Chapter 409: Pastor Roy is an Honest Man

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. Pastor Roy came to visit Qi Suian once more, bringing with him the Seal of Faith and the Canon Bible.

"I’m very sorry, Baron Fisher. I was discourteous last time and misunderstood you. Please accept my apology."

"This is a token of my apology." As he spoke, Pastor Roy presented Qi Suian with a dagger plated in mithril.

"A mithril dagger from the Church can not only harm devils, but it will also hum and vibrate to alert you when one draws near."

"Of course, against a sufficiently powerful devil, it may not be of much use."

"However, you can rest assured. No devil capable of rendering even a Secret Silver Dagger useless will appear in the Grand Kingdom."

"The Church has always protected the kingdom," Roy said.

"In that case, I accept your apology, Pastor Roy." Qi Suian didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

’This Pastor Roy is a truly sincere man,’ Qi Suian thought. ’His apology isn’t just a heartfelt speech; it comes with material compensation.’

’A Secret Silver Dagger is probably expensive, and he clearly gritted his teeth to part with it.’

"Ever since I was targeted by the Devil Governor General, I’ve been living in fear, worried that other devils might come for me."

"Now that I have the Holy Seal, the Canon Bible, and this dagger, I can finally feel a little more at ease." Qi Suian’s tone suggested, ’It’s not that I’m greedy; I just need to feel secure.’

Roy was very understanding. He offered a word of comfort, "The terror of devils has always been thus."

"That’s why, when I met Bishop Hammond, I had the thought of becoming a Discipline Priest myself," Qi Suian added, justifying his acquisitions.

"You are most far-sighted." Pastor Roy, of course, wouldn’t be so blunt as to say ’You can’t do it.’ Instead, he offered a compliment before pulling out an invoice. "This is the amount you need to pay."

"Due to my previous error, I will be handling the delivery personally and will not charge an escort fee. However, I have no authority to waive the other charges."

Qi Suian took the list and saw a long string of figures.

From material costs and crafting fees to baptismal charges, the list of expenses was terrifyingly long.

He had no idea if these charges were legitimate, but he agreed to pay without hesitation.

’It’s not my money, after all.’ He felt no heartache spending it.

"It is indeed a huge sum. Fortunately, I was prepared. Pastor Roy, please come with me." As he spoke, Qi Suian hung the palm-sized Seal of Faith around his neck, picked up the Canon Bible and the invoice, and led Pastor Roy to the treasury.

"That’s a lot of Gold Coins. Pastor Roy, how do you plan to carry them all back?" Qi Suian asked casually. "Do you need me to arrange an escort?"

"That won’t be necessary. I will use a Divine Technique to smelt all the Gold Coins into Refined Gold before taking it back," Roy explained. "The Church doesn’t lack Gold Coins; what it needs is Refined Gold, which is one of the sacred materials."

"Refined Gold can only be smelted from large quantities of Gold."

"But as you know, Gold is primarily held by the nobility of the various kingdoms, which is why we need to reclaim it."

"Only with enough Refined Gold can we have sufficient power to fight the Blood Race."

If mithril is the indispensable sacred material for weapons, then Refined Gold is the sacred material required for armor.

Both are Extraordinary Items smelted from precious metals.

However, they can’t be created through conventional smelting techniques; a specific Divine Technique must be used.

"It may seem like a lot, but all these Gold Coins can only be smelted into a fist-sized piece of Refined Gold—barely enough material for a single suit of Chain Armor," Roy added.

Hearing this, Qi Suian couldn’t help but feel pessimistic about the Church’s predicament.

’To think such a vital strategic resource is controlled by the nobility, rather than being entirely requisitioned by the Church.’

"Refined Gold is smelted from Gold. So, Pastor Roy, does that mean the mithril in the Secret Silver Dagger you gave me is smelted from silver?" Qi Suian asked curiously.

"Yes. In addition, there is also Orichalcum, which is smelted from bronze. These are the three indispensable sacred materials the Church uses to fight devils." Roy wasn’t secretive about it.

This corresponded to the three types of currency in the Blood Race World: Gold Coins, silver coins, and Copper Coins.

So Qi Suian voiced his confusion. "If the Church needs these three metals, why not collect them all instead of allowing them to be minted and circulated as currency?"

"Baron Fisher, you are mistaken," Roy corrected him. "What the Church needs isn’t the three metals: Gold, silver, and bronze."

"Only Gold Coins, silver coins, and Copper Coins can be smelted into sacred materials—not the raw metals."

"As currency circulates and is passed from person to person, it absorbs a measure of humanity’s inherent sanctity. Only then can it become a sacred material."

"Raw metal, on its own, cannot be successfully smelted," Roy explained earnestly to Qi Suian.

It seemed that due to the previous misunderstanding, combined with Qi Suian’s purchase, Roy was now sharing quite a bit of Extraordinary intelligence about the Church in the Blood Race World with him.

"What exactly is this ’sanctity’? And why can it only be obtained through the circulation of currency?" Qi Suian pressed.

"That, I do not know. Perhaps the Ascetics would know." Although Roy had mastered Divine Techniques and was considered among the elite tier of Discipline Priests, that "elite tier" numbered well over one hundred thousand.

