The Fourth Volume: Withering in the Human World - Chapter 290: Inside the City (Part Two)

"I see. Then the common people in both the main city and the outer city can rest assured."

"The commoners have all been squeezed into the outer city districts, which are not protected by the Boundary Protection Saint Domain. Who among them who can hide in the main city district is a 'commoner'?" -- Valen certainly wouldn't dare say these words. After all, this Saintess Maiden was a well-behaved girl who grew up in a sheltered environment without any malice. How could she understand the dangers of the world?

"Of course, it's all thanks to the protection of the Supreme God, who enabled us to defeat the enemy and appease the people."

"What about the residents of the outer city? We eat so lavishly, but what about them—"

"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements. The grain supplied to the outer city is of high quality and in sufficient quantity, and we have a dedicated force to maintain order, so the residents won't suffer any injustice."

"--What nonsense! The rich and powerful have squeezed all the commoners out of the Sanctuary. To feed these vagrants who are used to a life of debauchery inside, I have to go through the trouble of scavenging ingredients from the lowly people on the outskirts. The butter on the bread you're eating right now was squeezed from those lowly people." -- Valen only dared to complain in his heart. If the naive Saintess, who truly believed in the "equality of all believers in the Divine Law Cult," heard these words, she would surely go crazy.

"That's wonderful... The Rebel Army were repelled, and the city and its people were protected. It's all thanks to the protection of the Supreme God."

Torres Saintess smiled from the bottom of her heart, like a drop of pale red ink slowly spreading in clear water, beautiful and serene. Her smile was so pure; she was genuinely happy that the people were finally free from the suffering of war. Even the seasoned veteran Valen felt a pang of guilt upon seeing it.

"So, Saintess Highness, all we need to do is prepare to clean up the battlefield and remove the Rebel Army corpses."

The Saintess lowered her head with a hint of sadness, her expression filled with melancholy. She sighed, "Really, why did they betray the Supreme God? It is precisely because of the Supreme God's protection that we can live so happily, why..."

"Of course they rebelled because they couldn't survive under such exploitation," Valen thought to himself. He had worked in a small church in the slums, so he knew the living conditions of the lower classes. Whenever he thought of the scene there, Valen felt that he was too kind. Some of the other bishops at the same time didn't even have enough dry rations in their districts, while he had only made sure that the common people didn't have meat for half a year.

The Saintess's next words nearly made him spit out his tea.

"Actually... I think, if possible, it would be best to give the Rebel Army a chance to reform, to let these lost sheep return to the right path, and to send them to Gloria's church for re-education... Mr. Valen?"

"Ah, no, no, it's nothing. I just think that the Saintess Maiden is indeed very compassionate. Indeed, I also hope that they can repent and start anew."

"Repent and start anew, my ass!" Valen almost shouted. Did this idiot Saintess really know what the Rebel Army sent to the Holy City Gloria would face? The Inquisition! Some of the realities there could only be understood by someone in his position. Once sent there, dying without a complete corpse would be considered lucky; the unlucky ones would be kept as testbeds for new divine magic—that would be truly miserable!

Furthermore, within the upper echelons of the Papacy—that is, the circle of people whose rank is equal to or higher than his—a legend has long circulated about the Inquisition. It is said that its strongest fighter is neither the Director nor the Acting Principal, but a mysterious, hidden figure, possessing power no less than that of the previous Chief Templar Knight —of course, most people consider this nonsense. The Papacy's ultimate fighting force is the Heavenly Law Goddess, followed by the Chief Templar Knight, Second, and Third Seals, and then high-ranking paladins including high-ranking Shield Knight, Divine Spellcaster, and lancers. The Inquisition Chief's direct combat strength is at most on par with the Brother Simon, the Second Seat Templar Knight; the idea that some monster is hidden there is completely unfounded.

"... Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought, Saintess Highness... Your Highness?"

Valen, who had just snapped out of his jumbled thoughts, immediately apologized for his neglect, only to notice that the Saintess looked very strange. Her head was slightly lowered, her face was deathly pale, and her lips were trembling slightly.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

"Valen ...sir...the Sanctuary...it's a bit..."

A deafening explosion reverberated in Valen's mind, leaving him dizzy, lightheaded, and drenched in cold sweat. Several seconds passed before his hazy brain finally realized what had happened. In a province, the Archbishop is the de facto ruler, while the Saintess is the idol of the people and the symbol of the papacy—but their duties extend far beyond that. Each Archbishop and Saintess is a unique Divine Spellcaster; their combat prowess may not be formidable, but they possess a special divine art that allows them to become the core of the Boundary Protection Saint Domain of the province's main city, sustaining its existence.

As the core of the Holy Domain, they would naturally sense if anything happened to the Holy Domain.

"Mr. Valen! The Sanctuary seems to be—"

"No, impossible! We're all fine, and the traitors should have been eliminated!"

The Archbishop and the Saintess are the core of the Sanctuary. As long as they remain safe, the Sanctuary will not be breached from the "outside." Furthermore, any traitors capable of undermining the Sanctuary from the "inside" have been eliminated. Therefore, the Sanctuary is currently—

"--Theoretically, it's impossible to break, right?"

"Of course—hmm?"

With a loud bang, the small Air Bomb exploded, sending Valen flying like a ball, crashing into the wall and creating a large crater. Startled, the Saintess froze for two seconds, then rushed to Valen without hesitation and helped him up.

