Bear School Astartes

Chapter 905: Chapter 887: High Priest

”There is still a dragon-emblem shield left there.”

A Losric Knight, who had climbed back onto the dragon’s back, spotted the angle he missed before due to his elevated view and shouted to Knight Captain Lorenzo.

”Let it be.”

Lorenzo nimbly climbed onto his own dragon.

”Take as much as you can, it’s crucial that we return to Losric as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.”

After giving orders to his subordinates, Knight Captain Losric spoke to Lann, who was riding a horse beside the dragon.

”Please set off as soon as possible, Lann. We really need you to step forward as a witness.”

Under orders, the dragon tensed its muscles, and its wings began gathering strength, preparing to soar back into the sky.

The stone bricks on the bridge emitted a ’crackling’ sound as they were gripped by the dragon’s claws.

”I’ll travel with you from the sky. When you arrive at the Losric City gate, I’ll go down to greet them.”

”The sooner we enter the city, the better.”

Lann brushed his silver hair, tangled by the gusts from the dragon’s wings, shrugged, and said.

The three dragons took off one by one, leaving behind a mess and charred corpses on the bridge.

Lann frowned, looking around and noticing the pilgrims at the far end of the bridge, who had avoided the chaos due to the distance.

As if they couldn’t see the gruesome bodies all over, they continued silently toward the empty bridge, hoping to get closer to Losric City.

They advanced silently, stumbling and struggling, occasionally letting out a few suppressed moans of pain.

Under the ’bleeding eclipse’, this silent progress was chilling.

Lann looked up at the abnormal sun.

”If I hadn’t gone to the New Continent and came here directly after the war, I might have gone mad too?”

This thought suddenly emerged in the Demon Hunter’s mind.

In a harsh, doomed world, one shouldn’t expect any normalcy.

Lann shook his head, gently tugged the Qilin’s mane, and headed toward the grand city gate on the other side of the bridge.

In the sky, Lorenzo circled with his dragon, keeping pace with the Qilin’s moderate speed.

Without any checkpoints blocking the way, the Qilin quickly crossed the bridge.

The end of the bridge led to the gates of Losric City.

The majestic gate, approximately thirty meters high, featured a combination of a portcullis and a swinging gate.

It was a common configuration in castle defense systems.

However, in this world, supernatural forces had expanded the gate to such a scale.

Lorenzo arrived in the sky as promised.

Without negotiating with the gate guards, he rode his dragon directly to the city wall above the gate.

Following the Knight Captain’s command, the Losric gate opened with a ’rumbling’ sound.

On the city wall, a low growl from the dragon was heard. Afterward, the massive dragon flapped its wings, kicking up dust meters below, and flew to the city’s higher reaches.

Lorenzo, with the ’clanking’ of his armor, jogged down the stairs beside the gate.

”Dismount. I’ve instructed them to watch over your belongings.”

Lann nodded indifferently.

Before leaving, he habitually patted the Qilin’s neck.

The Qilin’s ruby-like eyes blinked at Lann.

Inside the Losric gate, a wide staircase led upward.

Decorative plants like flower beds and greenery lined the steps, but lacking sunlight had withered them.

Losric soldiers and knights frequently patrolled up and down these broad steps.

Following Lorenzo, Lann also saw the pilgrims who had entered the city earlier.

They seemed aware of their low status, prostrating on the sides of the road towards the higher steps, clasping their hands in prayer and supplication.

The stone turtle shells on their backs made them look like black-cloaked turtles in this posture.

These pilgrims had paid a heavy price in death and injury, dragging their near-rotten bodies for a long journey to this fire-transmitting Holy City.

Yet they only dared to kneel by the roadside, afraid of blocking the way.

This humility made Lann frown.

He looked up the steps, where a grand church stood at the top.

On the front wall of the church, either magic or [miraculous] power formed a clock face of ethereal blue light to show the time.

”Priest Emma is inside. We have to report the proceedings to her.”

As Lorenzo nodded to passing Losric Knights, he quietly explained the procedure to Lann.

With the weakening of the First Fire, hardship had intensified people’s need for faith.

Thus, even on non-significant days, many people had already queued outside the church for worship.

Most of them wore simple linen robes and tunics, with their cheeks and bodies appearing very emaciated.

Most of the people who hadn’t yet gotten inside were kneeling outside the cathedral, murmuring prayers.

Thus, the Losric Knights on patrol here were also responsible for maintaining order, and Lorenzo had to lower his voice to prevent information leakage.

