IRM Chapter 113

The dispute in the church didn’t last long.

This time it was Silvia who had acted impulsively. She despised the act of using someone’s family as leverage so much that she immediately lost her rationality and barged into the church without any evidence.

She glared fiercely at Reize, her chest still heaving violently from the high-speed sprint.

The townspeople praying in the church sensed the tense atmosphere and retreated far to the side, their worried gazes shifting between the general and the bishop.

Silvia took a deep breath. Rationality and bestial instinct tore at each other within her body, until finally the townspeople’s uneasy calls brought her back to her senses.

She slowly sheathed her sword, her sharp gaze stabbing viciously toward Reize as she said in a low voice, “It better be that way. I’ll be watching you.”

After warning Reize, she stormed out of the church in a flurry. Apart from the footprints left on the white door that bore witness to everything, the entire incident seemed as absurd and bizarre as a farcical comedy.

The townspeople watched the general leave, then surrounded Reize again in utter bewilderment. “Bishop Reize, what happened to the general?”

Reize came back to his senses and smiled at them warmly, soothing them, “It’s nothing, don’t worry. The general just cares about you all too much.”

The townspeople were deeply moved by this explanation and began praising Silvia one after another. The tense atmosphere became relaxed and harmonious again.

Reize looked up at the door that seemed about to fall off its hinges and frowned imperceptibly.

He thought he had been secretive enough—even the people from the Church hadn’t noticed anything amiss. Yet Silvia’s attitude suggested she had already discovered quite a few things.

Just who could it be…

Reize’s doubts received an answer when night fell.

“Knock knock knock—” A dull knocking sound came from the door frame. Reize put down the quill in his hand and picked up a tome, covering the parchment he had been scribbling on.

“Please come in.” Reize tucked one hand into the wide sleeve of his holy robe, gripping his wand tightly. Purple electric arcs coiled around the staff.

At this hour, the townspeople were all asleep, and the monks from the Church wouldn’t come to disturb him. Anyone who would come looking for him at this time could only have ulterior motives.

A dark figure wrapped in a chill stepped into the room from the snowy night. Reize first saw an incongruous red coat, and when he looked up to see the visitor’s face, all his vigilance turned to bemusement. He instantly relaxed his tense body. “How did you end up here?”

Ji Chi was equally at a loss for words. “I was about to ask you the same thing. How do you manage to show up everywhere?”

The two people who wandered all over the continent yet always managed to run into each other in bizarre circumstances stared at each other.

Reize coughed lightly and waved his fingertips in front of him. Several firefly-like points of light floated in the room, illuminating the dim space with a bright and warm glow.

“Have a seat.” Reize brought over a chair and removed the soft cushion from his own seat to give to him. “Did you come here with the general?”

Ji Chi brushed the snow off himself and sat down beside Reize, nodding. “I didn’t startle you during the day, did I? That was when I found out the bishop of the Northland was you.”

“Why would you want to come to the Northland to be a bishop? I thought your goal had always been to become an archbishop in Saint Trilley.” Ji Chi found this comrade’s way of thinking truly quite unconventional.

Reize chuckled softly and poured him a cup of warm tea. “There are two reasons. The first is my appearance.”

He pointed to his purple eyes. “The God of Light favors children with golden hair and blue eyes. Someone with inferior features like mine isn’t qualified enough to stay in a place closer to God.”

“As for the other reason…” Reize’s tone suddenly dropped, and a trace of confusion appeared on his face. “I wanted to come to the fortress to find an answer.”

Ji Chi held the tea in both hands, quietly waiting for him to continue.

“You might not know this, but a long time ago, the Angel Kingdom would continuously send angels here to search for something.” Reize carefully unveiled the past, the pain cutting so deep that he couldn’t help but frown. “My father was sent here back then, and my mother came with him because she was worried. In the end, neither of them could return.”

“So I wanted to come see for myself what kind of thing requires so many lives to be sacrificed. And if I’m lucky, I might even be able to find my parents’ remains and bury them back in their homeland.”

Ji Chi understood. “So you also want to go beyond the fortress?”

Reize suddenly looked up at him. “Also? Don’t tell me you came here…”

Ji Chi nodded. “Perhaps what we’re looking for is the same thing.”

Reize stood up and paced anxiously around the room. “Why would you… Wait, you know what that thing is, don’t you? But the Angel Kingdom cherishes her children deeply, yet every year many angels perish here, so sending angels must be the will of the God of Light.”

He abruptly stopped and looked at Ji Chi. “Are you… truly prepared? The God of Light will very likely take notice of you. Moreover, He has already begun to act.”

Ji Chi frowned. “Act? Act how? Those prayer words?”

Reize looked at him deeply. “That’s right, but those aren’t prayer words. They’re a kind of contract. Translated from the ancient language of the angel race, it roughly means [I dedicate everything I have to the god I revere].”

Reize pulled open his collar, revealing a white mark on his chest. He looked down at it himself. “I knew what it meant from the start, so I never recited it. I asked Evan to use a magic array to disguise this mark.”

Ji Chi said, “So you adapted your own set of prayer words and had the monks spread it in the Northland?”

“Yes. Fortunately, the Northland is vast and sparsely populated, so it’s normal not to have many believers…” Reize smiled bitterly. “Sigh, this is all I can do—save whoever I can.”

Ji Chi felt he didn’t need to be so pessimistic. After all, given the beastmen’s memory capacity, even if you pasted the original prayer words on their foreheads and had them recite it, they might not necessarily be able to produce a mark.

Reize was amused by him, and the heavy mood he had carried since coming to the Northland lightened considerably. He moved the tome on the table aside, revealing the covered parchment beneath. The parchment recorded the weather changes near the fortress over recent years, as well as the general topography of the snowy mountains beyond the fortress.

