Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Return to the City
As the convoy successively returned to the Holy City.
All the crow feathers adhered to the carriage transformed back into Crowmen and flew back to the unrecognizable Gaine Forest.
When this group of Crowmen flew over the recently constructed moat surrounding the city, they were unaffected by the river flow.
The reason being, their task of ‘escorting the convoy’ had served as their toll for crossing the river.
Meanwhile, one particularly timid Crowman surreptitiously glanced back at the convoy entering the city, seemingly wanting to reassure that the ‘Lord Messenger’ was safe.
BOOM!
The city gate closed.
The convoy had entered the city without suffering any casualties, but the danger had not been completely eliminated.
Knights of the Holy Knights Group were to conduct a holy inspection on each of the Apprentice Knights inside the carriages.
The possibility of lower rank knights having completely fallen from grace inside the carriage due to having seen the ‘Old God’s’ true appearance could not be ruled out.
Click!
The door of the carriage containing the new recruits was opened.
A golden-haired female knight wearing silver-framed goggles entered the carriage… Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be someone Han Dong knew.
“Nicholas?! What are you doing here?”
“Vino…” Han Dong responded with a look of helplessness. Sometimes, coincidences do happen.
“You’re lucky to have survived… We just received the news. It seems Sophia and the others are safe.”
“Is Cass and the rest safe? That’s good news.”
The ‘intimate’ conversation between Knight Vino Silist and Han Dong left their peers shell-shocked.
Knight Vino was highly regarded in the previous Knight Selection and was chosen as a talent-type knight by the Holy Knights Group.
With her golden waves of hair and stunning appearance added to her considerable abilities, few knights were as remarkable.
So much so that the other five new recruits in the carriage had all heard of her.
Mia, on the other hand, wore a fierce expression, seemingly worried that this woman might steal Han Dong from her.
“Enough chatter. I will administer ‘Holy Purification’ to each of you… if anyone experiences nausea, dry-heaving, dizziness, or other discomforts, they will need to come with me.”
The carriage in which the new recruits were seated had the best protective measures.
In addition to the carriage being at the front of the convoy, and the people inside the carriage not being foolish enough to look directly at the Old King’s face, the inspection went smoothly.
Just as Knight Vino Silist was about to inspect Han Dong-
A dark figure flew into the carriage.
BOOM!
The carriage door was closed in unison.
For a moment, everyone in the carriage, including Knight Silist, lowered their heads and whispered simultaneously, “Crow Prophet.”
As everybody exclaimed this title, black lines connected to everyone’s foreheads, slightly modifying their memories and eliminating any memory related to Han Dong’s ‘secret’.
It also left them momentarily dazed.
This included Knight Silist.
Mr. Black White had a matter that required him to speak privately with Han Dong.
“Sir.”
“You’re certainly ambitious, daring to steal such an important artifact like the Land Deed.
Moreover, even ‘Old King’ was lured out due to this. If it wasn’t for the rapid expansion of the Crowmen tribe in recent years and the ‘Crow’s Breath’ I gave you-
You probably wouldn’t have been able to return from this expedition.”
“Indeed, it was an oversight on my part.”
Smiling beneath his black mask, Mr. Black White praised Han Dong, “But…you did well!
The ‘Land Deed’ is undoubtedly useful to you.
However, after this incident happened, both the Knight Regiment and the Council will conduct a strict one-on-one questioning of you and your fellow Apprentice Knights.
I need you to think of a response to all their questioning during today’s time.
Absolutely no one should know that you are related to this sudden incident, and furthermore, nobody should know that the ‘Land Deed’ is in your possession.
Do you understand what I mean?”
“Understood!”
“As for the matter of the ‘Land Deed’, after this incident settles, you can then think of a way to ‘claim it as yours’…but you are indeed lucky.
You happened to encounter the Return of Death God. The Council will focus a lot of their attention on him, as long as you are not exposed, this matter will soon fade away.”
“The Death God…is that the codename of the knight just now?”
“Indeed, the current Captain of the Terminal Knight Regiment – Death God. Alex… Also known as the Messenger of the Netherworld, he is currently the strongest force in the Holy City.”
“The strongest?!”
“You have no need to understand this for now. Try to settle down and learn from the gains of this training…and prepare for the next ‘Fate Space’.”
“Ok, Mr Black White!”
In the blink of an eye.
The Apprentice’s carriage returned to normal, and no-one knew Mr. Black White had been there.
The routine inspection came to an end.
This time’s out-of-town training activity led by the Behemoth Knight Group was terminated due to a Level-1 emergency.
The casualties are as follows:
Number of deaths: 18 (includes 15 apprentice knights and 3 members of Behemoth Knight Group who were responsible for guidance in the castle)
Number of injured: 49 (includes 3 who were deeply polluted and had turned fallen, they were sent to the Church Headquarters for treatment)
Given that several squads had already met the ‘Qualified’ standards, the award ceremony for the training will be held as usual after the investigation into the sudden incident is finalized.
Han Dong emerged the biggest winner from this training.
The survival of the six new recruits who also received high evaluations in the training was an impressive feat.
Everyone exchanged contact information when bidding farewell.
Smith Winry gave the deputy team leader an additional look of ‘admiration’ compared to before.
Mia, who had successfully escaped back to the city, began to seriously ponder her ‘request’ to Han Dong. She wanted to come up with a perfect request, one that would make Han Dong hers.
“Brother Dumps.”
When they were parting.
Han Dong stopped Dumps.
He handed over an entire bag full of books that he had collected from the Great Lord’s study.
“It was a pleasure working together.”
“Yeah… It was a pleasure.”
“I may visit the [Library] in the future. I hope Brother Dumps can accommodate me then.”
“You’re welcome anytime.”
Just like that.
The Council’s investigation into the sudden ‘Old King Event’ would begin the next day.
Therefore, the apprentice knights who returned to the Holy City physically exhausted could take the rest of the day to rest… It wasn’t easy to survive and make it back.
Mia seized this opportunity to stick to Han Dong.
“Are you coming to my treehouse tonight?”
“Is this your request?”
“Bah… This doesn’t count. I just wanted to ask.”
“Okay, but I won’t stay overnight. I have some questions about the [Maternal Body] that I want to ask you… The success of this plan was also thanks to you playing such a crucial role.”
“Hmph… Who else could do it besides me among this group? I’ve paid a significant ‘price’.”
“Thank you.”
Han Dong gently placed his hand on Mia’s shoulder.
This action made Mia slightly tremble. Her eyes showed some change before she then pretended to be cute, actively hooked Han Dong’s arm, and together, they returned to the Mysterious Department.