Chapter 105#

The Fallen Evil God’s Saint#

Lin Xiaodong had a dream.

In the dream, he was pregnant with the God of Light’s child. Under the careful care of the entire Church, his belly grew rounder day by day, and even his chest became softer. Every day, he could only wear the softest white nightgown, lying in bed singing lullabies to the Holy Spirit and repeatedly reciting the Luminous Codex because he missed the child’s other father, hoping to receive the God of Light’s pity once more.

And one night, the God of Light, moved by his persistent perseverance and loyal, unyielding faith, descended to his side once again.

“You have done well,” the white-robed man, whose face was indistinct and who looked like a giant ball of light from a distance, said softly. “When our child is born in the future, he will become the faith of the people, the greatest leader of the Church of Light.”

The deity kissed his belly, his movements gentle and meticulous, making him, who received this honor, shed tears of emotion…

Bullshit!

Lin Xiaodong woke up from the nightmare in a cold sweat.

Then he discovered in despair that it wasn’t a nightmare.

“His Holiness is awake!” the divine servant guarding by his side said in surprise. Instantly, a crowd of people swarmed over with a “shua,” their airtight and chattering presence making Lin Xiaodong, who had just woken up from a deep sleep, feel dizzy.

“All of you, back off! Don’t harm the Holy Spirit!”

The Pope’s aged shout came from behind. The servants were as quiet as cicadas in winter, one after another making way for the Pope.

“Child, how do you feel?” the Pope asked with concern as he took Lin Xiaodong’s hand. “Do you have any physical discomfort?”

“Thanks to the protection of the God of Light, I am all well.” Except for wanting to kill someone.

The blond youth lying on the bed gave him a pale smile. Seeing this, the Pope couldn’t help but frown deeply. “This won’t do. Your complexion looks too poor. If the host is this weak, it will affect the Holy Spirit.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiaodong wanted to jump up on the spot and give the old man a flick on the forehead.

You’re the host; your whole family are hosts!

However, the Pope could no longer see Lin Xiaodong in his eyes. His heart and soul were set on ensuring the safe birth of this Holy Spirit. With this achievement, there was no doubt he would become the greatest Pope in a thousand years, praised by generations to come—just the thought of such a scene brought a satisfied smile to the Pope’s face, and even his suspicions about Lin Xiaodong were mostly dispelled.

“Although the Cathedral is holy and flawless, it’s not a good place for recuperation.” He thought for a while and made a decision. “How about this: there’s a Raphael Cathedral in the suburbs of the Royal Capital. The scenery is beautiful, and the air is fresh there. It’s very suitable for the Holy Spirit to be born in that place.”

Lin Xiaodong kept a stiff face. “…Thank you, Your Holiness.”

Although he had always wanted to leave this suffocating place with its many rules, now that he had finally gotten his wish, why didn’t he feel happy at all?

The Pope had planned very meticulously. Now everyone on the continent knew that Saint Lynn was favored by the God of Light and given the honor of helping the Holy Spirit’s birth. Although he was the Pope, he certainly had to follow the God of Light’s will. Letting Lynn go to Raphael Cathedral for recuperation would, on one hand, show his care for the Holy Spirit and his loyalty to the God of Light. On the other hand, it would keep Lynn away from the center of power during his peak. Worst case, after the Holy Spirit was born, he could take him to his side while he was still young to train him as a successor. This wouldn’t shake his own position and would be the icing on the cake.

Lin Xiaodong was naturally aware of the old man’s little schemes, but this decision suited his own intentions, so he didn’t raise any objections. The matter of going to Raphael Cathedral was settled.

That same afternoon, he boarded a carriage bound for the suburbs of the Royal Capital.

Because Raphael Cathedral was near the West District of the Royal Capital, the Pope directly dispatched a band of knights to protect the Saint’s safety. He also specially gave a stern public instruction to the Captain of the knights that even if they all died in battle, they absolutely must not let anything happen to the Saint and the Holy Spirit.

Lin Xiaodong sat in the carriage bored, looking at the black-haired Knight Captain riding outside, always feeling like he looked like some movie star.

