Chapter 73: Retrieving the Divine Artifact!
A new church to the Justice God was built in town.
The church’s prayer room had an idol of the Justice God.
He was a middle aged man adorned in armor, had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face, and a solemn expression. He stood straight and in one hand held a javelin and in the other a square shield.
Guang Ke kneeled before the idol and bowed his head sincerely in prayer, “My God, grand Justice God, you are the light of redemption, the hope of this world. Under your guidance, I an no longer weak, no longer frightened. Let me bravely keep to your guided path and glorify your name.”
Guang Ke had another kneeling by him.
It was the dragonman youngster.
He followed Guang Ke in prayer,
This was not his first time doing so.
After the prayer finished, Guang Ke and the dragonman youngster respectfully and quietly left.
They closed the door and walked side by side.
Because the young man had changed his faith, Guang Ke’s attitude towards him had also changed, and had gotten more intimate with the former.
“Have circumstances improved a lot?” Guang Ke asked.
The dragonman youngster knew Guang Ke was inquiring about the repercussions and told it as it was, “It’s gotten a lot better.”
As time passed, the repercussions gradually diminished, and the nightmares no longer appeared as often, Thus the morale of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had picked up again.
The dragonman youngster continued, “Despite still waking up in the middle of the night, after I believed in my God, I instead think that this is an opportunity. The sins I shoulder bring me suffering. Through confession and prayer, I obtain a tranquil spirit from the suffering and cement myself further on the path of righteousness.”
Guang Ge smiled and praised, “It is very good you have such an understanding. Confessing and recognizing your mistakes is just the beginning of your transformation.”
“It was precisely when I understood this point that I was able to comprehend the divine spell, the Domain of the Light of Contrition.”
“As you uphold justice with a firm heart, continuously walk down its path, and constantly deepen your belief in our God, you too will receive divine spells.”
“Regardless of what divine spell they are, they shall improve your strength.”
“After all, silver levels are still lowly in the sea.”
Guang Ke expressed concern for the dragonman youngster.
“In my God’s creed, there is a saying.”
“Justice without strength is useless, and strength without justice is tyranny.”
The dragonman youngster’s eyes shined, he first muttered those words to himself, then frankly replied, “I will engrave that teaching into my memory. By the way, isn’t it true that Rou Zang represents tyranny?”
“Bringing Rou Zang to justice is upholding justice.:
“Does Lord Guang Ke know of the intelligence that came this morning?”
Guang Ke nodded.
Stone Forest Island was an island affiliated with Snake Rat Island, and was part of Tan Qiu’s territory.
Stone Forest Island was also an important source of tax revenue, but this morning, sad news came from it,
The island had been attacked by Rou Zang, all of the taxes on it had been snatched by him, but fortunately, because the inhabitants had scattered in time, the casualties were limited.
The dragonman youngster sternly declared, “Lord Guang Ke, I want to lead my Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps for Stone Forest Island to see what happened!”
“Eh?”
The dragonman youngster continued, “Rou Zang’s pirate group rarely appears, this is a good chance to catch the trail. If they persistently avoid battle with our alliance, then we’ll always be at a disadvantage.”
As time dragged on, the alliance would automatically collapse, after all, it had been assembled temporarily from many pieces.
Guang Ke frowned, “But don’t you understand? Rou Zang suddenly attacking Stone Forest Island after the demon raid is very suspicious. This is likely a trap he has arranged.”
“I understand.” The dragonman youngster candidly replied, “We have become the vanguard, an important duty. If it is a trap, then perhaps we will receive the first strike from Rou Zang’s pirate group and bear the most harm.”
“But this has to be done by someone, no?”
“As a believer in the Justice God, how can I cower?”
“Excellent.” Guang Ke couldn’t help but have a new respect for the dragonman youngster, “You possess great courage. I support your course of action, my only regret is that I cannot join you.”
Guang Ke was the alliance’s strongest person and could not act blindly without thought.
Under normal circumstances, he would be overseeing everything.
