Chapter 214: He is Just a Servant of God

Chapter 214 He Is Just a Servant of God

"You arranged it?" Bertha took two steps back, looking at the silver-masked man in front of her. "The person who arranged it died a long time ago. Who on earth are you?"

"I am the Whip of Order."

Hearing these words, Talina quickly reached down, drawing two daggers from her boots. Simultaneously, a red light flashed across her body, and she charged toward Neo at extreme speed.

Yet, before Talina could complete her move, Neo had already raised his hand in advance, as if everything had been foreseen. When Talina appeared before him with her daggers raised, Neo simply pointed his index finger forward:

"God said, let there be light."

A sacred beam of light shot from Neo's fingertip, piercing straight through Talina's shoulder. Even her precious leather armor proved as fragile as paper in that moment, and Talina herself was thrown back by the tyrannical force of the impact, crashing into the stone wall behind her.

After falling, she struggled to stand, holding the wound on her shoulder with one hand, her expression filled with horror.

She knew clearly that she was absolutely no match for the man before her. Whether in terms of absolute strength or combat experience, this man stood far above her, looming like a mountain.

Neo, meanwhile, placed his index finger in front of his face and examined it closely, as if feeling a sense of unfamiliarity, yet finding it somewhat novel.

Bertha asked in pleasant surprise, "Who on earth are you?"

"I have said it already, I am the Whip of Order."

Bertha said excitedly, "You are lurking within the Whip of Order?"

She knew Talina's strength. This woman was formidable not just because of her lineage or her talents in bed; her personal strength and talent were also exceptional.

To be able to defeat Talina with a single finger, using the power of light no less, meant the man before them must be a formidable powerhouse of the Light faction in this world.

For the current Church of Light, they actually did not lack ordinary believers; what they lacked were powerhouses capable of holding their own. Furthermore, during the last exposure in York City, many of their people had been killed or captured, further depleting their strength.

Talina spoke up, "Please escort me away from here. If you can escort me back to the Valley of Samsara, I will pay you, and the Church of Light, a reward that will absolutely satisfy you!"

Neo shook his head and said, "Too far, not going."

"She is a lady of the Simosen family of the Church of Samsara," Bertha reminded him. "She can fulfill the reward she promised. I guarantee that this will bring immense benefits to you and to our Church."

This was a guarantee from a bed partner, and at the same time, it was Bertha reminding Neo of the woman's identity.

"A lady of the Simosen family?"

Neo finally learned the woman's identity. The Simosen family was known as the royalty of the Church of Samsara. No wonder she could unhesitatingly use a Samsara Crystal to break the formation, and possessed a group of fiercely loyal guards who did not hesitate to self-detonate to buy her time to escape.

Tonight's moon-gazing had not been in vain; he had indeed waited out a big fish.

Neo spoke, "Take off the leather armor you are wearing."

Talina froze, but she still unfastened her leather armor and placed it on the ground.

Once the leather armor was unfastened, it revealed the white inner lining beneath, the shoulder area already stained red with blood.

Neo glanced at Bertha. Though Bertha did not know exactly what Neo intended to do, she had at least served as a secretary at a psychological clinic, so she naturally possessed the ability to read expressions. She walked over, picked up the leather armor that still retained bloodstains and residual warmth, and brought it to Neo.

"May I know your name? I am Bertha, one called by God, an Emissary of Light. I can help you connect with the Will of Light, so that no beam of light in the world will ever be lonely."

Neo ignored Bertha's words, took the leather armor, and rubbed it with his fingertips. The defensive power of this leather armor was not particularly outstanding, but it was absolutely very expensive, because its characteristic was not defense, but "vitality restoration."

If a weak person wore it, they could use its continuous drawing and purification of the surrounding aura to condition their body;

If a healthy person wore it, it could provide a skin-beautifying effect, equivalent to one's skin constantly receiving maintenance and care.

Only a true young lady of wealth would wear such leather armor. Ordinary people's choice of armor leaned toward its defensive power, not this kind of aspect, let alone paying an extremely exorbitant price for it.

"Leather armor from the Church of Berry?" Neo asked.

Talina spoke, "This was crafted by Sothro, a master artisan of the Church of Berry... [Nature's Gift]."

Neo nodded. Although the shoulder had been pierced by his attack, it was only a corner position after all. A bit of mending would not significantly affect its value, and it would definitely sell well on the black market. After all, women's money was the easiest to make.

