Along the way, Chen Rui and others were not attacked by the Dagger Brotherhood anymore. A few hours later, the group arrived safely in Garden City.
On the way, the fatty secretly asked Chen Rui about the theft at the Black Rock Mountain. He obviously did not believe in his previous explanation, but Chen Rui had already prepared for it. He demonstrated the ‘soul language’ and told the fatty that he had a certain relationship with the elf tribe and learned the beast taming skill from them.
The fatty was relieved. The relationship between the hobbits and elf tribe is quite complicated; at least there is no hostility to humans. If we use this relationship plus paying a certain price, it should not be a problem to dispel the hobbits’ doubts. No wonder the beast taming skill of ‘Richard’ is so amazing. In addition to his talent, the secret technique of the elves is also a key factor.
The fatty had no doubt in his heart after figuring it out. Instead, he was secretly pleased that ‘Richard’ had the elves’ secret technique as it would greatly increase the success rate of this plan.
After the Iron Shield Mercenary Squad accomplished the mission, the fatty finally paid extra commission and compensation as promised. However, due to the conflict on the road, no one in the mercenary group gave the fatty a pleasant face when they left.
Mana’s cousin, Pastor Solanton, was the person in charge of the Garden City’s Holy Church. Upon hearing the news of the fatty’s arrival, he personally led people to the mercenary union and welcomed the fatty and Chen Rui to the Garden City’s Holy Church.
Garden City was the major city of the Yang Shao Empire. The city-level church buildings were called the Hall of Light. The number and quality of clergies were obviously higher than the small towns where the fatty was located. Not only were there special protective magic circles around the important buildings, but a Light Knight was also specially stationed to guard the church.
In the Hall of Light, Solanton talked while leading Mana and Chen Rui. This was a flower garden behind the prayer hall with the size equivalent to a square. Its name was the White Flower Square.
The White Flower Square had verdant green trees and beautiful fresh flowers. The center was a magic fountain surrounded by bird song and flower fragrance which was quiet and elegant. The scale and atmosphere alone was way better from the small town of Town Gudam.
“Pastor Mana, brother of light faith, my dear cousin, you came faster than I thought. You arrived in the Garden City in just a few days.” Compared with Mana’s bloated figure, Solanton looked tall and thin just like a bamboo pole. There was a strong visual contrast when both of them stood together.
“Pastor Solanton, my cousin, don’t mention it. These few days are almost longer than a few years to me.” The fatty showed lingering fears, “We were assassinated by the Dagger Brotherhood on the road. I also encountered a series of dangers. If it weren’t for my best friend, Richard, I’m afraid I won’t see you anymore.”
“The Dagger Brotherhood?” Solanton frowned and paused. He turned his gaze on ‘Richard’ whom the fatty recommended, “Are you Richard?”
Chen Rui had been behind both of them at Mana’s deliberate request. This was the first time Solanton spoke to him.
“Greetings, Sir Solanton.” Chen Rui correctly performed the church knight etiquette which he learned at Town Gudam Church.
Solanton looked at Chen Rui’s ordinary face and frowned more tightly, “My cousin is full of praises for your ability in the letter. I don’t know how you make him do this, but as one of the candidates for the Garden City Reserve Light Knight, I hope you will not let down his recommendation.”
“One of the candidates?” The fatty exclaimed, “Isn’t it directly recommending Richard as the candidate for Reserve Light Knight for the Garden City? How many candidates did you arrange this time?”
“Garden City is a big place. As a church leader, I need to consider a lot.” Solanton made an eye gesture at the fatty, “Do you know who are the other candidates? The Light Knight Captain’s apprentice! The lord’s nephew! The city lord’s relatives! In this competitive environment, reserving one of the candidates’ spot for Town Gudam is the best that I can do. That is also because of you.
However, the fatty didn’t seem to notice Solanton’s eye gesture. He said with a very firm attitude, “No, Richard must be the only candidate recommended by the Garden City! I know you have this authority. Didn’t you read my letter to you carefully?”
Solanton was annoyed in his heart when he saw the fatty spoke so bluntly despite his hints. He ordered the surrounding people to retreat. He snorted coldly in front of Chen Rui, “If it weren’t for your recommendation, his background would not qualify as a candidate at all.”
Chen Rui just smiled without saying a word as he looked at the fatty. The fatty felt very embarrassed and his face flushed as he thought of the promise he had made in front of his partner, “Ms. Eliza should arrive in the Garden City in the next few days. I can guarantee that Richard will be the best candidate to connect with Sir Cardinal Roger!”
“Mana! Damn it, did you tell everything to this guy?” Solanton said with an expression of hatred for iron and steel. “Let me just remind you, Pastor Mana, this time it’s not just about you competing for the capital bishop. If you make a mistake…”
Solanton did not go on; he was obviously avoiding Chen Rui, but Chen Rui was no longer a rookie. It was not hard to guess that it was nothing more than factional competitions.
However, if Chen Rui wanted to sneak into the White Cliff to steal the Snow Dallet, he must take advantage of the fatty’s plan. He must be the candidate of the Reserve Light Knight.
