Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1450 Arrival
The Church also assesses the harm caused by the numerous large-scale plagues perpetrated by the Plague Apostles. Among the top-ranking plagues are all historically significant large-scale events. Furthermore, since the strength of the world barrier separating the Plague Lords is essentially related to the degree of chaos on Earth, whenever society descends into chaos, the Plague Lords are more likely to create apostles, and the pressure on the Church increases.

“A Miserable Winter Day”, “Fragrant Garden”, “Yancheng”, “Suspended Peak”, “Nine-Bone Well”.

Five famous plagues that destroyed nations, each of which can be discussed as a classic case, and each of which reflects why the church today has so many strict rules and restrictions on plagues and plague apostles.

For this reason, although the pharmacist had some reservations about the time that Zang Shishu spent on obtaining evidence, he still cooperated.

Now, when she recounts these cases to the two nuns, it is so that they may learn from them. These five plagues that destroyed nations contained numerous examples of foolish, arrogant, blind, and slow-witted actions; otherwise, things wouldn't have come to that point.

"Among these cases, there are many intelligent people like you, but they were powerless to turn the tide. The reason is that combating the plague cannot be changed by one or two people who can see the situation clearly. The Church's methods back then were too lenient, and these incidents even led to the resignation of three popes. These are lessons that must be remembered. The Church is not afraid to talk about the mistakes it has made, because the implementers of the Church are ultimately human, not the gods they worship." The Pharmacist concluded by telling the two, "Then came the complete reform of the seven cardinals and a much stricter plague eradication system. In the past, the Church would negotiate with some less fanatical plague apostles, but that is completely unimaginable today."

She closed the book.

"That concludes today's lesson. Tomorrow we will arrive in Violet City, rest for a day, and then we will begin our third spell class the following day."

Violet City, though called a city, is the capital of Toriljang. Its size far exceeds people's imagination; it is almost the largest population settlement in the southern part of the empire. It would take a normal person two days to walk through the city, not to mention the numerous smaller settlements that have formed around it.

Violet City has no walls; its edges are merely protected by magical light barriers, highly visible even at night, emitting a soft purple glow—part of the city's name originates from this. Arriving here, one suddenly feels that the places previously visited were merely the countryside. Through the light barriers, one can see the densely packed houses within the city, and the towering buildings closer to the core area. This core area is built upon a small hill in the city center, with Grand Duke Toril's mansion atop the hill.

Apart from the pharmacist and Liu, everyone else was stunned the moment they saw Violet City.

Coming from small villages or war-torn areas, they had no chance of coming to such a place, let alone seeing such a sight.

Father Thorne paused for a moment, then, as if having made up his mind, gave a shout and continued driving forward. The convoy began to move slowly forward again, and the fish-men, under the towering shadow of Violet City, displayed a considerable degree of order.

"Is this...our final destination?" Vanessa asked nervously.

"From Father Thorne's perspective, yes. And he has basically succeeded along the way. With the Archbishop's letter of recommendation, there will be no problem for these thousand-plus people to enter the city. What he was worried about is not even worth mentioning in Violet City," the apothecary replied.

Of the seven Grand Dukes currently in power, Grand Duke Toril is the oldest, and he has lost the vigor he once possessed in his conquests. However, at this level, people tend to become more cunning with age, and Toril is such a slippery fellow. Even as the empire teetered on the brink of collapse, he remained neutral, displaying an apparent lack of desire for power.

In reality, the Church believed that Toril's health would allow him to live at least another three to five years, barring any unforeseen circumstances. He had already made arrangements for his children and even grandchildren, leaving only one heir. Although the position of Grand Duke could not be directly inherited, arranging sufficient merit for him was not a difficult task.

"Hey, I didn't really notice it when I came to Violet City during the day last time, but coming here at sunset, the light curtain is truly beautiful," Liu exclaimed. "But has there been another building on the mountain? Has the Church of St. Ist been expanded?"

"I don't know, is there any news about the Burial of the Deceased?"

