurien that this time was different from the past; Master was probably going on a long journey and might not return for a long time.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said goodbye so solemnly.

However, even with much reluctance in his heart, Yurien still didn't speak to ask him to stay or ask Master to take him along.

He believed that Master must have thought it through carefully before making the decision to leave him here.

Whether it was out of consideration for strength or concern for the dangers that might be encountered next.

He didn't want to become Master's burden—

Whether it was beside him or behind him.

Looking at his master with firm eyes, Yurien said with unprecedented seriousness.

"I will take good care of myself, and your inn, waiting for you to come back and continue teaching me sword techniques..."

"... Take care, Master."

Looking at this sensible boy in front of him, Gangte's face revealed a gratified smile.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, he had treated him like his own child along the way.

And he was also gratified to see that his child had grown up, no longer that wild grass that seemed like it would be blown away by the wind at any time, but had become a flame capable of illuminating others.

This was good.

"Mm, wait for me."

A promise between men does not require many words; he trusts that after he leaves, Yurien will continue to hone his swordsmanship while keeping their inn running, at the very least not failing the warm hearts and kindness of the villagers here.

As for himself, there were more important things to do...

Beside the dirt road on the north side of the inn, a knight in full gear had been waiting there for a long time.

His name was Lei Deng, and his family had served the local count for generations and had a good reputation locally, so this generation had actually produced a Platinum-tier knight.

This situation wasn't actually rare in some countships or duchies where martial virtue was weak.

If a region's lord was too comfortable, neglecting martial prowess for two or three consecutive generations, while one of his vassal families was widely renowned for the virtues of knighthood, a noble soul had a high probability of being born into this promising "small family" to ensure someone could carry the banner at a critical moment.

Conversely, if it were families with abundant martial virtue like Duke Campbell or Count Weifte, the knights beside them were mostly of mediocre aptitude, their strength almost impossible to exceed their lord's, and they had no ambition to surpass their own territory.

The Holy Light's grace for every piece of land was balanced, only occasionally appearing with ripples.

According to the Salvation Army soldiers, this Mr. Lei Deng was also one of those moved by the miracle of the oracle.

After fulfilling his final oath, he turned to pledge allegiance to "Saintess Kalian" and was enfeoffed by the latter as a Grail Knight.

The shield carried behind him at this moment indeed radiated power familiar to Gangte.

Gangte had seen quite a few God-Chosen who held similar "divine artifacts."

Noticing the approaching Sword Saint, Lei Deng, who had been waiting for a long time, dismounted, handed his removed helmet to the attendant beside him, and then stepped forward to perform a knight's etiquette.

"Respected Rock Sword Saint, Gangte Steingraber, I am Lei Deng Kechitel, I have long admired your great name."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lei Deng. During this period, I have often heard legends about you from the local villagers, and you are just as impressive as in the legends."

Gangte also politely returned a commoner's etiquette of the Kingdom of Luo De, not showing any neglect because the other party's strength was weaker than his own.

Lei Deng laughed.

"Is that so? Then they must have exaggerated."

Gangte smiled faintly.

"On the contrary, after seeing this oasis independent in the desert, I instead feel that what they said was too conservative. Whether it's about your legends, or the Saintess behind you, and that legendary 'Son of God'."

Upon hearing the word Son of God, Lei Deng's expression was slightly awkward, especially after realizing that this Sword Saint was a Luo De person.

It was said that Luo De people were famous throughout the continent for being rigid and traditional, and even the Imperial people had to bow down, so they were known as "dwarves among humans."

Of course, this Sword Saint wasn't short at all; not only was he two meters tall, but his shoulders were as wide as a door.

In short, telling a Luo De person that Saint Xisi had a child was as absurd as telling a goblin that the Demon God was actually a succubus.

"This... behind it of course there are many stories involved; perhaps you can ask Saintess Kalian yourself; she will be very happy to answer your confusion." Lei Deng didn't know how to round off this story, so he simply kicked this trouble to the Saintess who claimed to have seen the Son of God.

