Development 3

Through the villagers' hard work, the church took shape day by day. Busy as Axel was, he was full of anticipation. Once we finish this church, Sister Ria's level-two church should be nearly ready too! Then we'll be able to contact all the lower-level churches through it! He had never been apart from his big sister for so long, and now he missed her terribly. He wanted to hear her voice. He was also a little worried about Rich, Shui Sha, and the others, wondering whether they had managed to establish their beginner churches.

Time slowly passed amid those busy, fulfilling days!

On this day, all the villagers gathered outside the newly completed church, waiting for Axel and his companions to activate it. They had built it themselves, but they had no idea what mysteries it held.

At the center of the church stood an enormous altar. A tall cross engraved with mysterious patterns rose above it, the patterns winding toward its center, where a hollow circle occupied the exact middle. Axel and his companions formed a circle and knelt before the cross, praying over a palm-sized stone tablet. When their prayers ended, they stretched out their hands, sending several rays of light into the tablet. As though absorbing the light, the stone tablet glowed with a golden halo and slowly rose into the air. Finally, it became a ball of light and flew into the center of the cross!

Click!

The ball of light locked firmly into the center, bathing the cross in gold. All the light converged on the central cross, and a brilliant radiance erupted. The villagers at the church entrance immediately shielded their eyes. The light shot into the sky, forming a ring that slowly pushed the dark clouds aside. When the radiance faded, everyone stared up in astonishment!

"Heavens! That's... that's the sun!" the villagers below exclaimed!

"Whew!" Axel let out a deep breath and exchanged smiles with his companions. Looking up at the luminous pearl shining with holy radiance in the center of the cross, he could not help feeling a rush of satisfaction. This was a miracle they had worked for months to achieve!

The curious villagers entered the church, marveling at the ball of pure white light in its center. An older man noticed that Axel and his companions were still slumped on the altar and walked over in puzzlement. "Axel, what's wrong?"

"Sir, please help us up. We've exhausted ourselves!"

Only then did the villagers realize what had happened, and they hurried over to help!

Several young villagers supported Axel and his companions as they shakily descended from the platform. The others crowded around them in concern!

"Axel, are you all right?"

"Axel, are you hungry?"

"Brother Axel, is this the holy light?"

Faced with everyone's questions and concern, Axel mustered enough strength to smile. "Thank you for your concern. We've only used up our holy power. We'll be fine after a day. From now on, everyone can come to the church to pray and receive the baptism of holy light!"

"If I receive the baptism of holy light, can I become a Holy Knight like you, Brother Axel?" Xiao Zhi asked excitedly, struggling to poke his little head out of the crowd!

"That's right! Anyone who is upright and kind, longs for peace, and is full of hope can receive the blessing of the holy light, so long as they believe in it sincerely!" Axel explained loudly to those around him!

"And will the sun outside disappear? Will the weather go back to the way it was before?" The elder they had met when they first arrived in the village stepped forward and asked apologetically, seeing how tired they were. Unlike the young people, who were interested in power, an old man who had farmed in the village all his life cared more about the weather!

Seeing the elder's embarrassed yet hopeful expression, Axel smiled understandingly. "Don't worry, sir! Wherever the holy light has shone, the weather will return to normal!"

At his words, the villagers suddenly understood, their joy plain on their faces!

The Land of Rain's constant gloomy, rainy weather made it impossible for many crops to survive there, leaving most of the country short of food year after year. Now that the weather had returned to normal, as long as they could obtain good seeds, they were sure to have a bumper harvest this year!

Meanwhile, in Huayu Town, Ria watched as the roof of the level-two church neared completion. Almost three months had passed since the five squads had departed. Everyone who remained had worked extremely hard during that time. Not only was the church almost finished, but they had also progressed rapidly. Nearly all the seventy-odd Holy Light Clerics who had stayed behind had passed level ten, and quite a few were even approaching level twenty. On top of that, nearly two hundred new Holy Light Clerics had emerged!

The church's financial troubles had also been resolved after Reilly's heavy demand for holy water forced Ria to assign more people to gather Morning Dew!

Ria's days passed in anticipation and longing. Once the church's roof was fully completed, the little town of roughly twenty thousand people erupted in celebration!

That day, the new Holy Light Clerics wore neat, standardized equipment and formed human barriers to maintain order among the spectators on both sides of the road. Ria led the remaining veteran Holy Light Clerics in prayer inside the church. Moved by the sacred ceremony, the spectators spontaneously joined in.

When the prayers ended, Ria stood and raised her Lightsaber high in one hand, calling out passionately, "The holy light will surely bless the just and the kind! We shall hold fast to hope and follow the holy light forever! May the holy light endure!"

"May the holy light endure!"