Thus, when you looked at the overall hierarchy, his position didn’t carry much weight.

Unless one becomes an Ascetic or a Demon Hunter, one is merely a cornerstone of the Church, not part of its leadership.

They are constantly traveling, dealing with various matters related to the Blood Race.

"I see. Are items like these Secret Silver Daggers also created using Divine Techniques?" Qi Suian asked.

"Not entirely. This particular dagger isn’t made of solid mithril; it’s merely plated with a layer of it." Roy looked slightly embarrassed as he admitted this. "My personal finances aren’t sufficient to trade for a piece of mithril that large from the Church."

"So I simply bought a dagger and used a Divine Technique for the plating."

"A complete Sacred Weapon, however, is indeed forged from sacred materials using Divine Techniques."

"Once you obtain the corresponding Divine Technique, Baron Fisher, you will understand." In his heart, however, Roy didn’t actually believe Qi Suian could ever successfully obtain a Divine Technique, though he certainly couldn’t say that out loud.

He also realized he’d been a bit too talkative this time, revealing quite a lot of information the Baron would normally never have access to.

The two soon arrived at the treasury. Qi Suian opened the door and said, "The Gold Coins are in here. You may begin the smelting."

"Should I step out?" Qi Suian asked, feigning politeness.

"No need. After all, you too may obtain a Divine Technique in the future," Roy replied. As for *when* that future might be, Roy couldn’t say for certain.

Then, he began to perform an unknown Divine Technique.

The Gold Coins in the treasury began to vibrate, then swirl into the air, gradually forming a tornado of coins.

The spinning was so fast that the individual Gold Coins blurred into a stream of light, which then gradually shrank until it became a round sphere that landed in Roy’s hand.

Throughout the entire process, Qi Suian didn’t sense the slightest energy fluctuation—it was exactly like the abilities of the Blood Race.

It was as if the process had been skipped entirely, presenting only the final result.

"So that’s Refined Gold?" Qi Suian peered at it curiously.

He couldn’t discern anything remarkable about it, but he could confirm one thing: it was imbued with a kind of sacred aura.

The flail at Roy’s waist had a similar aura, but compared to the Refined Gold, which was just a raw material, the sacred energy in his weapon carried a heavy, destructive feeling.

Apparently, this aura produced different effects depending on the type of weapon it was applied to.

"Yes, this is Refined Gold."

"Unfortunately, this is the property of the Church. If it belonged to me, I would give a gram to you, my Lord Baron, for your collection." As he spoke, Roy stuffed the ball of Refined Gold directly into a pouch at his waist.

"You are far too generous, Pastor Roy," Qi Suian said, thinking to himself, ’This guy is almost painfully sincere.’ He then added, "Why don’t you stay in the castle for a few more days? I would be honored to host you." The offer of hospitality was genuine, but he also hoped to extract more information from Roy.

"Thank you for your kindness, my Lord Baron, but I must deliver your payment to the Church as soon as possible."

"I will certainly take you up on your offer next time I have the chance." This was, of course, just a polite refusal from Roy.

After handing over the Refined Gold, he would have to go to other regions to continue handling various Blood Race matters. Even if he managed to avoid dying at the hands of the Blood Race, it was unlikely he would ever have a reason to visit the Fisher family’s domain again in his lifetime.

So, after this farewell, a third meeting was all but impossible.

He had only been assigned the task of delivering the Seal of Faith and the Canon Bible because he had misunderstood Qi Suian previously and happened to be in the area.

Otherwise, the mithril-plated dagger would simply have been delivered to Qi Suian by someone else, who would have apologized on his behalf.

"That’s a real shame. Next time, for sure," Qi Suian replied, recognizing the empty pleasantry and returning it in kind.

He then saw Roy out of the castle, and even arranged for a horse for him.

Roy expressed his profound gratitude and accepted the gift.

He truly did need a horse for his journey.

As for his previous horse, he had left it stabled at a church.

After he delivered the Refined Gold, he would give this horse to the Church as well.

For no other reason than the simple fact that he couldn’t afford to keep a horse.

Besides, he didn’t really need one. Many of the places he had to go were inaccessible by horse and could only be reached on foot.

This was how he had developed such a strong physique.

After Roy had gone, Qi Suian returned to the secret chamber within the castle.

’The items are in my hands. I’ll study them for a couple of days. If there aren’t any tracking devices on them, I can finally get out of here.’

’After all the chaos I’ve caused, the Fisher family’s domain is half-dead, if not completely finished.’

’The cash flow has dried up, the economy has collapsed, and with all the prior exploitation... it wouldn’t be surprising if the commoners rose up tomorrow and sent me to the guillotine.’

’So, before that happens, I need to figure out how to escape, to avoid that fate actually befalling me.’

"I just hope the Church’s Divine Techniques follow some kind of logic," Qi Suian mused with a sigh. "Otherwise, this world’s entire Extraordinary system is truly worthless to me."

’If I can’t gain anything from this, my only option will be to go on a rampage and slaughter the entire world’s Blood Race for fuel.’