Ch. 57 - Edley Cathedral

When the potion entered her body, Lucia felt as if she were witnessing her own tragic end. Her strength seemed to be sucked away in an instant. Soon, she collapsed limply on the ground. Her mouth opened, wanting to scream for help. But that sexy little mouth could no longer make any sound. She was just like a mannequin lying in a cold and dirty alley.

Paladin calmly put the bottle away, took a folded sack from his pocket, put Lucia into the sack, and then sprinkled some gravel grass roots on the ground so the shape of the trace left didn’t resemble a human body. After gagging her mouth, Paladin carried her on his shoulder and calmly walked out of the alley, going towards the main road.

"Hey, priest. What are you carrying?" An old man who was eating bread on the roadside asked casually with a smile. The people around immediately turned their attention to the sack on Paladin's shoulder, which looked heavy. Paladin showed a mild expression as he said, "It is a sack full of soybeans. Even the most devout believer still need to eat."

"Hahahaha, I see. The priest is so strong. A sack of soybeans, huh. Even my son will get tired and gasp for breath." The other uncle with a bottle of wine in his hand immediately laughed. His son was a hard worker, that was why he said that. When the people around heard this, they also burst out in a good-natured laughter. Paladin also laughed with them, but his eyes were calm.

‘They are peaceful, bumbling civilians. It seems that Edley is in better shape than I thought. Very valuable to use.’

Paladin, who was smiling cheerfully on the surface, suddenly opened his mouth and inquired, "May I ask where the cathedral of Edley is?"

"Oh, is the priest going to see the bishop? Just go straight ahead and turn right. It's very conspicuous, you can't get lost." After finishing the bread in his hand, the dazed old man who had a kind appearance was very happy to show this young priest, one that was younger than his own son, the way to the cathedral. Paladin thanked him and walked away.

"Nowadays, priests try to flatter the bishop in a variety of ways, but I've never seen one who gives soybeans," said the old man with great sorrow after Paladin walked away. On the other side of the table, an uncle who was looking regretfully at the empty wine bottle and sitting on the stair stated, "What a pitiful priest. Such a simple man will be wrecked by that bastard bishop. So pitiful, ah…."

Paladin naturally could not hear this conversation, and even if he did, he did not care. Just like what the old man had said, the cathedral of Edley really couldn’t be mistaken as some other building. The roof that was decorated with gorgeous patterns was pointing straight to the sky. On both sides, there were stone towers made of marble. The main entrance was seven meters high, with a fifty steps staircase. In front, there was a square. This cathedral was enough to be considered a landmark church. It really couldn’t be compared with the dilapidated church in Nurba that might collapse at any time. Such a magnificent church towering in the middle of the square, surrounded by many buildings and houses as tall as a crane.

Looking at such grandeur, Paladin eyes flashed with longing.

‘What a magnificent church! This is the place worthy of me, Paladin! How did I live in that shabby room in Nurba for more than a month?’

With an excitement that could not be suppressed, Paladin climbed the stairs and approached the door of the church one step at a time. After that, he stepped inside.

Magnificent! Luxury! These were the first impressions that appeared in Paladin's mind. Pews covered in red cloth were lined up inside the church, which was half the size of the square. There were thirty four rows of pews adorned with carvings filled the most space inside the church. The floor was made of fine marble. Obviously, it was something of high quality, divided in a perfect combination. On both sides of the church, there were rows of huge glass windows. The colored glazed windows depicted various idols of Enos. Red curtains seven to eight meters long were hung from the ceiling until it reached the floor, adorning the glass windows.

Between the windows were stone pillars, and oh my god, these fat-headed bastards! The stone pillars were all made of marble and carved with beautiful patterns! Beside the stone pillars, there were more than a dozen candles placed on a lamp stand. Illuminating this sliver of heaven on earth. The envious Paladin looked up and saw that there were three huge chandeliers hanging above his head! The gilded chandeliers were dozens of gigantic candles. The burning candles complemented each other. Against the backdrop of the gilded chandeliers, with the help of the light reflected from the floor marble, the whole church appeared to be bathed in a golden light! It looked gorgeous and luxurious! What was more, on the ceiling where the chandeliers were hung, it was full of beautiful murals with vivid colors because it was painted with expensive paints!

Paladin looked over flatly as he stepped onto the red carpet in the center. Nestled in the middle, was a huge statue of Enos that could reach the ceiling! The most representative image of the God was of an old man that was holding the lamp of hope in his left hand and the sword of justice in his right hand. It was the idol of Enos. Next to the meticulously crafted idol, there dangled cross banners. Dazzling candles were placed in front of the idol. It Illuminated the surroundings, making the idol look more and more divine.

Paladin’s mouth gaped in awe as he stared blankly at all this. These were intended to be his. He never had these things before. Extravagant and magnificent. These things made the idea to kill the bishop right now and take his place arose in Paladin’s mind. He wanted to have all of this!

"Who are you, priest? What are you doing here?"

Paladin was still dazed when a few bald clerics that were cleaning the church stared at him and asked him a question. When they first saw Paladin, they cracked up before asking with vague disdain.

Paladin immediately returned to his senses. Ignoring the clerics’ attitude, he answered respectfully, "I am a priest under the jurisdiction of the bishop, the priest in-charge who manages Nurba. I hope to be able to ask for an audience with His Grace the Bishop."

"Oh. You wait. His Grace the Bishop is very busy, come back later."

Hearing Paladin's narrative, the clerics showed obvious impatience and waved their hands in dismissal. They hoped that this priest would hurry up and leave. Paladin even vaguely heard a cleric hiding in the distance sneered at him.

"A country bumpkin, carrying a sack to see the bishop? Hahaha."

Paladin smiled faintly, unbothered by the clerics' rudeness. On the contrary, he was happy. The more snobbish these clerics were, the more chances he had of surviving. He was originally araid of meeting some really devout believers, but it also saved a lot of time this way.

Thinking so, Paladin took out three gold coins from his pocket and handed them to the cleric implicitly and said, "It's hard for you to work for God. I just want to see the bishop, please let me know if I am able to?"

When he saw the three gold coins, the originally disdainful look the cleric gave Paladin before immediately disappeared. These were gold coins! This priest from the countryside was so rich, it seemed he couldn’t be underestimated.

The balding cleric immediately looked around and grabbed the gold coins in Paladin's hand with a firm grip. He was afraid of it being snatched away. After confirming that those were real gold coins, the attitude of these losers abruptly changed one hundred and eighty degrees.

"Oh! May the Great God bless you, priest. The Lord Bishop is busy, but now he has some free time. He should be able to afford to meet a dear servant of God. I will go to inform him. Please wait a moment,’ said the cleric in a flattering manner. After obtaining the gold coins with the other two, they ran up to the second floor cheerfully. The good thing was that it was already noon. Usually, no believers would come at this time, so these clerics dared to receive bribes so blatantly.

Seeing nobody on his left and right, Paladin sat on the bench. He then felt up Lucia's warm body that was shivering inside the sack. An inscrutable smile appeared on his face.

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