The news of the tavern spread like wildfire.
Some professionals had witnessed the horrifying scenes in the tavern.
The local Temple Knights and clerics arrived at the tavern to take charge of the matter.
William and Lancelot had to leave.
Lancelot knew that the villain had come for him, but he did not know how he had antagonized him.
He had lots of questions in his mind and was unable to figure them out.
Even though Lancelot followed the path of Light and righteousness, he never gave the dark creatures any chance for reprieve. He would kill them on sight without any further communication.
He was only the Temple Messenger of the southeastern region. Hence, he did not have much power in his area.
Lancelot did not even know that he was the Viscount of Light. He was befuddled by his current mission.
Lancelot walked outside the tavern and sighed for a long time. He looked worried. He said to William, “Since the resurgence of magic, I feel that the world has changed.
“The magic of the world has become intense.
“Many dark creatures don’t have to depend on the Devil’s Dens to materialize.
“Even the commoners who don’t have magic skills are able to carve out curses on walls and use sacrifices to summon devils.
“As a result, many terrifying incidents occurred in cities and towns.
“These incidents will spread like a plague. Many fearful Humans have no choice but to believe in Darkness so that they won’t be implicated!
“Thereafter, a few cults would start to appear. I have a strong feeling that the Human world is on the brink of chaos.”
“There are no such things happening. It’s not the time to ponder over it.” William consoled Lancelot by patting his shoulder.
William was not speaking the truth. Even after the nine years of mandatory education, there were many criminals in his world. As for the magical fantasy continent, the situation was worse…
The situation would definitely deteriorate. It would become more complex and harder to handle than what Lancelot had in mind.
As Lancelot was about to respond, he spotted his subordinates coming over.
He put on a confident front and said in a deep voice, “Evil can only exist in darkness. They are a bunch of sniveling creatures. As long as we maintain our path of Light and Righteousness, we can destroy any devils.
“Have a good rest, everyone. Tomorrow, we’ll head for the Temple of Light.”
“Yes, my lord.” A few Temple Knights bowed in reverence.
The Temple Knights noticed the confident Lancelot exuding courage and positive energy. They no longer brooded over the tavern incident and left for the adjacent tavern to take their rest.
Lancelot watched his subordinates leave.
He knew himself very well.
He was also aware of the strengths and weaknesses of Temple Knights.
Not everyone was free from the fear of death.
Not everyone was free from fear.
But they had a strong belief in their minds.
They understood why they were fighting.
However, many people would feel lost, so they needed a raised flag to follow.
That flag was Lancelot.
A Lancelot who would never show his vulnerabilities.
He had to infuse confidence in his knights so that they would be invincible.
That was the leadership skill he learned as a Temple Knight leader.
But recently, after the resurgence of magic, Lancelot found it harder and harder to cope.
He had led his Temple Knights to scout half the towns in the southeastern region in order to hunt for the dark creatures.
However, at every location, there would be fatal casualties.
He was in pain. He could not understand why and was befuddled.
He did know why the Dark World had to continuously invade the world.
The Gods’ world was huge…
But he heard from the others that the Dark World was much larger than the Gods’ world.
Why was the Dark World creating wars?
Could the two worlds not live in peace?
With peace, there would be no deaths and no pain…
William saw that Lancelot was troubled as he noticed Lancelot’s hazy eyes.
Both of them strolled together to straighten out their thoughts. They came to a stop when they arrived at a bridge in town.
The magic lamps hanging in the surrounding trees were bright enough for them to look clearly into the river. There were fishes swimming leisurely in the water.
A loach that looked like a little snake was hidden in the mud. It abruptly swallowed a small fish before hiding back into the mud. The loach had saved itself from being eaten by a larger fish.
The large loach reminded them of the assassins who remained hidden in the shadows.
William smiled and said, “Do you know that different fishes live in different depths of the ocean? They live in peace as they do not interact with each other.
“We are like the fishes that live near the surface of the water.
“The devils are like the loaches hidden in the mud.
“Both of them should not be interacting.
“But with the resurgence of magic, the world has changed. The two worlds are now connected.
“And our natural instinct is being amplified!”
“By the way, do you know what our basic instinct is?” William asked.
Lancelot knitted his brows. “Survival?”
William nodded. “That’s right. It’s survival.
“Survival requires the strong to eat the weak. However, when the small fishes notice that a big fish is wounded, they will feed on the big fish.
“That is the basic instinct of all living things.
