Chapter 573

Chapter 195 Part Two of the Land of the Great Dragon

I was stunned by what I heard: “What does that mean…”

The Eye of the Ancient Deity? I hadn’t heard of such a name before, but it sounded powerful… What was it? Could it be a miracle that could directly fly us all there?

I stopped the beast’s hooves and looked at High Priest Geoffrey for an explanation, but the man ignored me. He dismounted from the beast and waved at the three monks. “Come, right here. For the honor of our faith community, we will send Lady Sylvie to the ruins.”

After saying this, he turned his head to look at the red light in the sky again, as if confirming something. Behind him, the monks looked at each other, none of them moved, fear and hesitation in their eyes.

I watched them, frowning deeply.

What’s going on…

“High Priest Geoffrey, do you want to…”

“High Priest—”

Almost simultaneously with my words, a young monk clenched his fists, his voice hoarse: “Are we really going to do this…”

Hearing this, the priest took a step forward and looked up at the young monk riding the beast, whose lips were dry and pale. After observing him solemnly for a moment, he took a deep breath.

“Everyone, get down.”

The man then turned to me: “Lady Sylvie, when you returned from the Southern Territory, His Holiness activated the divine relic ‘World,’ which directly sent you to the teleportation point at the border of Woodward Forest, didn’t he?”

“Yes…”

I nodded, slightly startled.

Could they also achieve teleportation?

“So next, we will use the same method to send you near the ruins,” High Priest Geoffrey said in a low voice, confirming my guess. “Just now, I suddenly remembered that about ten days ago, our scholars had already begun setting up the ‘World’ teleport node around the ruins. This node was originally intended for future examination and research of the ruins and the land of dragons, with the aim of saving time for His Holiness. It was a contingency measure.”

“Ten days isn’t enough to know if the teleport node is complete. Many scholars couldn’t escape after the heretics attacked, and most of them died there. When I was sent out to find you, I left in a hurry, so I couldn’t confirm these details. However, I think we can take a chance…”

“…Take a chance?”

In other words, if the node is complete, he would have a way to send me there.

But wasn’t the ‘World’ still in Angel’s possession…

“What are you planning to do?”

I used my hands and feet to climb down from the beast. Glancing at the three monks who hadn’t gotten down yet, I saw they seemed hesitant or afraid. Seeing this, High Priest Geoffrey turned back and looked up at them.

“What, are you scared?”

The man sneered.

“…No!”

One of the monks seemed provoked by his words. He dismounted and walked up to the priest, fists clenched, determination in his eyes.

“Good.”

High Priest Geoffrey nodded at the monk and looked at the other two.

“And you?”

Facing the man’s question, the two slowly lowered their heads.

“High Priest…”

The youngest monk spoke in a trembling voice.

“The sound just now might not necessarily be a sign of the opening of the land of dragons… It could just be a false alarm. Nothing may have happened… We… We can still ride the beasts and get there in time…”

“Look me in the eye and say that!”

High Priest Geoffrey suddenly shouted, scaring the monk, who stammered and dared not speak or look at the priest’s eyes.

“You are the Holy Church Faith Community! The people’s most trusted saints! Don’t you know what you should do? Don’t you have any awareness?!”

The older priest’s voice echoed through the forest. I stood aside, sensing something was amiss. It seemed that the so-called “Eye of the Ancient Deity” miracle might not be simple. So I stepped forward and asked him seriously: “First, explain to me clearly what method you plan to use and why.”

“This is our duty, Lady Sylvie.”

High Priest Geoffrey replied quickly, not even glancing at me: “The Eye of the Ancient Deity was originally an auxiliary miracle of ‘World’ for teleportation and positioning. All members of the faith community must master it. Without ‘World’ as a medium, we would indeed need to pay a price to successfully perform it. But since the distance from here to the ruins isn’t too far, we can bear such a cost. Please don’t worry.”

…So, forcibly teleporting without ‘World’?

Would that work?

I frowned more deeply: “Exactly how…”

“Our mission is to ensure you reach the ruins before the demon awakens, regardless of the cost.”

High Priest Geoffrey interrupted me firmly: “And what you need to do is end the source of power behind the Door of Truth, completely destroy that demon, and bring peace back to this world, ensuring those heretics never again have the power to harm humanity. This is something only you can do. Compared to your responsibilities, our insignificant sacrifices are nothing…”

Sunlight shone on the man’s resolute face, his eyes gleaming with determination.

The horned horse let out a long scream. The second monk dismounted and silently walked to High Priest Geoffrey’s side, standing firm. He raised his head, pounded his chest with his right fist, and offered the highest respect to us: “I am willing to dedicate everything for glory, my lord!”

“Good!”

High Priest Geoffrey looked at him and suddenly smiled.

“Lady Sylvie, see? Our young gentleman and excellent clergyman is ready. Next, let me and them fulfill the glorious duty bestowed upon us by the Holy Church.”

The man turned to me, speaking earnestly: “Please trust us.”

“…”

Facing such a gaze, I opened my mouth but found no words to say.

Since that’s the case, I’ll believe in them…

“Alright.”

I nodded and took two steps back.

High Priest Geoffrey looked at the last trembling young monk still on the beast. The monk didn’t seem much older than me. To enter the faith community at his age, he must be a remarkable talent with a formidable family background.

“Oxley…”

The priest called his name. I saw the monk’s hand shaking violently.

At this moment, another deafening roar echoed like thunder, shaking the ground. The horned horse screamed again, one fleeing far away. I instinctively hunched my shoulders. Before the noise subsided, I turned my head and looked back, seeing the red in the distant sky seemed deeper.

It was as if the crimson clouds, stained with blood, were filled with countless deep purples.

