Chapter 447: SVOP - 447

Chapter 447: SVOP: Chapter 447

Vladimir froze for a moment, studying the spear-wielding Divine Soldier closely.

As this soldier knelt, the five or six others behind and in front of him immediately followed suit and bowed low.

"Did they mistake me for someone else? No, that doesn’t make sense. How could they be so sure? I’m wearing a hood, they can’t even see my face clearly."

His mind raced, and a guess quickly formed.

Meanwhile, the pirate standing behind him gaped in utter shock. "No way, brother! You actually managed to climb all the way up to the rank of Divine General?!"

Who is your brother? Vladimir thought inwardly, though he maintained a cold, aloof expression on the surface. He asked directly, "How did you recognize me?"

"Forgive me, Lord Divine General! Earlier, when you shattered my Spear Flash with a single palm strike, you used Holy Light. That is a power only Divine Generals possess. You are the Saintess’s most devout believers, and the guardians of order in the Divine Kingdom."

The spearman answered honestly, never suspecting for a moment that Vladimir might simply have mastered Holy Light on his own.

"I see now," Vladimir realized. He had indeed used Holy Light to extinguish the attack — just for an instant — yet this man had still sensed it.

"Lord Divine General, these men behind you are illegal intruders. They have violated the laws of the kingdom and must be captured and imprisoned in the Celestial Prison!" the soldier continued. "Please step aside, my Lord, and allow us to apprehend them."

Vladimir had no intention of letting them take the men away; he still had questions to ask.

He waved his hand dismissively. "I will handle these men myself. You may withdraw."

"But... very well!"

The soldier hesitated greatly, but knowing this man stood two ranks above him, he reluctantly complied.

"Fall back!"

Soon, the squad of soldiers departed to patrol other areas.

Watching them walk away, Vladimir turned around and firmly pressed a hand onto the pirate’s shoulder. "Now... where do you think you’re running off to, brother?"

"Hehe... it was just a misunderstanding! We were just passing through!"

The pirate laughed nervously, begging for mercy. "Come on, brother... you’ve already made it all the way to Divine General. There’s no need to hold a grudge against a guy like me, right?"

"What is your name?"

"Dax." The man took off his jester hat and shrugged helplessly. "Captain of the Marine Circus. Look, we really had no choice. Over a month ago, an ocean current swept us all the way up here into the sky. Most of my crew got separated from me. To find them, a few of us had to enter the White-White Sea and sneak into this Sky Kingdom."

Not pirates? Vladimir didn’t believe it. From the way Dax moved earlier, it was obvious he was a master of hand-to-hand combat. Anyone surviving out on the seas with those skills was certainly no ordinary civilian.

Most likely, this Marine Circus operated as a legitimate circus on calm days, but transformed into a pirate crew whenever the opportunity arose.

However, Vladimir didn’t dwell on it. Whether they were pirates or not didn’t matter to him.

"I have a few questions. Answer them well, and I may pardon your crimes. As you can see... I am a ’Divine General’ now."

"Ask away! I’ll tell you everything honestly!"

Vladimir smiled. "What exactly did you do to get hunted like this? And what are these ’laws of the kingdom’ everyone speaks of?"

"I didn’t do anything wrong!" Dax shook his head, speaking earnestly. "There’s a statue of the Saintess in Angel Square, right? I just climbed up and touched it a couple of times... and suddenly these guys came running to arrest me! Is that reasonable? It’s not like I actually insulted or harmed the real Saintess!"

He paused, then curled his lip in disdain. "And those so-called laws? Total nonsense! There are ten of them, and every single one is related to her. For example, you are never allowed to call her by name. You must address her as ’Lady Saintess’, or the Divine Soldiers will come after you."

This Saintess sounds incredibly petty, Vladimir thought to himself. He asked again, "What is a Divine General? You’ve been here for over a month — surely you know that much?"

"Aren’t you a Divine General?" Dax asked, confused. "Wait... how did you become one anyway? You have to receive her personal blessing, you know? And you have to work your way up from hundreds of Priests to even be considered."

"I am the one asking questions here." Vladimir narrowed his eyes, and a faint, sacred radiance began to emanate from his body.

Dax’s expression shifted slightly. He hurried to explain, "Look around you. This island is divided into three tiers — it’s a strictly hierarchical place. Besides the common citizens, there are Divine Soldiers, Priests, and Divine Generals. Above everyone else is the Saintess... though I’ve heard there’s also a High Priest."

"Is there no King?"

"No King. The Saintess holds absolute authority. Though she rarely shows herself in public. The Divine Generals are the highest-ranking officials you actually see. I’ve never seen more than one at a time, but they say there are at least three. They all live on the Middle Tier."

Hearing this, Vladimir nodded in understanding. He now had a rough idea of how this so-called Sky Kingdom functioned.

"One last thing: Who do they worship? God?" he asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.

"Not exactly. Their deity is the All-Knowing God, a mysterious sacred tree," Dax replied casually.

"I see..."

Vladimir fell silent for a moment, looking upward. Above him wasn’t the open sky, but the ceiling of the lower tier — the Middle Tier, where the Divine Generals resided.

After a brief hesitation, Vladimir decided to go up first. As for where the Saintess was or when she appeared, it would be much faster to simply capture a Divine General and ask directly.

He made up his mind and headed straight toward the central building.

"Wait! Brother! Hold on!"

Dax scrambled to catch up, grinning widely. "I know for a fact you’re not a real Divine General. How about we team up?"

"Hmm?" Vladimir glanced at him, weighing whether he should just get rid of the man.

"Wait, wait! I mean no harm!" Dax quickly raised his hands. "You need information, right? I can tell you everything I know, and I can help you investigate too. Just take me to the Middle Tier, please? I think my crewmates were captured and locked up in the Celestial Prison. I have to go save them."

"Do as you wish," Vladimir said, then ignored him completely.

They walked toward the center of the island. The closer they got, the more massive the central building appeared.

The circular structure made of cloud-material was easily the size of several football fields. A grand archway served as the entrance, guarded by Divine Soldiers.

Directly in front of the entrance lay a large square. In its center stood a gleaming white statue, ten meters tall.

It depicted a female figure, hands crossed over her chest, a silk scarf draped around her waist, and large white wings spread wide behind her.

These wings were similar in shape to those of Vladimir’s Archangel form, though much smaller — the statue only had one pair.

"That’s the statue of the Saintess," Dax whispered. "Everyone here thinks she’s a real angel. But really, she’s just a Devil Fruit user — Human-Human Fruit, Model: Angel, a Mythical Zoan type."

Vladimir glanced at the statue, showing neither agreement nor disagreement, and walked straight toward the entrance.

The guards spotted them and immediately stepped forward to block their path.

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