At Connie's words, everyone present froze for a moment. Then Stone leaned in curiously.
"Williams? You mean that Cultist?"
As he spoke, Stone narrowed his eyes and sized Fang Zheng up for a while before suddenly slapping his hand.
"Hey, now that you mention it, he really does look a little like him."
So you hadn't paid attention to this at all before!
Hearing Stone's words, Fang Zheng rolled his eyes helplessly. He had spent so many days with Stone, yet the man had never mentioned it. Fang Zheng had assumed Stone simply didn't know about Williams, but now it seemed he had never taken the matter to heart in the first place!
"Cultist? Williams?"
Hearing Connie's words, Malte paused. He glanced at Fang Zheng, then shook his head.
"Don't talk nonsense, Connie! How does Mr. Fang Zheng look anything like a Cultist?"
"Huh?"
Faced with her Commander's reaction, Connie could not help but freeze. Her companions had all died while pursuing Williams, and because of that, she hated Williams to the core. She had practically carved his face into her bones. That was why, the instant she got a clear look at Fang Zheng, she recognized him and launched a desperate attack without a second thought.
Connie had originally thought that once she revealed Fang Zheng's true identity, Commander Malte and the other Knights would swarm him and behead the detestable Cultist on the spot. Yet to her surprise, not only did Commander Malte refuse to believe her, even the other Knights behind him wore unconcerned expressions. As for Great Knight Stone, he apparently had not taken the matter seriously at all.
What was going on?
Naturally, Connie could not make sense of it. What she did not know was that while her accusation had startled Malte, Stone, and the others, it had done no more than that. In their eyes, Fang Zheng could not possibly be Williams.
The reason was simple. Malte knew very well that Fang Zheng had cast Holy Light healing magic on them before. Setting everything else aside, that righteous, peaceful feeling alone was already on the level of a bishop-grade healing spell. Everyone knew that Cultists worshipped evil and chaos, and their power would naturally be tainted by that same chaotic aura. Power itself did not lie. So to Malte and the others, claiming Fang Zheng was a Cultist was utterly unbelievable—since when did Cultists understand the Power of Order more deeply than Temple Bishops? Who exactly was the Cultist here?
Stone's reason for not believing it was even simpler. He had personally seen Fang Zheng's Holy Spirit Guardian. If Fang Zheng was a Cultist, then did that mean the Angel had come to protect a Cultist?
Wow, saying that out loud would get someone nailed to a pyre and burned alive.
"Are you okay, Fang Zheng? What happened? How did you end up fighting Connie?"
"How would I know? I was talking normally, then she turned around and slashed at me like she wanted to die with me. What was I supposed to do? I'm desperate too."
"Stop talking nonsense."
Hearing Fang Zheng's reply, Stone shook his head helplessly. Then he turned to the soft-spoken girl beside them—poor thing, she had been left dumbfounded by the earlier battle and still had not recovered.
"You tell us."
"Ah..."
Only then did the soft-spoken girl seem to come back to her senses. She timidly glanced at Connie before lowering her head.
"It was like this. I was talking with Mr. Fang Zheng when Miss Connie came over. Then, when she saw Mr. Fang Zheng, she said he was some kind of Cultist and drew her sword to attack him..."
"I was worried he would deceive you! Cultists are all smooth talkers. None of them are good people!"
Hearing the girl's account, Connie hurriedly spoke up.
"I can be certain that he's wanted by the Holy Temple. His Star Pattern was distributed to every city hall. As long as you test it..."
"I was the one who performed Mr. Fang Zheng's Star Pattern test."
Perhaps because they had entered her area of expertise, the usually soft-spoken girl interrupted Connie for once.
"I can guarantee that Mr. Fang Zheng's Star Pattern is not on the list."
"How could that be..."
Hearing this, Connie clenched her teeth. She turned and glared fixedly at Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng merely snorted coldly, not even bothering to put on a pleasant expression. He was not the sort of man who went easy on women. Back when he worked overtime, the female employees under him had complained bitterly, yet he had never given them special leave. They were his employees, not his wives. Why should he go soft on them?
