The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 149 The Lost Clive
The thick white fog that permeates the ancient battlefield never dissipates throughout the year.

The sky here is always overcast, and the sun is nowhere to be seen, so when you get lost in the thick fog, you can't tell which way to go by the sun's position.

This means that those who lose their way on the ancient battlefield often find it difficult to get out and eventually become new ghosts on the ancient battlefield.

"..."

Thinking of these rumors, Clive's hand holding the sword trembled involuntarily.

Stay calm, you absolutely must stay calm.

He reminded himself that those who get lost do so because they panic and wander deeper into the ancient battlefield in the thick fog, eventually encountering accidents. He, however, was still on the outskirts and was not in danger.

Clive pressed the cool blade against his forehead, calming his panicked emotions slightly.

He took a deep breath and looked around. Thick fog was billowing, making it impossible to tell which way was north, south, east, or west. He couldn't even remember which way he had come in from.

He would wait here, hoping the fog would clear or his companions would realize he was missing and turn back to look for him.

Clive crouched down and used the tip of his sword to trace the route he remembered on the ground.

He entered the ancient battlefield from Beizhen, heading west. At this point, he was still on the edge of the area. Whether he went east, south, or north, he would eventually be able to escape this fog. The chances were great.

He'll definitely get out of here... Clive thought to himself.

But after waiting for a while, the fog remained thick, and he still couldn't hear his companion's voice. His anxiety, which he had been deliberately ignoring, took over again.

pat!

He raised his sword and slashed the ground hard. The flying stones hit him, and he bit his lip, not daring to make a sound.

Before we came in, the team leader specifically emphasized that we should stay close to our teammates. Why would he deliberately hide and make such a joke?

He was filled with remorse, which then turned into resentment.

He was already twenty years old. He came to the ancient battlefield to train and become more mature and stable. But before the adventure even began, was he going to die because of his own clumsy joke?
Clive slashed the ground again, his resentment now directed at his companions.

He paid them to hire him, but he's been missing for so long and they still haven't found him!
What did all those solemn promises they made before they came in mean?
What does it mean to let him experience excitement, but absolutely not to let him encounter any danger?

...Could it be that the current situation actually falls within the scope of "stimulation"?
Clive's emotions plummeted during his ordeal, at which point he actively sought hope to comfort himself.

They might be watching him from some corner!

"When I find you, I'll definitely not give you a good look..." Clive tried to force a smile, but his voice sounded like a sob.

Although there was a good chance of him escaping, he dared not take the risk. What if he was just unlucky and chose to go deep into the ancient battlefield?

Clive paced back and forth.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps.

"..."

He quickly stopped, just in case he had misheard.

The footsteps grew louder and louder, and he could clearly tell which direction the sound was coming from.

Clive had long regretted his impulsiveness, and now, without any restraint, he shouted out.

"I'm here!"

He wanted to shout that, but the sound that came out of his mouth was unclear.

He hasn't spoken in so long...

Clive swallowed hard, and just then, a graceful figure appeared in the mist.

He was stunned.

The person who came was not his companion, but a beautiful woman.

Her silver hair was tied back, her face was cold and beautiful, and she wore a close-fitting light armor. She held a short sword in each hand, clearly an adventurer.

Is this hair color... a rare sight among the Aran people in the southern part of the empire?

Their eyes met, and Clive noticed she was looking at him warily.

"..."

Clive tried to explain that he meant no harm and was just lost, but no sound came out no matter how he opened his mouth.

Is this fog poisonous?

He quickly realized a possibility, and at that moment the Aramean woman rushed towards him.

What is she going to do...?

Clive's gaze was drawn to the short sword she was raising slightly, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind: she was going to attack him.

Instinct made him raise his sword to parry, but with a clang, the force of her short sword landing on his weapon was light and airy.

Is it just a joke?

Clive was thinking this when, in the next second, the short sword bypassed his longsword and pierced straight into his chest.

"..."

There was no bleeding, not even pain, yet Clive was consumed by rage.

Even if it's a joke, going this far is really too much!

He seemed to have thought about it, but then he seemed to have thought about nothing at all, and he raised his longsword and slashed at her.

When his first sword strike missed, he continued to slash and hack, leaving the Aramean woman in a very sorry state, as she desperately tried to escape.

If I had known this would happen, why did I provoke him in the first place!

Clive wanted nothing more than to tear her apart, and he swung his sword again, but it was blocked by a longsword that shone with golden light that appeared from the side.

Ding!
Suddenly, a young man with blond hair appeared, wearing light armor somewhat similar to that of the Aran women.

These two are in cahoots!

Clive's gaze shifted back to the woman; he still wanted to kill her first!

But the subsequent attacks were all blocked by the blond man without missing a single one.

Clive was furious.

He opened his mouth wide and let out a silent roar. Just then, the blond man who had been blocking suddenly flashed close and slashed at him with his sword.

Clive raised his sword to parry, then counterattacked, and suddenly the target in front of him vanished.

