Chapter 846 - 24: Preparing to Push Open the Door of Truth
Chapter 846: Chapter 24: Preparing to Push Open the Door of Truth
The Justice Cathedral, this cold holy temple built from white megaliths, now stands silent under the dim sky, like a wounded yet dignified beast. The once resounding and solemn holy songs and fervent prayers have already ceased, replaced by an oppressive, suffocating deathlike stillness.
Inside the grand chapel, the giant scales relief looms faintly in the shadows cast by the walls, as if a gaze of judgment, watching the sparse and panicked figures below.
The few priests who remained gathered in front of the statue; their prayers were no longer filled with certainty and fervor, but instead carried a quivering cadence and an unmistakable unease. Soft conversations, mingled with fear and disbelief, echoed like the hum of mosquitoes between the cold columns:
“How could it be… the frontline… the frontline army actually…”
“Dozens of Holy Judges… and Lady Margaret… could it be…”
“It’s the Rule Wizard! A Rule Wizard appeared in Jade Land!”
“Oh Father God… please, bestow a miracle and guide the lost sheep…”
The air was thick with a sense of bewilderment and fear after a blow to their faith. Some Lower Tier priests stood pale, barely able to hold onto their Holy Emblems, their gazes wavering as if the very cornerstone of their existence was crumbling underfoot.
Even the Libra Knights guarding the crucial passageways, though still holding their spines straight, their breathing under the Metal Face Armor was noticeably heavier, and the joints of their fingers gripping their weapons turned white from the excessive force.
The entire cathedral remained shrouded by that invisible force field, with threads of Power of Faith still converging from all directions, seeping into that giant dark purple crystal deep within.
But the torrent of this energy seemed to carry a trace of chaotic fluctuations, as if echoing its source—
The panic and wavering spreading among the Believers providing the faith at this moment.
Amidst this oppressive and unsettling atmosphere, Bishop Leonard’s figure reappeared in the corridor leading to the deepest part of the cathedral. His steps were still steady, but upon closer inspection, his solemn face was more tense than usual, his brow furrowed with an impenetrable gloom and weight.
He clutched a communication crystal emitting a faint red glow, vibrating continuously—a dire message encrypted with highest authority, hurriedly sent back from the frontlines.
He ignored the inquiring and expectant gazes from the Guard Knights and priests he passed by, heading straight towards the tightly guarded restricted area.
The High Priests guarding the dark purple crystal also evidently sensed the unrest outside, and upon seeing Leonard’s arrival, they too wore expressions of undisguisable anxiety. The leading priest came forward, greeting him with a dry voice: “Bishop…”
Leonard said nothing more, only nodding heavily and waving a hand. The priests silently stepped aside, and the light shield opened the entrance once again.
Leonard took a deep breath, as if to gather some courage, then decisively stepped into the light shield, pressing his palm against the cold crystal surface once more.
Twisting, melting, spatial conversion.
When he once again set foot in the eerie underground cave, the oppressive sensation in the air was nearly tangible.
Overhead, the dark purple crystal continued its slow rotation, countless dark red “veins” of conduits trembled slightly, continuously injecting seemingly impure and chaotic faith energy into the twisted figure seated on the stone chair.
Erodion still sat there, his naked torso adorned with dark red lines that seemed deeper than before, faintly exuding a foreboding pulsing feel. He slowly opened his eyes, those eyes filled with countless noises looked at Leonard, his voice hoarse and low, as if suppressing a storm:
“You came… I already felt it.”
He didn’t specify what he felt, but Leonard knew, as a being directly connected to the core of this vast faith network, the faith wavering and energy backlash caused by the defeat at the frontline, Erodion probably sensed it sooner and clearer than anyone else.
Leonard bowed his head deeply, offering up the still faintly vibrating communication crystal with both hands, his voice carrying an undisguisable difficulty and grief:
“Teacher… the frontline… has fallen.”
Leonard’s voice fell with a heavy weight in the dark cave. He kept his head down, awaiting the anticipated thunderous rage, or at least a grave silence.
However, the twisted figure on the stone chair let out an extremely low chuckle, with an odd note of satisfaction.
“Why panic, Leonard.”
Erodion’s voice remained hoarse yet oddly calm, even exuding a sense of mastery over everything, a reaction completely different from what Leonard anticipated. That voice seemed to carry some kind of magic, causing Leonard’s taut nerves from the bad news to relax slightly.
“Wasn’t all this already within the plan?” Erodion spoke slowly, the fervor in those deep eyes seemed to settle down, transforming into a cold and absolute rationality:
“The intervention from Jade Land, the appearance of the Rule Wizard, even including the coveting and downfall of those hyenas from the Gray Tower, Thousand Sails… all the conflicts, all the deaths, the fear and despair they erupted, even the struggle of burning their souls in their final moments… isn’t all this intense emotion and soul energy turmoil and annihilation, the finest ’fuel’?”
He slightly moved the arm connected by the energy conduits, causing those dark red “veins” to wriggle lightly. “War is the most efficient harvest. Their presumed victory and defeat are nothing more than laying bricks for my ritual.”
Leonard froze, lifting his head to look at the inhuman form of his teacher on the stone chair, his panic and heaviness quickly replaced by comprehension and reverence.
It was only then that he realized that the defeat he witnessed might only be a foreseen or even orchestrated part in his teacher’s grander scheme.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the residual unease, his countenance resumed to the solemnity and calmness a bishop should possess, he bowed and said: “It was this student’s ignorance that failed to comprehend the teacher’s profound intentions.”
Erodion seemed quite satisfied with Leonard’s quick adjustment; he no longer dwelled on the battlefield, but turned to ask the most crucial question: “So, how goes the energy accumulation? How has the energy gathered from battlefield dispersal and harvesting?”
Leonard’s spirit lifted, immediately reporting clearly, with a hint of certainty of task completion in his tone: “Reporting to the teacher, through the transference and purification of the Justice Cathedral’s core crystal, the Source Crystal’s energy accumulation progress has currently reached ninety percent! The energy purity far exceeds expectations, although… to be completely filled, at the current rate, it might still require some time…”
“Ninety percent…” Erodion repeated the number softly, and in the hoarse voice finally could not suppress a trace of burning desire and excitement, the dark red lines around him brightened a bit, as if magma flowed underneath.
He stood silent for a moment, seemingly sensing the surging energy within his body and the crystal, or as if making a final consideration.
Subsequently, he lifted his head, his gaze seemingly penetrating through the thick layers of rock, seeing that invisible door existing in concept and rules. His voice suddenly rose, carrying a sense of severing all hesitations, a determination to sink the ships, echoing thunderously in the dim cave:
“Ninety percent is more than enough!”
“The accumulation is already substantial, the opportunity is right before us, no need to wait any longer!”
“Then…”
On his twisted face, a nearly ferocious yet incomparably solemn smile stretched, declaring:
“Let’s begin.”
“It’s time to push open that door…”