As Chen Rui’s thoughts moved slightly, Solanton and Mana suddenly felt that the sky was dark before quickly returning to normal. They both thought that they had an illusion. At this moment, Chen Rui stepped forward and raised his hands. The birds’ chirping in the entire flower field suddenly stopped, then Solanton and Mana saw an unforgettable scene.
All kinds of birds flew from all directions. These little birds lined up in a neat circle and flew around Chen Rui in the air. When Chen Rui whistled, the birds chirped in unison. As soon as the whistle stopped, not a single bird made a sound and all birds closed their mouths obediently. Only the sound of flapping wings was heard. As soon as the whistle sounded, the birds began to chirp happily again.
After several iterations, the bird’s formation began to change into a huge ‘light’ text in the air. The fish in the fountain below kept jumping out of the water surface.
After a while, the birds gradually dispersed and the fish returned to the water. The entire flower square resumed its former scene. Solanton and Mana still stood there dumbfoundedly as if they were dreaming.
Fatty Mana was the first to recover his senses as he had seen the magical beast taming skill of ‘Richard’ once, but he didn’t expect it to be so ‘magical’ to this extent. After noticing his stunned cousin, the fatty felt proud, “Pastor Solanton, you now understand why I chose Richard, right?”
Then only Solanton came back to his senses. Just as he was about to nod subconsciously, he saw a dark figure descended from the sky and landed on Chen Rui’s outstretched arm. It was a golden eagle with gleaming green eyes. It was pecking at the pieces of meat in Chen Rui’s spread palms with its head down.
“This… This is the thunderbird that I’m going to give to Ms. Eliza!” Solanton was stunned again. This was a young thunderbird. He bought it from a mercenary at a high price in order to please Eliza.
The thunderbird had an extremely strong temperament and it was difficult to tame. The young bird was also the same. It showed strong hostility toward anyone approaching and refused to eat. Solanton had no choice but to raise it in the flower square for it to search for its own food. Anyway, it was sealed by the beast tamer, so there was no way to escape. Now, without any contact or taming in advance, this thunderbird automatically flew onto the hand of ‘Richard’ to peck for food which was unbelievable!
Mana is right! It is indeed an indescribable beast taming skill!
Chen Rui used the territory power and [Analytical Eyes] to command the birds to perform just now. As for this thunderbird, it was purely a coincidence. After realizing the thunderbird’s hunger and fear, Chen Rui used a little trick to coax this young bird, whose mind was not fully mature, to come to him.
If it was an adult thunderbird, perhaps it was not that simple. Maybe it would strike a thunder.
“Dear Light God! This is amazing!”
While admiring Solanton, he immediately made a decision in his heart. He patted the fatty’s shoulder which made the fatty grin, “Mana! My dear cousin! I have to say that your vision is equally amazing as the ability of Sir Richard!”
“Then, the recommended Reserve Light Knight…”
“I will personally persuade Captain Tenisio. As for the lord and the city lord… As the followers of the light, we don’t need to fear all the worldly powers.” In the last sentence, the scammer-like Solanton showed an expression of pride.
“Sir Solanton, I want to cancel the seal of this thunderbird. I can guarantee that it won’t run away.”
If it were a minute ago, Solanton would never agree to such a request, but he was very complacent now. His thin face showed an amiable expression that was completely opposite to the previous one, “No problem! My future Sir Light Knight.”
“There is one more thing. I want to stay and pray at the church these few days…” Chen Rui told the incident that he was almost ‘breaking through the bottleneck’ in Town Gudam. Solanton naturally agreed immediately and even gave him a white badge that enabled him to enter and exit most of the areas of the church.
Chen Rui sensed that Solanton and the fatty still had something to talk about. Since he had achieved his goal of being recognized, he immediately left and went to the prayer hall.
The prayer hall in the Garden City was several times larger than that in Town Gudam, and the number of believers was much larger. At this time, it was the busiest morning of work. There were still many believers praying in it.
As soon as Chen Rui entered the gate, he felt a huge breath of faith. The quality and quantity of this faith power were far beyond Town Gudam. On the way to the Garden City, Chen Rui had finished converting the faith power that he stole in Town Gudam, so he had thousands of faith crystals more. The warehouse was empty, and the ‘goods’ needed to be supplemented urgently.
Seeing the blurry face of the god statue in front of the hall, Chen Rui’s eyes glowed with strange light like a pervert who suddenly saw an unguarded beauty.
The devout believers who bowed their heads did not notice that the blurry facial features on the face of the god statue they worshipped began to undergo subtle changes. When the changes gradually calmed down, a glimpse of red light in the god statue’s eyes gradually disappeared.
In the following days, Chen Rui stayed in the hall to ‘comprehend.’ Thanks to Solanton’s care, the process went smoothly. Seeing the faith power continuously absorbed by Shura’s clone, Chen Rui was jubilant. This situation continued until 3 days later when Ms. Eliza arrived.
TL: But at this rate, the faith crystal is never going to be enough for the realm teleportation…
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This stealing of faith is gonna bite him in the ass later for sure… ? Considering how many times he has met Demi God and higher existences you would think he would be a bit more cautious… ?
Well, his eagerness to return made him take the risks. I would do the same, if I can, that is.