"oh?"
The high-level warlocks of the Peace Church and everyone around looked at Shade with strange eyes. Iluna had used her "balance" ability many times, so the church and Iluna knew what kind of results would befall different people.
According to the results just now...
"Hello."
Mr. Landau's tone became respectful. Anyone who has such a tendency towards kindness and order deserves respect everywhere:
"I think it turned out OK."
"Is this a faction orientation test?"
Shade asked with pretended curiosity, and Iluna nodded:
"I think that's fine too."
"Then sir, please follow us into the church. If you want to help, we sincerely invite you to join us in resisting the next enemy. The church will not mistreat any kind-hearted person who offers help."
So Shade gained trust.
"No problem, but just now on my way here, I met a short, deformed man who said..."
Shade informed the church that the final attack would come in half an hour. Mr. Landau did not doubt Shade's words, but asked him to describe Joey Barton's characteristics in more detail.
The group entered the narrow natural church through the main entrance. Compared to when Shad came here to rescue Priest Augustus, not much had changed here.
There was almost no fog in the room. All you could see were white candles of varying heights and elegant golden candlesticks. Colorful religious murals and sculptures of various styles created a sacred atmosphere. Silver wires shuttled overhead, intertwining and entangled with each other, and on these metal wires hung a series of metal, stone, wooden and even bone charms, as well as holy emblems, holy bells and other items with strong miraculous elements.
When Shade stepped over the threshold, the holy bell rang like a wind chime. The sound was extremely pleasant and made the people who were carefully observing him breathe a sigh of relief.
The only difference from the last time was that some of the rows of wooden benches that were supposed to be there were temporarily moved to the wall, and the ritual array was smeared on the ground with instant noodles. Now there was a blazing bonfire in the center of the main chapel, and the flames were very warm. Just by being illuminated by the fire, Shade actually felt his spirit and physical strength recovering.
The Orthodox Church has mastered the method of restoring the soul in a narrow space, and this bonfire is equivalent to a resting point in the church.
The room was filled with the smell of high-grade spices, which seemed to be a mixture of a large amount of ritual materials. Xia De thought he would see a lot of people here, but after a quick glance, including the dozen or so people who returned to the church with him, there were no more than twenty people in the main chapel.
"There shouldn't be only these people. It seems they are scattered throughout the church."
The ghost I saw last time did not show up this time, and apart from Iluna, there were no other low-level sorcerers here. The sorcerers who were placed in the narrow space were at least 7th level. In the sixth era of the material world, apart from the three major thaumaturgy schools, only the Orthodox Church had so many people.
Mr. Landau tactfully told Shad not to leave the main chapel, and then arranged for Iluna to take Shad to the campfire for rest and treatment. He, on the other hand, had to communicate with the real world and pass on the information Shad had just shared.
After getting close to the bonfire, his physical strength and spirit began to recover at a level far beyond the real world. After sitting down by the bonfire, the sense of comfort even made Xia De feel that even the slight mental fatigue was soothed.
Everyone seemed to have something to do, and everyone in this solemn church subconsciously lowered their voices when speaking, making it seem as if countless people were whispering in the empty and sacred church.
Although they had just repelled a wave of attacks, only a few people were resting by the campfire, among whom was a young nun wearing a crown of thorns and a white robe.
She knelt on a dark red cushion, clasped her fists and bowed her head in front of the campfire, praying quietly. Judging from the few words Shade heard, she was a ring sorcerer from the Church of Nature. When Shade sat down, because the distance was closer, Shade even judged that the other party was a high-level sorcerer, either the ninth ring or the tenth ring.
In the firelight, Xia De could barely distinguish the other person's tightly closed eyes, which seemed to be disabled. Because there were continuous thorn patterns on her two eyes, the patterns even penetrated under her eyelids, which normal people's eyes could not do.
"This person, could it be the incarnation of God from the Church of Nature, Sister Thorn..."
Xia De thought with some horror, and the strange sense of holiness from the other party also made him initially confirm his guess.
Now he understood why the church did not arrange for a thirteen-ring sorcerer to be stationed here.
"Ms. Shirley Winster."
Iluna called softly, then introduced the outsider to the nun who looked up, took out a water bottle, and asked her to help with the treatment. Ms. Shirley Winster did not speak, she took the water bottle and shook it gently, then handed it to Iluna.
Iluna motioned for Shad to roll up the sleeve of his right hand, and then poured the warm water from his shoulders onto his arm.
Although the bones were not reset, when the water in the bottle dripped down his skin, Xia De actually felt that his right arm had completely recovered.
Then, the nun wearing the crown of thorns summoned a corner of the life ring, and while the healing miracle spirit rune was flashing, she cast a magic spell to sprinkle some green glow. Tiny points of light jumped into Shade's body, and all the injuries since entering the narrow space between life and death were healed.
Shad finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his decision to take the risk and meet the church was the right one. His condition had now recovered to the state it was in when he left the Blind House.
While thinking about how to avoid other people and communicate with Iluna, the nun spoke at this time:
"Excuse me, sir, may I borrow your sword?"
She spoke Carsenric, but with a much lighter accent than the owl.
"Of course."
As he said this, he handed the night watchman over.
Sister Shirley Winster held the sword in both hands, brought it to her side, carefully pulled it out of the scabbard, and ran her fingers over the runes on the sword:
"It turned out to be the Night Watchman."
