Chapter 345: Yes, It Did

Chapter 345: Indeed, It Had Done It

"Of course, no problem!"

"Also, for the three rooms of the other squad, if they don’t order room service that day, treat it as if they did. Convert the meal expenses into points and give them to me. Your commission can be higher for this part. If they ask, just blame it all on me."

How could those young masters be content with free hospitality meals? They still preferred going to the restaurant to order dishes individually.

"Alright, rest assured, I understand. Do you have any other instructions, sir?"

"For this kind of hotel industry within the Holy Church, are you all acquaintances with each other?"

"Well, I do know some friends."

"In the Yorktown region, the Ankara Hotel, do you have any friends you know there?"

"I really don't know anyone there. It's too far."

"Oh, alright then."

"But don't worry, sir, it's just a matter of a phone call, very simple, because everyone knows points."

"Good, thanks for your hard work."

"You are too polite, sir. Then I shall take my leave first."

After this logistics director left, Karen noticed that everyone present began to speed up their eating, because starting tomorrow, they wouldn't be able to eat like this anymore.

Karen stretched, raised the ice water in his hand, and said, "To the future!"

Everyone immediately picked up the glasses beside them, followed suit, and shouted in unison:

"To the future!"

……

At night, Karen kept reading until the early hours of the morning before he felt sleepy. Then he put down his book and glanced at the doorway.

Ventura was sleeping right there on a floor bed.

Karen had told him to go upstairs and sleep in his own room, but he refused no matter what, because he was worried that something like last night would happen to his captain again.

Lying on the bed and closing his eyes, Karen still felt somewhat fearful in his heart, fearing that he would have the exact same dream again tonight.

After falling asleep,

Karen found himself dreaming of the exact same scene as the previous night.

The Scythe of War appeared before him. Karen looked at it, then lowered his head to search for the abyss beneath his feet, but the abyss was not to be found.

Whew...

It seemed that person didn't have the strength to pound on the door every single day.

The Scythe of War fell toward Karen. Not only did Karen not anxiously dodge, but instead, a smile appeared on his face.

*Pfft!*

Along with his dream self being sliced into two halves by the Scythe of War, Karen, sleeping on the bed, opened his eyes, rolled over, and continued to sleep sweetly.

When he woke up, it was four in the morning. He hadn't slept for very long, but the quality of his sleep was good enough.

Therefore, everything was feared in comparison. Compared to that dream from the night before last, last night's nightmare of being chopped in half was instead as fresh and gentle as playing with elves on a green lawn.

"Whew..."

The bedroom door was closed, but when the sound of Karen getting out of bed carried over, Ventura gently pushed the door open and looked inside. Others were already sitting outside.

After washing up, Karen walked out of the bedroom. He hadn't announced a morning meeting last night, but everyone had still gathered here at this hour.

Breakfast had been requested and delivered early, consisting entirely of bread and milk, without even a single grilled sausage in sight.

Karen wondered if the effect of his "propaganda" last night was a bit too successful. Saving on dinners was one thing, but were they going to start saving on breakfast too?

But there was nothing he could do; at this time, it wasn't convenient for him to say anything, so he could only sit down, take some bread with milk, and begin to eat.

During this time, everyone began to discuss the issue of cooperation.

Bart proposed a very effective plan, which was to use the demonic beasts summoned by Icelee as a gunsight, which could help others aim and attack.

There was one sentence Bart didn't state clearly, but the meaning was obvious: anyway, the intimate companions you summon are all quite useless.

Icelee herself also agreed with this plan, except her gaze toward Bart was somewhat unfriendly. It was just that her age and qualifications were not yet sufficient, so it was a bit difficult for her to bind truly powerful demonic beasts to fight for her, but that didn't represent the future.

Blanche, on the other hand, raised a point, which was that when she used the Priest Star Link, she clearly felt another force helping to bless her, namely the Captain's power. She hoped they could grind out a degree next, which was what percentage of her own power the Captain's blessed power could occupy.

The main thing this issue avoided was one side forcibly overusing power and ultimately dragging the Captain down.

