Yu Cheng peeked out from behind Mo Tan’s shoulder, her small face half-hidden, and timidly looked at the Holy Maiden, who was smiling ambiguously, then whispered, “It wasn’t me…”
“It was me,” Mo Tan gently tilted his head, pushing Yu Cheng’s small face back, and calmly said to Xia Lian, “I’ve been altering Mr. Tairo’s arrangements all this time, and I even arranged for many ‘couriers’ to infiltrate the team without his knowledge.
Starting two days ago, I even incorporated some civilians who volunteered for the search and rescue team, and in fact, some of them were Plague carriers with milder infections.”
Tairo’s square face, which had been so gloomy it looked like it would drip water, instantly turned ashen. “How dare you…”
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”
Xia Lian casually rested her cross on Tairo’s shoulder, and his complexion immediately changed from ashen to pale, then gradually to purple. He clearly had no strength left to utter another word, his legs trembling.
“Black Vatican, you may continue.” The Elf Holy Maiden’s eyes narrowed slightly, a playful smile on her face. “I’m very curious how those infected civilians were willing to participate. What was the reason?”
“It wasn’t a glorious method,” Mo Tan shook his head and calmly explained, “The reason is simple: we didn’t have enough manpower.
After leaving sufficient forces to defend the city and arranging for rotational rest, fewer than sixty Holy Knights could depart at any one time.
Even with the low-level professionals we recruited during this period, it wasn’t enough, and even with the addition of those volunteering civilians, it still wasn’t enough.
Moreover, we rescued many people during this time, most of whom were infected with the Plague, and currently, there are only two people in Mida City capable of effective treatment: Wang Yu, and a trainee Alchemist we rescued earlier.
The patient-to-doctor ratio is too large, and both ladies also need rest, so we simply couldn’t save everyone.”
Xia Lian’s expression immediately became serious, and she asked in a low voice, “Two ladies? Is that trainee Alchemist also a girl?”
Mo Tan paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, her name is Luna Linqi. Although she only received a ‘trainee’ rating, I personally believe her ability far surpasses many intermediate Alchemists and even…”
“That’s irrelevant.” Xia Lian waved her hand, interrupting Mo Tan, her eyes sparkling. “Is she pretty?”
【What is that about?】
Mo Tan was almost short-circuited by Xia Lian’s extremely abrupt question. It took him a while to react, then he nodded somewhat stiffly. “I think she’s alright.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, ‘alright’ means pretty, then.” Xia Lian clicked her tongue, then gave Yu Cheng a very meaningful look, saying profoundly, “Someone needs to keep a close eye on him…”
Yu Cheng, who was hiding behind Mo Tan with only half her small head showing, “Eh?!”
“Figure it out yourself.” Xia Lian chuckled, then turned her gaze back to Mo Tan. “Alright, the atmosphere’s been lightened. You continue. If you don’t explain it well, you’ll be hung up and beaten.”
Mo Tan gave a dry laugh. “Since you intended to lighten the mood, why bring up something so 분위기 깨는 as being hung up and beaten…”
Xia Lian sneered, “Heh heh, in principle, I’m the leader of our group; objectively, I’m a God-blessed one and the Chief Holy Maiden of the same sect as you; theoretically, I’m Little Wang Yu’s mentor, and Little Wang Yu is your old flame. There’s an old saying among the Half-Orc Pandaren: ‘Be a mentor for a day, be a father for half a year,’ so I’m also considered the girl’s parent.
Before I left, I entrusted all these matters to Tairo, but you, young man, pulled such a stimulating stunt on me, and even made me lose face earlier. Who else should I settle accounts with but you?!”
Mo Tan thought about it and felt that the Holy Maiden had a very valid point; he was speechless.
Yu Cheng opened her mouth. “I…”
“Good girl, it’s not your fault.” Xia Lian interrupted her kindly, smiling, “How could a girl be blamed when something goes wrong?”
Yu Cheng: “…”
“I second that.” Mo Tan turned and gave Yu Cheng a look that said, ‘I think I have a significant advantage, so I probably won’t be hung up and beaten,’ then continued to explain to Xia Lian, “I told those with mild infections who couldn’t be immediately treated that if they were willing to follow the Holy Knights on search and rescue missions, their families, friends, and children—regardless of whether they were severely infected and in urgent need of treatment—would immediately receive care, and those individuals themselves would also be cured immediately upon returning from their missions.
