Chapter 476

Twilight deepened, the cathedral's bell tower rang the bell for the onset of night, and the porridge-dispensing points near the city gates were still bustling with people.

The chill of autumn was permeating this city that had just survived the fires of war; fortunately, the hot porridge rolling in those large pots, and the rich wheat aroma emanating from the pots, temporarily dispelled the cold on people's bodies and their worries about the future.

The citizens mostly had sallow complexions, but at least there was a hint of vitality in their eyes.

They held coarse pottery bowls, gathered in twos and threes, gulping down this hard-won food while lowering their voices to exchange the latest news in the city.

"Hey, have you heard?"

A lean man with good sources was the first to speak, proudly lowering his voice as if sharing a shocking secret.

"This morning, Her Highness Princess Ailin went to the cathedral in person to confront that black-robed High Inquisitor face to face! My cousin's neighbor delivers candles to the church; he snuck in through the side door and saw it with his own eyes!"

"Confrontation?!"

"What's the situation!"

Everyone's eyes lit up, their faces filled with curiosity.

"What could happen?" An elderly woman curled her lip, muttering nervously, "Isn't it just reporting military intelligence? A'ernuo, don't spread rumors blindly, watch out for the ears of those black-robed masters of the Inquisition!"

Reporting military intelligence was the Inquisition's version.

Although what happened inside the church could be covered up, light had indeed shone through the windows during the day.

To prevent people from fabricating even larger rumors in their whispers, the Inquisition had come up with an official version of the rumor.

It must be said, their experience in dealing with such matters was still a bit weak.

If there were no people with ulterior motives, this operation would of course be feasible. But if they ran into people with ulterior motives, it was undoubtedly setting up a target for concentrated fire.

"What military intelligence! The war has been over for so long, where would there be any military intelligence?"

A man with an excited voice interjected, his index finger gesturing exaggeratedly as he spoke of the version he had heard from others.

"The version I heard isn't like that! I heard that the Inquisitor suspected Her Highness Princess Ailin, saying she had an unclean aura on her, and wanted to judge her on the spot!"

These words were like a stone thrown into a pond, immediately stirring up layers of ripples all around.

So much so that several people squatting in the distance also gathered around, their faces filled with disbelief, wanting to hear the details.

"Judge Her Highness Princess Ailin? Are they crazy?"

"What right do they have to do this! Her Highness is our savior!"

"Exactly! Her Highness Princess Ailin burned her own life to save us! What have those guys who only know how to chant scriptures done!"

"What exactly happened? Tell us quickly!"

Faced with everyone's clamor, the man with the excited voice was also left at a loss for what to do; after all, he was only repeating hearsay, how would he know the details.

What he was more worried about now was that the more people gathered here, what if it attracted people from the Inquisition?

Just as he didn't know what to do, a middle-aged man who looked unremarkable suddenly put down the bowl in his hand and spoke silently.

Unlike the guy with the hot head, his voice was simple and crisp, and struck directly at the vital point.

"More than just judgment..."

"The version I heard is that the High Inquisitor, in front of all the priests and knights, used the artifact 'Judgment Cross' personally bestowed by His Holiness the Pope!"

These words falling on the heads of the crowd were not as simple as a stone thrown into a pond; it was like throwing a bomb into the pond.

"Judgment Cross?!"

"What, what is that?!"

"A kind of... artifact used to punish heretics; I don't know the specifics either, I only know that ordinary demons are no match for it at all. And it's not just demons; even those with ulterior motives cannot look directly at its shining radiance."

The middle-aged man said slowly, describing details that everyone didn't know, as if he were on the scene at the time. Although he said "I don't know the specifics either," he also seemed to know everything.

"... When that radiance lit up, it was as if a second sun appeared in the sky; they wanted to use the sacred radiance to scorch Her Highness Princess Ailin to prove she was indeed guilty. However, it was very unfortunate, our Saint Xisi has eyes like torches; his ruling not only did not prove Her Highness Princess Ailin's guilt, but instead proved her purity!"

That highly impactful sense of imagery made countless people present hold their breath, as if they had walked into the scene at the time along with that middle-aged man.

Because he described it too realistically, even describing the expressions on the faces of the adjudicators, everyone felt that what he said was the truth.

And the facts were indeed so.

Any lie will avoid the description of details, because once details are described, flaws that cannot be rounded off will be left behind.

And the reverse is also true; if a person speaks as if they were on the scene, and no one can expose them.

Then they are highly likely to have really been on the scene.

Or at least know something others don't.

The middle-aged man told the story to the end.

Including the Inquisitor's face of refusing to apologize, including the cold mockery of the Court Chamberlain, including Princess Ailin enduring humiliation for the sake of the big picture, leaving the church with clenched fists...

