Chapter 1209 - 485: Fierce
In one corner of the Demon-Defending Fortress.
One section here was being used by the Holy Mother Church, and it also served as the Church’s gathering point inside the fortress.
As soon as Alka arrived, he saw a statue of the Holy Mother standing before the door.
Perhaps because this was a fortress, the statue hadn’t been built to be particularly magnificent; it was not much different from those in an ordinary small chapel.
Yet the aura of the Holy Mother’s Holy Light still filled the place.
People clad in white and wheat-gold garments threaded with gold came and went.
"Saintess." As they passed in front of Anaphel, they all nodded slightly, greeting her politely.
Anaphel would nod in response as well.
Almost everyone moving about was a soldier; from marks on their bodies it was clear some had only just come out of battle.
Alka entered this section; the largest stone house in the center was arranged not much differently from a church.
Beyond it lay an internal training ground, where he could see Wheat Knights warming up.
There were also some wounded with bandages wrapped around them, undergoing restorative adaptation training.
Not far away, the sound of prayer could be heard.
Alka opened his eyes and casually swept his gaze around; everyone here was at least at the Fourth Stage, with quite a few at the Fifth Stage.
When Akka came in he even saw one or two existences at the Sixth Stage.
Clearly these were all troops provided by the Holy Mother Church.
Farther in were several multi-story stone houses; one of the larger ones had been arranged as a spacious hall with all kinds of seating.
It was obviously a place dedicated to rest, and quite a few Knights were sitting inside taking a break.
Annabelle led Alka up to the second floor.
The second floor likewise had a hall, along with some small rooms.
In the hall sat two Knights and a Priest, seemingly discussing something. All of them were at the Sixth Stage.
And nearly all were at least in the Middle Stage of Tier Six, close to Perfection.
"Your Highness Saintess." One of the Knights saw Anaphel, nodded, and spoke, then noticed Alka.
The other two strangers also looked at Alka; after carefully sizing up this unfamiliar face for a while, they seemed to recognize him.
"You’re Alka?" There was a hint of uncertainty in their voices; clearly this was the first time they had met.
Alka nodded.
At this moment Anaphel stepped to the side and said, "They are comrades assigned here for support. This is Kans, the Knight Captain in charge of leading the Knight Order."
She pointed to one of the Knights. He looked to be around forty, mature but not yet old.
His features were extremely ordinary, yet he gave off an impression of toughness.
Alka reached out and shook his hand.
"I’ve long heard your name; finally I get to see you in person." He looked at Alka and said with a smile.
The Saintess then pointed to the other Knight, who seemed about the same age as Alka and looked much younger.
"Linton, Vice Knight Captain of the Knight Order."
He also smiled and shook Alka’s hand. "I’ve heard about your exploits for a long time. Truly impressive. If there’s a chance, we should spar sometime."
From the scars on his face and the scratches on his armor, one could tell this was a battle-loving madman.
He’d probably have plenty in common with Pororo.
Lastly, the Priest introduced himself: "My name is Joseph, I’m the Captain of the Priest Support Corps. You’re much younger than I imagined."
"Is that so? Haha." Alka chuckled, then sat down in one of the empty seats beside them.
Anaphel also took a seat nearby.
"You’ve come because of Kalande, haven’t you?" Anaphel looked at Alka and asked.
Though her eyes were covered by a metallic blindfold, unable to see, Alka could still feel her gaze piercing through that metal.
"I suspect he’s a target deliberately released by the enemy, so for now I haven’t regarded him as a primary objective. I came mainly to get familiar with things here and offer what help I can."
Hearing Alka’s words, the others all nodded, more or less understanding.
"We were going to try to dissuade you, but since you know very well what you’re doing, we can be at ease."
"Do you need to lead a squad into battle?" Kans, as Knight Captain, looked at Alka and asked.
Clearly he was asking whether Alka needed a certain amount of manpower to assist in combat.
If this were Alka’s first time here, he obviously wouldn’t have made such an offer. But over these past years Alka’s reputation had already spread far from the Demon Defense Wall, so they were fairly confident in him.
And Alka wasn’t someone who’d never led soldiers on operations before.
Hearing this, Alka shook his head.
"No need. I’m more used to fighting alone than leading troops, and my teammates should start arriving one after another later anyway."
They nodded at that.
"All of your teammates are coming?" Linton, the Vice Knight Captain, couldn’t help but ask.
Alka nodded. "All of them."
Hearing this, Linton grew a bit excited.
Seeing his expression, Kans, the Captain, couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly.
He gave Alka an apologetic smile. "My apologies, my subordinate is passionate about combat. He’s always wanted to spar with your companion, the Blood Battle Beast."
Alka nodded at that, thinking, as expected.
Blood Battle Beast was a title Pororo had earned in recent years.
Originally it had been War Beast.
Until one defensive battle, when Pororo’s performance was so dazzlingly brutal and bloody—mainly because that battle had involved many rash Demons fond of close combat.