Above The Sky
Chapter 429 - 429 399 Dust Settles 33

429: Chapter 399 Dust Settles (3/3) 429: Chapter 399 Dust Settles (3/3) For the residents of the Leyan Territory, the night had never felt so long.

Under the display by the nuns of the Embrace Light Church and Steward Moda, all of the conspiracies and darkness hidden within Baron Leyan’s ancient castle were exposed.

The mysterious events and disappearances that had long puzzled the inhabitants of this land now had an explanation.

But compared to hatred, rage, and fear, they felt more bewildered, knowing the truth did not bring them joy.

Rather, they felt lost.

——With the Baron having made a grave mistake and now having fled, who would be the next ruler of the Leyan Territory?

——Would he still maintain the subsidies, allowing them to continue living as they were?

——With the Mountain People and the descendants of The Empire ending their rule over this land, does this mean the loyalty of the Mountain People would also have cracks?

The uncertain future left everyone feeling anxious.

Not until two Holy Knights on galloping steeds arrived, racing toward the sea of flowers.

The light of dawn and the Radiance Grass shone upon their pure white armor, reflecting beautiful shades of gold and red, with the sun like a gem set against their backdrop.

Receiving a distress signal from their comrades, the Executors of the Holy Hall, ‘Redemption’ and ‘Sword of Light,’ had come through the storm and thunder overnight, finally arriving at the break of dawn.

Not too early, but not too late either.

They were greeted by a Radiant Nun of the Embrace Light and a Guide Knight from Harrison Port who had assisted her.

The arrival of the Holy Hall Enforcers quelled the panic in the city; the two Second Tier Powerhouses meticulously drew out the bones buried beneath the flowers, purified and blessed them, and then thoroughly searched Leyan Castle for every trace of a clue.

Guided by the Guide Knight, they were ready to head to the vicinity of Solitary Flame Peak to search for the possible whereabouts of the Baron.

After expressing their gratitude, the two enforcers departed.

Having determined their general destination, the search became quite straightforward.

In no time at all, they arrived by the Third Dam Lake.

They came upon a battle scene already ravaged by storm and mud, and could not help but frown.

“Didn’t Yingguang say she was on a Cult trace search?

This looks nothing like a Cult’s sacrificial rite, but rather like some kind of biological or Spirit Energy experiment,” said a tall knight with jet-black hair and deep brown eyes.

Her voice was resonant and her physique so robust that even the Holy Hall Enforcer’s armor, which could accommodate a man two meters tall and muscular, seemed somewhat straitened.

And from the bull horns protruding high from her helmet, one could tell she was a Minos-descended Demihuman.

Minos descendants, regardless of gender, are extremely tall, able to withstand the recoil of a rapid-fire cannon that would normally require several ordinary people to control and have remarkable close combat capabilities.

The weapons they use are oversized by normal standards; what requires two hands for others, they can wield with one, and even dual-wield.

However, because of this, life is quite inconvenient for the Minos descendants, and they are often seen as nothing more than war machines.

Only a very small number of Minos descendants have the opportunity to receive a good education and take on professions such as Scholar or Alchemist.

Even less common are those in the clergy.

And that is the case even if they are merely recognized as monks by the Embrace Light rather than official Clerics who have gone to the Holy Mountain.

“The two are not mutually exclusive, but I believe these are two different incidents,” replied another equally tall but slightly less so than his companion, a Knight of the White Folks.

He had a gentle face, snow-white hair, and his demeanor was courteous and polite.

“Look, Redemption, there’s another body over there.”

“Take a look at that armor, reminiscent of a Dragon Ant Carapace—does it remind you of anything?”

“Ha, Spirit Wisdom Institute, good riddance,” scoffed the Redemption Executor as she glanced over.

She patted her horse, signaling it to move forward for a closer look: “Hmm…

The skull is shattered, and the brains and blood have all been washed clean…”

Looking up, the Redemption Executor turned her gaze to a Cultivation Chamber not far away, with golden light shooting out from the slits in her helmet, scanning the now turbid cultivation fluid: “Dawn Glow Grass Extract, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus…

Wow, were they trying to perform a human alchemy?

Or perhaps reverse decomposition, completely destroying the bodies?”

“Sword of Light, what’s your analysis?” the bull woman’s resonant voice echoed through the valley.

