Chapter 292 : Deprivation
Chapter 292: Deprivation
In York City, inside a tavern’s room, two men sat facing each other. The atmosphere was heavy.
“It was my fault. I did not expect the Church’s power to be so formidable.” Cooper Hoover spoke with a grim expression. “In just three or four years, they actually managed to integrate all the strength of Greenwood and establish a kingdom. Even if Greenwood is now half-crippled from war, it is still a kingdom.”
“Judging by the strength shown in this Eastern Expedition and their strict obedience to orders, even a crippled Greenwood would not be weaker than today’s scattered Northern Kingdom.”
“Back when news from Greenwood could still be sent through the Rat Path, the Church’s power was limited to the territory of just one viscount.”
As he spoke, Cooper looked at the silent Hode across from him. “I am sorry.”
Hode said, “You need not apologize for this. This was the choice you gave me, and the choice I made myself.”
Cooper opened his mouth, at a loss for words.
For a Northerner, in such circumstances, it would have been better if Hode had simply split him in half with an axe.
Unfortunately, Hode looked far too calm, so Cooper could only remain seated there.
After a stretch of silence, Cooper could not help but say, “Since they are unwilling to see you, we might as well return to the North. The nobles there have already begun gathering their armies. Perhaps we can wait for the Marquis to return.”
Hode shook his head. “Would the Northern nobles ever value a descendant of a family long since exiled from the North? Especially one whose entire clan has already been wiped out?”
Cooper said, “That would still be better than sitting here waiting.”
They had already been in York City for more than half a month. The city’s prosperity dazzled them. It was for this reason that, before they even reached the Church from the city gates, some sharp-eyed women dragged them into an alley.
After venting their desires, the two knocked the women unconscious and left.
They had no intention of skipping payment, but even the cheapest women on York’s streets charged five York silvers, which they did not have. So, before the women could scream for guards, the two knocked them out.
After returning from the Exile Lands to the Northern Kingdom, they had visited the former Hoover Family’s territory. There, they were driven away by the deranged survivors, stumbling westward until they reached the Northern Kingdom’s royal capital.
They followed the Northern tradition: a warrior’s strength earned him everything—food, weapons, and women.
Hode had once resisted, but Cooper, in order to fully awaken Hode’s Northern bloodline, constantly used words, liquor, battles, and other means to draw him back into Northern ways.
Thus, though Hode could not awaken the Holy Light, he indeed grew stronger. At that point, Cooper, satisfied, stopped circling around and simply followed Hode southward. They found a merchant caravan from York Territory and, after a ‘friendly’ discussion, the merchant agreed to take them back to York Territory for free.
Of course, the merchant played his own trick, bypassing all villages along the way and hurrying straight to York City overnight. In their eyes, he was generous, even paying their entry fee to the city.
Dazed, the two were blinded by York’s extravagance: luxury goods they had never seen, fragrances in the air that defied description, and even women along the roadside dressed in splendid attire, radiating scents that stirred their impulses.
They had not intended to cause trouble—after all, in such a prosperous city, they knew knights must be guarding it.
But without York’s coinage, when the women screamed for guards, they could only knock them out.
When the women awoke, however, they reported them, and the city guards arrested them.
They had not been afraid—after all, back in the North, they had done the same, breaking out of cities before.
But when they saw a fully-armored knight leading a squad of fully-armored elites, each armed with shield and sword, they surrendered without hesitation.
If even a random squad of city guards was so well-equipped, they knew this city could not be breached like the Northern viscount towns, with their crude earthen walls.
Later, in prison, Hode encountered his former comrades—two Guardian Knights.
“You should be grateful you did not shout on the street that you were a knight of the Church of the Sanctuary,” Vito said with a complicated look. He gave him a heavy pouch of York gold coins and briefly explained York City’s rules.
Rules rooted in the Holy Scriptures—so binding that both men could not recover from their shock.
Cooper still found it hard to believe. That such a Church, with such laws, could unify a kingdom—even if the Pope of the Church had not donned a crown, even if officially the king of this kingdom was Lundex.
As Hode hesitated, the door knocked.
The two exchanged glances. Cooper rose and opened the door. It was Vito who entered.
