The sudden return of the Orb of the Holy Synod had shaken the town. There were not many civilians in this special town to begin with. Most of the townspeople were clergymen and knights of the kingdom. At the very least, they were "militia" who had received combat training. After the disappearance of the Orb, everyone in the town had participated in the subsequent operations. Everyone knew what the Orb of the Holy Synod meant to the kingdom. Therefore, when a knight ran through the main street of the town while shouting "the return of the Orb of the Holy Synod", it was not hard to imagine the uproar in the town.
Hao Ren and his entourage entered Leyton on horseback under the escort of the knights. Not long after, they saw the townspeople and the reinforcement teams coming from all directions. When they arrived at the intersection of the first main road, the big bell tower in the town began to ring loudly. The distant and loud bell rang through the sky, as if to dispel the oppressive atmosphere that had lingered here for more than half a month. Amidst the ringing of the bell and the noise of the crowd, Hao Ren could not help but look back at the leader of the knights beside him. "Is it okay to just let the news out? In theory, the return of the Orb should be kept a secret... "
"This is the territory of the Goddess." The captain of the knights solemnly pointed in the direction of the church. "Those who are qualified to stay here are the most loyal servants of the Goddess. The Orb has returned to its rightful place the moment it entered this place. Besides … "The knight captain paused and revealed a smile." The people here need encouragement. Nothing good has happened in the past few months. We need a piece of good news to let everyone know that the Goddess still cares for her people. "
Big Beardy and the other three ascetics were surrounded by the knights. They did not care about the noise around them. The young nun with the strange voice just looked up at the crowd and said, "... too noisy."
"We have finally completed our mission," Big Beardy said softly. "Many unexpected things have happened here. When we go back, I will pray for a day and night. Perhaps the Goddess wants to give us some inspiration through these incidents."
The town still had the terrible scars left by the rock monsters. The main road was obviously repaired recently. Most of the stone slabs on the ground were brand new. The houses on both sides of the road were damaged, and some had even completely collapsed. Hao Ren could still vaguely remember the town he saw the last time he came here. He found that some of the buildings in his memory were gone, leaving only undemolished wooden stakes or half-rebuilt frames. Simple wooden houses and even tents could be seen on both sides of the road. The townspeople maintained order in this environment. According to the knight captain, the rock monsters had passed through the center of the town. Their goal was clear, and they even ignored the attacks on both sides of the road. This large group of monsters had destroyed the main road and its surroundings. The only thing that was not destroyed by the rock monsters was the church in the middle of the town. The powerful magic barrier of the church itself made the rock monsters deeply afraid, and the monsters avoided the church.
As a result, the square on both sides of the church was reduced to ruins.
Soon, the group arrived in front of the church that still stood in the middle of the town. A hunchbacked old man in a luxurious robe stood in front of the church waiting for them. Hao Ren recognized him as Bishop Gelton, whom he had met once before. He personally came out to greet the Orb of the Holy Synod. His old body looked unusually frail in the cold wind. Hao Ren even wondered how long the old man could stand here. Compared to the last time they met, Bishop Gelton looked even older, and his face was almost completely pale.
The group dismounted and the four ascetics came forward from behind. Big Beardy and Gelton greeted each other. "Bishop Gelton, long time no see. Thank the Goddess for her mercy, we have returned alive."
Gelton nodded shakily. His hunchbacked old body looked like it would collapse at any moment, but his voice was still loud. "I am glad to see the four masters back in one piece. It is not a pleasant thing to include you in the ranks of the martyred saints."
The ascetics were a special group of people in the Disciples of Glory. They had to practice and study all kinds of mysterious knowledge before they could be given this title. This not only represented strong strength and firm faith, but also represented their own achievements in academics, religion, history, and other aspects. Therefore, every believer of the Goddess would call them "masters", even the Pope would call them that. It was just that low-level believers called ascetics that out of respect for their superiors, while high-level believers used the word "master" more as a "professional title" and "title".
