Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Connie’s Surprising Discovery

Fang Zheng had no idea he had caught the attention of a Knight Captain; the banquet had already begun, just as he expected. After the banquet started, Bishop Carl, who was in charge of the Northlands, immediately began his speech. It was the usual rhetoric: the Order Fortress faced danger, the valiant warriors were immensely honorable, and they had dedicated their lives to the court… Oh, no, for the peace of the world, they had made monumental sacrifices. Their merits would be forever remembered in our hearts. Next, we would like to invite the first person who moved the Sanctuary this year…

The majority of those who went up to receive awards and cheers were people stationed at the Order Fortress, including those two powerhouses who held the fort as well as the reinforcements who arrived later. Of course, Bishop Carl did not forget to mention Great Knight Shi Dong. However, he didn’t specify what Shi Dong and his men had done, merely stating that under the leadership of Great Knight Shi Dong, they had thwarted the evil deeds of the Doomsday Church that attempted to take advantage of the Order Fortress in its time of peril, which was quickly brushed over.

Naturally, those in the know were aware that the Demon Beast siege this time was actually orchestrated by the Doomsday Church, and that the Demon Beast Lords were merely taking the hit for them. Or rather, those Demon Beast Lords were merely meant to distract the Templar forces. Otherwise, the Sanctuary wouldn’t have sent so few men to the Dark Marsh… Of course, such things need not be said to avoid embarrassment.

Fang Zheng was listening from below, bored out of his wits, and also frowning secretly.

Although Bishop Carl’s speech was full of official jargon, as a high-level official who had to attend countless meetings each year, Fang Zheng certainly knew how to look for clues within the jargon. Sometimes, to ordinary people, official jargon sounded like empty talk and was dismissed as such. But to those in the know, they could immediately discern the meaning behind a seemingly ordinary official phrase.

This time, Bishop Carl’s jargon, on the surface, praised the warriors stationed at the fortress. In reality, he left the matter of the Doomsday Church for the end. While most people might see that as a casual mention, those at this level would immediately understand—oh, it turns out it was those damned Doomsday Church bastards who were behind this.

But the name Bishop Carl mentioned next was rather interesting.

Under the leadership of Great Knight Shi Dong—ah, this meant that the credit for this operation was attributed to Shi Dong. Fang Zheng didn’t care much, as he knew that given his current relationship with the Sanctuary, they were unlikely to honor him publicly. Shi Dong was indeed a prime candidate given his experience, reputation, and loyalty. However, Bishop Carl didn’t mention Fina at all, which made Fang Zheng somewhat dissatisfied. Fina had played a crucial role in this operation; honestly, if it weren’t for the warning Fang Zheng received from Fina, would these people still have time to drink and celebrate here? It’s more likely they would have been wiped out by the Hell Legion!

This discontent arose because Bishop Carl should not have been foolish enough to miss the connection, yet he failed to mention Fina, which was indeed strange. Fang Zheng himself had a general relationship with the Sanctuary and had joined them halfway, so it was understandable that they would forsake him. But Fina seemed to be one of your Apprentice Clerics, wasn’t she? Why not boast about her now and instead keep her hidden? Could it be that she is still your secret weapon? Superman doesn’t need recognition for doing good deeds, but that doesn’t stop the media from praising him, right?

Furthermore, Fang Zheng hadn’t seen Fina at the banquet… could it be that she was also shunned by the Sanctuary like he was? No, that couldn’t be…

At this thought, Fang Zheng shook his head. That naive girl was steadfast in her beliefs and quite devout; she wouldn’t have fallen out with the Sanctuary. But pondering here wouldn’t shed any light on the matter; Fang Zheng decided to ask Shi Dong about it later, hoping to glean some insights.

After a round of fantastical and convivial official exchanges, the banquet officially began. Noble young ladies immediately approached and struck up conversations with the “heroes” who guarded the Order Fortress. Fang Zheng even noticed a young lady chatting happily with Knight Conan, only questioning whether the child could bear the tremendous force behind the name of Knight Conan…

“Fang Zheng!”

“It’s been a long time, mentor, congratulations on receiving the Honor Knight Medal.”

Seeing Great Knight Shi Dong smiling and approaching him, Fang Zheng smiled back, showing his respect with a bow. He had great respect for Shi Dong; although they hadn’t been together for very long, Shi Dong had been very kind to him. Seeing him coming straight to Fang Zheng after stepping down from the platform suggested that Shi Dong had no hard feelings about Fang Zheng’s choice.

And the Honor Knight Medal that Shi Dong received was considered the highest honor below the rank of Knight Captain, after all, the title of Knight Captain required Legendary Rank strength to hold. Although Shi Dong had made great contributions this time, he was only at the Master Class level, so there was no way to promote him to Knight Captain, and the Honor Knight Medal was a very nice reward indeed.

