The next day, at noon.
Raymond brought Hal and the other three to Karmagro, the capital city of the Holy Sword Empire, early in the morning.
The group walked along the stone street, surrounded by refugees in tattered clothes.
Occasionally, priests from the Holy Hall handed out bread on street corners.
Raymond frowned at the crowd, which seemed completely out of place with the empire’s image. "Are the citizens of the capital city really this poor?"
Hal caught the doubt in Raymond’s voice and smiled as he explained.
About a year ago, the Empress had issued a decree during her coming-of-age ceremony.
All major cities had to set up outer districts to take in refugees and provide them with shelter and jobs.
This caused a huge influx of people into the city.
But limited resources couldn’t meet the sudden demand all at once. Plus, the extra workers drove wages down, so life for the refugees was still hard.
Raymond nodded. He figured that the beastmen spies had probably used the Empress’s kindness to sneak into this outer district full of refugees.
"Let’s speed up and try to get out of the city before evening," Milton said quietly. "Karmagro isn’t the safest place."
Hal and the others nodded and quickened their pace.
Soon, they reached a muddy alley at the end of the stone street.
Raymond followed the address Hunter had given him and found a small wooden house.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Raymond knocked several times, but no one answered.
He looked at the run-down house with a broken roof and drafty windows. "Let’s go in and check!"
Bang!
Raymond snapped the lock off and pushed the door open.
Inside the dim house, two beds made from broken wooden boxes leaned against the corner. On the round table in the middle was an open sketchbook.
Hilton lifted the lid off a pot in the corner and immediately covered his nose. "Cough, cough. The porridge in the pot is moldy. No one’s been here for at least four or five days!"
Raymond took a deep breath. "Let’s go ask around. Meet back here in one hour."
Hal and the others split up, leaving Raymond alone in the wooden house.
Raymond flipped through the sketchbook. Every drawing showed an adult holding a little girl’s hand.
On the last page, there was only a pencil sketch—no colors yet.
Raymond frowned. "Looks like they left in a hurry. Those beastmen spies are quick to react."
Just as he finished speaking, Hal and the others came back.
They had talked to the neighbors and asked the patrol guards. But everyone avoided eye contact and said the father and daughter had moved away a month ago.
"It’s obvious—they’re all lying," Raymond said, turning to leave.
"Where are you going? Don’t do anything rash! It’s not safe here. We should go back and get more people before we investigate further," Milton said, catching up to Raymond and speaking in a low voice.
"Raymond, the patrol officers here are equal in rank to Grayson. Don’t start a fight," Hal added, worried that Raymond might clash with Karmagro’s patrol.
"Don’t worry. We’re going straight to Albedo," Raymond said, glancing at the clergy on the street corner before heading out of the city.
Not long after they left, a group of ragged refugees quietly appeared on the street corner, a faint green glow flickering in their eyes.
...
As soon as Raymond returned to the Abyss Prison, he headed straight for the main hall of the Holy Hall.
Albedo greeted him warmly. "I heard you passed the junior guard exam and exposed the beastmen spies. That’s amazing!"
Raymond shook his head, not letting the praise go to his head. "I came here because of the beastmen spies."
He pulled out a memory stone. It showed the moment Hunter and Everett took each other down.
Albedo watched the recording quietly, his chest heaving.
When he saw Hunter’s last wish written on the prison cart, he couldn’t stay calm anymore.
"Guards! Go to Karmagro right now and bring Hunter’s daughter back! The Holy Hall will do everything to find and protect that child," Albedo said, his voice cold and firm.
"There’s no need," Raymond said, stopping Albedo. He then told him about what they had just seen and heard.
When Albedo learned that the refugees and patrol officers in Karmagro might be working with the beastmen spies, his face turned serious. "Who else knows about this?"
Raymond sighed and shared his concern. "I suspect the Abyss Prison has been infiltrated by beastmen. I’ve only told you about this. I hope you can help, Lord Albedo."
"Raymond! Thank you for your trust! On behalf of the God of Light, I thank you for your kindness and wisdom!" Albedo said, deeply moved as he patted Raymond on the shoulder.
He took full responsibility for the matter and immediately called several Holy Warriors, ordering them to investigate Karmagro.
