Chapter 621: The High Priest's Harmonica

Chapter 621 The High Priest's Mouth Organ

A commander, teleported here entirely alone, must have come primarily to check on Miss Dina's condition; before his arrival, he most likely had no knowledge of the conflict unfolding at this moment.

Yet with a single step forward and a lone warning that bared his identity, he could instantly terrify and drive back the dragon lineage of the Earth Vault Church.

Thus, indeed, the finest method to quench the flames of anger is none other than fear.

Karen had previously explained this context to Miss Dina when she asked what sort of standing Rayo, the leader of the Dragon Imperial Guard, actually possessed; Karen's answer then was that because the Holy See maintained absolute control over the Knights of Order, a knight commander's status could not rival that of an entrenched, power-wielding warlord like Rayo.

But that premise held true only when comparing positions within their respective churches; if one disregarded that condition and purely weighed the sheer magnitude of the two institutions against each other, a commander of the Knights of Order could sit there, and Rayo would not even possess the right to graze the edge of the seat with his backside.

The clearest demonstration of this was that Rayo had to kneel and bow before Dina, whereas Dina, upon seeing those knight commanders, would proactively approach to link arms with them, calling out with affectionate familiarity, "Hello, Uncle."

As believers of Order, they understood perfectly well what the Twelve Knights of Order represented; they were the bedrock of the Church of Order, and in the previous epoch, they had followed the God of Order into countless divine wars.

During the twilight of the last era, when the God of Order reigned supreme, the deities he slaughtered did not all require his personal intervention—which meant that each of the twelve, or rather eleven, knightly orders passed down today possessed military exploits of hunting down gods if one traced their lineage back.

The football matches in York City possessed a tradition where every league championship earned an embroidered star on the new jerseys, and the Knights of Order shared a similar custom: black skulls were engraved upon their breastplates, with each skull representing the number of deities that specific knightly order had successfully hunted and slain during the previous epoch.

When Order previously declared war on Samsara, every marching knightly order was openly accompanied by at least one Elder of the Sacred Temple, a practice carried over from the system of the last era when a subordinate deity would lead a knightly order to hunt down and kill another god.

In this current epoch, grass-roots inquisitors holding the "Regulations of Order" had forced the church's forces out of the secular world, a feat for which they paid a tremendous price, yet the reason they succeeded was precisely because they had the backing of the knightly orders holding the line behind them.

Yet because the perception of the knightly orders among the believers of Order was so overwhelmingly positive, a certain numbness gradually set in over time; it was only during the recent "First Day War" against Samsara that everyone witnessed the might of the knights anew, though... even then, it was just so-so, for the war ended too quickly, and Samsara knelt so fast that before anyone could truly savor the flavor, it had already slid down the esophagus.

To other churches, however, the Knights of Order were depicted in their internal chronicles as utterly fierce and brutal, with many having been thoroughly savaged by the knights throughout history.

Although the passage of time made it easy for the protected side to forget, the side that had been trampled upon tended to remember the hatred and terror far more vividly.

Furthermore, though the Church of Order's last formal declaration of war was indeed against the Samsara Church, a lack of official warfare did not mean there was nothing to do; conflict mediation, peacekeeping deployments, and the deterrence of ambitions had basically never ceased.

And every time a knightly order stepped in to mediate, the efficiency was astonishingly high; for these knights, who had grown up listening to the glorious tales of their ancestors cornering and hunting down deities in the previous era, they truly possessed no love for peace—they were genuinely starving for battle.

Thus, every mediation began with a rigid ultimatum: Will you retreat or not?

You better damn well not retreat, I am almost there!

Over time, within church circles, particularly among lower- and mid-tier factions, any ultimatum issued by the Knights of Order was treated with absolute gravity, because they knew these ruthless figures were genuinely wild-eyed with an eagerness to kill, or... to slaughter dragons.

The thunder-horned rhinoceros beneath Commander Daan descended on its own accord to find a place to rest, while the man himself stepped off the beast's back and landed squarely on the hospital roof.

The character of some individuals could be described as upright and unyielding, whereas the physical appearance of others was simply born upright and unyielding.

With a square jaw and a colossal physique, an artist could sketch his likeness directly without needing any narrative description or written introduction; one glance would tell anyone that this man was undoubtedly an image of loyalty and righteousness, and if placed within a mural, his ultimate fate would likely be dying in battle for the sake of justice.

