The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 123 The Great Rain in Lutia

Hua Hua——

In spring and summer, the weather in Lutia is always unpredictable. One morning it may be sunny and clear, but before evening, a heavy rain may come down, fine and dense, with great force.

Because of the special nature of today, many people were strolling in the suburbs, and when the heavy rain came, there was nowhere to hide, and they were instantly soaked.

In Lutia, quite a few people were soaked to the bone by the rain.

Some people were even galloping on horseback in the rain.

Da da da--

The rapid sound of horses' hooves gradually approached in the downpour. In front of the East District Cathedral, several church knights exchanged glances in the rain, all wondering who could ride a horse here.

The rider soon appeared before them; he was a young nobleman, and his first words immediately captured their attention.

“I am Elizabethan Eric Chimino. Archbishop Simmagu has been kidnapped in the suburbs and his whereabouts are unknown. I request that the two Apostolic Administrators immediately send people out of the city to search for him.”

The knights exchanged glances, and one of them quickly responded, "Please wait a moment!"

As Eric watched the knight hurry into the church to announce the news, he wiped the rain off his face.

Since he couldn't stop it, he would make the situation as big as possible—times had changed, and the fact that the royal family had been attacked at a celebration in the suburbs was a well-known fact, so his words were based on evidence.

After waiting a short while, two familiar-looking apostolic administrators came out of the church and immediately recognized him.

“Your Highness Eric, you’ve come to Lutia too.”

Their words confirmed Eric's identity, and the knights bowed to him in unison.

Eric dismounted, smoothing his soaked hair. "Cardinal Dorian, Cardinal Basil, it's been a long time since I last greeted you. I have urgent business to attend to."

Both men invited him into the church to discuss the matter in detail, but Eric stopped at the door, intentionally explaining his purpose in front of several church knights and the believers who were taking shelter from the rain.

"I witnessed Archbishop Simmagu being taken hostage in the suburbs. The assailant appears to be the demon who cursed the Queen. I was powerless to fight him alone and had no choice but to return to the city for help. I request that the two Apostolic Administrators immediately send people out of the city to search for and rescue him."

The two apostolic deputies sent by the Pope were actually there to gradually replace Xinmagu. Who knows what they were really thinking? Maybe they were hoping Xinmagu would die or be kidnapped by the demons, which would save them a lot of trouble. He could only shout loudly to let more people know about this, so that they would have no room to evade the issue.

Seeing that many faces were looking at them, the two acting patriarchs exchanged a glance and quickly made a decision.

“Archbishop Simmagu is in danger, so of course we must do everything we can to rescue him. However, the cathedral can only send out a limited number of men; at the moment, we can only send out twenty knights.”

“Twenty men are enough,” Eric said. “I will go to the palace to ask His Majesty the Emperor for help and request that he send men to search together with the Knights of the Cathedral.”

Since he had already said so much, the two apostolic administrators had nothing else to say and immediately ordered the knights of the cathedral to take action.

After bidding farewell to the two, Eric mounted his horse again and rode towards the royal palace in the center of Lutia.

The heavy rain continued to fall, and visibility was reduced to almost nothing further along the road. Fortunately, there was no one else on the road, and Eric made his way through without any obstacles until he arrived at the palace.

He stopped before the palace guards could surround him, dismounted, looked around, and looked at two of the guards. “You should remember me. At noon, I was the one who treated the Empress in His Majesty’s carriage.”

The two guards hesitated for a moment, glanced at each other, and one of them nodded slightly. The other immediately nodded as well, and the former then confirmed with even greater certainty that this was indeed the case.

"Please inform His Majesty that Eric of the Chimino family has urgent business to discuss with him."

One of the guards hurriedly entered the palace.

In the pouring rain, Eric looked up at the magnificent palace before him.

Because the palace is located in the very center of Lutia, it remained undamaged during both the July Coup and the subsequent Battle of Lutia.

