Chapter 135: The God-Blessed Family

  “Cardinal Carl, who is that young man?”

  Standing on the baly of the sed floor, a middle-aged man turned his head and softly asked the vampire cardinal beside him. The man had radiant golden hair and a weathered, resolute face that seemed sculpted by wind and rain, exuding solemnity and gravity. He stood nearly two meters tall, silvery-white padin armor, draped with a crimson cape adorned with the emblem of a s eagle.

  This man was her than Brande Castina, one of the Padin Order’s knight anders and among its stro warriors, known as the “Bde of Justice.”

  The Castina family was said to be blessed by the divine.

  Sihe establishment of the Padin Order, rumors had circuted about the Castina lineage. Uhe Holy Spirit Knights, protected by angels, the Castinas were ordinary in appearand lihey had raordinary bloodline or celestial guardianship. Yet, they seemed to possess uny “luck.”

  The story began with the Castina aor, a humble padin. During a chaotic battle, he actally became separated from his rades and stumbled upon a mysterious temple. There, he received the a Light’s iance. After years of diligent practice, he gained immense power, returo the Padin Order, and pyed a pivotal role in repelling the forces of Chaos.

  From that moment, the Castina family became a dazzling star within the Padin Order.

  Of course, power often attracts envy and enemies. Over the turies, the Castina family was targeted relentlessly by Chaos and other forces of evil. Eventually, their enemies pushed them to the brink of annihition. Only two brothers remained, and during their flight from assassins, they fell off a cliff.

  Yes, you guessed it—a familiar trope.

  The brothers didn’t die. Instead, they discovered a hidden altar at the bottom of the ravine, where they formed a tract with a Holy Light Beast. With the beast’s aid, they defeated their enemies, restored their standing within the Padin Order, and ushered in a new era of prosperity for the family.

  Good fortune is fleeting. A tury ter, Hell orchestrated atempt to wipe out the Castina family.

  The elder patriarch of the family had just passed away, and the new patriarch had no heirs. During the funeral, a loyal servant of Hell tore open a spatial rift and dragged the young patriarto Hell itself.

  “If I ’t kill you here, let’s see you escape in Hell!”

  For a while, it seemed Hell’s pn succeeded. The patriarch was imprisoned, and Hell’s overlleefully summoned his peers to withe public execution of the “god-blessed” patriarch.

  What the overlord didn’t anticipate was the protagonist’s resiliehe young patriarch, imprisoned in Hell’s dungeons, entered a captive angel who sacrificed herself to aid his escape. Following her guidance, he found the long-lost Holy Sword of Justice, which had bee in Hell during the war between Heaven and Hell.

  On the day of his supposed execution, the patriarch returned, armed with the divine bde, and humiliated the overlord in front of his peers before tearing open a rift to return to the mortal pne. He left behind only enraged and humiliated demon lords.

  That man was Brande Castina’s father.

  This legacy expins why the Padin Order whispers of the Castina family’s divine blessing. For others, falling off a cliff leads to death, and drowning in water meaain doom. But for the Castinas, it leads to miraculous enters and diviifacts. Who would dare doubt divine favor?

  However, this blessing came with limits.

  Perhaps due to the “rule of three,” none of the miraculous powers or artifacts acquired by the Castina family sted beyond three geions.

  The Holy Light iance of the first Castina patriarch was lost after three geions due to infighting during a family schism.

  The tract with the Holy Light Beast was simirly limited teions.

  Now, Brande Castina, the sed-geion wielder of the “Bde of Justice,” stood as a legendary figure.

  The third geion was represented by his daughter, ie Castina.

  He was a rigid and serious man, loyal throughout his life to faith and the Padin Order. Upholding justid bating evil were his creeds. His daughter, ie, ied his intolerance fdoing. However, pared to Brande, ie was still too young and somewhat impulsive.

  Yet, when Brande saw someone dare to openly show hostility toward ie, he felt displeased. Although he agreed that ie's temperament could be overly hasty, at her core, she was a good child. Furthermore, within the Padin Order, few people ever targeted her so directly.

  But that young man seemed to be an exception.

  “His name is Alex, ander Brande.”

  Hearing Brande's question, Cardinal Carl, standing beside him, responded without so much as blinking.

  “The young Grand Knight?”

  Brande’s fusion deepened upon hearing Carl’s response.

  “What flict does he have with ie?”

  “Acc to Grand Knight Malt’s report, when ie first met him, she accused him of being a heretic, which led to a duel between them. She was defeated.”

  “A heretic?”

  Surprised by this ued response, Brande furrowed his brow and turo Carl, his gaze showing evident dissatisfa.

  Iurn, Cardinal Carl merely gave a cold snort under Brande’s scrutiny.

  “All Grand Knight titles are ferred only after a thh review by the cil of Cardinals.”

  The implication was clear: Alex’s identity had no issues.

  “But he was missing for over six months. No one knows where he went.”

  “He has the prote of the Holy Spirit.”

  Carl remained as stoic as ever, not even lifting his eyelids.

  “Do you doubt the will of the goddess?”

  “...”

  Brande’s frown deepened, auro g the girl beside Alex. Although Nymph had used special means to hide her wings, powerful figures like Brande could faintly detect them.

  “What’s with the colr on her neck?”

  “No one knows, but judging by her demeanor, she doesn’t seem to mind.”

  As Carl noted, Nymph appeared far more ied iten in Alex’s hands than her own situation.

  “I’ll keep an eye on him,” Brande finally said.

  “You’d better make sure it’s just ‘keeping an eye.’”

  For the first time, Cardinal Carl opened his eyes and locked his gaze on the knight ander before him. Brande was one of the top-tier batants in the Padin Order, but his rigid and unyielding nature often made him difficult to deal with. ie’s current behavior was rgely shaped by Brande’s own “guidance.”

  “He is a Holy Spirit Knight. You should uand that the cil of Cardinals is paying close attention to him.”

  “But no one is above reproach.”

  Brande clearly had no iion of tinuing the versatiourned and walked toward the other side. Watg his retreating figure, Cardinal Carl frowned a out an almost imperceptible sigh.

  “I just hope that young ma cause any trouble...”

  (End of Chapter)

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