Chapter 511

Chapter 134 “The World”

In the sky above, the clouds drifted slowly and gently with the wind.

When the sun was high, I stepped out of the tower where Angel was, and together with Safirios and others, descended from the city wall to the camp. We had a simple meal with clear soup and hot water, eating a few dry biscuits.

Skipping breakfast, and not having eaten much last night either, I devoured the lunch greedily. Even though the biscuits were dry and hard, and tasted slightly bitter, I ate them clean, even the crumbs. After finishing, I poured myself another bowl of hot soup to soften the biscuits in my stomach. Only then did I feel like I had actually eaten something.

Afterwards, I climbed back up the city wall and onto the highest watchtower, sitting cross-legged at the top. I swept my hair behind my ear and listened to the gentle breeze whisper past. I watched the people coming and going below the wall for a long time, but my heart couldn’t settle down.

“The jester’s whereabouts have been confirmed…”

The words Angel said to me in the tower echoed faintly in my mind.

“I don’t know if I should tell you about this… Actually, I’m still hesitating because of his location… How should I put it? It might not be good news… Little Black Charcoal, we should have realized this long ago. Do you remember that heretic frozen into an ice sculpture in the mountain village on our way here?”

“We should have understood then why that heretic was there. After discovering our trail… He must have known about us, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to threaten those villagers beforehand, setting a trap for you and Isaac. But if he had the chance, why didn’t he just escape directly? There was clearly an opportunity before you and Isaac arrived.”

“But he chose to stay and fight to the death. Was he stubborn? No, he wasn’t. The only possibility… He stayed to cover for someone else. Or perhaps, he was distracting us, confusing our focus, buying time for someone to escape.”

“Then… Who escaped under these circumstances?”

It was the jester.

“That’s right, it was the jester, but none of us thought of this at the time. According to the knights’ speculation, we all assumed that if anyone escaped, they would head south, into the hills, increasing their chances of survival. Once they escaped the knights’ search, they would immediately return to report the news… That’s what we all believed at the time.”

Yes…

That’s exactly what I thought too.

“Then, the jester… or maybe someone else. In any case, they used the time bought by their minions, and with the cover of the storm, they slipped away that day, right under our noses… heading north.”

“Not long ago, I received word from a scout in the north. They confirmed that several members of the Truth’s Gate cult, including the jester, appeared at the border of Woodward Forest. And their target, I guess, is the place no one knows—the land of dragons…”

“This war is nothing but a ruse. Those heretics who came from the Mosley coast probably didn’t even know themselves; they were just pawns for Truth’s Gate to lure us out. Even if they all died, the jester wouldn’t care… Little Black Charcoal, we were played.”

We were indeed played.

Looking back now, the jester let these people run rampant in the south to force the church to focus its attention here, forcing them to deploy their best forces to handle the chaos and disaster, allowing him to take advantage of the situation…

Entering from the Southern Territory, we arrived at Woodward Forest.

By the time we received the message, it was already too late. Even if Angel now gave the order for Isaac to lead the First Knight Order back immediately, abandoning the besieged Arretine City, it would still take at least half a month to reach the Northern Territory…

Half a month, how much could they accomplish in that time?

It was unimaginable.

At first, when I heard Angel mention this matter, my panic was overwhelming. Thinking of the Clown possibly having already reached Woodward Forest, with those around him being like the third-stage believers previously encountered—despite their incomplete power—the knights guarding there would surely find it extremely difficult to resist.

With the Clown’s demon-like cruel methods, soon the Northern Territory might become like the Southern Territory, with countless people being forced to pick up the butcher’s knife, killing their wives and children, and torturing women. The tragedy of the Silent Fortress would happen again, and the first to be affected might be the small village where my grandmother was…

And I couldn’t make it in time.

Thinking about this, my heart was overwhelmed with anxiety and sorrow, which I couldn’t suppress. At that moment, if not for Angel’s quick action, using “Reversal of Annihilation” to stop me, I might have overturned the entire city tower, disregarding everything, releasing the power of the Abyss, spreading my flame wings, and flying northward.

Even now, such impulses had not subsided.

I was merely struggling to control them.

Because later, Angel told me he had other methods.

Or rather, he had another divine relic.

A great miracle granted by the original “Ancient Deity,” spanning a thousand years, which could allow me to swiftly cross mountains and rivers, reaching the Northern Territory—”Teleportation Divine Relic”—World.

The successive Popes of the Holy Church, after rigorous voting elections and finally deciding on a candidate, the person chosen by the deity, the great leader of human society, would inherit the right to use three powerful divine relics from the previous Pope.

“Reversal of Annihilation,” and “World.”

The third one I didn’t know, nor did I have the mood to ask.

Angel told me that if I decided I had to go to the Northern Territory, I wouldn’t need to worry about matters here; everything would be taken care of by him.

He would use the power of “World” to teleport me to a “teleportation point” set up by the church in the Northern Territory—a place generally the most core and secretive institution of the Holy Church, strictly confidential to personnel below the rank of Cardinal. As a Knight of the Pope, I naturally wasn’t allowed to contact or enter such places.

However, this time the situation was special. As the Pope, Angel would use his authority and the power of “World” to send me to one of the locations near Woodward Forest and arrange for someone to meet me there.

For this, he needed some time to prepare, and by tonight, I could set off.

“In fact, of course, I wouldn’t just rush into the Southern Territory without any precautions, leading a legion. In Woodward Forest, apart from the knight orders you’ve seen, I’ve deployed other defensive forces. Those forces, though not enough to destroy the Clown, would still be more than sufficient to block him.”

“But at the same time, I very much understand your feelings… in fact, I prefer you like this, little charcoal. You’re worried about the village, right? I understand… so, I’ll get everything ready to send you over.”

“Just tonight, by yourself.”

…

The gentle breeze stirred my hair.

Not knowing how long I had been sitting at the top of the watchtower, my feet felt numb, so I stood up, stretching my legs and twisting my ankles. Soon, I jumped down from the wall.