After returning to his cabin, Karun lay down again to rest. The token binding ceremony would be held late at night, earlier than the planned time to enter the Valley of Reincarnation, so it was necessary to adjust his state in advance.

Wentula stayed in Karun's room and didn't dare to call their captain again. It wasn't because he was afraid of being kicked, but because he didn't want to disturb the captain's rest.

The inner conflict and touched emotions made Wentula curl up in a corner, silently crying and wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.

When it was time for dinner, Wentula took a deep breath and got up to go out and get dinner for the captain. At the restaurant, he ran into Aisley Brunch and others.

Before they could ask why Wentula's eyes were red, he proactively explained the captain's intention to replace him.

So, when Karun was awakened for dinner, his already small room was filled with all the team members.

The windows of this cabin were fixed and couldn't be opened. There was no ventilation fan inside, so it was already stuffy. With so many people squeezed in at once, and everyone's solemn expressions, the stuffiness in the air and atmosphere became even more intense.

Karun rubbed his temples and complained, "Sleeping requires fresh air. Only then can the quality of sleep be good."

"Captain..." Aisley pursed her lips and continued, "We all know."

"If you know, then you know. It's nothing special," Karun picked up his tray and hesitated for a moment before standing up. "Let's go eat on the deck."

If it were any other time on a ship, eating on the deck would not be a pleasant experience. The rocking of the ship and the splashing waves could add more seasoning to your dinner.

However, there was no sea breeze in this area, and the ship was sailing very steadily. After coming to the deck, Karun could even place his tray on the ship's railing without worrying about it falling.

The dinner options were not abundant, but the portions were large: fried chicken legs, a large portion of curry rice, and six pieces of fried fish fillets.

The others also held their trays beside him.

Bart spoke up, "Captain, let me do it."

Karun picked up a chicken leg with his left hand, took a bite, and glanced at Bart. "I don't want to talk about these useless things anymore."

"It's not useless, Captain. What I mean is..."

"Alright, once a decision is made, there's no need to discuss it again. It's not like we're going to the cinema to watch a romance movie. Simple plots don't need to be repeated several times. Let's save some time, and besides, I'll get annoyed."

Everyone fell silent and began to eat. Wentula, who was always the biggest eater in the team, surprisingly had no appetite tonight.

He broke the silence and asked, "Captain, do you have a way to deal with this?"

Aisley also echoed, "Captain, do you have a way to protect yourself?"

Karun didn't answer, he just bit into the chicken leg and looked ahead at the thick fog.

After receiving the "mission" from Groven's room, he had been pondering a question. This question was simple but extremely complex.

Why did this extra task suddenly appear when they were about to reach the Valley of Reincarnation?

Search "pawread.com" for the original.

The task with Phanetes was known early on, and when Barat assigned the tasks, he had said that there were a total of three tasks.

He and Muri had a secret meeting and directly reversed the order of the tasks assigned by Barat, changing the priority from high to low.

So, the upper echelons were waiting here as a backup plan.

In each team, one person was chosen to bind with the token. For Gabtenbert and Phanetes, these two teams were like someone wandering around in the dark with a flashlight. If they still existed, they would definitely be "seen."

Then, through the formation bound on the token, the person bound with the token would "lose" their ability to resist and become the best vessel for the other party to take over.

So, the upper echelons didn't care whether you could arrange the tasks' priorities yourself because they had already arranged it for you.

Karun's contemplation was not about this, but rather how they dared to make such an arrangement and blatantly present it.

Just as Karun had said to Groven earlier, this was unfair!

In Karun's logic, sacrifice required logic, just like standing on a dike and desperately blocking it to prevent it from bursting. That was because one understood the meaning of sacrifice and could sacrifice.

But why should they sacrifice the current people to guide two souls that didn't know if they were alive or what state they were in?

This completely groundless and lacking self-convincing practice of treating people as silver pots, did they really believe that these selected young people would agree and not refuse?

However, the fact proved that they did not refuse.

Whether it was Wentula, Aisley, or Bart, none of them expressed anger or questioned the upper echelons' arrangement from the beginning. Their persuasion and concern for Karun were based on the fact that this matter had already been decided, and they wanted to replace this position again.

