The First Pope - Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Although Chloe had stated with the utmost seriousness that she would never agree to an alliance with humans, and that she would never even acknowledge those with a Light Constitution, Cynthia's plan still proceeded in an orderly manner.
This was because Darcy and several other members of the God Race thought Cynthia's plan was excellent.
The God Race territory was in a valley over two thousand li away. The shortest route required crossing two cities, both of which were garrisoned by Vampires. In the past, Darcy would have certainly chosen to go around. Although it would waste some time, it was, after all, safer.
This was especially true now, with third-generation Vampires flocking to the Sitatul Continent.
But this time, they were accompanied by Elves, so safety was not a concern. After discussing it, Darcy and Cynthia agreed that there was no need to detour; they could cut straight through the cities.
Near the cities, there would be many towns and villages controlled by Vampires, as well as many imprisoned humans. On their way to retrieve their kin, they could also search for humans with a Light Constitution.
The night was hazy, and a fine rain fell. A squad of Silver Knights, cradling their silver longswords, dozed at the town's entrance. Inside the town, four or five Vampires were gathered, feeding. A long green arrow streaked through the night sky like a shooting star. The feeding Vampires instinctively looked up, their eyes following the arrow's path.
Once over the town, the arrow suddenly multiplied into a shower of arrows. The Vampires dodged in panic, but were ultimately pierced through the chest and pinned to the ground.
From the top of a tall tree, an Elf guard retracted her longbow. A group of silver-haired God Race members in pure white cloaks walked past beneath her. A white wolf shot out from somewhere, and with a few swipes of its claws, turned the Silver Knights guarding the town entrance into corpses.
Hanni smashed through the town's fence and swaggered in, pouncing on and killing the Vampires who came out to investigate the commotion.
Dozens of Vampires were hidden within the town, and Hanni took care of almost all of them by herself.
Darcy led the God Race into the town to rescue the imprisoned humans. The number of humans held here was not large, but there were still several thousand.
The not-so-spacious streets were packed with people. The scantily clad, sallow, and emaciated humans looked at the God Race party, their hearts still filled with timidity and fear. To them, the God Race, like the Vampires, were a different species.
These other races all possessed the power to decide their life and death.
Sarah and the other God Race members who had been with Cynthia saw the humans gathering and walked over with practiced ease. They selected a portion of the humans, led them aside, and began demonstrating Light Magic while checking for anyone with a Light Constitution.
Meanwhile, the God Race members facing this situation for the first time looked at the humans staring back at them with numb or timid expressions, a troubled look on their faces. They turned to Darcy for help, whispering, "What should we do?"
As they spoke, they glanced at Sarah's group, a hint of worry in their brows. They had never told a lie in their entire lives; how were they supposed to convince these humans that they were messengers of the Goddess of Light?
Darcy raised a hand to her chin and pondered for a moment before suddenly chanting an incantation. A golden light descended from the sky, illuminating the darkness that shrouded the town.
This sudden brightness made the humans shrink back in fear, but they slowly stopped moving when they realized the golden light didn't harm them. Instead, it soothed the pain and fatigue in their bodies.
They looked up at the God Race standing in the center of the golden light. The brilliant rays seemed to cloak them in a sacred aura, and their strikingly beautiful appearance slowly dispelled the fear in the humans' hearts.
A very affable smile appeared on Darcy's lips. She turned her head slightly to the God Race behind her and instructed in a low voice, "Smile more warmly. If you don't know what to say, just use a Healing Spell on them."
A Healing Spell that could soothe pain was sometimes more powerful than words.
However, the necessary words could not be forgotten. Darcy took a few steps forward into the midst of the humans, her deliberately slow tone sounding exceptionally gentle. "Do not be afraid. We will not harm you."
"We are the God Race, sent by the oracle of the Goddess of Light to save you."
She appeared completely open and sincere. Her golden eyes, much like the Healing Spell falling upon them, felt warm, making the humans who stared blankly at her unconsciously want to believe.
Although the gods had already left the Sitatul Continent, the legends about them had never disappeared. If the Goddess of Light, said to be the most compassionate towards humanity, could truly see the state of the Sitatul Continent today, she would surely send someone to save them.
Like these members of the God Race, surrounded by golden light. As the humans gazed at Darcy's figure, a new light appeared in their eyes. It had been so long since they had last seen the light.
Olivia remained in the forest to rest. After confirming the next day's route with the returning Elf scout, Cynthia left the woods alone and went to the town to find Darcy and the others.
The humans who had been crowding the town were now sitting in open spaces, quietly waiting for the God Race to test their constitutions.
Having finished examining a group of people, Sarah stood to the side, staring dumbfounded at Darcy, who was surrounded by humans. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing Cynthia.
"It seems she's well-suited for this role." Cynthia's voice suddenly came from behind Sarah. Sarah quickly turned, stepping aside, her tone filled with undisguised amazement. "Darcy is incredible."
She had been standing here for a long time. If she didn't know that they had never received any oracle, even she would have been tempted to believe that the God Race was truly sent by the Goddess of Light to save humanity.
