Chapter 643: Solemn Warning

Chapter 643: A Solemn Warning

Daan fell into silence.

He closed his eyes, but snapped them open again quickly, as if deliberately trying to keep himself from drowning in some profound emotion.

Taking the ring, Daan examined it for a moment, then waved his hand dismissed: "Go down and rest first."

"Yes, Commander."

Karen withdrew from the commander's tent, a wave of irony washing over him; the meticulously prepared, airtight "testimony" he had crafted hadn’t even found a chance to be spoken, as Daan hadn't asked a single question.

The wind outside brushed across his face, and Karen couldn't help but take a deep breath, fully aware that from the moment he stepped out of that tent, the matter was considered concluded, buried away as a secret mission that required no summary reports, leaving behind not a single stroke of written record.

Yet, on second thought, it all seemed perfectly normal, given that Commander Daan had no idea the imprisonment array had been reverse-engineered and seized by Morindi, leading him to believe their operation had merely been to let the array exhaust the enemy before swooping in to harvest the kill.

There was a single variable in this equation, and if nothing else, it must have been the intervention of that skeleton that allowed Morindi to master the imprisonment array in the first place.

On this trip to the Crypt Order, he had secured the skeletal dragon he desired and fulfilled his secret mission; though the outcomes were favorable, the presence of that skeleton had stirred up altogether too many turbulent complications.

Karen pursed his lips:

"Just you wait. Once I return, I will definitely drag you out into the light."

...

Daan activated the communication array deep within the tent, and after a brief wait, the phantom projection of High Priest Norton materialized in the center of the formation.

Daan rose from his seat and knelt on one knee, reporting solemnly:

"Morindi is dead."

"Mm."

Daan raised the ring high, and the High Priest's gaze fell heavily upon it.

After a long silence, the High Priest spoke, asking, "What did she say to you?"

The High Priest did not ask whether he had gone to see her.

Cold sweat beaded across Daan’s forehead, his body trembling slightly; at his elevated station, there were very few

Seeing this, Ventura offered an explanation at once: "Philomena just reviewed the sequence of the fight, and then, she became angry."

"Angry?"

Philomena spoke up: "I feel like I am completely useless."

"There are moments when we must rationally confront the gap between ourselves and a specific adversary, rather than imposing such emotional burdens on our own shoulders. Do you even know who the undead summon was that brought you down?"

Philomena nodded: "Mr. Alfred told us before he returned to his own ward."

"And yet you are still angry?" Karen smiled.

That was the Grand Priest, after all, and a Son of God to boot.

Rasmar had only ever deferred to one person in his entire life, and that was his own grandfather, Dis; yet Rasmar had also actively stepped aside for another person in his life, and that was Norton.

Karen believed that no perspective, however elevated, could possibly overestimate the Grand Priest; he was a man who could be measured against his own grandfather.

Philomena answered: "Yes, angry."

Karen offered words of comfort: "Just imagine that it was me who gave you a beating."

Hearing this, Philomena pondered the thought carefully before saying: "I am not angry anymore."

"Heh."

Karen reached out, formally tucking the blanket around her, and instructed: "Rest well and heal."

Ventura, meanwhile, inquired curiously: "I heard from Bart that a war is coming?"

"It cannot really be called a war; it is more like putting a group together to catch loaches."

"A pity I cannot go and see it," Ventura remarked with regret.

"It matters not. Bart cannot go to see it either, because it seems I cannot go myself."

Having comforted his two subordinates, Karen departed from the ward and made his way to another.

Neo occupied a private room, lying upon the bed beneath a suspended transparent container filled to the brim with blood, from the bottom of which a network of tubes extended to connect directly to Neo.

"There are likely very few Bloodsuckers in this world who could enjoy such a blood-drinking luxury as you are right now," Karen teased.

"This is not blood; this is raw plasma," Neo’s voice drifted out from beneath the covers.

Karen lifted the blanket, surprised: "You can speak now?"

"Why does a look of disappointment appear on your face?"

"Because I am indeed quite disappointed."

"Hmph." Neo glanced at the container above. "In truth, Bloodsuckers consume blood merely to extract the vitality within it, so this is not actually blood."

"But the problem lies in the hue; no matter how one looks at it, it does not seem to have been extracted from a plant."

"That is no concern of mine. This is medicine. The Knights Templar possess so many fine things; the priest used this to treat me without so much as blinking an eye. The best treatment truly belongs to the Knights Templar."

"Then you are fortunate indeed."

"Yes, otherwise I would have had to recuperate for a week just to speak. The injuries this time were far too severe."

"Well, congratulations to you."

"How are things on the Commander’s side?"

"Very smooth. He asked me nothing at all."

"That is only natural. It is inconvenient for him to inquire too deeply into sensitive matters."

"It should be so."

"That Molindi—do you truly intend to take her in?"

"We shall see."

"You should be well aware of my misgivings, so I will not elaborate. She is a good person, but not one easily managed."

"I have not yet thought that far ahead; there is no rush. Very well, get some proper rest. I shall return to the hotel to take a bath and rest well myself. I am tired."

"Did you truly come all this way just to visit the sick?"

"This is a protocol that must be observed. You taught me that."

"Heh, I am almost embarrassed to call myself your teacher now; you play the game far better than I do."

"You are certainly not my teacher; you are the department chief within the sequence beneath me."

"You brute."

"Sigh, very well. If you were still unable to speak, I would have quite liked to exchange a few more glances with you. Now that I see you have recovered so quickly, I find myself without much urge to converse. Rest now, I am leaving."

"Are you not going to the war?" Neo asked.

