Cthulhu Gonfalon

"Good sword!" Seeing the effect of the sword the burly Sacred Warrior made in just one cut, the enlisted mage could not help but compliment. The crowd also followed suit in singing praises.

They could clearly see for themselves, right before the glaive hewed down at that rock, there was a faint flash of light at the tip of the blade; then the blade drove directly into the rock. This was not the embodiment of something that was simply hard and sharp, nor was it the appearance of a blade that had absorbed some fighting spirit to take on such sharpness. It was more like the power of a fighting spirit that had been magnified.

For a master who was neither too strong nor too weak like this Sacred Warrior, such a sword would suit him best. Usually, it would not be conspicuous, but when it was truly put to use, it would be extremely powerful. It was simply perfect.

Of course, it was extremely difficult wanting to get ahold of such a sword. This sword could effectively boost one's fighting spirit, and yet, usually, it would not appear to be particularly sharp. Special materials were required to make it, but even more important was the need for a fairly high-skilled technique. Generally speaking, only the favored descendants of the legendary masters could own such weapons.

There was a very common term for a weapon like this, and it was called a "family heirloom." This meant that it could be passed on from father to son, then son to grandson. It would not easily be a temptation for thieves, and at the most important moments, it could come to great use.

And this Sacred Warrior had already made up his mind. If his own child strived hard enough and did not disappoint, he would pass this sword to him in the future. If his child was a letdown, then this sword would be passed down to the rising star of the next generation of Sacred Warriors in the church. No matter what, he would never let dust collect on this sword, or perhaps he could bring it underground with him when his end was to come.

Such a fine sword like this should take its rightful place in the battlefield where it could shine!

He smiled then pulled out the sword that was embedded within the rock. After wiping it carefully, he pulled out the sword that he had been using from the sheath slung across his back and put this sword in.

"What a pity, this original sword of mine," he said with some regret. "It took years of savings to forge this. The blade of this sword is mixed with traces of Mithril which not only makes it tougher, but also allows it to be used as a shield to block out spells…"

The enlisted mage took a look, smiled and then said, "There's quite a lot of Mithril mixed in here… if you don't mind the sword getting destroyed, then you might as well sell it to me."

Though he specialized in defense spells, he also read cursorily about alchemy and enchantment—most mages like him, who were willing to accept employment under a lord, would specialize in studies of such things. After all, for a resident mage, areas like alchemy and enchantment were the fundamentals they needed in life to settle down and establish their foothold. If he could get ahold of this sword, so long as he used some unique techniques, he could refine it into Mithril ingots that contained some iron content.

Though the iron content would lower the purity of the Mithril, for most weapons and armors, Mithril was originally meant to be mixed with steel when putting it to use, so this was not a matter of concern—in fact, if it was used to build armor, he would have to add more steel with the Mithril to gather enough weight for the mixture.

That burly Sacred Warrior froze on the spot after listening to what the mage suggested. He looked at the sword he was holding, the one that had just experienced a great war and sported a slight crack and thought carefully. Then he looked to his companions.

"Do any of you need it?"

"Come on, we have no use for such a huge sword," said another Sacred Warrior with a smile.

"I intend to make more achievements through this clean-up operation of magic beasts. Who knows, maybe His Majesty will also bestow me with a sword," said another Sacred Warrior.

The other Sacred Warriors also shook their heads. Their display of reactions made the burly Sacred Warrior sigh. He reversed the way the sword was positioned and handed it to the enlisted mage with the handle of the sword facing out.

"Seems like it's time for it to reach its end."

The enlisted mage smiled. Then he got his attendant, an honest, strong man of few words who took his work seriously, to receive the sword.

"Rest assured that the price you will receive will definitely not be insufficient," he said. "In the future, you all can come to me too if you have any rare loot. After this winter's mop-up operation is over, I will be staying here in Dahl Hill. When that time comes, we will all be neighbors, so it would be nice if we are close to one another."

With that, he left with his attendant who was holding on to the sword, leaving the clergymen who were deep in thoughts behind.

"Bishop, what does he mean by saying that?" asked the youngest priest after a short while. "How come I get the feeling that he is purposefully trying to cozy up to us?"

"Your sentiment is spot-on. He is trying to cozy up to us," said Bishop Kabbalah after some thought. "He probably feels that the lord's support alone is not enough. He wants to foster close relationships with other forces that do not have good relations with the lord; this will give him more reassurance."

"But for what reason? Isn't he someone from the lord's side?"

"Who knows? Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts," said Bishop Kabbalah as he shook his head with a smile. "It doesn't matter what goes through his mind so long as we do our job well. We are clergymen, men who serve His Majesty. Though we can't completely ignore all the different kinds of fighting against one another from the mortal world, there's also no need for us to think too much."

The clergymen nodded and packed up.

The battle that day was a major one that wore everyone out. There was also a lot of wear and tear done to their equipment. The physical exhaustion had already been removed by basking in the holy light after the sacrificial offering earlier on. But the maintenance work of their equipment still required hands-on work.

Bishop Kabbalah was not required for the maintenance work of equipment. With his magic staff in his hand, he stood by the altar and looked in the direction of the main tent of the clean-up army, silently in thought with a frown across his face.

Just a mere baronet, but how come he is stirring up so much trouble? What exactly does this mage mean? Why did the baron want someone so devious over here?

He thought through the matter so laboriously that he started to feel a slight headache.

Alas! I'm doing well in my job in the field of summoning, why was I sent here to preside over a temple? I'm really not good at all this! Your Majesty, oh Your Majesty, what on earth are you thinking? Why did you issue such an Oracle?

Sui Xiong naturally knew that the Oracle which he had casually released at the beginning had evoked much incessant and bitter complaints from Bishop Kabbalah. But he did not feel that there was anything wrong with what he did. This fellow's luck was pretty good, it would be a waste of talent if he was not out doing things and instead, confined himself at home.

As to whether Kabbalah was happy or unhappy, he could not be bothered. Just as how good iron was needed to make steel, or how a heavy hammer was needed to sound a drum. In the future, Kabbalah would come to understand what great pains he had taken to show his concern.

At present, it was important to study that strange gnome tribal chief.

At that moment, the sacrifice that he received was quietly lying in a clearing of his God's Kingdom. Sui Xiong took a look then pointed a raised tentacle. A ray of light fell, and then the body of the gnome tribal chief trembled violently. The missing blood and flesh rapidly grew back, and the lost breath of vitality also re-appeared on its body.

After a while, it opened its eyes and looked blankly at the sight around it that it had never seen before.

A green and round thing that had many dangling branches floated over to it. It did not know what this thing was, but the round thing was looking at it in such a manner that made it feel uneasy.

"The resurrection was done quite well. Luckily, I brought its soul back with me earlier on," Sui Xiong said with great satisfaction. "The next step is to try to analyze this strange, inherent talent it has through experimentation. Then last but not least, we can finally translate it into a spell."

This spoken line determined the fate of the gnome tribal chief for a period of time in the near future. That would be a tragic time of dark, miserable days.

But… who called for it to be such an utterly evil creature? Perhaps if it could just show a tad bit of kindness, the situation might be entirely different.

If only it could know all of this, probably it would sigh and lament, "In my next life, I must be a good creature!"