Chapter 534 The Saintess's Impurity, Nine Great Punishments "Hello, please show your token." The Holy Cross Knight at the city gate spoke coldly.
Raine didn't know what the token he was talking about was, but he still took out his identity card from the Empire and handed it over.
Upon seeing this, the knight frowned, his face, covered by mithril armor, and said unhappily.
"This is a Light Token issued by the Church of Light, not your identity card. If you don't have it, please go over there to get it."
After speaking, the knight pointed to a small shed not far away.
Rein looked in the direction the knight pointed, and there was a long queue at the small shed.
Suddenly, Renn remembered the token that the high priest of the Church of Light had given him, so he took it out and handed it to the knight.
Is this okay?
The knight glanced at the token in Renn's hand, then immediately straightened his back and slammed his spear into the ground with a clang.
"Greetings, High Priest." The knight placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly.
"Can I go in now?" Renn asked.
The knight nodded: "Of course, please forgive my rudeness just now, friend of the High Priest."
"With the Holy Light Token, you can freely enter and leave the City of Light without restriction, and you can also request a team of Holy Cross Knights to accompany you."
"Would you like me to call the Holy Cross Knights for you?"
Renn said, "We don't need a whole team, just one person will do."
"Yes." The knight nodded, then glanced at the knight beside him.
The knight understood immediately and ran into the city, soon arriving before Renn with a Holy Cross Knight.
"Hello, may the Holy Light protect you. I am Bernard, a Holy Cross Knight, and it is my pleasure to guide you." Bernard bowed slightly to Renn.
After Bernard and the knight guarding the city nodded to each other, Bernard led Raine into the City of Light.
"Are you here for sightseeing? If so, I can recommend a few nice places to visit in the City of Light," Bernard asked as he walked alongside Renn.
Renn shook his head: "Take me to see the Pope."
Bernard was taken aback. The Pope...?
"You...you must be joking, right? His Holiness the Pope is extremely busy and rarely sees people, even if you are the holder of the Holy Light Token," Bernard said with a forced smile.
Ryan glanced at Bernard and said, "Then take me to see the highest-ranking person you can meet."
"Wouldn't it be alright if we went to see the high priest who possessed this token?"
Bernard forced a smile and nodded, clearly displeased with Ryan's arrogance.
What does it mean to 'take me to meet the highest-ranking people you can meet'?
It was as if they were looking down on him; Bernard hadn't been treated this badly since he became a glorious Knight of the Holy Cross.
However, due to the Holy Light Token in Renn's possession, Bernard still led Renn deeper into the City of Light, but remained silent the entire way.
The two climbed countless steps and traversed countless streets and alleys, gradually ascending the terraced fields of the City of Light, finally arriving at the middle section of the City of Light.
Bernard led Ryan into a church.
The high priest, Wood, sitting in a chair inside the church, was taken aback when he saw the people Bernard brought. He then quickly got up from his chair and went to greet Ryan.
"Young Master Raine, is it really...is it you!?"
Wood was extremely shocked, knowing that a major event had just occurred within the church, and that event happened to have some vague connection with Ryan.
Therefore, it's understandable that Wood was shocked by Ryan's arrival at such a sensitive time.
Wood thought of many things in that instant.
After all, that incident happened secretly among the church's upper echelons, and those in the middle and lower ranks had no idea about it.
If Renn finds out, it means he has people in the upper echelons of the church!
Bernard was utterly astonished to see the usually aloof High Priest in such a state.
Holy crap, this guy is a real big shot!
He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn't said anything arrogant to this adult.
Wood waved for Bernard, who was standing next to Ryan, to leave. After Bernard left, Wood asked a question.
"What brings you to the Church of Light?" Wood asked tentatively, inquiring about the purpose of Renn's visit.
Ryan glanced at Wood, and although he saw the surprise in Wood's eyes, Ryan assumed it was because Wood was seeing him for the first time.
He laughed and said, "Can't you come and have some fun if you have nothing else to do?"
"Take me to His Holiness the Pope; I need to speak with him."
Upon hearing this, Wood's face tightened, and he was once again certain that Ryan knew about it.
The news that Renn had led his knights to slaughter the three great families of the empire had already spread, and everyone labeled Renn as a ruthless man.
For a moment, Wood felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled his earlier vote.
Wood forced a laugh and explained, "Young Master Renn, I... I have always supported Her Highness the Holy Maiden."
"However, as you know, my position in the church is decent, but that's based on the power of the four elders."
"The Fourth Elder told me to vote against it, so I had no choice but to comply."
Upon hearing this, the faint smile on Raine's face vanished, replaced by deep surprise, doubt, and anger.
According to Wood, something must have happened to Joan of Arc!
Ryan sat down in Wood's chair without making a sound, put his legs up on the table, and said coldly.
"It seems you do have some self-awareness, High Priest Wood."
"Tell me your story! What did you who voted against it do?"
"If what you say satisfies me, I might consider sparing your life."
Wood broke out in a cold sweat.
Renn is right. Although he is the high priest of the Church of Light, if Renn were to kill him, the Church of Light would not show hostility towards Renn now because of him.
He might even shift the blame onto himself, saying things like he messed with Renn and deserved what he got.
Wood smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I promise to tell you everything I know."
"A month ago, the Fifth Elder somehow learned of the Holy Maiden's impurity and launched an attack against her."
"We didn't believe it at first, and we were waiting for the Holy Maiden to come forward and clarify, but... the Holy Maiden didn't do anything and didn't come forward to clarify."
"In an instant, the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, and Sixth Elder, the four elders, all demanded that His Holiness the Pope ask the Holy Maiden to prove her innocence."
"His Holiness the Pope had no choice but to let Her Highness the Holy Maiden appear, and the four elders did not find any purification marks on Her Highness the Holy Maiden's body."
"According to the rules of the church, Her Highness has two choices: one is to return to the embrace of the God of Light, and the other is to accept the nine punishments of the church and then be stripped of her title as a saint."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
