Soul of Searing Steel

The cold wind that chilled down to the bone was howling on. The cold air had seeped into the armor. The sunlight of winter was shining upon the silver armor that the Knights were wearing.

The reflection of the sunlight was making the armor glitter.

On the main path that connects Moldavia and Moldova, a platoon of knights was riding on their horses without saying anything. In between the trampling of the horseshoes, snow and dirt weresplashing all over the place, leaving a trail of gray dust cloud at the end of the platoon that was advancing forward.

Because they were not in a hurry to arrive at their destination, the knights were riding at a pace slower than the pace when they were hustling over to Moldova. Days of riding forward on their horses had not worn them out at all. Instead, they were riding at a comfortable pace.

However, regardless of how slow they were, they were about to arrive at their destination soon.

Joshua was holding on the reins of his black horse. He did not set his eyes towards the front. Instead, he was looking at the clouds that were constantly changing with glassy eyes. Right behind his back, Ying was clinging to the waist of the Warrior. Her delicate and small face looked drowsy though.

This was different from the journey back then. They had to clear out some daemons that were scattered around while they were on their way to Moldova to provide their support. However, currently, there was basically nothing else other than just frosty snow and some trees. So there was no need for them to annihilate any daemons along their way back… Sometimes, they would see some lone-rangers or travelers walking in the snow, or even hunters wandering around the woods. There were only a few of them though. Meanwhile, because of the Black Rising that just happened recently, the Dragonic Caravan had hidden themselves and vanished from the land as if they had never existed. Well, they would probably show themselves again in a week or two to do business again.

Looking at the repeating scenes could really annoy and wear off people’s minds.

“Everyone, we’re about to arrive at our destination. Cheer up. The main city is just ahead of us.”

“Yes, sir!”

Encouraging the morale of his people, Joshua had also felt a flutter in his heart. He felt joy blooming from the bottom of his heart.

Ever since he arrived in this world in last October, he had been traveling and battling half the time. It had been more than two months he arrived here now. Furthermore, he had not been staying in the main city for long. However, the warrior still treated the city that was built on an ice land as his settlement in this world.

Well, anyone would look forward to getting home and rest.

Far within sight, the gigantic wall that was forged from black granite was within the view of everyone. The black city that was standing firm right in the middle of heaven and earth was extremely obvious at first sight. Upon receiving the motivation that was lying in front of their eyes, the entire platoon increased their pace forward a little.

Starfall Year 831, 28th of December, 3.47 p.m., the knights that traveled over distant land had returned to their home.

Moldavia did not change much at all even after their baron was not present for over a month. The scouts that were stationed on top of the tower had noticed the flag and the warrior who was leading the platoon coming from afar. So they immediately started opening up the heavily fortified door. The knights came into the city through the entrance of the city. Under the eyes of the people in the city, Joshua led the platoon into the military camp to the northern side of the city in an orderly manner.

When everyone had reported to the camp, Joshua declared that the party was officially disbanded. As long as they had registered their names with the military, everyone that took part in the expedition would receive a thirty-day holiday.

For the expedition to support Moldova, even though the Warrior had basically done everything that was important all by himself, however, he managed to break through the Black Rising horde to reach the fortress of Moldova all because he had his fifty knights along with him. Without combining the strength of the entire platoon, even with Joshua’s power, he would not have rammed all the way through the 200,000 daemons all by himself. Well, that time, the Daemons had not been corrupted by Chaos, so even after Joshua killed them, Joshua would not get any recovery support from the Azurite.

The Knights who had received the holiday were extremely joyful right now. Especially since it was almost time for the new year. Although the weather in the North was always the same and there would not be any large-scale new year celebration happening in this city like the other large cities, however, it was perfect for them to have more quality time with their family together.

However, because they departed from Black Forest Fortress, so they did not bring along their stuff along, Meanwhile, some of the knights had families back in the fortress. So a part of them decided to stay in the main city to have a few days rest before they get back to the fortress. Of course, Joshua would not really reject or ignore such a reasonable request now, would he?

Upon picking up the pen, registering the number of knights who would need to use a warhorse, the warrior looked at the words that he could not understand and slightly furrowed his brows. After having some simple thoughts, he randomly picked an Upper Silver-Tier knight and ordered him to take charge of monitoring and adjusting the changes in this regard. Meanwhile, he held the hand of the silver-haired girl and walked towards the church right in the middle of the city.

