Chapter 33
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Chapter 33: Joyful Church Grand Bishop
The first rays of morning finally lit up the altar of the Joyful Church, and the dark mist quietly disappeared from the open lawn.
The sound of hooves echoed along the mountain path as Leo knelt on one knee behind Reni, waiting for the grand bishop and the Arbitrators to arrive.
Behind them were the remaining believers from the church and the Order Sect saintess bound by several chains.
The Arbitrator escorting the saintess stood very straight beside her, indifferent to everything happening around them.
"The grand bishop, a member of the high powers of the Joyful Church… How powerful could she be?" Leo murmured, feeling curious.
"Hehe, Master, I know how strong she is~" Reni’s mischievous laughter echoed in his mind.
"Tell me, please."
"Hehe, if you beg me, I’ll tell you~"
"? Little troublemaker? Are you asking for a spanking again?"
"Come on~ come on~"
Before Leo could ask anything more, the sound of hooves and wheels shaking was already very close. He quickly gathered his thoughts and looked ahead.
A grand procession of carriages, escorted by two rows of armored knights, was slowly approaching them.
The banners on the carriages displayed spiral patterns resembling DNA, with a glow of crimson and purple swirling around the procession, blocking anyone’s view of the people inside the carriages.
A few minutes later, the procession stopped, and two rows of armored knights dismounted, marching in perfect formation to stand in front of Leo and the others, forming a protective line around the carriages.
Immediately after, from the second carriage, a young girl wearing a veil jumped down. She walked to the first carriage, lifted the curtain, and lowered the step.
An old woman holding a staff slowly walked down.
As she descended, the knights around her knelt on one knee and shouted loudly, "Welcome, Grand Bishop!"
Reni made a gesture behind her, and the joyful believers at the branch altar raised their hands, as if embracing the sky, and performed the joyful ceremony, "Welcome, Grand Bishop!"
"Ahem." The old woman, holding her staff, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and softly coughed, "No need for formalities."
Her voice was dry and hoarse, like an old crow at dusk, as if a small knife had torn her vocal cords.
Leo lifted his head and saw her face.
On that withered face, covered with wrinkles like worms, was a nose like that of a mythical celestial dog, with sharp eagle eyes surrounded by hair that had long turned gray.
"Is this the Grand Bishop of the Joyful Church…" Leo whispered, activating the True Vision Eye.
[Joyful Church Grand Bishop: Kakaris (puppet)]
[Level: Advanced Believer]
[Species: Joyful Doll]
[Strength: 18]
[Agility: 18]
[Physical Power: 18]
[Charm: 0]
[Intelligence: 0]
[Spiritual Vision: 15]
[Ability: You are much weaker than your target; everything about them is shrouded in mist.]
A puppet?
Leo lowered his head, forcing back the surprise on his face.
Is this grand bishop also a puppet?
Do the joyful believers know? Does Reni know? No, that’s not right. If Reni knew, she would have told me by now…
Also, wasn’t it said that joyful dolls are not very smart and move stiffly? Why does this grand bishop seem just like a real person?
Just as Leo was analyzing, Reni slowly stood up, clutching the hem of his robe, and bowed to Grand Bishop Kakaris, "Grand bishop, Warden Reni greets you."
"Ahem, no need for formalities, Reni. You did very well in this hunt." Kakaris coughed into his hand, "It was the right decision to send you to this branch altar. Once this matter is finished, you will come with me to the holy land, and prepare for your promotion to advanced believer. After that, you should decide whether to become a knight or a sorcerer."
"Thank you for your guidance, grand bishop," Reni replied appropriately. "Offering our full loyalty to our lord is what we must do."
"Hmm." Kakaris smiled with satisfaction, supported by a maid, as he walked towards the center of the crowd.
The joyful believers around them all stepped back, looking at their grand bishop with the most devout eyes. Some had even knelt down, crawling on the ground as they began to pray.
In the eyes of these believers, this grand bishop could be seen as the embodiment of the God of Joy to some extent.
To Leo, this scene was oddly strange.
A group of living people prayed continuously towards a puppet…
After taking a few steps, Kakaris, with the maid’s help, arrived in front of the Saintess of Order.
She coughed twice and bent down to examine the silver-haired, red-eyed saintess. The wrinkles on her gaunt face formed a smile that looked more disturbing than crying, "Hehe, I see you’re well, Fleur. No, I should call you, Your Excellency, Saintess. Kekekeke."
"…" The Saintess of Order, named Fleur, said nothing and coldly stared at him.
"Kekekeke, you’re still the same, so boring, cough cough." Kakaris shook his head, "No matter what I say, I can’t change your expression, but… I want to tell you, since I am here, it means that all your little tricks have failed."
"The order marks you left in the Forbidden Forest, along with the summoning circles and various backup plans, have all been taken care of on my way here." Kakaris placed his hands behind his back, looking up reverently at the rising sun, "Honestly, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, it took even me quite some time to clear them all."
"How is it? Now the foolish ones from the Order won’t be able to find you for at least ten days, hehehe, and during these ten days, my lady saintess, it’s enough time for us to let you return to our lord!"
"To serve our lord!"
Upon hearing this, Saintess Fleur, who had always had a blank expression, showed her first look of disgust and nausea.
She wanted to say something, but because of the ball gag in her mouth, she could only make whimpering sounds.
"Hehehe, that’s the expression! Ah, it’s wonderful, I love your expression." Kakaris’s laughter was sharp and hoarse, "Go see our lord with that expression!"
"Reni, there’s no time to waste, prepare the altar now, tonight we shall offer her, the saintess, to our lord!"
"Yes!" Tina nodded and turned to leave with a few believers.
Listening to their conversation, Leo hid in the crowd, using his True Vision Eye to spy on the saintess and the grand bishop.
[Order Sect Saintess: Fleur (Bound)]
[Level: Grand Bishop]
[Title: Holy Pastor]
[Species: Divine Chosen One]
[Power: 24 (Reduced to 3 due to binding)]
[Agility: 23 (3)]
[Physical Strength: 25 (3)]
[Charm: 14]
[Intelligence: 8]
[Spiritual Vision: 28 (10)]
[Ability: The difference in strength between you and your target is too great; everything about her is shrouded in mist.]
"Did the once powerful saintess become weak? Even my strength and speed are less than hers…" Leo gave a bitter smile and then looked at Kakaris with suspicion. He was still confused about why this grand bishop was a Joyful Doll.
In the next moment, his pupils widened in surprise.
Grand bishop Kakaris and the maid beside her were connected by a thread made of dark particles.
"This is…"