After the demons occupied the capital, this place became the Demon King's residence and was still preserved intact, so he didn't feel any sense of unfamiliarity looking at it now.

After a moment, Princess Natalia and the guards came out together.

"Your Highness Eric."

As soon as she came out, she invited Eric in. "Why have you come at this hour? His Majesty is with the frightened Queen and Mia. He sent me to see you. Tell me what's wrong."

Natalia was far more reliable than the emperor himself, and Eric was much happier to see her. He explained his purpose outside the palace and asked the emperor to send people to search for the High Priest Simagu.

"High Priest Simagu?"

"Because he lifted the curse on the queen, he was targeted by the demons, but the demons kidnapped the high priest probably for more than just this reason."

Regardless of Sinmag's current state, Eric could only try to exaggerate the situation as much as possible, so that even if he wronged him, he could explain it later.

"The demons in the far north have most likely made a comeback. The High Priest has long been a member of the Imperial Council and is very familiar with the secrets of the empire. They must want to get important information from the High Priest in preparation for moving south at any time."

Natalia looked at him. "Your Highness Eric, what is the basis for your statement?"

Eric pursed his lips.

"In the future that the gods showed me, the demon army marched south and occupied Lutia."

The princess looked at him silently for a while, then said, "Your Highness Eric, please come in and take shelter from the rain and change your clothes. I will inform His Majesty on your behalf."

"..."

She didn't believe it, as expected.

“Sinmag is the High Priest of the Empire, and we will not stand idly by while he is abducted by the demons. The guards we sent out to search for the demons have not yet returned, and I will order more people to search for him,” Natalia added.

Having achieved his goal, Eric declined the invitation to go inside and take shelter from the rain, bowed to the princess, and then rode away.

Watching him stagger away on horseback, soaked to the bone, Natalia lingered for a while before returning to the palace to see her brother, the emperor.

The emperor has many sisters, but she is the only one who is still unmarried and living in the palace.

Back in her palace chambers, she first checked on the Queen and Mia. The former was the one cursed by the demons, but it was Princess Mia who was currently feverish and unconscious; she had clearly been quite frightened.

Natalia told Emperor Eric the purpose of her visit, and he immediately looked worried. "What's going on today? How come Sinmagg has been kidnapped again... Isn't he the Archmage?"

"Perhaps the demons used some methods."

"Let's send people to look for him as soon as possible. Simagu may be unpleasant to talk to, but he's not a bad person. He's... fairly loyal to me." Chik Utu sighed. "This precious celebration has been completely ruined by these things. We didn't even finish watching yesterday's program..."

Natalia nodded, and then spoke of Eric's speculation about the movements of the northern demons.

The emperor remained silent for a longer period, as if he were thinking about something.

Just as Natalia was about to leave to order the guards to search for the missing person, he suddenly spoke up: "I remember now, last year or the year before, the current head of the Chiminor family in Dante County, who should be Eric's father, wrote me a letter, saying something similar."

Natalia stopped in her tracks, and the Emperor continued, "I immediately sent a letter to the north to inquire, and the commander of the Black Ice Wall Knights told me that everything was normal in the Northern Demon Realm, and that the larger tribes had all been wiped out."

"Tell that prospective saintess not to worry so much, and just focus on what she should be concerned about."

He waved his hand, sat back down on the edge of the bed, and looked at his sleeping little daughter with concern.

"However, he's a good person. If he no longer wants to be a prospective saintess, you could consider marrying him. Although his family's title is a bit low, they are still descendants of sages..."

Natalia paused, then blurted out, "He's five or six years younger than me."

"The Queen is seven years younger than me... Natalia, you're rolling your eyes at me again."

"I was wrong, Your Majesty," the princess said curtly, her face expressionless. "I will go and reflect on my mistakes now."