Then, Neo spoke, "Daggers."

Bertha walked over to Talina once more.

Talina gave her an absurd look, while Bertha nodded in signal, but Talina still said to Neo:

"I know your power, and I also clearly understand that I am no match for you, but my dignity does not allow me to surrender my weapons. Please forgive me."

Seeing this, Bertha glared at Talina, then immediately turned to face Neo, saying, "Please forgive her offense, but her identity and her support are truly important to our Church. Our Church is also in urgent need of external assistance right now. Perhaps bringing her back could ease the relationship between Light and Samsara."

"Every orthodox church only ever wishes for the Light to be extinguished forever."

Hearing this, Bertha immediately said, "That is true, but our Church can receive some protection in the shadows. These things are also extremely important to our Church right now."

"By relying on the Church of Samsara?" Neo said dismissively.

"My Church of Samsara is qualified to say such words," Talina spoke up.

"I believe in her character," Bertha echoed.

"Order has already declared war on Samsara. Right now, at least six Templar Knights of Order have launched attacks on several sacred grounds of Samsara. Do you think that after this war, the Church of Samsara will still be qualified to say such words?"

"What!"

A look of terror appeared on Talina's face. Earlier, while in the Church Affairs Building, she had vaguely guessed whether the matter of the Cage Space had been discovered by Order, thereby provoking Order's wrath;

But she truly had not expected that Order had already declared war, and that the knights of Order were already attacking the sacred grounds of Samsara.

"This..." Bertha turned her head, looking at Talina behind her.

Talina hurriedly said, "I guessed that something might have gone wrong, but I didn't expect it to be like this."

"Daggers," Neo spoke again.

Talina raised the daggers. Bertha walked over and brought the pair of daggers to Neo. Looking at the patterns on the daggers, Neo said:

"Forged by the Church of Raymond?"

The true god Raymond, whom the Church of Raymond worshiped, was the God of Assassins in mythological narratives.

"Yes."

Neo nodded. This pair of daggers was also worth a fortune.

"Boots."

"What... what on earth do you mean?" Talina asked. "I can give you everything on my person, only asking that you protect me and help me leave York City."

"I will not protect you or help you leave York City," Neo said very calmly. "Of course, you can choose to let me take the items from your corpse with my own hands."

"Bertha?" Talina looked toward Bertha.

Bertha looked at Neo and said, "Since Order has already declared war on Samsara, will Samsara be more willing to become an ally of our Church in the future, assuming Samsara is not wiped out under Order's offensive?"

"A dog that has been beaten into submission and pain dares not raise its head to bare its teeth again. Instead, it will proactively bring a white rabbit to curry favor with the abuser."

Bertha was at a loss for words.

Neo looked at Talina once more, the gaze beneath his mask carrying a chilling coldness and calm.

Talina could only take off her boots, and Bertha brought the boots to Neo.

"Windchaser Boots from the Church of the Goddess of Wind?"

"Yes, that's right," Talina admitted.

This pair of boots possessed an extremely powerful agility blessing.

Neo nodded and looked at Talina again, "Earrings, pendants, scrolls?"

“I didn’t bring it with me; when the incident occurred at the academic affairs building, Bertha and I were lying in bed,” Talina replied.

“An anonymous voucher card?”

“I am deeply sorry, but I never carry vouchers on my person.”

Neo looked down at the leather armor, the dagger, and the boots resting at his feet, then shook his head, murmuring, “It feels as though it is still not quite enough.”

“If there is anything else you desire, the only thing I can offer you now is my undergarments; I only just put them on, so they are still reasonably clean.”

“Is there truly nothing else?”

“Nothing else.”

“If there is anything more, my promise to you shall be rendered null and void.”

Talina bit her lip, speaking with absolute certainty: “There is nothing left. You may come forward and search me, or, if you prefer, I shall strip away these undergarments as well and lie right here, permitting you to inspect every hidden corner of my body.”

“I believe you.” Neo gave a slight shake of his head. “There is no need for a search.”

“Then, what of me now...”

“You may step out that door and continue your flight. If fortune favors you, you might evade the Order’s garrison entering the city. Once you escape York City, you can find a way to flee Vienna entirely.”

Upon hearing this, Talina instantly cast her gaze toward Bertha.

