337: Sophia, who usurped the fruit of the gods

Kaya felt as if his soul had been struck by lightning. He looked up abruptly, only to see the nonchalant face of Young Master Townsend.

"Did I hear wrong? It seems the pressure has been a bit high lately," Kaya muttered to himself, then immediately straightened his back, acting like a steadfast guard.

Tang Ping faced the compliments from the various families calmly, chatting with them and occasionally praising their juniors. Some of them were roughly the same age as Tang Ping himself, yet at this moment, he was conversing with their grandfathers as an equal.

Among these outstanding young people were mages, knights with exceptional talent, and even a stunning blonde girl.

When Tang Ping heard their introductions, he only nodded slightly. He did not need knights or mages with great talent, nor did he lack powerful guardians, as he was a powerhouse himself. However, he did lack a butler who knew how to manage trivial matters.

Those who received only a brief word of praise and nothing more were clearly very disappointed, as this basically signaled that they had no chance. Yet, they remained very resentful, not because the Descendant of God before them looked down on them, but because they were jealous that Kaya could become a Holy Apostle. If Kaya had exceptional talent, it would be one thing, but he was merely a country boy from an ordinary tribe, an eighteen-year-old piece of trash who was only an apprentice knight.

This naturally made them very resentful.

Unfortunately, they dared not say anything in front of the Descendant of God. After all, once uttered, their families might abandon them instantly. They were not the city lord's grandsons, nor did they possess Gold-level strength; the highest among them were only Bronze knights or Elementary Magicians.

"Mr. Townsend, what do you think of my grandson? Although young, he is only nine years old and already an apprentice knight. He will definitely become a Black Iron Knight before he is fifteen, and has the potential to be a Gold Knight in the future. If he can receive the holy blessing, he is highly likely to become a Glory Knight and a capable subordinate to you!" an old count spoke eloquently.

"Mr. Townsend, my little granddaughter is also good. She became a mage at only six, and is a fire mage. As long as she receives the holy blessing, she will definitely become a High-level Magician in the future. She is much better than that old fool's grandson!"

"Hmph, no matter how talented your juniors are, they haven't grown up yet. How can they protect Mr. Townsend!" A count who was a Gold Knight suddenly snorted coldly, then looked at Tang Ping eagerly and said, "Mr. Townsend, look at me. Although I am a bit older, at forty-five, I am a proper Gold Knight!"

The middle-aged man puffed out his chest, revealing a glittering golden badge. On the badge were two crossed swords, with three stars above their tips, representing his strength as early Gold-stage, or more accurately, a three-star Gold-level.

"As long as you choose me to be your Holy Apostle, you can immediately have a loyal Gold Knight! And after the holy blessing, I am confident that I will become a Glory Knight within ten years!"

"Respected Mr. Townsend, please accept your loyal Amida!"

The Gold Knight dropped to one knee right there in public.

The surrounding counts, guild masters, elders, and others all stared at this count in stunned silence.

Most of them were merely vying for their juniors. As for becoming a guard themselves, even as a Holy Apostle, they were sorry, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

"Count Amida's perseverance truly commands my admiration!" an old count sighed.

At this moment, Tang Ping finally stated his purpose. He raised his hand, and the surroundings immediately quieted down.

Under the expectant gaze of Count Amida, Tang Ping sighed helplessly and said, "Sorry, I do not need knights or mages with great talent, nor do I need powerful knights or mages to guard me. Currently, I have few people around me, and after I head to the Holy City for baptism, I will acquire many servants and some manors. Therefore, what I want is a butler who is proficient in managing these to be my follower. I will grant the Holy Apostle quota to her."

As his voice fell, the people around looked at each other; clearly, this was quite unexpected to them.

Amida, still kneeling on one knee, remained composed and sighed, "It seems that Amida lacks the fortune for this. Then I wish Mr. Townsend success in finding a satisfactory follower."

The butler beside him suddenly tugged at Amida's sleeve, "My Lord Count, have you forgotten the Seventh Young Lady?"

