13 Mink Street

“You set this up?” Bertha took two steps back and looked at the man in the silver mask. “The one who arranged this place died long ago. Who exactly are you?”

“The Whip of Order.”

The moment she heard that, Talina’s hands instantly dropped. She drew two daggers from her boots, and a red glow flashed across her body as she lunged at Nio with astonishing speed.

Yet even before Talina moved, Nio already had his hand raised, as if he had foreseen everything. Just as Talina appeared before him with both of her daggers lifted, Nio merely pointed one finger forward. “God said, let there be Light.”

A sacred beam shot from Nio’s fingertip and pierced straight through Talina’s shoulder. Even the precious leather armor she wore might as well be as fragile as paper before this attack, and the force of the blow sent her flying backward into the stone wall behind her.

After falling, she struggled back to her feet, one hand clutching the wound in her shoulder, shock plainly written across her face. She knew she was no match for this man before her. In both raw strength and combat experience, he stood far above her. He was like a mountain.

Nio, meanwhile, lifted his finger before his own eyes and examined it carefully, as though feeling a trace of unfamiliarity, and at the same time finding it somewhat novel.

Bertha asked in delighted surprise, “Who are you really?”

“I already said, I am the Whip of Order.”

Bertha excitedly continued, “You infiltrated the Whip of Order?”

She knew Talina’s strength. What made that woman formidable was not just her bloodline, nor her skill in bed. Her own strength and talent were also outstanding. To defeat Talina with a single finger, and with the power of Light at that, meant this man had to be a major Light-aligned powerhouse who still lived in this world.

At present, the Church of Light did not lack ordinary believers. What it lacked was precisely this sort of strong figure who could stand on their own. On top of that, the recent exposure in York City had led to many of the Church of Light’s people being killed or captured, weakening the church even further.

Talina spoke up. “Please escort me away from here. If you can get me back to Reincarnation Valley, I will pay you, and the Church of Light, a reward that will absolutely satisfy you.”

Nio shook his head. “Too far. Not going.”

“She is a young lady of the Simons family of the Church of Reincarnation,” Bertha reminded him. “She can deliver whatever reward she promises, I guarantee it. This would be of tremendous benefit to you and to our church.”

This was both a guarantee from a bed partner and a reminder to Nio of Tanila’s identity.

“A young lady of the Simons family?” Nio finally understood who this woman was. The Simons family was known as the royal bloodline of the Church of Reincarnation. No wonder she had used a Reincarnation Crystal without hesitation to break the array, and no wonder she had guards so fiercely loyal they were willing to self-destruct just to buy her time.

Tonight’s wait under the moon had not been in vain. He had caught a big fish.

Nio said, “Take off that leather armor you’re wearing.”

Talina froze for a moment, but still undid the armor and set it on the ground.

Once the leather armor came off, the white lining beneath it was exposed, and the shoulder area was already stained red with blood.

Nio glanced at Bertha. Though she had no idea of his intentions, she had once been a secretary at a psychological clinic, and reading people’s expressions was second nature to her. She walked over, picked up the leather armor that was still warm and stained with blood, and carried it to Nio. “May I know how to address you? My name is Bertha. I am one who has received God’s summons, an Apostle of Light. I can help connect you to the will of Light, so that every beam of Light in this world will never be alone.”

Nio ignored her. He took the leather armor and rubbed it between his fingertips. Its defensive strength was not especially outstanding, but it was certainly extremely expensive, because its specialty was not defense but life restoration. If someone in poor health wore it, it could regulate the body through its continual absorption and purification of surrounding auras. If someone healthy wore it, it had a beautifying effect, as though one’s skin were being continuously nourished and cared for.

Only a true young lady of high birth would wear such armor. Ordinary people chose armor for defense, not for this kind of quality, much less at such an outrageous cost.

“Leather armor from the Berai Church?” Nio asked.

Talina spoke up, “It was made by Master Craftsman Sosro of the Berai Church... Nature’s Gift.”