"..."

What about people?

With only the Aramean woman in sight, Clive raised his sword again, ready to continue attacking her, when suddenly his perspective spun around.

After a shake, its head fell to the ground, its open eyes facing a man and a woman, and a headless, rotting body.

"My problem." The vision dimmed and blurred, but it could still hear the man's voice.

"I didn't expect there to be such elite monsters in the outer area... uh, elite undead."

What immortals...

Who is immortal?
Clive received no answer, and his vision was plunged into complete darkness. Before his consciousness completely disappeared, the last sound reached his ears.

"Their strength and speed are far superior to the undead they encountered before..."

So that's what that woman's voice sounded like...

Experience flowed into his body with a golden light. Eric glanced at the head on the ground, then looked at Elise. "But your reaction was pretty good."

Elise pursed her lips. "We were too busy running away."

Eric replied, "Isn't the point of increasing strength to be able to run away whenever you want when you can't win?"

She then smiled slightly and said, "Mm."

The two walked to the fallen, mangled body. Eric picked up the longsword whose label glowed blue and swung it twice.

"I've struck gold, this is a magical weapon... It really was him."

"What?" Elise asked, puzzled.

Eric gestured toward the corpse on the ground, "Lost Clive."

Its name is "Lost Clive," a level 30 elite undead. Because it always drops a blue-grade longsword, almost every sword-wielding class in "Thorns of the Soul" has tried to defeat it.

Elise didn't ask any further questions; she was already used to it.

In the half month since he arrived at the ancient battlefield, he has shown extraordinary understanding of many aspects, so it is no longer surprising that he can call out the name of an immortal.

"That's enough for today." Eric sheathed his longsword. "It's getting late."

"Ah."

The two walked through the mist towards the town.

They are now operating in a relatively deep area. Although they are still quite a distance from the ancient city ruins in the center of the ancient battlefield, the undead they encounter are mostly level 20 or 30. Occasionally, they will encounter elite-level beings like the Lost Clive, which is perfect for him to level up with Elise—she can grow quite well, and he will also gain a lot of experience.

Elise is currently close to Tier 3 in strength, and Eric plans to take her deep into the ancient battlefield once she reaches Tier 3, where he will accelerate her leveling up. Along the way, they'll encounter many people heading back. Aside from large groups with a specific purpose exploring together and potentially staying for days and nights, most adventurers in the ancient battlefield are like farmers who work from sunrise to sunset, finishing their workday on time.

"Give way! Give way!"

Several young soldiers ran out of the mist, one of them carrying a woman covered in blood on his back. She was pale and clearly seriously injured.

Eric and Elise had been staying here for more than half a month, and they had seen this situation many times before.

Unlike in the game, although clergy will participate in the purification of the dead in the ancient battlefield, they will mostly act with church knights and rarely join the adventurers' teams. In other words, most adventurer teams do not have a healer.

Therefore, if someone was injured, they could only be carried back to the monastery in town for help.

Eric stopped them, using the holy light emanating from his fingertips to show his identity as a priest. The group quickly put their injured companion down and begged Eric to save her life.

Seeing the huge wound on her chest, almost half the length of his arm, Eric gripped the pendant and quickly replenished some of her life force.

"Well……"

As life force was injected, the unconscious woman twitched and let out a weak groan, and the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Still alive!"

"Of course she's alive!"

Eric then treated the wound on her chest.

Holy light slowly caressed his hand, gradually closing the wound and healing it, leaving a horrific scar.

He wasn't a clergyman specializing in healing, so he could only save her life for now and leave the rest to the town's church.

After he explained the situation, the soldiers thanked him repeatedly, then carried the woman on their backs and hurriedly continued on their way back.

Eric looked up again and found himself surrounded by a crowd of people, all looking at him with eager eyes.

He wasn't surprised; he was the healer at the entrance of the dungeon where 4=1 or 9=1 were common, while in the Ancient Battlefield, all the teams were only 1.

"Give me, let me."

Eric pulled Elise through the crowd, deliberately quickening his pace, and soon left the others behind.

Elise looked back and said, "There are several other people following us."

“Let them come along. They’re all teams planning to explore deeper into the territory and desperately need a healer.” Eric looked ahead. “If I don’t have that plan, they can’t force me to join.”

She smiled, quickened her pace to catch up, and then turned to look at him.

"what."

"It's nothing, just to see what His Highness's expression is when he's enjoying the adulation."

"...Nonsense, there are thousands of nuns in the convent who fawn over him, he's used to it."

The fog gradually thinned, indicating that they were leaving the ancient battlefield. After walking for a while longer, the fog completely dissipated, and the two returned to Beizhen.

As Eric passed by the church, he caught a glimpse of the soldiers who had been there earlier, all crammed inside.

He glanced at it a few more times, and a nun outside the church noticed him and ran towards him.

Once he confirmed that she was indeed there to see him, Eric stopped, and Elise stopped as well.

