Chapter 148: The Unexpected Turn of Events
“It’s us, Little Girl.”
?!
The Pope Knight named Tarlasya delivered this line so smoothly and naturally that I was caught completely off guard.
Instinctively, I retracted the fist I had aimed at his waist, my mind swirling with countless thoughts, racing from shock to confusion, then to disdain, and finally to indifference. It was absurd, yet suddenly, I raised my hand again, conjuring a short sickle in my palm that pointed directly at his chest.
“Are you messing with me?”
I said, my face expressionless.
Boom—
In the night sky, thunder suddenly pierced through the clouds, the fierce lightning tearing through the darkness and illuminating the distance as if it were daytime. Amid the bright flash of lightning, glimmers of divine miracles faintly shimmered and faded, indicating that the fight over with the Sword Demon was also nearing its end. The brilliant light illuminated the rugged face of the man before me, revealing a calm demeanor and a hint of sincerity in his eyes, a look that didn’t seem like that of a liar.
“I noticed your hair is black.”
The man had completely lost any intention to fight. For some reason, he felt different from the type that would pull a sneaky trick to catch me off guard, and such a move was of no real concern to me…
“So?”
I couldn’t help but squint.
Could this guy really know my identity…
“Short, with black hair, from the Frost Order, a girl… Although you don’t stutter, you understood my coded message just now, you’re definitely the one we’ve been waiting for. No doubt about it.”
“… We?”
I retorted, not in a hurry to reveal myself.
“This isn’t the place to talk.”
Seeing that I was keen on conversing, the man glanced around, then jerked his chin toward the distant sky where fierce fighting raged: “Are those your people?”
“Not your concern.” I coldly replied, “Stop looking around and answer my question; you can’t leave.”
“That message was meant for you. There’s no need to elaborate.”
Ignoring my distrust, the man abruptly steered the conversation back: “I know you’re in a hurry, and so am I. The situation is worse than we’d predicted, and it’s hard to stick to our original plan. I can’t afford to expose myself now, so I need to handle some aftermath—”
“Who is ‘we’?”
I interrupted him, unimpressed, and pressed on: “Tell me her name.”
“… You already know the answer, don’t you?”
The man paused, cracked his neck, suddenly unsheathed his sword, and then turned, slashing it down at the empty street behind him. Flames instantly erupted, the blazing sword wave roaring forth, nearly splitting the road beneath us in two with its incredible force, obliterating the burning ruins at the end of the street with a resounding crash.
I stood still, silently watching his performance.
Flames engulfed the street as the tall man had his back to me, exposing his most undefended side while he gazed at the blaze, then sheathed his sword and stepped forward.
“Straighten your cloak and follow me; I’ll take you to meet someone.”
“… Who?”
Could it really be the real Viki?
“She’s still in the city?”
“Once you go there, you’ll find out.”
The man said this and paused: “Just like you don’t trust me, I don’t fully trust you either. I need to further confirm your identity and stance, to ensure you are indeed the ally she described. We need to establish initial trust, which is crucial for our future actions. I’ve shown my sincerity, so what? You don’t dare?”
Ha…
A challenge, huh?
“What if I don’t agree?”
“Then…”
Tarlasya turned back, shrugged slightly: “I can only express my regret.”
This guy…
He’s dead set on not explaining anything to me.
But I could tell he held no hostility towards me anymore… And what he said earlier could only come from him if Rect had been captured by the Church, or if the secret letter from the Sword of Kanli had been intercepted, which was highly unlikely. I could basically confirm he was on Viki’s side…
At the very least, he stood in the same camp as her.
What do I do now?
Should I go see what he’s about…
“Alright.”
While my mind still hesitated, my mouth had already instinctively agreed: “Although I don’t know how you remain so spry after taking so many hits from me… but that’s irrelevant. If you try anything funny, you’ll end up in serious trouble. No matter how confident you are in your abilities… that little fact won’t change, and I hope you understand that.”
Yes, that won’t change.
Even if it’s a trap, so what?
Just adds more bodies to the pile.
“Where are we going?”
I dropped the short sickle from my hand and followed the man’s lead.
“… To the Church.”
…………
The night wind was fierce, and fire illuminated Baihao City, thick black smoke billowing. The traces of war lingered in every corner, screams occasionally erupting only to quickly disappear. Families huddled indoors, too fearful to go outside, while knights hurried through the streets with torches. In the northern part of the city, the night sky, accompanied by the constant emergence of divine golden light, indicated that resistance was growing stronger.
Amid this atmosphere, I followed the silent Pope Knight Tarlasya, jumping over houses and countless streets until we arrived in front of a dazzling church that gleamed like a palace.
The roads and squares here were filled with Golden Armored Knights.
“From now on, don’t say a word. Just follow me.”
Suddenly, the man instructed.
“Hmph…”
I scoffed lightly in response.
