Chapter 200: Silver Dragon X Merman X Confessional (6) + (7)

Chapter 200: Silver Dragon X Merman X Confessional (6) + (7)

-1-

The holy knights and inquisitors were gradually taking their positions.

There weren’t many daily entertainment options for the people, and one of them was watching the arrival of the long procession from atop the high city walls.

The young stable boy was also lying on the parapet, curiously asking, “Are there about five to six hundred people?”

“They probably summoned some extra martyr knights,” said the cabbage vendor auntie. “Will Father Hobart attend the oath-swearing ceremony later?”

Allen looked at her. “…Is it really that grand?”

“Didn’t he tell you?” The auntie, feeling a bit spirited from the wind high up on the wall, continued, “In a while, all citizens will have to go, to listen to the bishop’s sermon under the Holy Oath Platform.”

Allen seemed to have received some kind of signal.

“Then I must go.”

The Holy Oath Platform resembled a giant tiered cake in the city center, its ring-like structure allowing citizens from different levels to distinguish their ranks and listen to the teachings of the divine messengers.

Under the scorching midday sun, the armored holy knights encircled the second level, while the bishop and the priests serving beside him stood on the unreachable top layer.

The bishop’s deep, resonant voice echoed through the natural acoustics of the building, reaching everyone’s ears.

“In the name of the Holy God, we shall eradicate demons and restore Mitronos City to its rightful purity—”

The crowd, like countless ants, packed into the lower levels, gazing upward layer by layer.

Then, they saw a shadowy figure materialize behind the bishop, moving as swiftly as lightning.

Some were astonished, some gasped, and others pointed toward the back of the bishop.

The holy knights silently drew their swords, ready to quell the crowd’s unrest, unaware of the chaos unfolding above.

The inquisitors beside the bishop looked panicked, but before anyone could react, a blade flashed, slicing through the air like it was peeling an olive!

“Praising the fatherly—” The bishop’s words were abruptly cut short as he felt a chill on his backside.

Instinctively turning around, his bare backside was presented to everyone.

The inquisitors gasped, “Oh—”

The crowd covering their eyes: “Oh—”

The holy knights: “…?”

The young stable boy, looking up, remarked, “It’s actually quite round.”

At the same moment, children chewing candies from all directions shouted loudly.

“He’s not wearing pants! He must be guilty!”

“Judge him! He exposed his filthy body!”

Some adults immediately tried to cover their mouths, but the power of the candy was unstoppable.

“The bishop made a mistake too!”

"Lashing! Lashing! Lashing!"

Bishop Gergil's face was a mask of shock as he clutched his buttocks with both hands: "…?!"

Father Langman swiftly removed his outer robe to cover his superior’s posterior and then roared, "Foul demon! You dare to challenge the authority of the Church in such a manner!"

"The Holy Knights will rend you limb from limb with their swords! They will burn away your filth with the holy fire of light!"

"No one can—"

A ghostly black shadow appeared again, silently and smoothly.

Father Langman let out a duck-like scream upon seeing him and turned to flee.

But it was too late; the assassin's curved blade was swift and precise.

All the clothing below their necks was instantly disintegrated, the fabric shattering into pieces finer than grass skirts, drifting down like snowflakes.

Women screamed at the sight of the old man's shriveled genitals.

Children pulled away the hands that covered their mouths: "I saw it!! They're both naked!!"

"Bishop's belly is showing!! And his chest!! Two nipples!!"

"His nipples are so dark!!"

More children joined in, their cries rising and falling, turning the scene into a chaotic hell.

Bishop Gergil, being older, clearly hadn't comprehended how his clothes had disappeared and reappeared and disappeared again.

Father Langman was still shouting anxiously, "Inquisitor!! Protect us!! Inquisitor!!!"

The chaos continued to escalate, the murmur of the crowd growing louder until a massive shadow swept across the square.

The children fell silent abruptly, staring up at the sky in shock.

A wave of silence, born from fear, spread over the entire scene. All the holy knights raised their shields and swords, striving not to tremble.

A dragon, a true dragon.

Its steel-like wings were capable of destroying any fortress, its eyes like moons that could rival the red sun.

A dragon that had not been seen for centuries descended upon the city's sky with a fierce presence.

Citizens barely noticed the children beside them, desperately muffling their own voices.

The entire city seemed to fall into a deathly silence, while the dragon soared high and low, its low-altitude flights over the crowd casting an endless darkness, as if summoning Death itself.

The bishop looked a bit awkwardly around him, "Can someone give me another cloak?"

Father Hobart silently handed over his coat.

The next second, the silver dragon let out a deafening roar.

The crowd huddled together, "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

The bishop clutched at his vital parts, "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

The priests were all holding onto their trousers, "AAAAAAAHHHHH—"

The young groom looked a bit bewildered: "…?"

The silver dragon, from ten thousand meters above, saw him standing there and greeted him with a telepathic message.

"Studying is so boring, come play for a while."

Young groom: "So you play first?"

Silver dragon: "Don't you want to join me? You can ride on my shoulder for a breeze."

Young groom: "While everyone's watching you, I'll sneak into the house!"