After leaving this place, Natalia first found the chief of the palace guards and asked him to send someone to the city defense army to mobilize people to go out of the city to search for Simmagu.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Looking at the increasingly gloomy sky and the continuous heavy rain, Natalia slowly exhaled, her vision gradually becoming unfocused.

"Do people in the church like to keep talking about God...?"

Eric had just returned to his residence at that moment.

He had done all he could, hoping that the cathedral and the palace would take it seriously and send more people. Even if they couldn't catch them, they could at least scare Luca and his party away.

"Master!"

Having waited for him in the suburbs but not finding him, Leslie, who had returned ahead of him, hurriedly came to greet him, "Why did you come back in the rain?"

He knew nothing at all, only that his young master had a great time playing in the suburbs.

“There are some things…” Eric dismounted, and Leslie led the horse back into the yard.

After drying himself off and changing his clothes, Eric stood on the second-floor windowsill, gazing at the sky, toying with the dagger he had only remembered while changing.

I wonder when this heavy rain will finally stop... Hiding under the dark bridge arch, gazing at the rain curtain outside, Alan had the same question in his heart.

Having narrowly escaped death at Eric's hands, and finding no one else, she could only return to her stronghold in Lutia City to wait for her companions to return.

She guessed that she wouldn't be able to stay in Lutia for much longer.

The assassination attempt failed, and it's still unknown how Chancellor Luca will deal with her.

But she can find a reason.

Only she and Eric knew what happened at the time. She could have easily said that she had stabbed Eric and almost succeeded, but he reacted in time and she was unable to kill him. After all, she was not good at fighting. Eric was not going to expose her.

A gust of cold wind, mixed with raindrops, blew into the underpass. Alan shivered, feeling a faint pain in his neck.

"..."

She raised her hand to touch it and swallowed.

For a fleeting moment, Eric probably really wanted to kill her...

Perhaps it was because of Eileen, or perhaps her deliberate wailing aroused his compassion, but he ultimately let her go.

“It seems we’re destined not to be true friends, Your Highness Eric…” she murmured.

The river water churned, bringing with it a foul stench. Alan snapped out of his daze, covered his mouth and nose, and frowned deeply.

She glanced outside, then gritted her teeth and went into the rain.

Hua Hua——

The heavy rain continued to fall, and the sky grew even darker.

In the suburbs, under the cover of heavy rain, trees, and dim light, Luca and his group lay prone behind a slope, evading another group of Lutia guards who were searching for them.

Xinmagu has already left.

Rainwater mixed with mud and fallen leaves flowed down, and Luca raised one hand, which was stuck in the mud, and wiped it a few times on the tree roots next to him.

"Take a look and see if they've gone far."

A demon guard with better eyesight quietly got up and looked ahead for a while.

"They've gone too far to be seen anymore."

After lying there for a while, his body ached. Luca gritted his teeth and got up. The demon guard next to him immediately pulled him up, leaving a clear handprint on his arm and clothes with his mud-covered hand.

"..."

The torrential rain dampened Luca's energy for cursing.

"Keep a close eye on them and see if you can catch someone who's alone and ask them what happened."

"Yes, Prime Minister Luca."

Something's not quite right.

He could understand why the emperor's guards started checking people before because of Princess Kiraya's demon curse, but why are there now waves of searches that are clearly intensified?
Or is it because of the Queen's curse?
The curse has been lifted by Simagu, the queen has survived, and the emperor is clearly not in a good mood now.

None of them were exposed. The search began before Simmagu left, so it's impossible that he said he was considering it but actually turned around and reported it.

The group continued their evacuation in the heavy rain. Luca glanced at the guards beside him and was only thankful that he had sent Princess Kiraya out a step earlier. Otherwise, given her temperament, she would have long since given up on this humiliation and chosen to fight her way out.

His gaze fell on several Aranians whose stamina was clearly failing, and he suddenly frowned: "Hasn't Elise returned yet?"

"No……"

"Maybe they're gone," Luca thought, but then he suddenly remembered the blond boy who had wanted to kill him and whom Iris had asked to get rid of.