Though I didn’t take him seriously, I lowered my hood a tad and wrapped my cloak tighter, keeping my head down as I trailed right behind him.
I couldn’t believe he really brought me to the church in the city… It looked like it had been completely taken over by the Church’s people, with no sign of the Northern Army, and the sounds of battle faded far into the distance. If this is a trap, it’s rather clumsy…
Curiosity started bubbling up…
Could Viki really be here?
What is she doing here…
Threatening?
Negotiating?
Surely, it’s not that they’ve captured her…
“Sir.”
Suddenly, a voice came from ahead. A team of knights greeted Tarlasya. The leading knight, after recognizing him, was respectful and, after saluting, quickly buttered him up: “We saw your battle from afar! The Black Fort is indeed hiding the rebel leader? That explosion, wow… When the flames shot into the sky, we were all too excited to contain ourselves!”
“How are the sixth and tenth squads?” Tarlasya asked the captain of knights with a calm expression, uninterested in the flattery. “Have you found anyone?”
The captain suddenly froze: “No news yet… What? Didn’t you find Lady Catherine?” I thought—
“Continue intensifying the search.”
The man did not bother explaining, waving his hand to issue orders, and then seamlessly moved through the crowd, oblivious to the captain. I followed closely behind, and after a moment, I heard the knight mutter behind us: “Tch, who do you think you are? Can’t even find a woman after searching for so long. If it weren’t for the knight captain giving orders, who would listen to your random directives…”
I couldn’t help but look back.
When the knight noticed my gaze, he swallowed his unfinished words, awkwardly smiling at me, and started yelling at his men: “What are you all standing around for? Move it, move it—”
Looks like they’re also off to execute the search orders.
Tarlasya is in charge of the operation?
I turned back to continue following the man in silence, recalling how he acted at the Black Fort with Fake Viki as I pondered.
Along the way, numerous knights greeted us, instinctively bowing as they saw us. Occasionally they chatted with the man, seemingly mistaking me for a member of the Choir of Saints, entering here confidently alongside the Pope Knight without raising a single eyebrow of suspicion.
Thus we smoothly entered the church, passing through the front hall where several clerics and nuns were busy tending to knights receiving divine treatments. Fortunately, I didn’t see any members of the Choir of Saints around; those robed figures were probably all at the Black Fort and had likely been wiped out by the Sword Demon.
I thought this was also why the man dared to bring me here so openly…
“Where exactly are you taking me?”
Having walked for a long time through the church’s back hall, across the knight camp, and through makeshift shelters for refugees, I realized there were hardly any clerics in sight anymore, aside from the private guards I could identify by their clothing, and only the increasingly vigilant knights remained.
It seemed I had reached a place that the Fourth Knights Order deemed necessary to guard rigorously during such times, as if I had stumbled into the enemy’s lair. Even though it didn’t psychologically pressure me, a hint of impatience was gradually surfacing in my heart.
“This is the sanctuary for key personnel after the war started.”
The man didn’t want to directly answer my question but randomly explained that much.
We continued walking through a long corridor of relief sculptures and climbed a spiral staircase to what appeared to be the second floor of the church’s . At the staircase’s entrance stood four fully armed knights, who immediately let Tarlasya pass without hesitation. Before ascending, the man instructed them to “not let anyone upstairs for now,” then when we reached the second floor, he gestured toward the closed doors lining the area and continued the sentence he hadn’t finished earlier.
“Those who can stay here are either wealthy or powerful nobles… including the lord of the Black Fort. Before the city was broken, they secretly supported all the Fourth Knights Order’s actions against the Northern Army, and now they’re hiding here, waiting for the turmoil to end.”
As he spoke, he led me to a relatively secluded door and stopped.
“So this is considered the safest place. Entrance is based on identity, so no one will check for a short time, and the Fourth Knights Order won’t disturb them lightly. So far, I am the only one who can come up without prior notice.”
Knock knock.
The man knocked on the door.
Then he stepped aside, seemingly indicating for me to go forward, his calm eyes fixed on my every move, and while there was still no sign of hostility, his right hand… slowly rested on the sword hilt.
What does this mean…
I stood still, instinctively squinting.
What is he planning—
“… Who’s there?”
Suddenly, a voice came from within the door.
Not Viki…
A man’s voice…
… Huh.
Why does this voice sound somewhat familiar…
“Tarlasya.”
The man replied, his eyes still on me, his hand on the sword hilt remaining perfectly still.
“What’s the matter?” The voice from inside questioned, filled with wariness.
“I’ve brought someone.”
“……”
After a brief silence.
With a click, the door opened just a crack.
Peering through the opening was a man with a full beard, his face flickering in the firelight as he scrutinized the outside.
I stared for a moment.
After processing it for a solid two seconds, my eyes suddenly widened.
… Hoover?!
