pertwk Page 144
Page 144
In the end, it was Arthur who stepped forward.
He made Lancelot make a decision: first, return Vivi's soul to her own body.
Merlin also explained the specific situation, stating that the crisis of soul reconstruction in Vivi's body would not erupt for the time being.
Based on his observation and judgment of the soul using prism magic, if the accumulation rate of the "witchcraft factor" does not worsen, it will be in a latent period of at least six months and at most two or three years.
However, Merlin couldn't guarantee anything because it involved the special existence of witches.
Therefore, troubled by the unknown, Merlin immediately decided to set off the next day to leave this place between the underworld and the mortal world for a while.
He was going to search for historical events related to the existence of witches to see if he could help Lani and Vivi escape their current crisis.
Therefore, the group had no reason to stay in Merlin's residence any longer and returned to Blackrock Territory today.
Back to the present.
He looked at Vivi, the girl in Lancelot's arms.
She pressed herself close to her childhood sweetheart's warm chest and whispered:
"Lance, please don't be sad, okay?"
Along the way, she rode alongside Lancelot and keenly sensed the sorrow in the heart of the man she knew, a sorrow that arose for her sake.
In fact, while everyone was troubled by her crisis of soul reconstruction,
This reserved young girl had already accepted this reality when her soul was inhabited by the body of a clay doll.
That night, after having contact with Miss Lani.
As the will of the witch Morgan revives within her.
She finally recalled the true memories of her parents' tragic deaths on the night of the massacre in her hometown.
—It was she who voluntarily offered half of her soul to the witch Morgan, creating a glimmer of hope for her and Lancelot.
Lancelot, who went through all of this with her, seems to have lost this real memory.
Looking at Lancelot's slightly melancholy, still somewhat childish face, Vivi knew that the memories of his parents' tragic deaths were still distorted in his mind.
No, she deliberately embellished it.
Looking back now, she suddenly realized that this might have been part of the deal she made with the witch Morgan.
Therefore, she decided to keep the true memories of the massacre of her hometown and the tragic deaths of her parents deep in her heart and bear the pain she experienced alone.
Vivi didn't want the boy who had suffered so much for her to be even more heartbroken.
And so, as she was thinking this.
Her weak, pale face forced a weak smile as she looked at Lancelot, who was holding her in his arms.
"Lance, I want to see you smile."
The girl's murmur was very soft, so soft that only Lancelot could hear it clearly.
But this heartfelt whisper reached Lancelot's heart and dispelled the gloom that shrouded his soul like a ray of dawn.
"I'm sorry, Weiwei, I was too restrained by my inner confusion."
Immediately, a faint smile appeared on Lancelot's face.
Inspired by his childhood friend's good fortune, he turned to look at another important person who cared about him: Arthur.
Lancelot nodded solemnly to Arthur:
"Yes, Lord Arthur is right. We must plan things out carefully and not lose our composure!"
After calming Lancelot down.
The group soon returned to the magnificent lord's castle in the center of Frostraven Town, in front of the gates of Blackrock Keep.
As before, the butler Leon opened the castle gates early and stood at the entrance to welcome Arthur's return.
However, the people who greeted him this time were somewhat different.
Arthur stared intently toward the gates of Blackrock Castle, and besides the butler Leon, he saw a familiar figure.
A tall woman dressed in a white priest's robe stood upright beside the butler, Leon.
"Lady Louise, Priestess of the Moonlit Sky, Blackrock Territory welcomes you!"
Arthur immediately recognized the other person and enthusiastically called out their name.
That's right!
This woman was none other than Louise, a priestess and a member of the Church of the Crescent Moon whom he had met with Lancelot during the Crescent Moon border incident.
So he quickly steered his black-haired horse, Night Shadow, to the gate of Black Rock Fortress.
Then, he dismounted cleanly and walked straight to Louise, the Priestess of the Moon, and said with a self-deprecating laugh:
"Making you, my distinguished guest, come out to greet me is a huge loss of face for me, the host!"
"Lord Arthur, Blackrock Territory's solo resolution of the 'Bounty Level Three' bandit scourge has reached the ears of many lords in the North."
The Moon Priestess Louise, dressed in a pristine white robe, was amused by Arthur's self-deprecating humor and quipped:
"I wonder if I, the Priestess of the Moonlit Night, am still qualified to preside over a branch of the church here?"
"Haha! Ms. Louise is joking."
Arthur continued:
"Blackrock Territory's forces are limited, and it is extremely difficult to resist this bandit scourge. We need the Moonlit Church to provide some protection for my people."
He paused, pointed towards the lord's manor, and continued:
"Therefore, after that defensive battle, I had already allocated a piece of land with a favorable environment for the arrival of Priestess Louise of the Moon and your esteemed church, so that the church could be established in Blackrock Territory."
That's right!
After the Battle of Blackrock Territory ended, Arthur divided his lord's estate, the best piece of land in Blackrock Territory, into three areas: a large, a medium, and a small area.
The largest section retains its original building scale, encompassing the lord's courtyard, main residence and servants' quarters, warehouses and other basic facilities.
In the center is the newly established cemetery, where a huge stone monument over ten meters high stands, recording and burying every soldier who died in the Battle of Blackrock Territory.
The smallest piece was a paved foundation, surrounded by piles of various unused building materials.