In their understanding, this matter was a matter of course.

Even Muri, who had a reunion dinner at home yesterday, seemed to have known about his "arrangement" at that time. So his mood was a bit low today, but it was only low. This young man, who had fought with him in the coconut grove for a long time that night, completely accepted this arrangement without any resistance.

It wasn't until now that Karun realized that his previous understanding of the Divine Sect was still one-sided.

It wasn't a country, although its internal structure was very similar to a country.

It wasn't a society, although its operating mode was similar to that of a society or faction.

It was even less of an interest camp, hobby club, or research society.It is a religion, it is a church. The first person I came into contact with was a high-ranking official of the Order of the Gods, my grandfather Dis.

The second person I came into contact with was Mr. Pavarotti.

The third person I came into contact with was the captain.

Dis had long been a rebel of the church. If it weren't for him summoning three divine essences, his rebellious acts would probably have made it into the church's history.

Mr. Pavarotti had a side of "human morality" that covered his "church attributes". In Karun's eyes, he was more like a local police chief than a believer.

The captain is becoming more and more of a joker.

In fact, my perspective is still too narrow, thinking that what I see is everything.

However, that is not the case.

If the captain hadn't blindly followed the hope of being certified by the church and stayed with Miss Elisa, Miss Elisa wouldn't have had to wait until she lost her mind and committed suicide without getting the real restorative liquid.

If Dis could separate the church from the family like he does now, my parents wouldn't have ended up like that.

Even Mr. Pavarotti, who listens to the painful sobbing of his two daughters late at night while continuing to reject resources from the outside world, is it his character that supports him or his loyalty to the gods?

Praising the God of Order is actually a pledge. When the god needs you, when the church needs you, you will unconditionally give everything without any reason.

Even without a plausible reason, because the god is the only reason.

Grandfather Muri knew that his grandson had been chosen, so he just called him home for a farewell meal and let him go.

So, is my grandfather, Mr. Delong, also such a person?

Therefore, my grandmother, Mrs. Tang Li, would not tell him about her existence.

If one day, the church needs Eisen and Richard to do the same thing, Mr. Delong wouldn't need to ask for a reason. Maybe it would just be a farewell meal, and then he would send his son or grandson out to dedicate everything to the great God of Order.

Karun suddenly felt a little scared. Now looking back, he relaxed too much when he was at the Guman family. Subconsciously, he thought that this was also his relative's home... It was simply a crime against his own safety!

The Guman family is not the Inmolese family, and Grandfather Delong is not Grandfather Dis.

Their difference is not in strength.

I am so lonely, no, I don't fit in.

The Light God Church promotes light to the world, and the Order of the Gods promotes order to the world...

I only saw the light, I only saw the order, I only saw the faith;

But I forgot that above them, there is the existence of gods.

How can there be gods above faith? As Karun put the spoon into the curry rice, he really wanted to reach out and grab a notebook, and then grab a pen to write something on it. But this is the deck of a ship, not his study in the backyard of the funeral home.

There has never been a savior, nor an immortal emperor...

In the study of the funeral home, Alfred was sitting behind the young master's desk, humming his favorite hymn while organizing his "Young Master's Quotes", also known as "Karun's Quotes".

Although he had memorized the contents of it long ago, that black notebook was still open in front of him. It was an indispensable sense of ritual for Alfred.

Because everything he recorded and organized came from the young master's records in this black notebook.

Seeing the sound of "crackling" coming from the black notebook, as if someone was writing, but the pen lying next to it didn't move at all!

Alfred immediately reached out to turn the pages of the black notebook. When he turned to the latest page, he happened to see a paragraph of golden text appearing on that page:

"I made a mistake, a mistake in the process of cognition."

Alfred widened his eyes, and his hands began to tremble with excitement.

The handwriting continued to appear:

"I only saw the advancement of certain aspects of the church, such as weapons of war, teleportation arrays, administrative buildings, knight orders, cigarettes, alcohol...

But no matter how many aspects of advancement, it still cannot hide its essence, which is backward, ignorant, and idealistic.

