Chapter 156: The Smell of Gunpowder

Thus, the turmoil inexplicably stirred up by the Soul becoming an apprentice came to a temporary halt.

Although Miss Xī merely used the skill attached to the Mask of the God Fox to send that guy for a spin around what’s said to be the underworld and then brought him back, the process itself was a method to temper the soul.

If we follow the game’s mechanics, the skill attached to the Mask of the God Fox should allow players who have yet to reach level 100 to develop a degraded version of Spiritual Points (sp), presenting them with the potential to use skills named “Virtual Mastery” or “Pseudo Mastery.”

The concept is somewhat similar to the magic “Kiss of Light” that she once cast on Edwina, which is a beneficial skill that only works once but has a lasting effect.

Of course, the tempering of the skill is not guaranteed to succeed 100%. Generally speaking, the lower the player’s level, the higher the failure rate. If the soul tempering fails, the player will “die” once and receive a negative buff that cannot be removed for a period of time, which is quite troublesome.

After all, as long as players reach level 100, they will definitely obtain sp, so although leveling up is quite difficult, many players are generally unwilling to spend the cost and effort on something that might end up being useless later on.

Hence, the skill called “Yin Yang Coordination” is, in reality, not as popular as the 9th-tier magic “Kiss of Light,” which has stable effects and carries no risks.

Moreover, the semi-artifact Mask of the God Fox is a special reward belonging exclusively to healing job champions from the official limited event, and probably the only one found in the entire “Illusory World” is in Miss Vilyric’s hands. Thus, players who know about this skill and have personally experienced it are indeed quite rare.

To be honest, prior to this, Miss Vilyric was unclear about what would happen if this skill was applied to real-world creatures and had never actually attempted it before.

However, considering that this skill was the most suitable for the Soul’s situation at that time among the abilities of the Mask of the God Fox, it could both serve as a test and significantly enhance his strength.

Let’s just say this was a compensation and reward for that guy helping test the flight wings for so long.

Of course, even if it failed, Vilyric certainly wouldn’t really let him die, but in that case, the Soul wouldn’t be able to reap the benefits that came with this skill, and Miss White Fox wouldn’t give him another chance to continue entangling with him.

As for when the next “assessment” would be, that would depend on the mood of a certain fox.

While spending time on such matters during the march, when I regained focus, the main force of the Expeditionary Army was finally nearing the capital of the Holy Empire, the City of Angels.

After her last appearance from the portal connected to the peak of the Holy Berg Mountains, Miss White Fox stored the formation disk on the ground, stepped out of the intentionally chosen secluded grove, and returned to the Expeditionary Army camp. In the distance, the towering shadows of the city walls were already vaguely visible.

The City of Angels.

This ancient city also has a long history. A thousand years ago, during the chaotic times, it governed what is now the Holy Empire’s territory, specifically the eastern region of the Holy Berg Mountains, and served as the capital of the empire.

Back then, the opposing Western Empire didn’t have the current Mingguang City as its capital, but rather another city that once thrived.

However, that city was destroyed in the war during the establishment of the Holy Empire a thousand years ago. Although it has since been rebuilt and is vibrant again, it can never quite reach the glory of its past, becoming the capital of a nation.

Meanwhile, the Holy City of Angels exists alongside it, with a historical depth comparable to that of the ancient city it replaced. Even though it became the initial base of the Church of Light because of the appearance of the Three Saints, and was briefly designated as the capital following the establishment of the Holy Empire, it is still somewhat lacking in this regard compared to Mingguang City.

Holy City, Divine City, City of Angels, City of Light—this place has countless praises and titles. As the true capital of the Holy Empire, its scale, flow of people, and prosperity surpass those of Mingguang City.

When we found Yuna, she was inside the central military tent, meeting with representatives from the Holy City who had come from the Holy City to greet her and discuss subsequent military stationing and a series of related issues.

There’s no doubt that the other party represents the Holy Church, which, in practical terms, governs the Holy Empire.

Or perhaps… one could say they represent the current ostensible highest leader of the Holy Nation—the Pope.

Maybe others wouldn’t have the qualifications to disturb the meeting at such a time, but Miss Xī, who had once accomplished great feats and held an outstanding reputation in the Expeditionary Army, was an exception.

After eliciting news from the holy knights guarding the door, Miss White Fox lifted the curtain and entered directly.

The guards seemed indifferent, without any one stopping her.

As soon as she stepped into the tent, before even seeing anyone, the sound of conversations—or rather, arguments—reached Miss Vilyric’s ears.

“Not allowing the army to parade into the city would mean halving the significance of their long journey, wouldn’t it? If it’s just about gathering the troops, we could simply send them out from three directions and meet at the outskirts of the battlefield, right? Do you know how much time that could save?!”

“Cardinal Vergil, please calm down a moment; this is also for the stability and order of the Holy City. Think about it, with the Expeditionary Army’s tens of thousands of knights, if they all rush into the city at once, the chaos that would ensue is simply foreseeable.”

“To maintain the eastern front, the Holy City has drawn two holy knight groups to the battlefield, the military strength inside the city is currently thin. Just maintaining stability will require considerable effort; if any accidents happen that cause chaos or even casualties… we truly can’t afford that right now.”

Holy Knight Claycius’s voice followed closely after the two arguments.

“You mean to say that my Western Temple Knights are disorganized and poorly managed, causing trouble for you in the Eastern City?”

“Uh, no, no, no, absolutely not! We are all knights of the Goddess; how could there be such distinctions between east and west? It’s just that everyone should consider that the army has just faced a fierce battle with demons in the Holy Berg Mountains. What if those cunning vile creatures disguised themselves among the troops and made a move as they enter the city? The consequences…”

“Bang!”

It seemed the tone of that voice had worn thin and had enough of the pretense; a hot-tempered temple knight commander slammed the table, and the outburst of barely suppressed anger followed suit!

“What do you mean by that?! We, those holy warriors, have fought against demons our entire lives, how could we not notice if those scoundrels slipped into our ranks!? If you want to find fault, just say it! Why the need to beat around the bush, it’s seriously disgusting!!!”

As Miss White Fox stepped into the main hall of the tent, she caught sight of the ever-silent Saint of Bright Light raising her hand to stop the raging knight’s roar and then turning her gaze to the figure clad in the red robe of a bishop, different from the other bishops of the West, who was evidently the messenger sent from the City of Angels.

A light, gentle, yet exceptionally sharp question echoed through the gunpowder-scented space.

“It seems I haven’t heard such conditions discussed at the Holy Church’s meeting. Can I take it to mean… this is a unilateral decision made by the Lambert Family, the actual managers of the Holy City? Interfering directly with the operations of the Holy War without the Holy Church’s review…”

“Have you… crossed the line a bit?”

   

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