Identity Confirmed

Haodos rose and summoned his monk assistant. Then, with the monk in tow, he followed the minor official sent to deliver the letter toward the city gates.

Along the way, he watched the streets rapidly grow desolate and pondered what he needed to do next.

But after thinking it over, he realized that following Jamir's instructions was the least likely way to offend anyone.

He had become a priest of the Church because he possessed ambitions of his own. Before his life came to an end, he wanted to climb another step higher and become a bishop under one of the archbishops.

Yet the Church's internal forces were tangled like roots and branches, and among the orphans it took in every year, countless geniuses emerged.

Forget becoming a bishop—even his current position as a priest had too many monks and too little porridge.

Since Jamir had promoted him, he had been branded from birth as belonging to Jamir's faction. And although Jamir now held power no less than that of a Cardinal Archbishop, in terms of status, he was ultimately only a bishop.

At that thought, the passion surging through Haodos's heart swiftly cooled.

Perhaps an indifferent, steady, and unassuming state of mind was what every qualified member of the Divine Authority ought to possess.

Rumors of alchemists had already begun spreading through the city. Those noble lords who usually loved to swagger through the streets, blowing things up to show off, had all curled up in their homes today.

Most of the street vendors and shops had also hurriedly shut their doors and closed for business.

The city gates were now under martial law. The soldiers atop the walls had all sharpened their focus, constantly watching the forest beyond the city in case the alchemists attacked.

Meanwhile, inside the sentries' rest room by the gates, the corpse of the man who had brought news of the alchemists before dying had been carried in.

Outside the rest room, a man dressed in hemp clothing with a longsword at his waist was explaining the situation to the guards.

"The dead man was a gravekeeper from our lord's territory. Three days ago, he vanished without a trace. The graves throughout our lord's lands were also turned into a complete mess, and all the corpses inside disappeared.

"I came to the city this time to report this matter to the governor.

"At the same time, I need to go to the academy and deliver the letter and gifts our lord prepared for my young lady."

When the guard heard that the man also intended to see some young lady, he could not help asking another question.

"Who is your young lady?"

The man only assumed it was a routine inquiry, so he answered,

"My young lady is Finier Kekebor. She is Baron Kekebor's only daughter.

"Our lord heard that she had become a genius in magic, and he was overjoyed. That was why he sent me here with these gifts."

When the curious guard heard that the young lady this man sought was actually Finier, he recalled hearing about her. Over the past few years, this eldest young lady had been the only genius in all of Huidun Territory to enter the Sea of Magic on her own.

Of course, if they were truly talking about geniuses, Chen Cheng was still the greatest. He had only been exposed to magic for a few days before creating Variable Magic, and he had become the first known person to survive after using Super-class Magic.

But he was merely a slave. Those noble lords, mindful of their status, naturally did not want the common people to know that a slave genius had crushed their own children in magic.

Thus, over the past few days, the voices proclaiming Chen Cheng a genius had been suppressed, while Finier's identity as a genius was frequently brought up instead.

At once, the guard had no more doubts. Once they saw the young lady, they would naturally know whether the man before them was lying.

Before the guards could head to the academy to summon Finier, they saw Wisdom Shield arriving alongside Chen Cheng. The guards immediately dropped to one knee in salute.

Wisdom Shield told everyone to rise, then began questioning them about what had happened.

Chen Cheng, standing nearby, immediately recognized the man off to the side.

"Wilson? Why are you here? Where is Lord Kekebor?"

At first, Wilson had assumed Chen Cheng was merely Earl Huidun's slave. Although Chen Cheng's face seemed familiar, caution kept him from saying anything.

After all, Chen Cheng was now wearing the academy uniform, and his once gaunt cheeks had filled out somewhat.

Moreover, back in the baron's territory, Wilson and Chen Cheng had belonged to different classes. They had met fewer than twice, and only in passing, so naturally Wilson had not recognized him at once.

Now that Chen Cheng had spoken first, Wilson confirmed his identity. Seeing that Chen Cheng had come with Earl Huidun, Wilson could hardly put on airs as a baron's guard knight.

"I was ordered by our lord to come into the city and report the large-scale grave robbing to the governor. At the same time, I brought our lord's gifts to deliver to the young lady at the academy."

"And where is the young lady? Why are you the only one here? Shouldn't you be by her side? And why are you wearing an academy student's uniform?"

At the mention of Finier, the guard knight immediately grew stern and began questioning Chen Cheng in a reprimanding tone.

In his eyes, Chen Cheng, as Finier's servant, was neglecting his duties by not remaining at her side. If Chen Cheng had not come with Wisdom Shield, Wilson would have already drawn his sword and taught him a lesson.

Of course, Chen Cheng knew Wilson was not a bad person. In Wilson's view, Chen Cheng ought to stay by Finier's side and protect her at all times.