Hence, he was a knight commander.

To assume that only a handsome countenance could score points in an official career was narrow-minded;

for if one's features possessed distinct character and perfectly suited the profession, it could yield just as massive an advantage.

"Greetings, Commander!"

"Greetings, Commander!"

Lenos, Keqin, Augie, and Karen all offered their salutations to Daan.

Daan looked toward Lenos and inquired, "How is Dina?"

Lenos hesitated for a moment before asking, "Lord Commander, of whom do you speak?"

Daan frowned and snapped, "Tell me directly, how is Dina?"

Lenos took a deep breath: "Lord Commander, I do not know who Dina is, nor is she among the believers of our church whom I am required to observe and monitor."

"I have no time to bicker with you." Daan reached out, seizing the collar of Lenos's divine robe to hoist him forward. "I am a soldier; do not play these games with me."

A smile surfaced on Lenos's face: "I can look into it for you, Lord Commander. May I ask what clerical rank Miss Dina holds? I shall investigate at once."

"Heh, you are quite something."

Daan thrust Lenos aside and scoffed, "Humph, the atmosphere of the Church is precisely what you bureaucrats have ruined."

In truth, Karen rather understood Lenos.

Every diplomatic cleric was nominally responsible only for foreign affairs, but in reality, every embassy maintained a concurrent espionage department.

As the diplomatic cleric of Order stationed within the Earth Vault Church, Lenos naturally bore the duty of monitoring the Earth Vault Church's movements, which meant he was technically guilty of oversight and dereliction concerning today's events; however, as long as he firmly adhered to Order's tradition and maintained that Miss Dina held no official rank—meaning she alone was responsible for the consequences of her actions—he would be absolved of liability.

As for whether the High Priest would resent him for this and find some other pretext to deal with him, Lenos genuinely harbored no such worries, for he knew the High Priest was an exceptional leader, and exceptional leaders did not penalize their subordinates over such personal matters.

This belonged to a dynamic where even as superiors regulated their subordinates, the subordinates conversely understood the temperament of those above them; Daan's labeling of Lenos as a mere bureaucrat was not entirely accurate—to be precise, he was a truly brilliant bureaucrat.

Keqin immediately stepped forward: "Lord Commander, the dragon lineage's forced march upon the capital this time shows utter contempt for the system established for our Earth Vault by Order. I intend to convene an internal church council to judge the dragons' actions, so I must ask you, Lord Commander..."

Daan waved his hand, shoving Keqin aside without a shred of politeness, and said, "Do not speak of this to me. I am only responsible for executing orders."

He knew exactly what these people were plotting, trying to use him as a weapon; he was indeed a weapon, but one that answered solely to the Holy See.

Daan walked over to stand before Augie, who lowered her head to him.

At that moment, Karen, who had been standing behind Augie, silently shifted a few paces to the side.

Boom!

Daan swung his fist, striking Augie squarely; she was sent flying by the punch, her trajectory passing precisely through the spot where Karen had just been standing.

Soon enough, Augie flew back, dropping to one knee before Daan.

Daan raised his foot and kicked her.

Boom!

Augie was sent flying once more.

Before long, she flew back yet again, dropping down on one knee.

Karen stood nearby with his head bowed, his mind entirely untroubled; to be punished for a failure of duty was altogether normal.

Yet truthfully, his past self had held an enormous romanticized view of the dragon race, but the upper echelons of the Church of Order had thoroughly shattered that illusion for him.

The moment you inwardly felt this resembled the mistreatment of a pet, the dragon race had already lost, because you were actually comparing her to a common pet.

Daan did not hold back; Augie absorbed several punches and kicks until blood finally leaked from the corner of her mouth.

Having finally let it spill, she unexpectedly sucked it back in, even stubbornly wiping away the trace with the back of her hand.

Watching this gave Karen a headache; wasn't this practically begging for a few more punches?

Sure enough, Daan dealt Augie two more blows, and when she flew back this time, she finally propped herself up with one hand as blood began to drip onto the ground.

Had it been Karen, he likely would have controlled his internal vital energy during the second airborne displacement to simulate this very state; after all, the other party had no intention of killing her but merely wished to teach her a lesson, so helping him conclude the discipline early would save everyone some effort.