Hearing his companion’s call, the Executor known as Sword of Light rode forward as well and observed before nodding: “Based on the information provided to us by Yingguang, the Guide Knight, and Steward Moda, the bodily fluids in these Cultivation Chambers are likely those of his adopted children.”

“As for the one in the middle, it’s probably the body of his deceased son, whom he intended to bring back through human alchemy.”

Given this, many things can be deduced.

“It seems that it’s another conspiracy devised by the Spirit Wisdom Institute—Baron Leyan collaborated with them in these plans.

Eventually, both sides had a conflict, fought each other, and perished together,”

the Knight of the Glorious Sword said these words calmly, nodding slightly when his gaze swept over Baron Leyan’s corpse: “Please look at these traces of poison; they are clearly distinctive of the Spirit Wisdom Institute, unmistakably so.”

“No, it’s not that clear,” retorted the Knight of Redemption Light with a click of his tongue, causing the air around to visibly tremble, and the horses to let out a soft neigh: “They will never admit it—never.”

“Dragon Ant Carapaces and poisons don’t prove anything, deep pit adventurers all favor this type of equipment, one of my dwarf apprentices has a set at home, almost identical…

except for the size.”

“We don’t need their admission, even if we lack completely conclusive evidence,” Glorious Sword replied indifferently: “It’s they who need to explain to the Imperial Capital, all we need to do is make our condemnations.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he decided: “Condemn The Empire for its inadequate control over the Nobles, condemn the Spirit Wisdom Institute for their malicious biological experiments, and in accordance with the ‘Five Major Agreements,’ they must properly compensate all victims’ losses—if they still have any family members, that is.”

As he said this, the Knight of Redemption Light was still carefully examining the traces on the ground.

She even dismounted from her horse, unconcerned about the dirt on the ground, crawling on the floor, meticulously searching for every little trace in the rocks and soil washed by the rain.

“Did you find something?

Are there clues to Fiery Flame Land?”

Glorious Sword was not surprised but also dismounted, kneeling on one knee on the ground, searching the land for traces with his companion: “I don’t have the ‘Blood-Seeking Mystic Eye,’ I can’t see those minute traces.”

“Indeed, I found some clues, but not Fiery Flame Land.

That’s clearly a red herring…

Hmph, Baron Leyan wasn’t that strong, nowhere near.

Hey, maybe he erupted in anger?”

The tall Knight of Redemption Light stood up; she was a head taller than Glorious Sword, who stood up with her.

The Minotaur Executor laughed heartily: “But I don’t want to know the truth—I won’t continue the investigation.”

“Why?” The white-haired knight asked, puzzled—he did ask, but with a smile on his face.

Clearly, it was all business as usual.

“Because knowing the truth, when others ask, I’d have to speak out, or choose not to answer—speaking out is stupid, not answering offends people, but not knowing?

No problem there.

They don’t expect to get any answers from us; that’s the privilege of being a Minotaur.”

The tall cow woman waved her hand as if swatting away a fly: “I really don’t know how you serious Clerics manage, not lying—oh my, just thinking about it terrifies me.”

“Haha, that’s something we can’t help.

But we have the right not to speak, which is much better than what many have,” the Executor of Glorious Sword smiled gently: “Actually, this is why every time we Holy Hall Enforcers are deployed, we always team up in pairs.”

“And there must be a non-cleric team member.”

“Eh.” The Executor of Redemption Light was taken aback: “Isn’t that because the founder of Embrace Light and all the previous Popes were twins?”

“…That’s a romantic notion that we all like,” Glorious Sword paused, then diplomatically responded: “But it’s just an excuse.

You should read our doctrine more, Redemption Light; you won’t pass the end-of-year assessment otherwise.”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with work and drinking, it’s all trivial.” The cow woman laughed heartily.

Taking photographs of everything before their eyes with the Photographic Crystal as evidence to preserve, the two Holy Hall Enforcers of Redemption Light and Glorious Sword diligently cataloged and organized all the evidence on the scene.

When the dust settled, the affair came to an end.

However, towards the very end, while the two Enforcers were waiting for Leyan Territory’s city guard to arrive with a trailer and other tools to collect the corpses and Cultivation Chambers at the scene,

Glorious Sword turned his head slightly towards Baron Leyan’s corpse.

His eyes lit up with the white Spirit Energy Halo.

[Ian…]

He murmured softly: [Currently witnessing the process…]

…

In Leyan Territory,

leading his Camel Beast with his belongings packed, Ian was saying goodbye.