Chapter 348 (2/2)
Hao Ren kept silent as he listened, but in his head, he was already planning on how to go about investigating the mystery behind Dragonspine Ridge. More and more unsettling incidents surrounding that mountain range were popping up. He believed that the range bore secrets of the Magic Kingdom from 10,000 years ago, those secret may just help him in solving the issues regarding Earth’s unusual creatures, and perhaps the whole nature of The Plane of Dreams. His mission now was to prevent The Plane of Dreams from converging with the Surface World. Anything that could possibly help should not be dismissed. Hao Ren was discussing with the MDT if they should apply for a micro-surveillance satellite when the main door was suddenly pushed open. A beautiful lady cutting a heroic figure marched in. “Bishop Gelton, I’ve heard that the Orb of the Holy… Hmm?”
Hao Ren turned towards the voice and saw a lady with curly, maroon locks in full plate armour. She had a very dignified look to her—the eternal guardian of the kingdom, the legendary heroine of the Kingdom of Holetta, Madam Marshal Ophra. As the marshal walked in, the first to bounce off her seat was Becky. The mercenary was so stunned that she stammered as she spoke, “It’s… La-Lady… O-Ophra! An… honour to meet you! Lo-long live the marshal… I-I… am Be-Becky, do you remember me? I-I was… se-searching for the O-Orb…”
Hao Ren was tired of Becky’s fangirling and giddiness, so he pulled her back. “Marshal, I’m… the captain of this mercenary group. We have safely returned the Orb to where it belongs.”
Ophra was slightly surprised to see the group in front of her. Because of Becky’s antics, she had a rather deep impression of them and by then, she had already recalled their first encounter. “So, it’s you lot… I heard the news when I was outside. I never thought that the heroes behind the Orb’s return would be a newly formed mercenary group. Well done.”
Becky’s eyes immediately lit up as she tugged at Hao Ren’s shoulder. “Hehehe… Hehehe… Did Lady Ophra just praise me just now?”
Vivian frowned and she massaged her temples as the scene reminded her of something. “…My goodness, fangirls are sure hard to deal with…”
Ophra soon ignored Hao Ren and his odd bunch of mercenaries as she approached the four ascetics, exchanging greetings in the process. “It has been a while, masters. I’m so glad to see all of you safe and sound. Is the Orb of the Holy Synod with you?”
Lady Ophra seemed like a rather straightforward person because she went straight into the status of the Orb. Big Beardy nodded. “It’s with me. But, we have not decided on how to securely store it. By rule, the Orb should be returned to the church in the middle of the sacred lake, but that place isn’t safe anymore.”
“You can place it here,” Gelton spoke. “This is the nearest holy ground to the sacred lake. As the situation demands it, placing the Orb here befits the scripture. Once we have eliminated the monsters—”
“Allow me to speak.” Lady Ophra found a place to sit as she looked at Gelton. “Bishop Gelton, don’t take this as me doubting your knowledge and abilities, but I’m afraid we won’t be finding the cause of the landslides any time soon. In this situation, placing the Orb in Beinz itself is simply unwise. I suggest that both the royal and church knights select a couple of elites to escort the Orb of the Holy Synod to the Royal Cathedral. This should ease the concerns regarding the Orb. News of fighting in Beinz has already reached Steinne and I suspect those seat warmers over there are already getting jittery.”
Gelton kept quiet and Ophra started to show signs of impatience. “That aside, Bishop Gelton, I’m suggesting this again: let my royal knights ‘help’ you clear the area around the sacred lake. It has been half a month and the rock monsters are still wandering about on sacred grounds. I can see that your knights are already tired. They need rest. My royal knights and their reinforcements on the other hand, have only been patrolling the ridge. The boys are aching for action. This is not the time to brood about honour. The royal knights are also believers of the goddess. They may not have the mark, but they can still fight on sacred ground. This is in accordance to the creed.”
The old bishop stood up wobbly. “This is not about honour, Marshal. Nevertheless, I have seriously contemplated your suggestion. But before that… let this group of people rest. The masters, please stay put. Both Lady Ophra and I have more to ask you.”
Hao Ren immediately realised that the things they were about to discuss were not for the ears of “outsiders”.