CHAPTER 198: CHAPTER 161: OLD BA SENDS HIS REGARDS

After meeting Abaddon, Ethan became even more convinced of his suspicions.

This high-tier knight of the Neseriel Sanctuary was a very important research subject. As the designated successor for the Knight Commander, he not only violated the long-standing mission of the Kingdom Army and the Royal Knight Order, but also suffered repeated failures and defeats, appearing to have developed a somewhat pointed head.

However, this coward who hid behind the statue of the Knight Lord when facing the Bigfoot and was so scared by the "Evil God’s Followers" that he threw his knight’s sword, still managed to keep his oath.

"This suggests that Abaddon or someone behind him has mastered the core technology."

Ethan shared his conclusion with the few people in the cave.

Ave expressed her doubt, "Core technology? Elaborate!"

This was Rowena’s catchphrase, and after spending enough time with this loud Great Mage, she started to pick it up.

Ethan said, "While reading the book of Doomsday earlier, I felt that the true god might have either fallen or been sealed during the Second Epoch, and many recent events have solidified my suspicions."

Out of all the destroyed epochs, the Second Epoch had the highest death toll and was the most despairing era.

Old Ba became the ruler of the Second Epoch, the crimson plague swept across the continent, and the Scarlet Dynasty became the only known human civilization with a clear belief in the Evil God. Using the Second Epoch as a turning point, no direct legends about the true god had ever appeared again; instead, they turned into tales of reverence and records of heroic figures.

The concepts related to "Saints" in different paths also mostly started from the Second Epoch. They were regarded as representatives of the divine spirits, and people’s descriptions of them made it seem as if the divine walked on earth.

Ethan continued, "Yet the concept of ’oath-breaking’ has persisted to this day despite the disappearance of the Knight Lord. This originates from a mechanism designed by Him before disappearing, like a game rule: as long as you can find a loophole, you can break the oath without actually breaking it."

He thought that the pointed-headed Mr. Abaddon did not have the ability or courage for this.

"The person guiding him not only cracked the game rules but also likely already knows the fact that the true god is dead. This is why the church is becoming increasingly unscrupulous."

Today’s Pope Julius appeared completely unconcerned about receiving the Goddess of Life’s punishment or the possibility of his soul being judged in the Celestial Kingdom they preach after death.

Ethan felt that their understanding of the game rules surpassed his own, and the method he used to prevent someone from breaking the oath was closer to an external means of cracking it.

The punishment for "oath-breaking" had actually been triggered; only he helped bear it.

"This is also why the church immediately dispatched the Choir after Saint Hilman’s book went missing from Gear City."

Ethan had always been puzzled that the book was stored in Gear City for hundreds of years, untouched, yet after it went missing, the church immediately dispatched the Choir—during a critical period of succession, they should have no mind to manage the empire’s border affairs.

"This is the secret the church fears the most about being made public. They fear the book thief revealing the secret that the true god is dead, which would undermine the legitimacy of their actions under the banner of the Goddess of Life."

Rowena raised her hand to question, "If that’s the case, why didn’t they keep the book in the imperial capital for safekeeping?"

"Because of the teacher’s presence."

"Huh? Me?"

Enjoying some snow cherries, Lindong was taken aback, listening intently.

"Because when you were still a member of the Council of Seven, you often sneaked into the forbidden book section of the Imperial Capital Cathedral Library to read."

Lindong’s penchant for trespassing into forbidden areas had long been no secret. Everyone knew she did it, yet no one had evidence, "Later, it was because the church needed to register the transfer of forbidden books and obtain His Majesty Henry’s approval. At that time, the emperor’s health wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t handle imperial affairs, and the teacher just happened to head towards the empire’s borders."

No one knew better than the Pope himself that the Lindong Witch was still alive.

Until the book was stolen, the Pope might have thought that storing the forbidden book in Gear City was the best solution, since apart from Lindong, no one would be idle enough or daring enough to break into the church’s library forbidden section to read the books.

"The Chief Priest of Gear City might have known something about it, so after the book was stolen, he was severely punished."

Ethan connected all the recent events, "Following that was the Fallen War. The teacher recently shared many details of the Imperial Capital Battle with me."

"Wait, when did you discuss that? Why didn’t you invite me?"

Rowena was shocked. She had tried sound out this incident many times when she was partners with Lindong and even promised to pay for the information, yet was always refused.

"Bedtime story."

Lindong said blandly, "Of course, I wouldn’t have invited you."

"Curse it all!"

Rowena howled to the heavens, may the God of Trickery—oh no, according to Ethan, the God of Trickery might already be gone—so, in the name of her Great Mage status, she cursed all couples who enjoy telling bedtime stories!

Lindong kept her head down. If Ethan hadn’t asked proactively, she wouldn’t have wanted to talk about it.

That battle was particularly frustrating for her. For her, facing any Saint one-on-one, she had a chance to win—even Henry VI was no exception. But what she didn’t anticipate was the church hiding two cards up their sleeve, somehow finding two more Saints to assist.