After a brief silence, the crowd finally erupted into an irrepressible commotion.

Questioning and anger rolled like the magma of hell; they didn't dare to speak loudly, but were complaining in suppressed voices.

"How could they treat our hero like this?!"

"What right does the Inquisition have to suspect her? I think they are the heretics! Where were they when Chaos was bullying us?"

"Shameless guys! When Chaos came, they hid in holes like mice one by one, and as soon as Chaos left, they started acting all mighty!"

Dissatisfaction with the Inquisition had long been accumulating in people's hearts; the gentleness and humility on their faces were nothing more than enduring humiliation.

Although it was true that these guys in black robes brought them food, where did that grain come from?

And every time before eating, having to be dragged by those theologians from the Holy City to listen to those long-winded sermons was also annoying enough.

Not to mention, it's better not to mention them!

The more they spoke those high-sounding principles, the more people couldn't help but think—what were you doing before?

"If Saint Xisi were really that omnipotent, where was He when Twilight City was besieged? In the end, it still relied on Her Highness Princess Ailin's sword and the Salvation Army's artillery!"

A poor man in rags couldn't help but complain, and his complaint immediately drew a wave of suppressed agreement.

There were also people echoing him.

"... I think it's because they couldn't beat Chaos themselves, so they had to slander those who had fought with Chaos as clowns!"

"Makes sense!"

Actually, it didn't make much sense.

But the emotion was enough.

Watching the increasingly agitated crowd, the middle-aged man who told the truth had already silently passed through the noisy crowd and turned into an alley that no one noticed.

The alley was very dark, as if it were two worlds from the noise on the street.

The Inquisition's executors still hadn't come, not because they couldn't see this place, but because they were simply too busy to handle it.

The same thing was happening at every porridge-dispensing point in Twilight City.

People initially only discussed the holy light that shone in the Twilight City Cathedral during the day, and later it turned into the Inquisition being the most blasphemous people.

Lord Ximeneisi probably wouldn't have thought of it.

They tried in vain to buy off the citizens of Twilight City with stolen radishes, but it just happened to become a weapon for the Salvation Army to launch an attack on them.

In that twilight that no one knew about, in this invisible war, Saintess Kalian had already won a round...

Twilight City Cathedral, inside a spacious prayer room temporarily requisitioned as an office, the candlelight flickered, illuminating the "Saint Saves the World" mural on the wall in an uncertain light.

High Inquisitor Ximeneisi was sitting behind the table, with a huge map of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng spread out in front of him, on which villages that had just been "purified" were marked with red ink.

His brows were tightly locked, as if he were pondering his next move.

"Knock, knock."

A respectful knock on the door sounded from behind him.

"Come in." Ximeneisi did not look up, his indifferent gaze seemingly still immersed in pondering the sacred cause.

The door pushed open, and a middle-aged man wearing a priest's robe walked in. His face was kind and scholarly, his temperament closer to a scholar than an adjudicator.

His name was Martin, one of the theologians who came to this frontier land with the Inquisition, mainly responsible for ideological correction and preaching work among the people.

Yet at this moment, a faint haze hung over the face of this papal missionary.

"Lord High Inquisitor."

Martin bowed, his voice carrying a hint of weariness as he spoke slowly.

"Our work at the porridge-dispensing points has encountered some resistance; a blasphemous claim is circulating among the citizens..."

Ximeneisi finally looked up from the map, a hint of impatience flashing in his murky eyes, but he still spoke with patience.

"Speak."

Martin nodded slightly and reported truthfully.

"The citizens are all saying... you used the artifact 'Judgment Cross' in the cathedral, intending to judge Her Highness Princess Ailin, however, Saint Xisi refused to harm this hero. Now, many people privately call her the 'Knight Protected by Holy Light,' and her prestige is even higher than before."

"Bang!"

Ximeneisi slammed the table, the thick oak tabletop made a loud noise, shaking the flame on the candlestick violently.

Martin looked at him in astonishment, only to see astonishing anger brewing in that thin body, his voice as murderous as the wooden mallet struck on the Inquisition bench.

"Absurd! I clearly ordered the news to be blocked! The people in the church are either ours or the King's, how did the news spread—"

Ximeneisi, who was halfway through his sentence, suddenly stopped, his murky pupils narrowing slightly.

So that's how it is.

It was Princess Ailin's strategy...

This seemingly pure and good little girl seemed to have more schemes than he imagined, calculating against him from the moment she stepped into the church!

This woman... cannot be underestimated!

Watching his superior flying into a rage, a deep worry appeared on Martin's face.

He knew the risk of speaking at this moment was great, but as a servant of Saint Xisi, he still decided to risk sharing the worries for the holy light he believed in.

