“Hymn of the Sacred, in unison!”
Mu Xuan’s voice rang out, immediately followed by the sound of holy and ethereal hymns. The glowing spheres of light in the air surged toward the Weirds in an instant.
As for the Weird whose strength had reached the Deep Sea Level…
“Holy Brilliance, Coronation!”
An angelic phantom appeared once more. However, this time, it was not as realistic as the angel Mu Xuan had summoned when he was at the peak of the Mohorovicic Level.
Still, it was more than enough to handle this Weird.
In this situation, only a one-hit kill could truly deliver a sense of awe to the believers.
As Mu Xuan expected, these Weirds possessed no ability to resist. Within moments, the creatures in front of them were wiped clean.
The power of light even “purified” them in passing, leaving not even a corpse behind.
At the entrance of the outpost, Romon, who was currently moving bodies, stared blankly at the points of light gradually dissipating in the sky. His eyes were filled with nothing but veneration.
‘His Holiness the Pope is so powerful…’
‘If only I had power too…’
As he thought this, Romon’s thirst for strength became even more intense.
‘I hope His Holiness truly bestows his grace upon me.’
Suppressing the desire in his heart, Romon quickened his pace in moving the bodies.
At first, it was just him and Jack working together. Now, many others had joined voluntarily after learning about Romon’s idea.
With their efficiency significantly increased, they set a goal to gather the bodies of their fallen comrades together before His Holiness arrived.
Amidst the *clanging* of armor, Griffond led the remaining knights and quickly arrived at the outpost entrance.
Even though they were exhausted, they all stood tall with solemn expressions, waiting for the Pope’s arrival.
Soon, when the barrier of light finally appeared before their eyes, the knights immediately saw the Pope at the very front.
In the next moment, they knelt on one knee in unison, and their respectful voices erupted.
“Welcome, Your Holiness!”
*Hiss…*
Seeing Griffond and the knights making such a grand display, Mu Xuan could not help but pause in his tracks.
‘Giving me such a reception in front of so many people certainly provides plenty of prestige… but the problem is, this feels so embarrassing!’
However, the commoners behind Mu Xuan did not think that way.
They only felt that the Church’s power was truly formidable. These knights gave off the impression of being battle-hardened and oppressive, yet perfectly disciplined.
Especially the knight at the head of the group; he felt like a restrained, sleeping lion. One felt that once he erupted, it would be impossible for anyone to stop him.
Immediately, many people felt a stronger sense of belonging to the Church, and their faith in the Goddess became even more devout.
If they had been somewhat worried or afraid before, those concerns were mostly dispelled the moment they saw the Church’s knights.
Most importantly, there was a pile of Weird corpses nearby! Was that not the ultimate symbol of the Church’s strength?
“Tsk… Your Holiness certainly has quite the reception~”
Hearing Sisthiline’s playful voice beside him, the corners of Mu Xuan’s mouth twitched.
He had never given such an order, nor had he ever made such arrangements!
The many Church rules that Griffond, Buzacchi, and Beckze knew were all learned from the previous Pope and Hull!
Stabilizing his expression, Mu Xuan spoke as if nothing were wrong. “Rise. Come and welcome the Goddess’s new believers.”
Upon hearing this, the knights stood up and moved quickly, handling the handover process with the knights in the group behind Mu Xuan.
They were indeed tired, but this was the Pope’s decree! Nothing was more important than the orders of His Holiness!
Just as Mu Xuan was about to enter the outpost, the figures of Buzacchi and Griffond appeared before him at the same time.
“Your Holiness… a battle has just taken place here…” Griffond said with some hesitation.
Mu Xuan naturally understood what Griffond meant. Where there was war, there would surely be many deaths.
Buzacchi also stepped in at the right time to briefly inform Mu Xuan of what had happened.
‘So that’s how it is.’
Mu Xuan was somewhat surprised. He had not expected this newly appointed Bishop Valentine to make such a decision. However, it was indeed because of this that the outpost was saved. Furthermore, it had saved one of his own SSR cards!
Glancing at Griffond, Mu Xuan did not feel too much disappointment in his heart.
