565 Return (1/2)

When the black warship docked, the entire port fell silent. Everyone gazed quietly at the sharp silhouette that it cast in the dim light. A strong wind with a strong stinking smell blew from afar.

Lancelot covered his mouth and coughed restrainedly. After a good while, he wiped off the blood between his fingers with a handkerchief.

A low sigh came from beside him. Mephistopheles reached out and handed him a small yet exquisite hand warmer. Lancelot did not refuse. As he held the hand warmer, his face turned slightly more rosy.

”How much longer can you stay outdoors?” Mephistopheles' blind eyes seemed to fall on his chest and look past his clothes at the lungs plagued by an old illness. ”I believe that the doctor has told you not to come out.”

”There are always exceptions to everything.” Lancelot shook his head and stared at the silent dark shadow, murmuring softly, ”I really really want to see him.”

”Lancelot, so does everyone else who is here.” The murky pupils of Mephistopheles which had no light in them looked forward, but it seemed as if everything was within his observation.

The pair of blind eyes overlooked the crowd, looking at the civilians, nobles, businessmen, and soldiers, distinguishing their faces one by one as if he could see their thoughts. He slowly spoke:

”Some come here out of respect.

”Some come here to display their stance.

”Some come here to put on a show...”

He paused, his blind eyes fixed on the outermost of the port, the surging crowd stretching all the way to the end of the road, and a shimmer of awe and respect appeared in his murky pupils.

”And some come here to honor the legend.”

At that moment, a deep, low sound rang out. At first, it was the deep reverberation of the creaks from the hinges of steel armor, followed by the sonorous echoes of iron boots stepping on the deck. Hundreds of people gathered into a regiment and assembled into arrays. As they moved forward, the sounds evolved into magnificent roars.

The dead silent seawater was stirred by the sounds, forming waves. The cold sea breeze swept past, blowing at those who were trying hard to put on a smile until their faces turned pale.

The people who made their way to the front, wanting to make a good impression and display goodwill at the earliest time possible, were stunned. They paused where they were in the sound, and could not help but want to back away. Because in the glow of the lanterns, the bright red banners were raised once again. The holy emblem fluttered in the wind and advanced. Two rows of armored knights, who were stained black by the blood of the demons, walked out of the slowly opening door. Under the illumination of the light, a cold glint reflected off the steel helmets in a grotesque fashion.

The clergymen, who were had such burly builds that they looked inhuman, held the bright red banners high and lead the way. They wore chain hoods, and their robes were covered in heavy iron armor. As they marched forward slowly, the armor clanked, creating sonorous echoes.

The clergymen leading the way marched forward in a straight line. As if they did not see the people welcoming them approaching, their speed did not slow down, causing the enthusiastic smiles on the faces around them to become stiff and unsustainable.

The people who had approached backed away clumsily, turning the warm, welcoming atmosphere into a silent and awkward one.

”What is going on?” Several representatives of aristocrats wiped cold sweat from their brows and exchanged glances. Someone was chosen and reluctantly gathered up enough courage approach the clergyman leading the way. But the advancing procession showed no signs of stopping, continuing forward slowly. The representative standing in their way was stunned, his face becoming whiter and whiter. Finally, the footsteps stopped in front of him.

The clergyman holding the banner high lowered his eyes and seemed to be sizing him up. Under the illumination of the dim light, the burly clergyman cast a thick, dark shadow, covering the pale face of the representative, who couldn't help but swallow hard and forced out a smile.

The representative said, ”I am the concertmaster of Avalon...”

”Thou shalt bow,” a hoarse voice said, interrupting him.

In the clergyman's blurred outline, against the light, it seemed that a cold and indifferent gaze was cast downwards, with an iron-like majesticness. Under the gaze, he could hardly maintain the smile on his face, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead. He averted his gaze, not daring to look at the pair of eyes anymore.

The clergyman withdrew his gaze and declared it coldly, ”Fear God.”

In the dead silence of the cold wind, only the banner with the holy emblem on it was making a fluttering sound.

Faint footsteps sounded from a distance. Gazed upon by everyone, the thin figure walked out of the darkness, stepped on the road paved by the purifiers and entered the area illuminated by dim light.

In the dead silence, even the sounds of breathing had disappeared. Only faint footsteps echoed.

In the clanking of steel, the armored knights went down on one knee and lowered their heads as a sign of respect to the rulers. Surrounded by the clergymen, the thin young man stepped off the warship and set foot on the port. In the cold wind, he breathed into his palms and rubbed his hands, seemingly not used to the cold of winter.

A stole embroidered with black gold was draped over his shoulders and covered part of the vestment he was wearing. It was not of a crimson red color favored by Archbishops but of a deep purple.

Under the illumination of glow coming from the swaying lantern, his silver hair, blown by the wind, resembled burning mercury. In the silence, he stood on the shore and gazed at the city that he hadn't returned to for quite some time. He had only bid it farewell for the short span of four months, yet everything had become completely different.

A lot of things had changed.

Everything of the past had disappeared.

But its essence still remained the same.

Avalon…

”I'm finally back,” Ye Qingxuan murmured softly. Under the fluttering, bright red holy emblem, he overlooked the crowd and raised his hand, like the emperor who arrived here back then, proclaiming the truth to mortals.

He declared, ”God bless Anglo.”

Tsunami-like cheers sounded. The crowd surged like boiling water. Even the earth trembled from being stepped on chaotically by countless people. Dust flew up, whirling in the air, and tremored in their shouts.

The fanatical crowd stared at the emblem and the young man's figure. Waving their arms, they swarmed forward, trying, again and again, to enter the cordoned area regardless of the attempts by the guards outside to block them. Countless people held the lanterns in their hands up, waving their arms, and shouted at Ye Qingxuan, praising him with all the words they know.