Read Novel Full Chapter 827: Starting the Plan
Chapter 827: Starting the Plan
"The Church of the Goddess of Light has been suppressed by the imperial family. Its activities are heavily restricted now."
Elina was taken aback. As far as most people knew, the imperial family and the Church of the Goddess of Light had always stood on equal footing.
The imperial family was responsible for the law and ruled the empire, while the Church of the Goddess of Light guided the faith of the people and held them together.
Thanks to that balance, the Holy Empire of Valtanir had remained peaceful, avoiding the chaos that would have broken out if the two sides had ever come into conflict.
But now, the soldier standing before her was saying that the imperial family had been pressuring the Church of the Goddess of Light.
To her, it made absolutely no sense.
Holding back her surprise, Elina asked in a low voice, "What’s really going on? How did things end up like this?"
The soldier hesitated.
Seeing that, Elina took out two gold coins and handed them to him.
The soldier accepted them and slipped them into his pocket.
"It’s a long story," he said. "You already know about the conflict between the Holy Valtanir Empire and the Great Velmora Empire, right? More specifically, what’s been happening in the Eldrath Mountains."
Elina nodded. "I know. But what does that have to do with this?"
"Because of that conflict, relations between the two have grown tense. A new saint from the Church of the Goddess of Light, Saint Lumiel, went to the imperial palace and argued with Emperor Dariel. That made the imperial family furious, and they threatened to severely punish anyone who prayed to the Goddess of Light," the soldier explained helplessly.
Judging by his expression, he seemed troubled by the conflict as well.
Elina frowned. She hadn’t expected something like this to happen without her knowing.
There was only one possibility—the imperial family had managed to keep this matter hidden from the outside world.
"But I’m even more surprised by the existence of this new saint. Does that mean Saint Helena has died?" she muttered.
That was the only plausible explanation. She recalled that the Church of the Goddess of Light had once wielded power on par with the imperial family.
The fact that they had been pushed into this situation suggested their influence had dropped drastically. The most likely reason was the death of Saint Helena Avail.
"I see. So the followers of the Goddess of Light aren’t just sitting idly by?"
"Of course not," the soldier replied. "They still hold morning, afternoon, and evening prayers, but they do it carefully now."
Elina breathed a sigh of relief. At least the people still stood by Saint Lumiel and the Church of the Goddess of Light.
After all, their greatest strength lay in the people. As long as they continued to follow the church’s guidance, the imperial family could do nothing against the saint or the church itself.
"By the way, I’d like to meet the Saint. Can you help me?"
The soldier was surprised. His expression immediately turned wary.
"Meet the Saint?"
Elina naturally noticed the change in his attitude, but she remained calm as she explained, "I am a worshipper of the Goddess of Light. I came to Halveran to pray together with the saint. Is that wrong?"
The soldier considered her words and found them reasonable.
He relaxed before replying, "The saint rarely shows up during the morning or afternoon prayers. She only appears at night, around ten o’clock. You can come back then."
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
Elina gave him a slight nod before walking away.
Her job was done. Now all she had to do was wait for nightfall and carry out her plan.
***
Nighttime...
Night had fallen, and for most cities in the empire, that wasn’t a sign to stop their activities.
Instead, night brought a livelier and more enjoyable atmosphere. Many shops only opened after dark, and it was also the time when parents could accompany their children to play.
However, that wasn’t the case in Halveran. Ever since the horrible event, most of the city’s residents had been too frightened to go out at night.
Their fear was understandable. The Singularity of Chaos, a figure so powerful, had appeared in the sky and thrown the entire city into chaos.
No one had died, but the incident had left deep emotional scars that wouldn’t be healed overnight.
"It’s so quiet," Elina muttered, looking around curiously.
She understood why Halveran was so deserted. After all, the destruction of a city—especially one as large as Halveran—had become known across the entire continent.
Almost no stores were open; only a few were still operating. Even those looked deserted. People were afraid to go out and walk the streets at night.
Even so, there wasn’t a single crime. Only a fool would dare commit one in a city directly watched over by the Singularity of Light.
When she arrived at the Church of the Goddess of Light, Elina noticed that it wasn’t as quiet as it had been that afternoon. Instead many people walked in with calm, reverent expressions.
The church was neither too bright, nor too dark. Soft lights lined the path ahead, illuminating the way for those who had come to pray.
Before long, she arrived at a large gate that stood three meters tall.
"Welcome," the nuns greeted her.
"Thank you." Elina smiled politely.
She went in and was awestruck at what she saw: the church was huge.
A statue of the goddess of light was at the front, five meters tall, with her hands clasped and her head lowered slightly.
Behind her, two wings spread from her back, making her appear both elegant and charming.
There was not only a statue of the Goddess of Light but also several smaller statues on both sides. Though much smaller, they were no less impressive.
Everyone began taking their seats, and Elina did the same.
Since it was her first time participating in such a ritual, she chose a seat at the very back.
"Hey, are you new here?"
A girl’s voice came from beside her.
Elina turned and saw a beautiful girl looking at her with curiosity.
The girl wore a green headscarf that covered most of her upper body, leaving only her face visible.
Elina smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I’m new here."
The girl smiled brightly and held out her hand.
"My name’s Jasmine. Nice to meet you."
Elina blinked in surprise for a moment before regaining her composure. She shook the girl’s hand and replied, "My name’s Eria. Nice to meet you."
"Eria? That’s an unusual name. Are you from outside the empire?" she asked, looking at Elina curiously.
"That’s right. I’m from the Ancient Kingdom of Eron."
"Wow! I never thought there’d be a follower of the Goddess of Light from outside the empire!" Jasmine said in surprise.
Elina chuckled. "Both my parents are from the Holy Empire of Valtanir, but they moved to the Ancient Kingdom of Eron. So I naturally follow the teachings they believe in."
"I see..." Jasmine nodded. "So, did you come to the night prayer on purpose so you could meet the saint?"
"That’s right. I heard the saint would be leading tonight’s prayer, so I came."
"Hehe! I’m so glad to hear that. I came because the saint’s leading it too," Jasmine said excitedly.
Elina raised an eyebrow slightly before asking gently, "Since I’m new here, I don’t know much about the saint. If you don’t mind... could you tell me about him?"