Chapter 46 - 46: Forty because he met me
Chapter 46: Forty because he met me
One of the Four Great Churches of Rhein, Somo City.
Bishop Corey had his eyes closed as he lightly tapped his fingers on the tabletop, leaving the nearby attendant unable to guess what the archbishop was thinking. Ever since news of Knight Master Kelsay’s death reached him half an hour ago, Bishop Corey had maintained this state as if he were asleep.
No one knew how much time had passed, so much that the attendant almost fell asleep standing, when Bishop Corey suddenly spoke up, “So, was it Ulu who killed Kelsay?”
Startled from his daze, the attendant subconsciously raised his head and found Bishop Corey looking at him, their gazes meeting as he did.
In that moment, the attendant felt as if plunged into a cavern of ice.
There was an indescribable power in Bishop Corey’s gaze. Just making eye contact seemed to amplify every negative emotion in his heart exponentially until he could hardly stand, stumbling almost to a fall.
Fortunately, Bishop Corey quickly averted his gaze, allowing the attendant to steady himself.
The attendant didn’t understand what that power was. Assuming it was just his own lack of rest causing an illusion, he quickly apologized, “Sorry, Bishop Corey, I…”
“Answer my question.” Bishop Corey did not pursue or explain but simply repeated his earlier words in a flat tone, “Was Kelsay killed by Ulu?”
“According to the lieutenant of the knight squad—yes,” the attendant said, knowing Bishop Corey hated ambiguous answers, he replied quite precisely, “No one else was found at the scene.”
“That’s strange,” muttered Bishop Corey, “Neither ‘Taboo Twenty-four’ nor ‘Taboo Twenty-nine’ contain combat-related rules. With Ulu’s skills, how could he possibly have defeated Kelsay?”
The attendant didn’t answer, knowing Bishop Corey wasn’t really asking him.
After another silent moment of thought, Bishop Corey spoke again, “So, we’ve lost a Knight Master, a few knights, a priest… With such heavy losses, we’ve not only failed to retrieve the ‘Taboo’ from the rebellious little priest but haven’t even clarified whether the ‘Taboo’ is Twenty-four or Twenty-nine, right?”
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The attendant’s cold sweat broke out instantly. Though he knew this matter wasn’t related to him, and Bishop Corey wouldn’t vent his anger on him, the pressure emanating from Bishop Corey was something far beyond what a simple attendant could handle.
After all, Bishop Corey was an archbishop capable of handling ‘divine gifts.’
“Anyway,” Bishop Corey finally sighed, and the attendant immediately felt the pressure lift off him, “The mishap has happened; the piece from Visas Corpse isn’t crucial, and it’s fine if it hasn’t been retrieved. I just hope it doesn’t end up in troubling hands.”
The attendant asked curiously, “Isn’t it currently in Priest Ulu’s possession? Why do you say…”
Bishop Corey glanced at him and said lightly, “Do you think he can keep it?”
The attendant was taken aback.
“The finger will eventually end up in someone else’s hands,” Bishop Corey thought for a while, and then added lightly, “So, we haven’t lost our chance entirely. If Ulu could indeed kill Kelsay, it means he has other means besides the finger we know about. Let us hope these means will allow him to live just a bit longer… until we find him.”
The attendant asked, “Then why don’t we continue sending two squads of knights into Bedan Town? Isn’t it likely that Priest Ulu is still there?”
“There’s no time left,” Bishop Corey shook his head, “We’ve kept that town under wraps for too long, and because of the Visas Corpse, the other three Great Churches have turned their attention there. Now, with everyone watching, we cannot afford to let more people die in that town.”
Then, Bishop Corey paused before slowly beginning to speak again.
“‘Chosen by God’ has ended, ‘God’s Grace’ should now be upon us.”
…
“Divine grace! Divine grace!”
“Rhein God, have mercy on humanity, bring food to the hungry believers!”
“Praise the Rhein God!”
Two days later, everything in Bedan Town had changed.
The new priests, along with knights clad in shining armor, entered the town, pushing cart after cart of food and reviving the long-dead town.
People who still had a bit of strength left rushed over like mad, snatching food rudely from the new priests’ hands, but the priests showed no dissatisfaction or anger. They wore kind and gentle smiles on their faces, truly resembling envoys sent by the Rhein God.
They would end the famine,
They would rebuild order.
With their arrival, everything would be alright.
A little boy led his silly sister, standing dumbfounded at the street corner, gazing at the hopeful scene before them, not moving for a long time.
A priest walked up to him, slowly crouched down, and said with full of pity, “Oh, poor child, how have you gotten so hungry? Is this your sister?”
The little boy slowly nodded his head.
“How sad, such unfortunate times,” sighed the priest softly before asking the little boy, “Would you like to enter Rhein? Let me take care of you and your sister afterward?”
While speaking, the priest extended his hand, gently touching the little boy’s head.
“From now on, you’ll never have to be hungry again… What do you think?”
Never be hungry again?
Looking at the priest in front of him who was dressed impressively, wore a face full of love, and had just made a promise, the little boy was instinctively about to agree.
But at that moment, another image of a priest flashed through his mind.
He was dressed in rags, he was full of swear words, he kicked and punched, but…
The little boy, looking at the priest in front of him, slowly shook his head, which surprised the priest. Clearly, he did not expect the boy to refuse, but before he could ask why, the little boy quickly ran off, leading his silly sister.
The scene was witnessed by someone not far away.
“Are you not going to meet him?” Bai Wei asked lightly, “He probably wouldn’t denounce you, right?”
“Cough cough cough cough… no… cough cough, need.” Priest Ulu, who was wrapped in a black robe and coughing blood, slowly shook his head: “I am not familiar with him.”
“Yes, you don’t even know his name,” Bai Wei said. “Aren’t you going to regret it?”
“Regret… where?”
“This is probably the first time in your life you’ve tried desperately to save someone, and just like that, it’s over?”
Ulu was silent for a moment and said, “I saved him just to prove something.”
“To prove you’re not a worm?”
“No, I am a worm.”
Seeing Ulu admit he was a worm, Bai Wei was a bit surprised; this was the first time Ulu had surprised him: “Then what do you want to prove?”
“I became a worm because I encountered Lu Ji.”
After giving the little boy one deep, final look, Ulu lowered the hood of his black robe and turned to leave.
“But he became a flower, because he met me.”