Chapter 731: One of Us!

Everyone stares at the statue knight in stunned silence when it speaks.

Until now, they had taken it for nothing more than a mechanical construct or magical puppet.

Yet the being before them is unmistakably intelligent.

What no one notices is that the statue knight is not speaking aloud. Its voice reaches them through spiritual power.

Henwell is just as fascinated. Somehow, the thing has even recovered its mind.

What sort of revival art could restore it after thousands of years?

Barely containing his excitement, Abbas steps forward. "Is this Fendicasa? Are you its guardian?"

The statue knight ignores him and looks instead at Miller. "You are the bravest one here!"

"I never imagined that humanity would have grown so weak after all this time."

"I shall reward you for your courage in battle. This sword accompanied me through three hundred years of war."

"I carried it into the Abyss and slaughtered the demons that ran rampant there."

"I wielded it in Hell and took the heads of cunning devils."

"It left its mark in the divine kingdoms of alien gods."

"Its sword light once flashed through the Godrealms of false gods."

"Its name is the Blade of Herkes!"

"Now I hope your valor will carry it into many more battles. Do not dishonor its name!"

With that, the statue knight tosses the sword to Miller.

Miller catches it, only to nearly lose his grip beneath its unexpected weight.

The sword is almost ten times heavier than his own and weighs over fifty kilograms.

The statue knight forms an intricate hand sign toward Miller. "May my lord's radiance shine upon you!"

The gesture strikes Henwell as vaguely familiar. His eyes light up, and he quietly fastens a badge to his chest.

He then steps forward and performs an equally complicated, somewhat similar salute.

"May I ask which revered predecessor of the Holy Spirit Church you are, Your Excellency?"

The statue knight looks at Henwell in surprise. "Who are you? Are you a member of the Church?"

Henwell's face fills with excitement. "Your Excellency! My name is Adolf. I am a member of the Church Strategic Studies Council assigned to the Abandoned Continent by the Church."

The statue knight thinks for a moment. "Strategic Studies Council? I have never heard of it!"

Henwell explains, "It is a department the Church established later."

"It was previously called the Esoteric Studies Office. I do not know what it was called before that."

"It is mainly responsible for planning the Church's strategy on the Abandoned Continent, allowing the Church to better guide the direction of the entire continent's development."

The statue knight hesitates. "The Esoteric Studies Office? Your duties sound much like those of a Bishop of Strategy."

It then challenges him, "Why have you come here? The Church strictly forbids anyone from approaching this restricted zone!"

Henwell smiles bitterly. "The Western Archbishop sent us to explore this place."

"A calamity now erupts on this continent once every century."

"We are responsible for investigating the source of these sudden calamities. The few fragments that remain in the Church's records led us here."

"But the Church's records have been vanishing for no apparent reason. An invisible force erases vast numbers of ancient documents and accounts."

"So we had no idea this was a restricted zone established by the Church..."

The statue knight takes a step forward. "Then why did you not bring the Church's combat forces with you?"

"Has the Church declined so far that a Bishop of Strategy must carry out a mission with hired outsiders?"

Henwell immediately turns solemn. "Your Excellency, our present circumstances are extremely difficult."

"The nations founded across the continent by descendants of the imperial bloodlines are now fiercely resistant to the Church!"

The statue knight asks, "The Empire? Which empire? The Sword-and-Shield Empire, or the Arcane Empire?"

Well, now.

Both of those names sound formidable!

Henwell lays out the continent's current situation, weaving in a wealth of information known only to the upper ranks of its kingdoms.

Everyone present except the Lady of Calamity listens in utter bewilderment as Henwell discusses these deeper political matters.

The Lady of Calamity can also tell that his account is mostly true, with a few carefully chosen lies mixed in.

He does not breathe a single word about Peace Haven.

When Henwell finishes, the statue knight sighs. "My lord's own descendants have begun rejecting the Church. Just how many years have passed?"

Henwell thinks to himself that at least three thousand years have passed. In another thousand, for all he knows, even the Lord of the Holy Spirit might be gone!

Henwell continues, "We are currently exploring within a kingdom founded by my lord's bloodline."

"Bringing Paladins with us would make the operation highly inconvenient."

"These people are all members of the Church. They have merely been operating undercover in the Eastern Kingdoms!"

"Miller here is a Paladin candidate sent by the Church to carry out missions in the Eastern Kingdoms."

"Mr. Abbas is one of the Church's doctrinal scholars and serves as the technical adviser for this expedition into the ruins."

"And Lady Thatcher is a loyal believer in my lord and the principal sponsor of this expedition..."

Everyone's heart pounds as Henwell spins the lie without so much as blinking. They are more frightened now than when the monsters had them surrounded.

Miller desperately tries to recall everything he knows about the Holy Spirit Church. What was the Church's creed again?

Abbas's legs have gone weak. He is terrified that this revived Church knight might ask him a question about doctrine.

The statue knight's tone finally softens. "You may be weak, but at least you possess the courage to sacrifice yourselves."

"More importantly, your faith in my lord is unwavering. That is good!"

No one else dares breathe too loudly. Henwell alone continues the deception with righteous conviction.

After a while, Henwell suddenly asks, "May I know Your Excellency's name?"

"If possible, once we leave, we will notify the Church and ask them to come rescue you."

"...I have forgotten my name. I remember only that my weapon was called the Blade of Herkes. Perhaps that was also my name."

Henwell asks another question. "How powerful were you in your prime, Your Excellency?"

"I was a Godsworn Knight of the Church!"

Henwell sucks in a sharp breath.

This guy was actually a Domain Master!

In the Church's hierarchy, a Godsworn Knight stood above Glory Rank at the Brilliant Star Arrow tier, known in the knight sequence as Domain Knight or Sky Knight.

The Church still has such figures today. They hold status equal to that of Cardinal Archbishops and Godsworn Bishops.

At times, even the Pope must defer to them!

Henwell will have to investigate after he returns. Someone like this cannot possibly have been an unknown figure.

The Church has survived to the present day. It must have records of a professional this powerful.

Henwell asks one final question. "Your Excellency, did you become like this while protecting Fendicasa?"

The statue knight stares fixedly at Henwell. "No! We came here to assault this fortress built by the followers of a false god!"