He wore refined, well-fitted clothing—at a glance, the Northerners knew such materials could only be bought by high nobility.
The two inside still wore coarse beast hides.
Hode stood, meeting Vito’s gaze, unsure of what to say.
Cooper spoke first. “So, has the knight of the Church come because the Pope is willing to see his Punishing Knight?”
Vito glanced at Cooper, then at Hode. “I have come with Agamemnon’s words.”
Cooper said, “If I recall correctly, is the Pope not supposed to be Corleon? Agamemnon—I remember Hode saying—was still just a child.”
Ignoring Cooper, Vito said to Hode, “Your Punishing Knight title was bestowed by the Pope. The Pope has not ordered punishment upon you, nor recalled the Holy Relic in your possession. However, your deeds have already violated the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, in Agamemnon’s name, your title of Punishing Knight is revoked. Henceforth, you may not act in the name of the Church of the Sanctuary’s Punishing Knight. As for the Holy Relic, it was a gift from the Pope. Until he personally recalls it, you may still wield it. But upon your death, your bloodline must return it.”
As Vito spoke, Hode vaguely felt something leave him.
When Vito finished, he seemed relieved, then added, “In these days, Agamemnon had men gather news of you in the Northern Kingdom. Not only merchants’ tales but also information from the Rat Path.”
Hode opened his mouth but only managed, “I have disappointed you all.”
Vito shook his head. “You had your own trials. This world is dangerous. The fact that you are alive is enough. At least, when you fought beside us, you were the best captain in our hearts.”
Cooper, unable to stomach Hode’s dejection, laid a hand on Vito’s shoulder. “Yes, the world is dangerous, child. At least you don’t know the things we’ve been thr—”
Before he could finish, Vito seized his wrist, twisted it, hooked his foot, and nearly slammed him to the ground.
But Cooper, with a cruel smile, grabbed Vito’s collar, flipped over his back, hooked his arm around Vito’s neck, pressing down while bending one leg behind him to attempt a back throw.
Yet age had weakened him. Though skilled, his strength was no longer what it once was. He barely forced Vito to lean back slightly. Stabilizing, Vito countered with a crushing elbow strike to Cooper’s shoulder.
The blow sent darkness flooding Cooper’s vision. When he regained awareness, Vito had him by the throat, slamming him hard onto the table, smashing it to splinters.
The exchange was swift. By the time Hode, dazed by Vito’s earlier words, reacted, Cooper was already sprawled on the floor, blood covering his face.
“Perhaps you know nothing of the Church’s strength. But in the Exile Lands, your forcing Captain Hode to undergo the trial was no secret to us. Your past is clear to us.” Vito said coldly.
“By your Northern traditions, defeated by me, you would now be my property. But here, in the Church, this was merely your defeat in a fight.”
Vito then placed five York gold coins beside Cooper. “Still, you are an elder. I will cover your medical expenses. Seek a doctor in York City.”
Turning to Hode, he said, “We know your intentions. But the Church now lacks the strength to head north. My personal advice: go to Adrian Territory. The bishop there is Marl—the child you once rescued as our captain. He is clever. In fact, this year’s Eastern Expedition was directed by him as supreme strategist. Perhaps he can help you.”
He inclined his head slightly, then left.
After Vito departed, Cooper quickly scrambled up, pocketing the five coins.
Wiping the blood from his face, Cooper muttered, “Oh, I heard he was a Guardian Knight. Seems the Church’s knights do have some skill.”
Then, looking at Hode, he said, “Looks like they’ve abandoned you. Maybe you should return North with me. That is your true home. The Master will return from the Exile Lands, complete the supreme trial, and slay those demons who occupied the Hoover Family’s lands. Then he will become the Supreme King of the Northern Kingdom.”
Hode gave no reply, only slinging the case carrying the Hunting Fang onto his back.
With a smile, Cooper said, “Yes, that’s right. We must return to the North. We need to raise an army quickly. When the Master returns, we’ll answer his call. In the war against the demons, you will earn your glory. Perhaps you could even become the new Marquis Hoover…”
Hode cut him off. “No. First, we go to Adrian Territory.”