All magic was divided into Six Tiers: low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier, saint-tier, transcendent-tier, and god-tier.
The Mana Points consumed by magic increased with each tier.
Generally speaking, sorcerers of the first and second tiers mostly used low-tier magic, supplemented by a few mid-tier spells as trump cards.
Those of the third and fourth tiers mostly used mid-tier magic, supplemented by some high-tier magic.
Only sorcerers who had reached the fifth tier or above could use Saint-tier Magic.
The fifth tier was a watershed. Sorcerers above the fifth tier were all known as "Saints," possessing the strength of a Branch Holy See's bishop.
A spell capable of instantly killing fourth- and third-tier Void creatures had to be Saint-tier Magic.
Every Saint-tier Magic spell was unique. It could not be exchanged for Faith Points and could only be created by the sorcerer personally.
That move, All things are born to nourish man, was undoubtedly Saint-tier Magic.
While Agnes was shocked, she secretly began to speculate about the identity of the person before her:
He could use Holy Light Magic. Unlike other magic, Holy Light Magic required Divine Blessing to obtain—so he had to be a believer of the Goddess.
In the entire Border Holy See, only the archbishop was a Saint.
This person could only have come from above.
Agnes knew that the Headquarters Holy See had a specialized institution for judging heresy called the Department of Judgment.
The Department of Judgment held the same administrative rank as the Papal Court and answered directly to the Goddess.
Every Inquisitor within it kept their identity secret. Their authority and status were equivalent to those of District Bishops, and only Saints most devout to the Goddess could serve in the role.
The Inquisitors of Heresy did not work externally, but internally. They were used to handle heretical scandals within the various Branch Holy Sees.
Once a saint fell, the harm they inflicted upon the Holy See and the world was often worse than that caused by ordinary Esoteric Cultists.
Just like this time, with Calvin's fall into heresy.
Agnes observed Ansu.
Blood-red moonlight poured down over the desolate grasslands. The night wind swept past, sending hundreds of millions of blades of grass swaying in blood-colored ripples. At the place where the blood-colored moonlight was most concentrated, that figure stood with his hands behind his back.
That plain, ordinary face, those eyes and brows, every gesture and movement—all overflowed with clear wisdom.
The title above his head, "Gradual Eastern Dawn," shone especially brightly.
Gradual Eastern Dawn—what an exceptionally distinctive God-Bestowed Title. Agnes pondered inwardly as her thoughts raced.
Had this lord suspected Calvin from the very beginning?
Had all the abnormalities during these three nights of the red moon merely been this lord's test?
Or rather, had he been giving Calvin one final chance?
"Thank you for saving us, my lord." Agnes placed her left hand over her heart, knelt on one knee, and lifted the hem of her snowy white cloak with her right hand as she performed a respectful knight's salute. Her subordinates followed suit.
"May I ask how I should address you, my lord?"
"A name is merely an empty title," Ansu said calmly. "Just call me Xian Zong."
You won't find my records anyway.
Not even the Pope could find them.
Because they never existed in the first place.
Ansu had once followed the Witch-Hunting Saint School of Thought, so he understood the power structure of the Radiant Holy See.
The more impossible a saint's records were to find, the more mysterious, impressive, and unfathomable he seemed—and the more it felt like the waters ran too deep to investigate any further.
Xian... Zong?
Agnes was sweating profusely. Anyone who could use a title at the level of "Zong" was clearly of a far higher rank than she had imagined.
"His Excellency Xian Zong." After hesitating for a while, Agnes finally gathered her courage and said tentatively, "I am a third-tier Holy See paladin. You may call me Agnes."
To her surprise, Ansu said with a hint of regret:
"Just call me Brother Xian Zong. I cannot accept a title like 'Your Eminence.'"
"I could not save that child. How could I deserve such a title?"
Agnes fell silent at those words.
Ansu slowly let out a breath. His eyes lowered slightly, revealing a lonely, sorrowful expression, and his voice carried a trace of sadness.
"I did not want to hurt him. I had wanted to speak with him properly. Alas, what a wonderful child he was, yet he was deceived by Esoteric Cultists."
"Those evil people are greedy and shameless, disloyal and unrighteous. In this life, I, Xian Zong, hate such petty villains most of all. I wish I could sacrifice every last one of them. Offer them to the great Radiant Goddess as a memorial."
Ansu spoke with righteous solemnity as he pressed the amulet he had picked up from Calvin deeper into his pocket.
"Brother Xian Zong, there is no need for you to blame yourself." Agnes was a captain with high emotional intelligence, and she immediately wanted to flatter this saint. "To repay your life-saving grace, Brother Xian Zong, we have prepared a small gift."
She knew he was an important figure from above. If she could use this chance to establish a connection with a saint from higher up, her future career would be smooth sailing.
Agnes truly wanted to advance.
Of course, that was only one reason.
The more important reason was that she wanted to repay Brother Xian Zong for saving her life.
Without Brother Xian Zong's help, Agnes did not dare imagine what her squad would have faced.
If even half of them had survived, it would have been a blessing from the Radiant Goddess.
Agnes took out the holy bow that had wounded the Void Moth. It was a Holy Relic she had obtained from an abandoned ruin.
Shattered Holy Bow Mid-tier High-quality Holy Relic Could fire the third-tier Holy Light Magic spell "Holy Light Arrow"; each arrow consumed 4 Combat Skill Points
This was an exceedingly valuable and precious treasure, especially since it was a Holy Relic.
Agnes was very confident that even Xian Zong, noble as a Saint, would find it difficult to refuse.
Yet Ansu merely shook his head calmly. After a pause, he said decisively, "I did not choose to become a saint in order to accept gifts."
The Radiant Holy See truly was the Radiant Holy See. Even its bribery was conducted so openly.
There was no artfulness to it at all.
Of course, Ansu would not accept these gifts in public. He was not an idiot like Father Danny.
He had only just built himself an image as a righteous big shot. Accepting gifts immediately afterward would damage that persona far too much.
Brother Xian Zong could not accept gifts—at least, not in such a crude manner.
Besides, Ansu did not want this holy bow either.
This thing consumed Combat Skill Points. It was meant for paladins, and Ansu could not use it.
He could not even draw it!
Even giving gifts required catering to the recipient's preferences.
"If you are dissatisfied, I have more here," Agnes hurriedly said.
Why was she speaking so bluntly too?
Did Brother Xian Zong need her gifts?
She needed Brother Xian Zong to accept them; it was not that Brother Xian Zong needed her gifts.
Ansu cast Agnes a slightly displeased glance, thinking that this young comrade still needed to work harder if she wanted to advance.
It was obvious she lacked cultural refinement. These barbarians from another world handled everything so crudely. He decided he needed to offer her a few proper pointers.
The update schedule had been thrown off a little. Yesterday's update had actually come out after midnight because I wanted to finish that part of the plot in one go.
I'll plan the update schedule again. From now on, there will be one chapter at eight in the evening and one chapter after midnight.
After the next three chapters wrap up this arc, Ansu would leave the Border City and head for Narak's imperial capital.
The imperial capital was a grand stage—if you had what it took, come on up!
Before you continue