Daan let out a long breath; using an adult dragon as a punching bag without the aid of weapons was truly exhausting work.

Seeing that Daan had finished, Lenos and Keqin stepped forward to speak, but Daan impatiently raised his hand to silence them, then turned his gaze to Karen and commanded:

"You, take me to the ward."

"Yes, Commander."

Karen reckoned that this Lord Commander likely did not know him; the way the man looked at him and ordered him around felt exactly like directing a low-ranking attendant.

It was not that Karen felt he ought to be famous, but considering that Dina had not recognized him when they first met either, it implied they had long existed within a relatively insular environment, thoroughly indifferent to external affairs.

Moreover, when he escorted Aisli and the others back to the hotel earlier, his divine robe had been damaged during the clash with the skeletons, so Karen had changed into a more casual vestment lacking any distinct insignia of rank on the chest.

Led by Karen, Daan arrived at the door of Dina's ward; he stepped inside, while Karen remained outside, choosing not to follow.

Before long, the medical staff who had been busily working inside were all ordered out, and Cullen, who had been standing at the door, was called in.

"Hold this."

Daan handed a black orb to Cullen, and Cullen reached out to help support it.

Immediately, Daan placed both palms above the orb, and a wave of scorching heat was instantly transmitted from it.

"Endure it, do not let go," Daan warned.

Cullen nodded; fortunately, this level of heat was nothing much to him.

The orb cracked open, and wisps of black gas spilled out from within, guided by Daan into Daina's body, while the cross mark on Daina's brow began to flicker with light in response.

Following that, a dark silhouette appeared by the bedside, looking down at Daina.

The wound on Daina's abdomen began to heal, while a wound appeared on the abdomen of the dark figure; the remaining injuries were also rapidly being exchanged and transferred.

Cullen noticed that the gaze Daan occasionally cast toward this dark silhouette carried a touch of complexity.

What was the relationship between this dark figure and Daina—father and daughter?

Since her adoptive father was Norton, then could her biological father have also once been a figure similar to Verden or Daan?

The skeleton had said before departing that her father's death might have been somewhat unusual, and combined with the High Priest's impatience and perfunctoriness toward her, even planning to toss her into an inner world to complete her life... what kind of status did this dark figure once possess?

Every group, from weakness to maturity, from growing strong to reaching the summit, was destined to experience many events during the journey; take the small group around him right now, for instance—even Cullen could not predict what kind of changes the future would bring.

This was, perhaps, the story that once belonged to Norton's group.

The dark figure condensed back into black gas and sank into the black orb, which then sealed shut.

Daina's injuries were still present, but she was out of mortal danger.

Daan reached out to take the black orb from Cullen's hands, but he noticed that not a single trace of a burn mark was left on Cullen's palms, which were not even red; he immediately looked at Cullen and asked:

"Who are you?"

The absence of burn marks was because Cullen had used water-attribute power to isolate the temperature, which was not actually difficult; yet at the same time, it had not affected the previous operation of the orb, which required an extremely strong capability of power control.

Cullen made no attempt to conceal it, because concealment was meaningless; the other party would learn his identity sooner or later, so allowing his hands to be burned into a mass of scars just to hide himself would be truly foolish.

"In reply to the Commander, I am Cullen Silva, Head of the Enforcement Department of the Whip of Order in the York City Region."

"A Department Head?" Doubt surfaced in Daan's eyes. "At your age, you are already a Department Head?"

"Yes, this is thanks to the appreciation and promotion by the Holy Church."

"Whose child are you?" Daan asked.

"I am an orphan."

"An orphan?" Daan was surprised once more. "Who is your teacher?"

"Along the way, there have been many seniors and mentors I have followed and learned from, but you probably do not know them."

"So, what you are telling me is that you relied solely on your own ability to become a Department Head at this age?"

"Everything is a dedication to Order."

Daan raised his hand, gripped Cullen's shoulder, and gave a forceful shake.

Cullen's body swayed with the motion, making no deliberate effort to resist.

Daan then patted Cullen's arm and smiled. "I couldn't tell; you look so delicate, but your frame is very sturdy. A warrior?"

"An array master."

"An array master?" Daan shook his head. "On the battlefield, array masters have the bravest warriors to protect them; this body of yours is wasted."

"Deputy Commander Levin once said the exact same thing to this subordinate."