If, unfortunately, something happened during the mission, the City Lord would also provide them with a substantial compensation, all of which was true.”
Xia Lian raised an eyebrow. “And then?”
Mo Tan spread his hands. “Then everyone enthusiastically signed up.”
“To be honest, I don’t really support your approach,” Xia Lian said faintly, then casually removed the cross from Tairo’s shoulder and asked him, “What do you think?”
Tairo glared at Mo Tan furiously. “Your actions violate the spirit of a Knight!”
Mo Tan nodded. “Yes, but I am not a Knight.”
“Our mission should be to protect civilians!” Tairo panted heavily, saying in a deep voice, “Not to use such methods to incite them to take risks in place of Knights. We never fear sacrifice; your actions are simply…”
Mo Tan, however, smiled. “So far, my approach has not led to the death of a single civilian, nor has it caused the sacrifice of a single Holy Knight.”
Tairo’s eyes widened. “But…”
“But the families and friends of those people received proper treatment. Holy Maiden Wang Yu and Luna sacrificed their rest time for this reward, and they felt it was very worthwhile,” Mo Tan, who had long thought about how to explain to Tairo, said calmly.
He shook his head gently at Tairo, “And I did not deceive them. It is a virtue for the strong to protect the weak, but this does not mean that the weak have no right to protect themselves. They voluntarily took up arms to fight for themselves, and no one has the right to stop them, including you and me.”
Tairo seemed to have calmed down a bit, but he still clenched his fists. “But this kind of thing…”
“You can’t do this kind of thing, Mr. Tairo, we understand,” Yu Cheng showed a warm smile and said softly, “So Mo Tan did it for you, that’s all.”
Mo Tan patted the holy book at his waist and said with a smile, “It’s still the same old saying: I’m a Priest. Although I violated the spirit of a Knight, at least I didn’t violate the Goddess’s teachings.”
Well, actually, he didn’t know if his actions violated the Goddess’s teachings, but saying so certainly made him sound pretty awesome.
“Alright, let’s not talk about that for now.” Xia Lian smiled noncommittally, then quickly straightened her face. “Now tell me, after doing so many things that people find disagreeable, what are your results?”
The Elf Holy Maiden had only a rough understanding from a few Holy Knights in Mida City, so she was now very curious about what Mo Tan had gained after doing so many thankless things (which certainly wouldn’t earn Tairo’s favor).
Tairo also suppressed his dissatisfaction, staring intently at the Black Vatican Priest who had played him for quite some time.
Yu Cheng smiled a little proudly. “Tell them~”
“Alright.” Mo Tan also showed a proud smile. He raised his arm and pointed towards the afterglow outside the city, saying in a deep voice, “First, centered on Mida City, where we are currently, and Hofur City, which has been purified by Xia Lian, all towns and villages extending eastward to Blackwater Lake have been searched and rescued.
All survivors have been safely escorted to the temporary camp outside the city, and all Mutants along the road from here to Blackwater Lake have been completely cleared.
So far, I have dispatched small, unofficial teams to scout several times, and I am ninety percent confident that this area is safe.”
Xia Lian: “…”
Tairo: “…”
Yu Cheng awkwardly pushed Mo Tan’s arm in another direction and whispered in his ear, “Um, you just pointed west.”
Mo Tan: “…”
The silent awkwardness lasted less than five seconds. Tairo, who had come to his senses, finally let out a belated exclamation, “You said you rescued all the survivors to the east, and you also eliminated all the monsters between here and Blackwater Lake?!”
Mo Tan shook his head.
Tairo staggered back half a step, a shaky feeling in his legs, and let out a long sigh of relief. “I also thought… if that were true, it would be too strange…”
Xia Lian, however, had a different view. She unconsciously curved into an utterly undisguised smile, her emerald eyes shining exceptionally brightly. “You haven’t finished speaking?”
“Yes.” Mo Tan smiled, then pointed west again. “Two days ago, all surviving civilians from here to Hanji Village in the west have been rescued.
