Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

The Cathedral of Life is located in the northwest of the Kingdom of Savoy, in an exceptionally beautiful forest.

Unlike the other three churches, which all built their main churches around the capital, the Church of Earth and Life did not build its main church in the capital of the Kingdom of Savoy.

But if you come to the Cathedral of Life in person and see the surrounding woods, you will understand why it was chosen to be located here.

The surrounding forest no longer resembles its original form. Rather, it is like a series of crystallized trees, with each trunk resembling a straight, faceted, white, translucent crystal pillar. At the top of the pillar are large purple crystal "leaves." Sunlight shines through these crystalline sheets, scattering and transforming into a kaleidoscope of colors, making one feel as if they are not in the mortal world.

And at the center of this crystallized forest is the Cathedral of Life.

"Ah—" Sophia covered her mouth and yawned, but she immediately remembered something and swallowed the sound back down. At the same time, she glanced around and, seeing that there was no one around, gently patted her chest and slowly exhaled.

"Honestly, this place is so boring," she muttered under her breath, pouting.

"Aren't you afraid someone will hear you saying that?" A slightly aged voice sounded from behind, making Sophia's hair stand on end.

She immediately turned around and saw the person standing behind her. "Grandma Alina, you scared me to death!"

Standing behind Sophia was an elderly nun with completely white hair and many wrinkles on her face, but her kind smile made her look less aged.

"Aren't you afraid that what you just said will displease those bishops?" Elder Sister Alina asked with a smile, looking at the girl in front of her.

"I only muttered it to myself," Sophia said, bowing slightly to the old nun with her hands clasped together. "Grandma Alina, you won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Hehe." The old nun chuckled and shook her head, looking at Sophia with nothing to say.

"Grandma Alina..." Seeing that the other woman just smiled and shook her head, Sophia had no choice but to step forward, take the old nun's hand, and gently shake it, all while speaking in a coquettish tone.

However, her movement caused the old nun to lose her balance and even cover her mouth, coughing a few times.

"Grandma, are you alright?" Sophia asked with concern upon seeing the situation.

"It's nothing, just an old winter ailment from getting older." Alina waved her hand with a smile, then looked at the girl in front of her. A few seconds later, she reached out and gently stroked Sophia's hair. "Your braids are a bit messy. You're still the same as before."

"Grandma Alina, I've grown up now." Sofia pouted, wanting to say that she was no longer the child she used to be.

When she was still a beggar, she was taken away from the streets by the Church of Life and then sent to a monastery under the church's jurisdiction, where many children like her received the church's care and teaching.

At that time, the monastery where Sophia lived was managed by Sister Alina.

This nun was very kind to the children, especially Sofia, which made the girl respect her from a young age. Sofia even addressed her as "Grandma Alina" in private, which was completely different from how she addressed others.

"The Cathedral of Life is, after all, the main cathedral of the church, and many high-ranking church officials and bishops work here," the old nun said softly as she helped Sophia fix her braids. "They prefer a quiet environment, so the situation here is different from other places."

"It's a bit too oppressive." Sophia lowered her head slightly, making it easier for the old nun to tidy up, but she didn't stop talking.

"Smack!" A light tap landed on her head, making Sophia stick out her tongue. At the same time, she heard the old nun's voice in her ear, "Still daring to talk nonsense? Aren't you afraid of being reprimanded by His Holiness the Bishop?"

Upon seeing the girl fall silent, Alina shook her head slightly and then asked, "Child, what have you been doing lately?"

"Me?" Sofia blinked. "Besides chanting scriptures and praying with others every day, I spend all my other time in the library."

"The library?" The old nun was taken aback. "What are you looking for?"

"Hmm, I'd like to check if druids can use shapeshifting to transform into dragons."

"Dragon shapeshifting?" Sister Alina frowned. "How did you come up with that idea?"

"Just some thoughts," Sophia said, looking up as Sister Alina finished tidying her hair. She touched her braided hair. "Just like you taught us, the church is our home, and only when we are strong enough can we better protect it."

"You," Sister Alina said with a kind smile, shaking her head after hearing the girl's words.

"Grandma Alina, I'm serious," Sophia nodded heavily, her sleepy expression disappearing. "I really listened to you. The church raised me and made me a druid. I'm proud of my 'Earth' surname."

"Alright, alright," the old nun said, noticing the girl's voice was getting a little loud, and reached out to pull her arm to prevent her from attracting attention. "I know you're a good girl. So, what did you find?"

"Uh," Sophia paused, then said somewhat dejectedly, "No, I didn't find anything, but I seem to have heard of dragon transformation magic before."

"Child, that's difficult," Alina said with a smile, pulling Sophia aside. "Dragons are mythical creatures. They are different from other wild beasts. To learn how to become a dragon, you need to break through a certain barrier."

"You know?" Sophia's eyes lit up after hearing the old nun's explanation.

"Do I look like I know nothing?" The old lady frowned, looking angry.

However, she was clearly teasing the girl, and then she showed a kind smile, "Such documents and records are very hard to find. I only heard some discussions when I was young. To break through this boundary and learn to become a dragon, one must gain the favor of the gods."

"The favor of the gods?"

"Yes," the old nun nodded, "this is not something that can be achieved through prayer alone. You know, it has been almost three hundred years since a druid in the history of the church has been able to learn dragon transfiguration."

"This..." Upon hearing the number three hundred years, Sophia couldn't help but stick out her tongue. Only now did she realize how superficial her previous thoughts had been.