The correct cognition should be to affirm the positive aspects of the church while criticizing its negative aspects.

Alfred licked his lips and read these words seriously. When the last sentence appeared, Alfred was surprised and opened his mouth wide:

"[The end of faith - gods should not exist.]"

"Captain?"

"Captain?"

Everyone saw the captain standing there, not speaking or moving for a long time.

Karun slowly opened his eyes, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He picked up one of the two large chicken legs left on his plate and handed it to Ventura. Ventura was stunned for a moment, but still opened her mouth and took a bite.

Then, Karun picked up the other chicken leg and handed it to Elysse.

Elysse immediately opened her mouth wide.

Passing Elysse, he handed it to Bart. Bart caught it with his mouth.

"Do you have tissues?" Karun asked Elysse.

"No, I don't."

Here's a handkerchief.

Karun wiped his hands and handed it back to Blanche: "Sorry, I got it dirty."

"It's okay, Captain."

Then, Karun looked around again and said to all the team members: "Alright, even if binding the token as a carrier doesn't mean certain death, it just lowers the possibility of retaining one's own self. But I have a way to deal with it. I am different from you. Your souls are too weak, while my soul is too strong.

What is dangerous for you is not a big problem for me.

So, cheer up and don't be down. This is just a trivial episode. I won't have any problems, trust me. I'm still waiting to come out of the Gate of Reincarnation and establish my own Order Whip Team with you guys. I also want to earn a lot of points and buy a lot of equipment."

Karun clapped his hands and said, "Cheer up, I'm not interested in comforting you guys like I'm taking care of chicks. So, I don't want to say these words for the second time. Did you hear me clearly?"

"We heard you clearly, Captain!"

In the corridor of the cabin, Pasio and Digat were holding cigarettes, looking serious.

They happened to see the members of Karun's team returning to the cabin from the deck, all looking energetic.

Pasio turned around and looked at his captain, Muri, and the others sitting behind him, in a state of low spirits.

"What's wrong? Didn't we receive a notice?"

Digat spoke, "The captain on the other side snatched the spots of our team members."

"Do they have to snatch it?" Pasio laughed, "What an unreasonable captain."

Digat whispered, "Should we go and snatch it back from the captain?" Pasio shook his head, "No, we shouldn't."

"Yeah, it's meaningless. The captain won't agree either."

Pasio blinked and said, "I'm afraid of what might happen."

Late at night, in the hall of the cabin, a group of Order Priests were ready, with 10 young people standing behind them and two captains sitting in front.

Groven walked out, and his assistant signaled to him that everything was ready.

Then, Groven walked to the front.

Muri and Karun did not stand up, they remained seated.

Groven didn't mind this, instead, he said, "You will serve the Church and the God of Order with your loyalty. If you cannot return safely in the end, the great God of Order will also guide you to merge into the rules of order. If you can return safely and complete the detachment of those two, it will be the reward of the God of Order for your loyalty! Praise the God of Order!"

Everyone present crossed their arms in front of their chests and said in unison, "Praise the God of Order!"

Karun could only stand up with Muri and praise together.

After the ceremony, Karun and Muri sat down again. Three priests came to Karun and Muri respectively, each holding a tray.

On the tray in front of Muri was a yellow lion's mane, which was very strong and sharp.

In front of Karun was a piece of snake scale.

The lion's mane and snake scale were placed on a star plate. When the priests beside them began to chant, there was a continuous flow of light into the star plate.

Finally, a priest came to Karun and Muri from behind, apologized to them, and then held their shoulders.

The snake scale was picked up and pressed against their shoulders. Karun immediately felt a severe pain. The snake scale seemed to rot a piece of flesh and eventually penetrated into his body.

In an instant, a cold chill came over, and Karun shivered unconsciously.

This snake scale was wrapped in a layer of formation and only "stayed" in his body instead of merging. When Funites sensed him, the snake scale in his body would explode, weakening the suppression of his soul and welcoming the arrival of Funites. It was like inviting a spy in advance.

After getting through the initial discomfort, Karun gradually adapted.

Then he turned his head and looked at Muri, who had a long lion's mane piercing into his thigh.

