Chapter 261: Knight and Knight
Doing business for reproduction, Melia knew it existed, and there was quite a lot of it.
Abandoned prostitutes; women who had families but went to earn gold coins in order to feed their children; and those purely for lust.
These were all very ordinary matters. Even when she arrived at Lever Town, Melia did not raise any objections, after all, the Holy Scriptures only spoke of restraint, not prohibition.
Moreover, in York Territory, the time when commoners could eat their fill had only lasted for two years. On this land once ravaged by werewolves, there were still people starving to death.
However, when Melia arrived in Lever Town and casually walked through the streets, hearing moaning sounds from the small clay houses nearby, she felt uncomfortable.
She was not a member of the church’s sequence. She merely worked for the church.
Yet her identity was nevertheless special, and because of this, she also knew that within the church there were some teachings such as: ‘Monogamy,’ ‘Marriage is sacred, blessed by the Lord, and must not be betrayed.’
These were requirements placed upon the Servants of the Lord. At most, if believers asked, the priests would give vague explanations.
Melia had once, out of boredom, discussed this matter with Monk Agamemnon.
She said, “Since you know that such marriage is the one blessed by the Lord, why not promote this concept of marriage?”
Agamemnon said, “This is not suitable for this era. Look at the recovery speed of the population in York Diocese. Even if everything goes smoothly, it will take fifteen years for the population to return to the time of Sir Helvin. If faith were to restrict their fertility and marriage, this time may extend to thirty-five years. And once this standard is set, what about adultery, or illegitimate children? How should they be handled? Right now, among the people walking the streets, perhaps three out of ten are abandoned illegitimate children. There are also entrenched traditions, laws, and such, all of which would need to be changed. The current state of the era cannot withstand such upheaval.”
She said, “So you only require this within the church?”
Agamemnon said, “Those with the heart will naturally be influenced by us. Through subtle influence, once inertia is formed, only then is it the proper time to incorporate this into the laws.”
She said, “That will take a long time, one generation? Or two?”
Agamemnon said, “Three generations, or even four, are possible. But is this not what the church is? Many things unsuitable for the era can only be done internally. Only we, the priests, slowly change and influence the times, guiding everything back onto the correct path.”
She finally said, “Is there such a need? You could directly and forcefully make them follow the church’s regulations. Just like nobles who freely change their laws, or when a new lord comes, the commoners of the territory must adapt. This is the world’s rule—weak ones obey those with power, and adapt to the rules set by power. Even now, do they not still survive?”
Agamemnon looked at her with kind eyes and ended the conversation.
And now, under the influence of Lever Town, these words churned again in Melia’s mind.
Not that she fully understood them, but she realized why the church would not spread these requirements outward.
Even for her, someone who had only heard of them, now felt resistance toward such matters.
Especially as she lived in the monastery, where everything clashed with the outside world.
For example, in the monastery, everyone was required to bathe regularly, while outside, there were countless people who only bathed once in their lives.
Just the thought of someone, covered in unknown smells, pressing against her body made Melia feel itchy all over.
She roughly understood now what Agamemnon had meant when he said that whether she built a family with someone, or chose to live alone, they would still bless her.
She also understood why many in the church did not choose to build families but remained single.
She understood—it was not that they did not want to. Like her, they yearned for families, but as Scholar Caleb had said, the civilization of the church headquarters had already become disconnected from other regions. For their generation, it was difficult to find marriage partners that could be blessed by the Lord.
It was just like when she had talked with Bev—the dissonance of perspectives. She believed such matters required mutual willingness and even affection, while Bev believed it was a transaction, a deal that could be reached as long as both parties acknowledged it, and that one should strive to make it the best possible deal.
Melia glanced at Olivia, who was gnawing on a piece of meat, and thought that if she were as dumb as Olivia, life would be much easier. Not knowing anything meant living more freely, more happily.
When Melia had decided to leave, Olivia secretly followed.
With Cicero missing, Agamemnon busy with his affairs, and Melia leaving the monastery, Olivia had no one to play with.
So she snuck out too.
It was called sneaking out because she told no one. Melia only discovered her in the middle of the journey when she heard a growling stomach inside the luggage box.
Melia pulled herself out of her scattered thoughts and decided to change the topic: “You should have already learned the Dance of Selene, right?”
Bev said, “I only remembered the core points.”
Melia said, “Remembering the core points is enough. After all, this martial art is essentially about understanding force and joints, then breaking the core. With my strength, it works fine against some Lower Warriors, but against Upper Warriors, with their physical toughness, it’s difficult. If there’s a chance, you can work with those apprentices in the Discipline of Biology to develop new martial techniques. Their understanding of the human body is far beyond mine. I even suspect that Scholar Selene herself, when alive, did not understand the body as well as they do.”
After all, those fellows had dissected so many corpses over the years that they had filled an entire cemetery outside the city. Scholar Rudolf would often bring apprentices there, saying it was to make them give thanks to the bodies.