"You're actually thinking about saving others? Are you really that stupid?"

A girl with light brown hair suddenly appeared in front of her, and with a beautiful grappling move, she pinned her down. However, in the next instant, a burst of silver-white lightning erupted from her pure Saintess dress, and the girl with light brown hair vanished and reappeared on the other side of the room.

Givinia frowned, her hands trembling slightly from the electric shock. Luckily, she dodged quickly, or both her arms would be useless now. Meanwhile, the Saintess on the other side looked on in astonishment, clutching her Saintess dress and examining it closely. It seemed even she herself didn't know that the dress she was used to wearing had such strong defensive capabilities.

"Every Saintess's gown is Saint Artifact made with the power of Divine Item, and with the added value of being passed down through generations, its value is even higher than that of ordinary Saint Artifact ... I actually forgot such basic information. It seems I'm getting a little anxious..." Givinia clicked her tongue.

"Huh? Huh? Saint Artifact? Is it that amazing? I always thought its only functions were automatic cleaning and wrinkle prevention..."

"... You don't even know it yourself?"

"Ah... uh... it's just that I don't like reading as much as the other Saintess... no, no! By the way, who are you?! Why did you attack us!"

Watching this woman, at least five or six years older than herself, frantically waving her little fists like a little girl, Givinia was speechless. Although she was somewhat prepared, she hadn't expected this mature and charming woman to be so innocent and pure inside. Such a woman must be very alluring to some men. Luckily, she had the protection of her status Saintess; otherwise, she would have long since become a plaything for those old perverts in the high echelons of the Church.

"Ugh... cough cough! Watch out, this guy's Rebel Army!"

On the other side, Valen coughed as he crawled out of the wall. His robe was covered with golden patterns, clearly indicating that he was also of extraordinary origin.

This is a real headache... The Saintess is untouchable, and even the Archbishop can't be harmed. If she were to create a vacuum by drastically compressing the air, she could probably kill the Archbishop, but if possible, she'd like to capture him alive.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Archbishop and Miss Torres Saintess. What a beautiful day!"

Even so, she was not panicked, because her task was simply to buy time.

"Yes, it's so beautiful it makes me want to yawn—Saint Lock!!!"

With a whoosh, a blinding array of light appeared on the floor. Givinia immediately tried to move her body away, but found that she couldn't move at all, as countless chains of light bound her tightly.

"I see. Indeed, the Archbishop's room in Torres Cathedral must be full of all sorts of traps... But is this your way of treating guests?"

"Hahaha! You, the woman who knocks someone back into a wall the moment you show up, have the nerve to say that!"

Seeing the assassin captured, Valen's tense nerves relaxed, and he even began to leer at the curves of Givinia's body beneath her dress with a seemingly upright but actually lustful gaze.

"Mr. Valen, your words..."

"Ah, I'm so sorry, Your Saintess. I was too excited to personally punish a Blasphemers —though I'd love to do it right now, I need to ask you a few questions first."

"Oh?" Givinia tilted her head.

"In the name of the Supreme God, confess honestly, how did you cross the Boundary Protection Saint Domain? Judging from your sudden appearance here, you must possess teleportation or a similar ability, but theoretically, the Sanctuary cannot be crossed with such abilities."

"It's simple, just break that cover."

"... That's impossible! All the traitors who could have sabotaged the Holy Domain from within have been dealt with. As long as the Saintess Maiden and I are safe, it's impossible to sabotage the Holy Domain from the outside. But without sabotaging the Holy Domain, they can't come in and kill us... So, how exactly did you manage to do it?"

"It's actually quite simple... One of my companions happens to have some special skills that allow him to forcibly destroy the Sanctuary from the outside."

"... ha?"

"Making such an idiotic sound won't change the facts. By the way, I've delayed her for so long that she's traveled from the edge of the main city to here in the center. You've focused too much on the defense of the perimeter and neglected this area."

As if in response to her words, a torrent of light composed of beautiful starlight and moonlight suddenly swept over the three of them. Valen hurriedly covered his head and crouched down in defense, the Saintess was frightened and at a loss, while Givinia revealed a knowing look on her face.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, my companion isn't as easy to talk to as I am."

After the torrent finally dissipated, Valen looked up again and found that the ceiling above him was no longer decorated with ornate chandeliers, but the sky and the top of the Boundary Protection Saint Domain high above.

"So this is how you get bondage play? You're really useless Givinia."

"So what the hell is this 'Givinia Woman'? Let's get down to business. By the way, their clothes have very strong defensive capabilities."

"Alright, let's take advantage of the 'Eclipse Devour' used to corrode the barrier while there are still remnants to deal with them. After all, Eclipse Devour is the natural enemy of all barrier-type defensive items."

The newly appeared Qipao Girl, whose beauty surpassed even that of the Saintess, smiled mysteriously and gently shook off the black substance clinging to her snow-white longsword.

"Wait! That one's going to kill them, right? At least leave them alive for interrogation."

"That's true. The Boundary Protection Saint Domain is too formidable, so let's leave that aside for now. It would be a waste to use the Black Moon series on these two useless guys... so--"

With a flick of his sword, a silver rune appeared.

"--Silver Moon, Scattered White Night!"

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The Monthly Votes ranking is in dire straits again, so I'm shamelessly begging for a Monthly Votes. I'm also working on the extra chapters! ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