Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Blanche’s expression became uncertain, and the other elves also slowly lowered their bows. Clearly, the elves that lived here were peaceful in nature and had only become hostile when they had mistaken Han Jin for a spy. Aftering seeing that Han Jin had no sinister intentions, their hostility notably subsided.
Blanche came to her senses first and gave the young elf by the door a look. The young elf hurried out, and after a moment, again brought back a bucket of water. After glancing around, she walked straight to Han Jin and refilled his cup.
Han Jin raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. Such a pleasant sensation! These two cups of water were worth this entire trip, even disregarding the political and strategic importance of this trip! Though he could not absorb much energy from it, when he one day had to face the challenge of crossing the Immortal Barrier of Yaiyi, the Moon Qi he had absorbed today would be of great help!
“What kind of magic… was that?” Louise asked in astonishment. She was not the only curious one. Panven, Blanche, and everyone else present also raised their ears. The spell Han Jin had used was similar to teleportation, and a magician who could consecutively cast teleportation was basically immortal; aside from age, there was nothing else that could defeat him!
“The Embrace of Mother Earth.” Han Jin made something up on the spot.
“Bullshit! Why have I never heard of that name?!” Louise was not convinced at all.
“There are many more things you haven’t heard about.” Han Jin smiled, and only then realized that the young elf hadn’t left yet. He also noticed that the wooden bucket was still half full, and his heart started itching again. Greed was indeed an original sin. As a cultivator, Han Jin couldn’t hold back his greed, but he also didn’t have the face to beg for it. Instead, he looked at the young elf then looked at his empty cup, and prayed she understood him.
The young elf did get the hint, but maybe because she had never met someone so shameless, she gave Han Jin a glare and looked to Blanche instead.
Blanche nodded in permission, and the young elf was forced to reluctantly raise the bucket to refill Han Jin’s cup again with a pouted mouth. This time, she had learned from her mistake and shuffled off before Han Jin could even finish, just in case Han Jin’s skin was thick enough to ask for another cup.
However, maybe because of her young age, she had overestimated Han Jin’s shamelessness. Having done nothing for the elves to deserve any gift, three cups was Han Jin’s limit. He wouldn’t have the face to ask for anymore in any way. Of course, if the young elf continued pouring on her own, that would be a different matter.
“Esteemed guest, where are you from?”
“I know, I know!” Louise lit up. “He’s from the Northeastern region!”
Blanche rolled her eyes at Louise and ignored her. “Do you… have business with Aude?”
“I do.”
“What kind of business? If I may ask?”
“Don’t you think… that’s a private matter?” Han Jin smiled.
“Ah, don’t worry, it doesn’t matter if you tell her.” Louise carelessly said, “She’s Aude’s wife; you don’t have to be so secretive.”
Han Jin blanked. His instinct told him Louise wasn’t lying. If she really wanted to deceive him, she could have come up with a more plausible story.
“A templar and an elf…” Han Jin wearily smiled.
“What’s the matter? Do you think I don’t deserve Aude, or that Aude doesn’t deserve me?” Blanche flatly said.
“No, nothing like that…” Han Jin paused. “The templars worship the God of Light, while the elves worship the Goddess of Nature. This seems…”
“I admit, the difference in our faiths did cause many troubles, hence why I stayed in the village while he stayed in his army.” Blanche sighed. “But… sometimes, when your love burns like a wildfire, it is hard to control yourself. We thought there was nothing we couldn’t overcome. Maybe you haven’t experienced such an emotion before, so you might not understand.”
Blanche’s talk came off as a little pretentious, but her expression remained calm, as if she was recounting something completely unrelated to her.
Han Jin stayed silent for a moment before smiling. “But I have.”
“Anyway, you know you can trust us now, right?” Louise was clearly getting bored and interjected, “Why do you want to find Aude?”
Han Jin looked around and said, “It seems everyone here hates Nicolas.”
“Of course, you do too, don’t you?” Louise said with a bright smile. “What a comrade!” she thought to herself. At this point, she already saw Han Jin as a comrade.
“I’ve never met him.” Han Jin hesitated. However, after considering that Nicolas didn’t even know of his existence, it was impossible for him to set a trap here, so Han Jin decided to trust everyone present. “In truth, I don’t really know Aude either. I’m only here on someone else’s request.”
“Whose?”
“Archbishop Jeddes.”
“Archbishop Jeddes??” Blanche and some others stood up in surprise. Even Panven, who was only curiously listening in, seemed to be shocked.
“You all know him?” Han Jin asked.
“Of course!’ Louise said a little angrily, “Among all the idiots in the Church, he’s the only one that deserves respect!” Once she had finished, she immediately realized that she had said the wrong thing again. She gave Blanche a quick glance and added, “Um… and of course, our beloved Templar Aude!”