Anyway, she, having heard the oracle, was especially good at talking, and every time could tell some big truths that even he was bluffed into a daze.

However, contrary to Lei Deng's expectation, Gangte, after seeing his awkwardness, only smiled and didn't get anxious like a typical Luo De person, and didn't even delve into it.

"You misunderstood, Mr. Lei Deng. Although I am a devout believer, I have no intention of correcting anything for the Church. As for the Saintess, I do intend to see her this time, but not to discuss theology and doctrine with her, but to discuss more realistic problems."

Lei Deng felt relieved in his heart, his face regained a cheerful smile, and he continued.

"That's perfect, the Saintess also wants to see you; I can lead the way for you... but what exactly are the realistic problems you mentioned? Is it convenient for me to ask? Just out of my personal curiosity."

Gangte didn't hide it and said straightforwardly.

"I want to persuade her to send troops to Griffin Fief."

The air became subtly quiet; around them, it seemed only the sound of the wind and the horses' snorting remained.

Lei Deng was stunned, obviously not expecting this Imperial Sword Saint to say this.

After a long silence, he spoke.

"Can you tell me the reason?"

"The reason is just as you see before your eyes," Gangte looked around and then cast his gaze toward a more distant direction, "Even if the King here has abandoned this place, we cannot let the corrosion of Chaos continue to spread."

He hadn't personally interrogated those captives yesterday, but he could be considered to have learned about the tragic state of Griffin Castle from the soldiers who had interrogated those captives... at this moment, it was simply a living hell there.

Aka hadn't caught a living sacrifice, so he hung the desecrated corpses on the city walls as an insult to the human faith and glory, and as a way to please Chaos...

Undoubtedly, that was an altar of Chaos and also one of the sources of the Green Forest Army's power.

Since he knew of its existence, he had to pull it out and let those "heroes who fought to the last moment for the fate of the human race" be laid to rest.

If it were in the past, he would have gone alone, but now he had a better choice—

He could also bring the order here along with him!

In this way, he could prevent new chaos from breeding right after he left.

And the most critical thing was that this Salvation Army was after all flying the banner of Saint Xisi.

In this way, it wouldn't be considered violating his oath.

Lei Deng looked at the man in front of him in surprise, his stunned expression gradually turning into admiration.

He remembered a long time ago, having heard Gangte's story from some bard.

That wasn't the first legend he left behind, but it was definitely the most brilliant one; otherwise, it wouldn't have been written into poems by poets and sung down.

The rock-solid swordsman, in order to kill the evil dragon ravaging Altai City, made an unbreakable oath with the sword in his hand, and in the expectation of everyone, exchanged for miraculous power comparable to the legendary brave!

As the price for exchanging for the miracle, he had to promise never to use the sword in his hand to destroy the Empire's legal principles, never to use the sword in his hand to harm devout subjects, and never to let go of any evil spirit bewitched by Chaos.

Three commandments were carved on his sword, and along with him, who didn't pledge allegiance to any lord, he forged many legends.

Since then, he ended his mercenary career, never fought for any lord again, lived a simple and poor life, and only appeared there when the human race needed him most, as a greatswordsman.

Until he became a true legend in the name of Sword Saint...

The truth of the matter might be far more tortuous than the story in the bard's mouth; Lei Deng didn't know where Altai City was, nor had he seen a real dragon.

However, this Sword Saint indeed kept the three commandments as the legend said, didn't pledge allegiance to any secular king, and only fought for the people who looked up to him.

Although fighting side by side with the Salvation Army wasn't considered violating his oath—after all, the Salvation Army wasn't a lord within the Empire's legal principles, and their opponents weren't the Empire's subjects—but this after all existed as a suspicion of interfering in the Kingdom's internal affairs.

In other words—

He was willing to take risks for the people here, even if he didn't need to bear these at all!

Realizing this, Lei Deng's eyes were no longer just admiration, but even carried a hint of reverence.

He said in a tone of unprecedented solemnity.

"... I will take you to see our Saintess; I believe that she, being kind, will definitely stand with you!"