But Melia felt Rudolf was intimidating them—if they did not study well, perhaps next year one of them would be buried there.
Bev suddenly said, “Are you preparing to leave?”
Melia felt embarrassed. She indeed planned to go. Agamemnon’s task was complete. George now spent most of his time in sleep, and when awake he looked vacant, drooling uncontrollably, forgetting her name the moment he turned his head, incapable of normal conversation.
There was nothing interesting here. In the town, an unintentional stroll could lead to hearing moans again.
Melia wanted to see Rod City.
Bev said apologetically, “I’m sorry I couldn’t host you properly. Once Father recovers, I’ll send word to the church.”
Everyone in this town called George “Father.”
…
Leo and Vito had left Melia two warriors as guards. When they received word she was leaving, the two were reluctant to part.
Melia felt these two warriors could never become Temple Warriors.
The ones recruited by Vito and Leo were all men with wives and children, in their early twenties—at the peak of vigor and strength. They had families and descendants.
They served the Church of the Sanctuary, which gave them wages far greater than what even the elite warriors of York Territory could receive. Countless people wanted to enter Glory Fortress.
Unfortunately, the recruitment for Glory Fortress was strict. One had to at least reach the physical level of an Upper Warrior, be free of serious crimes, be aged between twenty and thirty-two, have a family, and children. Even though faith requirements were not too harsh, Vito and Leo had recruited only about seventy men in two years.
The main obstacle was “no serious crimes.” After all, only three years had passed since the gentry were expelled from villages, and the generation raised under church influence had not yet grown up.
Melia sat in the carriage, studying the map. She thought about whether after visiting Rod City, she should return or head north instead.
Olivia leaned on the window, wide-eyed, staring at the gloomy sky and black earth outside.
There was no urgency, so the carriage ambled for three days before reaching Rod City.
The city wall was twelve meters tall. Rather than a city, it was more like a gigantic fortress.
Inside, it was even emptier, with hardly any houses.
“Miss Melia, welcome.” Jeven ran over to greet her.
Still panting, his red bishop’s robe was wrinkled, as though hastily thrown on.
“Long time no see, Bishop Jeven.” Melia smiled in reply.
The guards and coachman saluted him respectfully, while Olivia looked at the towering walls with excitement.
“I’ve disappointed you. There are only these few walls here, hardly any people.” Jeven said awkwardly.
When he arrived, it had been an empty city. Even after Leo and Vito brought over seventy warriors, there were still no commoners.
That was unacceptable. Without commoners, could this still be called a city?
Melia knew of the situation and did not mind much. She asked, “Were you busy with something just now?”
Jeven finally caught his breath and said, “Two days ago, four Virtue Knights from the Church Nation arrived. I was speaking with them.”
Melia froze. “Virtue Knights? Weren’t they cut off already? Did they come through the north?”
Jeven shook his head, hesitated, then lowered his voice: “No. A short while ago, Holy Light burst forth at the border, opening a road straight to the Holy City. They came through that road.”
Melia asked, “Was it a Holy Relic? Or…?”
Jeven said, “Not a Holy Relic. And both Knights Leo and Vito saw the light. They said that although Knight George could wield Holy Light, it had never been so overwhelming. Later, when we went to investigate, we found that the Holy Light came from the cross at the border.”
Melia understood, then exchanged a look with Jeven.
Jeven returned the look.
Neither spoke of it further.
“Where are those Virtue Knights?” Melia asked. “May I see them? Alice came from the Church Nation, but she’s been gone so long without news. You know, she lived with me for a year, and I miss her.”
Olivia also looked over.
“This…” Jeven looked troubled, but finally said, “They are currently sparring with Knight Leo.”
The construction of Rod City had been contracted to Cicero, and his task was only to build a sturdy frame. He had executed it thoroughly—he hadn’t even cleared the grass inside.
A temporary camp was set up with wooden stakes and tents. Outside the camp, in an open area, the warriors had formed a circle around two dueling knights.
Melia was very familiar with the church’s Guardian Knights, whose defining trait was to radiate Holy Light, glowing like orbs in the night.
The one dueling was indeed Knight Leo, his body shimmering with a thin layer of Holy Light.
The unfamiliar knight he faced looked quite ordinary, without any radiant aura like Leo, yet each time their swords clashed, he steadily suppressed Leo.
Melia did not have a clear sense of knights’ combat power. She only knew what everyone said—that when a company of one hundred knights charged, they could storm from York Territory’s western border straight to Lake Salvador. On that path, no castle, fortress, army, Holy Relic, or even a god could halt their march.
Melia thought that far too exaggerated, like something out of one of Oscar’s storybooks.
Yet even she could see the strength in the duel before her.
The heavy armor on their bodies seemed weightless, their movements agile, sword strikes so fast her eyes could hardly follow.
Their blades clashed with sparks, the crash of armor against armor rang painfully in her ears, and when they struck the ground, the packed earth cracked beneath them. The fighting aura bursting forth pressed against her eyes, making even her eyeballs ache.