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Chapter 573: The Holy Church
Chapter 573: The Holy Church
Chapter 573: The Holy Church
It had been a couple of months since Michael visited Royal land. By the time, he flew to Royal land atop Nightmare, the sun was on the top, scorching everyone under with its heat. Just like before, Michael had to land at the city gates and pay a toll to enter the city. Nightmare shrunk his size smaller to sit atop Michael's shoulder. After paying twenty gold coins, Michael entered the main capital of Royal land.
As usual, the city looked stripped out of a fantasy anime or a fantasy drama with all the people wearing fancy clothes and members of other races. Many young girls and young boys had their own exotic pets with them, but none had a dragon. A forest dragon was still a rare dragon breed, after all. Hence, Michael drew some glances at him while walking toward the town square.
According to Claire, the road leading to the Holy Church branched out from the town square.
"Look at all those guards," while Michael was on his way to the town square, Nightmare pointed him to the fully armor-plated soldiers patrolling the streets.
The soldiers wore pale blue armor with the crest of Royal land on their chest. However, several groups adorned dark brown armor instead of blue. Michael did not recognize them.
"Who are they?"
The Holy Church soldiers, who were called Holy Guards, would be in shining white armor. At the same time, the guardians always wore golden armor or appeared without any armor but just their crest. He hadn't seen any group of guards in dark brown armor.
Besides, they were extremely strong. Each guard wearing the muddy brown armor was at the Core Strengthening Stage. Because of the helmet, Michael couldn't see their faces or identify their race.
Ignoring the patrolling soldiers, Michael continued to walk toward the town square.
"Is that Ghost?"
"Yes. It's him,"
"Whoa it's really him. He is better looking than I imagined,"
"He does have a dragon for a pet. Cool,"
Several nobles who recognized Michae by his trademark black robes began to murmur among them.
At this time, almost half of Elon knew Michael's face and the entire continent knew his name.
If it wasn't for the no-fly inside the city gates rule, Michael could have easily detected the church and quickie reached the place. But, since it wasn't the case, Michael had to ignore their gazes and walk.
"Aren't we going to visit King Kramer?" Nightmare asked suddenly.
"We will. But after we meet with his holiness,"
Michael wanted to let everyone in Elon know he had reached the Fusion Stage. It would definitely bring him attention and respect from throughout the continent. He wouldn't have to pay to enter the city at that time, but the king would come in person to receive him.
When he arrived at the buzzing town square, Michael was greeted by a man in white robes standing atop a stack of crates and shouting out loud.
"The vampires are walking among us. The Dark Lord is walking among us. The gods are walking among us!" the man shouted as loud as he could.
Instead of walking past him, Michael leaned on a brick wall and listened to him with a few others.
"These are testing times for mortals. We have deceivers leading us into chaos. The Guardians are conspiring against humanity. They allowed the vampires to massacre our brothers and sisters. We are not cattle to be slaughtered!"
Michael was amused by the man's words. Moreover, the man got quite a crowd listening to him. Usually, the people of Royal land would ignore people like him but now, they actually stood under the scorching sun to listen to the man.
The hate against the Guardians had become stronger than ever. It was evident to Michael. As the sole orchestrator of the events that ruined Guardian Guild's reputation, Michael was proud and pleased.
"We have deviated from the Great One and Two. Now we are reaping what we sow. It is time to return to our roots people. The Holy Church is our only way to redemption!"
The man looked at the sky, pausing his speech for a few moments.
"It's not too late. Surrender your souls to his holiness as he is the savior of the mortal kind,"
"So the Holy Church is going all out to increase their support huh?" Michael mumbled inside.
Instead of continuing to listen to the man, Michael resumed his journey. Considering the people were too focused on the shouting man, they failed to notice Michael. As Michael walked out of the crowd, he saw a deserted lane flanked by yellow maple trees on each side. The yellow-leaved blanketed the pavement, making the path look like it was paved with gold.
The wooden board had the words 'Holy Church' engraved on it along with an arrow pointing down the path. Michael and Nightmare took the path in silence, listening to the ruffling leaves and chirping of birds. It was soothing to them.
Everything was still and silent until Michael sensed a powerful being approaching him. He slowly looked upwards to see a golden-haired man adorned in radiant white armor descending from the sky. If the word Knight had an embodiment, it would be the man before Michael. With the heavy armor clanking, the man landed in front of Michael. His golden eyes stared at Michael from top to bottom.
"A Soul Refining stage cultivator" Michael sensed the man's cultivation stage and wondered why a warrior like him appeared here.
"Ghost I presume," the golden-haired warrior spoke with his steel-like voice. The man['s face was void of any friendliness. In fact, he stared at Michael coldly as though Michael had done something to him.
"One and only. I am hoping to see his holiness," however, after Michael uttered these words with full of respect, a glint of surprise emerged in the man's gold eyes.
"The reason,"
"To get his holiness's blessings and extend my support to the holy church against the vampires,"
"Follow me," the man said nothing but these words before gesturing at Michael to follow him. The both of them took off from the ground and as soon as Michael flew through the maple tree canopy, he noticed a gothic-style palace in the distance surrounded by moat and alluring sunflower beds.