At that time, he was more concerned about meeting Xinmagu and had no time to think about it. Now, the more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became.

The noble playboy Elise mentioned did indeed harbor murderous intent towards him... his name seemed to be Eric?

So, what is the reason?
Is it because Eric is attracted to Elise and becomes jealous of the unknown man?
Or was it because Eric actually recognized him?
Having traveled all the way from the south, Luca still had one unresolved question: why was he exposed in the first place?

Now it seems that perhaps someone really did realize his identity long ago and was keeping an eye on him, and that blond kid was in cahoots with them...

"There's someone ahead!"

The group immediately stopped, and Luca hid behind a fairly thick tree.

The demon guard who first spotted the search team observed for a moment, then turned to ask, "Prime Minister Luca, there's only one person ahead."

Luca didn't hesitate. "Grab him. Watch out for the surroundings!"

"Yes!"

Using the woods to conceal their tracks and the sound of rain to mask their movements, the demon guards quickly crept up to the guard and, taking advantage of the guard's glance elsewhere, launched a surprise attack.

The guard groaned as he was knocked unconscious. When he was woken up, he was surrounded by a group of people.

Demons!

Upon noticing their skin color, his face immediately turned pale.

Among a group of demons, there was a human just like him, and he was the first to ask a question.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to kill you. As long as you answer a few questions for me properly, I'll let you leave alive, provided that you pretend you didn't discover us."

The guards nodded vigorously.

You only earn a few gold coins a year, why risk your life?
The guard answered whatever Luca asked, and then he noticed that Luca's complexion was getting worse and worse.

After answering the last question, he saw the middle-aged man get up, walk to the side, and casually wave his hand.

Then, a demon next to him grinned and reached out a large hand, completely pinching his face.

Click!

The stench of blood emanated from the crushed skull, making Luca's already pale face even paler, almost causing him to vomit.

He walked to the side, leaned against the tree trunk, and calmed his heaving chest.

The guard actually said that they were there to find the high priest Xinmagu, who had been taken away by the demons!
If his identity was exposed because someone recognized him in some way and even the purpose of their trip was known, then it could only be because an insider betrayed them.

The guard just mentioned that the person who went to the palace to ask the emperor to send people to search was a blond nobleman named Eric.

“Elise…”

Luca practically gritted his teeth as he uttered the name.

No wonder she seemed so strange when she met Eric; she had already betrayed him long ago.

“It was Elise who betrayed us.” Luca looked at the trembling Arans. “You haven’t been targeted yet. Go back to Lutia now, find Elise, and kill her! ...No, bring her to me alive.”

The Arans exchanged glances, but quickly nodded. "Yes, Lord Luca!"

“Our plans have been completely exposed. We can’t stay in Lutia any longer. I’ll find a place to stay near that hotel for a few days. If you can catch up, we’ll head north together. If not, we’ll find a way to lie low,” Luca continued.

One of the Arans asked, "Lord Luca, what about Sinmag? Weren't we supposed to take him back to the Demon Realm with us?"

Luca paused for a moment. “Since Sinmagu said he needs to consider it, I’ll let him think about it for a while. But he has nowhere else to go. Both his own situation and this accident will only make it harder for him to survive… Besides, he’s already tempted. Just wait, he’ll come to us on his own.”

"Yes, Lord Luca..."

After giving some more instructions, several Arans broke away from the group and headed back towards Lutia.

Under the escort of the demon guards, Luca continued to stealthily break through to the outer perimeter, finally shaking off the searching guards completely after nightfall.

At the agreed-upon location, he also met Princess Kiraya and her guards.

"Why did it take so long?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, we must be extra careful from now on."

Kiraya didn't want to tell Lucado, and continued to move with them, but before leaving, she couldn't help but glance in Lutia's direction a few more times.

I don't know when I'll see that person again after this departure...

(End of this chapter)