Chapter 8: The Fisherman

The Battle of Marco spread across the entire Land of Azure in just a few days. Even the colonies far away in the Land of Vastness were discussing this earth-shattering battle between darkness and light, which ended with a complete victory for the dark side. No one realized the profound implications of this battle—how the dark forces could dare to challenge the Holy City of the Church of Light, Marco, and its self-proclaimed religious enforcers. Not only were three high-ranking knights of the Church of Light defeated, but they also watched as prisoners locked in towers were rescued right before their eyes.

Perhaps the ultimate outcome of this event wasn’t crucial, but its significance was groundbreaking. It was the first time the dark forces had successfully challenged the Church of Light in the northern part of the Land of Azure, especially in its core territory. The blow to the Church of Light was devastating. Especially as people grew skeptical due to the Church’s inaction after the orc invasion of the Kingdom of Nicomedia, this heavy strike made many see through the Church’s weak nature, causing their faith to waver fundamentally. This undoubtedly intensified internal divisions within the Church, and the Salvation Society took this opportunity to challenge the Church’s dominance.

Komer’s concern that the Church of Light’s knight order would pursue them turned out to be unfounded. The Thunderbird Knights of the Vazinki faction were delayed in pursuing them due to the severe losses inflicted by Trajan. Meanwhile, the Ram Knights of the Freinst faction were unprepared because they hadn’t communicated with the Inquisition in advance. Moreover, the harassment carried out by the Salvation Society in Marco greatly hindered the movements of various factions. With the main forces of the Inquisition deployed in the Caucasus, the battle ended in such a bizarre manner.

Trajan managed to escape the effects of star magic by taking advantage of the gap between the collision of the light magic array and the star magic array. Yet, despite escaping, his severe injuries forced him to announce an indefinite retreat for cultivation once he returned to the Thunderbird Knights. Such serious injuries could not be healed without years of hard training and might even leave lifelong consequences.

The fates of the other two high-ranking knights were not so fortunate. The initial impact of the star magic array destroyed their defensive capabilities, and the subsequent massive pressure from the air killed them. The tragic death of these two high-ranking knights in Marco shocked all nations across the Land of Azure.

Michelangelo’s situation was also quite dire. Although he activated a light spell to save Trajan’s life, he realized after escaping that a crack had formed deep within his soul due to the dark forces unleashed by his opponent at that moment. For a light mage, especially one skilled in mental magic, this was utterly fatal. Such a crack was even harder to repair than physical injuries. As a mage who had devoted his life to the God of Light, the crack meant that the foundation of his faith had been eroded by evil forces. Once this happened, he had to exert hundredfold effort to restore the purity of his inner faith, ensuring that his lifelong cultivation wouldn’t lead him down the path of corruption—a price to pay for the greater purity required of mages in the Light Church.

Schiller’s war to defend the honor of the Inquisition ended in complete failure. In that battle, he was completely frozen by Conti. Conti’s advanced necromancy skills allowed the Darkflame Demon and the Black Knight, two powerful undead creatures, to grow stronger throughout the fight. Although Schiller tried his best to destroy the Darkflame Demon, the Black Knight still trapped him outside the main battlefield. It wasn’t until the last moment that he managed to destroy the Black Knight, but by then it was already too late. After Komer destroyed the light seal on the Prison Tower, Schiller realized the situation was hopeless, and he wisely led the Inquisition members to retreat.

When Komer and his group sneaked back into Homer’s territory, the furious Nojora and Lorenzo were leading their forces back from Cyprus to Marco. News of the Battle of Marco reached them the next day through magical communication. Although the details were still unknown, the fact that remnants of darkness had challenged the Inquisition, broken the light seal on the Prison Tower, and freed the prisoners was enough to drive Nojora and Lorenzo mad with rage.

They had intended to wipe out their opponents, but instead were met with a counterattack. The intense sense of defeat left Nojora and Lorenzo at a loss as to how to deal with this bloody reality. They knew the consequences of this incident were far worse than the incident itself. The rescue of Rebrí wasn’t a big deal, but to suffer such a fate in broad daylight, in the holy city of Marco, with the combined efforts of the Inquisition and the Vazinki faction, was tantamount to declaring that the Inquisition no longer had the ability to fulfill its duties entrusted to it by the Light Church—a thing Nojora and Lorenzo could never tolerate.