"So now you know why you can't find the information in the library, right?" Elder Sister Alina smiled and reached out to straighten Sophia's robes.

"Isn't there any other way?" Sophia frowned and asked in a low voice.

She wanted to say that there was another reason why she wanted to learn dragon transformation magic: it was to better help the chosen ones. After all, there would be great obstacles to winning the war of the gods and spreading the glory of the God of Life across the earth. Besides, those three churches were not to be trifled with either.

She still can't understand why the God of Life would choose a goblin to be chosen.

Perhaps this is something even the gods cannot fathom.

Sometimes Sophia herself felt that this might be some kind of experiment by the gods. After all, everyone knows that the Nightmare Forest is a forbidden zone. If any family's tentacles were to penetrate the forest first, they would definitely gain a first-mover advantage.

This may be why the gods chose a goblin and blessed him, granting him much knowledge.

"As far as I know, there is no other way." Sister Alina thought carefully for a few seconds, then shook her head.

"Alright then." Sophia had no choice but to purse her lips, indicating that she could only temporarily abandon this idea.

To gain divine favor was a pipe dream for her. There were so many high-ranking officials and bishops in the church, and she was just a "promising little druid" in other people's eyes. What did she have to deserve such favor?

"You're here?" A voice rang out from not far away, attracting the attention of Sophia and the elderly Sister Alina. When they turned around, they lowered their heads in alarm. "Good day, Archbishop Morrison."

This is another reason why Sofia doesn't like the Cathedral of Life—there are too many high-ranking church officials here, and you often run into one every few steps, forcing you to bow and greet them.

This was completely different from her previous experience at the Holy Oak Cathedral in Torch City, where she only needed to greet Bishop Luther, who was often sitting in his office dealing with numerous documents and reports, so she didn't actually see him very often.

But things are completely different here. Take Archbishop Morrison, for example. He is now the highest-ranking member of the Church of Life. I heard that since the previous cardinal had passed away, he should be the one to succeed him.

I just don't know why the handover ceremony hasn't been held yet.

"Sophia, there is a very important Mass tomorrow morning that requires your presence. Has no one informed you?" Bishop Morrison's voice sounded as cold as an iceberg, his tone seemingly devoid of any emotion. This was completely different from the kind Grandma Alina, or rather, they were the two extremes.

"Yes, they notified me," Sophia stammered. Someone had indeed notified her, but she didn't know why an important mass required a "little druid" like her to be present. It seemed that she had nothing to do with what was important.

"Then you need to get some rest, and make sure nothing goes wrong tomorrow morning." Morrison's tone remained icy.

"Archbishop, the child will definitely be ready." Grandma Alina reached out and pulled Sophia to her side, whispering.

"Hmm." The archbishop nodded slightly, then ignored Sophia and turned to leave.

As his footsteps faded into the distance, Sophia let out a soft sigh. "What a lousy mass! Making me get up so early in the morning, I can't even sleep..."

Before he could finish speaking, the elderly nun beside him covered his mouth. "Keep your voice down. Do you want to be reprimanded?"

Sofia had no choice but to shut her mouth; she didn't want to be reprimanded, which would mean being locked in a dark room for many days—a truly unpleasant experience.

"Go back and rest. Don't be late for Mass tomorrow morning," Grandma Alina said, straightening Sophia's robes again, coughing a few times as she did so.

"Grandma, I can do it myself." Sophia took the old nun's arm.

Then, she tugged at her robe, indicating that it was nothing.

"Don't be late tomorrow, Mass is very important," the old nun instructed again.

"Okay," Sophia replied patiently, but thinking about how she was always sleepy and had to get up early, she couldn't help but look in the direction where Archbishop Morrison had left.

However, a figure flashed past behind a pillar in the distance.

…………

Sofia tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, so she simply sat up.

The events of that afternoon still lingered in her mind: the strange mass, and the figure that flashed past behind the pillar.

She didn't see the figure's face, but she could clearly see the robes. They were the robes of the Archbishop of the Church of Earth and Life, or rather, Morrison's robes.

Unlike the dark green base color, brown trim, and red decorative patterns worn by ordinary church personnel, the archbishop's robes are embroidered with gold ribbons and silver runes to highlight their nobility.

"Was he spying on me?" Sophia frowned, deep in thought.

The thought of Bishop Luther concealing certain things about Wisance made her distrustful of the church's higher-ups. "Is there something wrong with tomorrow's Mass?"

With that thought in mind, Sophia got out of bed and tiptoed to the door of her room.

One advantage of the Cathedral of Life over the Cathedral of the Holy Oak is that everyone has their own private room. Even Sophia, the "promising little druid," peeked out halfway to check that there was no one else around the door before quickly pulling her head back in.

A few seconds later, a small black butterfly slowly flew out through the crack in the door.

The butterfly flapped its wings with great effort, passing through long corridors and halls, even hiding on high places to avoid the patrolling personnel, until it flew to a somewhat secluded corner next to the church.

This is where tomorrow's Mass will be held. It's just that it's such an important Mass, yet they chose to hold it in such a remote corner. It's hard not to wonder why.

Moreover, the room was brightly lit, with light shining through the cracks in the door, suggesting that quite a few people were gathered inside.

The little butterfly slowly approached the crack in the door and tried to squeeze through. She didn't dare to go too deep, as she might be discovered by the people inside. After all, there were many powerful figures guarding the Cathedral of Life, so she only dared to linger by the crack in the door.

But as the little butterfly slowly folded its wings, the conversation of the people inside the room immediately startled her.

"Tomorrow, we must ensure Sofia lives."