That location was the site that Arthur had planned long ago for, the site prepared for a branch of the Church of the Moon.
Back to the present.
The priestess Louise sensed Arthur's sincerity from his tone and nodded in agreement.
At this point, the butler Leon joins the conversation:
“Young Master, Ms. Louise just brought some valuable military supplies, saying they are aid from our friendly neighbor Crescent Territory.”
"Ok?"
Upon hearing this, Arthur immediately pictured the solemn, middle-aged knight, Crescent Lord Tavis, in his mind.
He sighed:
“Mr. Tavis is very kind. I must visit him to express my gratitude after I finish my busy work.”
At this moment, the Moon Priestess Louise gave Arthur a meaningful smile:
"That guy Tavis has been quite concerned about you ever since he learned that Blackrock Territory had resolved the 'Bounty Level Three' bandit problem."
Arthur was initially confused, but upon closer examination, he understood Louise's implied meaning:
"Mr. Tavis's Crescent Territory borders the Red Leaf Mountains, where bandits roam, and has suffered from banditry quite a bit."
"Yes! That's why he understands better than most how terrifying the scourge of 'Level 3 Bounty' bandits is."
As the priestess Louise of the Moon finished speaking, she gazed into the distance and sighed.
"However, the current situation of the Red Leaf Mountains seems to be somewhat different from that of the past."
More than a month after Lord Arthur left, I informed the higher-ups of the Moon Cult about the remnants of the Shadow Cult appearing and attacking my sister Ange and me.
Among the high-ranking officials, one bishop who was assigned to oversee affairs in the North learned of this matter and repeatedly sent people into the Red Leaf Mountains to search for the traces of the two remnants of the Shadow Church.
However, the Red Leaf Mountains are a mixed bag of people, so after more than a month of investigations, no trace of the remnants of the Shadow Church has been found.
However, the bishop did not leave empty-handed.
Priestess Louise of the Moon paused deliberately before continuing her narration earnestly:
"He told me that there were undercurrents deep within the Red Leaf Mountains, involving a matter far more serious than those two remnants of the Shadow Church."
Therefore, that bishop is currently stationed at the Moonlit Church branch in Crescent Territory to protect Crescent Territory from the further impact of that more terrible undercurrent.
"In truth, it was thanks to him that I received approval to fulfill my agreement with Lord Arthur and come to Blackrock Territory to establish a branch of my Moonlit Church."
"Bishop of the Moon?"
After absorbing this valuable information, Arthur immediately rested his chin on his hand and began to mutter to himself.
He began to take a slight interest in the bishop that the Moon Priestess Louise had mentioned.
Seeing Arthur's interest, the Priestess Louise smiled knowingly.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Lord Arthur, that bishop is also very interested in you."
Especially after hearing that you have gained the favor of Her Highness Saint Luna of my church.
"Hmm? How's little Luna doing?"
Arthur raised an eyebrow. Upon hearing the name "Luna," the image of the little girl immediately came to mind.
At that time, Mo Binma Yeying, who always avoided strangers, showed no aversion when she first met the Holy Maiden of the Moon, Luna. Instead, she even made a friendly gurgling sound.
However, what impressed him most was not the girl's porcelain doll-like face, but the crescent-shaped marks that appeared below the corners of her eyes.
That is Lv.4 "Blessing of the Twin Moons".
It made Arthur, who possessed the "blessing of the moon," feel a strange sense of familiarity.
It was through his contact with this Holy Maiden of the Moon that Arthur truly unleashed the extraordinary power known as the "Power of the Moon Goddess".
That was a kind of support as pure as holy light.
And speaking of it.
His "Blessing of the Moon" was able to be upgraded from Lv.1 to Lv.2 thanks to the pure "Moon God's Power" infused into him by the Moon Priestess Louise and this Moon Saintess.
Now, he couldn't help but recall what the little girl had said to him before they parted:
"Brother, will I ever see you again?"
When Arthur recalled Luna's clear and melodious voice, which was as clear as a spring, his originally calm heart was stirred by a ripple, and he felt a strange flutter in his heart.
“Young Master, and Lady Louise, you must be tired from your journey. Why don’t we return to Blackrock Castle to rest and continue our conversation there?”
At that moment, the butler Leon's voice pulled Arthur back to the present.
Arthur snapped out of his reverie, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, as if he had suddenly remembered something important.
He looked again at the Moon Priestess Louise:
"Yes, Ms. Louise, please come with me into Blackrock Castle. I do have something important to discuss with you."
-----------------
a few days later.
Within the territory of Black Rock.
We arrived at a desolate, ruined place.
This is the village of Sandstone and the village of Turbid Creek, which were brutally massacred a month ago by a gang of demonic bandits led by the black-armored knight Daiba.
After the Battle of Blackrock Territory ended and he returned to Blackrock Territory from the residence of the alchemist Merlin.
Arthur led a large number of Blackrock Legion soldiers to search for the villagers' remains, hoping that there were still survivors.
However, upon seeing those mangled, shattered corpses, that hope was utterly shattered.
Many soldiers in the Blackrock Legion came from these two villages.
They were filled with grief and indignation at what had happened to their hometown, and after witnessing the horrific deaths of familiar people, they suffered a mental breakdown.
Fortunately, Arthur was present at the time and used Lv.2 "Blessing of Mercy" to barely stabilize their mental state.