However, responding to Lorenzo’s arrangements, Lann also lowered his voice, speaking softly with minimal lip movement.

”Are you sure about this? This is supposed to be the cathedral of the White Sect, yet you found the Red Worm Pills from the Profound Church on those attackers, and now you want to inform the priest?”

”The priest and the archbishop are different.”

As Lorenzo climbed the stairs, he explained.

The White Sect is the oldest and largest religious sect in the world, with the Main God widely believed to be Lloyd, the god of law and class—Great King Gwyn’s uncle.

This faith’s history is nearly as ancient as the Fire Age itself.

It has long since permeated all human nations.

And such a vast organization had already completed regional and power divisions.

The archbishop of the Profound Church is a high-ranking church official, and the priest of Losric is also high-ranking, merely akin to different district managers.

Their standings are equal, and neither has authority over the other.

So, contrary to Lann’s prior estimations, while the Profound Church is suspected of participating in and supporting riots, it doesn’t necessarily implicate the priest.

On the contrary, in the tri-pillar power structure of Losric’s monarchy, the relationship between knights and priests can be described as ’intimate.’

”For reasons unknown, His Majesty recently insisted on transferring the ownership of the Great Library, which holds vast amounts of precious knowledge, from the Royal Family’s direct control to the hands of the sages. This has made us and the priest quite uneasy.”

Lorenzo subtly elaborated on the ’intimate’ relationship between knights and priests.

Fortunately, with Lann’s level of political and historical knowledge, he easily understood.

One pillar in the tri-pillar structure inexplicably received an enormous resource allocation, causing the other two to huddle together in a state of crisis.

In such a light, the priest is indeed a trustworthy figure for the knights.

But ultimately... why wouldn’t Lorenzo consult his direct Knight Order higher-ups?

Due to a lack of intelligence, Lann and Mentos couldn’t reach a reasonable conclusion.

And thanks to Lorenzo’s status as the Knight Captain, they both entered the cathedral without hindrance.

This cathedral very much aligns with Lann’s stereotype of the world’s architecture.

Gothic interiors are always filled with various reliefs and patterns, along with wide, heavy banners hanging from ceiling hooks.

Just a slight breeze can make these wide, hanging banners rustle loudly.

Sitting in the cathedral’s main seat, an elderly woman in a hooded robe, without a doubt, was the Priest of Losric.

She noticed the two entering and discreetly delegated her sermon duties to the junior clergy behind her, waving her hand subtly towards Lann and Lorenzo.

Signaling them to follow her to the corner of the cathedral for a discussion.

In the candlelit corners, although the cathedral was filled with devoutly praying followers, these corners remained inconspicuous.

”I suppose you’ve already heard the news of the riot on the city bridge?”

Lorenzo first inquired respectfully.

”Yes, I’ve heard.”

The priest’s voice bore no trace of emotion, merely that of an ordinary elderly woman.

”The horns summoning the Dragon Knights for reinforcements were impossible to ignore, just like the sound of two dragons flapping their wings.”

”Why, was the one rampaging there a renowned knight?”

”Worse than that, Priest Emma.”

Lorenzo spoke softly while removing the shield from his back. He had only one dragon-patterned shield on his back, with the rest hanging on the dragon saddles, taken back to the Knight Order’s Dragon Training Ground.

With his gloved hand, he held the side of the shield emblazoned with the golden dragon pattern facing up, handing it to the priest.

”Much worse.”

Seeing the magic-powered blue shield, Priest Emma noticeably paused her breath.

Afterwards, Lorenzo recounted the riot that happened on the bridge outside the city.

Focusing mainly on the enemy’s knowledge of dragons and their specialized equipment... these were ominous signs.

——Signs of betrayal within the Losric Knight Order!

”Are you saying, the Profound Church also...”

The priest struggled to speak, holding the Red Worm Pill handed over by Lorenzo.

”They should have betrayed Losric as well, betrayed the Divine Race and the Royal Family.”

Lorenzo pulled Lann closer to him.

”I’ve also brought a witness to prove my words. The Profound Church has allied with some magic forces, aiming at Losric.”

”In these difficult times, that’s truly despairing news.”

Priest Emma sighed as she spoke.

”Prince remains delaying the linking of the fire, hiding in the palace and seeing no one... You’ve come to me first at the right time, Lorenzo.”

”The Knight Captain is currently under pressure from both above and below; he probably lacks the energy to handle these matters.”

”I don’t understand.” Lorenzo’s voice was muffled. ”If the prince is unwilling to link the fire, then can’t they just put that captive on the throne? Why does the prince even delay this?”