He wanted to pull back his right hand, but Herbert's hands held it tightly and he couldn't break free.
Of course, with his strength, he could easily break Herbert's hand bones and forcibly pull it out, but that would definitely hurt an extremely outstanding seedling.
The presiding judge simply couldn't bear to do it.
Yes, I can’t bear to do that.
Before this, Herbert was just a special nobleman in his heart, and he felt that sooner or later he would not be able to hold on and break his oath and leave.
But after the changes just now, the image of Herbert in his mind has completely changed.
He hates evil, is fearless of evil, and is not afraid of sacrifice... Every quality of his is particularly important for a paladin.
This will at least be a future legendary paladin!
If he has enough opportunities, he might even become a powerful man of epic level!
For a paladin, talent for cultivation is important, but far less important than willpower.
How many people can find a paladin who has no dark side in his heart and is determined to eradicate evil?!
Herbert must not make any mistakes!
"Haha, kid, you misunderstood."
Having made up his mind, Bishop Thorn smiled and gently patted Herbert's shoulder with his left hand to dispel the interference from others.
"No one among my fellow monks has fallen. I am just asking for routine information. You don't have to worry."
Herbert shook his head blankly, blinked, and asked uncertainly: "Sir, really not? Please don't lie to me, I really can..."
"Really not." Bishop Thorn shook his head and said helplessly: "Okay, let's go and have a good rest."
There was a hint of command in his tone, and even if Herbert "wanted to insist", he had no choice but to obey, bowed honestly and left.
After he left, the smile on Bishop Thorn's face disappeared. He looked indifferently at the shadow on the side and said lightly: "... Are you satisfied with this result?"
In the shadows, the figure of Bishop Rusty Nail appeared out of thin air. His expression remained unchanged as he looked calmly at Bishop Thorn and said slowly:
“That’s the rule.”
Chapter 24 Never Forget
In the cold courtroom, two cardinals faced each other quietly.
It wasn't raining outside the window, but the atmosphere between the two was not harmonious.
"You don't have to look at me like that. I didn't do anything wrong."
The Rusty Nail Bishop slowly walked out of the shadows, the rivets piercing his body gently colliding as he walked, making a strange rhythmic sound.
"The seal object was moving abnormally, and His Excellency the Archbishop personally took charge and asked us to find the deceived monk. This is something you and I are aware of."
"He is an outsider and the most suspicious person. I did not arrest him directly, but only tested him secretly. I was restrained for your sake."
Although Herbert was not very self-aware, his identity was actually quite special in the eyes of the monastery's top leaders.
[Silver Wing]The Duke’s second son.
It's not that there were no monks of noble birth in monasteries in history, but most of them were down-and-out nobles who had nowhere else to go, or minor nobles who had violated the commandments and were forcibly sent there for reform.
Herbert is the only noble who has actively applied to join the Misty Abbey in the past two hundred years.
And he is also a potential successor to a powerful noble in the kingdom!
As to whether he had committed the crime of "desecrating the princess", everyone knew it, and no one would really treat him as a criminal.
Not to mention the purity vow he later took, which is further proof of this.
He is innocent.
But no matter whether Herbert is pure or not, he is still a special existence, and it is difficult to treat him equally with others.
Was he really being plotted against
Or is there another purpose
The Frost Crystal Kingdom has been trying to extend its influence into the Misty Monastery for many years, and it is nothing new to try to support a bishop with a kingdom background.
The monastery's top brass were aware of the royal family's little tricks, but they did not step forward to stop them, which was considered a disguised approval of their actions.
The monks detach themselves from the world and devote the rest of their lives to order and fighting for justice.
But this does not mean complete isolation from the world. The monks who cannot be completely self-sufficient still need support from others.
Although the monasteries have respect for the gods and accept their blessings, they are not servants of the gods.
The Misty Monastery is not a church of the gods. It does not worship any particular god, nor does it fight against the gods for their sakes. It only fights for justice and order in the world.
Even the Church of God needs donations from believers to maintain its operations, and this is even more so for monasteries without believers.
The monastery would accept donations from the nobles and, when necessary, would send monks from the Knights Templar to help them solve minor problems.
Of course, those that don't involve principles.
Such as suppressing bandits that are wreaking havoc in the territory, hunting down monsters that are endangering the people in the territory, stationing troops at the border between humans and monsters, etc.
The monastery does not want the kingdom to extend its influence too far and just wants to maintain the status quo.
Therefore, after becoming a paladin, Herbert was thrown directly into an alien prison to serve as a warden.
This position seems to be not low-ranking, as it is responsible for guarding important alien prisoners, but there is little contact with other monks and no way to cultivate feelings.
It seems glorious to be promoted in name only but actually has no real power, which effectively prevents some things from happening.
However, when the monastery's top leaders made this decision, no one would have thought that this position was exactly what Herbert wanted.
They were all girls of different races, and he was so happy.
