Chapter 748

Chapter Twelve Three Questions

“Owl?”

The wind blew the cloak fiercely, fluttering like waves beneath the hood. I tilted my head slightly, revealing a puzzled expression on my face: “What owl?”

“Owl insignia…”

The knight leader’s throat was caught by the chest plate, making him feel quite uncomfortable, and his breathing became heavier: “It represents… the sword of Damocles hanging over the top of the Holy City’s Temple Church for millennia… It is the guardian of the highest executive organization of the Holy Church, the system’s protector… Anyone who sees it must obey. If someone dares not to comply, they will be treated as heretics…”

“Is that so.”

I muttered, my eyes narrowing slightly.

Never heard of such things before…

“So, is there any connection between it and the choir?”

“I’m… not sure… No one knows who the members of the owl are… Just like you never know which of your friends in the past might actually be part of the choir… The same logic applies. The owl is just more deeply hidden…”

“They do not often reveal their identities in public… but privately, they are the ones who formulate doctrines and hold divine authority over everything… They even have the power to judge the Pope… The Church Court in the Holy City is directly under the jurisdiction of the owls… Cough, cough…”

The man coughed twice: “With my rank… This is all I know about it…”

“…Alright.”

I nodded, the eyes under the hood slightly reddened, looking at the man: “You seem honest… Let’s end this first question here.”

I roughly understood what kind of people they were…

Next is the second question.

“Second question.”

I raised two fingers towards him: “You said your men were ordered to withdraw, allowing heretics to attack Mosley Coast and massacre innocent civilians in coastal villages and towns. This was directly instructed by the owl. You couldn’t disobey such an order… I’ll believe you for now, but afterwards, as far as I know… the Third Knight Order had the chance to stop the heretics overseas, but later they ran out of food…”

“The supply route for grain and fodder was cut off by the coiners, the knights starved, many fell ill, vomiting while swinging their swords, lacking the strength to resist those villains, hence their惨败. What I heard later was that the grain was seized by a group of hungry bandits, but afterwards, these bandits seemed to vanish without a trace, no one could find them again… Tell me everything you know about this.”

“You… are suspecting me…”

“This is redundant.”

Bang—

I punched the man in the face: “Stop trying to test my patience.”

“Uh!”

This punch was very heavy, the man’s nose bone instantly collapsed, his upper lip torn apart, his head violently reared back, even his helmet flew off. He groaned in pain, his face twisted, blood gushed from his nose and mouth after a two-second interval, staining half of his face red.

“I don’t know… Damn it, I don’t know!”

The knight leader’s emotions were already collapsing: “I was only ordered to retreat to the port. After learning that Archbishop Ansheel was ambushed by clowns at sea and that his fleet was completely destroyed, I was ordered to escort him southward to the northlands… Then I received news of the Third Knight Order’s defeat! At that time, I thought as long as Commander Williams was in charge, those heretics would never truly cross the line. Who knew their supplies had been cut off long ago… Damn it, who would do such a thing!”

His mouth was badly injured by that punch, his speech slurred, head disheveled, tears streaming down due to the pain of his broken nose, no longer appearing dignified, looking rather pitiful and sympathetic: “Although I can’t claim to be a good person, I am still a… a glorious church knight. A knight’s honor and底线 won’t allow me to do such things! You can rely on your powerful strength to act as you please, you can force me without restraint, even injure me, even if I really die tonight in your hands, you can’t trample on my dignity! This is my底线! Do you hear me, damn assassin!”

In the night wind, the man’s shout at the end seemed to gain some lion-like aura.

…Alright.

He might really know nothing.

But he might also be afraid of the consequences of exposure, which might be worse than death, so even if he dies in my hands, he firmly refuses to say anything.

There’s no need to dwell on this with him, it’s just a waste of time.

It seems unlikely that the Sixth Knight Order had much opportunity to do such things…

For now, let’s assume he really knows nothing.

“Stop talking.”

I interrupted him coldly and extended my third finger: “Then, the last question.”

“Huh…”

The man was somewhat tired.

He suppressed the anger and pain in his heart, trembling and struggling to exhale slowly, closing his eyes gradually: “…Speak.”

“Regarding the flood in the southern region of Silgaya… That rainstorm that lasted nearly half a year, flooding countless villages and farmlands… You know everything, tell me.”

After saying that, I stared at his face with bloodshot eyes—At that moment, the knight leader instinctively opened his eyes, his pupils constricted slightly in the darkness, his expression frozen for a moment.

A very subtle change.

If not prepared and carefully observed, such a small change would be impossible to notice.

That change was instantly concealed: “Rainstorm?”

He gasped: “That rainstorm was a disaster no one wanted to see, many died in the south… cough, many people, and it gave the heretics many opportunities… But the rain eventually stopped before everything became irreparable, which was a rare blessing, a fortunate event in an unfortunate situation… Afterwards, the Sixth Knight Order made significant contributions to restoring order in the coastal areas… In the latter half of the year… we have been busy with this…”

As he spoke, the man suddenly realized something, opening his eyes wide: “Your meaning is—”

He seemed to have a guess, but immediately denied it himself.

“No, it’s impossible… That rainstorm… covered the entire southern region of Silgaya. Do you know how vast that land is? No one could achieve such a degree… No one… This is absurd… cough.”

“Is that so.”

I looked at him and suddenly laughed: “Are you sure you haven’t hidden anything from me? I’ll give you one last chance. What did you think of just then? Answer me within three seconds.”

“What could I think… wait!”

The knight leader tried to argue, seeing my five fingers holding his chest plate loosen up, he became anxious: “I know something, I remembered! About two years ago, before that rainstorm came, around early March, a friend visited me. He told me something, at the time I found it strange, but after the rain I understood its meaning…”

“Oh? What did he say?” I asked, tilting my head.

“He said… cough… cough…”

The knight leader coughed a few times, his voice paused, seemingly recalling or weighing his words: “He told me that this year’s harvest in the south would be problematic, urging me to buy grain and hay circulating in the coastal towns as soon as possible, buying as much as possible, storing them in safe warehouses… it would surely be greatly useful…”