Chapter 88: Yu Cheng
Innocent World, Northeast Continent, Saint Pre Town.
This is a small town on the edge of the Holy Church United controlled area, located at the westernmost end of the Holy Domain, with Light Capital as its core. Although its name does include the word 'town', Saint Pre Town, prefixed with 'Saint', is much larger than border towns like Patto or Kalan.
Due to its advantageous geographical location, a large number of pilgrims pass through here annually on their way to the Holy Domain, driving economic development. The Saint Pre Grand Cathedral in the center of the town even has several High-ranking Bishops permanently stationed. Although they come from different sects, they are all very professional, whether it's treating injuries or spreading God's glory, and their own strength is formidable. To put it this way...
If Lang En and Dave dared to cause trouble in this place, there would probably be no need for Mo Tan to get involved. There are at least thirty to forty clergy members in this place who could deal with them, and even if they weren't as strong as the High Paladin who was tricked into Patto City, they wouldn't be far off.
And the location where Yu Cheng appeared when she logged in today was a room in the Saint Pre Grand Cathedral.
“Hoo~” The girl, dressed in a pale gold High-Rank Divine Officer robe, yawned lazily on the bed. She blinked her eyes in confusion, then after a long moment, a clean smile appeared on her face as she murmured softly, “Although I’m used to it, the feeling of suddenly going from night to morning every time I log in is still very strange~”
Her voice was very gentle, as if even when she was alone, she was a little timid. This girl, who was somewhat introverted outside the game, seemed to have not changed at all in Innocent World, always appearing cautious. While this could be considered a charming trait, it often made others wonder, 'Am I too ugly and have I scared her?'... Well, you get the idea...
In reality, it was just because a certain person was simply too easy to get shy.
This is a girl who easily leaves a deep impression on others. If Shuang Ye's temperament is an unreplicable composure and inscrutability (and a height that contrasts greatly with her personality?), Ji Xiaoge's temperament is her innate charm and affability (and a very low threshold for laughter?), and Ji Xiaodao's temperament is her aloof beauty and low-pressure aura that keeps people at bay, then Yu Cheng's temperament is... purity.
She is like a blank canvas, clean and pure. In her bright eyes, there seems to be no room for malice or negative emotions, as if everything is beautiful and full of goodwill. Of course, she is not so naive as to be blind to the darkness and filth in her sight; she simply refuses to be contaminated by those things.
Perhaps, compared to the word 'holiness' that people around her often use to praise her, 'tolerance' is the most suitable word for her. This is a girl so pure that she seems capable of embracing everything.
Of course, this refers to her temperament and first impression. Yu Cheng is just an ordinary girl; she naturally has her own values, as well as her joys, angers, sorrows, and delights, and is not truly a blank slate with nothing on it.
For example, right now, she was feeling a little melancholic...
“What exactly was that thing I saw yesterday?” Yu Cheng frowned in distress. After tidying her Divine Officer robe a little, she pushed open the door and left the room. She planned to ask the accompanying Paladin uncle about it again.
“Holy Maiden.”
A deep voice sounded not far away. The girl, startled, immediately looked back and found the person she was looking for striding towards her from the cathedral entrance.
“Good morning, Tairo,” Yu Cheng gave him a half-practiced Divine Officer salute and stuck out her tongue, “You can just call me by my name next time.”
Tairo, the middle-aged Paladin with a full beard, immediately nodded and said loudly, “Yes! Holy Maiden!”
“I mean... you can just call me Chen Wangyu or Wang Yu.”
“Alright, Holy Maiden!”
“No, I mean you'd best not call me Holy Maiden anymore. I'm just an apprentice...”
“No problem, Holy Maiden!!”
Yu Cheng rubbed her hair in distress, feeling a bit difficult to communicate with this uncle.
Tairo was completely unaware that his three-in-a-row 'Yes, Your Highness' had caused great harm to the girl in front of him. He simply continued to look straight ahead at the esteemed young Holy Maiden, his eyes filled with admiration and reverence. He knew that his own Dawn Sect had not seen a God-blessed one in almost twenty years. Although the Holy Church United was a big family, seeing other sects discover God-blessed ones almost every few years always left Tairo, a devout follower of the Dawn Goddess, feeling a bit sour.