“I’ve spent this year researching how to cross the fortress. I’ve asked many townspeople, and usually the area near the fortress is surrounded by wind and snow. Only during the few days before the Tidal Moon does it become much calmer.” Reize tapped the winding fortress drawn on the paper. “However, those days are also when the berserk beasts pour out in full force. We couldn’t possibly head to the fortress against the beast tide.”

Reize bent down and opened a locked drawer. Inside was a black pack. He turned to look at Ji Chi. “I was originally planning to set out tomorrow, because the next few days are the most suitable time.”

He had wanted Ji Chi to prepare for a few days before departing. Although it would be very rushed, to have one more friend he could rely on, Reize would bear any cost.

Ji Chi didn’t think too much about it. “Sure, I’ll come to the church to find you tomorrow.” His tone was so casual, as if he were making plans with a friend to go out for a meal the next day.

Reize had been anxious and uneasy about this decision for over a year, but now, under Ji Chi’s influence, he felt strangely reassured. He smiled easily. “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”

Early the next morning, Reize had already arranged the Church’s affairs and stood at the entrance of the church waiting for Ji Chi.

He had slept well for a rare change last night. It was somewhat laughable—after coming to the Northland, he had nightmares night after night. Especially in these few days before departure, he woke up every dawn in cold sweat and fear.

But only last night had he dreamed of his carefree and happy childhood, with two figures whose faces he could no longer remember clearly accompanying him.

Reize was in a good mood. He smiled, full of confidence about the unknown journey ahead—and all of this was brought by the black-haired young man walking toward him.

But as Ji Chi gradually approached, the corner of Reize’s eye twitched sharply. “…What’s with that expression?”

Ji Chi looked up miserably, gazing at him with despair and fear, his voice trembling as he asked, “Can you… cook?”

Reize responded, “? I should be able to. I often helped out in the kitchen when I was young.”

Ji Chi breathed a sigh of relief and instantly returned to normal. “Oh, then it’s fine. Let’s set out.”

Reize was made anxious again by him and couldn’t help pestering him with questions for a long time, but Ji Chi vaguely deflected them all.

Because there was no way Ji Chi would tell Reize that when he woke up this morning, he suddenly remembered the sandwiches in his magic pouch had been completely consumed. When he wanted to replenish his food supplies, he discovered that all that remained in the military camp were fresh, bloody chunks of frozen meat…

In that instant, the only thing left in Ji Chi’s mind was the taste of his own grilled meat skewers, and unprecedented despair welled up in his heart—sure enough, the greatest challenge came from within…

He sighed mournfully. Under Reize’s frequent sidelong glances filled with trepidation, the two made their way to where the expeditionary army stood guard.

Among a row of soldiers with resolute gazes, two figures with capes billowing behind them were particularly conspicuous.

Hearing the movement, Silvia turned around. Her silver-white armor reflected bright light in the morning sun. Beside her, the Countess had also changed out of her white fox fur. She wore jet-black armor and stood with her sword, gazing at the ice-blue fortress and the snow-covered mountains hidden in the clouds.

Silvia’s gaze swept across Reize’s face. Although she had heard Ji Chi’s explanation, she never trusted anyone associated with the Church or the royal family. With a cold expression, she nodded at Ji Chi, then turned to give orders to the soldiers beside her.

The Countess had heard about Reize from Brandon and had a decent impression of him. She now smiled and approached them like an elder seeing children off. “Today is a rare clear day at the fortress. Your journey will surely go smoothly.”

Reize noticed she seemed to have something to say to Ji Chi, so he tactfully walked to the side, gazing at the misty peaks of the snowy mountains.

The Countess instantly dropped her smile and said to Ji Chi solemnly, “Because no one has ever been able to return, and no one has ever sent back any message, even I don’t know what will happen beyond the fortress…”

“I know what I’m doing now is very selfish, but Ji Chi, I have a premonition that you are the only one who can resolve all of this. I ask that you stay alive and bring us back an answer.” The Countess dropped to one knee before him with a thud, her tightly gripped sword in her right hand thrust deep into the snow. She bowed her head—this was the highest respect a warrior could give.

Ji Chi quickly helped her up. “You don’t need to say that. My original intention was for my own sake as well.”

The Countess shook her head. She pulled the longsword from the snow, and her left hand lovingly stroked it once before steadily lifting it and presenting it to Ji Chi. “Accept it. A longsword is a warrior’s soul. I am willing to offer my soul to protect you and keep you safe.”

Ji Chi could feel the weight this sword held in the Countess’s heart. He initially didn’t want to accept it, but seeing her resolute gaze, he slowly extended both hands and took it.

He said nothing more, handing her a jet-black crow feather and quietly instructing her with a sentence before turning to follow Reize.

The two female generals had to hold their positions at the fortress and could only see them off partway. Sila also followed along, crouching on Silvia’s shoulder, its rabbit eyes particularly red and watery.

Ji Chi waved his hand backward in farewell. Reize had no one he knew to see him off, so he raised his head, gazing at the transparent blue ice wall with hope and imagination.

“Hey, wait.” Silvia’s voice suddenly rang out from behind.

Reize reflexively turned his head, quickly realizing she was probably calling for Ji Chi. But he soon discovered she was indeed calling him.

Silvia unhooked her white longsword. With a flick of her hand, the sword traced an arc through the air and landed precisely at Reize’s feet. Her tone remained icy. “Come back and tear down the church in town. I get annoyed just thinking about it.”

Reize was stunned, then the corners of his lips curved up slightly as he promised softly, “Alright, we’ll be back soon.”