Silver dragon: "…?"

The dragon saw a tiny black dot dart out of the crowd with remarkable agility, heading towards the church.

Jiang Yi sighed, "I even sneaked out just to find you."

Keding: "Just cover for me for a bit! Okay, okay?"

Jiang Yi: "Okay."

The young man hurried into Father Langman’s house as quickly as possible, immediately noticing the worm-eaten beams, the dilapidated tiles that seemed ready to fall, and the threadbare, faded clothes.

Father Langman had invested all his savings in repairing the church and helping the poor, or so it appeared on the surface.

Keding circled around and saw a broken bowl barely held together by nails.

He circled again and noticed the worn-out marks on the floor in front of the holy paintings, where people had knelt.

System: "The money is behind the painting of the Saint Father."

Keding: "I knew it!"

He climbed up to the precarious height of the tall cabinet, kneeling to reach the frame with both hands.

Keding: "Oh, that's how the scratches got there."

System: "At least he's devout when it comes to money, but who knows about his devotion to the Lord."

Keding carefully took down the painting of the Saint Father, his eyes widening for a moment.

"Holy crap."

The sight of gold bars stacked against the wall made his mind go blank for a second.

Gold bars, gold coins, emerald rings, ruby necklaces.

Bags full of rings were stuffed into chicken feed sacks, resembling cheap plastic trinkets from a Yiwu wholesale market.

But each piece of jewelry and every coin had been lovingly handled until they shone brighter than the bishop’s behind.

System: "Your almost-significant other is dutifully patrolling the square. You probably have about fifteen minutes to move the goods."

Keding: "There's no way I can move all this."

System: "Gold's heavy; at best, you can carry a small bag."

"Need any tools?"

Keding: "I'm done, let everyone just grab it."

System: "Huh?"

Shortly after the giant dragon left, citizens who had quickly fled back to their homes saw children waving gold coins.

Gold coins?!

It took them a whole year of hard work to save up just a small bag of silver coins, which was far less valuable than the single coin in these children's hands!!

"Father Langman is giving out money!"

"It's relief money! He said it's to redeem the bishop's sins!"

"Go get it, he lives on Oak Street!"

The entire town emptied out.

Forget about the giant dragon for now! These were gold coins!!!

At the time of the incident, Father Langman was being reprimanded by the bishop along with other clergy members and did not leave the church for almost two hours.

Then he saw the joyous faces of the townspeople.

As he walked home from the church, almost everyone was holding something familiar in their hands, and many were still tearing and snatching on the side of the road.

Then each citizen sincerely thanked him.

"Father Langman! Thank you for your alms to us in such a dangerous time!"

"Father! Is this the will of the church?! Father, is this all real?!"

Seeing the familiar ring, the priest felt like he'd been struck by lightning.

Staggering home, he saw people carrying tables and picture frames.

More people were cheering.

"Gold coins! I found two more hidden in the wall crack!"

"Are there any more? Am I too late?!"

An old man with a ridiculously large ruby necklace somehow ran nimbly up to Father Langman and grabbed him with cracked, withered-tree-like hands.

"You are such a good man! The Lord will bless you! The Lord will praise you!"

"Father Langman, you are a good man, such a good man!!"

Eyewitnesses say Father Langman passed out from sheer joy right there on the street.

Meanwhile, Father Hobart was preparing battle potions with Allen.

"The other priests will all encounter some accidents," Allen said slowly. "What's your plan? Want to symbolically suffer from poisoning and vomit for a while?"

The priest looked at him. "Was all of this done by you?"

"There's no evidence pointing to that," Allen said. "But I quite enjoy the current chaos."

Father Hobart didn't scold him but, after some thought, said, "Don't hurt the innocent."

"No way."

"I'll fake breaking my leg, and the recovery time will depend on the situation," said Father Hobart. "But shouldn't you get out of here ASAP?"

"Allen, you see those inquisitors and holy knights? The church might send more people."

"Right now, the whole city's in a panic. Many people will flee immediately. It'd make perfect sense if you disappeared."

Allen looked at his foster father and jokingly said, "What if I want to be the lord of this city?"

Priest: "……?"

System: "……?"

Allen: "……?"

Keding smacked his forehead: "Oh right!! I already have a dragon!! Why am I still being so cautious!!"

-2-

After calming down his foster father, he rushed to the other side of the river to discuss their next move with his partner.

The dragon let him roll around, holding its tail, occasionally lifting it slightly to dangle him like a swing.

"You left me aside today."

"I'm sorry," Keding sincerely apologized. "I'll kiss your tail twice, MUA!"

The Silver Dragon nudged its cheek: "Kiss here."

"You're huge," Keding laughed as he kissed it. "It's like kissing a wall."

"Hey now! Sulking again! What wall's ever been this handsome!?"

Throwing aside the little tantrum, the Silver Dragon wrapped him in its arms again, saying, "Silver stands for pure holiness in this world."

"Today, I saw some holy knights kneel before me."

"So, you're a holy dragon, not an evil one?" Keding said, half-confused. "It feels like we've been having a lot more physical contact lately."

