LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 82 - 81: Reinforcements
Chapter 82: Chapter 81: Reinforcements
“Miss Nymph still hasn’t returned?”
Hidden within the shadows of the ruins, Fina anxiously gazed into the distant sky. Under the gloomy, overcast sky, one could see things resembling insects circling overhead the ruins, those were the Little Demons swirling around within the ruins. Although from the distance where Fina and Fang Zheng stood it was hard to see clearly, it was certain that the area was fraught with danger.
“Mr. Fang Zheng, is Miss Nymph really alright?”
“There shouldn’t be a problem.”
Fang Zheng could only be sure of this much. Previously, Nymph had told him that she was going on a reconnaissance mission before she vanished without a trace, which caused Fang Zheng some worry. However, he could still feel those transparent chains in his hand, and the Soulstone embedded in the Dimensional Codex showed no issues, which somewhat relieved him.
“I think that child wouldn’t deliberately seek out danger, so long as we wait a while… Hmm?”
At that moment, Fang Zheng suddenly felt something vibrating in his pocket. He quickly reached in and pulled out a badge——his Sanctuary badge. At this moment, the badge faintly emitted a white light and vibration, looking as if a mobile phone’s vibration mode had been activated. Seeing this, a smile spread across Fang Zheng’s face.
“Reinforcements have arrived!”
During his time at the Sanctuary, Fang Zheng had learned some intelligence about it. One of them was the mutual resonance of these badges, because this world had spatial restrictions and communication blocking spells, hence people naturally developed corresponding methods.
The resonance of the badge in Fang Zheng’s hand was one of the relatively simple methods. The badges of the Sanctuary were blessed with order, within a certain range, just by injecting power they would resonate and vibrate automatically, and along with direction and distance, its flashing frequency and brightness would also change, this was actually somewhat similar to a light-emitting metal detector.
Clutching the badge, Fang Zheng injected a thread of power into it, soon enough, the badge in his hand became hotter, and its glow began to shine. Not long after, Fang Zheng heard a series of wing flapping sounds, and then he saw several dark figures descending from the sky, flying in his direction.
They were knights riding Pegasuses.
“Tsk tsk tsk, really handsome.”
Looking at those knights dressed in white armor, with capes fluttering, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but remark to himself; the style of the Sanctuary truly had a regal flair to it, not to say anything else but one word——handsome!
And with them riding the Pegasus, it was even more striking.
Fang Zheng didn’t choose to foolishly wave towards them. He was long past his impulsive younger age; moreover, in such a dangerous place, he only hoped that the Pegasus knights wouldn’t attract the Little Demons’ attention, otherwise the situation might worsen.
Fortunately, these Sanctuary-sent Pegasus Knights weren’t foolish enough to let themselves be discovered by enemies, they spiraled down in the air and then came to land in front of Fang Zheng and Fina. As soon as the Pegasus landed, Fang Zheng saw the knight at the forefront dismount energetically and walk over to him. Before Fang Zheng could open his mouth to say anything, the knight slapped Fang Zheng on the shoulder.
“Hey, kid! I knew you wouldn’t be so easily killed!”
“Mentor?”
Hearing this familiar voice, Fang Zheng was clearly taken aback, while the knight in front of him took off his helmet, revealing Great Knight Shi Dong’s “very characteristic” face, who was grinning at Fang Zheng.
“To be honest, when I got the message, I thought someone was pulling my leg. Didn’t expect it to be true! Hey, you little rascal, how come you didn’t say hello when you came back? And where have you been? Not a single word for over half a year, but looking at you, you seem to have changed quite a bit, your body has gotten a lot sturdier too, looks like you’ve been doing quite well!”
As he spoke, Shi Dong slapped Fang Zheng hard, which in the past would have been enough to knock him over, but now Fang Zheng’s body had been enhanced by the Zerg, so these slaps were nothing to him now.
“Please wait, Your Excellency Shi Dong.”
Just then, an icy voice emerged behind Shi Dong, and hearing this voice, Shi Dong’s expression slightly changed. He helplessly made a face at Fang Zheng before stepping aside, and subsequently, Fang Zheng saw an old man in a white robe emerging from behind and walking towards him.
On the surface, this old man seemed no different from an ordinary elder. He was tall and thin with white hair and beard, yet his movements carried an air of elegance. He looked at Fang Zheng with a stern gaze, and after a moment, he finally asked softly.
“Are you Fang Zheng? From the Silver Nation, the Apprentice Guardian Knight serving at the Star Moon City Sanctuary?”
