A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

“I can let you tour around here as you please,” Joshua said. Since Bray wasn’t here to do anything strange, his attitude naturally softened considerably.

If the goal was to seize the sacred mountain, even if Joshua was seriously injured, he still had to consider defending against the enemy.

For example, those people from the Japanese Empire had a very clear goal: to seize everything on the Holy Mountain.

“However, we will have someone guide you,” Joshua added.

Bray nodded without hesitation.

Bray was completely taken aback by how easy the other party was to talk to; they even offered to provide a tour guide.

This person is so kind, is he an angel?

“You can call me Brayclas,” Brayclas said after a moment’s thought.

"We're planning to spend our honeymoon at the Holy Mountain."

The angels, including Joshua, fell silent.

“You can call me Joshua.” Joshua’s expression changed slightly before returning to normal.

“Zoe, you take them there,” Joshua said to Zoe.

"Me? Me?" The angel girl pointed to herself in a bit of panic, wanting to confirm Joshua's words one more time.

“Yes, you will do,” Joshua said.

"..." Zoe's face was ashen. She had just been "kidnapped" by Bray, and now she was being asked to lead these people into the Holy Mountain. She was really scared.

Moreover, Zoe was puzzled as to why Lord Joshua would actually let those people in front of him enter the sacred mountain.

The Holy Mountain is the original city of angels, so it's a bit inappropriate to let races other than angels enter it.

Of course, Zoe couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with it, but she just felt that people of other races shouldn't be allowed into the city of angels.

"Hello..." Zoe gave up resisting and flew to Bray's side.

“My name is Zoe,” He tried to introduce himself.

Angels have probably never interacted with the Dark Iron race like this before.

"Hello, tour guide." Bray nodded; as a member of the Claas family, politeness was a must.

“I’m not a tour guide,” Zoe protested weakly.

“But you are the tour guide.” Bray frowned.

Zoe was speechless for a moment.

Where should we begin?

"I...I don't know." Zoe wasn't a tour guide, so how would she know the process?

It's all because things are so strange; Zoe found herself stuttering a little since earlier.

"Click." Naruko picked up her camera and captured the sacred mountain in front of her in the frame.

"What are you doing!?" Zoe noticed Naruko's actions.

"Taking a picture." Naruko blinked. Taking a picture at a tourist spot should be a normal thing, right?

"Please don't take pictures!" Zoe mustered her courage and said to the woman behind Bray.

"Okay." Naruko pouted and put the camera away.

Zoe was furious. Did these three humans and that girl, who was some kind of unknown creature, really treat Her revered sacred mountain as a tourist attraction?

Moreover, it seems that he was treated entirely as a staff member.

Although in reality, He seems to have truly been the guide appointed by Joshua.

---

In the end, Zoe reluctantly agreed to be Bray's guide.

There was nothing Zoe could do; it was Lord Joshua's order, and as the lowest-ranking angel, she had no way to disobey.

Although He didn't understand Joshua's thoughts, He had no choice but to do as He was told.

However, Zoe wasn't the only one who didn't understand Joshua's thoughts.

The other survivors were baffled by Joshua's decision.

They simply couldn't understand why Joshua would send a few people to visit the holy mountain.

“Lord Joshua, they are nothing but mere humans,” an angel said discontentedly.

"This is the sacred mountain we should protect."

“What’s the point of us protecting this sacred mountain?” Joshua touched the mountain’s body and sighed.

"Even so, there's no reason to let these ants set foot on the sacred mountain!"

“Ants…” Joshua shook his head.

He understood long ago that the angels' deeply ingrained ways of thinking could not be changed.

To understand that "the world is different now," one must realize it oneself; no one else can convince you otherwise.

Even Joshua could not persuade the other angels.

“Moreover, we will likely need the help of these people to get back to Heaven,” Joshua said.

That's why He so readily allowed Bray to "sightsee".

After the holy mountain fell, it was no longer perched vertically on the ground.

Today, the sacred mountain is crooked and tilted, with most of the buildings either damaged or collapsed.

All the ground is sloping.

For Bray, it was a bit like climbing a mountain.

But this isn't a problem for Zoe, because she can fly.

Zoe led Bray and the others through the sloping sacred mountain, and even led them into some particularly beautiful buildings.

“This is the temple where our angels pray. Because there are so many faiths, there are usually several similar temples.” Zoe pushed open the door of a collapsed temple and turned to Bray to say this.

Without realizing it, Zoe had already taken on the role of tour guide.

