297 The Prominent Grant Family
A few moments ago.
After the two armored men entered the sacred building and gave their report, an infuriated voice suddenly echoed outwardly. However, the voice was contained within a sound nullification barrier. This meant that Incarnation Randy could not hear what was being said to the two armored men in order for their complexions to become that pale.
âBunch of useless fools that only know how to bring shame to our Holy Church of Light! Find that useless Knight Captain and tell him to see me in three days! I donât care how you do it! If he is truly dead like you said, then bring me his corpse instead!â
âDo you ungrateful fools really expect me to inform the Supreme Pontiff of such a disgraceful failure, much less the Royal Family?â
âIf you do not find him, then donât even think about returning to the Church of Light, you failures of the Holy Knights! Until you find that arrogant brat of the Grant Family, I will consider you all dead men!â
âIf you dared to return without your captain, I will have no choice but to denounce you and your Knight Captainâs blasphemous acts. Then, I will have you graciously appease our god by sacrificing yourselves in a ritual!â
The two armored men were immediately shocked when they heard the last words, and both of them spoke out at once: âB-But Cardinal Juke, we have never committed any act of crime as sworn protectors of the masses. How could we be labeled blasphemous just because we failed our missionâ¦?â
âNonsense!â
Cardinal Juke rebuked uncompromisingly: âWhat is the difference between watching a crime unfold without lending a helping hand and committing it yourself? Do you still refer to yourselves as âprotectorsâ, then? Get out of my sight this instant!â
.....
â¦
Back to the present.
At this time, the two armored men walked away from the sacred building with frustrated expressions. One of them was particularly furious about their situation and began shouting expletives.
âItâs all that bastardâs fault! I knew sooner or later he would get us all into trouble with his acts!â
The armored man, who carried a shield and a broad sword, expressed his immediate frustration.
âShush! Keep your voice down. Do you want to get us into trouble?â
The other armored man, who was lanky with sharp eyes, tried to stop the shield-wielding armored man from making a ruckus in the vicinity of Church Street.
The shield-wielding armored man retorted: âSo what? Do you think weâre not in trouble right now? If not for his background, why would I condone his actions up to this point? As a proud holy knight of the Church of Light, our noble duty was to protect civilians from the wrath of the demons.â
Then, he frowned with a guilty expression and continued: âHowever, what did he do as captain of the renowned Holy Knights, huh? That disgusting bastard abused his authority. As Cardinal Juke said, Iâm also guilty as I didnât do anything to stop him as he took advantage of his status as a noble to molest and violate any helpless and innocent girl or woman he fancied behind the scenes all this time.
The shield-wielding armored man looked at his partner and said: âAll those acts were deemed proper by him simply because they were commoners and he was a nobleman. And youâre still thinking about taking his side even now?â
The sharp-eyed armored man shook his head and said: âIâm not taking his side, but Iâm just saying that you shouldnâtâ¦
âBut what? Forget what youâre about to say!â
The shield-wielding armored man cut him off and said: âIf we donât find him in three days, which weâve already tried before and failed, we might as well commit suicide right where we stand at that time. I donât know about you, but I donât plan on dying just yet.â
âI donât either, but we canât afford to offend either Cardinal Juke or the Grant Family right now. We have to somehow locate the captainâs corpse if heâs already dead or weâll be doomed one way or another.
The sharp-eyed armored man then explained: âIf Cardinal Juke doesnât kill us, the Grant Family would likely suspect that we had a hand in the captainâs death. They may demand us to be tortured at that time and Cardinal Juke would most definitely agree with that request, assuming they find out about the captainâs death. However, Cardinal Juke doesnât want the Grant Family to find out. Which was why he sent us away and told us not to come until we locate the captainâs corpse.â
âDamn it! This is really pissing me off!â
The shield-wielding armored man gritted his teeth and said: âHow did that bastard of a captain get assaulted, anyway? Wasnât he level 67, nearing level 70, which was considered the elite level of power in this world? Isnât that strange?â
The sharp-eyed armored man pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement: âYouâre right. I heard that when one gets close to level 70, they gradually undergo qualitative changes in their overall strength.â
âAnd yet the captain seemed to have lost miserably to some magical beast without being able to escape with his life at the very least? Even if he was distracted, doesnât it seem absurd that he would be defeated so easily by some magical beast? Was the level he stated to us real, or was it just a fake level he barked to feel a sense of superiority in front of us?â
The shield-wielding armored man expressed his doubts.
The sharp-eyed armored man pondered for a moment and muttered: â...Perhaps.â
He then stated: âPeople from that renowned Grant Family always refused to be appraised by the Society and the Church. One could only trust their verbal declarations. So far, no one bothered to stand against their arrangements due to their deep influence on historical events, and also their immense contribution to this country over the years. Not to mention that at their command was an overwhelming combat force that they carefully nurtured in the name of protecting their family heritage.â
The two armored men always felt that it was mystifying how their captain suddenly disappeared without leaving behind any trace other than the blood they found at the site of the assault. But now that they thought about it some more, the situation wasnât simply him getting outdone by some magical beast, assuming his level was genuine. If that was the case, then something else was at play there.
Other than this speculation, neither of them had anything else to start off on as a lead or clue to find the location of their missing captain. They also didnât have any plans as to how they would handle their predicament anytime soon. They would have to search randomly just as they did before coming to the Imperial City.
Feeling frustrated about their complicated situation, they decided to visit the nearest drinking pub to get some booze to get their minds off the complicated things before departing the Imperial City. They wanted to come up with a solid plan before they headed for Alpheotus City the following day.
No matter how frustrated they may feel about their predicament, they would still have to go and stay in Alpheotus City to once again search the Meistic Forest until they find something related to their captain. If they fail to produce any results in their endeavor, they might have to stay there forever as possible fugitives.