But now it was different. The Dawn Sect finally had a new God-blessed one, finally had a new Holy Maiden, finally had a Holy Maiden who was a God-blessed one and under forty years old!
This was truly wonderful!
“Um... Tairo...” Yu Cheng had given up struggling by now. She hesitated for a moment, then asked the devout knight in front of her, “I wanted to ask, the... creature that was captured yesterday, how is it now?”
Tairo frowned. “You mean that monster filled with violent and evil aura? We followed your instructions and did not kill it. It has been held in solitary confinement in the cathedral basement from yesterday evening until now.”
“Mm.” Yu Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, then timidly asked, “Can I go see him again?”
This time, Knight Tairo clearly hesitated. After all, the monster suppressed in the basement was extremely aggressive. Including himself, three Paladins were dispatched to capture it. Although the thing had now been sealed by the Divine Arts of several High-ranking Bishops, letting the Holy Maiden, who was only at an apprentice level and had barely learned any High-Rank Divine Arts, go to see it...
“Please, Tairo, I just want to confirm it again.” Yu Cheng clasped her hands tightly in front of her, whispering, “This might be the Goddess’s guidance, who knows...”
Clang!
“Let's go, Holy Maiden!” As soon as Paladin Tairo heard the words 'Goddess', he immediately turned and knelt before the Dawn Goddess statue nearby, then stood up and nodded to the apprentice Holy Maiden: “Tairo obeys the Goddess's guidance.”
『Sorry, Goddess, I'm just borrowing your name. You wouldn't mind, would you?』
The newly appointed God-blessed one immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then became nervous and mumbled to herself in her mind.
‘Mm, I don’t mind...’
???
Yu Cheng was immediately dumbfounded, then quietly asked Tairo beside her, “Did you hear anything just now?”
“No, Holy Maiden!” The other party immediately shook his head, then drew the longsword from his waist and said in a low voice to Yu Cheng, “Please follow me.”
The girl looked around in confusion, then put the vague sound out of her mind and followed Tairo towards an entrance leading to the basement inside the cathedral.
Five minutes later
Saint Pre Grand Cathedral, basement
This was not the dark, dirty, and blood-soaked place many imagined, nor was it a place where seemingly virtuous clergy members abused their power. In fact, every church of the Holy Church United had a similar space in its basement. The divine power here was still abundant, and the lighting was quite good. It was mainly used to detain those who were not guilty of death or needed temporary custody, such as... an unconscious, highly aggressive, and very dangerous 'person'.
“This is it, Holy Maiden.” Tairo led Yu Cheng to an iron door filled with Dawn Divine Power, then turned back and anxiously instructed, “If there’s any danger, please retreat behind me immediately!”
Yu Cheng nodded obediently: “Mm, I understand. Please open the door.”
Tairo took a deep breath, whispered something, and then a faint golden aura flashed around him and Yu Cheng. A faint glow appeared on both of their bodies simultaneously.
This is the Devotion Aura unique to the Paladin class, which can enhance the resilience of nearby allies (friendly units) for a certain period of time. In layman's terms, it increases defense. Moreover, depending on their faith, Paladins from different sects have some variations in their Devotion Aura. For example, Tairo, who believes in the Dawn Sect, his aura's power, in addition to increasing defense, can also slowly restore the stamina of friendly units, making it very suitable for prolonged battles.
However, after he opened the door, the expected roar and attack did not come, which made Tairo, who had participated in the capture, somewhat strange. Logically, given the monster's previous performance, even if its power had been sealed to the extreme, it should not have been completely unresponsive like this...
He quickened his pace into the room, with Yu Cheng following closely behind.
“Impossible!”
Tairo cried out in disbelief, his voice hoarse. There was no one in the empty cell!
Yu Cheng, who was following him, was also stunned: “Did he escape?”
“That shouldn’t be!” The Paladin, sword in hand, looked around and shook his head emphatically: “This place is filled with the Goddess’s power. Even an evil creature much stronger than me, if imprisoned here, would absolutely not be able to escape. Although that monster was indeed not weak, it was far from being able to break through this cage, and the door here is also completely intact...”
