Tears of Holy Light

Hunter's Mark was one of the common skills of Level Three Hunters. It could be obtained through learning, or through a Holy Name's blessing. Of course, the Hunter's Mark granted by a Holy Name was usually stronger than one obtained through learning. Most learnable skills followed this same pattern.

Hunter's Mark itself was harmless, but once someone was marked, no matter where they hid, a hunter could sense them clearly.

"I can't 'dispel' it or 'Remove Curse.'" Mage Gaye's face flashed with embarrassment. "But it should be fine. The person who marked you is already dead. At the latest, the mark will disappear on its own when the sun rises."

He thought of something else and added, "They probably don't have an advanced thing like 'Magical Fellowship' either, so they can't share Hunter's Mark."

Gagnor knew all this too. He simply had a shadow in his heart and didn't want to use a scroll of Remove Curse directly, so he had come to ask Gaye.

Since Gaye couldn't help, he let it go.

He would wait for the sun to rise.

The sun and moon of the Falaro world were wondrous. Their alternation and movements affected nearly all magic, and a fragile spell could hardly survive a single exchange between the sun and moon.

At the same time, a fragile life also seemed unlikely to survive such an exchange—John's condition was terrible.

When Gagnor went to check on John's injuries again, several priests were treating him.

Unfortunately, none of the priests were high-level. They knew no powerful healing spells, while John's injuries were incredibly severe. Thus, there had still been no obvious improvement. His face remained bloodless, and he was unconscious.

John was receiving top-class treatment. After all, he had been injured protecting a priest, and had earned the priests' general sympathy.

By comparison, the other severely wounded mercenary was not nearly so lucky.

He had lost nearly all his intestines. When a priest saw his condition, he offered only a token amount of treatment before fast-forwarding straight to end-of-life care.

The mercenary naturally didn't want to die and begged the priest desperately to save him again.

It wasn't that the priest didn't want to save him. He truly couldn't. All he could do was repeatedly recite prayers, saying things like, "The Lord will bless you," or talking about how wonderful Heaven was.

But the mercenary didn't seem devout enough—or perhaps he didn't believe himself worthy of entering Heaven. His face was therefore filled with despair, and he gradually died in agony.

Afterward, he and the other mercenaries who had died in battle were cremated on the spot, and their ashes were placed in urns. Once the mission ended, they would have a chance to return to their homeland.

The sun rose.

When the sunlight fell on him, that faint, strange sensation finally vanished from Gagnor's body.

Status Removed: Hunter's Mark (Level 3)

Gagnor breathed a little easier.

Then he glanced at John beside him.

John lay unconscious on a stretcher, being carried by several people. Gagnor was one of those carrying it.

Compared with the night before, John's condition had worsened somewhat, and his breathing was extremely faint.

I hope Presto Fortress has a priest who can heal him, Gagnor thought.

A turning point came sooner than he had imagined.

Several hours later, Gagnor saw a group of riders approaching from afar. Several of them wore the shoulder insignia of the Gray Hawk Mercenary Group, and their faces looked somewhat familiar. They were clearly his own people.

Besides the Gray Hawk Mercenaries, there were quite a few unfamiliar faces in the group. At the front rode a burly, bald knight and a nun dressed in white.

The nun's hair was pure black, while her skin was fair and nearly flawless. Her bearing was fairly mature, yet she had a pair of watery eyes that seemed almost childlike, making her age difficult to determine.

Somewhere between fifteen and thirty, Gagnor judged.

The moment Priest Sheldon saw the nun, his face lit up with pleasant surprise. He hurried forward with several other priests and said humbly, "Lady Deran, please heal our brave warrior! He is an Anointed of Saint Michael, and he was gravely wounded protecting me!"

Sister Deran also put on a solemn expression.

She dismounted, walked to the stretcher, and briefly examined John's injuries.

Then the beautiful nun drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Mosa above, Saint Deran and Saint Michael, please shelter this brave warrior..."

As she prayed, a faint golden glow appeared around her eyes.

Then, under the astonished gazes of many people, two drops of golden tears radiating a holy aura slowly flowed down.

"Crying Sister Deran," Ryan exclaimed softly. "I never thought I'd see her Tears of Holy Light here. It looks like John is saved."

The two tears, seemingly liquid holy light, fell onto John's face. The instant they touched him, they melted into his skin.

Immediately, John's condition visibly improved. The pallor gradually left his skin, and his weak breathing recovered its former strength and steadiness.

"Are those Blessing Abilities?" Gagnor asked.

Ryan said, "Of course. This is Saint Deran's blessing. It's far more powerful than any Healing Spell."

The Tears of Holy Light were indeed powerful. Under the healing of that sacred force, John woke up before long, looking as though nothing had happened as he gazed around in confusion.

"What happened?" he asked involuntarily.

Ryan reminded him, "Hurry and thank Sister Deran. She saved your life."

John gradually recalled some of what had happened the previous night and quickly sat up to offer his thanks.

The bald knight said, "I am Anthony, the captain of Presto Fortress's knights. The count sent me to escort you... You were attacked last night?"

Cassandra nodded. "Yes. Keith of the Wolf Hunt Mercenary Group and his 'Night Raiders.'"

"I've heard that all of the Wolf Hunt's 'Night Raiders' have darkvision magic runes, but I think it's more likely that they're half-breed Drow Elves," Anthony remarked.

After a few more exchanges, Cassandra asked, "How is the situation in Presto Fortress?"

Anthony only said, "At least while the count is alive, that bastard Yuris still won't dare do anything."

"I'll take you to Presto Fortress," he said.

The Gray Hawk Mercenaries then followed Anthony toward Presto Fortress.

By dusk that day, everyone arrived safely at Presto Fortress.

In the narrow sense, the name "Presto Fortress" referred to the castle. In a broader sense, it could also refer to the town.

After all, Presto Castle, where the count lived, stood on high ground within the town and was integrated with the town's walls.

As a town, Presto Fortress was about the same size as South Sea Town.

However, compared with South Sea Town's low walls, which could barely defend against Goblins, the walls here were somewhat old but stood nearly twenty meters high.

Clearly, Presto was not a peaceful and tranquil place. It had never been one.