"Are you certain you can abandon everything? Are you willing to uphold the Way of Redemption for life, follow behind the Chosen of the Seven, and face the legendary coming of the Great Cold Apocalypse directly?" Sister Melissa, now clad in her bishop's robe, stood before the altar in the Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral's chapel. Sunlight streamed through the round window behind her, casting the shadow of the Seven-Pointed Star emblem onto her, making her appear exceptionally sacred.
Kneeling before her were seven novice Redemption Sisters dressed in their novice robes, surrounded by the Redemption Nuns who had come to observe the ceremony.
Although they were all Redemption Sisters, they belonged to different Sisterhood Sanctuaries. Sisters from the Father's Sanctuary wore pure white robes, those from the Mother's Sanctuary wore blue robes, the Warrior's Sanctuary wore red robes, the Maiden's Sanctuary wore green robes, the Smith's Sanctuary wore red robes with black borders, the Crone's Sanctuary wore grey robes with white borders, and the Stranger's Sanctuary wore black robes with white borders. Each Sanctuary had sent one member to witness the ceremony, and so many people filled the not-so-large Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral chapel to capacity.
Unlike the Sisters from other Sanctuaries, the Redemption Sisters of the Redemption Sanctuary's Seven Sanctuaries all held thick, metal Seven Gods' Holy Books.
As the name implies, these Seven Gods' Holy Books were made entirely of metal, from inside out. Their pages were not made of ordinary parchment, but rather hammered copper sheets engraved with the Holy Book's content, and the cover was a tin plate wrapped in copper.
Normally, this Holy Book could be used for recitation and preaching, but if combat was required, the Sisters could transform the Holy Book into a hammerhead by using a special mechanism on the cover. They would then insert their staff into a designated slot on the Holy Book and secure it with fasteners, turning it into a war hammer.
Although these Sisters were all completely covered, one could still see through the gaps in their robes that each of them wore a fitted chainmail, and their hands were protected by gauntlets made of tin-iron alloy, clearly indicating they were armed Sisters.
Just like the equipment worn by the Sisters, every Sister who entered the Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral, in addition to daily prayer and studying the Holy Book, had to undergo rigorous combat training, mastering the techniques of using war hammers, hand-and-a-half swords, and shields. Furthermore, they also had to learn how to use bolas to restrain people.
Only Sisters who had passed rigorous combat tests and completed seven trials of self-reflection and seven trials of divine grace were qualified to take the Redemption Oath here and become official Redemption Sisters.
It was very difficult to pass all the trials and tests. Among the nearly one thousand Sisters in the Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral, fewer than fifty had managed to complete these trials and become Redemption Sisters in the past one or two years.
However, this situation would improve starting this year. Black Hollow had developed a divine grace potion specifically for women. This potion could make Sisters stronger, allowing them to easily pass various trials. The only drawback was the extreme pain it caused when used, but for Sister Melissa of the Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral, this was a good thing, as only those with the most devout faith and firm conviction could endure this pain, which would help her select candidates for Redemption Sisters more quickly.
The seven novice Sisters who were about to become Redemption Sisters were the best results of the divine grace potion. It was the first time that so many Sisters had passed the trials simultaneously, and it just so happened to be seven of them. This made Sister Melissa even more certain that it was a revelation from the Seven, and also their approval of the divine grace potion.
Facing Sister Melissa's question, the seven novice Sisters solemnly gave the same answer: "I am willing."
Sister Melissa asked the same question twice more, and after receiving affirmative replies each time, she placed Lynd's blood-red longsword banner beneath the Seven-Pointed Star emblem, instructing the seven novice Sisters to recite the Redemption Oath, which was a modified version of the Night's Watch oath.
After the swearing-in ceremony, she had the seven Sisters remove their novice robes, and then had the Redemption Sisters from the Seven Great Sanctuaries bring out their respective chainmail, Sister's habits, metal Holy Books, and Seven Gods' Scepters, so that the seven Sisters could choose their preferred Sanctuary and don the corresponding equipment.
However, an awkward situation soon arose: the Father's and Mother's Sanctuaries each had two Sisters, while the Smith's and Stranger's Sanctuaries had no one chosen, forcing the Father's and Mother's Sanctuaries to temporarily add an extra set of equipment.