Seventh Young Lady? Count Amida, who had been somewhat dejected, suddenly shuddered, and his eyes lit up, "Mr. Townsend, I think I have a very excellent person here to recommend to you!"

While those around were still discussing whether their own families had such a child and could guarantee the candidate's loyalty, they fell silent the moment they heard Amida's old butler mention the Seventh Young Lady.

Some old counts even sighed audibly, as if they had already conceded that they had no chance.

Tang Ping's interest was piqued; it seemed the Seventh Young Lady of Count Amida's family truly possessed extraordinary management abilities, "Then, Count Amida, could you tell me about this Seventh Young Lady?"

Amida smiled proudly, "When it comes to talent as a knight or mage, my seventh daughter naturally couldn't keep up with the young masters and ladies present even if she rode a Storm Griffin. But when it comes to management ability, aside from the experienced old butlers here, I'm afraid the rest of the people couldn't catch up to my seventh daughter even if they rode a Storm Dragon!"

As these words fell, there was absolutely no sound of rebuttal from the surroundings. After a while, only one old count sighed.

"How does Count Amida's family produce such monsters? Two Gold Knights in one house, and all their descendants are extraordinary. I originally thought that Seventh Young Lady was the most unremarkable one, but I didn't expect that today, she would also receive the protection of the holy lord and actually become a Holy Apostle!"

"Forget it, forget it, I can't compete, I can't compete. If we were talking about knight talent, my boy would be okay, but as a butler? My boy can't even count to ten on his fingers!"

The candidate for the Holy Apostle was basically finalized, but the many high-class figures of Soto City naturally wanted to treat this Descendant of God to a grand banquet. If they could build a connection, there would only be benefits and no harm in the future. Furthermore, they could let their juniors perform well; after all, Kaya's position was not entirely impossible to contend for.

A grand banquet, the likes of which hadn't been seen in a decade, concluded with all the guests satisfied. Tang Ping had experienced the upper-class life of the nobility, and he had to admit, the Ice Magic Fruit wine of Soto City was quite delicious.

At night, Tang Ping slept in a manor. This manor had been gifted by Count Amida. In the Dark Forest, where land was extremely precious, the value of a manor was terrifying. One had to understand that in this Dark Forest, even when Pope Sophia was originally ennobled, she had been rewarded with a plot of land as a manor, not a fief. It wasn't that they didn't reward fiefs, but rather that in the Dark Forest, fiefs held no meaning.

Even Descendants of God only ever acquired a few large manors.

There was plenty of land, but clean land was an extreme luxury.

The manor was not large, only ten acres, but the land was clean. The power of holy baptism upon it could ensure the manor's soil would not be corrupted by the darkness for decades. If a Priest of Light were hired to manage it properly, it would last for a hundred years without issue.

Furthermore, the clean food produced by the manor could greatly mitigate the hidden dangers knights faced, such as the decline in aptitude and stagnation in cultivation caused by dark corruption.

The dark corruption here was far less terrifying than the contamination on Blue Star, but it still could not be underestimated. A major reason why those tribes rarely produced high-aptitude knights or mages was that the food they consumed from childhood was produced on land corrupted by the darkness. This dark corruption had invisibly worn down their knightly aptitude, and even those who originally possessed aptitude for magic would eventually have it worn away completely, turning them into ordinary people.

A clean manor could be considered the foundation of a family. This was also a major reason why the Holy See could sweep across and rule the Dark Forest so effectively, as the status of Priests of Light was inherently transcendent.

At this moment, Tang Ping, sitting on the wooden floor of the manor, had completely extinguished the idea of handing the sunflower over to Sophia after seeing that sculpture of the Pope's scepter today.

People truly do change. That Pope was no longer loyal to God because she was usurping the fruits of the Gods.

The Pope was supposed to be the messenger of the Gods; the Gods had bestowed everything upon her, and her mission was to spread the glory of the Gods. Yet, she was promoting... herself.

"The Sophia of the past is gone, so the Pope should abdicate."

Perhaps the next one should be a legendary knight beyond Glory.