Big Beardy waved his hand and said, "Becoming a martyr is my lifelong wish. If possible, I would like to respond to the goddess' command and die. But this time, the goddess still needs our bodies, so we have just returned from the dead. Alright, let's not waste any more time. We need to send the holy relic to the church immediately. "
Gelton nodded. His slightly cloudy eyes looked at Hao Ren and the rest. "Mercenaries... Oh, I still remember you. So it was you... Respectable young people. I did not expect you to complete this sacred feat. The Goddess will be pleased, and the Kingdom will remember your contributions."
At this time, even Becky was too embarrassed to ask about the reward. The mercenary girl awkwardly put on a righteous face. "You're welcome, you're welcome. Serving the Goddess and the Kingdom is my lifelong wish..."
Gelton was a shrewd man. He could tell that Becky was the type of mercenary who would not budge from money the last time they met. He did not say anything and just nodded slightly. "Let's go together. I want to know in detail how you found the Orb and the four masters."
The group followed Gelton into the church. The building was protected by powerful magic and remained unscathed even after the rock golem's attack. Inside the church, there were two to three times the number of black-robed friars. They were all clergymen who specialized in combat. The golden thread on their robes indicated their strength and aptitude. Hao Ren once again came to the parlor where he met Gelton. He remembered that he met another important person here last time: the Kingdom's Marshal Ophra.
But she was not here today. She should be stationed at the outer perimeter of the defense line.
The group found a place to sit on the benches and armchairs in the parlor. Gelton was the last to sit on his high back chair. He coughed lightly and looked up at Big Beardy. "Master, where did you come from?"
Big Beardy glanced at Hao Ren and told Gelton about what they had discussed earlier. "For the past few months, we have been trapped in an ancient dimension. Until recently, we were rescued by these young people by chance. "
A look of surprise flashed across Gelton's cloudy eyes. "A different dimension? What's going on? "
"Maybe it's another relic left behind by the ancient civilization," Big Beardy said frankly. There were indeed such relics in the Plane of Dreams, and they were much more common than on Earth. After all, this was the birthplace of the 'otherworldling civilization'. So, this reason was more convincing than anything else. "This should be a test from the goddess. We faced cold and hunger in the dimension, and finally survived by hunting those twisted and strange ancient beasts. Our faith in the goddess allowed us to persevere until the end, and found the weak point of the dimension and established contact with the outside world. These young people are mages from the Hognar Empire in the north. They have amazing attainments in spatial magic. In the end, they helped open the ruins. But the exit of the ruins is very far from here, deep into the barren lands of the extreme north. "
Hao Ren listened while subconsciously glancing at Becky. Becky had actually helped make up this nonsense. Otherwise, how could an outsider like Hao Ren and a boring person like Big Beardy come up with such a story that fit the worldview so well without any flaws? As a veteran mercenary who had spent many years in taverns, Becky had no lack of such stories to scare people away.
As long as the 'tavern stories' about 'me slaying the dragon bravely' and 'me slaying the demon king' were removed, the rest of the story was basically true. With a little editing, it could explain the disappearance of Big Beardy and the other three over the past few months. Anyway, there was no way to verify it, and there was no shortage of strange things related to the ancient civilization in this world.
More importantly, most people would never think that an ascetic would lie...
Gelton nodded. He did not doubt the story too much, because he knew that more than once in history, people had fallen into the dimension left behind by the ancient civilization, and those who came out would bring with them such thrilling adventures. And this happened to a group of staunch believers, so it could only be the will of the goddess. So, he stood up and bowed respectfully in the direction of the holy statue in the church. "Thank you, Goddess, for your mercy."
Then he turned to look at Hao Ren. "I also want to hear your story..."
Hao Ren immediately recomposed himself, knowing that it was time for him to show off. He wanted to show off in his best state as a man of great merit. But the first thing Gelton said was this. "I still remember that you are a mercenary group called 'All the Good Names Taken By Dogs', right?"
Hao Ren's face immediately collapsed. After a long while, he had to nod. "... Err, yes..."
"Heroes come from the young." Gelton smiled and nodded. "All the Good Names Taken By Dogs. You are indeed a hidden leader."
Hao Ren continued to look like a zombie. "... Err, thank you..."
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