The nun trotted up to him. "Mr. Eric, the messenger has brought you a letter from Leselle."

Eric was taken aback. It seemed that Alena's reply had arrived. He took it and saw that the letter was quite thick, and he didn't know how many sheets of paper were stuffed inside.

"I received it, thank you."

The nun bowed to him and went back to the church.

"Don't they realize you're a prospective saintess of the Convent of Saints?" Elise glanced at the convent's wax seal on the envelope.

“Who knows? There are a lot of people with the name ‘Eric,’ so maybe they didn’t think of it that way.” Eric put away the letter, deciding to open it when he got back. “Or maybe they already know, but they don’t want to cause trouble and make a fuss.”

Back at the inn, Elise naturally followed him to his room, first taking off her light armor.

The armor they were wearing was bought from a local protective gear shop to make up the numbers. It offered decent protection, but it wasn't exactly lightweight.

Eric then removed his armor, opened the envelope, and discovered that it contained three letters.

One letter was from Alena, one from Sophie, and the last one was forwarded from Princess Natalia.

Eric opened Alena's letter first.

The message was simple: she said she had received his letter half a month ago and knew that he was currently training on the ancient battlefield. Because she had received a letter from Princess Natalia, she included her greetings with the forwarded letter and asked him to be careful and safe during his training.

Eric read the letter twice, put it away, and then opened Natalia's letter.

Her letters were much richer in content.

She first recounted some of her observations and experiences on the way to the far north border, with the main point being how she persuaded the governor of Northria to send troops to wipe out the Aramean settlements.

Natalia was in the North, so the information she received was not as vague as the rumors suggested. She told Eric that most of the Aran people had been captured without any resistance, and as for the rest, some died in a desperate struggle, while others escaped in the chaos.

After reading the contents of this page of the letter, he handed it to Elise.

She took it, and quickly went from being bewildered and surprised to falling silent.

She didn't speak, and Eric didn't say anything either, continuing to watch.

Natalia then mentioned the news of the demon princess Kiraya, who had indeed joined up with another demon and fled to the North, where they were discovered and escaped again after sacrificing their guards.

"Eric, I will definitely kill you!"

Eric still remembered the little princess's harsh words before she escaped from the outskirts of Lutia. Given this turn of events, she shouldn't be captured like in the original story.

However, if the two really have a chance to meet again, it's hard to say who will live or die.

Natalia's letters contained no personal matters. Eric would read one letter and then give another to Elise, who gradually regained her voice.

"Do you have your family's guards at the Black Ice Great Wall?"

"Yes, I wrote to my uncle to send him there when I first entered the monastery. He's been there for two years now. I mentioned it to Princess Natalia before she left Lutia."

"Your Highness truly trusts me."

"...Which prince am I?"

"that."

"..."

In the end of the letter, Natalia stated that she had settled down in the Black Ice Wall and would make preparations in various ways to resist the southern invasion of the demons. The first thing she would do was to send a special task force deep into the demon realm to find out the specific situation of the demons.

Natalia came into contact with the demons earlier than originally planned, and the current situation has not yet reached the point where the empire is on the verge of collapse. Although no matter how hard she tries, she cannot stop the demons' southward advance, Eric still has a sense of relief that he has finally met a reliable person.

"Her Highness the Princess said she is looking forward to Prince Eric's reply."

"I saw."

Before replying, there was one more letter that hadn't been opened.

Eric opened Sophie's letter; it contained only one sentence and a faint pink lipstick mark.

【I miss you. 】

"..."

Elise was watching from the side. Even though she didn't want to pry into his privacy, she saw everything at a glance and was stunned for a long time.

When she looked at Eric again, her gaze became meaningful.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong before… Miss Sophie really likes His Highness, and she’s quite bold.”

“…After all, we’ve been living together day and night for a year or two.” Eric tried his best to keep his face calm.

Dressing up is not allowed in the convent, even for the five-year nuns from noble families. I don't know where Sophie got the lipstick to leave the lip print on him.

Elise didn't say much, spaced out for a moment, then took her light armor and went back to her room.

After reading all the letters, Eric wrote a reply to Natalia, answering several of her questions and offering some suggestions.

After writing his reply, he picked up Sophie's text message again, stared at it for a while, and then involuntarily leaned closer to smell it. He could barely detect a very faint fragrance.

"—Waaah."

"..."

Eric's hand trembled, and he turned to look at the door. "Don't you know how to knock?"

“I knocked,” Molly said, leaning against the doorway. “But you were so engrossed in the smell that you didn’t seem to hear me. Elise said your woman wrote to you, and it seems that’s true.”

Eric put the letter away. "You'd better pretend you didn't see anything, or from today onwards, you'll have to pay for your own food, drink, and lodging."

"No problem, boss."

Molly readily agreed, "I knew it! With your good looks, you wouldn't become a celibate ascetic at such a young age. You and Elise must have slept together, right?"

"Shut up, you."

(End of this chapter)