“Hey, you have the nerve to say that.”

Upon Fang Zheng’s mention of the medal, Shi Dong slapped him on the shoulder, looking both frustrated and disappointed.

“This was originally prepared for you, if only you hadn’t caused that issue with the Bishopric…”

Great, these bastards really planned to tie me to their ship.

Hearing Shi Dong’s response, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but gasp. He had only recently become a Grand Knight, and they intended to give him a medal that represented the highest honor of the Templars? Those Bishops were indeed ruthless and cunning; thankfully, he had escaped in time, or he might have been worked to his death.

“People have different aspirations, that’s all. Speaking of which, how are the others? Those Pegasus Knights must have been rewarded as well, right?”

“Of course, the Sanctuary always rewards achievements. That operation required their efforts to detain the demonspawn summoned by the Doomsday Church, and they made considerable sacrifices; the Bishopric certainly would not ignore that.”

“What about Fina then? I assume the Miss Cleric also received some form of recognition from the Bishopric.”

“Fina?”

Yet upon hearing this name, Great Knight Shi Dong merely blinked in bewilderment, his gaze shifting toward Fang Zheng.

“Are you referring to…?”

“Hmph!!”

However, before Shi Dong could finish his sentence, he saw Fang Zheng’s expression suddenly darken. The smile that had been on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an icy chill of killing intent!

“That bastard, he’s really asking for death!”

The next moment, Shi Dong felt a blur before his eyes, and then Fang Zheng’s figure vanished from sight right in front of him.

What had happened?

Witnessing this scene, Shi Dong was momentarily stunned, then his expression turned solemn. His interactions with Fang Zheng had not been very long, but he knew him well enough. Right now, Fang Zheng’s eruption of such intense killing intent in the middle of a public space meant that something must have gone terribly wrong!

This is bad, something has happened!

Let’s turn back the clock a few minutes.

Leaving the noisy hall behind, Connie’s brows were deeply furrowed, unable to hide her inner restlessness and despondency. As one of the members protecting the Order Fortress, Connie naturally received the Sanctuary’s reward, and in the past, the young girl would have been overjoyed by now. But at the moment, Connie was far from excited. Whenever she thought of her colleagues who were sacrificed within the Order Fortress, it made the girl feel immensely heavy-hearted. Moreover, unlike others, because her father was a high-ranking official in the Sanctuary, Connie was well aware that it was those cultists behind the scenes who had mounted such a fierce attack on the Order Fortress.

Those damn cultists!!

Upon this thought, Connie remembered the face that made her grit her teeth in hatred, certain that it was indeed Williams. She didn’t know how he managed to evade the inspection, sneaking into the inner sanctum of the Sanctuary.

Moreover, it was after his appearance that news came from the Northlands of the Doomsday Church performing a ceremony in the Dark Capital. Although the intelligence reported that he had stopped the other party’s consciousness, Connie didn’t believe for a second that a cultist would turn over a new leaf. It had to be some sort of scheme to lure the Sanctuary into lowering its guard!

Not to mention, before that, the guy had disappeared for over half a year, and no one knew where he had gone. Although Great Knight Shi Dong and Grand Knight Mart said that he had leapt into a spatial rift to defeat the Child of Chaos, who could say whether that was true or not?

How infuriating, if only evidence could be found… This bastard, who swaggered around the Sanctuary all day, must be plotting something. He must not be allowed to succeed!

“La la la…”

Just then, Connie suddenly heard a string of clear singing. She looked up and realized that she had unwittingly walked into the garden behind the Sanctuary. Following the direction the singing came from, she saw a blue-haired, twin-tailed girl sitting under an evergreen tree nearby, amusing a kitten in her hands while singing a song.

Isn’t she that girl who was always with Williams?

Seeing the blue-haired girl, Connie was also taken aback, not because she particularly cared about the other party, but because the huge collar on Nymph’s neck was too eye-catching for Connie to ignore.

But why was she hiding here? Could it mean that the cultist had sent her to scheme something sinister during this ceremony?

As Connie looked at Nymph, she clenched the hilt of her sword, suddenly struck by an idea.

If she could start with this girl, could she find evidence of Williams being a cultist?

The more Connie thought, the more it seemed to make sense. Judging by this girl’s appearance, she must have been coerced by that cultist Williams; otherwise, why would a normal girl wear such a large collar? Could there be something wrong with this collar?

With this in mind, Connie’s eyes widened as she looked at Nymph, and quickly, dazzling Holy Light emerged from her eyes… But in the next moment, Connie’s face changed dramatically!