"My lord, rumors are like water; you cannot block them. And... don't you find it strange?"

His voice was calm, trying to soothe Ximeneisi's anger, while leading the topic to a place more worthy of attention.

"This rumor spread too fast, and accurately captured every detail, and only kept the part favorable to Princess Ailin. It molded her into a hero protected by the sacred but persecuted by the secular, while molding us... into villains who cannot distinguish right from wrong."

"You want to say Princess Ailin did it?" Ximeneisi's eyes flickered slightly; he indeed thought so in his heart.

However, this old pedant was still a bit naive, shaking his head and saying.

"No, just the opposite; I don't think Princess Ailin has this kind of thought; she herself is a person chosen by the holy light; even if her sword has a touch of tragic color, what benefit does it have for her personally? The real beneficiary... I'm afraid it's only the King who was slandered as a clown along with us."

Without waiting for the Inquisitor to speak, Martin took a deep breath and continued in a sincere voice.

"My lord, forgive my bluntness, that Court Chamberlain Mr. Sike Lai'er's hostility toward Campbell is almost undisguised, as we have all witnessed. We came to purify Chaos; that is the sacred mission bestowed upon us by the Pope; as for the dispute between King Lai'en and the Duke of Campbell, it is a secular power struggle; the church has no need and should not intervene at all."

Martin spoke very cryptically; Mr. Sike Lai'er was trying to use the Inquisition as a knife against his political enemies.

Yet what he didn't know was that this High Inquisitor certainly knew Sike Lai'er was using him, just didn't expose it.

After all, hadn't the Inquisition also been using the King's power to provide convenience for their own actions of eliminating heretics?

The world in the eyes of scholars is always logically clear and distinct. Yet the real world is the exact opposite, often with you in me and me in you.

Ximeneisi did not answer Martin's question, only waved his hand impatiently, signaling him to step down.

Martin bowed and quietly exited the room, leaving the High Inquisitor alone in the flickering candlelight and the shadows cast by the murals.

Ximeneisi turned his gaze back to the map on the table, his expression increasingly solemn.

Initially, those circles of scarlet marks made him feel happy, but at this moment he couldn't be happy at all.

Sike Lai'er was a cunning politician, but he absolutely did not have the ability to fabricate such an inflammatory rumor in one day, and let it spread throughout the city, forcing the Inquisition to put out fires everywhere.

And—

Twilight City under his nose was like this; what those villages he couldn't see looked like at this moment, he simply dared not imagine.

He always had a feeling that an invisible force was working against him.

That invisible enemy accurately predicted his every move, even guessed his next move, countered every move, and every move was fatal.

Is it that Kalian?

Or the ambitious Grand Duke of Campbell?

Or, is it some more terrifying existence?

Ximeneisi stretched out his withered fingers and slowly stroked the name "Quemubao" on the map, a hint of unprecedented solemnity flashing in his eyes.

He had dealt with many enemies for the Church.

However, he was seeing a guy who resisted the Church under the banner of Saint Xisi like this for the first time, and for a time he really didn't know how to handle it.

He just wanted to curse that drowsy King now.

This fire that disregarded human life had probably really burned out a monstrous creature...

Ximeneisi's worry was not without reason; the Inquisition was still playing the game of cutting weeds and eliminating roots in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng, while the legend of Saintess Kalian had already spread to the northern border of the Luo De Kingdom.

Soon, that "fire of salvation" would spread to every inch of land that the holy light could not shine upon with the momentum of a prairie fire.

The spear of the "Power Angel" could pierce the avatars of Chaos evil spirits and crush tangible armies, but it could not kill those invisible ghosts!

Undercurrents were surging in Twilight City.

And at the same time, far away in Lei Ming City downstream of the Running River, a surging undercurrent was also brewing silently...

Lei Ming City Queen Street, "Dawn's Embrace" Hotel.

At this moment, inside the lounge of this luxury hotel, the most influential merchants and factory owners in Lei Ming City were surrounding a lizardman who was out of place with the surrounding environment like stars surrounding the moon.

Those blue-gray scales emitted a cold and hard luster under the crystal lights, and a thick tail was quietly curled behind him, like a giant python in a fake sleep.

But the most eye-catching thing was not his tail and wings, but the set of dazzling gold jewelry on his body.

As if in the Jiana Continent, gold was as abundant as shells on the beach.

Saku's loud voice and bold posture formed a sharp contrast with the other elegant and decent merchants in the lounge, yet no one felt he was rude, instead taking it as a kind of "exotic style."

Although the citizens of Lei Ming City had no good impression of lizardmen, this gentleman was different from those bugs soaking in the southwest swamps.