"Because humans need to test the waters, confirm feelings, and get close at the right moment." The dragon wrapped him a bit tighter. "Dragons do as they please."

Keding: "No wonder you always stay in your true form."

Silver Dragon: "I don't deny it."

Keding: "In other words, when you hug me in your human form, you get shy."

Silver Dragon: "……I don't deny it."

That same night, the faceless sovereign dressed in silver robes and a silver mask, along with his dragon, took over Mitronos City.

It only took under ten minutes.

The people had no objections, mainly because they had no choice.

The holy knights loyally escorted them throughout, and the local and out-of-town inquisitors switched sides within two seconds.

In less than ten minutes, the local church got sidelined into a joke of an organization.

A summoning officer announced the clearing of the church, and all clergy members were escorted to the dungeon. Outside inquisitors worked through the night to inventory the church's assets.

The next morning, the giant dragon coiled on the Sacred Oath Platform, and a summoning officer declared in a loud voice.

"Calling——former bishop——Sharia Richard Gegil!!"

Two priests held long whips on either side, and the summoning officer sprinkled holy water on him.

The old man instinctively turned to look at the towering, castle-like dragon, swallowing his protest.

The summoning officer said expressionlessly, "Later, I'll say something, and you repeat after me."

The former bishop was still in shock when the whip lashed several times across his shoulders and back, causing excruciating pain.

"I thank Heaven and Earth!" "I thank my parents!"

"I am a sinner!" "I have harmed humanity!" "I have let down all living beings!"

The bishop, accustomed to a life of luxury, couldn't endure the whipping and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

System: "You even had the choir provide background music."

Keding: "The live effect is indeed better than in a movie theater."

The bishop couldn't hold back his sobs and just shouted whatever they told him to.

"I am willing to let go of everything! Eliminate fame and power! Renounce money and material things! Return to my true self!"

After being whipped in front of everyone, the bishop was dragged aside like a broken sack. Three other priests took their turns.

Father Longman was already dazed due to the drastic changes at home and only remembered his lines after being whipped several times.

The outside inquisitors were ruthless, quickly reducing people to screaming.

Father Jerome was shaking so badly that Keding noticed and looked at him a few more times.

"Who is this again?"

"The sadist who enjoys using torture as a form of discipline."

"Oh—" Keding: "Then buy one, get one free; let him have some extra fun."

The sadist himself had little experience being whipped and couldn't bear the first strike, crying uncontrollably.

The summoning officer reminded loudly and expressionlessly, "Don't just cry! Say the words!"

"I have harmed humanity! I have let down all living beings! Say the words!"

The others were whipped for about ten minutes, but Father Jerome was whipped for over twenty minutes before they stopped.

The professionals controlled the force perfectly, causing excruciating pain without knocking anyone out.

But compared to those civilians burned to death, maybe this was nothing.

Finally, the three main clergymen saw Father Hobart hobbling onto the stage.

The summoning officer said expressionlessly, "Do you know you are guilty?"

Father Hobart: "I am guilty, and I repent."

Summoning Officer: "It's good that you know your mistake. Go find a cool, shady spot to reflect."

Father Hobart and the other three men looked up at the Summoning Officer, their faces showing shock as if the world was ending.

Summoning Officer: "Never mind, I'll help you down. Inquisitor on the far left, step forward and take over."

Father Hobart was helped down, limping.

Before the Inquisitor could say anything, Father Jerome snapped, "Why?! Why doesn't he have to take a single lash?! Why does he get to go down unscathed?!"

The holy knights drew their glowing swords in unison.

"If you've got the guts, go ahead and kill me!" Jerome yelled. "This isn't fair!"

"You yourself said that pain and suffering are forms of self-purification," the Inquisitor said. "So, you received the most blessings in the entire hall. What are you complaining about?"

Jerome wiped the blood from his face and cursed, "This is clearly a whipping!"

"You said these are blessings," the Inquisitor said. "Do you think you don't deserve this level of grace, or that Father Hobart, who has done so many good deeds, should receive more?"

"It's all just excuses! Nonsense! Bullshit!" Jerome raged. "I'm covered in blood, and they're not even scratched?!"

The Inquisitor motioned for several ascetic monks to come over.

"These believers have been receiving your blessings for years."

"Now, look them in the eye and tell me what you were thinking."

Jerome was suddenly stunned and quickly changed the subject. "Father Hobart’s living in sin! He has an illegitimate kid with that groom, Allen!"

"Sentence him to death! Burn him alive!"

While he was raging, the Summoning Officer had settled the old priest and returned to his previous position.

"What did you say?"

"Father Hobart has an illegitimate child! That groom! They both defy the teachings and should be burned alive!"

The Summoning Officer nodded. "He already admitted he was wrong."

"Hobart's only in his fifties—he's practically a kid. You can't be so hard on him."

"And let's be honest, aren't you partly to blame for this whole illegitimate child mess?"

Jerome's eyes almost popped out.

"Say it again? Me? I?!"

The Summoning Officer nodded. "See, you've admitted it yourself. The main responsibility lies with you."

"Inquisitor, give him another half-hour of blessings."