The answer Karen gave to this was: there is no need to worry about this problem at the current stage. If there is a problem, I will notify you in advance.

Everyone nodded, understanding the meaning behind the Captain's words. To put it bluntly: it's impossible for you to drain me before I anticipate that it's not enough.

When the time reached seven-thirty, everyone stood up and left the room, preparing to go to their last class.

The location of the last class was on the second floor of the base hotel, in the largest lecture hall. There were probably about eight hundred seats in this lecture hall, but now only twelve people were sitting below.

Karen still sat in the front row with Muri.

Muri leaned over and asked, "Did you have nightmares these past two nights?"

"Yeah."

Muri sighed and said, "Whew, dreaming of being decapitated by a scythe at night is too painful."

Karen also sighed. He was very envious.

The teachers arrived.

They were familiar old men.

What was familiar was not their identities, but their white hair and white beards.

Immediately afterward, another seven or eight clergymen with blue prisms printed on their divine robes walked in. After they set things up, the screen at the back of the lecture hall was lowered, the lights went out, and it looked like a movie was being played.

"Hello everyone, I am your teacher for today's class. My name is McKenny."

"Hello everyone, I am also your teacher for today's class. My name is Bharat."

After a brief self-introduction, Bharat stepped back, sat to one side, and began to flip through the materials in his hands.

McKenny, on the other hand, waved his hand, and a valley permeating with the aura of death appeared on the large screen behind him.

The students all guessed what kind of place this was, and everyone began to whisper among themselves.

"Does the Valley of Samsara look like this?" Muri asked Karen in a low voice.

"I should be the one asking you this," Karen replied.

After all, you are the young master with broad horizons.

"I didn't know. I thought it was a valley with beautiful scenery, but I didn't expect it to look like the entrance to hell."

Karen said, "To a certain extent, isn't the Valley of Samsara exactly the entrance to hell?"

"Right, you're right."

McKenny pointed behind him and spoke, "Everyone has guessed correctly. The image you see now is the Valley of Samsara. In fact, purely from the image, one cannot specifically perceive its atmosphere.

I have been to the Valley of Samsara, and I have also come into close contact with the Gate of Samsara. I know what kind of place it is—a place where, after you go once, you won't want to go a second time in this lifetime."

Though I know this is a sacred land in the hearts of countless believers of the Church of Samsara, I still want to say.

Pah,

It is a place where even birds are too lazy to shit!"

McKenney spat violently upon the floor.

Karen reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, noting that this instructor was quite flagrantly smuggling in his own personal bias.

"The location of the Valley of Samsara is highly complex, situated at the confluence of several spatial rifts; its unique geographical environment has fostered an equally unique ecology, which I assume is why the Church of Samsara chose it as their true foundation, and why the God of Samsara chose to build the Gate of Samsara there in ancient times.

The area of the Valley of Samsara is vast, and though no one has measured it precisely, based on my own experience of living there and notes left by ancestors of the Church of Samsara, it can be roughly calculated that its actual size is about ten times that of Saint Antidis.

However, the area they have truly developed and utilized is only about the size of a single Saint Antidis, perhaps even less.

Within it lies a massive no-man's-land, and mind you, a no-man's-land merely means it is devoid of humans, not that it is devoid of other existences.

There are many distinct forces on the island, with the Church of Samsara being the largest among them; you might ask, why would the Church of Samsara permit the existence of other factions in such an important place?

Because the Church of Samsara requires their tribute, and the cost of artificial cultivation is simply too high, so they have no choice but to grant them a certain degree of autonomy.

Legend has it that families who failed in the internal power struggles of the Church of Samsara were exiled to that region, and after many years, those families mutated into a unique species.

Very well, it is enough that you understand this much about the general state of the Valley of Samsara, as you will not set foot in that region.

The teleportation array will deliver you directly to the reception quarters of the Church of Samsara, and when the appointed time arrives, a total of thirty young people—including yourselves, the people of the Church of Samsara, and those from other churches granted quotas this time—will be arranged to enter the Gate of Samsara.

Here, there are two points I need to emphasize to you in advance.

