CA – Chapter 88
Chapter 88
By the time Tang Qiu and Lucille reached the lighthouse, the white-robed witch had stopped breathing. The pungent, rotten stench was almost enough to make one faint. Tang Qiu raised a hand to cover herself and Lucille with a light barrier. The scene before them, a mountain of corpses in a sea of blood, made her brow furrow tightly.
Although she had seen plenty of bloody scenes since transmigrating, the sight before her still made Tang Qiu’s stomach churn.
She averted her gaze, looking down at the white-robed witch who had fallen outside the array. The witch’s hood had fallen off, revealing a somewhat aged face to Tang Qiu.
A flicker of doubt crossed Tang Qiu’s eyes. She glanced up again at the dark array ahead. The two black witches who had been used as blood sacrifices in the center of the array were of a similar age to the one on the ground.
The serene expressions on their faces and the strange smiles at the corners of their mouths sent an inexplicable chill down one’s spine.
“…What are the Garcia black witches trying to do?” The black witches who had caused trouble in Edry before were, after all, young and reckless, unaware of the Holy See’s true power.
But the older generation of black witches had all lived through the days of suppression by the Holy See. They were well aware of how light countered darkness and would not easily leave Witch City.
But now… Tang Qiu turned her head and met Lucille’s gaze. Lucille stared at the array ahead, drawn with blood and corpses, and said flatly, “Whatever the Garcia black witches do, it is always for one purpose: to summon the Dark God.”
It was their clan’s lifelong pursuit.
For thousands of years, they had been hunted by the Holy See for causing chaos on the continent of Statu, and the reason was always this.
Having received another white-robed witch as a blood sacrifice, the crimson streams within the array, after boiling, began to flow slowly once more. Tang Qiu signaled for Lucille to step back, then raised her staff and began to chant a spell in a low voice, intending to use light magic to forcibly destroy the array.
Although high-level light magic would also affect Lucille, she was protected by the light barrier Tang Qiu had cast and was not the target of the spell, so she didn’t need to retreat too far. She stood a short distance behind Tang Qiu, quietly watching her back.
Golden hair cascaded over the noble and magnificent bishop’s robes embroidered with dark green patterns. The tip of the silver-white staff was wreathed in a dazzling white light. Standing within that light, her figure appeared holy and dreamlike.
Lucille’s gaze deepened, her heart burning. She subconsciously licked the corner of her lips, but her peripheral vision suddenly caught a flash of crimson. She turned her head alertly. The dark array, as if sensing danger, suddenly caused the bloody streams to boil and surge, swallowing all the corpses piled within it. A thick blood mist abruptly rose around them.
Lucille frowned, flashed forward, and wrapped an arm around Tang Qiu’s waist before the blood mist could reach them, leaping with her onto the top of the lighthouse. Tang Qiu’s spell was interrupted. She looked down in astonishment. “…The array is disappearing?”
The blood mist was a cover. After the dark array devoured the corpses, the complex patterns etched into the ground began to fade, and the dark red color of the blood-soaked earth gradually returned to normal. By the time the blood mist dissipated with the wind, the dark array had completely vanished underground, leaving not a single trace of its existence.
Lucille brought Tang Qiu back down. With a grave expression, Tang Qiu raised her staff again and chanted a single line. A light flame suddenly appeared, covering the ground where the dark array had been.
The flame found no target and could only slowly dissipate, leaving cracks in the earth from its scorching heat.
Lucille walked to where the dark array had disappeared and knelt down, placing her hand on the ground. The surface was still searing hot from the light flame. She lowered her eyes and felt it for a moment, a hint of confusion in her eyes. “…The dark aura is gone.”
The dark aura that had just been soaring into the sky was now completely undetectable.
They were not black witches, after all, and had only a partial understanding of dark arrays. Tang Qiu pondered for a moment. Seeing that the sky had already darkened, she said to Lucille, “Let’s go back first. I’ll send people to stand guard here later.”
Although the dark array had vanished, the scene of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood kept flashing before Tang Qiu’s eyes. The blood sacrifice of three elderly Garcia witches left Tang Qiu with a persistent sense of unease. She glanced back one more time at the spot where the dark array had been, wondering if she should ask Erin to come and take a look.
When Tang Qiu and Lucille left the lighthouse and returned to where Karen and the others were resting, the sky had completely darkened. Flames flickered near Karen’s group. As they drew closer, they saw it was a squad of knights holding torches.
Seeing Tang Qiu and Lucille emerge from the darkness, Karen hurried forward to meet them. Her arm was injured, but it didn’t seem to affect her. She pointed at the squad of knights and said, “They’re from the Gosse Empire.”
Tang Qiu glanced in the direction she pointed. Behind the knights was a carriage hidden in the darkness. Although the night obscured the family crest on it, the luxuriousness of the carriage alone indicated that its occupant was a noble of considerable status.
The knight captain walked toward Tang Qiu, torch in hand. He bowed respectfully and said in a low voice, “Bishop Grace, my master would like to have a word with you.”
His posture was low and his tone extremely respectful; it was clear his master had given him orders. Tang Qiu had seen how the empire’s knights treated the Holy See with hostility and indifference for its repeated “refusal to provide support.”
She put away her staff, a faint smile already on her face. Tang Qiu nodded at the knight captain, her voice gentle. “Please lead the way.”
Karen walked protectively in front of Tang Qiu but was stopped by a raised hand. Tang Qiu gestured for Karen to take the other two Holy Knights and return to the church first.
Karen subconsciously wanted to refuse, but she didn’t dare disobey an order. She could only stand there, conflicted, watching Tang Qiu’s back recede into the distance.