Michael could see the countless arrays and runes around the palace thanks to his X-ray vision. As Michael flew closer and closer, he noticed the enormous statues of warriors decorated the bridge leading to the palace. This castle had clearly stood the test of time and despite his age, the palace looked sturdy and pristine.
"This way," The man descended to the ground, landing on the marble floor facing the giant golden door. As though the door had sensed them, it creaked open slowly to reveal the interior. When the door opened, Michael was welcomed by massive braziers hanging from each of the six travertine columns that lit up the lower levels of the throne hall and blanketed everything in a warm glow. The countless gems on the rounded ceiling danced in the flickering light while statuettes and memorials looked down upon this opulent hall's marble floor. Broad, stained glass windows depicting ancient legends were concealed by veils colored the same ebony as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with jewels and fine patterns.
An ebony rug split the entire hall in half, matching the thinner ones on either side of the hall while burgee banners with golden fringes decorated the walls. Between each banner stood several tapers of various sizes, all but a few have been lit, illuminating the two giant statuses of a man and a woman.
Under these two statues were two striking thrones of iron sitting at the center of a small platform and adjoined by five similar, but smaller seats for visiting dignitaries. The thrones were covered in byzantine carvings, and a lavish lantern was fixed on each of the slim ears. The comfortable pillows were radiant white ebony, and these too have been adorned with embellished quilting.
Those seeking the wisdom of the holiness could do so on the plethora of extravagant and comfortable maple benches facing the center of the hall. Those of higher standing could instead take seats in the elegant balustrades overlooking the hall.
Entering the hall, Michael noticed a few nobles praying to the two giant statues on their knees. Instead of following the man, Michael went to his knees and closed his eyes just like the nobles. The sudden gesture Michael surprised the man yet again.
While pretending to pray to the giant statues, Michael scanned the hall. Suddenly, he sensed a Body Refining stage cultivator entering the hall surrounded by Soul Refining stage warriors. Michael slowly opened his eyes to see a man in his late seventies with pure white hair standing before the throne. The old man wore radiant white robes that sparkled in the light as he looked to be the embodiment of kindness.
There was no doubt in Michael's mind. The old man was the holiness of the Holy Church in the Royal Land.
"May the Great One and Two be with you always," His holiness raised the golden staff in his hand as a warm wave of energy brushed past Michael.
"His Holiness will now see you," the golden-haired man said to Michael. Michael stood up and slowly approached the older man on the throne with a nod.
"Please take the seat, child," the old man gestured at Michael to sit in the chair beside the throne.
"Your Holiness, please give us your blessing," Michael and Nightmare lowered their heads,
"May the Great One and Two be with you always," His Holiness blessed Michael and Nightmare with a gentle smile.
"It's a pleasure to see a gifted young man like you bow your heads towards the holy church," His Holiness softly spoke.
"I may not be a model citizen, your holiness. But I always put my faith in the Great One and Two. They guide me, and after the recent events, my faith is stronger than ever before,"
Nightmare was truly surprised by the extent of Michael's acting skills. He had to learn about the Great One and Two from Gaya, yet he talked like a die-hard worshipper of the two gods.
"The Great One and Two protect those who keep them in their hearts, child. Nothing can harm you as long as you have them in your heart. Now feel free to speak your mind, child. This is a safe zone,"
"I want to support the Holy Church, Your Holiness. I don't trust the Guardians, and I firmly believe only the Holy Church can put a stop to all this madness,"
His Holiness just gently smiled hearing Michael's words.
"It is not madness but consequences of our sins, my child. We have lost our ways. Temporary pleasures and false gods have blinded everyone's faith,"
"That's why I want to do my part, offering what I can to the Holy Church, your Holiness,"
"Your true faith is what we need, child. But we are living in difficult times facing evil every day. To fight those evil and keep the light burning bright, we need everyone's help. Brianna," His Holiness closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened his eyes, a bald woman slowly descended before them.
"Your Holiness," the bald woman kindly smiled and bowed towards his holiness.
"Believer Brianna is responsible for handling donations. You can make your donation no matter the amount to her,"
Michael nodded and took out a space ring from the system storage. Then, he handed over the space ring to Brianna.
"May the Great One and Two bless your kind heart," Brianna kindly smiled, taking the space ring from Michael. But soon, a glint of surprise emerged in her eyes.
"I also want to offer a batch of healing potions to the Holy Church every month, Believer Brianna. But unfortunately, I can't make the donations in person. So is it okay if someone else made the donation on my behalf?"
Brianna was still in shock because no one in Elon had ever donated five million gold coins in one go. Even some noble families would give less to the Holy Church, yet a youngster like him made a donation of five million really touched her heart.
"Of course, you are a true believer, my child. Only if we had more believers like you,"
Nightmare almost coughed up blood. Although Nightmare had no idea why he was making donations to the Holy Church, one thing was for sure, Ghost was the last guy who would believe in the Holy Church.