The same applied here. Connie was fairly attractive, but Fang Zheng simply could not stand that violent temper of hers. She had come at him ready to fight to the death—how could he tolerate that? Besides, comparison was the thief of joy. With such a cute and gentle soft-spoken girl beside him, Fang Zheng felt that Connie was not even particularly outstanding in looks anymore.
It seemed inner beauty really could bring out outer beauty.
"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Fang Zheng."
Malte seemed to understand Connie's temper well. Seeing her like this, he let out a long sigh. He probably knew the female Knight would never come over to apologize, so he had no choice but to do it himself. Fang Zheng nodded without saying much. He had gotten along fairly well with Malte during this time. Although he could not stand that crazy woman, Fang Zheng would not casually take his anger out on others. Though the body he had been reborn into looked young, Fang Zheng had lived two lives and remained mature and steady. He did not give Malte any attitude.
Malte also knew that the atmosphere was awkward, so he said nothing more. He merely apologized a few times on Connie's behalf and assured Fang Zheng that Connie would be severely punished. Then he took the others to the other side. Clearly, this was not the right time to build rapport.
Fang Zheng naturally was not in the mood to chat either. He immediately cast Holy Light Flash on himself. That crazy woman's strength was real enough; his right hand had suffered considerable damage in the earlier battle. The entire forearm had nearly been torn open by lightning. Fang Zheng had been too furious to care at the time, but now that the battle was over, he realized that his entire body was burning with pain... Better throw on some healing to calm himself down.
"All right, stop pulling that face."
Seeing Fang Zheng's displeased expression, Stone smiled and patted him.
"Being able to pin that proud woman to the ground and beat her up is already impressive enough. If word of this gets out, do you know how many people in the Holy Temple will give you a thumbs-up?"
"Great Knight Stone, is Miss Connie famous?"
Hearing this, the soft-spoken girl beside them asked curiously. Their encounter with Connie had not been much different from Fang Zheng's encounter with Knight Conan. After being teleported, they found her surrounded by undead creatures, rescued her, and then traveled together... Only the outcome had been rather different.
"Mm, that girl is one of the most outstanding of the younger generation. She's known as the God's Favored Daughter. But perhaps because everything has gone smoothly for her, her temper is unbelievably bad. On top of that, her father is the Knight Commander, so ordinary people don't dare get too involved with her. Over time, that gave her this kind of personality."
At this point, Stone shook his head.
"Malte is her mentor, and he has had to clean up after her plenty of times. This young lady has no self-awareness at all... And her strength is indeed quite good, so no one has been able to put her in her place. Her eyes have practically grown onto the top of her head. Heh, this time she has probably finally learned that there is always someone better."
Hearing Stone's remarks, Fang Zheng finally understood why, despite that crazy woman being closer to Malte and the others, not one of those Knights had stepped forward to defend her. It seemed they had suffered plenty from that lunatic's temper as well.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Malte glared sternly at Connie.
"You were far too reckless. You attacked without distinguishing right from wrong. Did you memorize the Knight's code for nothing?"
"But Commander, he really is a Cultist!"
Faced with Malte's rebuke, Connie remained utterly unconvinced.
"I can guarantee that he looks exactly like that Cultist!"
"And what does that prove? There are plenty of people in this world who look alike. We are followers of the Goddess of Order, so we must speak with evidence! We fought alongside him all the way here, and we know his power well enough. It definitely isn't the Power of Chaos. Great Knight Stone is also his mentor, and his Star Pattern doesn't match either. What other problem do you have?"
"B-but those might all be part of his disguise!"
Even now, Connie tried to argue.
"Maybe that Cultist used some kind of method..."
"Enough!"
This time, Malte did not let Connie finish. His face darkened as he cut her off.
"Remember this: without sufficient evidence, we have no right to casually accuse someone of being a Cultist! You should understand that this is an ironclad law of the Holy Temple! No one wants another tragedy like the Dark Fallen Moon! Remember! We are Guardian Knights of the Order Holy Temple. What we protect is what we obey! If you still do not understand that, then take off that armor. Do you understand?!"
Faced with Malte's merciless rebuke, Connie fell silent for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
"I understand..."
Before you continue