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Chapter 263: Lanchi Willford's Ideology
Chapter 263: Lanchi Willford's Ideology
In the desolate winter, the natural light in the imperial capital of Helrom was much weaker than in other seasons. It gently pierced through the thin cloud cover, bringing a hint of warmth to the cold earth.
Lanchi walked alone on the spacious road.
It was a weekday.
He didn't need to go to the Protoss Royal Academy to tutor Zestila. Every day, he lived a retired life in a hotel not far from the school.
After receiving the written test results in the morning, he set out for the Temple of the Silent Knights after lunch, still wearing his diamond-patterned vest and a deep gray overcoat to ward off the cold, looking neat and tidy.
His green eyes appeared even clearer in the sunlight, like verdant lakes.
As he walked, the number of passersby on the streets of the imperial city gradually diminished.
Most of them avoided the location of the Silent Knights, as if it were a restricted area on the map.
Lanchi's destination, in the opposite direction, was obvious, and he attracted the attention of some ordinary people who wondered why such a gentle and well-behaved young man was heading that way.
"Lanchi, are you sure you're just acting?"
A childish voice, tinged with apprehension, echoed from the shadows.
When there were no magic-sensitive people around, Boss Cat could use his telekinetic magic to transmit his voice directly to Lanchi's ear. However, his control over magic was rather crude, and if there were skilled mages nearby, they would soon detect something amiss in the shadows.
Boss Cat felt that Lanchi's interaction with the priests of the Bastion Branch in the Southwest Province had already been extremely dangerous.
Now, Lanchi had finally obtained the identity he desired and escaped those Resurrection priests, only to voluntarily seek membership in the Silent Branch in the imperial capital. Boss Cat thought this guy had gone crazy!
"Don't worry, Boss Cat. My faith is firm. It's normal for an undercover cop to infiltrate a den of thieves," Lanchi whispered with a smile, as if sharing a secret with Boss Cat.
"Then that's good." Boss Cat was relieved. He believed that after Lanchi's maneuvers in Lilo City, the nightmare start had returned to the right track and had even led to a rather fantastic life in the imperial capital of Helrom.
Boss Cat decided to remain silent for the time being and continue observing what Lanchi would do before meeting Xiu Bao.
He had become content with the status quo, but this young man seemed to have other plans and wasn't ready to stop just yet.
However, Lanchi would know when to stop.
Lanchi approached the building of the Silent Knights.
Eventually, aside from the faintly drifting snowflakes, there were hardly any other pedestrians on the street.
In the distance, the majestic building of the Silent Knights loomed into view.
Even though he had been here once before, Lanchi still felt a sense of awe seeing the legitimate Temple of the Resurrection Church.
This was the Northern Continent.
Indeed, it was very different from the Southern Continent.
It was also at times like these that he deeply felt how far from home he was, in a foreign land far from his familiar town and family.
Lanchi shook his head and walked steadily towards the heavily guarded gate.
A knight clad in deep gray heavy armor scrutinized him up and down before nodding and gesturing for him to enter after checking his letter.
Lanchi then put away his letter and stepped into the building that seemed to plunge into the depths.
Lanchi recalled the instructions in the letter.
He walked along the left corridor and soon found the examination room for the second test.
At the end of the corridor, two massive metal doors were closed tightly, and on either side stood silent priests, their gazes cold and ever ready for battle.
"Go on in."
Without needing to show his letter again, a priest opened the door to the examination hall for Lanchi.
Beyond the heavy iron door was a spacious hall filled with a solemn atmosphere.
Hanging from the ceiling were tall chandeliers that emitted a faint light. The surrounding walls were adorned with intricate murals that originally belonged in this building, depicting the twisted and eerie Great Northern Crusade. Heroes and demons lurked in the shadows, their faces emerging and disappearing, as if they might step out of the paintings and join this space.
Under the oppressive silence, the air felt thin, and most areas were shrouded in darkness. Each waiting examinee's face seemed to be engulfed by deep shadows, their backs casting an even darker silhouette.
There were already over twenty people in the examination hall, all waiting for the second test.
They sat scattered on chairs around the perimeter of the hall, maintaining their distance from each other. Some had their eyes closed in meditation, while others pondered quietly or muttered under their breath, their lips moving rapidly in the gloom as if reciting an inaudible, curse-like chant.
Most of those present were dangerous-looking villains, and the most conspicuous few were the masters of this concentration of malice, causing others to keep their distance.
Lanchi scanned the hall and soon, the door behind him closed with a loud bang.
The massive clock above the door chimed, and with each tick of its gears, it seemed to herald the impending trial of fate.
Beyond this point, there was no turning back.
Lanchi's presence had already drawn quite a few gazes in the brief moment since his arrival.
