In a tavern at Grand Duke Island's dock.

Qiao fidgeted with the wine glass in his hand, glancing towards the entrance from time to time.

He had never felt time pass so slowly.

Regret, fear, heartache, and bewilderment took turns surfacing in his heart, yet he could do nothing but continue waiting.

It wasn't until a hooded man entered the tavern and sat down next to Qiao that he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but this was immediately followed by even greater trepidation and unease.

"How... is she now?"

Qiao stared at the other person's lips, afraid of seeing the worst possible answer—

"Still alive."

The reply instantly relieved him.

"But Farina is not doing well," the man said, removing his hood, his face etched with worry. "The Bishop seems to want something from her, and has people torture her every day—sometimes you can hear her screams even standing in the hall. At this rate, she won't be able to endure it for long."

This was all expected, Qiao told himself repeatedly. Since their attack on the castle had failed, all those who were still alive would inevitably suffer cruel reprisals, and Farina, as their leader, would be no exception. Moreover, the traitor hoped to find the whereabouts of the Holy Book from her, so he would naturally use every means to force her to speak.

As long as she's alive, that's good.

Although he said so in his heart, his fingers dug deeply into his palm. He didn't even dare to think what would happen if he couldn't save Farina. Perhaps even death would be a luxury then...

Damn it! Why did he agree to her plan? Qiao thought with remorse. Something about attracting the enemy's attention so that the God's Punishment Army could break through from the side; something about retreating first if the battle turned unfavorable. He might as well have fought alongside everyone else, dying directly in the castle, so that he could at least be by Her Majesty's side in the last moment of his life.

"My lord..." the man hesitated for a moment, "Do you know what the Bishop wants? If you have it, why not just give it to him? That way, Farina at least won't have to—"

He's not a Bishop, he's a traitor! Qiao gritted his teeth, "The thing he covets is not in my hands. It fell along with the Hermes Cathedral long ago."

Mentioning Hermes, the other man's face revealed a clear look of sorrow. "May God bless us..." he murmured.

How ironic, Qiao thought. When the Old and New Holy Cities were still standing, he was already one of the most outstanding members of the Judgment Army's younger generation. He was constantly interacting with outstanding figures in the army and would never have paid attention to ordinary believers. But now, things had reached this point, with the Bishop betraying, and the Priests deserting, the only person he could rely on was this ordinary-looking believer. Moreover, the other man's feelings for the church were actually even deeper than those of many senior officials. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to find him when he was on the verge of collapse.

Feeling deeply dissatisfied with Lorenzo's abandonment of his Bishop status and self-proclamation as the Earl of Grand Duke Island, but being too lowly to resist, he happened to glimpse the attackers' appearance on the night of the battle, and then paid more attention while wandering around the castle—this was the whole story of their meeting.

Qiao didn't even need to worry that this was a plot laid by Lorenzo. He had nothing left now, and wasn't worth the effort to deal with. If this person had been sent by the traitors, after a few encounters they should have seen that he had no value and chosen to eliminate him.

Unfortunately, this person was an ordinary believer in the past, and is now just a lower-level servant. Besides giving him extremely limited information, he can't do anything.

"I have to go back," after a long silence, the man pulled up his hood. "If I leave the castle for too long, the steward will become suspicious. The next chance to come out is in three days, will we meet here again?"

"Ah..." Qiao came back to his senses from his daze, "Here, if things change, I'll have someone send you a message."

"I understand," he paused slightly, "My lord, please cheer up—if anyone can save Farina, it's only you."

Me? No... I can't do anything.

His mind was filled with darkness, unable to see any turning points or hope. No matter how he prayed to God, he received not a single response.

Qiao nodded numbly.

"By the way," the other man turned back after taking two steps, "Something else happened in the castle recently. One of the Bishop's confidants—Priest Haige took a group of men to the southwest. I heard the coachman say that they seemed to want to cross the Cage Mountain border. I thought this news might be... helpful to you."

Perhaps the comforting tone of these words was too obvious, and his voice grew smaller as he spoke.

Indeed, it was perfectly normal for a lord to send people to other territories. Even if Cage Mountain's location was somewhat special, it had no connection to Grand Duke Island. As long as Lorenzo didn't take away the God's Punishment Warriors, breaking into the dungeon to rescue Farina would be nothing more than a pipe dream.

"Well, thanks."

"Don't mention it, my lord..." he placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, "This is all I can do for you."

Cage Mountain... I've been hearing that word a lot lately. Qiao poured the ale in his glass into his mouth, letting the bitterness fill his mouth, but the next moment, he suddenly froze.

Wait—Cage Mountain?

Like a bolt of lightning cutting through the darkness, an idea suddenly flooded Qiao's mind.

A possible turning point!

……

Returning to the small house outside the city where he was staying, Qiao turned his gaze to a black-covered book on the table.

That was the "will" left by the last acting Pope, Tucker. Torr, before jumping off the city wall.

It wasn't the Holy Book that recorded the church's inheritance—the method of manufacturing the God's Punishment Army, but the entrustment of a dying predecessor. In it, he told the story of humans and demons, and the origin of the Divine Will War. This earth-shattering secret left everyone stunned, and they immediately understood the reason why Tucker was determined to have everyone evacuate Hermes.

Everything is over.

Put down the burden and live out the rest of your life in peace.

It was probably because of this self-sacrifice that Farina was unwilling to sit by and watch the church disappear—Qiao knew in his heart that besides her feelings for Hermes, she also had a lingering desire that couldn't be dispelled: to watch Roland Wimbledon and his kingdom of Graycastle fall into hell first.

But now, his turning point appeared in this king's hands who had destroyed the church.

Qiao didn't expect Graycastle to offer help.

It was almost impossible to get those people to actively save the remnants of the church.

He only had a glimmer of hope if he directed the spearhead towards the traitor of Grand Duke Island.

The news that Graycastle's troops had suddenly appeared in the Cage Mountain area hadn't caught his attention before. There was too much noise in the tavern, and the church would no longer have any involvement with Graycastle. It wasn't until the believer's words that he was suddenly enlightened—Lorenzo was once responsible for collecting the supplies plundered from all over Wolfheart, and the legendary treasures of Cage Mountain was not a secret. At the time, it was specially reported as a special captured item. As for whether it was transported to Hermes, Qiao didn't know, but that didn't matter at all. What mattered was whether the King of Graycastle was also looking for the same thing.

The nobles of Wolfheart would be timid and cautious, but Roland wouldn't.

No one could resist the offensive of that terrifying army.

As long as he could use the other party's hand to eliminate the traitor, he would have a chance to rescue Farina in the chaos.

Even if it was worse, and Farina was caught by them, it was better than suffering endless torment.

Qiao took a deep breath.

If the ending really came to that point, he wouldn't hide in the dark anymore.

At least in the last moment of his life, he could be by her side.

Because... he had always loved her...

From the day he joined the Judgment Army and met Farina.

This time, he didn't want to regret it anymore.