The electric flashes sparkled and surged, the shocking commotion that arose was visible here; it was a power that did not belong to the order, perhaps not even to miracles—it was a force I had never seen before. Such power made everyone’s hearts sink simultaneously.

“There’s no time! Prepare to chant!”

Father Geoffrey no longer paid attention to the hesitant monk. He and the other two quickly separated, forming a tripod stance, holding their hands in front of their chests.

“Lord Silviga, please stand in the middle with us!”

The Father urgently shouted at me. I hurried over and began chanting as soon as I steadied myself. The ancient and clumsy syllables emerged from the mouths of the three of them, like a solemn and sacred hymn. Golden light quietly bloomed from their praying figures, and the air around seemed to freeze instantly, then gradually distort. Dizziness assaulted my mind, similar to the feeling when using “the World” for teleportation.

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t help but cover my forehead.

It has begun…

Glimmering golden lights, like countless flying fireflies, drifted from the three clerics who were chanting. The radiant lights circled around my body, and the brilliance reflected in my eyes gradually became blinding. I squinted, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. At that moment, I heard a resolute shout.

“Father Geoffrey, I have brought shame to the Faithful! I’m sorry—”

In the shout, I vaguely saw the youngest monk run over and stand in the golden light. His eyes seemed to be filled with tears. I wasn’t sure if it was due to the intense light causing an illusion. Without time to confirm, the young monk lowered his head and assumed a prayer posture, joining in the chanting with the others.

My head is spinning…

Buzz—

The humming of the miracle constantly invaded my ears, and the dizziness intensified. I gritted my teeth and held on, gradually feeling my feet leave the ground. In an instant of weightlessness, golden light dyed everything around me. Everything turned white, and then all negative sensations suddenly receded like a tidal wave. I landed with a thud, landing on my bottom, still dizzy. Struggling to half-sit up, I opened my eyes and urgently looked around.

The golden light was gradually dissipating.

The environment in front of me had changed.

Thump, thump, thump.

Before I could clearly see where I was, three heavy thuds sounded abruptly. I was momentarily stunned, and my gaze instinctively followed the nearest sound.

Less than five steps away, a monk fell down. The gold-and-white robe fluttered as he fell, then slowly settled.

!

What happened…

Did we succeed? Or did we fail… How about him…

My head was muddled, and I hadn’t fully processed what I saw. As I slowly stood up, my gaze swept around, and I saw the other two monks also fallen, face-down. I couldn’t see their faces, but I noticed their bodies convulsing. Blood seeped out from under them, soaking their golden robes and seeping into the soil.

“Hey…”

I walked over to one of them.

“Cough…”

He seemed not to be dead yet, coughing lightly. I quickly knelt down and turned his body over—the face of the youngest monk.

His eyes were vacant, blood oozing from his nose, mouth, and ears, mixing with the dirt on his face. He looked barely alive.

“Father Geoffrey…”

His voice was weak, almost inaudible.

“I’m sorry… I… have brought shame to the Faithful… Forgive… me…”

“Hey…”

I was at a loss.

What’s going on…

“Auksi, you’ve done well… You’re a good child…”

Suddenly, Father Geoffrey’s words echoed behind me.

Dazedly, I turned my head.

The man was still standing, not far away.

But like the monks, blood gushed out from his mouth and nostrils, splattering onto his robe and the ground, shockingly vivid.

“You all are the best children… the most excellent saints of the Church… Your names and your glory will be remembered by the world…”

Puh—

The man’s eyeball burst.

That crimson, white-streaked blood splattered onto the ground less than a meter away from me. I stared blankly, my head buzzing incessantly. After a long while, I heard the man kneel with a “plop.” A sudden jolt startled me.

“Why, what’s happening!” I shouted at Father Geoffrey.

The price…

Is it your lives?

“Not saying… the price! Can you bear it! You…”

None of you told me… how things would turn out this way…

“Haha… Cough, cough…”

Father Geoffrey knelt on the ground, his body swaying. His once firm face was gone, with dark eye sockets staring frighteningly. Blood dripped from his mouth and chin, flowing to the ground.

Yet he laughed.

“Yes…”

The man’s voice was hoarse and weak. He looked like he was about to die, but he smiled at me.

“We… haven’t succeeded… haven’t we…”

It took me a full two seconds to understand his words.

So, the price they could bear… meant their lives were enough to sustain the miracle’s operation, allowing the teleportation to occur without “the World” as a medium, bringing me here…

I stood up dizzily, rubbed my sore eyes, and looked around again.

Decaying black soil, twisted giant dead trees, branches of the dead trees bound with golden strips, small round orbs hanging at the ends, the golden light flowing around the orbs had not completely dispersed—this was the transmission node Father Geoffrey mentioned, we had arrived.

Rumbling…

Above, the sky seemed dyed red by clouds, purple lightning flashing and rolling.

We indeed came over…

But the monks who sent me here were all dying.

“Silviga…”

Father Geoffrey trembled, pulling out a smaller golden orb from his chest and throwing it to the ground.

After a moment, dazzling light suddenly burst from the orb, a sharp whine, Mafa’s light soared into the sky and exploded, resembling the fireworks of St. Blaine’s Festival.

“I, Geoffrey… have not disgraced… the honor and awareness… that a saint should have…”

Father Geoffrey fell down in that burst of light, falling into the decaying black mud. The dying man’s words, muffled by the mud soaked in blood, faintly reached me.

“Our mission… is complete… The rest… is entrusted to you… respected… Knight of the Pontiff…”

“Please… go to the Dragon Country… eliminate… heresy… eliminate demons… Let the people of this world… be saved… by you…”