He remembered that this person was also an important plot character, so he took the initiative to talk to him. “Captain Ike, I wonder if you’ve heard the rumor circulating in the West District recently?”

Ike gripped the reins, staring straight ahead at the road.

“No. What does Your Holiness wish to ask?”

“I just wanted to remind the Captain that if you discover anything related to the aura of corruption, you must notify me immediately.” The blond youth wasn’t angry at such a cold reception; instead, he gave a very gentle smile.

Seemingly feeling a bit embarrassed, Ike gave a low response, but when he saw the fearful looks of the commoners on the street toward the Saint’s carriage, his heart hardened again.

Ike came from a commoner background and had worked his way up with his outstanding swordsmanship to finally become a Captain of the Church’s knights. But the Church of Light had a total of twelve bands of knights. Because of his background, he was always ridiculed and excluded by his colleagues, and the knights under him didn’t receive enough pensions either. The Church also frequently sent them to the most dangerous places for missions, which always resulted in heavy casualties.

This time, the Pope ordered them to protect the Saint. Although it seemed low-risk, once anything went wrong with the Holy Spirit, never mind the knights, even the Pope wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences. And even if the mission succeeded, the credit would all go to the Pope. It was a high-risk, low-reward mission through and through.

So, not one of the seven knight bands currently in the Royal Capital was willing to come. As expected, it fell on their heads again.

Thinking of this, Ike was full of resentment, but soon he gave a bitter smile again. What if he felt resentful? He was just a commoner. Even if his swordsmanship was superb, he couldn’t change that. He could only accept his fate.

Seeing the fleeting self-mockery on the black-haired man’s face, Lin Xiaodong, sitting in the carriage, was thoughtful.

Sure enough, Ike disliked him because of the Church’s arrangement.

This was actually easy to handle. He just needed these knights to know that he and the Pope and those nobles were not of one mind. However, the key was how to win over this band of knights after gaining the Captain’s trust, and what to use them for.

Lin Xiaodong hadn’t thought about these yet for now. Moreover, what troubled him the most currently was the mess caused by those two equally troublesome deities—he had never thought that the God of Light could be even more hateful than the evil god.

So, he stopped communicating much with Ike and just asked a few simple questions about when they would arrive before letting down the carriage curtain.

At this, Ike, who had thought the Saint would come to win him over, was somewhat surprised.

Everyone had witnessed Saint Lynn’s position in the Church. Although it was surprising that he could receive the God of Light’s favor, to put it plainly, a Holy Spirit couldn’t change the current structure of the Church. A thousand years had passed, and it was rigid, feudal, stiff, and conservative. Hidden behind the light were layers of murky filth that couldn’t see the light. Ike understood this better than anyone.

Although the Church of Light was the undisputed number one religion on the continent and all others were insignificant cults with few followers, most people within it were using the name of faith to carry out sordid acts for personal gain.

Ordinary commoners were either completely crushed by this colossus for disobeying orders or accepted indoctrination and transformation to become a part of it. There was simply no third path to take.

Thinking of this, Ike couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Captain, we’ve arrived.”

A knight’s report below brought him back to his senses. The man knocked on the carriage cabin and said in a respectful but detached tone, “Your Holiness, please step down from the carriage.”

“En.”

A slender, thin hand lifted the curtain. Ike’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to it. Following this hand further up, his breath suddenly hitched when he saw the golden-haired Saint, whose face was white and delicate under the sunlight.

The Saint curved his eyes and gave him a faint smile.

“Captain Ike?”

The voice was like a clear spring clinking. Ike had never seen the Saint’s true face before, only hearing of his stunning beauty from the mouths of Royal Capital nobles. He was a traditional knight who practiced self-discipline and was ridiculed for living like an ascetic monk, and he had always been dismissive of such things.

—Until he actually met Saint Lynn in person today.

Those clear blue eyes made Ike involuntarily think of the blue sky he saw for the first time when he came to the Royal Capital as an ambitious youth.

He gripped the longsword at his waist and, together with the silver-armored knights behind him, took a deep breath and slowly knelt on one knee toward the youth with golden hair reaching the floor, holy beyond measure:

“Welcome, Your Holiness!”