So when Wisdom Shield frowned slightly, Chen Cheng immediately explained.

"Don't be so serious, Wilson. The young lady is doing just fine at the academy, and recently Earl Huidun even bestowed a Paulownia Wood Staff upon her.

"I came here on the young lady's behalf to see whether this dead man had anything to do with Lord Kekebor. As for why I became a student... that would take a long time to explain."

Chen Cheng's eyes turned, and he immediately thought of a way to stop Wilson in his tracks. After all, many people here were stubborn as dead wood.

When Wilson heard that Chen Cheng had come on Finier's orders, his tone softened considerably. He stepped closer to Chen Cheng and spoke in a low voice.

"The dead fellow inside is Peiqi, the gravekeeper who used to live on that barren mountain.

"Remember what I said about the graves being robbed? The lord and I both suspect that someone is behind it. Just now, I heard them mention alchemists. I'd say there's an eighty percent chance those people are the ones stirring up trouble.

"The territory isn't safe right now. If this reaches the young lady's ears, you must talk her out of it. Don't let her return, understand?"

But Chen Cheng let the latter half of those words go in one ear and out the other. He was no fool. Knowing that little Finier's temperament, how could he possibly tell her?

When he heard that every grave on the barren mountain had been robbed, he knew that the alchemist who had arrived this time probably already had an undead army at his side.

"Don't worry. Nothing much will happen in the city. But where is the lord? Why didn't he come with you to the city to take shelter this time?"

To be honest, Chen Cheng was somewhat worried about Lord Kekebor.

At the very least, it was because of him that Chen Cheng had been sold away from those Slave Traders, and then, in such a short time, truly entered this world's highest institution of learning to study its knowledge.

Yet Wilson's expression was firm.

"The lord said that he is the baron of Kekebor Territory. For the sake of the common people there, and to live up to his identity as a baron of the Kingdom of Como, he must remain in the territory and organize the people to face the coming crisis."

Though those words sounded a little performative, the fact that his lord was willing to remain in his own territory and calm the people's hearts already spoke for itself.

Chen Cheng thought it over as well. If that alchemist truly wanted to wipe out Kekebor Town, he should have done so long ago. There would have been no need to drive this man named Peiqi into the city to deliver a warning.

And the reason Chen Cheng could confirm that the alchemist had deliberately driven him here was that, from Wilson's words, Lord Kekebor had no idea what was happening. He only thought ordinary grave robbers had plundered the graves.

After Wilson finished speaking, he took a wooden box from inside his clothes and handed it to Chen Cheng.

"Brown, deliver this box to the young lady. Inside is the gift the lord prepared for her. I must return at once to assist the lord and bring news of the alchemists back with me."

Chen Cheng knew that alchemists were all research-crazed lunatics. Though he guessed Kekebor Town would not suffer any trouble,

who knew how the minds of those mad scientists worked? Perhaps for some experimental data, they might suddenly turn around and slaughter Kekebor Town. Thus, after taking the box, Chen Cheng did not try too hard to stop Wilson.

Perhaps with this Silver Rank knight beside Lord Kekebor, if danger truly came, he could at least protect him as they fled.

After handing the box to Chen Cheng, Wilson prepared to leave the city. Wisdom Shield also gave Chen Cheng enough face to order the guards to let him through.

"Your Excellency, we can now be eighty or ninety percent certain that this was the work of alchemists. But if we want complete confirmation, we must wait for the priest from the Church to examine the corpse with Light Magic."

Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrived. From the street corner came the newly appointed priest Haodos, along with Tofis, whom they had met halfway to the Church, walking in their direction.

After arriving before Wisdom Shield, Haodos lowered his head in salute, then brought the monk into the rest room to inspect the corpse.

Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield followed them inside as well.

Once inside, they saw Peiqi's filthy face, gray with death. Beneath the cow dung, corpse spots could already faintly be seen.

"Fermented cow dung can dispel evil wraiths. The subcutaneous corpse spots have formed large patches. The pupils behind the eyes have dilated and turned cloudy. The entire corpse has an obvious stench of decay."

As the monk carefully wiped away the cow dung and opened the eyelids, Haodos slowly extended both hands and held them steadily above the corpse.

Then his lips moved slightly, and a low, solemn voice emerged from his mouth.

"God of Light, hear the devout call of Your servant—True Sight Radiance."

The moment his words fell, a dazzling brilliance surged forth, like the first ray of sunlight at dawn, too bright to look at directly.

The radiant sphere flickered between Haodos's palms like a miniature star, giving off endless light and warmth.

Yet when that mysterious radiance shone upon the corpse, a shocking scene unfolded.

A thick black resentment, clearly visible to the naked eye, rose from the corpse like smoke. It was dense and profound, as though it contained boundless grievance and fury, sending chills through everyone's hearts.