Today, a flying ship in stealth mode entered the vicinity of the Holy Mountain Range of the Cardinal Spirit Church territory.
"Well, this is unexpected. I've heard the outside of the Cardinal Spirit Church of the Conflict Plains is always teeming with people who seek a cure from the Church. But I guess we can't believe in rumors, huh?" Samara, watching the barren territory of the Holy Mountain Range, commented while looking at Sylas.
Sylas was also startled since he knew better than anyone just how influential the church was. There was never a day when there wasn't a crowd of afflicted people gathered outside, waiting for their turns to enter the Holy Mountain Range.
"No, something is wrong with this situation. In fact, her leading us here is proof of it!" Sylas's expression turned grave.
He looked towards a three-meter-tall hominoid locust glaring at the depth of the holy mountain range with absolute hate. He asked, "Locust Queen, how sure are you that the thief you're looking for is really there?"
"My ability had never failed me before! He's hiding in those mountains, and we are getting closer to him! Make sure you won't let him get away!" The locust spoke in a common tongue this time, thanks to Samara's teaching and the Locust Queen's powerful congestive talent.
"Do you think that thief did this to the church? What is his reason behind it?" Necro asked in a peculiar tone. He suppressed his gloating when he thought how those annoying bastards who used the Holy Magic, the bane of his race, suffered such a tragedy.
Nonetheless, this still made him uneasy since this thief was becoming more and more mysterious the more they knew about him.
"When we got closer to the church, I thought he was a member of your race, but I knew those who had performed the ritual to awaken the faith power couldn't kill someone else with the faith power of your god while others without it aren't a match for those with the faith power. It seems we are dealing with an interesting fellow." Vermont couldn't help but snicker, fighting intent in his eyes.
Sylas's expression fell slightly. If what they were thinking was true, then it would be a huge blow to the temple. Although he had left the temple long ago, that didn't mean he didn't belong to the Faery Human Race or use the Faith Power.
There was an absolute rule of the ritual that granted them faith power: once you come under God, there is no leaving; you'll be God's follower until your last breath.
'But why would this person do something like this? Did he have some grudge against the Temple? Not to mention, there aren't any people of the other races. How could he have deterred them from coming here without raising any commotion? Did the temple even know about this situation? Those fools are getting more and more lax. It seemed they had forgotten what would happen if God's followers decreased to a certain degree. They'll even drag me down with them!
'I need to pay the current Pope a visit after dealing with this daring fellow. He just made it personal by profaning God's abode. For now, I should alert them about this situation!' Sylas thought as his eyes turned chilly.
Since he had been Pope himself, he knew the deepest secret of the Faery Human Race and the Temple. He knew all those secret records were true, and it would be a disaster if they enraged God because of their own stupidity!
"I think there is a reason behind the desolation of the Holy Mountain Range." At this moment a small figure in cloak coolly spoke, who could it be but Diminutive, the 'weakest' member of the Treaty of Legends.
"Little Diminutive, what do you have in mind? It seemed your tagging along wasn't a bad thing after all." Vermont chucked with a hint of disdain. He clearly looked down on Diminutive because he was weak and a coward, and he loathed these types of people.
In his view, Diminutive wasn't worthy of being a member of the Treaty, and it was just dumb luck that he became a Quasi Legend and met their merciful Queen.
Diminutive, however, wasn't angry, in fact he replied with a bow in respectful tone, "Lord Vermont, as I've already told you the Queen's prediction about this thief's rank being most likely a façade. Now that he had chosen the church of all places, where all the users of the Holy Magic gathered, don't you think there's a purpose behind it?"
After giving subtle hints, Diminutive glanced at Sylas and saw his expression change. He knew that the old man got it and became silent again because he knew Sylas would explain from here.
Just as he predicted, Sylas instantly reacted, "He's most likely wounded and wanted to recover his power!"
Samara's eyes also narrowed, "But then how would you explain this condition of the church? I can assure you that I didn't detect life from even behind the mountain gates of your church when I used my eyes just now. Don't tell me he's some vile being who killed everyone here after he used them. Furthermore, he hadn't fully healed, or he wouldn't be staying in the Unique Plains right now."
"There is more than one way to heal your injuries, especially those injuries to your core strength that dropped your rank. These kinds of injuries cannot be healed in a day or two; in fact, the more powerful you are, the more difficult it is to heal this type of injury.
"Although I don't know the extent of this person's injuries, I can guess what type of injuries are required to drop your rank from the Quasi Legend to Unique Rank; one would be on the brink of death if not far from it! So, he might've used some unorthodox technique to recover from those injuries and stabilize his situation, and this desolation state of this place is most likely because of that vile technique!" Sylas's expression grew darker the more he talked.
He was furious because, first, this person chose to use the temple of all places, and on top of that, he even used all those people seeking help from the church. Once this matter is revealed to the public, it will have a huge effect on their reputation. The Temple will suffer massive backlash, and their followers will greatly plummet!
He never thought this chore would become personal just like that. If he was only interested in this person because of his capabilities, now he started to have the same mindset as the Locust Queen. Such a ruthless being shouldn't be left alive!
As they discussed and guessed what had happened in the church, they grew near the thief and stopped taking this for granted. They knew they were about to confront a wounded lion!
At this moment, Diminutive seemed to sense something and suddenly approached the Locust Queen, who was emitting killing intent. She could sense that the thief was very close, and her rage and hatred were slowly blinding her.
Diminutive's meaningfully said in a grave tone, "Your Majesty, please call your army here. Just to be on the safe side!"