Her eyes darted to Lucille, who was also standing still, and she couldn’t help but turn to look at her, asking curiously, “Are you a Sword Saint?” She still remembered how formidable this person had been against the Gorefiends.
Lucille quietly watched Tang Qiu board the carriage, then turned and stepped directly into the darkness.
Karen blinked, and Lucille was gone. She raised a hand to rub her nose and reluctantly walked over to the other two Holy Knights.
After helping Tang Qiu into the carriage, the knight captain mounted his horse, made a gesture to the knight on the carriage, and the carriage began to move with a gentle sway.
The sudden movement of the carriage didn’t alarm Tang Qiu. She looked at the noble girl sitting across from her, who was now meeting her gaze. Tang Qiu offered a friendly smile. Seeing that the girl remained silent, she finally said teasingly, “Do you need me to guess your identity?”
The noble girl sized up Tang Qiu, her expression shifting slightly. She slowly shook her head. “I didn’t expect the newly appointed bishop to be so young.”
“I am Maggie Smith, Imperial Princess of the Gosse Empire, and second in line to the throne.”
Tang Qiu had once guessed that Maggie was the daughter of some powerful noble, but she never imagined she was an imperial princess. Since arriving in the Gosse Empire, she had been focused on expelling the vampires and black witches and hadn't had time to pay attention to the royal family.
She was surprised by Maggie’s identity, but she showed no sign of it. Tang Qiu sat opposite Maggie and said with a smile, “Actually, even if Your Highness hadn’t sought me out, I was planning to meet with you after I expelled the black witches.”
“Oh?” Maggie narrowed her eyes and asked, “Why?”
“For the friendship between the Holy See and the royal family, of course.”
Maggie let out a cold laugh, but perhaps remembering she needed something from the blonde bishop opposite her, she quickly composed herself. Still, unable to suppress her anger completely, she replied coolly, “Does the Holy See still need the friendship of the royal family?”
Tang Qiu was unfazed by her cold attitude, maintaining the faint smile on her face. She said softly, “Perhaps the Holy See before my appointment did not, but now that I am in charge, I hope the Holy See and the royal family can coexist peacefully.”
She glanced out the window as they passed a town that had recently been invaded by vampires. Tang Qiu’s lips curved into a meaningful smile. “This is the best proposition for the innocent commoners, don’t you think?”
Maggie followed her gaze and fell silent. After a moment, she said in a low voice, “You’re right.”
The situation in the Gosse Empire was terrible, far worse than it appeared on the surface. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have sought out Tang Qiu.
To deal with dark creatures, they had to rely on the power of the Holy See.
Maggie looked up at the blonde bishop sitting opposite her. The other woman was composed and graceful, unafraid of any scrutiny or probing gaze. Her outstanding beauty and gentle, pure aura were also very endearing.
However, Maggie was not one to be easily deceived by appearances. The reason she had approached Tang Qiu was because of her actions in actively expelling the vampires and black witches since taking office, as well as the power she had displayed.
“I am only choosing to believe in you, not the Holy See.”
Tang Qiu smiled warmly, her eyes gentle. “It is my honor.”
The carriage drove into the royal palace under the cover of night, avoiding the patrolling knights and stopping at a back gate of the palace. Maggie handed Tang Qiu a pure white cloak, gesturing for her to put it on and get out.
“I’ll take you to see the king.” Maggie dismissed the knights around her and said gravely to Tang Qiu, who was behind her, “He has been ill for so long, and there has been no improvement.”
Tang Qiu followed behind her, thought for a moment, and asked, “Has a priest come to use a healing spell?” Although healing spells were mainly for external injuries, they were actually effective against some minor ailments.
Moreover, she had heard that the King of Gosse had fallen ill very suddenly, which made her suspect it might not be an ordinary “illness.”
Maggie glanced back at her and said expressionlessly, “The Holy See sent a priest to see him, but he refused to use a healing spell.”
Something stirred in Tang Qiu’s mind, and she nodded thoughtfully.
The king’s residence was heavily guarded. Maggie led Tang Qiu through inspections by three squads of knights before they were allowed to enter. As the door opened, the thick scent of medicine filled the room. Tang Qiu sniffed lightly, her brow slowly knitting together.
The King of Gosse lay on the bed, a blanket covering his chest, deep in a coma. He was just entering middle age, a time when his body should have been at its strongest, but this sudden illness had reduced him to skin and bones in just a few short months.
Tang Qiu stepped out from behind Maggie, taking off the cumbersome hood as she looked down at the King of Gosse’s face. His skin had an unhealthy grayish-blue tint, his eye sockets were red, his lips were dry, and a dark aura seemed to be gathered on his forehead.
Her frown deepened. She tentatively placed a hand on the king’s forehead, a white light flickering between her fingers.
Maggie waited patiently for a while, but seeing the blonde bishop’s expression grow increasingly grave, her heart sank. Her eyes began to redden, but she forced herself to remain calm and asked, “How is my father?”
Tang Qiu slowly withdrew her hand, looked up at Maggie, and said in a low voice, “He is not ill. He is under a black witch’s spell of witchcraft.”
A dark aura was extremely harmful to ordinary people, but it feared the power of light. The witchcraft afflicting the King of Gosse was not difficult to dispel. Before the dark aura could corrode his body, a single healing spell would have restored him to health.
But the priest sent by the Holy See hadn’t even been willing to use one healing spell. Thinking of this, Tang Qiu suddenly asked, “Do you remember the name of the priest the Holy See sent?”
Maggie was taken aback. The knight captain beside her answered in a low voice, “It was a priest named Willie.”
Tang Qiu nodded. She remembered that priest.
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