Similarly, the Mutants along this road have also been cleared. However, due to time constraints, we only sent people to search once, so there might still be some scattered stragglers, but of course, even if there are, they won’t pose any threat anymore.”
Tairo gasped.
“What about the north?” Xia Lian, however, nodded calmly and asked softly, “How are things in the north?”
Mo Tan shrugged. “So-so. The search teams that went out these past two days couldn’t find anything, but they did manage to scrounge up quite a few meals at the blockade in Duoniao Town, and while they were there, they escorted a group of uninfected civilians who were going to the Holy Domain to stay with relatives.”
“Duoniao Town… blockade…”
Tairo repeated softly, a little lost. Yu Cheng looked at him worriedly; the young girl thought the big uncle who had been her bodyguard might pass out at any moment.
“And to the south, it’s up to Dagger Sheath Bridge, right?” Xia Lian smiled brightly and patted Mo Tan’s shoulder hard. “So we didn’t encounter a single Mutant when we came back, which is why you dared to let those dozens of people escort over a hundred civilians. Well done, lad, well done!”
Mo Tan trembled like a sieve. He felt his shoulder must be swollen. He quickly stepped back half a step, scratching his head sheepishly and saying, “Theoretically, that’s correct, but we just brought back the remaining survivors from that area today, and haven’t had time to send people to search, so I can’t guarantee safety yet, but it’s pretty close…”
“If what you say is true, then I truly don’t know what to say.” Xia Lian pulled Yu Cheng over and gave her a tight hug, then winked at Mo Tan. “Give me a hug. Well, hugging Little Wang Yu counts as hugging you.”
Mo Tan gave a dry laugh and nodded. “Thank you very much indeed…”
Tairo, still in shock, looked at Mo Tan blankly. “How did you do that?!”
“Never mind how he did it.” Xia Lian looked at Tairo with a smile, and slowly said, “I suggest you try to maintain a good relationship with Black Vatican from now on. It will be beneficial for future developments…”
Tairo: “Huh?”
“Our Dawn Sect hasn’t seen a genius like me in many years, but this year, two came at once.” Xia Lian let out a sigh of relief, then waved her hand at Tairo. “You go back and digest this, and also ask the Knights for details of what happened during this time. Alas, not even knowing what your temporary subordinates have been doing for the past half-month, you’re quite something…”
Tairo lowered his head in shame. “Yes.”
“Alright, scram. Oh, by the way, go find High Priest Furman at the Justice Church first, then City Lord Sola at the City Hall. Tell them I’m back and we need to discuss future action plans at a later date.”
“Yes.”
“Scram~”
Tairo left with unsteady steps, his figure somewhat desolate. Perhaps he was shaken by Mo Tan’s words, or perhaps he was weighed down by Xia Lian’s Star-Gold Cross. In any case, he was a bit wobbly as he walked.
“No one will pursue the things you did before.” Xia Lian stroked Yu Cheng’s hair, then gave Mo Tan a thumbs-up. “I’ve been doing the same things as you during my absence, so I understand very well… this is an extremely significant feat. Even I, who left with four hundred Knights, didn’t do as well as you. No, I was far worse.”
Mo Tan shook his head. “You flatter me. The situation here is much better than in the south. Besides the Mutants who previously besieged Mida City, the number of enemies in this area is not large, and…”
“Don’t be modest, it’s boring.” Xia Lian, however, directly interrupted him, then crossed her arms and smiled. “I will remember everything you’ve done, and the Church and Holy Church United will remember it too. But now I have a few things I’m very curious about…”
【Here it comes!】
Mo Tan and Yu Cheng both stiffened simultaneously.
“I want to hear how you specifically accomplished all this, especially…”
Xia Lian winked slyly. “A few parts that I just can’t figure out, no matter how hard I try, like how you contacted those people who pretended to have Tairo’s ‘secret arrangements’~ I’m sure that process had nothing to do with those crystals sealed with healing spells, right?”
Mo Tan/Yu Cheng: “…”
“Tell me how you did all this, otherwise, even if you’ve achieved a miraculous feat, you’ll still be hung up and beaten~~”
Chapter 242: End
Happy New Year, everyone~