Chapter 63: Chaos Begins

"You are the best news I've received this year." When Asa emerged from the teleportation circle, the dwarf advisor of Orford, let out a great sigh of relief. He had been pacing anxiously around the teleportation circle, his already exaggerated face twisted with worry and anxiety, making him look like an oversized bitter melon. It was only when two blue beams of light flashed from the circle that he could finally relax.

Suddenly transported from the stormy Alrasia Royal City back to the starry Wild Highlands, Asa also felt a sense of ease. Smiling, he said, "Just a teleportation scroll brings such good news. It seems this itself is a good news."

"From my personal perspective, this is indeed good news. But from Orford's perspective, not so much. Luckily, we managed to bring you back; otherwise, it would have been a huge loss," Lord Borugan sighed. "These two scrolls were obtained through tremendous effort by Mr. Theodorus, using extraordinary means in exceptional times. Because of years of war, Alrasia has extremely strict control over teleportation magic scrolls. They never expected we would have their teleportation scrolls, which is why, when necessary, Theodorus and General Grutt could use them to launch a surprise attack on the Alrasia Royal City. But now, they are sure to have noticed. Even if they don't shut down the teleportation magic circle in the future, the protection measures will be far more stringent."

Asa paused, finally realizing that Jessica's return to Alrasia wasn't such a simple matter. Wasting one of the few scrolls that could potentially turn the tide in a critical moment for a slim chance of rescuing himself—he had to admit, it seemed like a bit of a 'waste.'

"You said I'm the best news of the year—does that mean killing Aescher isn't as good as my return?"

"While the death of the Bishop is certainly beneficial to us, it's nowhere near as valuable as having you, the leader of our secret force, alive," Borugan said.

With a slight smirk, Asa responded, "Seeing you so worried, I'll give you another piece of good news. When we returned, we also killed a court magician named Seiya, and now General Oren of the Royal Knights might be in big trouble. They were trying to kill me and also decided to take out the temple knight they didn't like..."

Lord Borugan listened carefully as Asa recounted how he had saved the female knight. His eyes sparkled for a moment, but then he fell into deep thought, his expression darkening with a wry smile. "Given the current situation, this can't exactly be considered good news..."

"What do you mean? Why? I thought you would be ecstatic to hear it."

"Whether it's the news of the Bishop's death or the news you just gave me, I'd be thrilled by either of them alone. But combined, they make things complicated." Lord Borugan sighed, his large face growing even more troubled. "Often, the effects of similar events don't just add up, they can affect each other. It's not addition, it's multiplication. When you multiply two negative numbers, the result is no longer negative."

"Negative numbers? What does that mean?" Asa frowned at the dwarf.

"If it were just the death of Bishop Aescher, Queen Catherine would likely use this opportunity to weaken the church's influence in Alrasia. This could have temporarily slowed down the situation in Orford. But now, with that general failing to kill the temple knight, the conflict between the Queen and the church has reached a breaking point, one that cannot be mended. Celeste will never tolerate such a situation, and the Pope would rather abandon Orford than allow a traitor in Alrasia. Catherine knows this as well, which leaves her with only two choices: either completely turn against the church, or completely submit to it." Lord Borugan paused, his sharp eyes fixed on Asa. "Which do you think Catherine will choose?"

"I see now." Asa thought for a moment and sighed. Then he asked, "But won't the church ignore the murder of the temple knights under her command? Just pretend it never happened?"

"Will they? They're all political experts. Don't you think they can see the overall direction and the implications? They wouldn't waste time and energy on such trivial matters."

"So, I've already told that female knight about Aescher's identity and asked her to bring the news back to Celeste. Isn't that useful at all?"

"I don't know how useful it will be. What I do know is that they'll never make this public. So, even if it's useful, it will probably have very little impact." Lord Borugan shrugged and sighed. "Let's stop speculating about them for now. We have our own matters to attend to."

At Celeste, in Lancelote's room in the Glory Fortress.

The paladin furrowed his brow as he stared at a pile of small objects, among them a silver skull mask and two teleportation scrolls. The two scrolls were marked with small purple skull symbols, while the silver mask glimmered faintly, made of fine mithril and displaying the most exquisite craftsmanship. The magical resonance on it suggested that it was permanently enchanted, making it a priceless artifact, whether as a magical item or as a treasure.

Of course, its true value didn't lie in the object itself, but in the meaning it represented.

"These were found on the body of Bishop Aescher and from hidden places in his room. I've had the scrolls and the mask carefully appraised... they're genuine. And this letter," Talice took out a piece of white paper with only a few lines written on it, clearly unfinished. The Temple Knight, holding the paper, seemed to find it almost impossible to lift, her fingers trembling slightly. "It's addressed to Nopolinot. It seems to discuss reducing donations to the church this year, in favor of using the funds to make gargoyles and flesh puppets, which require large amounts of magical items. I had several handwriting experts examine it, and it... seems to be Aescher's handwriting."