From time to time, eyes would fixate on him, assessing his every subtle movement.
At this moment, the black-haired, green-eyed youth looked too harmless, like a pure white lamb that had strayed into a pack of pitch-black wolves.
In the first round of written tests, there might have been people who appeared as rule-abiding as him.
However, anyone who had completed that exam understood that to achieve a high score, one needed not only a thorough understanding of the Resurrection Church and the Bastion Branch but also an extremely twisted criminal mindset.
No matter how one looked at him, he seemed genuinely weak and posed no threat whatsoever.
This guy must have barely passed the exam by scraping through with his solid theoretical knowledge and scoring just enough on the multiple-choice and conceptual questions.
Lanchi merely walked over to an empty seat at the side of the hall, sat down, and placed his hands one over the other on his lap, his gaze calm as he looked forward.
As time passed, the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly tense.
Lanchi remained unflustered, but Boss Cat, hidden in the shadows, was already trembling in fear due to the dense malicious intent.
If it were possible, he would have wanted to run away. He regretted his curiosity that had led him to follow Lanchi here.
Everyone who had come here was a heavyweight.
Compared to those pure villains, Lanchi, with his clean record, was obviously not on the same level of danger and chaos!
Clang, clang.
The sound of the clock above the metal doors struck the hour.
Even in the corner where Lanchi sat, he could clearly hear the reverberations, each chime sounding like a warning, reminding everyone present that the danger was increasing with every moment.
In the hall, a faint light from the corner up front responded to the dim chandelier, and in this moment of crisp air, a slight, sand-like sound slid into the hall from the depths of the distant darkness, as if some sort of spell had caused time to stand still. Every corner of the hall, every examinee, and every decoration seemed to freeze in this instant.
Those were footsteps.
Although the sound was not loud, in this tense atmosphere, the footsteps were like drumbeats stepping on everyone's heartbeat, guiding their attention and drawing their gazes toward that unknown direction.
Occasionally, gusts of wind blew in through the cracks of the iron doors at the inner side of the hall, bringing a chill and causing the faded curtains in the corners of the hall to rustle.
Lanchi's gaze, like that of the other examinees, penetrated the shadows of the hall, awaiting the imminent appearance of that figure.
Gradually, a faint light emerged from the depths of the hall, illuminating a figure clad in deep gray robes who slowly walked out of the darkness.
He didn't walk fast, and as his face came into view, it revealed a countenance marked by the years but also stern and cold. Deep-set eyes exuded a sense of cold control, and below his hawkish nose were rather thin lips.
What startled the examinees was the purple holy emblem on his chest, emitting a faint radiance that illuminated his robes.
None of the villains present dared to underestimate him. To be able to wear a purple holy emblem indicated that he was not just a big-time villain but also a well-known Grand Priest within the Bastion Branch, a high-ranking member of the Resurrection Church, and a terrifying figure in the dark underbelly of the Northern Continent.
And so, the main examiner, Grand Priest Caeus, strode to the front of the hall.
"I am Caeus, the main examiner for this retake exam and the final assessment."
Caeus's tall figure seemed even more imposing in this dim light, and he slowly opened his mouth, his deep voice reverberating throughout the entire hall.
"To prove your most basic and most important loyalty to the Resurrection Church, you must complete a task, which is the content of this retake exam."
His eyes slowly scanned each examinee, and when he didn't speak, silence enveloped the entire hall.
Many of those present gradually revealed puzzled expressions, unsure of how to accurately test one's loyalty.
Even if there really was a spell that could see through one's thoughts, it would require at least an eighth-rank expert specializing in spirit and soul magic to pull it off. Even if there were ancient magical artifacts of that level, it was clear that this retake exam was not significant enough to warrant their use.
"Some time ago... the Church of the Goddess of Fate in the Kingdom of Aethertelan became popular, and they developed a method to detect Resurrection Priests. Although it may not be entirely accurate, it did weed out quite a few of our people. This wave of 'doubt first, then demand self-proof' was spread by the divine priests and called 'Willfordism.'"
Caeus indifferently narrated to the people in the hall,
"Now, in the Protoss Empire, our position with the Church of the Goddess of Fate has been reversed. So, this 'Willfordism' can also be used by us."
"I will first assume that all of you are spies from the Church of the Goddess of Fate, and it is up to you to prove to me that you are not."
"The content of the retake exam is very simple: alter the statue of the Goddess of Fate."
"I will give each of you a statue of the Goddess of Fate. You can freely imagine, destroy, or even desecrate the Goddess of Fate to prove your loyalty to the Resurrection Church in your beliefs. Then submit a piece to me, and I will also judge your position, style, and artistic fit with our Bastion Branch."
With that, Caeus succinctly explained the theme and rules of this exam.
There will be four more chapters today.
(End of Chapter)
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