Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 476 - 476 222 Heresy and Miracle_2

476: Chapter 222 Heresy and Miracle_2 476: Chapter 222 Heresy and Miracle_2 Ines felt helpless, the information was too scarce.

She was trapped in the ongoing war and couldn’t send anyone to investigate the truth of this unfathomable matter.

But did she hear that this news was brought back by the Griffin Knight of the Thorny Flower Family?

If it’s from Lord Leon, this absurd intelligence might not be without credibility…

…..

…..

The war to the west of the continent was raging fiercely over the land.

Meanwhile, far away, separated from Orland by the two nations of Kantadar and Seryan, the “Felu Kingdom” had not yet been affected by the war that had broken out in the distant north.

But when envoys from the Holy Court Kingdom and the Church of Seryan arrived one after another, the Royal Palace of the mountain kingdom plunged into unprecedented fierce quarrels.

The grand deliberation before the throne lasted for several days, and the ministers still had not reached a conclusion.

The old king on the throne listened to the endless debate in the hall, weary and silently weighing his options.

The opposing factions represented the southern lords of the kingdom on one side and the northern lords, along with the priests of the Holy Sun Church within the country, on the other.

The core of the debate was that long before the envoys from the Holy Court and Seryan arrived, the Felu Kingdom had already been gathering armies.

The mountain people had noticed the emptiness beyond the border with the Urian people over the past half year—it seemed to be an opportune moment to reclaim the western lands of old.

But the original plan certainly conflicted with the horrific news now known.

The army was originally planning to head south and join with the allied “Maracon Kingdom” to reclaim the territory once seized by the Urians.

Or should they heed the Church’s plea for aid and enter Seryan to support their northern ally?

“…My lords, if the situation in Seryan is true and we do not contain this disaster within Seryan’s borders, what use is it to reclaim southwestern lands from the grassland people?

The northern border is wide open—waiting until the calamity strikes to regret it would be too late…” The Crown Prince of Felu declared forcefully in the hall.

A lord from northern Felu agreed, “Since Dinexion’s envoy has also gone to ‘Maracon’ seeking aid, surely news from the south will come soon.

Why not wait for our ally’s opinion?

If the majesty of Maracon decides to abandon the campaign against the Urians and opts to send troops north to support Seryan, we can hardly bear the risk of a western expedition alone.”

The old king seemed persuaded by the words of his eldest son and the northern vassal: “Gentlemen, there is no need to argue further.

The Seryan people have just quelled their civil strife only to face calamity.

Felu cannot be indifferent.

Without the northern allies’ reinforcements over the years, how could we have repeatedly repelled the Urians’ invasions…

Any delay may bring about change.

No matter what the southern opinion is, perhaps it’s time to repay this debt.”

Saying this, the old king of Felu stood up, raising his hand to order his eldest son, “Carl, take ten thousand from the gathered army and head to Seryan first to join forces with the army of Priest Alek.

If the northern disaster is real, I will soon lead the entire army north for a personal campaign.”

With the king’s decision, the debate subsided, and the originally planned western expedition swiftly adjusted under a series of commands.

…Just as the Crown Prince was assembling the troops.

North of the Royal City of Felu, beyond the mountain pass, on the lands of Seryan several hundred miles away, the dark clouds obscuring the sunlight and moonlight were slowly spreading from west to east…

Eastern Seryan.

In the Royal City that had just seen the end of fires of war, Alek sat beneath the sun wheel statue in the Royal City’s temple.

His aged right hand trembled slightly as he sifted through various grim news and disasters brought from the west, his heavy heart growing more and more indignant.

As the Great Priest governing the Seryan Diocese, having suppressed the sudden rebellion instigated by the king with the Defender Army, he had now become the de facto ruler of this kingdom.

But at this moment, there was no trace of joy for Alek.

He realized he might have already fallen into a conspiracy.

The Seryan King, leading the secular nobles, suddenly incited a civil war, trying to overthrow the Church’s authority…

This almost coincided with Kantadar’s eastern invasion and attack on Rolannar Holy City.

The aggressive Kantadar people were pawns.

The rebellious king and secular nobles were also pawns.

All aimed at seizing the Holy City from the Church.