Lancelote sighed, furrowing his brows, and slowly shook his head. He looked at Talice and said softly, "Do you know that collecting the relics of a Bishop without permission and making assumptions is already beyond your duty?"

Talice hadn't expected such a reaction from Lancelote. She quickly defended herself, "But these matters are too..."

"Stop. Do others know about this?" Lancelote interrupted coldly.

Talice answered, "No one else knows. These things are so shocking, so... improper. I didn't dare involve anyone else. The handwriting experts only saw the words; they didn't know the content of the letter. Right now, I'm the only one who knows. I didn't dare send them to the Tribunal or directly to His Majesty, so I brought them to you first."

"You did well. But remember, these things and these items must never be shared with anyone else," Lancelote said, putting away the mask and scrolls. He looked at the unfinished letter and sighed. With a flick of his finger, the white paper turned into a fine powder, scattering into the air like dust.

"Y-You..." Talice stared at him in disbelief, unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

Lancelote looked at his disciple, his expression calm and unchanging. In a soft voice, he said, "You should understand that if these things were to come from the mouth of a Temple Knight, the damage to the entire church would be far greater than any rumors spread by heretics. That's why that person wanted you to know."

"But... but... should even His Majesty be kept in the dark about this? That person... said... said... Bishop Adra... and Bishop Aescher... were the same. If that's true, wouldn't His Majesty be in great danger..."

Lancelote said lightly, "Do you think His Majesty needs you to remind him?"

"Does His Majesty know?" Talice was stunned, her expression filled with disbelief. Her eyes slowly turned to her teacher. "Does that mean these things are really true? And... you knew all along?"

"No, I didn't know," Lancelote shook his head. "I only guessed. Now that you've said it, I know for sure."

"How is this possible? How could you allow... the Pope... necromancers..." Talice stammered, not knowing how to express the turmoil in her mind. The discovery had already stunned her, but now Lancelote's reaction added an even more incomprehensible layer. The Guardian of the Church, the man universally recognized as the one worthy of the title "Paladin," was indifferent to necromancers lurking within the church. And according to him, it wasn't just him who knew, but the Pope as well.

Talice felt as if she were losing her mind. The identity of the Bishop had already been earth-shattering, but compared to this, it seemed like just a ripple in an ocean of chaos.

Lancelote could see his disciple's confusion. He didn't directly explain, but instead dipped his finger into the ink bottle on the desk and drew a thick black line across the table. Then he pointed to the mark and asked Talice, "What color is this?"

"Black," Talice answered, still dazed, but this was something even she could distinguish.

Lancelote shook his head and said, "No, this is actually the combination of all colors."

Talice nodded slowly. Even without being a professional artist, most people knew that mixing all colors would result in a dark, inky black.

A ball of light, a mixture of fighting spirit and white magic, floated above his fingertip. He asked his disciple again: "What color is this light?"

"It's white," Talice answered honestly.

"No. This is a mixture of all colors of light. I've seen it with the dwarven craftsmen. If you refract it through a triangular glass prism, white light will disperse into seven colors. If you then gather those seven colors together, they will turn into white light again."

Talice looked at Lancelote in confusion. She seemed to sense something implied in his words, but couldn't quite grasp it clearly.

"Just like how these simple black and white colors appear, the essence of anything is not as simple as it seems," Lancelote flicked his finger, and the ink instantly disappeared, the white ball of light also vanishing into the air. His voice and eyes slowly grew serious. "It's easy and convenient to reduce everything to simple concepts. That way, the complex world seems clear, offering a sense of security and direction. But unfortunately, the truth cannot be solved simply by dividing it into good and evil."

"I... I don't understand," Talice lowered her head. Although she could comprehend Lancelote's words, she couldn't accept them.

"I know you don't understand. Even I only came to understand it after ten years," Lancelote smiled bitterly. "I realized there's no absolute justice or light. Just like how the dark night is actually the shadow of the day, everything in the world is interdependent. Light and darkness are opposites, but from a certain perspective, they may be the same thing. Only in darkness can light be produced, and only light can create the shadows of darkness. That is inevitable. What we can do is maintain a relative balance and let as many places as possible be bathed in light."

"No, this is impossible. Master, I respect you, but I absolutely cannot agree with this view," Talice suddenly raised her head and looked directly at Lancelote. The confusion and chaos in her eyes from before were now replaced with a firm, yet somewhat desperate, light.

Lancelote smiled faintly, saying, "I am not teaching you right now; I am just sharing my perspective. This is also the view of His Holiness the Pope, and it is indeed the truth."

"This can't be true." Talice's body trembled, even more than when she had found the necromancer's mask on Aescher's body. Though she couldn't accept what her master said, she knew that Lancelote wouldn't deceive her. This meant that these incomprehensible things truly existed and were silently tolerated by the Pope. For someone like her, who had always clearly distinguished between light as good and darkness as evil, this truth was almost as overwhelming as the heavens crashing down.