"But he is no longer an outsider."
Bishop Thorn snorted and said in a low voice: "From the moment he swore an oath before the gods and received the blessing, he has become a member of the monastery."
After Bishop Thorn finished speaking, Bishop Rusty Nail stared at him with dead eyes. After a long while, he slowly said:
"… You clearly agreed with my approach before, so don't act like I'm targeting him on purpose now."
"Humph! I don't care about that."
Bishop Thorn remained calm, waved his hand, shook his smooth bald head, and said in a deep voice: "Now that you have tried it, do you have any questions?"
Bishop Rusty Nail did not answer, but just squinted his eyes and stared at his rogue colleague.
After a long while, he sighed weakly and said:
"His spirit is extremely strong and has hardly been affected by me. In addition to the Protection of Purity, he should also have magical artifacts that can protect his soul. The grade is at least above Legendary."
Um
Bishop Thorn's expression changed slightly, and he frowned and asked, "So what he just said was all a lie?"
Could it be that it's all disguise
Then wouldn't that mean I was deceived by him
It shouldn't be like this!
I have been the presiding judge for so many years, how could I not be able to distinguish between truth and lies
"No, you are not deceived. Everything he said is the truth from the bottom of his heart."
"And that's just one part. There's a large part that hasn't been stimulated yet."
Bishop Rusty Nail recalled the reluctance and anger he had felt, and sighed with some emotion:
"As a wronged teenager, he desperately needs a battle to prove himself and to use the honor of victory to sustain his spirit..."
He paused here, shook his head and said, "In fact, he subconsciously hopes to make a glorious sacrifice to wash away his grievances."
After these words were spoken, both cardinals fell silent.
sacrifice.
To die to show one's will.
Everyone is afraid of death. Even among paladins, not everyone has the belief in sacrifice.
Without much explanation, they could sense the mental strain Herbert was under.
Although he couldn't show any regret about what happened on the surface, he had actually never forgotten it for a single day and kept it deep in his heart.
"Have you found out who is persecuting him?"
"I found out, but I won't tell you. This is not something we should get involved in."
"… Oh, I see." Bishop Thorn snorted coldly, curled his lips in disdain and said, "It seems that he is a big shot who can rank among the top in the kingdom."
Bishop Rusty Nail shook his head and stopped explaining. He said, "Now, we can confirm that Herbert is indeed innocent and not a deceived person. He can be trusted."
"Just like what the Archbishop said, he is indeed an excellent talent. I will absorb him into the next expansion of the Knights."
"Indeed, he is an excellent... huh?"
Bishop Thorn was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage, pointing at his unethical colleague and angrily saying, "You want to rob him? Absolutely not! Don't forget, he's from my Inquisition!"
Damn you old thing, what are you going to do! !
"Oh."
Bishop Rusty Nail sneered, ignored Bishop Thorn's anger, turned around and walked out without looking back.
As he walked, he whispered quietly:
"You are the one who must not forget."
"Herbert is a paladin."
"You, a punishment monk, can't teach him... Ha!"
Chapter 25: Lao Deng, send me money! (Please read on!)
"Damn it, I was scared to death..."
Herbert returned to his room, he let out a long sigh, and fell on the bed somewhat exhausted.
"What a surprise attack! I almost fell into their trap!"
This time, it was Herbert who took the initiative to find Bishop Thorn and report him. He was already on high alert, fearing that he would reveal any flaws.
Even so, he was still unconsciously influenced by the person in the dark and was almost exposed.
"Aren't you clergy? How can you be so despicable!"
A bunch of old guys have no moral principles and actually teamed up to bully an 18-year-old comrade like me... It's really too much!
The means are so despicable that even I, a contractor of the evil god, can't stand it.
"You guys are even into mind control, are you also going to do some mind pollution and personality excretion behind the scenes?"
"No, I must strengthen the protection of my soul! I have to find a way to continue to arm my soul!"
After being disturbed twice by Nenasha and Bishop Rusty Nail, Herbert was almost suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It takes time to improve strength, and not all abilities gained from monster materials can protect the soul. What should I do?"
After thinking for a while, Herbert suddenly had an idea.
"If the inner strength doesn't work, then use the external strength!"
He climbed out of bed and sat at the desk, took out a piece of letter paper and began to write quickly.
"Dear father, I am your beloved second son. We haven't contacted each other for a long time. Please send me money... No, we shouldn't be so intimate."
brush.
Herbert changed the paper and started writing from the beginning:
"Your Excellency Duke Albert, I am Herbert. It has been a while since we last met. I hope everything is going well for you. May the grace and wisdom of the gods always be with you."
"Everything is fine in the monastery. This place is holy. However, the foreigners in the prison are dangerous and my soul is often disturbed."
"So, I, your second son, stand at the edge of light and shadow and beg for your help."
"What I seek is not gold or silver, nor power or glory, but only a rare object that can protect my soul."