Chapter 292 The Eve of The Second Round
Let us wind the clock back half a day.
There was a five-storied luxury guesthouse on the edge of Lancaster which stood in a U-shape when viewed from above. Its center, which points to the north was a courtyard, with another lush garden in the back.
The luxury guesthouse was usually empty. Still, one would learn just be asking nearby residents that the owner of the guesthouse was no other than Corinth, mayor of Lancaster.
In fact, it was the guesthouse that Corinth arranged for his private guests to stay. However, the n.o.bles of the Valla Empire had distanced themselves from him, ‘a remnant minister’ following the fall of Tierra and would never visit Lancaster, just as allowing unimportant n.o.bles to stay in the luxury guesthouse would depreciate its value.
That was why Corinth rather kept the guesthouse vacant but ready to operate at a moment’s notice, and even though its yearly maintenance cost was expensive.
And now, with some extent of partnership between Lancaster and Tunaya as well as the hosting of the Twin City Cup, the first group of guests had finally arrived in the guesthouse.
***
“So, have you decided to accept the goodwill of the wyvern knights?”
Jom and Terry had made a special trip to the guesthouse, sought out Angora, who held the strongest authority amongst the Players and relayed what Isaac, captain of the wyvern knights had told them. “Why not?”
Even if Angora was unsure the circ.u.mstances surrounding the Temple of Glory-whether they were treading on thin ice or developing rapidly, it didn’t stop him from knowing what the captain had in mind.
It was clear that the north was not in a steady state of affairs at the moment. After the new emperor of Valla had fought out to mutual defeat against the Grand Duchy of Rominos, he had been on the lookout for some small fish to fry, and it was likely that he would set his sights on the north.
Furthermore, even if the Temple of Glory was amongst the top three religions on the continent and could hold their own against the universally acknowledged top religious faction that was the Brilliant White Church, it remained that the official religion recognized by the Valla Empire was still the Brilliant White Church.
Hence, as the two factions continued to compete for limited resources, all differences and confrontations would clearly escalate with each pa.s.sing day.
And should the imperial military really turn their sights on the north right now, there was every chance that the Brilliant White Church would seize the opportunity to deal a blow on the influence of the Temple of Glory, and eventually expand their own authority over the north without anything impeding them after the war-over the lands scorched by the flames of war, they would rely upon their sacred arts and holy water to swiftly claim riches and preach their good word.
After all, that was precisely what the Brilliant White Church was most adept at. It was the reason why they hold a good reputation in the minds of the peasants: their flocks of clerics who healed sickness and maladies had created an image where they appeared to be pacifists, friendly and compa.s.sionate, even though the truth was that they would often have a part to play in destabilizing the internal structures of nations, driving civil strife and revolutions by rousing oppositions.
In fact, there were many who were convinced that the Brilliant White Church had another three covert outfits aside from the White Court’s Wetwork Platoon and the Heretical Magistrates of the Thirteenth Partisans, specializing in doing their dirty work.
That was precisely why many who were aware of their inner workings were reluctant to join them, supporting other religious factions instead of allowing the Brilliant White Church to claim all resources and authority for themselves. If they didn’t keep the current situation in its delicate balance, the Brilliant White Church would already have choked off every other faith on the continent as they ascend as a monster that walks over everyone.
Nonetheless, despite the G.o.ds wrestled and restrained each other while fearing that the fourth divine war would involve the world once again, the state of the continent was changing after a rare period of tranquility. It seemed that the fragile balance would be broken at any given moment.
Taking that into consideration, siding with the Temple of Glory would therefore be a good choice. At the very least, the Church of Games would at least have a bigger banner to keep the others at bay before they rose to power themselves.
While the Temple of Justice had also allied themselves with the Church of Games, believers of that particular faction appear and disappear in equal unpredictability. They didn’t even have a fixed place of worship apart from several moving temples, and were simply unthreatening…
“Go and offer them a reply, and tell the captain of the wyvern knights to come find me if he has anything further to clarify,” Angora told the two Players in front of him. “With my clearance, I would apply a quest later to reward you two. Thanks for your work.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Jom replied in grat.i.tude politely, before leading the dog and Terry away, the latter of whom had been blanking out without saying a word.
It was when they reached the staircase that Jom elbowed Terry. “What was in that head of yours when I was talking to the liege? You look just like an imbecile, standing there and saying nothing-how rude!”
“No, it’s just that I saw someone with a red-name when we came here…” Terry replied, scratching his head.
“Red name?” Probably someone from a church opposing us. It’s rare, but with so many outsiders pouring into Lancaster over the last few days, it wouldn’t be a surprise that people like that exist.” Jom glowered at him. “And it’s just a red-name-do you have to stand there, musing to yourself for a whole half-an-hour?”
“It’s a habit,” Terry said, scratching his head and flashing a dumb smile. “We used to kill or be killed by any red names we encounter before, so it just nags me when we aren’t allowed to kill it.”
“Great. Now save your strength for the next stage.”
Jom sighed, looking helplessly at his silly friend.
“Oh, how nice… how nice…”
That was when a voice spoke from behind. It sounded so much like a vengeful spirit that Jom jumped.
He turned to find that it was Princess Leah.
However, the usually vibrant and dazzling girl was nestled on a couch, looking sad and withered like a wilting rose.
Like Angora, Leah was staying in the guesthouse as well, although they and their underlings were staying on different parts of the building-Angora on the east wing, and Leah on the west wing.
“Your Highness… did something happen?” Jom asked gingerly.
“Her Highness has been banned from the tourney.” One of her followers answered with a helpless look. “And it’s a divine decree that our G.o.d personally issued.” After all, Leah remained the former princess of Tierra. Though not many people know her face, some n.o.ble who came from afar just might have seen her before.
Even if the various religious factions and nations could live with the rise of the Church of Games, they wouldn’t hesitate to move as quick as lighting to destroy them if they found out that the heir of Tierra’s royal family was amongst them just to utterly extinguish the lone tinder left of Tierra.
Be it to protect Leah or take the safety of the church into consideration, Leah mustn’t be seen in public before the Church of Games was strong enough to fight on multiple fronts.
As such, Jom and Terry could only share a glance, unsure what to say.
It appears that even being a high and mighty princess doesn’t mean being able to do whatever you want.
That was when their bangles vibrated slightly, the marked cards embedded into it slowly projecting lines of text.
The event of the second stage was finally being announced.