Lancelote looked at Talice with a gaze full of kindness, as if looking at himself from many years ago. "Leave Celeste, for now, don't get involved with the church's matters."

Talice was taken aback, shaking her head. "The battle with Orford is about to break out, and... since I know these things, how could I leave?"

"These things, whether you know them or not, have existed for a long time. And it is precisely because you know them but cannot accept them that you will bring trouble to yourself. I know your character; you can't keep these things to yourself, but once they leak out, you know the consequences. After all, most people are just like you, unable to accept these facts." Lancelote shook his head with a bitter smile. "As for the war with Orford, now your heart is confused, and your faith has wavered. Staying here won't help. You have great potential, but you can't make a breakthrough, even struggling to defeat those weaker than you. Do you know why?"

Talice shook her head.

"It's because you lack inner strength. A person's mind and combat skills are nothing special; they are never the deciding factors. The most important thing is a person's inner strength." Lancelote paused, sighed, and then continued, "You are different from other knights of the temple. You've spent your whole life in Celeste, focusing on magic and combat training. But just relying on simple faith cannot bear the weight of light and justice. I've always wanted to give you the chance to leave here and experience the outside world. Now is that opportunity. You already know things you could never have accepted before, and your heart is full of confusion. This confusion cannot be helped by anyone else's teachings; what you need is to experience it yourself, through success, failure, joy, anger, and sorrow. The courage of youth is the sword, the battle, the challenge against what you do not agree with. But true mature courage is the ocean: it faces and embraces everything, and in it, life is nurtured. Only when you dare to face reality itself, instead of confining reality to the concepts you've predefined, can you find inner strength. Only then will you understand what I said, and why His Holiness and I act this way."

Talice remained silent for a long time, before finally nodding. "I understand, Master. But where should I go?"

Lancelote thought for a moment and replied, "Go east."

The next day, as Talice stepped out of the gates of the Glory Fortress, she ran into Bishop Adra at the entrance.

The bishop clearly hadn't slept all night; his face was weary and tired, and the calm demeanor he usually showed was nowhere to be seen. The sudden assassination of Bishop Aescher, along with the report from Talice about General Oren's attack on her, had thrown Celeste into unprecedented turmoil. However, thanks to the Pope's decision and arrangements, and a late-night gathering of the bishops, these events hadn't caused much actual impact on Celeste.

"Lancelote has made a request to His Holiness to allow you to go out and train. To be honest, under such extraordinary circumstances, I don't think it's an appropriate suggestion, but I believe Lord Lancelote has his reasons, and His Holiness has approved it. So I wish you a safe journey, Talice," Bishop Adra said. Despite his exhaustion, he gave the best smile he could muster.

"Thank you." Talice nodded, not daring to say much.

"Regarding the incident with General Oren's attack on you, I was sent by His Holiness to investigate it in Alrasia last night. Queen Catherine attaches great importance to this matter and deeply regrets it. After investigation, we confirmed that General Oren simply made an error in the heavy rain and darkness, and he has expressed his remorse. Queen Catherine has already punished him, so please don't hold a grudge."

"I understand." Talice nodded. Had it not been for her conversation with Lancelote last night, she would have been surprised and perhaps even argued over such a strange and almost absurd explanation. But now, she understood that these seemingly incomprehensible things were just the tip of the iceberg, with much more complexity behind them. Now, she couldn't help but feel a great deal of wariness toward the familiar red-robed Bishop, refraining from revealing too much in front of him.

Bishop Adra, perhaps due to his lack of energy, didn't mind her reaction and continued, "Queen Catherine is also deeply saddened and enraged by the assassination of Bishop Aescher. The culprit has been identified, and Orford's actions are truly unforgivable. The Alrasian army has been fully mobilized and will join forces with other faith-based nations to launch an assault on the Wild Highlands. The destruction of that evil orc nest is imminent." He raised his head to the sky in a mournful cry, tears streaming down his face. His voice was filled with unhidden sadness and anger. "Aescher, may you rest in peace. I will make them pay in blood for what they've done."

Talice watched as Bishop Adra turned and walked back toward the Glory Fortress. Her heart was full of confusion and turmoil. What had once been a familiar building and figure now seemed somewhat frighteningly unfamiliar. She glanced at them one last time, before taking a step out into the world.

At the same time, in the city of Orford, within the town hall's conference room, Lord Theodorus, Grutt, Lord Borugan, and the leaders of various orc tribes had gathered together.

Though Theodorus didn't show much expression, his voice, which was usually full of vigor, was now dry. Looking around, he said, "I have some bad news. According to scouts, the church's army, led by Alrasia, has assembled and is preparing to advance on Orford from several directions."