Bertha, however, addressed Neo directly: “You have not yet told me how I should address you?”

“From where did you learn of this photography studio?”

“In an ancient, weathered notebook. The owner of the journal recorded that he had two dear friends; all three shared a passion for photography and opened a studio together, naming it after one of them, Gels. The other friend arranged a teleportation array beneath this very studio.

I happened upon that notebook entirely by chance, and I can confirm that over all these years, no one else has ever leafed through its pages.

After arriving in York City, I sought out this studio. The current proprietor mentioned that it was founded by his grandfather and two companions, and it has now been passed down to the third generation.

The owner himself had no inkling that this place lay hidden beneath his shop. I have entered this space before, to revere the historic relics left behind by the ancient sages of Light.”

“You stated earlier that the person who arranged it is already dead?”

“Yes, because in the later sections of that journal, the author recorded that he had witnessed with his own eyes the execution of that very friend.”

“Oh, so he is dead.”

“Your voice sounds remarkably young to my ears—by which I mean, you do not sound like an elderly man. When you claimed that you were the one who arranged the array here, did you mean it was arranged by your ancestor?”

“What was the name of the friend who was executed in that notebook?”

“Aside from the name Gels, both the author of the journal and the friend in question were referred to only by Macrae letters; no true names were left behind.”

“No names at all...”

“I had originally intended to continue my investigation into the contents of that journal, including the identity of its author and the identity of that closest friend he mentioned. In the author's descriptions, he portrayed himself as someone bathed in holy radiance, while his friend was one uniquely favored by the Light.

Yet within the framework of my own knowledge, I knew of no such legacy of a Light family existing within York City, let alone two of them. As you well know, the Order maintains a iron grip over Vienna, making it exceedingly difficult for the Light to achieve any true growth here.

It was only because of the previous mishap that our identities were exposed, and our original plan, guided by the opportune tolling of the bell, collapsed. My subordinates and I were forced to make a swift relocation and withdrawal, and so my intended plan to investigate this place was brought to an abrupt halt.”

Neo looked at Bertha and said, “I believe you could pick up this investigation plan once more.”

“If that is what you require of me, I am willing. I am willing to serve you; it is my mission as a divine envoy to unite everyone and bring gospel and aid to all.”

Neo smiled faintly. “I simply feel that you are ill-suited to be a divine envoy. If you were at the helm, it would be all too easy to capsize a ship laden with passengers upon the great sea. It would be far better for you to do something well within the scope of your actual abilities.”

“Is this your criticism of me? I accept it, and I shall do my utmost to correct and improve myself. Thus, I shall proceed with the investigation of this place, but how might I contact you?”

“As long as you remain within York City, I shall be able to find you again—just as I watched you flee in this direction, knowing precisely that you would come here.”

“Very well, I understand.”

Neo raised his hand, and a faint sound of friction echoed from outside, signaling that the entrance had been opened once more. He spoke to Talina:

“You may leave now. I trust that the God of Samsara whom you revere will not cause you to enter the cycle of reincarnation this very night.”

Left with only a white shirt upon her frame, Talina said no more. She gritted her teeth, turned, and prepared to depart.

“Oh, and by the way, if you happen to encounter a handsome young man carrying a greatsword upon stepping outside, do not panic. He is my teammate, and he should have arrived outside the doors of the photography studio by now. Trust me, he is quite easy to recognize, whether by his greatsword or by his handsome features.”

Talina asked hurriedly, “So, will he spare me for the sake of your honor?”

“No. He is a believer devout to his very bones regarding the Order; his eyes tolerate not the slightest desecration of it. He cannot be bribed, nor can he be beguiled. Greeting the great God of Order every day is his supreme spiritual pleasure.”

“Then... what am I to do?”

“I find it quite distasteful the way he constantly hovers before my eyes, yet I cannot bring myself to kill him with my own hands. Perhaps it is because I am moved by his devotion, or perhaps it is because I cannot strike him down owing to his handsome visage.

In short, do me a favor and kill him on your way out.”

“Could I possibly defeat him?” A hint of self-doubt crept into Talina's expression, and at the same time, her gaze drifted back to her own gear resting before Neo.

“You could easily kill him with your bare hands, for he is merely a divine servant.”

“Is that... truly so?”

“I swear in the name of the God of Light, when I personally vetted his entry into the squad two months ago, he was nothing more than a divine servant.”