He was not a saint, and it was impossible for him to protect everyone. In the face of unexpected events, sacrificing many people was unavoidable.
Even if he felt a sense of loss and melancholy, it was impossible for Mu Xuan to be consumed by grief.
Ultimately, in this weird world, he had to be cautious just to stay alive himself, let alone the believers.
“Oh, right. Romon suggested holding a Mass for the believers who sacrificed themselves,” Griffond said hurriedly, slapping his head as if suddenly remembering something.
‘A Mass!?’
Mu Xuan found it somewhat amusing. “That is essentially the same thing as a prayer…”
Small-scale events were generally prayers, which did not require offerings; one only needed to be present in both body and heart. A Mass was like the “Pro Max” version of a prayer. Not only did it involve a complete set of ritual procedures, but it also included offerings and a collective prayer segment.
Wait, he seemed to recall that Catholicism also had something like a Requiem Mass…
Whatever. Since the words were already out, they certainly could not be changed. Besides, in his memory, the Church did not have such a thing as a Requiem Mass anyway.
“I… I apologize, Your Holiness… I was being blunt…”
Griffond stammered for a long while before finally squeezing out a sentence.
“It is a memorial service~”
That sentence, popping out of nowhere, gave Mu Xuan a start.
Quickly steadying his nerves, Mu Xuan looked with a dark face at Sisthiline, who was giggling nearby. He almost wanted to bring his scepter down on her head.
‘Wasn’t this girl supposed to be organizing the commoners?’
‘If she ran over here, who is doing the organizing!’
Turning his head, he saw that Valentine had already taken Sisthiline’s place and was continuously giving directions.
‘Hiss… Valentine is already weakened to that extent, yet you still let him do it? You’re truly heartless.’
He wanted to sternly criticize Sisthiline, but seeing her smiling face, Mu Xuan immediately shrank back, not daring to make a sound.
‘Fine, you’re so noble, you’re so great.’
Muttering a few words in his head, Mu Xuan finally turned back to Griffond and said, “Yes, a memorial service.”
“The Church will not forget the contributions they have made. In our remembrance, the Goddess will comfort their souls and lead them into the Divine Kingdom…”
After Mu Xuan finished speaking with an air of dignity, Griffond immediately shouted, “Praise the Goddess!”
Buzacchi thought for a moment, looked at Na’er who was waving to him not far away, and also smiled. “Praise the Goddess!”
Then, after asking Mu Xuan for permission, Buzacchi immediately ran toward Na’er.
Mu Xuan shook his head, offering a silent blessing to Buzacchi and Na’er.
“And this lady is…”
After Buzacchi left, Sisthiline remained standing next to Mu Xuan, looking at him with a smile. After a moment of hesitation, Griffond could not help but ask.
Griffond could feel that this woman was very strong.
“The Silver Moon Knight — Sisthiline. Before the Cataclysm descended, she was the Church’s strongest combat asset.”
Upon hearing this, a massive wave of shock surged through Griffond’s heart. He had been born during the Cataclysm, and the Cataclysm had already been raging for hundreds of years.
This meant that the Silver Moon Knight before him had lived for hundreds of years and had survived in this weird disaster until now!
This was a truly powerful individual!
Instantly, Griffond felt a profound sense of respect for Sisthiline.
“Senior!”
“There is no need to call me that. After all, you and I are not part of the same system.”
Sisthiline’s tone toward Griffond was very flat, carrying a sense of great distance.
“That is…”
“You do not need to know.”
Hearing Sisthiline’s decisive tone, Griffond did not make a fool of himself by continuing to ask. After taking his leave from Mu Xuan, he went over to help Valentine.
Valentine’s body was still very weak. Griffond was worried about letting him continue like that alone.
“Tell me… what do you want? And what was that about a memorial service?”
In Mu Xuan’s memory, there was no such thing as a memorial service.
Sisthiline did not answer immediately. Only after walking a circle around Mu Xuan did she reveal an expression of reminiscence and happiness.
Not far away, there was a light that could almost pierce the black fog, slowly moving toward the outpost.