Chapter 98: Wish
A list of fifty names lay on the table, neatly arranged one after another.
These names represented the scouts about to face the challenge of death; their fates were already sealed.
Father Raphael sat in the main camp, calmly directing the overall strategy.
The other four priests had returned to their respective posts, each performing their own duties.
Inside the tent, shadows of people moved in and out constantly, as deacons carried the latest intelligence, rushing between the various command tents.
In the center of the tent, a large map was spread out on the table, displaying the entire terrain of the Celestoria Mountain Range.
Father Raphael's gaze was fixed on the map, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, as if deep in thought.
Just then, a young voice suddenly echoed in his mind, breaking the silence of the tent.
"Is it really wise to make Borne the vanguard?
He's still too weak."
Father Raphael did not respond immediately, instead summoning a deacon by his side and giving brief instructions.
"Tell Father Philips and the forward troops to maintain close communication with the main camp and report the frontline's movements at all times."
After the deacon hurried out of the tent, Father Raphael slowly responded to Aquafan's voice in his mind.
"Crisis will awaken his true power."
Aquafan's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
"But what if he dies? He's still too weak to handle a mission like this."
Father Raphael's tone remained composed.
"Aren't you with him?"
Aquafan fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he spoke again, his voice filled with doubt.
"Why must you push him down such a dangerous path?
There are other options."
Father Raphael's gaze moved away from the map, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"He is like his father. They are not ordinary people.
This is destiny, and it's a path he must walk."
Aquafan was silent for a moment, still pondering the deeper meaning behind Father Raphael's words.
His voice was tinged with confusion.
"He's just the son of a hunter right now.
What kind of destiny does he have?"
Father Raphael didn't respond directly but instead said something that left Aquafan even more perplexed.
"The Church is on the decline now, no longer as glorious as it once was.
In the future, there will surely be those dissatisfied with its rule."
This seemingly out-of-nowhere statement made Aquafan even more confused.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Not now, but it will in the future."
Aquafan was suddenly struck with a sense of alarm, his voice trembling with an unmistakable fear.
"You… you're not planning to turn that brat into a rebel, are you?"
He had never imagined that Father Raphael would harbor such bold, even mad ideas.
Though the Church was no longer what it used to be, it still held power.
If Father Raphael truly intended to rebel, it would be a crazed act capable of toppling the entire world.
Father Raphael gently shook his head, his tone frighteningly calm.
"It's not my wish. It's his father's wish."
"His father's wish…?"
Father Raphael's tone remained as tranquil as ever, as if recounting something utterly ordinary.
"His father once tried to counsel and resist, hoping to change the upper echelons of the Church.
But in the end, nothing changed.
He could only leave, filled with helplessness and rage, forced to flee in disgrace."
"So… you want Borne to complete his father's unfinished mission?"
Father Raphael's tone stayed calm.
"It's not my doing. His father paved this path for him long ago.
Even if I do nothing, one day in the future, Borne will learn the truth.
His father would never allow him to live a simple, ordinary life."
Hearing this, Aquafan couldn't help but speak up.
"You're saying his father already left behind some kind of plan?"
Father Raphael's gaze remained on the map, his fingers lightly tapping the table, his voice as calm as ever.
"Haven't you noticed?
Borne is highly sensitive to fire elements, yet he's never been able to use them."
Aquafan was silent for a moment, then asked in confusion.
"Why?"
Father Raphael raised his head slightly, his gaze as cool as water.
"It's the first hurdle his father set for him.
If Borne can overcome this hurdle, only then will he be qualified to take the next step."
Aquafan was taken aback.
He had indeed sensed that the fire element around Borne was different from ordinary people, as if something was suppressing it.
"So that's it. His father set this up."
Aquafan murmured to himself.
"If Borne can't even pass this first test, then there's no point in anything that follows."
Aquafan sighed softly, amazed that such a ruthless father could exist in this world.
"His father is a bit too cruel, isn't he? He doesn't care about his own child's life."
"His father was indeed a madman."
Father Raphael's gaze flickered slightly, memories of that night surfacing in his mind.
It was a foul-smelling beach, littered with the corpses of sea magic beasts, the stench thick in the air.
The beach was also strewn with the bodies of ordinary people, reeking of decay.
Two men walked side by side across this death-ridden beach.
One had golden hair—Leon—and the other had brown hair—Raphael.
Their footsteps were steady as they walked over the bodies of the sea beasts and the innocent humans, seemingly accustomed to such scenes.
"If it weren't for the corruption at the lower levels of the Church, so many ordinary people wouldn't have been dragged into this battle, only to meet such a tragic end."
Leon's voice was filled with discontent.
Raphael glanced down at the enormous corpse of a sea magic beast beneath his feet.
"Do you think the Church will tighten its control over the lower ranks because of this?"
Raphael and Leon's steps pressed lightly through the soft sand, occasionally having to step over fallen bodies.
Leon's face was full of helplessness as he sighed and shook his head.
"The Church is plagued by internal and external strife.
The enemies in the north grow stronger by the day, and the threat from the west hasn't ceased either.
They simply don't have the resources or the energy to deal with corruption at the lower levels, even if they're aware of it."
Father Raphael stopped walking.
"How did it come to this?"
Leon looked at the scene before him, kicking a sea magic beast's corpse with a dull thud.
"The tree's roots are rotten. How can its branches flourish?
Corruption at the lower levels is like the rotting roots of this tree, only making the entire Church weaker."
Raphael responded softly.
"You're right."
The two continued to walk slowly along the coastline, their feet sinking into the blood-soaked sand, making squelching sounds as they moved.
The stench of rot and blood mixed with the evening sea breeze, gently brushing against their faces.
The sun slowly sank below the horizon, casting long shadows behind them.
Leon sighed, his eyes flashing with regret and frustration, his tone heavy with helplessness.
"Too bad I failed. Now I'm fleeing for my life.
But if I ever get another chance, I'll try again."
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