Raymond could feel the powerful Battle Aura radiating from the Holy Warriors, and he was quite surprised.
"Do Holy Warriors all choose Battle Aura when they take the Black Iron Stage trial?" Raymond asked without thinking.
"That’s what most Holy Warriors choose, but it’s not their first choice," Albedo explained with a smile.
It turned out that the Holy Temple, like the Holy Hall, was an organization that believed in the God of Light.
But while the Holy Hall focused on spreading light and practicing mercy, the Holy Temple focused on defending humanity and protecting that light.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the very first Holy Temple paladin and the very first Holy Son of the Holy Hall both chose the path of physical strength when they took the Black Iron Stage trial.
"Back then, those two were called the Twin Lights of Light. They could punch a dragon to death with one fist. They were among the strongest beings in the history of both the Holy Hall and the Holy Temple," Albedo said, his voice full of longing.
Sadly, because of a holy war, humanity was cursed by the ancient evil gods.
Human physical strength grew weaker with each generation. Now, no human has the ability to walk the path of physical strength anymore.
When he finished speaking, Albedo turned and bowed before the statue of the God of Light.
Then, he took a stone tablet covered in runes from a stone cabinet beneath the statue.
"This tablet records the ancient physical strength trial diagram. It’s the first choice in every Holy Warrior’s heart when they take the Black Iron Stage trial," Albedo said, gently stroking the carvings on the tablet with reverence.
"Has no human really ever passed this trial?" Raymond stepped forward and carefully studied the patterns on the tablet.
"For thousands of years, almost every Holy Warrior tries this trial first when they challenge the Black Iron Stage. But no one has ever succeeded," Albedo said, patting Raymond on the shoulder as he handed him the tablet. "But even if you fail, it’s fine. Thanks to the Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique, the Holy Warriors who try it can still choose the Battle Aura trial afterward."
"How do I use this?" Raymond asked, holding the tablet with a puzzled look.
Albedo chuckled and patiently explained the Black Iron Stage trial to Raymond.
It turned out that the Black Iron Stage trial required finding a place with a very strong concentration of magic elements, and then drawing the trial diagram for the different supernatural paths.
A challenger who chooses the physical strength trial diagram must stand in the center of the diagram and endure the most violent energy impact.
The terrible magic elements will tear apart the challenger’s body and bones, and even snuff out their soul flame.
Only those with strong enough physical strength and willpower can hold on until the ritual ends, start the process of life evolution, and gain power beyond their own limits.
It’s safe to say that the physical strength trial is the most dangerous of the three trials.
"If you really want to try it, you should at least raise the Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique to the Master stage. Only then can you quit the physical strength trial diagram on your own if you can’t hold on," Albedo warned seriously.
"Raise the Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique to the Master stage!" Raymond repeated Albedo’s words, shocked.
He knew better than anyone how hard it was to train the Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique.
And even raising it to the Master stage would only let him survive the physical strength trial.
That was insane!
That meant, to pass the physical strength trial, he would have to raise the Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique to the Grandmaster stage, or even the Legendary stage.
Albedo guessed what Raymond was thinking and laughed. "Don’t underestimate this stone tablet, kid. It was a gift from the paladin and the Holy Son passed down from the ancient gods. It’s the strongest physical strength trial diagram in history! Even dragon and giantess prodigies have a very high failure rate when they try it."
Raymond was stunned when he heard Albedo’s explanation.
Such a precious trial diagram, and he was just giving it away?
"You’re really generous! Thanks!" Raymond said, putting the stone tablet into his pocket and sincerely thanking Albedo.
"It’s not that I’m generous. It’s that the light in your heart deserves it," Albedo sighed and reminded him again. "I don’t think you’ll pass the physical strength trial, but trying it won’t hurt. It’s still a good way to temper your body."
Raymond laughed and didn’t say anything.
Other humans might not be able to pass the physical strength trial, but Raymond definitely had a chance.
With his Giant’s Body and a Master-level Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique, he was already a human-sized Titan.
But to be safe, Raymond decided to raise the Holy Hall Body-Tempering Technique to Grandmaster before activating the physical strength trial diagram.
He also needed to find the trial diagrams for Battle Aura and magic.
...