He shook his head with a solemn expression, then turned and walked outside: “I’ll go ask the Holy Church Warrior who was on guard here last night. Holy Maiden, you...”
“Wait a moment!” Yu Cheng, however, did not leave with him. She simply pointed to a corner of the room and whispered, “Look at that.”
“Hm?” Tairo turned to look at the corner the girl indicated, and immediately noticed a very unnatural shadow there. It was hidden under the shadow of a simple wooden bed, and if one didn't look closely, it would be impossible to distinguish.
The Paladin strode to the bed, bent down for a closer look, and found that the shadow was still slowly flowing, with a black object of unknown texture floating in the middle.
“It looks like a fragment.” Tairo reached out and gently touched it, then immediately flew back several steps, nodding, “It’s that fellow’s aura. It’s filled with a sense of tyranny and Chaos. It even tried to shake my soul just now!”
Yu Cheng asked in a somewhat bewildered tone, “Could it be that this fragment is what that person turned into?”
“I don’t know.” Tairo shook his head: “I think it’s necessary to observe this thing for a while longer, and then when we set off, we’ll take it back to Light Capital...”
The girl nodded gently, and said softly, “Then let's leave it at that. Thank you for your trouble, Tairo.”
The Paladin immediately puffed out his chest and raised his head: “No, I believe all of this is the Goddess’s guidance!”
“Mm, it's all thanks to the Goddess~” Yu Cheng smiled and nodded, “Then let's go back.”
“Yes~”
Thus, the two quickly left the cathedral basement. Knight Tairo went to question the Holy Church Warriors who were on guard in the basement last night. As for Yu Cheng, after praying for a moment beside the Goddess statue, she returned to her room.
“Ugh, I still feel a bit uneasy...” She lay back on the bed, staring blankly for a long time before muttering to herself, “I should probably ask.”
The girl seemed to have made some kind of decision. She awkwardly struggled to sit up and opened her friends list, finding... Black Vatican.
‘Are you there? Are you there? I have something very important I want to tell you! (｀ω)’
Yu Cheng tentatively sent a message. Completely different from her usual personality, she appeared particularly lively and adorable when sending messages, not at all like a girl who was even too shy to speak loudly.
‘I am. What important matter is it?’
Yu Cheng quickly received a reply. It seemed that this new friend of hers, for a rare change, was online early in the morning... well, late in the evening.
‘Wow! I thought you wouldn't be online! Are you busy right now? (*^▽^*)’ The girl quickly edited her message, still adding cheerful emoticons.
This time, Mo Tan didn't reply instantly, but still quickly responded: ‘That depends on how you look at it. My current situation is quite complex. From the perspective of traveling, it's incredibly easy and comfortable, but from the experience perspective, it's as bad as it gets...’
‘(O_O)?’ The girl vividly summarized her current expression.
‘The comfortable part is that I’m smoothly heading towards my destination, and I have dozens of burly men as bodyguards, so I don’t even have to walk myself.’
Yu Cheng blinked, then quickly replied: ‘Are you on a quest? That sounds like really high-class treatment (≧≦)!!’
As soon as she sent it, she received Mo Tan's second message: ‘The bad part is, my mode of travel involves being tied by my hands and feet to a wooden pole, with a big brother who really wants to kill me carrying me from the front and back...’
The girl was stunned. For some reason, her little mind started picturing Mo Tan crying and wailing as he was roasted over a bonfire.
‘Let’s not talk about that for now. What did you need me for?’ Another message interrupted her imagination.
Yu Cheng deliberated, then slowly typed: ‘(ω)ノ It’s like this, I received a side quest earlier, and the content was to accompany a team of Paladins to investigate a certain monster incident!’
‘And then?’
‘And then the monster was caught yesterday evening (⊙ω⊙)!’
‘That’s good.’
‘But that monster...’
‘What about that monster?’
‘It looks like you (_`)!!’
‘Who?’
‘(=ω) You!’
...
Chapter 85: End