Greed

"The Knight guarding the east gate of the City of Light is the most powerful Knight in the entire kingdom, and arguably in the entire Mortal Realm — the Mountain Knight Baldwin. I believe you encountered him when you came out, didn't you?"

On the pitch-black Great River, the Old Man rowed his shaky little boat, talking to Ivan.

"I've heard that he existed before this era, and that he was originally destined to enter that celestial palace and share supreme glory with the Dawn King."

"How did he become like that?"

Ivan asked curiously.

"Hehe, because of humanity's original sin."

A sarcastic smile appeared on the lower half of the Old Man's face, which was only visible.

"Because of greed."

He slowly rowed the Oar and recounted, "I've heard that this Mountain Knight was once Knight loyal to a certain figure before the beginning of the Age of Light. For many years during the Age of Darkness, he followed this figure in countless battles, achieving many merits. This figure did not mistreat him, bestowing upon him much glory and reward. But he was not content. He knew his master had found the most magnificent treasure in the world in the darkness, so he betrayed his master to his enemies in exchange for that treasure. After the Age of Light, the Dawn King rewarded those who had served, judging good and evil. He cast the treasure he had obtained by betraying his master into a Golden Armor, which was forever placed upon his body. He was banished to the Mortal Realm, becoming Slave Knight in the kingdom of the Dawn King's followers, eternally guarding the gates of Mortals."

Listening to his words, Ivan suddenly recalled the fragmented memories he had seen in that Chaos sea of thought.

However, he himself did not know whether those were his memories or the memories of the spirit he had plundered from the Mountain Knight.

The small boat rocked, and suddenly a light appeared ahead. Ivan saw the Sun on the river. Although it was already the setting sun, it was only afternoon, and even compared to the Graveyard where Ivan had woken up, the light here was much stronger.

The old man seemed impatient as he slowly brought the small boat to the shore and let Ivan off.

"Sorry, I really don't like things like light, hehe."

The old man chuckled softly, "The inhabitants of this country are even more enthusiastic than those in the City of Light. You'd better be careful not to be captivated by their enthusiasm."

The small boat left the riverbank and slowly disappeared into the darkness on the river.

Ivan turned around and looked at the "country" in front of him.

Desolation was his first impression of the country.

The rugged mountain roads and uneven stone bricks reveal obvious signs of human intervention in this country, yet it appears extremely crude, clearly indicating a very low level of technological capability.

Ivan climbed up the mountain path and found a large stone gate at the top, tightly closed, with some strange symbols painted on it.

He pushed the stone door, but even with the power he had gained after defeating many enemies, including the formidable Black Iron Puppet Knight and the Mountain Knight, he was unable to budge the massive stone door.

Left with no other option, Ivan had to take a detour.

He found a small path beside the stone gate, and using both his hands and feet, he climbed to the top of the mountain next to the stone gate, and finally saw what the country inside the stone gate looked like.

It was a City slightly smaller City of Light. Most of the buildings in the City were made of stone, and they were far inferior to the exquisite buildings of the City of Light. However, it was clear that a considerable number of people had once lived here.

Ivan slid down a slope from the inside of the stone gate, and as soon as he landed, he heard dogs barking.

Several emaciated villagers, leading a few fierce dogs, ran over. Upon seeing Ivan, they didn't ask who he was and immediately launched an attack on Ivan.

Their eyes were bloodshot, their bodies emaciated, and the dogs were also skin and bones; they were clearly in a state of irrational madness.

These villagers carried only crude farm tools, such as rakes, hoes, and sickles for harvesting grain. They wore simple cloth clothes, offering little protection and not particularly strong combat capabilities.

The real troublesome thing remains the same: those howling dogs, which are even more ferocious than the hounds trained by the Knight in the City of Light.

Ivan nearly died there, because the villagers, while fighting, called for reinforcements, bringing even more villagers and dogs to try and trap him. Ivan fought his way out and finally broke into the town, where he found a relatively safe little room to hide in.

Taking this opportunity, he also used the ring to summon the Gravekeeper Girl and asked her to help him digest the accumulated spirit within him.

"Really? You've already arrived in that forbidden country."

While gently stroking Ivan's hand to help him digest the spirit within him, the Gravekeeper Girl said, "That country holds many secrets that other countries don't want others to know. The founder of that country was originally considered a heretic by most races in the world."

"Pagan?"

Ivan quietly felt the spirit within him merging into his body, muttering to himself.

"Yes, in this world, people primarily worship four major Deity."

The Gravekeeper Girl said, "The kingdoms of the North worship the Deity of the Heavenly Palace, such as the Dawn King; the kingdoms of the Southern Swamp Kingdom worship the Lord of the Underworld of the Underworld; the Elves living in the Eastern Dense Forest worship their own Elf God; and in the western mountains, the Dwarf and Orcs worship their Father of Fire and Metal."

"You're an Elves too, aren't you?"

Ivan looked at the Gravekeeper Girl's pointed ears and asked.

"I guess I used to be."

The Gravekeeper Girl withdrew her hand and said with a soft smile, "However, I do not believe in any so-called Elf God."

"Then who do you believe in?"

Ivan asked.

The Gravekeeper Girl simply smiled and did not answer.

After bidding farewell to the girl once again, Ivan made his way to the center of the town.

After speaking with the Gravekeeper Girl, Ivan felt that he should perhaps investigate the Deity worshipped in this country.

The Gravekeeper Girl told him so much, but she didn't reveal which Deity this country worshipped. He felt that the secrets buried in this country must be related to the Deity who had led to the country being collectively labeled as "heretics".

The girl deliberately kept silent, or perhaps she was intentionally or unintentionally guiding him to explore the secrets of that Deity.

After some exploration, he discovered that the town also indeed had a church.

Inside the church, the overall layout was similar to that of the Church of the Dawn King, but in the position of the altar, there was a figure enshrined who was dressed in full armor Knight and leaning on a Great Sword.

However, this God Statue currently headless, so Ivan doesn't know what it looks like.

Besides this God Statue, there is another entity in this church.