Bray listened to Zoe's explanations along the way and expressed his satisfaction.

There were many novel things along the way, things that were impossible to encounter in the world on Earth.

Naruko was also very excited about this place, feeling like she was exploring a new world.

It would be even better if the ground wasn't sloping, since you could easily slip and fall.

“Each temple has its own statue of the deity, and the decorations and so on are all different.”

“For example, this one is the temple of ‘Moon Wolf Normana’,” Zoe said, pointing to the huge wolf-shaped statue in front of her.

"Spring Wolf" is a wolf, and "Moon Wolf Normana" is also a wolf, but their auras are clearly different.

Even as a statue, "Moon Wolf Normana" exudes a divine aura, as if a full moon were right in front of you.

Although the temple has collapsed, its unique decorations are still visible.

The border patterns on the walls are mostly moons and some mysterious symbols.

"Moon Wolf Normana" not only governs the moon, but also, more importantly, magic.

Of course, it is the power to "suppress magic".

As a Gold Seed, their abilities are certainly not something that can be simply summarized.

Bray looked the statue up and down; it was the first time he had ever seen a golden animal in animal form.

Of course, dragon-shaped ones are not counted in the animal form category.

But considering that even the golden variety has a fluffy ball shape, the animal form seems perfectly normal.

“The temple is the most beautiful place in heaven, a place where almost every art form is gathered,” Zoe said proudly.

Temples are the places that angels value most, so they put the most effort into building them.

Secondly, there are places like squares.

For angels, their own dwelling is the simplest of all.

Even third-order angels don't live in particularly luxurious places; they might not even be as luxurious as the rulers of the Black Iron race.

"What happened to those dried-up riverbeds along the way?" Bray asked curiously.

When Zoe was their guide, she led them through some streets and squares, and Bray noticed a lot of waterways and fountains.

Everything is dry.

Even if the water system malfunctioned due to the fall of the sacred mountain, there shouldn't be no trace of water left.

"..." Zoe hesitated for a few seconds.

“Those are rivers and fountains flowing with faith,” He sighed.

"Without God's favor, there is naturally no flowing water."

“…” Bray and Naruko looked at each other, not understanding what he meant.

Only the angels themselves could truly understand this statement.

"Oh, right, if you're looking for sightseeing, there's one place worth visiting." Zoe suddenly seemed to remember something and patted her head.

At the same time, the wings behind Him were gently flapping.

This adorable angel girl had inadvertently forgotten that the Dark Iron race adventurer in front of her had once "kidnapped" her.

He initially complained about why he had to be a guide for lower species, but now he has already embraced this role.

They adapt so quickly.

"Come with me." Zoe flapped her wings, and her figure moved quickly.

Bray and his group had to run to keep up with Zoe's speed.

Although Zoe didn't fly particularly fast, it was still quite a struggle to catch up.

"This is it. I haven't been inside much before." Zoe looked at the huge ancient building beside her, her voice filled with emotion.

This building is not open to just anyone; only high-ranking angels can truly "see" its true form.

Zoe rarely had the opportunity to enter, and even when she did, she didn't find anything special.

However, it seems that no one can stop Him from going inside for a visit now, so He can go in without worry.

"What important place is this for you angels?"

"It's not that important, but we don't allow people to come and go as they please," Zoe said after a moment's thought.

"In short, you'll understand once you take a look." With that, He entered the room first.

This time, there was no need to even push the door open, because the building's main entrance had already been completely destroyed.

After Bray caught up, he quickly understood why Zoe had said they would understand at a glance.

The interior of this ancient building is filled with runes, each containing unfathomable mysteries.

But everything inside was broken, and it felt completely useless.

Moreover, it wasn't damaged during the Silver Invasion; it was already broken from the beginning.

It has a strong sense of the era; just standing in it gives me the illusion of returning to the Second Age.

Naruko was also marveling at the subtle sense of nostalgia that emanated from the place.

However, apart from that, there's nothing particularly special about it.

The ground here is cracked into stones of all sizes, let alone other places.

At best, it's a place worth remembering, but it's clearly not worthy of being "important".

“Many high-ranking officials say this place is very important, but we don’t understand why it’s important at all.” Zoe shook her head, seemingly thinking about many things.

Bray touched the dust on the wall with his fingers and pondered for a few seconds.

He still couldn't figure it out, but he did manage to come up with something else.

"By the way, do you know how I can find your angels' powerful equipment?" Bray asked bluntly.