Nio nodded. Though he had pierced the shoulder, it was only damaged near the edge. With a bit of repair, the item’s value would not be much affected, and it could still fetch a good price on the black market.

After all, women’s money was always the easiest to make.

Nio then said, “Daggers.”

Bertha walked back over to Talina. The woman looked at Bertha with an expression that seemed absurd, but Bertha just nodded, giving a silent signal. Even so, Talina still addressed Nio, “I know how strong you are, and I know I am not your match, but my dignity will not allow me to hand over my weapons. Please forgive me.”

Seeing this, Bertha glared at Talina, and then immediately turned back to Nio and said, “Please forgive her offense, but her identity and the support she can provide really are important to our church. Our church urgently needs outside assistance right now. If we bring her back, perhaps relations between Light and Reincarnation can be eased.”

“Every orthodox church only wishes for Light to be extinguished forever.”

Bertha immediately replied, “That is true, yes. But our church can still receive some care from the shadows, and that, too, is extremely important to us right now.”

“From the Church of Reincarnation?” Nio asked disdainfully.

“Our Church of Reincarnation has the right to say such things,” Talina said.

“I trust her character,” Bertha added.

“Order has already declared war on Reincarnation. Right now, at least six Order Knight Regiments are already attacking several of Reincarnation’s holy lands. Do you think that after this war, the Church of Reincarnation will still have any right to say such things?”

“What!!” A look of horror appeared on Talina’s face. Back in the Church Affairs Building, she had already vaguely suspected that the matter of the spatial cage might have been discovered by Order, thus provoking its wrath, but she truly had not expected Order to have already declared war, nor that its Knight Regiments could already be attacking Reincarnation’s holy lands.

“This...” Bertha turned her head and looked at Talina behind her.

Talina hurriedly said, “I guessed that something had happened, but I didn’t know it would be this.”

“Daggers,” Nio repeated.

Talina lifted the daggers. Bertha stepped forward, took the pair, and brought them to Nio. Seeing the patterns on them, Nio asked, “Forged by the Raimond Church?”

The true god worshiped by the Raimond Church, Raimond, was described in myth as the God of Assassins.

“Yes.”

Nio nodded. This pair of daggers was valuable as well.

“Boots.”

“What... exactly do you mean?” Talina asked. “I can give you everything I have on me. I only ask that you protect me and get me out of York City.”

“I will not protect you out of York City,” Nio said very calmly. “Of course, you may also choose to let me strip those things from your corpse myself.”

“Bertha?” Talina looked at Bertha.

The woman looked at Nio and said, “Since Order has already declared war on Reincarnation, then in the future, is it possible that Reincarnation will be far more willing to ally with us, provided it is not destroyed under Order’s offensive?”

“A dog that has been beaten into submission with pain will no longer dare to bare its teeth. Instead, it will bring a white rabbit to the one who beat it and try to curry favor.”

Bertha fell silent.

Nio looked at Talina again. Behind his mask, his eyes were cold and calm. Talina could only remove her boots. Bertha took them and brought them to Nio.

“Windrunner Boots from the Church of the Wind Goddess?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Talina admitted. These boots granted an extremely strong agility enhancement.

Nio nodded, then looked at Talina again. “Earrings, pendant, scrolls?”

“I didn’t bring them out. When something happened at the Church Affairs Building, Bertha and I were lying in bed.”

“Unregistered credits card?”

“I’m sorry, but I never carry credits on me.”

Nio looked at the leather armor, daggers, and boots at his feet, then shook his head. “Feels like it’s still not enough.”

“If there’s anything else you want, the only thing I can still offer you now is my underwear. I just put it on a short while ago, so it’s still clean.”

“Really, there’s nothing else?”

“Nothing.”

“If you still have something hidden, then my promise to you will be void.”

Talina bit her lip and firmly stated, “There is nothing else. You can come search me, or I can strip off even my underwear and lie down here so you may inspect every corner of my body.”

“I believe you.” Nio gave a slight shake of the head. “No need to inspect.”

“Then I now...”

“You may leave, and continue running. If you are lucky, you may avoid the Order garrison that is currently entering the city. Once you are out of York City, you can find some way to escape Veyn.”

