Chapter 28: The Winds of Change

Vilyric flipped through the documents in her hands for a while.

The content was rather superficial, not involving any major secrets, merely outlining the history since the establishment of the Lingyin Merchant Association and the changes in its members on the surface. However, as information that could circulate freely in the market, it was still quite detailed.

It was clear that Leila and the others had meticulously filtered the intelligence, selecting the more significant details and compiling them before sending Little Dragon Daughter over.

“That’s thoughtful of them…”

“Master, can you discern anything?”

After reading the information for a while, Little Dragon Daughter had carefree removed her dragon-scaled clothing, changing into a loose sleepwear while sitting next to Vilyric, leaning against her shoulder comfortably.

The smooth white fabric and the girl’s tender yet resilient skin exuded a distinct warmth unique to Little Dragon Daughter, with a subtle fragrance drifting from the opened neckline, prompting Vilyric to divert her attention from the documents, turning her head to meet the golden-eyed girl’s gaze.

Naturally and quite familiarly, the Priestess gently patted her pet’s head, running her fingers through the long, glossy hair and smiling.

“This is fairly detailed intelligence, but we have no connections in the Holy Empire, so the information we can gather is rather shallow. Many true secrets aren’t accessible to ordinary civilians. For instance, I’m mainly interested in who the original founder of the Lingyin Merchant Association was—the person who crossed the ocean to Lingyin Island isn’t mentioned here.”

“Such information should have been recorded in history, but the absence of it suggests it’s being deliberately hidden by certain individuals.”

Silently enjoying the sincere familiarity that the Priestess only shows to those she truly trusts, Little Dragon Daughter seemed satisfied yet looked a bit puzzled.

“If that’s the case, Master, why didn’t you just ask that guy, Ming Lan?”

To this, Vilyric only chuckled lightly.

“Xiao Guang, if he wanted to speak, he should have just stated the name instead of ambiguously describing it as ‘the person who crossed the ocean.’ If that’s the case, why should I go through the trouble of asking?”

“After all, Ming Lan is merely a stranger to us; even though he seems quite certain of my identity, what he truly thinks is anyone’s guess. We mustn’t be too trusting; it’s wise to remain cautious, given how bizarre this situation is. Another investigation is necessary.”

“Alright… Master, you are always so careful. Clearly, the beings in this world are mostly not strong; why not just crush any schemes with raw power?”

Sensing the careless attitude of the Dragon Girl, the Priestess straightened her expression a bit.

“This mindset is not good, Xiao Guang. What we see now may not be the entirety of this world. Just as before tonight, we didn’t even know about incredible entities like the Lingyin Clan and the God Fox. Though it’s just initial contact, I can feel they certainly harbor immense backgrounds, and they indeed relate to me in some way. If that’s the case, who can assure us there aren’t second or third clans like the Lingyin hidden in some corner of the world?”

Upon hearing this, Little Dragon Daughter couldn’t help but obediently stick her tongue out, a rare display she only showed in front of Vilyric.

“Got it~ Anywhere you want me to strike, I’ll do it without underestimating my opponents during battle~”

“You little one…”

Not knowing if the other truly comprehended the words, Vilyric shook her head helplessly and stood up, patting down her slightly disheveled clothes.

In perfect harmony, Little Dragon Daughter also lifted her head in surprise.

“Master, are you going out at this late hour?”

“Yes, I’m heading to a place where I can obtain more detailed information. I may be back quite late, so don’t wait up for me; you should rest early.”

“Okay…”

Without asking where Vilyric intended to go, Little Dragon Daughter merely sat by the bed, silently watching the Priestess open a silver-white portal in the room. After greeting her, Vilyric dove into the portal and quickly vanished from sight.

Needless to say, Xiao Guang, familiar with her mistress’s many methods, understood that she was likely going somewhere far away.

“Is she off to find… that human named Liliya… Hmph, whatever… I’m bored sitting here, I should go back and practice with Snow Wing that silly bird.”

A glimmer of thought passed through the golden vertical pupils of the Dragon Girl as she stood up, a dazzling magic array abruptly appearing beneath her feet before vanishing swiftly. Soon, the room was empty.

…

After encountering Ming Lan and the subsequent events, three days had passed, and it was roughly time for everyone to prepare to leave Holy Star City.

Vilyric’s travel plans in the Holy Empire were formulated hastily by Edwina, the host, before their departure. After crossing the Star River, they needed to pass through several major cities, eventually reaching the eastern capital, the City of Angels, which was the true capital of the Holy Kingdom.

The reason for the sudden urgency to leave was that she had received an urgent message dispatched from the City of Angels in the Holy Capital.

High-ranking holy relics, like the Holy Emblem, were exquisitely crafted magical equipment with many convenient functions. Edwina’s six-winged Holy Emblem was the finest, one of its purposes being the transmission of urgent intelligence at crucial moments.

Though said to be classified, the Holy Knight didn’t withhold any information from Vilyric. From the described circumstances, it appeared that an unidentified group had been conducting large-scale evil rituals in the eastern part of the Holy Kingdom, followed by numerous reports of high-ranking demon sightings in the area.

Demons had always been the arch-enemies of the Holy Empire and the Church of the Goddess. Whenever they met, it was invariably a fierce conflict, and the reappearance of demons in the eastern part of the Holy Kingdom naturally drew the attention of the church’s higher-ups.

To clarify the situation and combat the enemies of the Goddess, they quickly dispatched the “Hand of Retribution” from among the four great Knight Orders of the Holy Capital. Led personally by the current Judging Saintess Fleidetrika Cecelia, they were tasked with investigating and supporting the disturbed eastern regions.

The “Hand of Retribution” was the elite unit most adept at battling demons in complex environments; although it numbered only about ten thousand, each member was a legitimate Holy Knight devout in their faith, well-versed in “Faith-Type Magic,” and all had reached at least the level of “Courage Knight.”

According to Edwina’s descriptions, a “Courage Knight” could be roughly equated to the gold-level rank, having a strength of lv20 or above. Moreover, Faith-type Holy Light magic was particularly effective against demons, and with the possessing of the divine artifact “Arbitration Holy Sword,” the Judging Saintess herself had the power to easily quell common demons.

However, the subsequent battle conditions exceeded the higher-ups’ expectations by far.

The demons became the Church’s opposition primarily due to their ability to corrupt beings, spreading evil intentions to control hearts, even causing believers to abandon their faith in the Goddess, truly shaking the Church’s roots.

Thus, it was crucial to act quickly against demons, striking before their corruption spread. At times, it might even be necessary to “purify” those fully tainted in thought to prevent future calamities.

Yet, the demons’ appearance came far too suddenly; it seemed the local church had failed to detect traces of evil summoning in time, leading to a slow response. By the time Fleidetrika and the Holy Knights arrived, the situation had nearly spiraled out of control.

Evil thoughts were spreading madly across the land, contaminating numerous people, with even many mid- to low-level members of the church betraying the will of the Goddess, instead collaborating with demons to set traps for the crusaders, surrounding them in ambush.

After several fierce battles, the “Hand of Retribution” suffered severe losses, forced to abandon some of the areas most severely polluted, temporarily retreating to regroup and request reinforcements.

While all this could still be somewhat controlled by the Holy Kingdom, the single most troublesome issue that prompted Edwina’s hasty return to the Holy Capital was…

The Judging Saintess, the eldest daughter of the Cecelia family, the demigod Fleidetrika Cecelia had actually gone missing amidst the chaos of the battle while wielding the “Arbitration Holy Sword”!

   

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