Alethea never imagined that one day she could become a member of the envoy.

After all, when the Church sent out envoys, the team members had always been elite warriors, not only proficient in both literary and military skills, but also possessing an appearance that could represent the Church's face. She was very confident in her combat skills and Church etiquette, but when it came to appearance... how could a woman who spent years on the front lines, constantly swinging a greatsword, be considered beautiful? Thinking of this, she felt a little uncomfortable.

She heard from Priestess Mira that they were going to the West Region town of the Kingdom of Graycastle to negotiate a case of blasphemy involving the monarchy sheltering witches. In addition to the priest leading the team, the delegation consisted of ten members of the Inquisition Army, one of whom was the cold-faced captain she had met on the Hermes front line.

But now it seemed that even when not in battle, he still wore a cold face. Just standing next to him made Alethea feel the temperature drop.

Priestess Mira was the complete opposite. She was over forty years old and had wise eyes. She always talked about Church anecdotes with a smile, was knowledgeable, and was warm and graceful. Even in front of the Archbishop, her demeanor remained undiminished. Alethea had heard more than once that she was likely to become a candidate for the next Archbishop.

What surprised the Valkyrie was that, as a civil official, Mira's horsemanship was not much worse than the other members of the Inquisition Army. In the past two days, she had been leading the team at the forefront, and from the forest mountains to the town paths, she could maintain the horse's speed while reducing its physical exertion. This skill could only be mastered by Inquisition Army members who had undergone long-term equestrian training.

"Aren't we heading south?" Someone in the team asked after leaving Hermes' territory and entering the Kingdom of Graycastle.

"No, Border Town is too far away from us. If we go by land, I don't want my butt to be rubbed raw," Mira waved her hand and said, "We'll go east first, to Silent Valley Town. There is a river there that leads to Redwater City. It will be quick to get to Longsong Stronghold from Redwater City."

"When did you join the Church?" Alethea asked curiously, "You not only know various anecdotes about Holy City, but you are also so knowledgeable about the secular world."

"Twelve years ago, I was exactly thirty years old at that time," Mira replied.

"So late," she said in surprise, "As far as I know, the older you are, the harder it is to comprehend the doctrines of the gods. It's unbelievable that you only spent ten years to be promoted from a believer to a priest."

"Yes," Mira smiled, "That's the charm of the Church. I was originally the daughter of a merchant, following my father in trading in the Four Kingdoms, bringing ordinary goods from one place to another, and the price would be several times different. For example, the emerald coral of Sea Breeze County, purchased from local fishermen, costs only twenty or thirty silver wolves per plant. Packed in a water tank and brought to the palace of the Everwinter Kingdom, it can be exchanged for a gold dragon. The ones with good color and even branch shapes can even sell for more than five gold dragons. I often wonder, why do the same items have two different values?"

"Because... things are valued when they are scarce?" Alethea said.

"I started out thinking the same way," the priestess nodded, "But an event that happened later changed my view. A nobleman in the capital secretly hid a witch who could change the temperature. He came up with various ways to raise coral from Sea Breeze County in the cold Everwinter Kingdom capital. He transformed the basement of the courtyard into a huge pool, with a skylight on top to let in light. He could harvest it about once a year, and each time he produced more than we could carry in ten trips. And this long trade route, my father would only run it once a year. So there was more emerald coral on the market, and he sold it not only to the palace, but also to those great nobles. If things were valued when they were scarce, the price of emerald coral should have continued to decline."

"But after only two years, the palace refused to accept those low-priced emerald corals, thinking they were all imitations. The coral sold by my father not only did not decrease in price, but doubled. As for the nobleman who secretly hid the witch, he was dragged out by the Church and burned on a pyre with the witch for the crime of harboring. But I knew that the coral he raised was not an imitation, and was no different from the emerald coral my father transported."

"Things are valued when they are scarce is not a wrong idea, but there are many reasons that determine the price of goods. This is just the simplest example—because the Everwinter Palace used emerald coral as a symbol of luxury, artificially stipulating its value. When more emerald coral appeared, it had an impact on the royal regulations, so on the day of the execution, the Queen also celebrated greatly. Do you think these commodities are like us in the secular world?"

"Like... what?" Alethea had not recovered.

"Like the people under the monarchy, child," Mira said word by word, "We are given a price from birth, and this price is not a reflection of our true value. We are like this emerald coral, clearly all the same, some are cheap, while others are unattainable."

"Unattainable... you mean nobles."

"Nobles are the coral of the Everwinter Palace," the priestess smiled, "They are no different from us when they are born, a pair of hands, a pair of feet, a pair of eyes, and a mouth. However, they are artificially stipulated to be of the highest value. This inequality does not depend on their own ability, but comes from the regulations of the monarchy. So I joined the Church. At least in the New Holy City Hermes, your background will not limit your value. If we can turn the entire continent into the Church's ultimate Holy City, the so-called Divine Kingdom would be nothing more than that."

"You are so right!" Alethea nodded repeatedly, feeling excited. What a wonderful sight it would be if a divine kingdom on earth like the one described by Mira could be established, where people were born without distinction of bloodline, and there were no pariahs or slaves.

"Divine Kingdom? Humph... how many more people do they want to turn into cold-blooded monsters?" The cold-faced captain of the Inquisition Army shook the reins and stepped forward, "Priestess, how much do you know about the Punishers?"

"Hey, you—" Alethea was about to tell him to pay attention to etiquette, but she was stopped by Mira before she could speak.

"The Punishers are the Church's most powerful warriors. They are transformed from Inquisition Army members who are firm in their faith, willing to dedicate themselves, and brave and fearless."

"The most powerful is good, and needing to be transformed from the Inquisition Army is also good, but what they are transformed into are not warriors, but a group of emotionless monsters!" He coldly dropped this sentence, then spurred his horse to the front of the team.

"What an impolite person!" Alethea said resentfully. When she saw him in Hermes, she thought he was calm in the face of danger and possessed the composure of a general and the bravery of a warrior. How could he have become such a person now?

"It's okay, he's just upset," Mira shook her head and said, "In order to build a divine kingdom on earth, there will inevitably be setbacks and sacrifices... but at least we are willing."

The group arrived at the next town late in the evening. The priest led the envoy to the church to rest. After everyone had eaten, they returned to their rooms to sleep. Alethea, however, followed the captain of the Inquisition Army and stopped him in the hallway.

"Lady Mira is our leader. What do you mean by doing that? Have you forgotten all the Church's rules and regulations?"

"Your name is Alethea, right?" He said after a moment of silence.

"That's right. Now, like you, I am a captain of the Inquisition Army. I asked you for your name back during the Demon Month, but you didn't say anything. Can you tell me your name now?"

"Abrams," he said expressionlessly, "As for why I did that... do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No," Alethea suddenly remembered that he had said that his brother was a Punisher.

"I do. He and I grew up together in the Church. We knew each other as if we were one person. Later, he voluntarily accepted the Punisher transformation, and I never saw him again—the Inquisitor told me that his transformation was very successful and that he was now out on a special mission for the Church. I was sincerely happy for him." He paused, "Until one day, I saw him again in the cathedral. I called out his name and went up to hug him, but guess what I saw?" A trace of pain appeared on Abrams' face, "A stranger. He didn't seem to see me at all, and walked straight past me, his eyes dull, staring straight ahead, his movements not like a human at all."

"..." A chill rose in Alethea's back. She wanted to shout that the other party was lying, but she opened her mouth and couldn't say a word.

"The Punishers are stripped of human emotions, and are nothing more than animated corpses." He pushed away the stunned Alethea and walked back to his room without turning his head.