Karun suddenly felt a bit lucky. The Seven Token Binding Ceremony ended successfully. Groven picked up two glasses of wine and handed them to Muri and Karun respectively. The other team members also had their drinks brought by the waiters.

Groven raised his glass and said, "I hope you all can complete the mission and return safely. I mean, all of you. Because the future of the Church needs you!"

········

After the ceremony, Karun did not return to the cabin, but walked to the deck alone. It was late at night, and small boats began to appear in the mist, with figures on each boat.

They were like ghosts, tirelessly rowing in the thick fog.

This scene would be terrifying for ordinary people, but in the eyes of true priests, as long as they were harmless, they were not scary.

"Hey,"

Karun turned around and saw Muri standing behind him.

"Do you feel confused?" Muri asked.

"Heh." Karun smiled. This guy actually came to comfort him.

Just like the figures on these small boats, they were blurry and indistinct.

"Ah." Karun sighed, "You can openly express your feelings without using me as an excuse."

Muri gritted his teeth, lowered his voice, and said, "I thought my efforts could make my grandfather pay attention to me. I thought my efforts could eventually sense the great God of Order and let him know that he has such a devout believer like me. I am willing to do anything for my grandfather, for the great God of Order. I just hope they can remember that he has a grandson named 'Muri', and he has a believer named 'Muri'. I didn't expect that my ultimate fate might be just a vessel, with my name, soul, and existence erased, becoming the incarnation of another person. You know, I had a dream last night. When I saw our teammates, they collectively called me 'Gaitanbert'."

Karun teased, "Didn't they add the words 'sir'? That's really disrespectful!"

Muri was both angry and amused by Karun's words, and his emotions suddenly became complicated.

"Damn, you have a really good mentality." Karun laughed and spread his arms, "Because I'm ready to welcome the arrival of the great Funites in my body.""Really?"

"It's my honor to have my body borrowed by the great Lady Funitus. I hope she finds my body satisfactory.

"Do you have any cigarettes left?"

"Yes."

Karun handed the cigarette box and lighter to Murray. Murray took them, bit one in his mouth, and handed one to Karun.

"I quit."

"Join me for one?"

"Is it necessary?"

"Really, please. You know, when I found out you swapped with one of your subordinates, I was quite pleased."

"Did I offend you?"

"No, because I feel honored to face this situation with you. Have you found your balance?"

Karun took the cigarette, bit it in his mouth, and Murray lit it for him.

"I guess so, balanced, because I admit, you're better than me. Even you have to face this situation, my resentment can be lessened. Unfortunately, you have one more procedure than me. If the initial target was one of my subordinates...

"Would you snatch it like I did?"

"I would probably comfort him that the great God of Order will be with him."

"Heh."

The two men each held a cigarette, leaning against the railing. Behind them, on the sea, were aimless and numb ghost boats. In the dark, it seemed like a ballad was coming from the fog.

Murray began, "Our chances of surviving while maintaining our self are only fifteen percent, and that's the most optimistic estimate."

"Oh, really?"

"That's the result when we're at our best. In fact, once we enter the Gate of Reincarnation, as team leaders, how could we possibly be at our best."

"Right."

Murray flicked the cigarette butt directly into the sea, then took out two purple pills the size of soybeans.

"These are soul pills my grandfather gave me, bestowed upon him by the former High Priest, Lord Rasma. Because my soul was injured, he never took them. Now, there are only two left.

After taking them, they can form a protective layer on our souls, helping us resist the assimilation of those two great beings' souls. In theory, taking one can increase the survival rate by ten percent. What about two?"

"The effect will be better, and the survival rate can increase further."

After saying this, Murray put one pill in the pocket on Karun's chest, patting the pocket with his palm.

Karun took out the purple pill and examined it, asking, "This must be worth a lot, right?"

"Of course, but why are you asking?" "How many points, give me a friendly price, I'll buy it. If I can make a small profit by reselling it on the black market, that's enough."

Murray thought Karun was joking and walked towards the cabin, waving his hand at Karun's back, saying,

"I'm not selling, this is for your life." Karun held the pill, his eyes watching Murray's retreating figure, murmuring,

"Oh, this is for your life."