This respected Mr. Saku Jifeng not only came from the distant Jiana Continent, but behind him stood a lizardman kingdom occupying more than seven million square kilometers!

The territory of the Campbell Principality was simply like a grain of dust in front of them!

Not to mention, this Mr. Saku was said to be the close relative of the most powerful chieftain of the Gutafu United Kingdom!

It seemed to be the chieftain's cousin?

It was precisely because of the many halos that the lounge of the "Dawn's Embrace" Hotel was almost overcrowded every day, just like when Prince Kelin stayed here.

The merchants of Lei Ming City were like sharks smelling blood, gathering around Saku one after another, inquiring about his mysterious hometown from this foreign "nobleman."

Regarding everyone's probing, Saku also knew everything and said everything; no matter who came to him, he would chat generously for a few words.

At this time, a textile factory owner dressed decently walked over with a wine glass, his humble tone carrying a hint of flattery.

"Respected Mr. Saku, please forgive my presumption; I noticed that the fabric of your clothes seems... slightly rough? I wonder if you have learned about the fine-spun cotton and velvet produced in our Lei Ming City? They are as soft as clouds; I bet you will definitely like them!"

Saku heard this and let out a hearty and loud laugh.

"Haha! You're right! Your fabric is indeed good beyond words! Where we are, only the Great Chieftain and the tribal high priest can enjoy such high-quality silk. You actually sew it on chairs; it's too wasteful!"

These words made the textile factory owner's eyes light up instantly, wishing he could invite this Mr. Saku to his factory immediately.

His warehouse had plenty of this stuff!

As long as the lizardmen of the Gutafu Kingdom needed it, the Campbell people could work overtime to produce it for them!

However, before he could start selling, a mechanical power plant boss working for the Andes Group squeezed in, probing more core issues with cautious wording.

"I heard that your country possesses powerful steam technology; I wonder if it is true?"

"Steam engine? Oh, you're talking about those iron lumps that spray white gas all day long."

The interest on Saku's face clearly converged, and he waved his hand in an indifferent manner.

"We use them to dig tunnels, mine, and even plow land, and we also use them to pull cargo... There are those that run in the water, and those that run on the road. That thing is very common; children in our tribe can use parts to build some simple toys."

The mechanical power plant boss gasped after hearing this, unable to help but show an envious expression on his face.

Even children can build them?!

As for the other merchants, they were exchanging surprised looks.

They had heard of steam engines for mining, but what were those steam engines that ran on the ground and plowed land?

In that exchange of a few words, Saku had already outlined an incomparably tempting blueprint in the hearts of the Campbell merchants—

That was a huge kingdom with a strong industrial base and infinite resources.

They were technologically advanced, yet their spiritual world was barren, and the fields of people's livelihood consumption and luxury goods were like a blank sheet of paper, so the nobles there were eager to communicate with the outside world. They had gold everywhere, and even they themselves were moving gold mines!

The atmosphere in the lounge reached a peak.

Just when everyone in the lounge was breathing rapidly because of the huge business prospects, the closed double-opening wooden door was suddenly pushed open respectfully by a waiter.

The noise in the lounge seemed to have pressed pause, and everyone subconsciously looked back, only to see Prince Kelin standing at the door.

Prince Kelin... is back?!

When?!

And what shocked them even more was yet to come.

Only to see Saku Jifeng, whose momentum was as heroic as a lion, jump up from the sofa the moment he saw Prince Kelin.

If it weren't for Kelin's eyes stopping them, everyone couldn't help but wonder if his next action would be to kneel on one knee.

Whispering sounds spread in the lounge, and hot gazes moved back and forth between Saku and Kelin, constantly changing different expressions.

Luo Yan of course knew what they were thinking, because he deliberately let them think so.

A calm gaze swept across the audience, and Prince Kelin nodded with a smile to those merchants who stood up to pay tribute, which counted as a greeting.

Subsequently, he fixed his gaze on Saku and said concisely.

"Mr. Saku, please come with me for a moment."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Saku did not have any hesitation, responded respectfully, and then immediately stepped forward, hurriedly following behind Kelin who turned and left.

The two walked away, until their figures completely disappeared at the corner of the stairs, and the lounge returned to noise.

It's just that this time, it wasn't just the noise of high-talk, but more of irrepressible excitement.

"Saint Xisi is above... what did I just see?"

"That Mr. Saku is like an obedient soldier in front of Prince Kelin!"

"It's really unbelievable, what kind of huge power the mysterious and wealthy Kelin family has established in the Jiana Continent!"

"Wait, did you notice the Prince's expression? I don't know if it's my illusion, he seems... a bit serious?"

"You are not the only one who saw it, I felt it too... our Principality, I'm afraid there is a big event to happen!"