Chapter 384: Chapter 82 Leaving the Church_2
Yan Shi and Yan Li fell silent, but there was an unmistakable look of resentment in their eyes. Ah Dai couldn’t hold back any longer, "Why must the Pu Yan tribe be wronged? They were the ones who contributed the most at the beginning." The Pope let out a long sigh, saying, "By then, territory on the continent had already been largely re-allocated. The people of each tribe had barely managed to help His Majesty God Feather destroy the Demon God, so how could they be willing to give up their territories? As you know, the original territory of the Pu Yan tribe was vast. Even if it was all returned to them, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to manage it, let alone instigate more bloodshed over territory disputes. In this matter, the Church can only apologize to the Pu Yan tribe. But I believe that His Majesty God Feather made the right choice at the time. Enough about the past. Since none of you wish to join the Church, I won’t force you. There’s a second matter, concerning the Sword of Hades. Ah Dai, may I see your Sword of Hades?"
Ah Dai was taken aback and instinctively took a step back, his right hand resting on his chest, he warned cautiously, "Honorable Pope, I won’t be handing over the Sword of Hades to you. I won the wager with Xuan Ye during the ceremony on Tian Gang Mountain; no matter the origin of the Sword of Hades. All I know is that it was left to me by my uncle."
The Pope smiled, "Ah Dai, don’t be so tense. I’m not asking for your Sword of Hades, I just want to take a look. Who wouldn’t want to see such a wicked artifact in the world?"
Ah Dai hesitated, then puzzledly asked, "You really won’t take the Sword of Hades away, will you?"
Xuan Ye berated, "What is the Pope’s status? Does he need to deceive you?" Hearing Xuan Ye’s icy tone, the Pope couldn’t help but give him a displeased look. Xuan Ye lowered his head in silence.
Ah Dai considered for a moment, then undid his outer clothing to reveal the Sword of Hades within. He unbuckled the sword bag and walked up to the Pope. With a clench of his teeth, he handed over the sword bag.
The Pope accepted the sword bag, a faint white light radiated from him, wrapping the sword bag completely. Gently touching the familiar holy spell on the sword bag, he slowly drew the Sword of Hades as well. Under his divine power filled with a sacred aura, everyone was shielded from any evil aura. Xuan Yuan admired the Sword of Hades, looking at the faint gray gas inside the white light, he couldn’t help but praise, "What a sword. Indeed, it is truly wicked. Its power is evident even without unsheathing it. It’s quite possibly a top-tier Divine Artifact. No wonder Hades was able to become the world’s number one assassin with it."
The Pope nodded, "Not only is it top-tier, it’s the best among the top-tier. This is a Divine Artifact that should never have existed on this continent."
Ah Dai looked at the Pope and Xuan Yuan, clearly confused. In others’ descriptions, the Sword of Hades was always associated with evil. To them, it seemed like an esteemed Divine Artifact.
The Pope explained to Ah Dai, "We’re not mistaken. This is indeed a Divine Artifact. According to the Church’s records, the third Pope discerned that this sword is a weapon that fell from either the Divine Realm or the Demon Realm, perhaps, as its name suggests, was really Hades’ side sword." As he spoke, he took out the two pieces of sheepskin from the sword bag. Ignoring the sheepskin that held records of swordsmanship, he looked at the strange blank sheepskin. The Pope murmured a few spells, and a golden light shot out from his fingertips wrapping the sheepskin entirely. The Pope chanted loudly, "Great God of the Heavenly Realm! Please allow me to borrow your endless divine power and provide me guidance." The sheepskin floated out and hovered mid-air. The Pope’s eyes lit up, his hands formed a symbol at his chest, and a clear white light shot out from the symbol towards the Angel Statue in the Prayer Temple. The statue lit up, absorbing the Pope’s white light. As if coming to life, its enormous body, carved from unknown material, even seemed to tremble slightly. The divine emblem on the holy statue’s forehead shone bright, casting a dazzling rainbow light on the sheepskin. The sheepskin vibrated slightly, and lines of golden text gradually appeared on the blank sheepskin. Despite the text being somewhat blurred, one could still make out square characters appearing one by one. Including the Pope, no one could decipher them.
For some reason, seeing these strange characters, Ah Dai was hit with a feeling of déjà vu; his mind went blank, and vague images he had seen before rapidly flashed before his eyes. He tried hard to clear his vision but couldn’t discern anything. The quickly disappearing image was very fuzzy, it seemed as though many people were fluttering rapidly.
The Pope let out a soft sigh, withdrawing the white light. The Angel Statue went quiet once again, the sheepskin floated gently into the Pope’s hand. He took a glance at Ah Dai and said, "According to records left in the scriptures by the third Pope, the text revealed on this sheepskin is the language of the gods. If we could decode the secrets of this text, we might be able to clearly understand the origin of the Sword of Hades."
As the sheepskin’s text disappeared, Ah Dai’s senses also started to return to normal. He tried hard to think, yet nothing followed. Suddenly, he felt a strong aversion to the Sword of Hades, sinking into a stupor. The Pope, believing that Ah Dai was astonished by the divine spectacle, smiled and said, "Child, henceforth you are the guardian of this Sword of Hades. This sword is too wicked, it’s best used sparingly." Having said that, he put the sheepskin and the Sword of Hades back into the sword bag, handing it back to Ah Dai.