The Smith's and Stranger's Sanctuaries did not feel dissatisfied because of this. In fact, they both thought it was fine, as the Sanctuary's resources were allocated according to the number of Sanctuaries, not by the number of people. The Stranger's Sanctuary and the Mother's Sanctuary received the same resource allocation. Therefore, although the number of people in the Stranger's Sanctuary and the Smith's Sanctuary was not very high, the Redemption Sisters in these two Sanctuaries lived more comfortably.
"The Silent Monastery has already selected seven Silent Monks to join the Godsworn's guard. We cannot be slow either. Each of your Sanctuaries should select the strongest Redemption Sister to also join the guard," Sister Melissa suddenly requested as the Redemption Sisters were preparing to leave.
"Yes, Sister Melissa," the Sisters responded.
The next day, Sister Melissa led the seven selected Redemption Sisters out of the Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral and walked towards Redemption Town.
Inside the Honey Pot House on Hundred Flowers Street in Redemption Town, Knight Robin Level was meticulously examining everything in the room.
The prostitute's body in the room had already been moved by the Watchmen and sent to the Justice Hall. Although the Watchmen handling this matter were professionally trained and tried their best to keep the scene intact when moving the body, many clues were still destroyed.
Fortunately, the destroyed clues were only minor ones, and their presence or absence would not affect the final judgment. The other, more important clues were sufficient for him to uncover the truth of the case.
"Gino, Ralph, tell me, what did you see?" Robin had already discovered the truth of the case and identified the killer, but he did not immediately apprehend the culprit. Instead, he turned to his two apprentices who were following him and asked.
Ralph briefly analyzed the situation and said, "The victim did not struggle with the killer before death; her throat was suddenly cut by the killer with a knife. Then the killer wiped the blood with a bedsheet and escaped by jumping out the window onto the street. The situation here is consistent with what the Honey Pot House owner said. We should immediately pursue the killer."
Robin listened, made no comment, and turned to Gino, waiting for his answer.
"I agree with part of Ralph's judgment. The killer did indeed suddenly cut the victim's throat, but…" Gino stopped after a sentence, a troubled expression on his face, and after a long pause, he finally said, "But something feels strange here."
"Something feels strange?" Ralph couldn't help but chuckle, saying dismissively, "Brother Gino, are you planning to use your 'feeling' excuse to muddle through the assessment again? Last time, Knight Raymond was fooled by you like that, and now you want to fool Knight Robin."
"I'm not fooling anyone; it really is abnormal here," Gino frowned and said in a deep voice.
Ralph was about to mock his companion again, but Robin stopped him. Then Robin said, "Tell me what you find abnormal."
Gino took a deep breath, avoided the bloodstains on the floor, walked to the bed, and pointed to the bedsheet the killer used to wipe the blood, saying, "First, the most unusual thing is the killer's reaction after the murder. Why would the killer wipe the blood after killing someone?"
"Does that even need asking? Of course, it's to avoid being seen when escaping," Ralph said disdainfully.
Gino ignored his companion's attitude and calmly analyzed: "But it was late at night, and there was hardly anyone on the street. Even if there were people, as long as the killer stood in the shadows, the blood on their body wouldn't be visible. Moreover, when the killer killed the victim, it was a frontal throat-cutting. According to the blood splatter marks, the killer's body should have been covered in blood, and a bedsheet wouldn't clean it off. So the best solution for the killer would have been to wear an outer cloak and a hood. Wiping the blood was a complete waste of time."
Ralph was also stunned by Gino's analysis. Although Gino was his competitor in the Justice Hall, and he would try every means to discredit Gino's abilities in front of Justice Commissioner Knight Robin, he would not forget his own duties. So when Gino pointed out the anomaly, he quickly noticed the strangeness, and some clues he had seen before also became suspicious.
"This place was deliberately set up," Ralph quickly changed his previous judgment and said.
Robin looked at the two of them, offering no evaluation of their judgments. He simply said to them, "I'm leaving this to you. Bring the killer to the Justice Hall before dark."
"Yes, Sir," Gino and Ralph said, smiles appearing on their faces simultaneously.
Robin turned and walked out of the room, descending the stairs into the courtyard. He spoke to the people being guarded by the Watchmen: "You all must stay in the Honey Pot House today. You will be released tomorrow."
A lavishly dressed merchant hurried forward and said, "Sir, I am Caspar of the Rose Trading Company. My master is Lord Garlan of Highgarden, and he ordered a batch of goods from Earl Lynd that needs to be delivered today…"
"Those matters are not my concern. I am only here for justice for the deceased," Robin cast a cold glance at the merchant, not intending to waste words with him. He simply pushed aside the merchant blocking his way and left the Honey Pot House. As he left, his gaze lingered inadvertently on the Honey Pot House owner's upper body for a moment.