Hearing that, Talina immediately looked at Bertha, but she spoke to Nio, “You still haven’t told me how I should address you.”

“Where did you learn about this photo studio?”

“From an old notebook. The owner of the notebook recorded that he had two good friends. The three of them all loved photography, and together they opened a photo studio named Gells after one of those friends. Another friend arranged a teleportation array beneath the studio.

“I came across that notebook by chance, and I can confirm that for many years, no one else had read it. After I came to York City, I found this studio. The owner said it had been founded by his grandfather and his grandfather’s two friends, and that it had now been passed down to the third generation. That owner had no idea such a place was hidden beneath his family’s studio. I had once entered here and paid my respects to the traces left behind by the predecessors of Light.

“You said earlier that the one who arranged this place was already dead?”

“Yes. In the later part of the notebook, the notebook’s owner recorded that he had personally witnessed that friend being executed.”

“Oh, dead, is he?”

“Your voice sounds young to me. What I mean is, you do not sound elderly. When you said you were the one who arranged this array, did you mean it was one of your forebears who arranged it?”

“What was the name of that friend in the notebook, the one who was executed?”

“Other than the name Gells, both the notebook’s owner’s name and the other friend’s name were represented only by Marcan letters. Their real names were never left behind.”

“No name...”

“I originally wanted to continue investigating the contents of that notebook, including the identity of its owner and the identity of the closest friend he mentioned, because according to the owner’s description, he himself was someone bathed in holy radiance, while that friend was someone favored by Light. Yet to my own understanding, there is no such Light lineage that exists in York City, much less two of them. You know how tightly Order controls Veyn. It is very difficult for Light to truly develop here.

“It was only because of the previous accident, when our identities were exposed and the plan regarding the opportunity pointed to by the bell failed, that my people and I were forced to relocate and withdraw quickly, which forced me to also abandon my original plan of continuing to investigate this place.”

Nio looked at Bertha and said, “I think you can pick that investigation plan back up.”

“If you require me to do so, I am willing. I am willing to serve you. That is the mission of an Apostle, to unite everyone and bring the gospel and help to all.”

Nio smiled. “I just think that you aren’t suited to being an Apostle, because if you were at the helm, it would be easy for you to overturn a ship full of people in the middle of the sea. You would be better off doing things within the limits of your own ability.”

“Is that your criticism of me? I accept it, and I will do my utmost to correct and improve myself. Then I will continue the investigation here. But how should I contact you?”

“As long as you are still in York City, I can find you again, just as I saw the two of you fleeing in this direction and knew you would come here.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Nio raised his hand. A faint scraping sound came from outside, clearly indicating that the entrance had been opened once more. He said to Talina, “You may leave now. I hope the God of Reincarnation you believe in doesn’t let you enter reincarnation tonight.”

Wearing nothing but her white undershift, Talina said no more. She gritted her teeth and turned to leave.

“Oh, right. If you run into a handsome young man carrying a greatsword when you go out, don’t panic; He is my squad mate. He should have already arrived outside the photo studio by now. Trust me, he is very easy to identify, either by the greatsword or by his handsomeness.”

Talina hurriedly asked, “So he will let me go for your sake?”

“No. He is a believer so devout to Order that it is in his bones. His eyes can tolerate not the slightest blasphemy against Order. He cannot be bought, nor can he be deceived. Greeting the great God of Order every single day is his greatest spiritual pleasure.”

“Then... what should I do?”

“I’m honestly sick of seeing him hovering around me, but I can’t quite bring myself to kill him with my own hands. Maybe I was moved by his piety, or maybe... I just couldn’t do it because he’s too good-looking. Either way, do me a favor and kill him for me.”

“Can I defeat him?” Talina asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice as her gaze fell back to her equipment laid out before Nio.

“You could kill him barehanded. He’s just a Divine Servant.”

“Re-really?”

“I swear in the name of the God of Light, when I personally approved him to join our squad two months ago, he was only a Divine Servant.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!