"No army is powerful enough to conquer the galaxy. Only the power of faith can overturn the entire universe."
As if in response to those last words, the floor and walls suddenly trembled, and the light balls hanging from the ceiling flickered, swaying with the waves of the ocean.
The writer used one hand to hold down the notes that were about to slip off her desk. Fortunately, the desk and other exquisite carved furniture in this cabin were nailed to the ground. She was not surprised by what was happening around her. Because she had been through it many times, leaving the warp was like this, and the ship was designed to withstand such wrath.
Still, sailing always comes with danger, and even the Sisters lose a few ships every year.
“Traveling far requires testing.”
Even though she was alone, Adriana Velez prayed.
“May the wrath of His eyes cleanse us of our sins.”
As has always been the case, any expedition is a sacrament in itself, requiring a brave heart and a strong soul, but above all a test of faith, for even if the Order's ships are blessed with solid construction, they must Success depends on the Emperor's grace.
Suddenly, the bell rang, summoning the ship's nuns to the chapel, where they would sing carols continuously until the storm subsided...
The nuns were not allowed to speak except during rituals, but legend has it that they always had carols recited in their hearts.
"I throw myself into the sea, that He may know my faith."
Velez recited the prayers as fluently as if he had just learned them yesterday.
“I train myself in the storm, may He feel my fire.”
Suddenly, she hesitated, perhaps because the last prayer made her uneasy.
"I lift the veil before infinity, and may He judge my sins."
I pray that my sins will not bring disaster to everyone, she thought. Although the punishment of her by the Holy Emperor is far from over, the dream that urges her to go to the Maelstrom is too vivid and appears too often. too much.
That must be a sign. She is here for a purpose, even if she doesn't know what it is yet.
The room shook again, lightning lit up outside the portholes, and within a few heartbeats everything turned into a black and white negative.
Then all movement disappeared.
Velez realized that the fleet had completely left the subspace, which meant that they had arrived.
Ashamed of her excitement, she returned her attention to her notes, her expression turning into a frown as she read the words she had written.
She shouldn't have been so defenseless - so uneasy. The environment must have had some impact, but what was more important than these was herself, especially the sight of meeting that man again. He was now a veritable empire. The hero is destined to be the savior of the empire in the future.
“Piety is our first ever-lasting light.”
Velez realized that he was full of distracting thoughts and quickly recited a contemplative prayer.
“It only appears when you see it or seek it, all else is darkness.”
That was the beginning of the Order's Gospel, and Velez had recited it every night since she had joined the order, even when she was covered in blood, but its meaning had never been clearer than now.
Suddenly, someone chuckled, a dry sneer.
Velez turned around suddenly, holding the sword hilt aside, and glanced across the cabin.
The flickering light cast shadows in the corners of the room, but it was empty. There was no one else there except her and the nuns carved in relief on the wooden wall panels.
The armor-clad sages of the cult were staring at her, their enamel eyes full of dissatisfaction.
Velez suddenly wanted to leave.
She closed the book, said a prayer to her quill and placed it back in its box, then placed the box in her desk drawer—the quill was a small relic of the order, and Velez became Grand Sister. He carried it with him everywhere, its nib carved from the incisor of a bishop said to be famous for his eloquence.
Afterwards, she took off her robe, revealing her curvaceous body. Time had left no trace on her body at all. The sisters called it a miracle. Many bishops of the state church also began to believe that she would become a living saint, but Velez did not believe that she would become a living saint. She didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, because she never felt anything out of the ordinary.
If anything, a unique mark appeared on her back. She didn't know when it appeared, but the sister she trusted the most told her that this was the emperor's favor.
After putting on the armor, as soon as Velez opened his door, he saw Kalima Seid Olsson standing outside the door looking at him with a smile on her face. It was she who had lifted Velez's control over her. Doubts about the mysterious markings on his body.
"Sister, we are about to arrive at the Guardian Star of Sacred Relics. Sisters are waiting for you."
"Well, I'm done."
Taking Kalima to the assembly point of the ship, the battle sisters of the Ebony Order had already gathered here. She simply briefed the sisters on the significance and sacred goal of the expedition, and then ordered all personnel to prepare Depart ship.
Guardian of Sacred Relics, as you can tell from its name, is a religious world, but it is more than that, it is also a holy land world.
This kind of world is generally a world set up specifically for the saints of the empire. It is directly managed by the state religion and often attracts a large number of pilgrims. It not only has the cemeteries of the saints’ eternal resting place, but also a huge group of cathedrals. At the same time, these places will also preserve There are precious relics of the state religion for pilgrims to pay homage to, so this kind of world is often the purse string of the state religion and can provide huge wealth to the state religion.
Therefore, the Holy Land world is also very easy to become the target of pirates and plunderers. Not long ago, Huron once sacked the Sacred Guardian Star and made the Pope of Terra half-dead. Therefore, before the expeditionary force was established, the state religion had already announced The jihadi army is to be called up to launch a jihad against the red pirates.
However, due to the taming decree, it is obviously difficult for the state religion to conduct a large-scale holy war independently, so naturally these forces will also become part of the expeditionary force.
For Soshyan, who is in urgent need of troops now, the power of the State Religion is very important. Therefore, after learning that the National Religion Jihad Army has basically been assembled, he went to the Guardian Planet of Sacred Relics in person. Of course, before that, he had to solve a more troublesome problem. personal problem--
"Ahem, what about that? There will be many state religion people on the planet, and they are all relatively conservative, so I will go alone."
Looking at Veronica, who was sitting on the edge of the table wearing gold-rimmed glasses, wearing a white knitted top and a black hip-hugging skirt, with her hands folded across her chest and her slender thighs wrapped in black stockings, Soshyan looked a little embarrassed and tried to dissuade her. The idea of just following your own path.
". It will be more appropriate. You are here anyway."
"Hmph, so how long do you plan to stay?"
"Ah, this... I can't say for sure. You know the state religion, the rituals and so on are very complicated."
Veronica stared at Soshyan and finally let go.
"Okay, but there are two requirements. First, you are not allowed to spend the night down there. Second, I must know what happens."
"What happens. Nothing happens."
Veronica raised her eyebrows when she heard this.
"What do you really want to happen?"
"Tsk, what you said seems to me... OK, OK, I will listen to you and I will agree to everything."