If he followed the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps in their investigation if Stone Forest Island, he could easily throw himself at shadows, allowing Rou Zang’s pirate group to easily mobilize and catch him in a passive situation.
If this was a trap Rou Zang’s pirate group had arranged, where they wanted to encircle or ambush the other party, it would be preferred if Guang Ke entered the battlefield as backup.
Under these circumstances, the vanguard, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had to do their duty to expend as much of Rou Zang’s battle strength as possible.
“I understand.” The dragonman youngster understood Guang Ke’s choice.
Soon after, he raised a minor request.
Before moving out, he hoped that he first be able to exchange for equipment and resources to strengthen the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
He was very interested in the Sheng Ming Church’s standardized equipment.
Guang Ke nodded, “This is a reasonable request, I will stand by it.”
Upon convincing Guang Ke, the dragonman youngster returned satisfied.
He then paid a visit to Tan Qiu,
At first, Tan Qiu wasn’t willing to see him, for the last several days, he had used an illness as a buttress to politely refuse visitors and succeeded in preventing himself from getting caught up in the whirling struggle between the two religions.
But when the dragonman youngster explained his purpose in coming, Tan Qiu personally invited him to dinner.
When the terrible news from Stone Forest Island arrived, as feudal Lord, it was impossible for Tan Qiu to remain indifferent.
The demon raid and the mysterious unfound traitor withered the feudal lord’s mind and made him overly suspicious.
After analyzing the intelligence, he privately believed that it was extremely probable that this was a trap Rou Zang had set up.
He didn’t want to rashly dispatch his fleet.
Snake Rat Island only had one main fleet, if it was lost, Tan Qiu would be in a terrible situation.
But wouldn’t let other powers scout it out?
Ample rewards would induce bravery, but Tan Qiu didn’t have the resources to provide that.
The priest over yonder was hard pressed by Guang Ke.
But now, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had assumed the heavy burden of being the vanguard, and was tantamount to being the solution to Tan Qiu’s problem.
As expected, Tan Qiu rejoiced, and during their dinner together, he praised the dragonman youngster’s conduct greatly.
The dragonman youngster raised his request again, and informed him that he had Guang Ke’s support for it.
Tan Qiu patted his chest and said, “That is a must! Unfortunately, I am not the alliance’s leader, otherwise if I knew which reward it was in advance, it would be fine.”
“However…when does your group plan to depart?”
The dragonman youngster directly replied, “The military situation is extremely urgent, the sooner the better! As long as we finish arming, my group can depart immediately.”
“Good!” Tan Qiu praised, and he gave a thumbs up.
When the dragonman youngster departed, he brought a letter written by Tan Qiu with him.
The latter couldn’t leave the castle yet as he was still quite “ill”.
The dragonman youngster went to the Sheng Ming Church and made his purpose in coming known to the priest.
The priest hesitated.
As of now, the undiscovered traitor hadn’t been found yet, and if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were the spies, by giving them Sheng Ming templar knight equipment to them, he would be aiding his enemies.
The priest’s prestige in the church would be greatly wounded.
It was risky.
The dragonman youngster took out Tan Qiu’s letter while stating that he also had Guang Ke’s support.
When the priest heard that, his previous misgivings had mostly subsided. Even if the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were revealed to be traitors in the future, this decision hadn’t been made by just him.
Furthermore, the current situation demanded that someone go to Stone Forest Island.
The alliance could not delay.
From another point of view, the faster the bothersome Rou Zang was eliminated, the sooner Guang Ke would leave Snake Rat Island.
The priest needed a swift victory.
Catching the trail of Rou Zang’s pirate group was a prerequisite to defeat them.
“Fine, what does your group want to exchange for exactly?” The priest finally relented.
The dragonman youngster looked at the scroll. He first got some standard templar knight equipment, got some medicine, then finally used the last merits to exchange for some property.
Within the property was a gold and jade wrought coffin.
It was the divine artifact, the Green Jade Gold Coffin!