Cullen had truly searched his memory for a long time before recalling the name of that mentor whom he had once beaten down while holding his divine servant certificate.

In any place, connection-building and human relations mattered, and it was the same in the military, though what mattered there was camaraderie.

The only one Cullen could make use of here was the retired Deputy Commander Levin; as for whether they actually shared any friendship, that was irrelevant—trying cost nothing.

"What is Deputy Commander Levin to you?"

"He is my teacher; he once taught me martial techniques."

The kind where he only attended half a day of class and then never met him again.

"Didn't you say you had no teachers I recognized?"

"Because Teacher Levin told me not to speak his name when I went out; he was afraid of losing face."

"Heh, the old Commander is someone I quite admire. I believe his student won't be bad either. However, how did you end up joining the Whip of Order?"

"That is the reason Teacher Levin was unwilling to let me mention him; he felt that my joining the Whip of Order instead of the Knight Order was simply... self-degradation."

"Hahahahaha!" Daan burst into laughter. "Alright then, since you are from the Whip of Order, has the incident been investigated?"

"In reply to you, it has been investigated; I myself was one of the onlookers."

"Tell me about it."

"Yes, my Lord, the matter went like this..."

Cullen recounted the events, omitting his dialogue with the skull; in any case, just like Augi, he had been temporarily deceived and blocked.

"Daina stabbed herself?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Why did she do that?"

"It should be that Miss Daina did not wish to be defiled with dirty water by the real assassins, thereby causing the interests of the Holy Church to suffer."

Daan nodded and asked, "Where is that replica of the Spear of Rebellion?"

"It was gathered by the people of the Wise One lineage; the relevant evidence and clues are all with them."

"We cannot let them investigate it themselves, nor can we extravagantly hope they can investigate any result on their own."

"What you say is true; only if we investigate it ourselves can we find the result we want."

Hearing this reply, a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Daan's mouth; he felt this young man truly knew how to handle things.

With this level of professional comprehension, sitting in this position at such a young age was not so unfathomable after all; plus, with Cullen bringing up Levin, it made him feel Cullen was half a person from the Knight Order system.

"Are your people here?"

Cullen caught on immediately; this was a good opportunity that had to be seized—an opportunity to handle a case "abroad."

Furthermore, this place was an affiliated church of Order, where divine servants of Order could put on the airs of an inquisitor. If he could establish a special task force here, the practical benefits to be reaped alone could not be underestimated, not to mention the harvest of influence.

His upward path in the York City Region had already been suppressed, so why not truly try opening up an "overseas market"?

Daan had likely come over to see Daina, but after seeing the situation here, he knew very well that he would temporarily be responsible for handling this matter, and the Holy See would soon issue the corresponding orders;

therefore, if he recommended and requested it, the special task force could be led directly by Cullen here.

"In reply to you, my people can arrive at any time. Please believe in the strength of my team; just like the knights under your command, they dare to trample upon any existence that attempts to obstruct Order!"

These words were pure flattery, but aside from flattery, Cullen could not cite actual examples—he could hardly tell this Commander that his team specialized in taking down their own superiors.

"Heh, good. Arrange for your people to come over first, establish a temporary special task force, and the investigation can get underway first. For the specifics, wait until I... your system above will issue instructions to you."

"Yes, I understand."

"Let us get the work underway first."

"Yes, by your command."

Karen stepped out of the ward, intending to use the communication array to notify Sousse; in the past, special task forces of this nature were almost always dispatched by the Dingle Region, but now he could personally inform Sousse that he had secured an external assignment for him.

Left behind in the room, Daan looked back once more toward Dana, who lay upon the hospital bed, still locked in unconsciousness.

Over the past few years, the Grand Priest had continuously stationed Dana by his side to live within the Knights' barracks, an arrangement that caused him immense agony, yet he understood all too well that this was the Grand Priest's warning to him.

It was a warning that even if he had attained the position of Commander of the Knights, he must remain perfectly clear about whose man he truly was, to whom his loyalty belonged, and whose commands he had to obey.

Daan lowered his head and stared at his own calloused palms, while by his ears, the melody of a harmonica seemed to echo once more.

He would remember forever,

Remembering that night when, tears streaming down his face, he had pulled the string of the demon-breaking bow with all his might, strangling Dana's father to death by sheer force.

After that night,

The Grand Priest never played the harmonica again.