Chapter 82 Sacred Relic
In the Church of the Fire Saint’s red stone plaza, a considerable number of residents were gathered, including many workers, sailors, shop employees, and merchants. Even nobles were present, their faces filled with an enthusiastic and expectant expression.
The entire Aer Continent was shrouded in the biting cold of frost, and the storm of the frost calamity incessantly devoured the earth. As the Church of the Fire Saint, the bulwark against the frost calamity, it naturally received the respect of the vast majority and even became their faith.
Verafia, holding Ig’s hand, followed Kaino into the plaza. She gently raised her little head, and all around, the crowds surged like a tide, filled with excitement and joyful voices.
And amidst the throng, a procession of priests clad in red robes, their golden brilliance shining, rippled amidst the fiery red cross banners, exuding a sacred aura. They slowly entered the plaza in front of the cathedral amidst solemn hymns.
According to Knight Kaino, the clerical delegation from the Holy See, after parading throughout Vinash City, finally arrived at the red stone plaza in front of the cathedral.
Verafia’s gaze shifted slightly. Around the clerical delegation were not only knights under Count Sirius of Vinash City but also the Church cavalry, clad in golden shields and long swords, belonging to the Church of the Fire Saint itself.
Of course, there were more, like Kaino, who were Witch Hunters under the Inquisition, clad in black cloaks.
She turned her gaze to Kaino. Suddenly, she lifted her little face and asked curiously, “By the way, Mr. Kaino, do you know if there’s any important matter that caused the clergy from Lailin City to suddenly come to Vinash City?”
“Did the Count not tell you?”
His gaze fell upon her flawless face. Verafia blinked her golden eyes in apparent confusion. Kaino’s expression in his eyes immediately vanished, and he chuckled,
“However, I only heard… Miss Verafia, there are rumors that the Cardinal coming this time is Lord Bro. It is said that following the guidance of an oracle, he specifically came to Vinash City to select a Knight.”
Verafia had learned about the Church of the Fire Saint from Count Sirius.
The Church of the Fire Saint had an organization similar to the Holy See of the Bright Holy City. However, the Pope’s crown of the Church of the Fire Saint had been vacant to this day. Even the Archbishop, as the leader of the church, his position was no more than that of a Cardinal.
And Bishop Bro, whom Kaino mentioned, was a Cardinal with profound qualifications. As one of the few Saints on the entire continent, his mastery of Divine Arts was unfathomable, and he held a very high position even within the Holy See.
But, Kaino said they came here to select a Knight?
The young girl tilted her little head, looking at the young man beside her with great curiosity. She hadn’t forgotten that, at the time, in Count Sirius’s words, this guy was the “Envoy of the Fire Saint,” wasn’t he?
Noticing the girl’s gaze, Ig’er was slightly startled. However, from her shimmering pupils, he understood her meaning and couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to gently ruffle her little head. This caused the young girl to puff out her cheeks in annoyance and glare at him with her big eyes.
As the girl was playfully bickering with him, amid the solemn hymns, priests in white divine robes, adorned with golden holy patterns and crimson flames, slowly stepped onto the high platform. Their aged voices, strong and powerful, began to speak.
Because they were far away, and she wasn’t listening intently, she could only grasp the general meaning. However, the white-robed priest’s words did not mention anything critical. Most of the content was praising the “Fire Saint,” denouncing the frost calamity, and extolling Vinash City.
Verafia blinked her golden eyes slightly. Indeed, even if the church’s clergy had speculations about the frost calamity, they wouldn’t speak of it in public, unless it was something insignificant.
However, the emotions of the people present were stirred by the priest to a great extent. Accompanied by bursts of cheers, the priest solemnly announced that, under the witness of the Cardinal, a Knight of the “Fire Saint” would be selected here.
The young girl merely lifted her head slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of novelty. But for the residents of Vinash City, it revealed a burning heat and a surge of strong hope. Cheers and applause like thunder and landslides erupted, making Verafia’s already unclear hearing even more muffled.
“Miss Verafia, Bishop Bro is about to appear.” Knight Kaino’s gaze fell upon her as he suddenly spoke.
Verafia raised her gaze. On the high platform in the center of the plaza, a figure clad in crimson robes, holding a scepter, slowly walked up.
A sacred, peaceful yet solemn aura silently spread, like an invisible power that gradually quieted the passionate and enthusiastic crowd in the plaza. Everyone’s eyes were inevitably drawn to this figure clad in fire-like crimson.
Verafia had never met Bishop Bro before, but from his aura and a trace of a Saint, it was enough to determine that he was the Cardinal who led the clerical delegation to Vinash City.
Bishop Bro held his scepter, chanting holy words, and prayed to the crowd in the frosty air. The young girl lifted her little face, looking at the youth with great curiosity.
“Mr. Kaino, do you know why Lord Bro specifically came here… is it just to witness the birth of a Knight?”
The girl’s soft and pleasant voice caused the knight to slowly turn his head. His deep, cold gaze met hers briefly, and then he gently shook his head and smiled:
“Such questions, Miss Verafia, you shouldn’t be asking me. As you said, if it is an envoy of the Fire Saint, it indeed requires the witnessing of a noble Cardinal… however, he has a more important duty.”
Kaino’s voice paused slightly. His willow-leaf-like narrow eyes lifted slightly, and he also looked towards the figure in the crimson robes on the plaza’s high platform:
“In this era shrouded by frost, every year, the Holy See dispatches envoys of the Church to tour the entire land. For the cities resisting the frost, the Church’s Cardinal is undoubtedly the leader guiding the envoys… This is not only to propagate the Church’s mission and boost the morale of the warriors, but also to prevent the spread of the frost calamity.”
“Prevent the spread of the frost calamity?”
Ig’er was taken aback. This Cardinal, at most, was a Saint of the Sacred Domain; could he prevent the spread of the frost calamity?
As if sensing his confusion, Kaino turned his face and smiled at him:
“Lord Ig’er, I told you before… Cardinals have more important duties. Those who accompanied Lord Bro to Vinash City were not merely clergy from the Holy See. Accompanying him was a Sacred Relic of the Fire Saint.”
Ig’er’s pupils constricted slightly.
Previously, Count Sirius had personally told them that it was precisely because of the Sacred Relic left by the Fire Saint in legends that the people of the Aer Continent had been able to persist to this day under the threat of the frost calamity.
Kaino’s words, did this Cardinal personally bring a Sacred Relic to Vinash City?
