Heretic

Merlin sat inside the spacious carriage. Although it was still quite bumpy, his physical constitution was no longer what it used to be, so this short distance was no longer anything to speak of.

"Master Merlin, we have arrived!"

Moss lifted the carriage curtain and said to Merlin.

Merlin opened his eyes and jumped down from the carriage. Before him was still that three-story small building, with an old man watching from in front of the door. Merlin paid no mind to the old man, and just as he was preparing to enter, little fat boy Gute's ultra-luxurious four-horse carriage also arrived.

"Hey, Merlin."

Little fat boy Gute poked his head out from inside the carriage, then he jumped down. Right behind him, Anson actually jumped down from the carriage as well—it seemed Gute had given Anson a ride.

Gute and Anson hurried over to stand before Merlin. Little fat boy Gute even reached out with a plump hand, gently patting Merlin's shoulder as he smiled and said, "Merlin, you haven't come for so many days, what have you been up to?"

Before Merlin could answer, the expression on Anson's face nearby suddenly sank, his gaze fixed straight behind Merlin.

"It's Tilafa and Teacher Jia, why are they walking together?"

Anson's expression was as gloomy as water. Ever since he had laid eyes on Jia, he had never stopped thinking about her, yet he had not expected Tilafa to preempt him now.

Merlin also turned around and saw Tilafa and Jia chatting and laughing together, looking very absorbed in their conversation.

Tilafa also saw Merlin and the others. The corners of his mouth twitched into a trace of a mocking smile, his demeanor arrogant as he walked into the small building together with Jia.

Gute glanced at Anson beside him, then spoke in a heavy, low voice: "Anson, don't be so downcast. This Jia is no simple character. Hehehe, didn't I say that day that I would spend three days investigating Jia clearly? Afterwards I indeed went to investigate—guess what I found?"

Seeing Gute's full expression of solemnity, Merlin could not help asking with some curiosity: "What did you find? This Jia has a huge background?"

Gute shook his head and said in a deep voice: "It's not that she has a huge background, but that she has no background at all! To be precise, I found nothing. Jia has only ever appeared in Gran City, and it's as if she appeared out of thin air. Where she came from, what she does, what relatives and friends she has—I found none of it! Hehehe, my family's business spans the entire Bright Kingdom, and our intelligence network is also very formidable. If we want to investigate someone, we can definitely find out, but this Jia... really is mysterious!"

Although Gute was usually carefree and looked like a profligate heir, after having more contact with him, Merlin discovered that the little fat boy also grasped a portion of the Douglan Family's business and was by no means as incompetent as he appeared on the surface.

Even an intelligence network as formidable as the Douglan Family's could not investigate Jia's true identity; this Jia likely really harbored some secrets.

Gute continued telling Anson: "Anson, you need to be more vigilant. Although this Jia is very beautiful, her identity is unclear and extremely mysterious. You should also be careful, try not to have any relations with her. As for that fellow Tilafa, hmph—if there's any problem with Jia when the time comes, he'll get what's coming to him."

Gute curled his lip, obviously holding Tilafa in low regard.

Hearing Gute's persuasion, Anson's expression also improved somewhat. Merlin had no interest in either this Tilafa or the mysterious Jia, and he directly asked Anson for news about Mei Xue: "Anson, Mei Xue and Swordsman Pero and the others went to Gran City so many days ago and haven't returned yet—have you heard any news?"

"Mei Xue? I did hear some news. Let's go, let's go inside first and I'll tell you slowly."

Anson's gaze flickered, and Merlin's heart instantly sank slightly.

The group of three arrived inside the spacious room. This lesson was still history class, but neither Jia nor Tilafa was here, and there was no telling where they had gone to do what.

"Anson, did something happen to Mei Xue?"

Right after sitting down, Merlin hurriedly asked.

Anson shook his head slightly, then smiled bitterly and said: "Merlin, don't worry, your sister Mei Xue is fine, but you're the one in a bit of trouble."

"I'm in trouble?"

Merlin did not know what Anson was referring to and looked at him in confusion.

"It's like this: didn't Mei Xue and the others go to Gran City for the exchange meet under the leadership of Swordsman Pero? It was during this very exchange meet that Kadoron made a breakthrough. He became a true Elemental Swordsman, and what's more, a Light Swordsman! This matter even alarmed the bishop of the Gran City Church, who personally bestowed a blessing upon Kadoron and took him in as a Guardian Swordsman of the Light Church, which is why they delayed their return trip. Tsk tsk, but that fellow Kadoron can truly be considered to have stepped into heaven in a single bound."

Anson's face was filled with excitement, as if he himself had become an Elemental Swordsman.

Merlin also knew that an Elemental Swordsman was still nothing much, but if he was a Guardian Swordsman of the Light Church, that was entirely different. Guardian Swordsmen could obtain the full cultivation and backing of the Light Church. In terms of status, although they did not possess aristocratic titles conferred by the Bright Royal House, in reality, a Guardian Swordsman's status within the Light Church was virtually equivalent to an aristocrat!

As the Light Church's power within the kingdom grew increasingly grand and its influence ever wider, the status of these Guardian Swordsmen would naturally rise along with it.

After a while, Jia and Tilafa walked in together. Jia was still bright and moving, while Tilafa drooped his face, his expression somewhat gloomy.

"Hehehe, looking at Tilafa's appearance, could it be that he suffered a setback with Jia?"

The little fat boy gloated as he chuckled in a low voice.

Immediately following this, Jia began to lecture on history. Merlin had no interest in Jia's lessons, yet he secretly observed her. Even with Gute mobilizing the Douglan Family's intelligence, they had failed to uncover Jia's identity—she definitely concealed some secrets.