After leaving the Honey Pot House, Robin walked directly to Redemption Avenue, where the Justice Hall was located.
Redemption Avenue originates from the Redemption Sanctuary, passes through the center of Redemption Town, and extends through the western territory of Summerhall, converging with Tengfei Avenue in Green Valley City, connecting the territories of Summerhall and Tengshi Town. Green Valley City in the middle has been completely overlooked.
Along both sides of this avenue are not only the offices of various local departments in Redemption Town, but also the main offices of important departments for the entire Summerhall territory, such as the Tribunal, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Military Affairs, Political Cabinet, and so on. Only a few departments related to the sea, such as the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Maritime Trade Guild, have their headquarters in Miracle Port.
Among the many departmental buildings, the Justice Hall is quite inconspicuous, just a two-story wooden building with a small courtyard. However, its location is very special: to its left is the Tribunal, to its right is the Ministry of Interior, and behind it is the Watchmen barracks. These surrounding buildings are all brick and stone, making the Justice Hall seem as if it was forcibly inserted, somewhat out of place with its surroundings.
Although the Justice Hall's location is so inconspicuous, no one would underestimate this independent department, which Lynd specifically established by withdrawing some authority from the Watchmen and the Tribunal.
The scope of the Justice Hall's authority is vague; as long as the Justice Commissioner believes an injustice has occurred, they have the right to take over the investigation. For example, this time, Robin decided to intervene because he felt the Watchmen handled the prostitute's murder case too casually, which was detrimental to justice.
Although the Justice Hall only has investigative power and is not responsible for trials or arrests, it possesses extremely high arrest warrant authority. Throughout the entire Summerhall territory, with the exception of Lynd, Nameria, and a very small number of others, it can issue arrest warrants and carry out arrests.
A month ago, Sir Keller Sven, who succeeded Rosso Brun as the commander of the cavalry regiment, was arrested by the Justice Hall due to an internal murder case within the cavalry regiment and was ultimately convicted.
It should be known that after the standing army in the Summerhall territory was reorganized into the Royal Guard and the Cavalry Regiment, the power of the Cavalry Regiment's commander became very significant, ranking among the top five most important figures in Summerhall's standing army. The fact that such a prominent figure was still arrested and convicted by the Justice Hall made everyone in Summerhall understand just how immense the Justice Hall's power was.
As a result, now, everyone in the Summerhall territory looks at the Justice Hall with a hint of awe.
When Robin returned to the Justice Hall, he happened to meet his colleague, Knight Raymond, walking out of the building.
Knight Raymond, with his white hair, came forward and asked with concern, "How did those two lads perform?"
"They're alright," Robin gave a fair assessment. "If Gino's intuition and Ralph's observational skills could be combined, then we would have another colleague."
"Take your time," Knight Raymond smiled slightly and said calmly.
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted on the street. Robin and Raymond looked in the direction of the sound, puzzled.
They then saw eight Sisters dressed in different colored habits walking from a distance. The leading Sister was none other than Sister Melissa, the Abbess of the Redemption Sanctuary Cathedral, and the surrounding citizens bowed to these Sisters in respect.
The observant Robin and Raymond both noticed that, apart from Sister Melissa, the attire of the other seven Sisters was somewhat unusual. They wore chainmail beneath their Sister's habits, gauntlets on their hands, and combat-appropriate high-laced leather boots on their feet. The boots also had a dagger sheath embedded in them, with a dagger inserted.
Additionally, they could tell that the Seven Gods' Holy Books held by the seven Sisters were all made of metal. A rough estimate suggested their weight was definitely comparable to a two-handed great hammer, yet these heavy items were held by the seven Sisters with just one hand, while their other hand gripped an equally heavy metal scepter. Such immense strength perfectly matched their tall figures.
As the Sisters passed the Justice Hall, Robin and Raymond, being devout believers, both spontaneously bowed to them. Then, Raymond, who was slightly better informed, whispered, "Redemption Sisters. They must be assigned as personal guards to the Earl, just like those armed monks sent by the Silent Monastery before."
"With the Earl's strength, does she still need their protection?" Robin couldn't help but ask.
Raymond hesitated, then simply shrugged, offering no answer.
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