"Do you recognize this sword?"
Xia De asked curiously:
"This sword is not my original sword. I found it in the mountains after I came to Midhill Castle."
"Yes, this sword is very old, a relic of the demon hunters from the Third Age. There are not many angel-level longswords passed down in the material world. Although this one is not well-known, we have recorded it."
She handed the sword back to Shade:
"The church once recorded this sword, and a famous astrologer in the Fifth Era once performed divination for this relic. It will be the key to solving a great disaster, and now it appears here... Did you get any additional information when you got it?"
"Its previous owner was a ring sorcerer hundreds of years ago. He seemed to believe that this sword could not leave the Xikar Mountain area. So, I brought it into the narrow space this time."
The nun wearing the crown of thorns nodded:
"It is rumored that the Night's Watch has the power to enhance the effects of magic, spells, and rituals. If it is inserted into the center of the 'Sacred Tree' ritual... Sir, can you talk to us after the battle?"
Xia De understood her thoughts:
"Okay, wait until the ceremony is over."
"Thank you for your help, you will be rewarded with the friendship of the Natural Church."
The "friendship" at this time obviously means that the church will not take Shad's sword for nothing.
Soon, the others who had rested stood up and left. They all had their own work to do, and the Sister of Thorns also walked deeper into the church.
Shade looked at her leaving figure, put the fishing rod on his back and the lantern on his waist on the ground temporarily. Then, he carefully took out a silencing spell from his pocket. But Iluna stopped him, shook her head slightly, drew a circular symbol on the ground with her fingers, and then let Shade put the spell in.
"There are too many warning rituals here. Don't rashly use alchemical items without divine marks."
Although she was speaking, her mouth was only slightly open so that others could not see that she was speaking:
"Don't worry about me sitting here alone with you. I am here to monitor you. Although you have passed the faction test and are highly trusted, you are still a stranger. If nothing unexpected happens, you cannot leave our sight while you stay in the church. But other than that, you can use all the equipment here, you can get some charms over there, and the nuns next to you can give you some useful enhancements. The atonement room on the right can now be used as a potion workshop. As for the alchemical tools, they are behind the long chairs on the left."
Iluna quietly introduced that the main hall of the church has now been completely transformed into a war preparation room:
"Take a rest first, and then join me in resisting the undead at the main entrance of the church. The pressure here is much less than on the mountain. While waiting for Joey Barton to appear, if you kill enough undead, you can receive rewards including high-purity holy water in the church. I have my eyes on a very nice set of alchemical jewelry... This is a reward system during wartime, and we must abide by it."
"You are really well prepared. Can it be exchanged for gold pounds? Ahem, I mean, let you follow me all the time? Isn't this better?"
Xia De reached out to warm the fire and responded quietly.
Iluna carefully controlled the smile on her face, her pretty face illuminated by the firelight, and she added:
"You are treated this way because you passed the alignment test almost perfectly. Otherwise, you can only get some food and water... However, you don't have to worry too much about the situation here. There are many mid-ring warlocks in the narrow church, and there are more than 30 high-ring warlocks, including 5 twelfth-ring warlocks. Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only a few people here. In fact, one third of them have been sent out to clear out the evil spirits outside in advance and scout the direction of the next wave of undead."
After all, the undead did not appear suddenly, but swarmed in from a certain direction, so peripheral reconnaissance was very important.
"In addition to the high-ring warlocks of the Five Gods Church, among the high-ring warlocks, there are three fortune tellers from the Prophet's Association, two professors from the Sexess Higher Medical School, and two elders from the Apna Library who came from underground. The fortune tellers are on the top of the side tower, and the professors of the academy are on the second floor, responsible for maintaining the 'Natural Light' ceremony in the center of the church. I don't quite understand it, it's something from the Church of Nature. The two elders from the library are in the basement helping to arrange the base array for the 'Holy Tree Mark' sealing ceremony... Except for you, no one can enter the passage in front of the Death Gate without protection, so the work underground is very complicated."
The "Apna Library" is a group of ring sorcerers who are friendly with the Five Gods Church. It is about the same size as the Blood Spirit School. It is said that its headquarters is in an underground cave somewhere in the Old World. Their purpose is to protect knowledge. However, unlike the Light Guiding Hermitage to which Old John and the tower keeper Mr. Edmund belong, which collects knowledge to protect civilization before the end of the world, the "Apna Library" is purely dedicated to collecting and preserving knowledge.
Most members of the Apna Library believe in the God of Creation and Destruction, Lady Creator, but they also have other weird beliefs. They are behind many black markets that trade knowledge in the Old and New Worlds.
However, the relationship between the "Apna Library" and the three major thaumaturgical academies is very bad, even somewhat hostile.
This is not because there is a conflict of purpose between the two, but because the academy wants the entire collection of the library, and the library also wants the knowledge and books spanning two eras in the libraries of the three major thaumaturgy academies.
Each side believes that the other is coveting its knowledge - although this is indeed the case, hence the subtle hostility.
Of course, this hostility has little to do with the correspondence ring sorcerers.
In addition, the "Apna Library" also trains its own students in the form of a thaumaturgy academy, but because it is not very famous, Shade has only heard Dr. Schneider mention it.