Chapter 5: The Born Knight

Very soon, all twenty-nine followers came in one after another and had a conversation with Mu Xuan.

Thirteen of them leaned toward Hel, eight refused to take a stance, five neither believed in the Goddess nor supported Hel, and among the three who still believed in the Goddess, one was filled with great hostility toward Hel.

Fortunately, though a bit unexpected, it was still within reason.

“Your Eminence, are you satisfied…”

Looking at Hel standing nearby, Mu Xuan countered, “Don’t you have anything to say? There aren’t that many people with a bad impression of you, but there are still quite a few…”

“Your Eminence, I belong to the Church. Naturally, the Church is my center. How others see me is of little consequence,” Hel answered matter-of-factly.

These words made Mu Xuan’s gaze turn even colder. “I’m tired. Get out!”

Hel had a look of confusion, as if not knowing what he’d said wrong, but obediently pushed open the door and left.

Heh… The people of the Church, they really dare to say anything…

Mu Xuan vaguely guessed at the purpose of Hel and the statue, but it was as if a thin veil lay between them—so long as the other party didn’t pierce it, he couldn’t see through it no matter how hard he tried. But if he wanted to pierce it himself, he always seemed to lack that one key thing.

Still, their purpose no longer mattered. It was time to begin discussing ways to deal with Hel and the statue.

Shrouded in black mist, it was impossible to tell day from night.

But when people grew weary, they naturally lay down to sleep. There was nothing else to do here—other than silently passing the time, all that was left was eating and sleeping. The food was rations brought all this way and could still last for another half a month. For now, everyone wasn’t worried about running out.

What’s more, after finally finding shelter, no one was willing to keep fleeing outside. Even though it was crowded, at least it was temporarily safe. And with so many eyes watching, no one dared do anything reckless.

Very soon, as one person drifted off to sleep, the others followed and slipped into dreams.

Hel did not sleep. Leaning against the main hall’s door, he gazed at the statue outside, red and black light flickering ceaselessly in his eyes.

Before his eyes was utter darkness, yet Mu Xuan remained unperturbed. He gently waved the scepter in his hand, extending three golden yet incredibly fragile threads.

With a delicate motion of his hand, three figures slowly revealed themselves within the darkness.

“You’ve come, my devout followers…” Seeing the three take solid form, Mu Xuan smiled. He didn’t know about the others, but these three would become the initial backbone for rebuilding the Church!

“Your Eminence!”

“This is… a miracle…”

Hearing Mu Xuan’s voice, the three snapped out of their confusion at once. At that moment, the scepter in Mu Xuan’s hand shone with golden light, causing the three to exclaim in astonishment.

“The three of you are the most devout followers in the Church—I need you. That’s why I’ve brought you here.”

“We are willing to serve Your Eminence!” the three declared in unison. Never having witnessed the power of any deity before, all three firmly believed in the Goddess. Now, seeing such a miracle, they spoke without a moment’s hesitation.

They’d had enough of those dark, despairing days. Maybe this was a turning point! They didn’t want to let it slip by!

Griffind was especially excited—his faith leaping directly from shallow follower past devout to become a fanatic, instantly granting Mu Xuan’s scepter two more wisps of faith.

This greatly pleased Mu Xuan. But then, with a serious tone, he said, “Don’t be hasty. Wait until I’ve told you some cruel truths—then decide if you’re still willing.”

As he spoke, Mu Xuan gently waved his scepter. The two new wisps of faith leapt into the air, and a melodious, lingering sound drifted down, as if a grand choir were praising the might of the gods from a distant place.

At that moment, the three wore solemn, devout expressions.

Now Mu Xuan began to speak slowly: “As you have seen, darkness has swallowed the whole continent. The light that remains is only a tiny thread.”

“The City of Magic fell overnight, steel fortresses crumbled like paper, and even the Church of Light—standing at the very top—was destroyed in an instant by that bizarre presence.”

“For a long time, the gods truly have not answered our calls. Yet no one ever questioned if their own faith was devout enough. Now, with our sincere belief, we have finally gained a reply from the gods. But even so, our situation is far from good…”

After a long pause, as two more shallow followers became devout, and two new wisps of faith filled the scepter, Mu Xuan waved his hand behind him. Instantly, the two wisps transformed into a scene.

There stood Hel, cloaked in ominous black aura…

“I knew it! He’s no good!!” Seeing this, Griffind shouted in agitation.

The other two grew grim as well.

“As you can see, our Cardinal was corrupted by that strangeness long ago…” Then, with another wave, Mu Xuan revealed the statue—its features twisted, its body covered in blood-tinged wounds.

“Even the statue we worshipped has been tainted…” The words sent a chill through the three.

Buzhazi swallowed hard, voice trembling, “Then why are we…”

All three had survived death before and kept their wits about them—they immediately realized what sort of ‘protection’ Hel had spoken of. Their eyes turned to Mu Xuan.

Mu Xuan only let out a long sigh. “I can’t resolve it… Although the gods have indeed bestowed blessings, among the twenty-nine of us, only you three have true faith. Our devotion falls short of what the gods require…”

“So… I need you…”

“But we’re just ordinary people…” Buzhazi was afraid, even wanting to say that only Mu Xuan had received the gift…

At that moment, his faith plummeted, nearly falling back to shallow follower. Mu Xuan gave Buzhazi a deep look, then called out loudly, “The blessings of the gods are always prepared for devout followers! Feel the light inside you, and draw it forth from within!”

Buzhazi still hesitated, but Griffind instantly followed Mu Xuan’s guidance. In the next second, the ball of light extended out, eventually covering Griffind entirely—forming a suit of silver-glimmering armor, and in his hand appeared a cross-shaped sword of brilliant silver light.

Mu Xuan was amazed.

Good grief! He’s born to be a knight! With just one wisp of power, he’d managed to summon a full suit of armor. Probing again, Mu Xuan found that Griffind’s faith in the Light allowed that one wisp to perform as if it were three!

So this is a fanatic? Terrifying!

Seeing Griffind’s transformation, Bakerze was unwilling to be outdone. His wisp of light extended from his body, instantly transforming into a hefty Holy Scripture of Light.

The aura of Light surrounded Bakerze as well.

At this moment, Buzhazi’s faith steadied back to devout, and he no longer hesitated.

However, even using all his strength, the light he extended formed only a short… dagger?