When the dragonman youngster returned from his rewarding journey, the survivors were ecstatic.
“We finally got it.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
“We can depart Snake Rat Island at once!”
Just as the young man had promised Tan Qiu, after they quickly assembled, they departed.
During the departure, the priest, Guang Ke, along with a sickly looking Tan Qiu came to see them off.
“Finally, we depart this place.” The survivors had conflicting feelings as they slowly watched the port and the people on it slowly vanish.
On that island, they had recuperated well.
Their troops had gotten a new look.
They had built the Anti-investigation and Prophecy Formation, obtained a lot of resources, and most importantly, retrieved the Green Jade Gold Coffin!
They didn’t steal the divine artifact, and avoided ranking themselves on the pirate’s Sacred Monument.
However.
Not long after the Dragon Lion Mercenary Group left the island, the port’s lighthouse transmitted an ear-piercing alarm.
A pirate vessel was bearing directly at the port.
The pirate flag made know its identity, it was the Grass Head Pirate Group.
Tan Qiu and the others were startled.
The Grass Head Pirate Group’s boss, the Swordsman Xi Cao, stood on the deck with his empty hands raised up. He was shouting that he was surrendering.
Bewildered, Tan Qiu and the others detained him.
There were other sailors on the pirate ship.
There were only ten of them, and they were barely able to sail the ship.
Interrogation was unnecessary as Swordsman Xi Cao declared why he had come.
Tan Qiu’s and the other’s bewilderment grew.
“Are you saying, the person from the Great Pain Temple that defeated Rou Zang publicly, is Rou Zang’s senior brother, Gu Qiao?”
“Now, Rou Zang and Mo Kong are imprisoned. The Bath Tub is under Gu Qiao’s control and is leaving these waters?”
Swordsman Xi Cao nodded, “Didn’t you want to deal with Rou Zang? This is your best chance. If you don’t capture him, these seas will no longer hold the Bath Tub.”
The alliance leaders looked at each other in dismay.
“Why are you disclosing this to us? You attached yourself to Rou Zang, you are a commander in his pirate group, why would we trust your lies?” Captain Hei Fei expressed his doubts.
Swordsman Xi Cao bitterly laughed, “I was controlled by Mo Kong, under a devil’s curse. Although Mo Kong was captured, he used magic to contact me and forced me to come, otherwise he would kill me.”
“I didn’t want to come here.”
“If I came, I might not die. If I didn’t come, the curse would flare up and kill me!”
“As for why I came, according to what that wretched jerk Mo Kong said, I am important enough to be believed.”
The alliance heads sank into silence.
Tan Qiu suddenly said, “No wonder the demon raid was a little baffling. It turns out that Rou Zang’s pirate group was being impeded hand and foot, and were unable to coordinate with the attack.”
“Hold on.” Guang Ke gazed at Swordsman Xi Cao, “Since the Bath Tub is under Gu Qiao’s control, who attacked Stone Forest Island? According to our information, Rou Zang personally came ashore and led his troops to pillage the entire island.”
“Stone Forest Island?” Swordsman Xi Cao raised his brows, his face was covered in suspicion, “It is impossible for Rou Zang to attack there.”
“It is even more impossible for my Grass Head Pirate Group to do so either.”
The Flower Wall Pirate Group is still pursuing the Bath Tub and waiting for an opportune moment. According to Mo Kong’s plan, If I fail here, the Flower Wall Pirate Group will attack and fight to give Mo Kong a chance to escape.”
Swordsman Xi Cao spoke with conviction, which made the alliance leaders incessantly puzzled.
If it wasn’t Rou Zang’s pirate group, then who attacked Stone Forest Island?
“Don’t tell me there is a third party?”
“I think that Swordsman Xi Cao is relatively trustworthy. If it was a trap, why would a commander be sacrificed?”
“Quick, send a message to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, tell them what the situation is here!”
“According to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ ship speed and time passed, I’m afraid that will be difficult. They are already out of magic communication device range.”