Chapter 184: The Virtue Knights

The mad dogs of the Theocracy.

This was the most frequent description of the Theocracy that Marl had heard over the past half year.

There was no specific information, but paired with the phrase “mad dogs,” it meant they bit people indiscriminately.

However, from the mouth of a young girl named Alice Yokich, Marl learned of the exact events that had occurred within the Theocracy.

It was already deep into the night. A bonfire had been lit by the lakeside, and the flickering firelight reflected off the girl’s freshly washed, clean face.

“After the Patriarch returned from the frontlines, the priests who had been scattered outside the Holy City rebelled. They proclaimed themselves High Priests, altered the Doctrine, and preached that humans are born sinful. They believed that only those who embody the Seven Deadly Sins are complete beings, and that virtues were lies fabricated by nobles to control them,” Alice explained the changes within the Theocracy.

“Would anyone truly believe in such a Doctrine?” Marl found it hard to believe.

Though he had outgrown the age, he still took private lessons at the Monastery, and through the teachings of Scholar Caleb in the history discipline, he had seen that, even with the absolute ruling factor of the nobility, the people overall longed for virtue.

Even the nobles and Local Gentry who purely pursued interests and power upheld virtue.

Because only with a longing for virtue could there emerge an order worthy of obedience, allowing the Commoners, the producers who formed the foundation of society, to gain a stable and secure space for production under that order and thereby support the upper classes.

If everyone believed that humans were born sinful and sank into such Faith, even the most basic production could not be sustained. Let alone war—mere hunger alone could destroy everyone.

This was the difference between life and death. As Scholar Dennis of the natural sciences had said, even in a background of natural rather than artificial social civilization, the desire to survive was the most fundamental operating logic of a civilization. Only by ensuring this fundamental logic could a society survive, and only survival would allow it to continue developing.

If one fully embraced the Seven Deadly Sins, a society that would not even engage in basic production would collapse sooner or later.

It was a Faith destined for self-destruction.

“We didn’t believe that people would follow such a Doctrine either. But in reality, at the beginning, their beliefs were like sparks scattered across villages and towns around the Holy City, gradually surrounding it,” Alice sighed.

“What about their production? I heard George say that the land of the Theocracy had been killed. Even though when he left, the Lord performed a miracle and erased the existence that had killed the land, it couldn’t have recovered that quickly,” Marl asked, frowning.

“People are made of flesh too,” Alice simply replied.

“……” Marl fell silent. He recalled what George had casually mentioned about the Sacrament rituals in the Theocracy.

“This is wrong. These are sins. They have already been blinded by sin, which is why the Patriarch has been leading the Temple Warriors to continuously purify these sins. But their spread and growth have been too fast,” Alice continued.

“They formed the Fallen Warriors, and through their worship of sin, they nourished the Original Sin Knights. Gradually, the steps of the Patriarch and the Temple Warriors were slowed down, and they could only hold the Holy City and its surrounding Sanctuaries.”

“The Patriarch is powerful. He is not being blocked by them. But even if he purifies sins swiftly, once he leaves, the Original Sin Believers would quickly fill the place again.”

“The Temple Warriors are powerful too, but their Faith isn’t firm enough. After fighting the Original Sin Knights, they are extremely susceptible to corruption and eventually fall. That’s why the Three Sages established the Eight Virtues of Knights, requiring all Temple Warriors to choose one as the doctrine they would follow for life, in order to resist the corrosion of Original Sin.”

“But that’s easier said than done. They are not the great and noble Patriarch. Up to now, only three knights have truly adhered to the Eight Virtues. After the first Brave Knight, who steadfastly upheld the Virtue of Bravery, was born and received the Lord’s Blessing, gaining greater power, only then did the Merciful Knight and the Humble Knight follow.”

“These three truly follow the Eight Virtues. The other knights only claim to uphold one of the Virtues because of that power, but none have been acknowledged by the Lord.”

“The Three Sages once said that Faith should come from the heart. A Faith born from the Original Sin of Greed is not true Faith.”

Alice spoke with reverence for the Patriarch and the Three Sages, and with respect for the Virtue Knights.

“The Three Sages? I know the Patriarch, but the Three Sages you’ve been mentioning—when I spoke with Knight George, he only mentioned three High Priests,” Marl asked.

“The Three Sages are actually those three High Priests. But now that there are High Priests in the towns and villages outside the Holy City too, the Patriarch refers to the three High Priests as the Three Sages. They are also the administrators of the Theocracy,” Alice explained, then asked curiously, “The Three Sages told me that after reaching the Church of the Sanctuary, I could trust Warrior George. But you call him Knight George?”

