Published: February 11, 2025
The Holy Maiden stood outside the house, quietly listening to the occasional brief cries coming from inside, her face devoid of any expression.
Beside her were Rong Zhi and Nan Jin. Although they weren’t as silent as the Holy Maiden, they too appeared somewhat lost.
The door opened, and two trembling imperial guards carried out two bags of beast skins, from which blood flowed through the seams. Upon seeing the Holy Maiden and the two giants, they merely nodded and sidestepped to leave.
"Ten more are needed. Bring them in four days after the days of falling sand, and this time they must be fifth level or above, with at least one sixth level."
Listening closely, the voice was somewhat unfamiliar, but the door that was not fully closed revealed the Holy Father sitting on a jade bed, his entire figure concealed behind a white curtain, leaving only his head visible.
The room was filled with a strong, nauseating smell of blood.
As the door closed, it separated the inside from the outside, creating two different worlds.
The Holy Maiden turned and walked away. Rong Zhi and Nan Jin exchanged glances, shook their heads, and followed her.
The Holy Maiden would not carry out the Holy Father’s orders, so it fell to them to do it.
However... sending their own subordinates in only for them to emerge as lifeless, energy-drained flesh left the two giants utterly lost.
They didn’t know if this was right or wrong; it should be right, since the Holy Father represented everything for the Temple of Dawn. Thus, ensuring survival was the most important thing.
Making some sacrifices for this was undoubtedly correct.
But why did it feel so painful in their hearts?
The two giants mechanically followed behind the Holy Maiden, unresponsive to the soldiers around them who saluted and greeted them.
Suddenly, the Holy Maiden stopped, turned around, and looked at Rong Zhi and Nan Jin, softly saying, “Aren’t you going to prepare... food?”
The two giants were taken aback, staring at the Holy Maiden in disbelief, not understanding why she would mention food.
The Holy Maiden smiled slightly, somewhat puzzled, and then left.
The two giants stood in place for a long time.
……………………………………………………………………
The Holy Father slowly exhaled and nodded towards the bed. Two soldiers immediately came over to clean up. They had been serving here for several days, but their fear had not diminished in the slightest, trembling as they cleaned up the remains of ten comrades, then carrying them out.
Even though it didn’t take long to bury the flesh of these fallen comrades, for them, it was the easiest moment in these nightmarish days. They would rather fight to the death alongside posthumous children than accompany the Holy Father, who they had never had the chance to get close to before.
“Wait a moment.”
As the two finished cleaning and were about to leave with the beast skin bags, the Holy Father called out to them.
The soldiers immediately turned back, respectfully awaiting instructions, heads bowed low.
The Holy Father smiled, “I know this isn’t good, but there’s no choice. If something happens to me, you won’t fare well either, will you?”
The two soldiers hurriedly nodded, their hands tightly gripping the beast skin bags.
“You won’t tell anyone about this, will you?” The Holy Father asked, tilting his head.
“No, no!” The soldiers were terrified, their bodies trembling severely.
“Good.” The Holy Father sighed in relief, but then his tone suddenly changed: “But I’m still a bit uneasy.”
As soon as he said this, the two soldiers turned and rushed out. Even if they were dull, they understood what the Holy Father intended to do.
In that moment, the image of the benevolent father, revered by them, completely shattered.
Yet, as mere fifth-level soldiers, how could they escape before the ninth-level Holy Father?
Two blood-red, tube-like objects shot out from beside the Holy Father, precisely piercing into the spinal column at the nape of the two soldiers' necks. Their bodies first stiffened, then convulsed violently a few times before collapsing to the ground.