Chapter 227: How Is This Fair?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Using the connection that he shared with the War God's Sword, Baiyi found Laeticia and Attie in no time. The two had been following his orders; they had joined the clerics and the riders to help out those in need. Just as Baiyi himself was about to descend, a herd of griffin riders came from a certain direction.
They sped through the air and rejoined the dragon riders. At that same time, many private soldiers, who were owned by aristocrats and nobles, rushed out from the high-end living areas, heading towards the palace.
"Heh! Looks like there's still someone smart in there," Baiyi muttered to himself. It didn't matter if the members of parliament or the nobles were stupid — the primary ruler himself, the King, should not be doing anything that could get himself into trouble!
Baiyi landed next to Laeticia and used his finger to poke her cheeks. "Where's the bishop?"
"Hmm? Mr. Hope?" Laeticia looked at him, and then she pointed at a body covered with a white linen.
"...was hit by a huge piece of falling rock…" Her voice sounded sorrowful.
"So who's the leader of the Church's teams? A Saintess? A Paladin?"
"I don't know," Laeticia replied helplessly. "We're all moving on our own…"
"Pfft!" Baiyi tried to a pout. 'How can the Church be so ineffective at this critical moment? Did all of the higher-ups run away on their own?'
It took a while for the implications to cross Baiyi's mind, though. During the Harvest Festival, the Church's higher-ups had probably gathered on a smaller floating island, which had been specially set aside for them, next to the Capital City's floating island. They had been preparing for a large mass…
When the disaster struck, none of them had survived.
However, this was not the time to lament their demise. It was the time for leadership. They needed someone who would maintain order; if not, the news of the death of the Church's higher-ups would create a massive disarray that may result in unwanted consequences.
Baiyi dragged Laeticia away from the side of an injured commoner; his two ice-chunked hands gripped her shoulders. He fixed his gaze on hers and said, emphatically, "This is it; this is the time for a saintess, you, to carry the flag. Did you bring your armor with you?"
Laeticia nodded. That kinky costume from the Church was a prized possession that she never once left without taking.
Baiyi took her to an empty hut. He closed the door and turned his back to her. "Change into your armor quickly, and then listen to what I say."
"Um, okay." Although Laeticia still had no idea what he was planning, she agreed that her saintess armor would be more suited for the occasion than a short skirt would.
Very soon, Baiyi heard sounds of clothes being taken off. 'Is she not worried that I might just turn around right now to see her'
"These things… Can you really depend on me to do these things on my own?" Laeticia said nervously as she pulled her black stocking up to her thighs.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine' you're Saint Noel's apprentice, after all!" Baiyi assured her.
By the time Laeticia was all suited up, Baiyi had finished laying out his plan to the girl. At that same moment, the King was ready for his role in the mission; he had just finished drafting his speech.
Using the conch shell tool, the King made an announcement to the public, stating that the empire needed someone with knowledge of formations to help and that there was a trans-realm transporting portal being built.
The inhabitants of the city roared in excitement. A ray of hope when all seemed forsaken; it ignited the madness within the public.
At that moment, a beam of light broke through the night sky. A beautiful maiden was hovering in midair, and a pair of beautiful wings were spread out behind her. Her voice was jaunty and angelic, which soothed the restless hearts of the people. Under the help of magic, her voice traveled into everyone's ears.
"... Everyone, calm yourselves. There is no need for haste. Let us remain in order as we head to the palace for protection. Have faith — for each and every one of you will be saved," Laeticia said as she hovered in midair.
The combination of her angelic beauty, angelic wings, and angelic voice was even more effective than the commands of a king. The restlessness was soon pacified, and the city became much calmer.
"Alright, that's it; the next thing to do —" Baiyi said, instructing Laeticia through a temporary, and small-scale Audio Transfer Spell.
"Alright, that's it; the next thing to do…" Laeticia said, repeating what Baiyi had said in a loud voice.
"No, clumsy girl! This wasn't for them! It was for you! Don't repeat what I'm about to say now!" Baiyi stomped his feet frantically.
Truthfully, all the words that Laeticia had uttered had been told to her by Baiyi, who had to teach in a syllable-by-syllable basis; or else, with the girl's level of knowledge and vocabulary, she would have screwed it up…
"Oh, oh! So sorry, Mr. Hope! I'm just so clumsy…" Laeticia replied crossly, with a low voice, across the spell.