First, do not make contact with the internal factions of the Church of Samsara; of course, they will certainly approach you, but my point is that you must keep your wits about you.

Especially..."

McKenney picked up the roster and began to read aloud:

"Ventura, Karen, please stand up."

Karen and Ventura stood up.

"You two must pay particular attention, because you have no family backing, and they will be far more eager to approach you; I hope you can remain clear-headed and not imagine that some family from the outside world will mysteriously sponsor you out of nowhere, for you must know that even if a meat pie really falls from the sky, it is bound to be poisoned.

Alright, take your seats."

Ventura sat back down.

Karen remained standing.

McKenney lowered the roster, adjusted his glasses, and seeing Karen still standing, reminded him: "Sit down, student Karen, or is it Ventura?"

Beside him, Barat stared at McKenney's silhouette at the podium, shaking his head in helpless resignation; the boy had no family and was listed as an orphan in the files, but his sheer talent gave him absolute confidence.

What an idiot, serving as a foreign priest in the Church of Samsara for so long that even though he kept cursing the Valley of Samsara as a garbage dump after his return, his mind had been thoroughly brainwashed into accepting the ideology of familial elitism.

If you have the nerve, why don't you go say such things to the face of High Priest Norton, since the High Priest also has no family and could presumably be seduced into defection at any moment?

Clearly, McKenney did not belong to the small inner circle of Piroliven.

"Sit down."

McKenney repeated his command.

Karen still stood.

Seeing this, Ventura, who had just sat down, immediately stood right back up.

"Sit down!" McKenney shouted.

At that moment, the four sitting behind Karen—Bart, Aisly, Blanche, and Mars—all rose to their feet as well.

"Sit. Down. For. Me!"

Karen's squad remained standing as a collective unit, not a single one resuming their seat.

Seeing the situation, Muri sighed and stood up as well, followed immediately by his teammates behind him.

"What is the meaning of this?" McKenney frowned.

Muri spoke up: "Instructor, please retract your inappropriate remarks and apologize; our Church of Order has always advocated that under Order, all people are equal; if a believer's loyalty to Order is to be judged by their family background, I believe that is the ultimate defilement of both the believer and Order itself!"

"And what if I refuse to apologize?" McKenney countered.

Muri smiled faintly and said, "Then we shall refuse to attend your lecture and leave the hall together."

"Heh, are you threatening your instructor?"

Muri replied, "We are merely defending our own honor and that of our comrade."

"Do you realize what kind of loss you will face by skipping my class, and how much trouble it will bring to your trip to the Valley of Samsara? Do you know the purpose of the Church in establishing these classes and bringing you here for training, and do you know what the Church expects of you?

Or is it that you wish to apostatize from the Church?"

Muri smiled again and said, "Instructor, you have our roster and details in your hands; if a surname like mine were to betray the Church, or if the companions behind me were to betray the Church, do you think that is even possible?

According to your theory, instructor, if your family is inferior to ours, does that mean whenever a conflict arises between us, it serves as proof that you have betrayed the Church?"

"You..."

Barat spoke up to interject: "McKenney, if you want to cause a major teaching incident that gets dragged all the way to the higher-ups, fine, you may continue."

McKenney took a deep breath, and finally, looking toward Karen, he spoke: "I retract my previous statement and apologize for my improper phrasing."

Karen bowed slightly to McKenney and said, "I accept your apology."

With that, he sat down.

Ventura emulated Karen's gesture, bowing slightly: "I also accept your apology."

Everyone returned to their seats.

Karen leaned sideways toward Muri and said, "Thanks."

"Heh, don't mention it."

Sitting behind them next to Bart, Pasio murmured in a low voice, "My grandfather isn't here; if he were, he would probably come right up and punch him."

"My grandfather probably would too."

"My grandfather is in the Special Array System, what about yours?"

"The First Knight Order."

"Right, pass on my respects to your grandfather."

...

McKenney continued with the lecture, and the moment the class ended, he immediately gathered his lesson plans and walked straight out of the lecture hall.

