Only God

This assassination attempt caused far greater turmoil than the previous ones.

The Emperor's Paladin Bright furrowed his brow throughout the camp inspection, never once easing his expression.

A quarter of the camp had been devastated, nearly a third of the supplies had turned to ash, and about thirty to forty members of the Royal Guard had perished, along with one Night Watchman. Fortunately, the only silver lining was that Princess Arsia remained unharmed.

"How peculiar… We specifically took a detour, how did the assassins target us?"

Bright stood atop the ruins of the camp, murmuring quietly to himself.

Having learned from the last assassination attempt, Bright changed the usual route upon entering Ausenco's territory, taking an alternate road to the Royal City of Ausenco.

Eden had a sudden realization and involuntarily glanced down at the Stone Pendant hanging on his chest.

Was it this pendant that gave away our position?

For a moment, Eden hesitated, contemplating whether to make this issue public.

Just then, a Scout rushed over in haste.

"My lord, my lord, the assassin has confessed!"

Bright's eyes lit up as he quickly approached,

"What has he confessed, what exactly happened?"

Panting heavily, the Scout eventually caught his breath and hurriedly relayed the information.

It turned out that despite Bright changing their travel route, the assassins had obtained intelligence from some Lords of Ausenco, who knew which cities the convoy had purchased supplies from, thus determining three possible locations where they successfully located and ambushed the convoy.

After recounting the overall situation, the Scout added some details; the assassins were tight-lipped, but after being subjected to severe torture, two couldn't withstand the pressure and spilled the entire sequence of events. Both of these individuals were Attendants of Earl Boloni.

Upon hearing this, Bright took a deep breath. Just a few days prior, as the convoy passed through Boloni's domain, the Earl had warmly received them and provided several pack horses to the convoy. Who could have imagined the Earl was a master of deceit with a smile?

The Emperor's Paladin, who had never been subjected to such treachery before, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, veins protruding as if, in a moment of inattention, this General might lead the Royal Guard to strike at the Earl's domain.

Gradually, Bright loosened his grip on the sword hilt and then exhaled,

"Let's settle accounts once we reach the Royal City of Ausenco, my Lord, bless our journey onwards."

This planned marriage alliance was a crucial strategy of the Emperor, permitting no slip-ups. Although Bright was confident he could conquer Boloni's castle and capture the deceitful Earl, it would undoubtedly cause turmoil among Ausenco's Nobles. Not only would Nobles against the alliance launch fierce attacks, but even those in support might shift their stance.

Bright slowly turned to face the Night Watchmen, blessing them first, then conveying his friendly intent to report their merits to the Emperor. Finally, Paladin Bright's gaze fixed upon Eden, as he inquired:

"I've heard from those present that the Devil's target wasn't Princess Arsia, but rather you, the golden-haired Eden. Do you know why that might be?"

Bright's questioning caused Eden's heart to tighten, yet he still responded without changing his expression:

"I... I'm not entirely sure, but I have some suspicions."

"Let's hear them."

"A month ago, you sent me to investigate the assassins' camp. During that time, I encountered a Devil there.

I think that Devil took an interest in me, perhaps because… previously, I had killed a Devil."

After speaking, Eden gestured towards the other Night Watchmen,

"They can testify for me."

Following those words, the other Night Watchmen nodded in agreement, informing Bright that Eden was not lying and that all he spoke was true.

Bright, half-convinced, remarked:

"Oh… so Devils also grasp the concept of revenge?"

"Perhaps there is, the Church still knows very little about the Devil,"

Eden replied thus:

"The Devil has only appeared in the last century."

Eden's words barely convinced Bright, who exclaimed with emotion:

"God, how can You allow such evil to exist in the world?"

Moments later, Bright left the place to tend to other matters, as the assassination had caused a great disturbance to the convoy.

Eden breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the stone pendant on his chest.

The general's suspicion was not a good thing...

That look, maybe he thought I was an inside agent for the assassin...

Eden slowly clenched his fist.

That Devil...

If the Night Watchmen hadn't arrived in time, I would have already...

I can't rely on the safety of the Night Watchmen; they cannot always arrive in time.

Eden once again realized the importance of strength.

He must carry out the Ascension Ceremony to the Third Rank Holy Chorus as soon as possible.

By his own reckoning, his understanding of the Holy Chorus should be enough for Ascension, but... the issue was the materials and the Ancient Language.

Without the materials and the Ancient Language, the success rate of the Ascension Ceremony was miniscule, perhaps less than one in ten.

He could not take that risk; it wasn't a game of chance, as countless predecessors' experiences showed that the higher the rank of the Ascension Ceremony, the more unimaginable the consequences of failure.

"Oronix Dragon's tooth, the clover from the church, the feather of a robin, the sea water from the area where the Unihorn is active..."

Eden recalled the materials for Ascension mentioned in the books.

Among these materials, the last three were not rare and were simple to acquire, but the first one was not so straightforward.

Oronix Dragons were few in numbers amongst Dragon Clan and had shorter lifespans than other dragons, mostly scattered throughout the southern jungles and mountain ranges. Only by venturing into the humid, rain-drenched jungles could one encounter this type of dragon.

Encountering this type of dragon, however, did not mean one could successfully hunt it. Oronix Dragons had wings; they could fly and glide in the air just as swiftly as eagles, which is why Oronix Dragon teeth were so rare on the market, virtually priceless, and those available were generally from natural shedding during tooth replacement, not from hunting.

"There's always a way, don't panic, Lord, bless me, please,"

Eden comforted himself.

At that moment, a figure ran over from not too far off.

He stood at a distance and suddenly waved vigorously at Eden.

Eden looked and recognized it was Timian.

After hesitating for a moment, Eden walked away from the other Night Watchmen and approached Timian alone.

"What's the matter, Timian?"

"Good Priest, good Priest, I, I need your help,"

Timian said with urgency in his voice,

"My, I have a brother in the order... who's also involved in this assassination!"