Chapter 377 - The Truth
In a forest, on the border of the Nation of Frost.
It was late in the evening, and a cold wind buried all living creatures under frost and snow.
It was fortunate for Xavier and his army that there had been no blizzard this evening, only a light snowfall. It was as if it were the night of some sacred ritual in the Nation of Frost.
"Are you sleepy, Prince?"
Marshal Amter sat by a makeshift campfire with a glass of freshly warmed up wine. The liquor was like some kind of fuel for the marshall, allowing the giant-like man to remain energetic no matter what.
Xavier was not very good at dealing with these "Frost Nation-like" men, even more so since the strong 'wine' that Marshal Amter had brought smelled overly pungent to him.
Was this country not very clear on the difference between liquor and wine?
Xavier nodded. "I'm a little tired."
"The ice dragon attack during the day was quite frightening, Your Highness."
Marshal Amter threw a piece of dry wood into the campfire.
"The ice dragon won't reach the bottom of the canyon. At worst, we'll just encounter a few frost wolves and snow demons. There's no need to worry.'
"You should take care of yourself too, Marshal Amter."
Xavier glanced at the marshal's wounded leg, which had recovered considerably thanks to the healing power of holy light.
He left the burning campfire and went into a tent that belonged only to him.
When he entered the tent, the smile disappeared from his face. He went to the bed and sat down, clicking the magic network's messages.
There had been over 130 messages exchanged between Xavier and Firebringer. In these messages, Firebringer had told Xavier something he really did not want to believe in.
The conspiracies of the Nation of the Holy Church's heresy tribunal.
"The burning of Blackwood Forest."
Xavier looked at the pictures sent by Firebringer, which clearly documented the heresy tribunal's misdeeds in the Blackwood Forest.
After browsing through the shocking images again, Xavier clicked the Motionless Library section of the mage forum and found a book which had over 130,000 replies, called "Diary of an Inquisitor".
This book had been recommended to Xavier by Firebringer. It gave a detailed account of the inquisitors and how they operated.
It was a very special experience to read a book on the magic network, as he could always see what other people had to say about it.
Originally, Xavier had only been reading the diary with the intention of looking up information. But the story of a young nun struggling to survive in the heresy tribunal and gradually turning into a cold-blooded killer had somehow captured the prince's heart, so he patiently read on.
As time quietly passed, the prince of the Nation of Frost became immersed in this dark and lonely diary.
Xavier's reading was only disrupted when his frost spirit floated into the tent and leaned over Xavier's shoulder, making a small sound, reminiscent of a bell.
"It's been three hours already?"
There was a three-hour time difference between the Nation of Frost and Norland, so it was already one o'clock here.
"But the timing's good."
Xavier wrote down the number of chapters he'd read and closed the magic network, touching the frost spirit on his shoulder.
"Did you see anything unusual?"
Two dots of light appeared on the white ball of light, nodding like human eyes.
"..."
With the frost spirit's affirmative answer, Xavier's heart became very heavy.
Although 'Diary of an Inquisitor' was told from a first-person perspective, Xavier could see that there was something wrong with this organisation, and that the inquisitors were definitely not using the power of holy light.
But for the moment, Xavier was still unsure if what Firebringer had said was true. He had to know what kind of connection there was between the heresy tribunal and the Holy Church, and... whether any of these dangerous men were hidden in his army.
Xavier had to find out for himself with his own eyes!
His consciousness dissipated under the guidance of the frost spirit. When Xavier opened his eyes again, he was in the snowy plains of the canyon.
The power that Xavier had received from the frost spirit was the ability to completely integrate his consciousness into the snow and frost surrounding him.
Standing in the sky, Xavier scanned the camp in the canyon, where all but some of the soldiers on watch had fallen into a deep sleep.
Guided by the frost spirit, he approached the tent where the clerics of the Nation of the Holy Church were stationed. The tent also served as a medical centre for the entire army.
"Sleep in peace now, I have healed your wounds." The clerics, dressed in white, were soothing the wounded soldiers.
As he reached the corner of the tent, he felt the scent of magic.
A snowflake quietly drifted into the interior of the tent, and Xavier was able to see the interior of the tent through the eyes of the snowflake.
Inside the tent, the cleric who had treated Marshal Amter's left leg during the day, cleric Ord, seemed to be arguing with a knight.
With the help of the frost spirit, the snowflake and Xavier could hear what the cleric was saying.
"Why didn't you just let that ice dragon kill everyone! One breath! Just one breath attack is enough to kill hundreds of people. But no, let's just create an avalanche and push them into the canyon!" The cleric shouted at the knight.
The cleric's words brought Xavier to a standstill. He recognised the armour on the knight as a soldier belonging to his own Second Legion.
The ritual's magic circle inscribed on the bottom of the canyon requires living souls as a sacrifice." The knight's voice sounded very hoarse, not at all human.
"So what now! The great 'mind plague' you people pride yourselves on hasn't done anything! The great twelfth prince of the Nation of Frost saved the entire army."
"It was that elven song that affected the ritual's integrity..." the knight said. Then, his eyes looked at the snowflake that had fallen on the table.
Xavier's eyes met the knight's face. For a moment, Xavier saw something horrific.
A mental sting awoke Xavier from his snowflake vision. He breathed in fresh air as the mental tinnitus returned once again.
A ritual, human sacrifices, a mind plague …
After a brief moment of contemplation, he opened the chat with Firebringer, wrote a message and sent it.
"You were right. It's true that … some of my friends are inquisitors in disguise."