Karen walked to the door of the ward, paused, and asked: "Should I go?"

"My meaning is, do you not wish to go and see? Had I not been injured, I would certainly go. Opportunities to witness the Knights Templar in battle with one's own eyes are truly rare."

"Of course I wish to see, but do you think the Knights Templar wage war as if it were a game? Can I simply go merely because I wish to?"

"Opportunities can always be found if one looks. That young lady named Dana, is she not also staying here? I heard from the nurses here that she has already awakened from her coma."

"Oh, she is awake." Karen nodded. "I understand."

Karen arrived at Alfred’s ward, where Alfred lay already fast asleep. Upon his chest rested a potted plant bearing white blossoms that emitted a gentle fragrance, producing a highly noticeable harmonizing effect upon a person's spirit.

Since he was asleep, Karen did not disturb him, though he still sat by the bedside for a brief moment.

Rising to leave, he stepped into the corridor. Karen hesitated for a moment, yet chose not to depart directly for the hotel, walking instead to the front of Dana’s ward.

Before her door stood two Priests of Order. After Karen had taken over this place to serve as the office for his special task force, the security of certain patients who could not be conveniently evicted naturally fell under his responsibility.

"My Lord Department Chief."

"My Lord Department Chief."

"Mm."

Karen nodded to them, pushed open the door, and stepped into the ward.

Inside, Blanche was changing Dana's dressings, though a curtain shielded them from view.

Blanche poked her head out first, calling out upon seeing Karen: "Department Chief."

"Swish..."

Dana drew back the curtain, utterly indifferent to her body being displayed before Karen.

Karen did not purposefully look away either; after all, when she was receiving treatment initially, it was not as though he had not seen her naked form. Moreover, that bowl-sized wound upon her abdomen remained; who other than a pervert would harbor any illusions at such a moment.

"My bone dragon—you took it?" Dana stared intently at Karen.

Karen nodded, explaining: "It was you who told me that I must take the initiative to strive for it, and not let it fall into the hands of others."

"My meaning was that it must not fall into the hands of other orthodox churches, but it already belonged to our own church. It was only because you actively submitted the application that the higher-ups granted it to you."

"Yes, that is so."

"Why?"

"Because I quite like that bone dragon."

"Then you should have told me earlier, I could have proactively given it up to you." Dinah was not angry at all. "It was just a matter of a single sentence, and it would have made your image look much better."

"I no longer care very much about my personal image." Karen walked to Dinah's side, casting his gaze upon her stomach without any concealment, and asked, "How is the injury?"

"As you can see, now it is purely just a wound."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Dinah lightly brushed her hair. In this posture and against this backdrop, she looked somewhat like an oil painting, though the figure in the portrait seemed to have a hole picked out of it by a child's pinky finger.

"Sister Augie came to visit me this morning and told me a few things, but I feel she was avoiding topics related to you. Did something happen between the two of you?"

"No."

Dinah teased, "Did you also use a greatsword to spank Sister Augie's backside?"

"How could that be? Her backside is much larger than yours."

Counterattacked and having her scar uncovered, Dinah merely pouted and said, "She fears you, I can feel it."

Saying this, Dinah reached out her hand and gently patted Blanche's backside. "Unlike your subordinate, she is in great awe of you. When she saw you arrive, she was clearly overjoyed."

Blanche reminded, "Miss, please do not move. I need to help apply the medicine carefully for you, otherwise this scar will be very difficult to handle."

Instead of restraining herself, Dinah's hand followed the upper edge and felt Blanche's backside, teasing:

"So, what exactly did you do to Sister Augie? I am truly curious."

Karen smiled faintly. "If you do not know how to show respect to my subordinate, I do not mind playing another round of golf here."

Dinah immediately withdrew her hand, shrugged, and said, "I also frequently touch Sister Augie's backside, what is the big deal? I am a woman."

"You should have the most basic respect for Inquisitor Blanche; her rank is higher than yours."

Upon hearing this, Dinah seemed to finally grow angry. "You are deliberately trying to infuriate me."

"No, I deliberately refrained from mentioning that you do not even count as an Inquisitor."

"Then what about your attitude toward Sister Augie? Did you show respect to her? You do call her 'Milady,' after all."

"Calling her 'Milady' is the same as calling you 'Miss.'"

Dinah pondered for a moment, and then, with anger in her eyes, said, "Do you know? The injuries on my body have not brought me as much pain as your mouth has!"

Karen felt it was about enough; her defiant emotions had already been stirred up.

Promptly, Karen said to Blanche, "How much longer does her treatment require?"

"Very soon, Minister. Changing the dressing is very quick."

"Mm, then I shall wait for you so we can return to the hotel together. I also have some external injuries on me; help me tend to them."

"Understood, Minister." A smile blossomed on Blanche's face; she felt that tending to her minister's injuries was an enjoyment every single time.

Karen looked at Dinah again, pointing a finger at her as a reminder. "Since you are awake, you must absolutely not run around blindly. A battle will be fought in a couple of days, and the outside will be quite chaotic."

"A battle?" Dinah immediately caught the key point Karen wanted her to catch.

"Commander Daan is about to command the Knights to launch an offensive against the dragon lineage, so at a time like this, you absolutely must not cause any more trouble. The adults have work to do, and children ought to be obedient and not play pranks."

"Uncle Daan commanding a battle..." A light shone in Dinah's eyes. She had always regretted one thing, which was that during the 'First Day War' against the Cycle, she and the Knights where Uncle Daan resided were not in the deployment sequence.

Karen solemnly warned:

"Remember, if you dare to run around blindly, I will definitely take action myself to drag you back!"