"Alright, that's about it. You remember what you have to say after this, right?" Baiyi asked. "I'll pass the role of maintaining order to you. I've got things to do."
"Huh?! Bu—but this… This sort of thing… I…" Laeticia was unsettled. She was still objecting to his idea when he sent her off into the sky. 'How can I, a saintess candidate, even fulfill such a feat?'
To all that, Baiyi chose to reply with an encouraging declaration: "Laeticia, I choose you!"
"It's fine. You're doing really great; do you know that? Just do as I said, and you'll be alright!" Baiyi praised the little village girl. "Look at you! You're a real saintess now. Come on, wave that flag!"
Laeticia had a flag with her. This was a flag that Baiyi made with a random stick and part of a white bedsheet.
"You can do it! Remember to never leave the Boosting Territory — that way you will not faint from fatigue. I'll come over and take you with me later!"
Baiyi went ahead to continue on his plan, leaving Laeticia behind to hover in midair as she raised the bedsheet flag to guide the refugees into retreating orderly.
"You used my theurgical technique to make a light show? Bravo! Bravo!" The Cleric exclaimed from the Void. He wasn't displeased; he was genuinely impressed.
"Well, at this moment, all the people need is a flag and a direction. All theurgy needs to provide is the correct visual effects."
Baiyi followed his link with the War God's Sword to locate his Kitty Cat Maid. After patting her head, he said to her, "Hand the sword over to me and go look for Aya or her companions. I think they are guiding the refugees to the palace."
"Right!" Attie nodded obediently and passed the sword to him. Before she left, she turned around and said, with concern, "Master! Please be careful."
'This girl who has a cat-like countenance is getting more and more docile.' Baiyi felt warmed by her progress. He turned his back to her, and with a quick wave from his icy-chunk of an arm, he once again took off into the air, heading towards the night sky.
In his grip, the War God's Sword turned back into its umbrella shape, just like how it did in Attie's grip. After a light investigation, Baiyi successfully discovered locations that had reactions of a few more Law Fragments.
Holding the sword in his hand, he teleported to an empty white space.
A single piece of Law Fragment was before him. He pulled the sword back and jabbed at the fragment with a quick extension of his arm.
The sword did not absorb this law, making Baiyi furrow his brow.
He hesitated. Then, knowing the risk, he wrapped a part of his consciousness with psychic energy and pushed it towards the fragment.
Baiyi understood the perils perfectly, but he had to do it. If he did not read this particular Law, he wouldn't be able to estimate the status of other similar Laws, and that would be problematic in the very near future.
His consciousness made contact with the Law fragment, and a torrent of chaos, delirium, and disorder perforated into his mind savagely. A will as resolute as his still shook mildly at the revelation. In fact, he even started to experience a migraine — something he hadn't had for a long time.
The process was fast. A second later, peace ensued, and the fragment vanished into nothingness right at that moment as well.
"Ah… so is this — the true sensation of one who reads the Law?" Baiyi shook his head hard to wake himself from the aftermath of the images.
He recalled the images in order to examine them better. After a while, under the Voidwalkers' concerned gaze, he declared, "That was a Corrupted Law. It has been completely dismantled into primeval chaos. It's useless already."
That wasn't the only information he had realized. After his contact with the Corrupted Law, he also understood the origin of the Armageddon.
That Corrupted Law was probably the Law that was lifting the floating islands. It had broken down a long, long time ago, losing its original function. The exact time that happened was unknown to Baiyi, but he could see that it had happened.
The reason why the islands had not fallen until today, was because another Law had been added into this realm at the very last moment, like a safeguard that had delayed the onset of the Armageddon.
But that was never meant to last long. Just as the safeguard itself was starting to break down, Baiyi had entered the game. After he touched that lone, functioning Law Fragment, the disaster began.
The Fifth Walker could easily guess that the very Law Fragment that he had come into contact with was the safeguard the War God had added in.
Even that safeguard was already at a pitifully pathetic size when he had arrived, if Baiyi had not touched it, it would still break down eventually.
If everything was orchestrated by the War God alone, Baiyi had to acknowledge the god's intellect and power, or even give him a round of applause after giving him a "like". The War God had helped him, given him his weapon and a Kitty Cat Maid, let him experience the Law first hand, given him a chance to learn a way to read the Law, and in the end, rounded it all up into a package — as a thank-you reward for Baiyi's effort to save these lives.
How is this even a fair trade?