Previously, leading the Holy Sun Defender Army, he was trapped in the prolonged eastern civil war and unable to extricate himself—when he learned of the fall and massacre of the Holy Land, and the Great Temple possibly being defiled by the Kantadar people…

At that moment, Alek was so ashamed he nearly committed suicide to atone for the grave sin of losing the Holy Land during his tenure as Great Priest.

But he knew he couldn’t do that—not yet.

He had to correct his mistakes, punish the treacherous king, and personally reclaim the resting place of the Holy Prophet.

But the reality was that reclaiming the Holy City, much less containing the sudden and catastrophic disaster, was a challenge given the current lack of strength.

One after another western town was silent, and now he could only race against time to contact the western border lords, urging them to take people eastward as they built a defense line in the middle of the kingdom.

The sixty-thousand troop reinforcements from Dinexion, sent by the Throne of the Prophet, hadn’t arrived yet.

The thirty-thousand-strong Seryan Defender Army at hand was insufficient.

Having lost the vast wealth of Rolannar’s Church, Alek was relieved he could still unlock the royal treasury, using the confiscated lands of the apostate nobles to recruit a new army as much as possible, to resist the overwhelming disaster.

He wasn’t sure if he and the envoys sent everywhere by the Holy Court could move the northern Orland, the southern Felu, and Maracon, for now, the disaster-stricken Seryan still had to fight alone…

Amidst chaos, Alek noticed a priest under his command hurrying into the hall.

“Priest, a Knight Order that has rushed here from the Dinexion Kingdom has just arrived outside the city.

Their Grand Master wishes to see you.” The priest reported with a somewhat strange expression.

“Is it the vanguard sent by the Throne?” Alek felt a sense of excitement upon hearing this.

“Well…

They don’t seem to be Holy Sun Knights sent by the Church…” The priest’s voice grew lower and lower as he leaned in and said to the Great Priest, “Judging by the emblem, those people are from the ‘Holy Lake,’ they appear to be the, legendary ‘Illaril Knight Order’…”

“Holy Lake Sect?” Alek’s expression turned a bit peculiar.

These people were a peculiar…

‘heresy’ within the Holy Sun Faith.

They weren’t very large, but extremely unique.

Because their believers did not worship the Holy Sun but solely pledged faith to “Illaril” himself.

This heretical sect lived near the legendary Holy Lake where the Holy Prophet was said to have bathed and established several monasteries, taking pride in drinking the Holy Lake Water and worshiping the Prophet himself.

And the so-called Illaril Knight Order was the most renowned armor within this small sect.

However, legend says that the history of the Knight Order actually predates the sect itself…

Some bold conjectures even claim it predates the current “Holy Sun Church”, though Alek naturally didn’t believe such nonsense.

“Are these…

‘knights’ also here to assist Seryan?” Although the devout Alek was very leery of heresy, as the Great Priest of the Prophet’s ascension site, he reluctantly consoled himself, acknowledging them as fellow devotees of the Prophet, and forced back his critical words.

Records noted that the Church had historically considered abolishing this heretical sect that didn’t revere the Holy Sun.

But after personal investigations by successive Prophets’ Thrones, they ultimately granted amnesty and allowed the existence of the Holy Lake Sect.

Conveniently, this small sect seemed not to have intentions to expand, remaining near the Holy Lake to this day.

The priest hesitantly responded, “It seems they didn’t come for Seryan.

They said last year’s end saw a miracle at the Holy Lake.

The knights heard the Prophet’s voice and are now searching across the continent for the Holy Land mentioned in the Prophet’s decree.”

“A Holy Decree?…

Can even these heretics receive a Holy Decree?”

Alek couldn’t help it anymore, unable to tolerate this heretical narrative.

He didn’t believe anyone claiming to hear divine words other than the “Prophet.” Historically speaking, such people were invariably charlatans, meant to be tossed into a crematorium to be purified by divine flames, sparing the world from their harm.

Shaking his head, he asked, “In that case, what are these guys looking to do by coming to me instead of continuing their search?”

“They said that despite not finding the Holy Land over the past nine months, they recently discovered that the Prophet’s ascension site encountered a disaster, and they feel it’s related to the received Holy Decree, prompting them to come to seek clues.

They want to ask if you’ve heard of that unfamiliar place name.” The priest replied.

“What place name?” Alek asked helplessly.

“Avalon.”