“Indeed.”
Although the old man’s tone was not very polite, Fang Zheng glanced at Shi Dong and still obediently nodded his head. He had outgrown the age of youthful impulsiveness. Even though the old man’s tone was not nice, since even his mentor had to stand obediently and deal with him, Fang Zheng certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to trouble himself at this moment.
“I need to see your proof; show me your badge and Star Pattern.”
“Alright.”
Hearing the old man’s command, Fang Zheng took out a badge and Star Pattern from his bosom, while the old man approached, first carefully examining the Templar badge in Fang Zheng’s hand, then looked at his Star Pattern, and subsequently took out a scroll, murmured a few lines of blessing, and with the old man’s chanting, the scroll turned into a golden light and shot into the Star Pattern in Fang Zheng’s hand. Soon after, Fang Zheng felt a gentle white radiance emanating from his body, and at the same time, his Star Pattern began to flicker.
A moment later, the radiance disappeared, and only then did a slight smile appear on the old man’s face, which seemed unchanged for tens of thousands of years.
“Welcome back to the Sanctuary, Your Excellency Fang Zheng.”
“Wait, Your Excellency?”
Hearing this address, Fang Zheng was taken aback and then looked at Shi Dong in astonishment. If he remembered correctly, in the Sanctuary, only Grand Knights and higher ranks are addressed as ‘Your Excellency’. How could he, an Apprentice Guardian Knight, be referred to as ‘Your Excellency’?
Perhaps sensing Fang Zheng’s confusion, the old man slowly began to speak.
“Your heroic actions in Shadow Canyon have been reported to the Bishopric by Grand Knight Mart and Great Knight Shi Dong. Your willingness to sacrifice for order and justice, and your courage to face the Child of Chaos are admirable. Hence, after deliberation, the Bishopric decided to bestow upon you the title of Grand Knight; thus, you are now a Grand Knight, just like Great Knight Shi Dong.”
“Huh?”
Hearing the old man’s reply, Fang Zheng was even more stunned. He knew well that the title of Grand Knight was not just a symbol of strength, but also of honor, experience, and achievements—in Fang Zheng’s own case, his abilities were slightly superior to Connie’s. If the ranking were based on ability alone, then Fang Zheng would definitely be a fully-fledged Guardian Knight.
Yet, he had to start as an apprentice. And now, to suddenly be promoted from an Apprentice Guardian Knight to a Grand Knight…wait, he recalled, wasn’t this double promotion kind of a martyr’s treatment?
“Hahahahaha.”
Seeing Fang Zheng’s tormented expression, Shi Dong finally burst out laughing.
“You’ve finally realized, hahaha, me too—I laugh so hard that it kills me, those stubborn old men, I’ve told them so many times that you weren’t that easy to kill, yet they insisted on treating it like you were deceased. Well, now it turned out great, hahaha, kid, you should have seen it, when your news reached the Sanctuary, the faces of those old men…thinking about it still brings me to laughter!”
“Uh…”
Seeing his mentor’s cheerful demeanor, Fang Zheng didn’t know what to say, he hadn’t expected such an event…it seemed like, even returning to the Sanctuary, there might still be a multitude of troubles. No wonder the old man was so serious earlier, checking both his badge and Star Pattern…it turned out, he was a Grand Knight now?
“Okay, don’t look so glum.”
Seeing Fang Zheng’s expression, Shi Dong laughed even more joyfully.
“No matter what, it’s a good thing, isn’t it? A Grand Knight, many never achieve that in their lifetimes, and besides, you have the strength. That Child of Chaos was defeated by you alone, Mart and I hardly helped a bit. From that perspective, both your strength and qualifications are sufficient for a Grand Knight, plus you also brought back intelligence…Oh, what’s the situation now?”
“Please wait a moment, mentor.”
At this point, Fang Zheng also finally got in touch with Nymph, and after learning that she had safely returned, he could finally relax a bit.
“My companion has gone to scout; she should be back soon, we’ll know the details once we ask her, ah, here she comes.”
“She?”
Just then, Shi Dong saw a blue-haired girl, who seemed like a fairy, flying down from the sky and landing beside Fang Zheng.
“Report, master, I have returned…who are these people?”
Seeing so many unfamiliar faces, Nymph seemed a bit uneasy. While warily eyeing the Pegasus Knights, she quietly moved behind Fang Zheng.
“…”
Seeing the multi-colored radiance emanating from the wings behind the blue-haired girl, Shi Dong and the Pegasus Knights behind him were astonished.
“An angel?!”