"The information channels at the Funeral Parlor are all filled with news about where people are being killed. You'd have to ask Priestess Kiss about this. Oh well, it seems Father Thorne has already gotten permission. Why don't we just go in and find out?"

“How long do you think it will take to get to the Church of St. Ist from here? There’s no way we can hire a carriage to take us there like one or two people can.” The apothecary glanced at the church on the mountain.

“So what? Violet City is so big, it’s not just one church.” Liu shrugged.

Even White Tower County has a parish, and places like Violet City have churches built everywhere. After all, you can't expect the whole city to climb halfway up the mountain for worship.

The pass personally issued by Father Thorne and Navagiya was enough for him to stay overnight at any church and then go up the mountain to the Church of St. Ist the next day to resolve all his problems. But Liu... couldn't wait.

"Even so, our journey together has come to an end. I need to hand over my things to the logistics department of the funeral home as soon as possible, so that the record of the deceased can be completed. Then we'll meet again someday."

Liu jumped out of the car, bid farewell to everyone decisively, and quickly disappeared into the falling night.

As for the pharmacist, she doesn't need one.

Although the fact that she might be a formal Sister of the Saviour was probably no secret to Father Thorne, Veronica, and Vanessa, the three tacitly refrained from revealing it, clearly preferring that she remain the "Pharmacist." The Pharmacist was happy with this arrangement, simply continuing to follow the caravan, and after Father Thorne found a parish, she settled there.

The parish was quite quiet at night, but just a few streets away, outside the parish, it was ablaze with lights and bustling activity—Toril City didn't have a curfew, and at this hour, people's nightlife was just beginning. Spelllights illuminated the night, shops that stayed open opened their doors, and people with some spare cash flocked in, creating a noisy and chaotic atmosphere that made the "country bumpkins" quite envious.

"Don't they need to sleep at night?" Vanessa asked in surprise.

She wasn't someone who couldn't distinguish between rich and poor. Compared to the farmers outside, life at the church was already quite comfortable. She didn't need to do arduous farming; at most, she would tend to the few fields behind the church. At night, she could even pray by oil lamp before going to sleep, unlike the farmers who had to go home as soon as it got dark. She thought her life was already very wealthy.

But look at her now, a commoner in Violet City is probably living a much more "affluent" life than she did before.

“The closer to the center, the fuller people’s pockets are. The Duke of Toril’s tax policy isn’t harsh, and the tax office here needs to strictly abide by the law. After all, people say that the Duke of Toril lives in the highest place, and everything that happens in the city is under his watchful eye,” the pharmacist said.

“But what you mentioned before…those outside the city aren’t like that, are they?” Veronica asked.

“Everyone in Violet City who works for the government must fawn over Duke Toril, so they would never dare to show him the slightest fault in the vicinity. But once they are away from here, that’s where they can do whatever they want. What they can’t extort here, they will collect double outside. That’s why the tax collectors are notorious outside,” the apothecary replied.

“Doesn’t Grand Duke Torriel know this? He sounds quite capable, so why doesn’t he do anything about this?” Vanessa asked. The apothecary chuckled: “Do you think he doesn’t know? He was the general who led the southern expedition and rose to the position of Grand Duke through military merit. No one knows the exact number of troops under his command except himself. He may be old, but he’s not senile.”

"So he was actually aware of the situation but chose not to do anything about it?"

"Because he can't tell those below—kill those who levy taxes arbitrarily and replace them with a new batch. As for why, you can figure it out yourselves. Don't forget you have a spell class tomorrow."

After leaving those words, the pharmacist returned to his room.

=
Upon arriving in Violet City, the apothecary relaxed slightly. As one of the most prosperous cities in the empire, Violet City possessed a military force capable of overwhelmingly resolving numerous unexpected situations, even something as seemingly innocuous as a few Plague Apostles preparing to cause trouble.

Rather, it would be strange if such a place didn't have a permanent presence of Plague Apostles. Even with many churches here, the Plague Apostles would never let go of such a populous city.

“So… in stages…” After saying a few words with his head down, the pharmacist looked up again, the smile and ease on his face fading slightly, and a sharp aura appearing in his eyes.

