Chapter 230: The Ordinary Ones Unbeknownst

Gerald is a thief.

He was born in the City of Saint Sanos, in the Holy Empire, and he is now forty-six years old.

As a true human, at this age, the thief profession is nearing retirement.

In fact, Gerald had long contemplated such plans.

The profession of a thief may sound like something petty and unremarkable, but in reality, it’s a very meticulous and rigorous job. An experienced thief not only needs physical fitness and agility, but also relies heavily on rich experience and teamwork.

While there are solo thieves, they have never been the mainstream.

Therefore, when young thieves start out, they are usually guided by an experienced hand who introduces them to join established groups in suitable situations, allowing them to gradually hone their skills and integrate into collaborative efforts.

After a period — perhaps a few years, or possibly shorter or longer — the veteran thief retires, leaving the work to the now adept new generation, and thus the cycle continues.

This is the repeated process among thieves; for Gerald, the team he currently leads is not one he personally founded but rather has taken over from predecessors.

Thieves’ organizations don’t have inheritance in the traditional sense; whenever the current leader retires or dies, as long as the team still exists, the thief with capabilities and experience just below theirs will naturally take over the position.

When Gerald joined over twenty years ago, the composition of this team was nearly unrecognizable compared to now.

But as time went by, those predecessors either grew old or lost their lives in the line of duty, and Gerald has now become the longest-serving leader among them.

Of course, these things won’t be disclosed to the rookie thieves under him.

Since he planned to retire, Gerald naturally followed tradition and picked a seemingly decent apprentice from the newcomer recommendations of the thieves’ alliance, intending to train him for a few years and fulfill the responsibilities left by his predecessors before stepping back to enjoy retirement.

The young man was quite clever; although he was of a different race from Gerald, in the thief profession—especially on this side of the Holy Empire—nobody really cared about those trivial matters. Gerald had no racial bias and imparted everything he had learned.

Three years later, watching his once juvenile apprentice gradually mature and getting ready to stand on his own, Gerald also prepared for a worry-free retirement when…

The demons invaded this world once again.

They were the sworn enemies, almost standing directly opposed to the Holy Empire, embodying the essence of “evil” itself.

Even though he wasn’t a follower of the Church of the Goddess, as a member of the Holy Kingdom, Gerald’s team still chose to join the resistance when the demons attacked, defending their homeland in the way that thieves do.

In the process, Gerald’s only apprentice died.

Not only him, many in the team… the clergy, innocent civilians, and people from various walks of life in the Holy Kingdom who participated in the fight were all too many lives lost under the demon cavalry’s iron hooves and blades. How many strong and steadfast believers were stripped of their will and became puppets and servants of the demons?

Through the painful experiences and bloodshed, Gerald felt the presence known as “demons” was indeed a disastrous invading force for this world.

Therefore, even as the City of Saint Sanos fell and the two provinces turned into demon havens, he still remained active in the shadows of the city with his companions, doing what he could to connect with like-minded individuals in order to resist the demons’ oppression and prepare for a future counterattack.

In such a climate, he received a request from the hidden “Thieves’ Alliance” in the shadows of Saint Sanos.

The legendary Three Sacred Artifacts of the Holy Kingdom, the iconic weapon of the Judging Saintess — the “Arbitration Holy Sword” had been lost somewhere in the City of Saint Sanos.

If they could retrieve it, the requester was willing to offer a reward of one hundred million holy light coins.

I must say, this was truly shocking news.

Gerald was one of the witnesses to the great battle that erupted in the City of Saint Sanos. Though he did not directly engage, he provided logistical support and intelligence.

When the Judging Saintess led her Holy Knights to the scene, the outer defense lines of the City had already crumbled under the secret assault of the demons. Waves of demons poured forth through the portals unleashed inside the city, rushing towards the vital Central Temple, attempting to break the defensive barrier that enveloped the city.

The Judging Saintess, commanding the Holy Knights, fought fiercely against the invading demons around the temple for several days. Even though the demon army was formidable, the Temple Knights under the banner of the Saintess held their ground for a long time.

At that time, the province of Sanos had not yet completely fallen, and many nearby major cities sent strong individuals and clergy rushing to aid when they heard about the attack. The portals opened by the demons were struck down one by one by the Saintess’s divine power, and if they could hold on, victory must belong to the Holy Kingdom.

But at this critical moment, the High Priestess who was the daughter of the Archbishop of Sanos, Sibel Roland, unexpectedly betrayed her, striking alongside the powerful demons.

As the core and strongest Saintess was severely injured, the perimeter defense lines immediately fell into chaos, leading to retreat.

The defeat of this key battle turned the tide for the entire province of Sanos, which was subsequently devoured by the relentless advancing demons, until the current dire state.

Gerald later learned that Sibel Roland had long since fallen under the corruption of that wretched succubus who is now the Acting City Lord of Saint Sanos, betrayed and defiled, having lost her noble faith and dignity as a clergy.

Although like many others, he was furious at her betrayal, Gerald knew that seeking revenge against her now was futile and would likely lead to his own demise.

The most important thing currently was to find the Judging Saintess, who had gone missing amid the chaos after that battle, and the inherited artifact, the “Arbitration Holy Sword.”

So, upon hearing such news, Gerald immediately mobilized his team to search the city.

Though the official reason was the exorbitant reward from the thieves’ alliance, Gerald… everyone still willing to act within the team knew that this was not just about the money.

Efforts do not betray the determined. After a long period of relentless pursuit, Gerald indeed found relevant clues.

In the underground black market, he stumbled upon a magical item that was said to be crafted from some special material, capable of precisely locating objects with strong light attributes, and using this item, he indirectly narrowed down several areas in the city.

These past few days, Gerald led the team to search the possible areas where the “Arbitration Holy Sword” could be, but found nothing, only discovering items belonging to the clergy that had fallen during the battle, and all of them were already damaged.

Thus, after ruling out all possibilities, the final place that might harbor the artifact remained.

   

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