As their voices rang out in unison, tiny motes of light emerged from Ria, the Holy Light Clerics, and the townspeople who believed in the holy light, drifting together toward the large ball of light at the center of the even larger cross inside the church.

Countless motes streamed toward the church, finally converging into an enormous pillar of light. Once again, a miracle appeared in the center of town. Bearing the people's hopes and blessings, the pillar broke through the barrier of the heavens and reached the place of their faith!

That night, after finishing all her work, Ria quietly went alone to the center of the altar. Her little hand gently stroked the enormous cross as she gazed devoutly up at the great ball of light. "Holy Light, sorry for the trouble, but could you help me contact Axel, Rich, and the five squads? I want to know whether they've established their churches!"

"Ria, don't worry. I've already sensed five holy light connection points! Knowing my Little Bishop was worried about her brothers and sisters, I notified them after this morning's ceremony that we might hold a meeting tonight. I imagine they're all waiting in their churches now!"

Moved, Ria looked at the great ball of light. "Thank you, Holy Light!"

Li Ming withdrew the radiance flowing over the Sub-body, revealing his crystal-clear spherical form. As the waves of light gathered again, several images appeared on his surface. They showed Axel, Rich, and the other squads standing in orderly rows inside their churches, waiting to contact their bishop.

"Axel, Rich, everyone, are you all doing well?" Ria asked with concern as she looked at the images!

Having already been notified, everyone immediately offered greetings when they heard the voice coming from their respective churches' balls of light, responding to their bishop's concern.

They then took turns describing their recent experiences spreading the holy light. Most had encountered similar situations, though each squad had handled them differently. Some had gained the villagers' trust by defeating bandits, others by dealing with local thugs. Rich's squad had even encountered a lord who oppressed his people. Only after deposing him and liberating the locals had they won the people's support.

The reason Li Ming had not sent Ria and the others to develop their faith in large towns was that many minor lords had fled to the big cities for refuge during the border war, leaving most border villages in a power vacuum.

After listening to their reports, Ria spoke with satisfaction. "Thank you all for your hard work! Now that the level-two church is complete, the ranks of the holy light will undergo explosive growth. With Huayu Town at its center, the holy light will spread to all the surrounding towns and villages! Your achievements won't go unrecognized. I'll prepare materials and turn your experiences into case studies for every squad about to head into the villages. Now that communications between the churches have been established, you can also exchange experiences more often! I hope you'll all keep working hard and nurture more seeds of the holy light!"

"Don't worry, Big Sis. We'll work hard! We already have five Junior Holy Light Clerics here, and I'm sure there'll be more before long!" Axel said firmly!

Hearing this, the others also reported to Ria on the Holy Light Clerics they had recruited in their areas. Altogether, there were more than twenty!

After the meeting ended, Ria spent a while chatting privately with Axel, Rich, and the others, her words filled with endless concern and longing!

Sunagakure, the Land of Wind.

Chiyo studied the porcelain bottle in her hand as she listened to a Chunin subordinate describe its effects on the battlefield. After a moment's thought, she said, "You may go. I understand. I'll report this to Lord Kazekage!"

With that, Chiyo headed toward the Kazekage's building, her back stooped!

Knock, knock!

"Come in!" a steady voice called from inside. Chiyo gently pushed open the door and looked at the Kazekage, who was busy reviewing documents.

"Kazekage, I have important intelligence to report!"

"What intelligence?" Kazekage Shamon raised his head to look at Chiyo.

Chiyo placed the porcelain bottle on his desk and said, "Recently, a major merchant from the Land of Rain supplied us Sand shinobi with a batch of holy water. It has a tremendous impact on the battlefield! As long as an injury isn't fatal, drinking one bottle allows the wounded to recover quickly!"

"Oh! That remarkable? Have you discovered anything about it?" Shamon asked curiously!

"No. It contains highly active elements, but they aren't chakra! According to our intelligence operatives' investigation, this holy water comes from the Land of Rain. I think we should send shinobi to investigate as soon as possible!"

"Good timing. The Land of Rain is currently fighting the Stone shinobi. Take a force to the border and see if you can gain anything, and investigate the source of the holy water while you're there!" Shamon looked at Chiyo solemnly and continued, "If we can obtain the method for producing it, we Sand shinobi will have a better chance of escaping this barren land!"

"That's what I think too! I'll take the troops there tomorrow! We've already investigated most of the Land of Rain's border anyway. Hanzō only just reached a ceasefire with the Land of Fire, and that old bastard from the Stone shinobi moved in to exploit his weakness! This is our opportunity!"

"Hahaha... we simply can't let the Land of Rain get away without losing a few chunks of flesh this time!" Shamon laughed. "Still, be careful of Hanzō. I hear he's particularly skilled with poison!"

"Heh, my Puppet Technique is no pushover!"