Hearing Connie's words, everyone present was stunned for a moment. Then Shi Dong curiously leaned in.
"Williams? You mean that cultist?"
As he spoke, Shi Dong squinted and sized up Fang Zheng for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands.
"Hey, you know, you do look a bit like him."
So, you didn't care about this at all before!
Hearing Shi Dong's words, Fang Zheng rolled his eyes helplessly. He had been with Shi Dong for many days, and the latter had never mentioned this. Fang Zheng originally thought Shi Dong wasn't clear about Williams' situation. Now, it seemed that he didn't care about it at all!
"Cultist? Williams?"
Hearing Connie's words, Mart was taken aback. He glanced at Fang Zheng, then shook his head.
"Don't talk nonsense, Connie! How could Mr. Fang Zheng look like a cultist?"
"Eh?"
Faced with her commander's reaction, Connie was stunned. Her companions had all died on the way hunting Williams, and because of this, the female knight hated Williams to the core. She had almost carved his appearance into her bones. Because of this, when she clearly saw Fang Zheng, she recognized him immediately and launched a deadly attack without hesitation.
Originally, Connie thought that after she revealed Fang Zheng's true identity, Commander Mart and the other knights would rush forward and decapitate this hateful cultist. However, she was surprised that not only did Commander Mart not believe her, but even the other colleagues behind him also showed indifferent expressions. As for Great Knight Shi Dong over there, he seemingly didn't care about this issue at all.
What's going on?
Connie couldn't wrap her head around this. Of course, she didn't know that although her statement surprised Mart, Shi Dong, and others, it was just that—surprising. In fact, they thought it was impossible for Fang Zheng to be Williams.
The reason was simple. Mart knew that Fang Zheng had previously performed the Holy Light Healing Spell for them. That calm and balanced feeling was already at the bishop-level of healing techniques. It's well known that cultists worship evil and chaos, and their power is also tainted with this chaos. Power itself does not lie, so to Mart and others, saying Fang Zheng was a cultist was utterly unbelievable—since when did a cultist's understanding of the Power of Order surpass that of the bishop of the Sanctuary? Who's the cultist here?
The reason Shi Dong didn't believe it was even simpler; he had witnessed Fang Zheng's Holy Spirit Guardian personally. Saying Fang Zheng was a cultist would be like saying that angel was there to protect a cultist!
Wow, such words would get you burned alive at the stake.
"Are you alright, Fang Zheng? What happened? How did you end up fighting with Connie?"
"How would I know? I was talking nicely, and this guy turned around and slashed at me as if wanting to die together. What could I do? I felt very helpless too."
"Nonsense."
Hearing Fang Zheng's reply, Shi Dong shook his head helplessly and turned to the timid girl at the side—poor girl was still in shock from witnessing the fight.
"What do you say?"
"Ah…"
Hearing Shi Dong's question, the timid girl seemed to come to her senses finally. She glanced timidly at Connie, then looked down and said.
"Well, I was talking nicely with Mr. Fang Zheng, then Miss Connie came over. After seeing Mr. Fang Zheng, she said he was a cultist, then drew her sword and attacked…"
"I was worried he would deceive you! Cultists are full of sweet words, never to be trusted!"
Hearing the timid girl's answer, Connie hurriedly explained.
"I'm sure he's a wanted criminal of the Sanctuary. His star pattern has been distributed to all municipal offices. You only need to check..."
"I'm the one who performed Mr. Fang Zheng's star pattern check."
Perhaps because this was her professional domain, the timid girl, who usually spoke softly, uncharacteristically interrupted Connie's words.
"I can assure you, Mr. Fang Zheng's star pattern is not on the list."
"How could this be…"
Upon hearing this, Connie gritted her teeth and turned to stare at Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng, on the other hand, snorted coldly without even showing a friendly face. He wasn't the type to be soft-hearted with women. Back when he was working overtime, the female employees under him complained bitterly, but he never gave them a special break. They were his employees, not his wife, so why should he be soft-hearted?
The same applied here. Though Connie looked pretty, Fang Zheng couldn't stand her brash demeanor. This woman wanted to fight to the death with him from the get-go; how could he tolerate that? Besides, comparing without a standard for comparison, having a cute and gentle girl by his side made Connie even less remarkable.
It seems that inner beauty indeed highlights outer beauty.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Fang Zheng."
Mart seemed to understand Connie's temperament well. Seeing her like this, he sighed deeply. Probably knowing this female knight wouldn't apologize first, he had to step in personally and apologize to Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng also nodded without saying much. Though he couldn't stand the mad woman, he wasn't one to vent his anger on others casually. Even though his reincarnated body looked young, being a man of two lives, Fang Zheng was still mature and steady. He didn't give Mart any attitude.
Knowing the atmosphere was awkward, Mart didn't say much, only apologized on Connie's behalf and assured Fang Zheng that Connie would be severely punished. Then he led the others away, clearly knowing this wasn't the right time for bonding.
Fang Zheng also had no interest in chatting. He directly used Holy Light Flash on himself. That mad woman was indeed strong, and during their fight, his right hand had suffered considerable damage. The entire forearm was almost split open by lightning. Fang Zheng, who was burning with anger at the time, hadn't cared. Now that the battle was over, he realized his whole body was in pain... He quickly used a healing spell to alleviate his anxiety.
"Alright, stop sulking."
Seeing Fang Zheng's displeased look, Shi Dong laughed and patted him.
"Being able to press that proud woman to the ground and beat her up is already amazing. If this gets out, do you know how many people in the Sanctuary will give you a thumbs-up?"
"Master Shi Dong, is Miss Connie very famous?"
Hearing this, the timid girl asked curiously. Their encounter with Connie was similar to Fang Zheng's with Knight Conan; they had found her surrounded by undead creatures after being teleported and rescued her, then traveled together... only this ended much worse.
"Yes, that girl is the best of the younger generation, known as the Daughter of Divine Favor. However, perhaps due to being used to things going her way, she has a terrible temper. Plus, her father is the Knight Captain, so most people don't dare to confront her. Over time, she's developed this personality."
Speaking of this, Shi Dong shook his head.
"Mart is her mentor and often has to clean up her messes. This young lady has no self-awareness... and since her skills are indeed decent, no one can discipline her. So, she became very arrogant. Haha, this time, she finally knows there are always people out there who are better."
Hearing Shi Dong's sentiment, Fang Zheng finally understood why, despite being closer companions with Mart, none of the knights stood up for the madwoman. They must have suffered a lot from her nonsense.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mart was glaring sternly at Connie.
"You were too reckless, attacking without distinguishing right from wrong. Have you forgotten your knight's code?"
"But Commander, he is a cultist!"
Facing Mart's reprimand, Connie still wouldn't back down.
"I'm sure he looks exactly like that cultist!"
"What does that prove? There are many people who look alike. We are followers of the Goddess of Order and must rely on evidence! We've fought alongside him on this journey and understand his power well. That's not chaotic power. Plus, Great Knight Shi Dong is his mentor, and the star pattern doesn't match. Do you have any other issues?"
"But these could all be disguises of his!"
Hearing this, Connie still tried to argue.
"Maybe that cultist used some trick..."
"Enough!"
This time, Mart didn't let Connie finish, cutting her off angrily.
"Remember, without evidence, we have no right to accuse anyone of being a cultist! You should be well aware this is the Sanctuary's ironclad rule! No one wants another tragedy like the Dark Fallen Moon. Remember! We are guardian knights of the Order Sanctuary, and we uphold what we follow! If you still don't get this, take off your armor. Do you understand?!"
Faced with Mart's merciless rebuke, Connie was silent for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
"I understand…"