However, until the end of the class, Merlin failed to see anything out of the ordinary about Jia.

"Merlin, see you tomorrow."

Little fat boy Gute and Anson bid farewell to Merlin, and Merlin also took Moss's carriage back to Wilson Castle.

A knight troop of more than twenty people galloped along the wide boulevard. The attire of this knight troop was quite distinctive, all uniformly wearing white knight light armor and carrying a greatsword on their backs.

"How much further to Blackwater City?"

The knight troop gradually came to a halt, and a middle-aged blonde man asked coldly. This man had a head of long brown hair tied into a small braid resting behind his head. He wore a white robe, and over the white robe he had layered a piece of light armor, looking somewhat incongruous. Yet upon his chest, the imprint of a silver cross sword was embroidered.

"Lord Jason, once we cross the mountain ahead, we will reach Blackwater City."

The knight wearing a handsome silver helmet on his head spoke slowly. A trace of fear flickered within his gaze, as he seemed quite terrified of this incongruously dressed white-robed knight.

The white-robed knight nodded with a cold expression, and said to the silver-helmeted knight: "Swordsman Borg, this mission cannot afford any mistakes. That evil heretic lurking in Blackwater City must be captured. I believe the bishop has already told you what to do?"

The white-robed knight's gaze was very sharp, causing Borg to break out in a cold sweat.

"Please rest assured, Lord Jason. Before coming, the bishop already told us that this operation is entirely under the responsibility of Lord Jason."

"Very well, let's go."

The white-robed knight nodded with satisfaction, while Swordsman Borg felt very grave in his heart. He was originally a Guardian Swordsman of the Gran City Light Church, and moreover a powerful Second-Level Light Swordsman.

Yet even so, Borg remained extremely cautious regarding this mission, because this time the Church had actually dispatched people from the Inquisition, and Jason was a man of the Inquisition. As for the Inquisition, Borg did not understand it very well either; he had merely heard some rumors that the people within the Inquisition were mysteriously abnormal, all possessing formidable powers hard for ordinary people to imagine, and were the most loyal believers of God.

Every single time the Inquisition was dispatched, it was because of so-called evil heretics. As for evil heretics, Borg was quite clear: those were the mages from legends who had blasphemed the God of Light and possessed evil power, representing the strongest force within the fallen realm of the Black Moon Kingdom.

Facing evil heretics, and with people from the Inquisition dispatched to boot, even Borg, this Second-Level Light Swordsman, harbored trepidation in his heart, not knowing what exactly awaited him in Blackwater City.

Merlin closed his eyes, lying quietly inside a wooden bathing tub. Amidst the steaming hot water, he held a piece of relief carving in his hand.

After a while, Merlin opened his eyes, looking at the relief carving in his hand with an expression of contemplation.

"Waking up these past few mornings, there hasn't been a single trace of sweat on my body, and performing the postures on the relief carving seems to no longer have any effect either. The postures on the relief carving have completely lost their effect on me..."

Merlin muttered softly. Although he had long anticipated it, when this day truly arrived, he still felt a trace of regret. He could feel the vast power contained within his body, which was almost capable of rivaling those true Elemental Swordsmen, and such a change had been brought about by this mysterious relief carving.

After a while, Merlin got up, put the relief carving away properly, and then went downstairs.

Downstairs, Mei Xue had grown tired of waiting for Merlin and had already started eating breakfast.

"I'm going to the church to practice swords."

After finishing her meal swiftly, Mei Xue said indifferently to Merlin, and immediately afterward, she carried her sword and walked straight out of the castle.

Merlin had long since grown accustomed to this. Ever since Mei Xue returned from Gran City ten days ago, her entire person had grown cold, and she practiced the sword desperately, losing even her previous lively momentum.

Merlin also understood the reason for Mei Xue's change—as it turned out, Mei Xue had been stimulated by Kadoron.

Mei Xue and Kadoron had always been the people Swordsman Pero favored most, the geniuses with the highest hopes of becoming Elemental Swordsmen. Yet Kadoron had broken through early, and furthermore become a Guardian Swordsman of the Church. Meanwhile Mei Xue, who was a genius on par with Kadoron, still had not become a true Elemental Swordsman to this day. Stung by this stimulation, Mei Xue had thus turned this cold, single-mindedly sword-focused person.

"It seems I need to find a time to have a good talk with Mei Xue."

Merlin muttered softly. Perhaps even he himself had not noticed that he was gradually blending into his current identity, thoroughly becoming a member of this world.

After finishing breakfast, Merlin returned to his upstairs room. During these past ten days, he had mastered another hundred Morta script vocabulary words, which, added to his previous ones, meant he had already mastered over two hundred Morta script vocabulary words. This was already enough to read some simple Morta script sentences.

In order to master the Morta script, Merlin had even cast aside morning trips to the church to practice swords. Fortunately, Mei Xue was now stimulated by Kadoron and single-mindedly wished to become an Elemental Swordsman, lacking the free time to manage Merlin's affairs, which allowed Merlin to comfortably spend ten days of leisurely time.

"It's been ten days, I wonder if old man Aita has returned yet?"

Merlin just wanted to continue practicing the Morta script, but upon second thought, ten days had already passed, so he still needed to go and see whether old man Aita had returned.

Although he had the materials given by old man Aita, self-study would inevitably run into some problems. If old man Aita were around, those problems would naturally resolve themselves without effort, eliminating the need to rack his brains guessing.

Thus Merlin got dressed, also left Wilson Castle, and rode Moss's carriage toward old man Aita's cabin.