Chapter 491 — In the Darkness
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 6
Sevin Terry knew he could no longer turn back.
And in truth, he could not find a better path than the one before him.
He had read every leaflet the Cecilian had distributed after they entered the city, and he had heard the rumors circulating in the outer districts. He knew the Cecilian were preaching a doctrine of the Holy Light that bordered on heresy, one that blurred the boundary between man and god—and frankly, he had resisted it fiercely. A man who had devoutly worshipped the God of Holy Light for half his life could not accept the Cecilian claim that "the Holy Light springs from within."
But what he could accept even less was the Yaochen Church's present practice of turning faith into a tool for amassing wealth, and the Holy Light into an instrument of violence.
He had accepted Amber's invitation, and then learned in detail what he was required to do.
"We can find a way to disrupt the guards in the chapel district and shut down the defenses of the divine-art array, but the road to the cathedral is not under our control," said the middle-aged low-ranking cleric, describing the situation inside the church district. "The Disciplinary Brethren and the Church Knights guard every gate, and they answer only to the cathedral."
"How do the Disciplinary Brethren and the Church Knights fight? Do you think they would defend the cathedral to the death?"
"...The Disciplinary Brethren are a vocation better suited to faith-trials and disciplines of divine art; their direct combat strength is not great. As for the Church Knights... they were once the strongest garrison force of Frostgate Chapel, but last time the Rimefrost Cult took away every high-ranking knight, and a great many of the remaining mid- and low-ranking knights fell while assisting the noble army. What combat strength remains now is likely less than two-tenths," Sevin Terry explained carefully. "Only... to ordinary people, they are still deadly."
"Do not worry about that side of things. Other forces will enter to help. You need only tell me the route map and the guard dispositions of the church district."
"Very well."
After handing over this most vital intelligence, Sevin Terry felt suddenly lighter, as though he had completed a weighty mission, and he let out a long breath. Amber, watching the weariness that days had gathered in the middle-aged cleric's brow, suddenly asked, as if casually: "If I am not mistaken, quite a few clerics in the church district should be suffering a decline in their Holy Light power to varying degrees by now..."
Sevin Terry's face filled with astonishment. "How could you know that?!"
"At a heresy trial, the effects of divine art cannot lie," Amber said with a slight shake of her head. "Though I suspect there is something badly wrong with the divine art used to identify heretics. Perhaps it can make most ordinary people show signs of wavering faith, but for you clerics, who ought in theory to be deeply devout... its effect should not have been so pronounced. I watched each of your faces carefully at the time. Your wavering, your surprise, your panic—all of it was genuine."
Sevin Terry fell silent, and the two low-ranking priests beside him likewise lowered their heads with complicated expressions. After several seconds of silence, one of the low-ranking priests finally spoke. "...Your powers of observation are sharp."
"At least a third of the clergy have suffered a decline in power to varying degrees," Sevin Terry went on. "The worst cases have even regressed in rank. To be honest, it is not rare for clergy to lose power because of a brief period of confusion—but a wavering of faith on this scale is likely the first since Frostgate Chapel was founded..."
Amber pressed on. "When did the decline in power among so many first begin to appear?"