Barat spoke up: "It seems Instructor McKenney is indisposed to join us for lunch; tell me, does anyone wish to invite this instructor here to dine together?"

Karen maintained a polite smile.

Muri stood up and waved his hand, shouting, "Let's go, to the dining hall!"

...

The dining hall was on the sixth floor, arranged with two tables.

With tacit understanding, everyone divided into two sections; Karen, Muri, and Barat occupied one table, while the rest sat at the other.

Yet the dishes on the two tables differed, simple on this side and far more sumptuous on the other.

Bharata ate in silence, so Cullen and Muri held their tongues as well, consuming their meal quietly.

Once Bharata finished his meal, he took up his napkin to wipe his mouth and smiled. "I know Vienese cuisine has always been famous. Cullen, you are from Vienne, what do you think of it?"

Cullen replied, "Sometimes, I still wake up from nightmares in a cold sweat."

Muri chimed in, "Afraid of what?"

"That I actually managed to grow up eating Vienese food."

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

"As for the matter with McKinney, none of you should take it to heart. Inviting him here was purely because he once served as a foreign priest in the Valley of Samsara for a long time and would be relatively familiar with it. In truth, most of what he said was nonsense; after all, you will not be lingering in the Valley of Samsara for very long."

"Teacher McKinney has already apologized, and I have forgiven him," Cullen said.

"Mm."

Muri spoke up, "So, the true focus is what you will be lecturing on this afternoon, Teacher?"

"Yes, precisely."

"Then we have much to look forward to," Cullen said.

"This time, your burden is heavy. Have you all eaten your fill? Let us head back and resume class."

Muri stood up to settle the bill.

...

The group returned to the lecture hall, and Bharata walked up to stand before the podium.

The staff projected a mural onto the large screen, depicting a man with a human face and a lion's body, standing amidst raging flames.

Bharata began, "Gaetanbert. His father was once a bishop of our Church of Order, and his mother was a demonic beast. He was the crystallization of their love."

Hearing the commendatory term "crystallization of love," one could easily discern the relationship between this Gaetanbert and the Church of Order.

"Gaetanbert possessed the powerful physique of a demonic beast while simultaneously holding the ability to wield the power of Order. At the end of the last era, he served as the captain of the guard for the gates of the Temple of Order."

The large screen shifted to display a new mural, showing a woman of exquisite stature, though her hair was entirely composed of venomous serpents.

"Phunites, once a princess of the Tansiyin serpent clan, possessed the royal lineage of the Tansiyin race. At the end of the last era, she led her entire clan to embrace our Church of Order and participated in the founding of our Church of Order's Demonic Beast Breeding Institution."

Aisly whispered softly, "I have seen her mural before."

Bharata continued, "At the end of the last era, Gaetanbert was ordered to organize a guard unit to escort Phunites to a secret realm in search of relics, and they vanished thereafter.

Late one night eight years ago,

our Church's Department of Spiritual Seers, responsible for safeguarding and maintaining ancient totems and formations, discovered that a communication formation inherited from the last era—which had long been sealed away—received a soul message.

The message read: Gaetanbert, Phunites, Gate of Samsara."

"They are actually still alive?"

"How is that possible? To still be alive?"

"To have lived for so long?"

The crowd broke into a flurry of hushed discussions.

"To live this long, even if it were just a soul, it would be difficult to achieve, wouldn't it?" Muri looked toward Cullen.

Cullen replied, "They might still be alive, but those alive might not be them."

"You are likely not speaking nonsense, so, do you know some inside intelligence regarding the Gate of Samsara?"

"Mm."

"Then shall we share it over dinner tonight?"

"Alright."

Bharata raised his hand, signaling for silence, and spoke:

"We currently suspect that the souls of Gaetanbert and Phunites were cast into the Gate of Samsara.

For there are relevant records suggesting that an evil god, once condemned by our Church, seems to have specifically assisted the God of Samsara in delivering souls into the Gate of Samsara.

Of course, whether this record is true, whether the suspicion is accurate, and whether that evil god truly committed such acts remains temporarily unknown."

Cullen let out a soft sigh.

Indeed, it had done it.