“Master, what do you want to do…”

“Healing.”

After replying Ying, Joshua attempted to move his left hand. However, his wound had not even closed yet, and the bones right by his shoulder were only beginning to regenerate. His attempt to move his arm had only managed to let him move his palm a little bit. The warrior could not help but sigh and shake his head.

Even though the priests from the fortress in Moldova had tried their best, but they were still too young. Their standard in handling the wounds was still far from enough. Meanwhile, Artanis who was an Upper Silver-Tier priest that was on the verge to become a Gold-Tier priest had vanished. No one knew where he went.

To attempt healing as fast as he could, Joshua did not waste a single second. He went to the middle of the city immediately, to the Shrine of the God of Might and Justice, right by the entrance of St. Laurent Church.

Right on top of the clock tower, the black round holy emblem was shining bright, unleashing the holy radiance all across the surroundings. Many believers come and go from the church.

“Now must be the time for the hymns to be played or the time to feast together.”

With such thoughts flashed across the mind, Joshua nodded to greet the people that were paying their respects to him. After walking up the stairs, he passed by the giant stone tables and into the church.

Upon walking past the corridor, he lifted his head and instantly, he saw someone who he was very familiar with; the white-haired Priest Artanis seemed to have expected that the warrior would come here for him. He was wearing wooden-framed spectacles, holding some books in his hands, standing right in the middle of the main hall. He was waiting for Joshua to approach him.

“It’s been a while since you left the fortress.”

Joshua attempted to keep his battle aura in check, trying to be as normal as the other people around him. However, he soon realized that his intimidating aura could not be kept in or unleashed like his power. It would always be there—he could tell from the eyes of the believers that were filled with respect and fear at the same time. He could tell that his attempt was pointless.

Artanis also shook his head without saying a word about it. As an acquaintance to Joshua, he did not waste his breath with all the small talk. He went straight to the point. “You’re here to heal, right?”

“That’s right. My left arm is severely injured. The bones on my shoulder have been…”

Upon roughly explaining his injuries and how he got himself injured, Joshua noticed that the old priest’s eyes were suddenly clouded with rage. That rage was aimed at Joshua’s stubbornness for not following his advice previously.

“How many times have I told you this… You need to be aware of the injuries you have on your left hand! Your injuries have not recovered yet, you know? Remember the battle you had with that Gold-Tier warrior? You’ve suffered quite a lot of internal injuries that have yet to recover. Why did you even go into a melee battle with the Black Dragon? You’ve even used your Combat Aura to power up your ultimate skills—you’re not the Guardian God of the savages. You’re also not the descendant of the druids that could turn yourself into a draconic beast! You’re just a warrior who relies on weapons and skills to battle! Using brute force instead of the advantages you already have, you deserve to suffer such heavy injuries!”

Upon listening to the scolding of the priest, Joshua did not feel offended or angry at all. Well, firstly, the priest was actually a generation older than Joshua was. Furthermore, Artanis was a doctor, a healer. Joshua had always held healers and priests in high regard. After all, truth to be told, Joshua should be the one to be blamed for his own injuries. He did too many stupid mistakes because he was too reckless in the first place. Not to mention that he was currently asking for a favor. It was alright to let the person scold him for a bit.

After repeatedly scolding Joshua for being reckless, Artanis then brought it up again saying, “If you ever not take care of your own body again and let your left arm get injured again and again, your arm will have to be put in a cast for a year just to heal!” Joshua quickly nodded his head to express that he understood.

“As for now, because the people in Moldova handled this in time and your life force is strong, you’ll only need about a month to fully recover from this.”

After touching Joshua’s left hand, using holy light to detect the situation of Joshua’s body, the white-haired old priest muttered to himself and shook his head. Then he said, “Nevermind, follow me to my quarters. I shall take care of it for you.”

“Remember, this time, I shall charge a fee. I will send the bill to the Lord’s mansion.”

“No problem. Although I’ve no idea how much I have, that should be sufficient.”

The warrior shrugged. Then he turned his head around and looked at the silver-haired girl. Then he said, “Ying, do you plan to stay here, or do you plan to follow us and look at how he is going to treat my injuries?”