“Interesting, truly interesting. Vazinki and Nojora must be furious, right?” The white robe trailed on the ground, making the spotless chapel appear dim. Only the sunlight filtering through the stained glass windows in the dome added to the mystery of this archbishop’s private place of worship.
“Nojora and Vazinki have already returned to Marco. For now, there’s no sign of any other unusual reactions from them.” Standing respectfully by the door, his shiny black hair cascaded over his shoulders. If it weren’t for his stern expression and slightly deep voice, one would never believe such beautiful black hair could belong to a man.
“Hmph. Needless to say, they’re surely wondering if we’re behind this. It’s just temporary calm—turbulence will soon arise in Marco City.” His gaunt cheeks still carried a thoughtful expression. “Good. It’s time for that madman Nojora to learn his lesson. Let him not think his Inquisition can look down on everyone else. The saying ‘disasters strike those who are complacent’ fits them perfectly.”
“Then, my lord, aren’t you worried they might take it out on us?” A hint of doubt appeared on the black-haired priest’s porcelain-like cheeks.
“No. Though Nojora is crazy, with Lorenzo around, they’ll soon realize it was those guys from the Salvation Society causing trouble. To be honest, even I initially thought the Salvation Society was planning something during the pope’s retreat. I never expected they were actually covering up for that guy, Komer.” The gaunt man showed a hint of concern. “If the Salvation Society teams up with those guys from the Caucasus, that would be real trouble.”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence…” Even the black-haired priest found this explanation unlikely. How could such things happen by chance?
“Hmph. Do you really think so?” After a brief pause, the gaunt man continued, “That guy, Komer, is too worrying. I’ve always suspected the thief who escaped during the Western Vatican incident is connected to him. Remember I sent Kent and the others to investigate? Unfortunately, there’s been no solid evidence, and that guy’s identity is highly sensitive. One misstep on my part led to such a big problem.”
“My lord, you overestimate him. If you really decide to deal with him, it would be a piece of cake.” The black-haired priest couldn’t understand why the archbishop valued this guy so much. Even a holy knight or mage couldn’t escape his grasp if the archbishop set his mind to it.

“You underestimate this guy too much. He nearly drove Trajan to hell and even deceived Michelangelo—how could someone like him be easily dealt with?” Freust finally couldn’t help but laugh, though his expression remained unpredictable.
“Archbishop, you just don’t want to deal with him at this time, right?” The blond priest clearly understood Freust’s thoughts very well.
“Hmm, now isn’t the best time to deal with him. Perhaps he can bring some fresh air to our stagnant atmosphere.” Freust’s smile was full of mystery. “To be honest, I’m quite looking forward to it. It’s good that the Salvation Society is causing such a stir—it also clears us of suspicion. Otherwise, if the Pope were to ask questions, I’d have to come up with another excuse.”
“But Archbishop, don’t you think this will make Vazinki and the Inquisition closer together?” The blond priest pondered for a moment before asking again.
“It’s good if they get closer. Even better if they form an alliance.” Freust’s expression was inscrutable.
“Archbishop, …?” The blond priest couldn’t understand Freust’s thinking. The tripartite balance had always been the foundation of stability for the Church of Light. Over the years, all parties had carefully maintained this fragile equilibrium, even with the Pope’s tacit approval. If this balance were broken, their side might be the first to suffer greatly. Once Vazinki’s faction and the Inquisition joined forces, their side would have no chance of competing with them. Why then did the Archbishop seem to welcome such a situation?
Shaking his head slightly, Freust’s sharp gaze took on a clear brightness as he looked into the distance. The Pope’s withered yet radiant face seemed to appear faintly through the layers of mist. “Marchiani, appearing strong on the surface isn’t necessarily a good thing, because it doesn’t mean being the strongest. And such strength might bring them many disasters.”