“The devils are like the loaches that have sharp teeth. They are able to escape from the mud, and they can swim at will to the surface of the water.
“The loaches are able to swallow fishes that they have not eaten before and occupy the habitat of other fishes.
“Previously, the devils lived in darkness.
“When they become stronger, they will think that we are becoming weaker. They will have the temptation to take over the lands of the weak.
“That is the basic instinct.
“People try to deny basic instinct.
“Look at the fleeing fishes. The loach will never be satiated. It would spend its whole life searching for more fishes until it can’t move anymore. Then it will be eaten.
“However, people have the will to face the truth.
“He can eat the small loaches to become bigger. Then he will hunt for large loaches to become even bigger so that he will no longer fear.”
William paused for effect and said, “I don’t know why you’re troubled.
“But I believe that denial is not your style.
“Facing the truth will be your final decision.”
Lancelot contemplated William’s words, and his gaze became firm. He looked at William and said, “You’re right. Many wars are irrational.
“There are simply no explanations for insanity.
“I don’t know, and I don’t have to know the reason for the Darkness invasion.
“I only have to understand that my duty is to kill all of them if they come to our world.
“I don’t have to figure out all the reasons.
“All I need to do is to use my sword to uphold my righteousness.”
William shrugged his shoulders and winked approvingly at Lancelot. “You can do it!”
Lancelot winked back. “You’re good too.”
Their affinity for each other increased.
Lancelot’s troubled mind was a small roadblock. Even without William, he could straighten out his thoughts. It was normal for Lancelot, who had gone through various game versions, to feel lost.
From now on, his decision became clearer.
The opportunistic William would never miss this chance to improve his relationship with Lancelot.
In the future, such opportunities would become rarer!
Lancelot brought William to the headquarters of Temple of Light.
During this period of time, they did not notice the presence of the villain.
It was the headquarters of the Temple of Light after all…
Even if the Viscount of Darkness dared to create the Dark Portal, would he be able to escape?
He had not advanced to his legendary heydays yet.
He was currently a Grandmaster Viscount of Darkness, far from the powerful villain in William’s previous life.
William visited the Temple of Light once again.
When he observed the temple from a distance, he was full of awe.
Magnificent!
Vast!
Boundless!
Tens of thousands of palaces were built together like a continuous mountain range separating the Heavens and Earth.
The luminance of the palaces exuded a safe aura that made everyone relax.
It was not known how long ago the Temple of Light had been built. But it was rapidly expanding, as more buildings were constructed.
All the palaces had been constructed using magical white rocks.
But there were no city walls on the boundary of the Temple of Light.
City walls were useless if the invaders were able to reach the Temple of Light.
If the invaders were not able to reach the temple, they were not capable of invading the palaces.
The largest palace that stood before William and his companions was the largest Temple of Light.
It was thousands of meters tall, and the same in length and width.
The entrance of the temple was emitting blinding white light. It looked like the entrance to the Heavenly Kingdom of the Gods.
Outsiders were not able to see the interior of the temple.
William and his companions traveled like ants towards the Heavens.
When they got near to the entrance, they noticed the pure and pristine white steps.
There were exactly 1,000 steps.
On both sides of the steps were two neat rows of Grandmaster Temple Knights who had superior equipment.
It was not the first time Lancelot had come here.
Before he ascended the steps, he said something to the sentry who glanced at William and nodded in approval.
They climbed the thousand steps and entered into the temple.
The blinding white light vanished.
A temple, a few thousand meters tall, stood before them.
Lancelot and his subordinates lowered their head in reverence.
William bowed in the Elven way.
Whether the Gods were good or bad, a show of respect to the powerful was indispensable.
Lancelot said to William, “Every time a servant of Light returns to the temple, he has to pay his respect to the God of Light. I have to carry out my responsibilities. You may take a look around.
“Oh!
“You may go wherever you like. With your capability, you won’t be able to access the restricted areas.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Ojbk!” William smiled wryly.
“Do you need a tour guide?”
William lifted his head to scrutinize the statue of the God of Light. He shook his head and said, “No, it’s more fun to wander alone.”
“Great, but don’t get into trouble…” Lancelot was worried about William, but he left with his subordinates to carry out his responsibilities.
William watched Lancelot leave before he surveyed the servants of Light, who had varying auras. He could not resist licking his lips.
It was simply exhilarating…. to be able to pilfer in the headquarters of the Temple of Light!