Cynthia watched Darcy's back with a smile. Based on her interactions with Darcy over the past few days, she wasn't surprised by her outstanding 'persuasion' skills.
This God Race member only appeared gentle and non-aggressive on the surface. Compared to her, Clan Leader Chloe, who wore a cold expression all day and seemed deep in thought, was actually far more straightforward.
Cynthia watched from a distance for a while. Seeing that Darcy could handle everything on her own, she nodded in satisfaction. She turned to head back to the forest when her peripheral vision caught a dark shadow huddled in a corner.
She stared at the shadow for a moment, then walked over.
The shadow was a slender young girl. She looked up at the sound of footsteps and was slightly taken aback when she saw Cynthia.
"Why are you here all by yourself?" Cynthia asked quizzically, looking the girl up and down.
Though the girl's clothes were tattered, they were relatively clean. Her face was pale from hunger, and her short, curly golden hair was plastered to the side of her face by the fine rain. Despite her wretched appearance, her brown eyes were exceptionally bright, and her gaze held a fortitude and maturity that didn't belong to someone her age.
The girl met Cynthia's gaze for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I can't sense the Power of Light. I can't become one of your believers."
She was one of the humans Sarah had just examined. After learning she couldn't follow the God Race, she had come here alone to think about where she would flee to next.
Since birth, she had lived a life of imprisonment or flight with her mother. After her mother's death, she continued to live the same way.
But she really didn't want to run anymore.
"If I can't sense the Power of Light, am I completely useless?" The girl glanced at the God Race surrounded by the crowd, then looked up at Cynthia standing before her and asked in a calm tone.
Cynthia was a little surprised by the girl's overly calm question. She raised an eyebrow, looked down in thought, and then said with a smile, "Of course not."
She took a silver longsword from her Space Gem and handed it to the girl, saying with a slight smile, "Without Light Magic, you can still use a weapon to protect yourself."
The girl stared at the sword presented to her, hesitating for a moment before reaching out to take it. The longsword that the silver-haired God Race member had held so easily in one hand was so heavy that she almost couldn't hold it with two.
Cynthia reached out to steady the girl, who was nearly pulled over by the sword's weight, and said nonchalantly, "A weapon is heavy. It's not an easy thing to use it to protect yourself."
The sound of footsteps came from behind. Cynthia turned to see it was Darcy. She patted the girl's shoulder and then turned to leave.
The girl stared blankly at Cynthia's back, her arms instinctively tightening around the longsword.
Seeing Cynthia walking toward her, Darcy stopped. She glanced in the girl's direction and asked curiously, "What were you doing?"
"Nothing." Cynthia also looked back and said with a light laugh, "I just found a little lamb that didn't want to be prey."
Darcy looked at the silver longsword in the girl's arms, her gaze turning thoughtful as she looked away. "I remember you said there was a group of very powerful knights in Hatz City."
Hearing her mention this, Cynthia took out a parchment scroll detailing swordsmanship training methods from her Space Gem and handed it to her. "Actually, it's more appropriate to call them swordsmen."
"There aren't many humans in this town with a Light Constitution, but there are quite a few who are young and healthy," Darcy said as she unrolled the parchment. "I think we can select some to take with us."
Since they were going to train knights, they might as well start preparing early. No one knew when this continent would fall into chaos again.
Cynthia had actually had the same idea. Seeing that Darcy was on the same page, a smile flashed in her eyes. They exchanged ideas and quickly finalized a plan.
Communicating with someone who shared the same beliefs was a very pleasant experience. However, Cynthia still remembered that Chloe was the clan leader of the God Race. She asked politely, "Don't you need to discuss this with Chloe?"
Darcy shook her head slightly. "No need. She'll agree."
Seeing the doubt in Cynthia's expression, she paused and couldn't help but defend Chloe. "Actually, Chloe isn't a cold and unfeeling person."
"She used to be very sympathetic to the plight of humans."
Cynthia thought of Chloe's extreme emotions and disgusted tone whenever humans were mentioned, and her brow furrowed slightly. "Then why does she hate humans so much now?"
"Chloe only succeeded as clan leader last year. The previous leader was her mother. It was she who discovered the secret of the Divine Stone, and it was her order to find the scattered members of our race." Speaking of the former leader, Darcy's tone grew heavy. "Although the God Race has lived as fugitives for the past few hundred years, we have always been rescuing humans."
"To help humans escape the Vampires' pursuit, our God Race nearly faced extinction several times."
"But in the end, we were betrayed by humans." Darcy sighed and said in a low voice, "They led the Vampires to our territory. The previous clan leader sacrificed herself to protect us."
"Chloe watched her mother die right in front of her, which is why she hates humans as much as she hates Vampires."
"Actually, Chloe is very kind," Darcy said, sensing the heavy atmosphere and changing her tone with a smile. "And not all humans are like that."
"We were able to find you scattered kin thanks to the help of humans." Seeing Cynthia's confusion, Darcy reminded her, "The Divine Stones you hold for sensing were delivered to you by humans we saved."
They gave a Divine Stone to every human they rescued, asking them to pass it on to any God Race members they encountered on their own escape routes.
Although it was like finding a needle in a haystack, thankfully, the results weren't so bad.
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