Chapter 112 : The More Brian Observed, the More Shocked He Became—Liz’s Past
Chapter 112: The More Brian Observed, the More Shocked He Became—Liz’s Past
After listening carefully to Liz’s account, Brian, who had already fully believed that the person before him was indeed the old acquaintance he once knew, slowly lifted his head.
His deep eyes cast toward the center of the town, toward the magnificent sanctuary bathed in golden radiance—the Lynn Church!
Compared to Liz, who was immersed in the joy of reunion,
Brian habitually pondered further, and deeper.
This unfathomable Lord Angel—
Had He long since seen through the relationship between him and Liz?
Like a master-class chess player,
Had He already placed this critical piece upon the board, quietly, before Brian even stepped into this forest?
Thus, at the perfect moment,
Liz appeared to greet him, leading to this reunion today.
As for the purpose behind His actions…
“Is He… showing goodwill?”
This thought brushed across Brian’s mind.
It was not baseless speculation.
With the strength the other party had displayed—if He truly wished to set a deathtrap—
Then when Brian was still outside the forest, that would have been the optimal moment.
Yet—
He encountered no attack at all, and safely reached this Holy Light–shrouded core area.
This town was gathered with so many devout believers.
If the other party harbored any malice, He would never have allowed Brian to come this close.
Otherwise, it would only result in mutual death and severe casualties.
‘Another possibility…’
‘He is confident He can subdue me in an instant!’
‘Therefore He fears nothing…’
The chain of logic
quickly connected itself within Brian’s thoughts.
The vigilant tension that had initially prepared him for the worst
was steadily dissolving.
Half of it was because of Liz’s presence, which awakened softness buried deep in him for many years.
The other half came from rational judgment of the situation.
Remaining on guard no longer had much meaning.
Brian dismounted, landing beside Liz.
He extended his calloused hand and gently placed it atop Liz’s head.
“You’ve grown taller.”
Liz slightly lifted her head,
her eyes filled with warmth and affection one would only show toward a close elder.
“After all, Uncle, I am now a Third-tier Knight.”
She straightened her back: “As my strength improved, naturally my body followed along!”
Brian silently nodded.
Liz’s tier—he had already sensed it upon their first moment of meeting.
But to Brian, Third-tier, Fifth-tier—these meant nothing.
What did catch his eye was the holy sword at Liz’s waist, which he examined with extra attention.
It was a fine weapon—sufficient for Liz to use even at the level of Sixth or Seventh-tier.
But even reaching Third-tier
was something Liz’s formerly mediocre aptitude could never have achieved on her own.
Brian once again cast a deep glance at Lynn Church.
No more words were necessary; all the answers lay before him.
“Lead the way.”
Brian withdrew his gaze. “Tell me—your experiences.”
Liz understood instantly.
She walked ahead at once.
And began narrating the days when she struggled to survive.
……
Seeing the two of them walking into Holy Light Town in such harmony,
Old John finally let out a long breath.
It was as if a great weight had been lifted; the fine clothes on his back were already drenched in cold sweat.
Then he waved at Ulf: “Lord Ulf, thank you, truly!”
“When I came from Oak Town, I specially prepared a small token of appreciation—some fresh cheese, top-grade flour, and several bolts of newly dyed sturdy cotton cloth.”
“It’s not much, but please make sure it is distributed to the children in the town and everyone who works so hard!”
As he spoke,
he gestured for the guards to unload several heavy wooden crates from the back of the carriage.
Siance shot a glance at Ulf.
Seeing that he was still a bit dazed and distracted, Siance sharply jabbed him with an elbow.
Ulf hissed in pain,
finally pulling his gaze away from the backs of the two figures.
“Ah? Oh! Earl John, you are far too kind!”
“This way, please! This way!”
Ulf hurriedly collected himself, forcing out a smile,
warmly welcoming Old John and his party to Holy Light Town as guests.
And the reason he had been so distracted—
was purely because he had never seen the usually serious Lady Liz
show such a girlish, bashful side!
He had been utterly stunned.
……
After walking only a short distance through Holy Light Town,
Brian realized how different this place was.
First—the atmosphere.
Even surpassing that of Oak Town.
Everywhere, the townsfolk lived together like family.
Secondly—
everywhere his eyes fell, the people were extraordinary.
What a suffocating concept was this?
In the Imperial Capital’s Holy Saint Anna, a land of priceless resources and accumulated millennia of imperial arcane knowledge,
even there, the proportion of those who could become formal knights or novice magicians
was only two or three out of ten.
And that was after careful selection and ruthless elimination.
Even ancient noble families known for “pure bloodlines” and “exceptional talent”
could not guarantee that every member would successfully awaken their power.
Yet here, in this remote, newly formed town—
a refuge built under a mysterious Lord Angel—
they had nearly reached the brink of universal awakening?
This was no longer something that could be described as a miracle.
This—
was akin to divine-level mass creation!
It was a naked subversion of the Empire’s entire system of power cultivation!
Regarding his assessment of the Angel,
Brian could not help adding a new label atop “unfathomable”—
Defies all common logic!
Mass production of extraordinary individuals—only the Empire’s recently mastered 【Gate of Destiny】 possessed such power.
But that gate… was a near-death ordeal!
And absolutely incomparable to the peaceful situation before him.
……As Brian was imagining and analyzing,
Liz beside him had reached the moment of her account where she faced the most formidable first wave of the Undead Scourge, and how she had survived purely by luck.
“That beast’s wings swept across the skies above the city.”
“Its icy breath roared like the furious winter of the far north.”
“My squad was almost instantly frozen into ice sculptures—annihilated…”
Liz shook her head with a bitter smile: “As for me, perhaps I was simply too insignificant… or perhaps just positioned farther away.”
“When the dragon’s might descended, even just the touch of its fringe pressure”
“had already slammed me heavily into the ground, my vision going black, my bones shattering inch by inch.”
“Before I lost consciousness, I only remembered my body being pinned beneath the frozen corpses of my companions—I couldn’t move at all.”
“Perhaps it was precisely this weakness that became my only stroke of luck, allowing me to be completely forgotten in that hell…”
Back then, Liz had only been a First-tier formal Knight.
The grievous injury she suffered even caused her strength to fall below tier.
Afterward, in order to make a living, Liz became a mercenary.
She took jobs while fleeing from the expanding regions covered by the Undead Scourge.
Journeying with hardship at every step,
she finally arrived at Florence.
She settled for a period in this quiet border town.
But later, Florence was betrayed and fell.
Liz was forced to flee with people under her protection.
“Until the radiance of Lord Angel descended! That was when I finally saw true hope!”
Her voice suddenly brightened—
like morning sunlight piercing through heavy clouds.
“Lord Angel did not merely heal my wounds, Uncle Brian.”
“He reshaped my body, purified my soul, and dispelled the resentment and unwillingness that clung to my heart for years!”
“He guided me to become a true Knight of Light—a path far broader and brighter than that of the old Order of the Templar Knights!”
“And here, I gained a solid home!”
“I gained companions willing to trust and follow me! And I gained a goal worth striving for all my life!”
Listening to each word filled with contentment,
Brian silently nodded. No one knew what he was thinking.
Eventually, he stopped walking.
He lifted his head toward the magnificent church before him.
At the same moment—
Lynn: “So, you have finally come.”