Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

Fala was incessantly chattering and guiding the way. Old John was following behind with a tense expression and the sheriff was at the rear, quivering in fear.

Negris, projected on Angel s soul, sighed and fretted, “How can it be that we coincidentally have a foolish holy maiden? What a coincidence? Ah…”.

The role of an ascetic monk most suits Angel s disguise and timing. The best reason for an ascetic monk being here though, has to be exorcism.

Among all the holy ranks of the Church of Light, ascetic monks possess the firmest willpower. They can withstand extended loneliness, forfeit all comforts, abandon emotional ties, and train their faith and willpower in the harshest environments.

Anyone having even the slightest hesitance would not possibly endure the hardship. Only a person with pure intentions and resolute determination could become an ascetic monk.

And exorcism, of course, involves vanquishing the devils of the heart and soul.

Some people were fine, but suddenly they began to speak gibberish, attacked others, destroyed properties, and spoke strangely. They were being possessed by the devil. Once the devil is exorcised, they return to normal.

Devil possession does exist, as evidenced by the plague of the Underground city, which Feilin once said was initiated by a corpse possessed by a demon.

However, 99-999% of the cases of exorcism mentioned by the Church of Light are mental illnesses. For Devil’s possession, a Purification would take care of it. No special exorcism is needed.

Mental illness is different from neurological disorders.

Neurological disorders refer to diseases of the nervous system, such as epilepsy, scholar’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, autism, etc., which are physical alterations within the nervous system.

Mental illnesses, on the other hand, refer to psychiatric disorders, such as multiple personalities, emotional disorders, delirium, etc. There are no obvious physical manifestations. Mild cases may not even be considered as illnesses.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, mania… maybe everyone has slight mental issues. That’s what keeps us on our toes… right?

However, sometimes people tend to mix up neurological disorders and mental illnesses. People with neurological disorders are more susceptible to mental disorders, especially due to sleep deprivation and fatigue.

If a priest can’t cure a patient, and an ascetic monk is called upon for exorcism, it’s certainly a psychiatric disorder. After all, when it comes to actual devil possession that can’t be addressed by exorcism, it could always be burned out, right?

An ascetic monk, who is unshakeable in will, may see certain mental issues ordinary people classify as illnesses, as nothing more than: Ah? What is mind?

Oh, what is illness? Is not eating a form of self-harm? Is self-harm an illness? I often don’t eat, are you saying I am sick?

On comparison with the ascetic monks, most psychiatric patients seem perfectly normal.

Of all the people, Ange seemed the calmest as they approached the town, curiously looking around.

As he guided the way, Fala explained, “Holy Maiden Shamara is our greatest pride in Mara Town. Even her name was taken from our town. She was chosen as a candidate for the holy maiden at age twelve, she could summon the Holy Spirit at age sixteen, and possess the Holy Spirit by eighteen. But even after fifty years, she was not able to fathom the divine utterance.”

“A few years ago, she began to show signs of demonic possession. She would bark out nonsense, demanding to see Pope Juliani, claiming that all gods have disappeared and that everyone should go to save the Divine Country. Nobody believed her nonsense. Everyone thought she had just gone mad from failing to comprehend the divine speech.”

“To everyone’s surprise, more than a month ago, Shamara was suddenly unable to possess the Holy Spirit, and then she began to shout that the Divine Country was destroyed. People were sure then that she was possessed by a devil. But it might be that she’s just getting old. Other holy maidens can fathom the divine utterance, but she can’t. Other holy maidens can do Holy Spirit Possession, but she can’t.”

“Therefore, Pope Juliani sent her home to rest and promised to send an ascetic monk for her treatment. However, Lord Nicola’s incident occurred and it took until now for you to arrive, Lord Ange. Holy Maiden Shamara is the pride of Mara Town, please save her.”

Upon hearing Fala’s incessant prattle, Negris couldn’t help but have Ange ask him, “You are, a local. How old, is Shamara?”

“Holy Maiden Shamara is sixty-eight years old this year. As for me, I’m not a local, but I’ve been living in Mara Town for fifty years. I belong here now,” Fala said.

After finishing his speech, Fala cautiously glanced at Ange, but noticed that the ascetic monk showed no reaction. He seemed not to have heard at all.

“As expected of an ascetic monk, his expression is so inscrutable. Impressive, impressive,” Fala secretly praised.

Ange naturally had no expressions, after all, he wasn’t the one asking the questions. However, Negris in his soul had begun to ponder.

“Sixty-eight years old, quite young. A lot of guys must like her. Look at this Fala; when he mentions her name, his eyes light up. He definitely has ulterior motives.”

“Spirits unable to possess the body more than a month ago is normal. After all, the Holy Kingdom fell, with all the Holy Spirit Angels holding up until death; it would be strange if they could still possess the body. But other holy maidens are able to interpret divine utterance? Other holy maidens can still be possessed by spirits? What’s going on here? Could it be that the Gods of Light aren’t dead?”

“If the Gods of Light have disappeared, then the other holy maidens who claim to be able to interpret divine utterance are lying; if they’re not lying, then the Gods haven’t disappeared; if they aren’t lying and the Gods have disappeared, then someone is impersonating the divine utterance. That’s blasphemy.”

“Looks like it’s necessary to capture a holy maiden and find out who’s lying.

The soul-searching technique should be useful in this case.”

The group soon arrived in Mara Town and at Shamara’s home, a typical brick house. However, upon entering, they found all walls reinforced and surrounded by iron bars.

After entering, they opened an iron gate, walked down the stairs, descended deep underground for several meters, and finally entered the sturdy cell.

Before entering the door, Negris instructed Ange to summon the Power of Holy Light to avoid their true identity being discovered. After all, Angel s current appearance is a result of the transformation of a scarecrow’s hat. As long as someone’s spiritual power is stronger than his, they can see through the illusion.

However, with Ange’s extraordinary spiritual power to a level that even Nicolas can’t see through, Negris wasn’t too concerned. He was just taking precautions. Who knows what weird powers the holy maidens have?

Take Lisa as an example, the former holy maiden had a bunch of eccentric abilities. Only because she renounced faith, she couldn’t trigger most of them.

But this time Negris was caught off guard. Initially, he might have achieved what he wanted without invoking the Holy Light. But as Ange entered the prison after reaching out the Holy light, the first thing he saw was a graceful figure kneeling in front of a statue. Her body was erect and dignified.

Hearing their entrance, Shamara turned her head, looked at Ange with confusion etched on her face. and said. “Your Holy Light is too Dure. You are not a believer in the Light. Who are you?”

All of Negris’ attention was absorbed by Shamara’s eyes. They were pure beyond measure.

Her face was also smooth and clean, just like an eighteen-year-old girl.. Wasn’t she supposed to be sixty-eight?