“You are from the Northeast? Why did the Archbishop travel there?” Blanche asked in surprise.
“I am from the Northeast, but me and the Archbishop met in the Tarasha Mountains.”
“Why didn’t he accompany you?”
“Because he was attacked and couldn’t come with me.”
“Attacked?” Blanche’s eyes went wide. “Who would dare attack him??”
“Nicolas.”
Blanche, Louise, and Panven’s faces all went pale. Louise even started shaking. After a moment, she suddenly jumped up in anger. “Nicolas finally decided to attack! That idiot! Jeddes too! He’s an idiot too!! My sister warned him so many times. If Nicolas truly wanted to start a war, he would be his first target! Why wasn’t he more cautious?! That idiot!”
Blanche and Panven were both still frozen as statues. Neither spoke, because this information was too important. An uncaged beast was bound to start a bloody conflict!
Louise’s scream rose even higher, “And you! Why didn’t you tell us earlier?!”
“Is this information you would tell every stranger you meet? How was I supposed to know I can trust you?” Han Jin fired back.
Louise instantly shut up, but she was clearly not happy. Her eyes darted everywhere, as if she was trying to find something or someone to vent her anger on.
“When did you meet Jeddes?” Blanche asked.
“It’s been almost… ten days.”
“Ten days? Then we are too late…” Blanche’s face became hopeless.
“We will go to the Church right now!” Panvel said. His normally calm voice was now somehow similar to Louise’s – high pitched and shaking. “Only His Holiness the Pope can stop that madman Nicolas!”
“No, that won’t work.” Han Jin shook his head. “Jeedes told me that the only hope is to find Aude and expose Nicolas’s plan, then lead the Knight Templars and the cardinals out of St. Petersburg before he can make his move.”
“Who told you it would be useless to inform His Holiness?” Panven shouted.
“Jeddes told me.” Han Jin hesitated, and decided it was useless to keep the secret. “The Divine Crown has been lost over a century ago, so even the Pope won’t be able to open the Gate of Heaven.”
“No… that’s impossible!”
“So what you are saying is, those idiots in the Church had nothing to stop Nicolas to begin with?” Louise’s expression suddenly turned dark. “From the beginning, they were just working up the guts to bluff Nicolas, and now that the bluff is no longer working, they are screwed?”
“Though that’s a little extreme..” Han Jin paused, then nodded. “Yes.”
Louise glared at Han Jin. No one knew if what Han Jin had said had angered her, or if she was treating Han Jin like someone who worked for the Church.
Han Jin looked around. Jeddes had once said that the most dangerous part about Nicolas was not his intelligence, but his unfathomable power. Intelligence could not bring about destruction, and what one lacked in intelligence, he could make up for with advisors. Just the fact that Jeddes, a man who never lied, could force such an unyielding stalemate for Nicolas for so many years, indicated that he was at least as smart as Nicolas. However, there was nothing he could do when faced with Nicolas’ sword. Jeddes had frankly told Han Jin that if Nicolas wanted to kill him, he could neither escape nor fight. The only option waiting for him was death.
In theory, the only one that could stop Nicolas was the Pope. Once the Pope opened the Gate of Heaven with the Divine Crown, depending on his level of faith, he could summon dozens, or even hundred of angels to assist him in battle. That was something that not even the dragons in the City of the Dragons could ignore, and compared with such power, the powerful professionals working under Nicolas, and even Nicolas himself, would appear fragile.
Han Jin had intended to repeat Jeddes’s message word for word and warn them not to underestimate Nicolas, but judging by their reactions, it was not necessary; who would even dare underestimate Nicolas? On the contrary, everyone present looked horrified, which was proof enough that they took Nicolas very seriously.
Jeddes had also said that the other dangerous part of Nicolas was that he ruled an enormous kingdom that ran like a well-oiled machine. Nicolas treated his followers well from the bottom of his heart, and likewise, high-grade professionals swore loyalty to him from the bottom of their hearts. His generals followed his orders wholeheartedly, the citizens of the Kingdom of Light supported him, and he could command a massive kingdom, which encompassed nine provinces like his own arms! His will was the will of the kingdom! There was no hesitation, no doubt, and of course not even the slightest sign of opposition; the only thing present was a zealous, even fanatic, admiration.
It was a different kind of belief: Nicolas was the god in the Kingdom of Light! Just like the Knight Templars believe in the God of Light, many citizens of the Kingdom of Light also follow the Church, but in Jeddes’ opinion, if those believers were forced to choose between the God of Light and Nicolas, most would choose the latter. After all, the ‘Grace of God’ was in the far distance, while Nicolas’s grace was physically present.
Blanche suddenly stood up. “Didn’t Jeddes say… we still have a chance? Follow me!”