“He became a Guardian Knight of the Church after acquiring the Zeda Manuscript from the Theocracy,” Marl said.

“Guardian Knight? Is that the same as the Virtue Knights of the Theocracy?” Alice asked.

“Although they’re all knights, there’s still a difference from the Virtue Knights of the Theocracy. The specific distinction is something you’ll have to experience for yourself when you study at the Monastery,” Marl said. Then, after a pause, he asked, “Did they only tell you to trust Knight George? Didn’t the Patriarch mention me?”

“You are…?” Alice was a bit puzzled.

“I was once a friend of the Patriarch. My name is Marl,” Marl coughed awkwardly.

“Oh, so it’s you.” Alice exclaimed in surprise, and Marl’s awkwardness eased slightly.

“The Patriarch did mention you. But he said you weren’t a very good…” Alice nearly quoted the Patriarch word for word, but realizing she was speaking directly to him, quickly swallowed the rest of her words and rephrased, “He said you were busy with many matters, and I should avoid bothering you if possible.”

But based on what Alice had said, Marl’s face turned red with suppressed frustration, having pieced together the omitted words.

Was it really necessary to hold a grudge over that one time he ambushed the Patriarch during a bathroom break back when they were studying together?

“Of course, the Patriarch also said that if something truly couldn’t be resolved and I couldn’t find anyone else to help, I could come to you. Even though, uh… but in some matters, you’re still very reliable,” Alice added, slightly easing Marl’s mood.

“If you ever need anything at the Church, feel free to find me,” Marl said.

“Thank you for your generosity,” Alice replied politely. But after hesitating, she added, “It’s just, with you leading these warriors, it may not be convenient to take us along. And your goal is…?”

“We’ll escort you to the territory of Baron Belair. The others may choose to live there or continue traveling to York Territory. As for you, I’ll arrange for knights to escort you to the Church,” Marl replied.

With trained White Doves, he would receive updates from the rear every three to five days, faster than George who ventured ahead alone.

Thus, he was aware of Puniel’s movements and could understand his intentions. For now, his task was to take these warriors to areas by the lake where the Werewolves were thinner—both to train the warriors and try to rescue any remaining survivors, as well as to divert some of the Werewolves’ attention.

Only when Puniel finished regrouping and marched straight into the Werewolves’ core would he head north.

Lake Salvador had been the path George had carved through with blood. After traversing the Nation of Werewolves, the area near the lake had become the weaker front for Werewolves due to their two successive purges.

Marl wasn’t foolish enough to charge into the core of the Nation of Werewolves with fewer than fifty warriors.

These were ordinary warriors, not all knights at George’s level.

“I see…” Alice nodded.

“But I’m a bit curious. Didn’t the Theocracy assign a knight to escort you for your studies?” Marl asked. “To get from the Theocracy to the Church, you’d have to pass through the Nation of Werewolves. It’s dangerous, and… you’re carrying the Patriarch’s bloodline.”

Marl still found the matter of the Patriarch’s bloodline strange.

“…All three Virtue Knights must protect the Sanctuaries. As for the other knights… they might not even be able to break through the encirclement of those sinful Aberrants,” Alice said awkwardly. “And I was only able to come now because the Aberrant forces in this direction are thin.”

“There are too few humans in the Nation of Werewolves—so few that the Aberrants don’t even bother invading. They need Faith. So aside from surrounding the Sanctuaries, they gradually abandoned the regions near the Nation of Werewolves and began advancing eastward. Though it’s chaotic there too, it has a larger population.”

“Of course, according to the latest information, the Aberrants now seek Faith not only from humans, but even from Fishmen and Dark Creatures. Or perhaps, from any living, intelligent life.”

“That’s why the Patriarch chose to send me now. He’s powerful, but because of that, he can’t leave the lands of the Theocracy.”

“Still, to ensure my safer passage to the Church, the Patriarch specifically lured the Wolf King to the border for a meeting, gravely wounded him, and killed a batch of Werewolves. But unexpectedly, even just traveling along the lakeside, I was still caught by the Werewolves.”

“If I hadn’t been rescued by you, I might have prepared to end my life tomorrow. This is the Patriarch’s bloodline—it must not fall into the hands of the Werewolves.” Alice smiled with relief, gently caressing her lower abdomen.

Marl averted his gaze.

This journey couldn’t have been as effortless as Alice made it sound.

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