A gun slid out of her sleeve and landed in her hand.

"Violet City, a quiet spring day. The ultimate goal of this phase of the mission is indeed unpredictable... We also don't know who the other visitors in the cardinals are."

She let the bullets in the magazine slide out, then crushed them and scattered them out onto the balcony with the wind.

"Preliminary estimates suggest that the cardinals' guests may not be on the same side, and there's a possibility of betrayal. In this scenario, they could become either traitors or plague apostles. A war is almost inevitable, but in Violet City... if it's not a holy war, then there will definitely be a dramatic change. That Rosemerada... I wonder if she'll be a key figure later on."

After scattering all the bullets, she went back to her bedroom and poured herself a glass of water.

The tourist's abilities should not be underestimated. Considering her current combat strength, a Saint, at full power, can single-handedly take on at least an entire non-titled knight order, and that's just a non-combat Cardinal like the Savior Cardinal. If we add her "awakened" state, the initial combat strength given by the gathering place is incredibly generous, a world of difference from the previous scene.

If combat is taken into account, the most important thing is to find out the details of the other six cardinals. If possible, it would be best to investigate the Plague Lord as well. The information within the Church is obviously outdated. The gods in this world are not human-shaped deities, which most likely means that their origins are completely unrelated to human beliefs, ideologies, and perceptions. This is a very dangerous situation.

"Continue the lessons with Veronica and Vanessa. The mission given by the distribution center can't be meaningless. Father Thorne's faction will probably play a role later. If possible, support him. Liu... although she didn't show it too obviously, her purpose and obvious alias confirm her identity as the interrogating priest. As for the tourist's identity, there's no need to deliberately test it; just be vigilant. After all, the strongest individual combat force of the Burial Pivot shouldn't be underestimated."

She murmured to herself, outlining the next steps. The state of "awakening" came with certain risks. If Liu were a tourist, she wouldn't have maintained this state, but it couldn't be ruled out that some tourists wouldn't be willing to take the risk, given the high potential rewards.

"Take some time to visit the Church of St. Ist, and make sure it hasn't been corrupted by anything strange yet. The mission to establish a distribution center is still pending, and it's unclear which side truly has the upper hand right now."

After drinking the water, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

My jumbled thoughts drifted into sleep, and when I opened my eyes again, all I saw were the apothecary's eyes, which seemed to be both smiling and not smiling.

"What a refreshing morning."

The pharmacist took a breath of the fresh air blowing in from the balcony, then went downstairs for her meal as usual. When she came downstairs, Father Thorne was already ready and had finished eating. He lived on the first floor, and judging from the faint dark circles under his eyes, he was probably too excited to sleep all night.

Good morning, Father Thorne.

“Madam Pharmacist. I must depart now to take the necessary documents to the Church of East. As Archbishop Vagiya said, it will be difficult for this group to remain intact in the city; they will probably have to be dispersed and reorganized. I will certainly keep the original church members together. I wonder if you would still be willing to continue teaching Veronica and Vanessa here?”

The pharmacist smiled: "You've paid your tuition, Father Thorne, that's the only thing you don't need to worry about."

"Thank you," Father Thorne said, and then hurriedly left.

The pharmacist brought bread and eggs from the kitchen, and Veronica and Vanessa yawned as they ate half of them before coming downstairs.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

“Good morning, Pharmacist.” Veronica scratched her head a little sheepishly. “The bed here is a little too comfortable…”

"After a long journey, it's normal to wake up a little late when you suddenly relax and have a comfortable environment. Besides, you're only a little late." The pharmacist didn't mind the time difference. "Our class starts a long way off."

"Phew~~~~~ Where's Father Thorne?" Vanessa asked after letting out a big yawn.

"The priest went to the Church of St. Ist early this morning."

"Wow...we still have a lot to learn from him," Vanessa muttered. "But I'm really looking forward to today's lesson, Pharmacist. What are we learning this time?"

“Third or fourth-tier divine arts of the Savior Pivot,” the pharmacist said.