Chapter 149: Church District

Max explained his desire to enter reclusion to strengthen himself.

He mentioned his legacy class, about the problems he faced during the training with his Radiant Knights due to the constraints of the training courtyard’s environment, and the need to commission a Grand Artificer to change the training courtyard to his masterpiece.

Lastly, he expressed his future plans—the reason behind the training for months.

Max read the letter again and was assured that he didn’t expose himself that he came from the future, only giving subtle hints at the possible appearance of the demon’s invasion.

Although demons could now invade with the space rift, an ability among other demon races, there was still a reason why humanity wasn’t swallowed by them.

They could be answered by the Church’s belief, which was not different from the truth.

If the Empire could easily be invaded and conquered, the Greater Demon wouldn’t have resort to planning an ambush and escaped when he felt threatened.

The statue’s sacrifice still lingered and protected the Empire.

But how long it would last?

Max shook his head and discarded such thoughts.

After writing the letter, he called the Commander and asked, "Should I bring you the letter, or I just have to pass the contents and you will deliver it to the Imperial Family by communication array?"

The Commander was speechless.

"The second option is so insincere. Are you really that in a hurry?"

Max was embarrassed. "Yes." He did not lie.

"You don’t have a choice but to wait." The Commander sighed. "Send the physical letter to me and I will deliver it with the help of my fastest messenger."

Max rolled his eyes.

He stood up. "I will personally send the letter to you. I’ll be there soon."

"Sure. Go ahead."

Max cut off the call and finally decided not to train today.

...

Max proceeded to the Command Hall with his horse. He examined the horse with the runes and acknowledged that every runes planted by Archmage Arlen was pure spells.

It was not like the horse changed into a mechanical object, it was naturally amplified by the runes.

It took ten minutes to arrive in the Command Hall, where he delivered the letter to the Commander.

Max didn’t linger long, knowing that the Commander himself was also busy.

After he was finished with his agenda with the Commander, he went straight to the Church’s district.

It was located in the western sector of Dunmarrow, situated upon a gently elevated hill overlooking much of the city.

It was separated separated from the surrounding residential quarters by broad stone avenues and meticulously maintained gardens.

Unlike the Arcane District, where mana was studied through theory and experimentation, the Church District was devoted to the responsible stewardship of divine power, public welfare, and the spiritual guidance of both civilians and Imperial personnel.

The district served as the provincial headquarters of the Church of Holy Salvation, overseeing all ecclesiastical affairs throughout Mirefall Province.

It was still early in the morning when Max entered the Church’s district.

When he inquired the Commander about the Church District, he learned about the responsibilities and major structures of the Church.

The primary six responsibilities are Spiritual Administration, Divine Education, Public Healing, Humanitarian Belief, Demon Countermeasures, and Ecclesiastical Archives.

Of the six, Max was more interested on the latter two.

The Demon Countermeasures responsibility were obviously on handling against demonic activity in the Mirefall Province, while the Ecclesiastical Archives collected histories of demon invasions and many other collections consisted of historical records in the province.

For now, Max didn’t think of getting involve with the Church’s responsibilities yet.

He had yet to finish his reclusion training.

Max’s visit this time was to inquire of the strange phenomenon when he touched the statue and, of course, to seek possible rewards to be granted to him.

He also wished that the Church might help him convince the Imperial Family to support his request to change his training courtyard.

Max was aware of his privilege as a bearer of Authority, and he wanted to take advantage of it.

Max’s plan was to visit the Archbishop himself.

When he was at the Command Hall and told the Commander his next destination, the Commander personally contacted the Archbishop that the Imperial Demon Vanguard would visit the Church and might need his inquiries to be answered.

The Archbishop assured that the Imperial Demon Vanguard could visit anytime and he would personally accommodate him.

Max was flattered.

However, as soon as he was getting closer to the Church.

He felt strange.

The people from the Church grew frantic when they saw him.

Quite a strange one—they were not scared, but anxious.

They ran as fast as they could towards the Grand Cathedral, where Max was going towards.

What’s going on? He frowned.

Suddenly, a bell rang, coming from the Grand Cathedral.

Max glanced at the enormous, towering Grand Cathedral and saw bell towers producing rhythmic noise.

The bell’s rhythm wasn’t something like a funeral, a wedding, or any sort of celebration Max was familiar of.

It was a strange rhythm of...

Recognition?

He remained utterly confused.

Suddenly, he began to notice that behind him was a disciplined group of people who followed him while keeping a distance from him.

They carried candles and flowers, smiling ear to ear whenever they met his gaze.

Despite the total confusion, he didn’t slow down his horse’s pace.

Once he arrived at the gate, two knights on each side, grasping a spear as their weapon crossed it in front of Max.

The two knights gazed at Max with solemn expression, but their eyes were filled with astonishment and admiration.

Max was about to question them, when an individual, emanating a B-Rank aura, possibly a Saint, wearing a clerical clothing appeared beside the knight and faced Max.

He said in a polite tone, "Imperial Demon Vanguard, we are requesting you to proceed henceforth by your foot. The Archbishop is waiting inside."

Max was stunned. Does it need to be this grand? I just want to ask him something. He silently sighed.

He jumped off his horse and stared at the colossal closed gate behind the "X" spears of the knights.

He felt the presence of the sea of people behind him.

It felt like the surprising event might held a deeper meaning than it appeared...

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