Chapter 320
Hayes wasn"t aware how or when he had left the Lion city. There was this poker face expression on his face but inside he was facing a great struggle. He was the only one aware how fierce the inner struggle was within his heart. He didn"t confront or had battle with Uther but his body was tired. He was tired more than it had been to any war that he had gone. The fatigue had appeared because of the mental exhaustion. What was he going to choose? Faith or Greed? Actually, this concern about the return of Uther was a big problem within the Church long ago. They had thought about the possibility of Uther"s return but not listening to the current doctrines of the Church. In fact, some core factions within the Church had already prepared for this situation in advance. In fact, there were rare members in the top who believed that Uther would ever return back. However, they never tried to conceal the news about Uther"s return. The reason behind this move was that these factions had long ago thought about getting a fake Uther and using him as a puppet. Unexpectedly, Uther was back and he was far beyond the expectations that Hayes was thinking of.
It was a serious matter. He must return to the Church and report the situation to the Pope. He couldn"t call the shots at the this moment. Only the Pope could decide about the future of this case.
“That"s right… Why I"m concerned or worried about this? Let the Pope worry..” Hayes murmured.
Nevertheless, Hayes understood that there was this contradiction that he couldn"t get rid of.
“But…if.. Pope orders the a.s.sa.s.sination of Uther.. What I"m going to do then?” Hayes couldn"t help but think about consequenves of this news.
He was chosen to be a paladin since young age. At the time, even his peers were envious of him because being a Paladin was the most glorios occupation. The glory and honor of being a Paladin was much greater than being a mage. He was an ignorant youth back then. He and his fellow paladins at the time were told about the great return of Uther. His mind was very simply back then and he remember the oath he had taken in front of the tall statue of Uther.
“Uther! Come back! I"m willing to use my life to be your guard!”
He remembered all the others who were chosen to be paladins. Those simple boys looked at the giant statue of Uther with utmost devotion.
But times had changed and they had grown up.. They stopped believing in thos stories about Uther"s return but regarded them simple fairy tales for kids.
Hayes wasn"t like himself but like a zombie by the time he returned to Robert"s tent in the camp. It was as if his body was there but missing his soul.
“Hayes! Why are you back so fast? Did you meet the Uther who your Church worships to much?” Robert was surprised when he saw Hayes return so soon. He believed Hayes would return quite late.
Hayes frowned: “Fake! It is ridiculous to think that Uther would return back to this G.o.d forgotten place instead of the Church!”
Robert laughed when he heard Hayes"s reply: “It"s quite normal.. In fact, I was thinking to put up false ancient heroes of the orcs but these idiots are way too simply. They refuse such acts. They say that its like insulting their heroes and deities! It is no wonder that they are at the doorsteps of extinction and perishment! G.o.ds? Who cares? Power! Power is the key! You are the G.o.d if you have the power!”
Hayes replied in cold tone: “You don"t know about the power of faith.”
“Faith? Can you eat faith? Can it fill your belly? Is it possible to exchange faith to gold coins? Power! It is the absolute! Don"t bring those irreleveant things from your Church"s doctrine.. I know about the situation within the Church more than anyone.. You are all just using Uther"s name to decieve the plebs! Faith in the Light and spirit of knighthood.. I would spit on that! What if Uther appeared in front of us right now? I would just slap the f.u.c.k out of him!” Robert replied in tone full of disdain.
Hayes stood up from his chair and shouted in fury: “Robert! You can slander the Church but you can"t insult Uther! I will dye this tent red with your blood if you dare to say one more word about him! You will pay for it!”
Hayes was surprised about the reaction he had because of Robert"s insult. Why would he react so when he heard others insult Uther?
He was aware that there was a secret puppet getting ready to be brought into public as Uther.
What happened to me?
Uther"s remarks echoed in his ears once again…: “There is light energy attributes exuding from them but they are not paladins. A Paladin must follow the codex which is made of honor, etiquette, humility, perseverance, loyalty, pride and piety! I can"t see that in them. It"s like they had the body of a paladin but not the spirit of paladin. As a result, they fail!”
They were taught and told about honor, etiquette, humility, perseverance, loyalty, pride and piety since childhoon… However, their beliefs began to change as they grew older and understood the internal affairs of the Church. They got farther and farther from the believes and codex that they had to upheld.
However, it seemed like those teachings were directly thrown back to his mind and soul when he heard Uther"s speech.
Robert was surprised when he saw the fierce reaction of Hayes. It was not within his expectations. The Kennedy family hadn"t dealt with the Church much because they knew that it was dirtier than any other organization or family. Everything that they preached was just a disguise.
Actually, Robert believed Hayes to be no different than any other paladin because of Hayes"s greedy calculated moves and personality. This was the reason Robert was surprised because of Hayes"s fierce and forceful reaction.
Robert continued to believe that it was just a play. Why would those paladins lower the man they "worship" in front of others? They would lose face in that case.. They had to maintain the sacredness of Uther, wasn"t it?
Nevertheless, he wasn"t planning to pursue the topic anymore. He knew that Church wasn"t an organization that he could easily provoke. He wasn"t afraid of them but there was no need to provoke such an enemy…In addition, Robert needed their help to deal with the undeads…
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