When Tols woke up from his coma, the first thing he felt was the taste of blood in his mouth, which made him cough a couple of times, attracting the attention of those around him.
He struggled to open his eyes and, in a daze, turned his head to see Luca by his side.
He remembered something and, ignoring his current weakened state, spoke with fury:
"Luca, how dare you still show your face here..."
But Luca remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard the questioning, making no movement at all.
Tols was stunned; this didn't seem like Luca's reaction. Usually, Luca would definitely retort upon hearing such a bizarre greeting, but now he did nothing.
"Tols, since you're awake, tell us what happened." A gentle voice came through, one he was very familiar with.
He turned his head to look, and what he saw made his skin crawl; he also understood why Luca hadn't responded to him.
"High Priest Angmar... I'm sorry I didn't stop the intruders. I let them desecrate this sacred place... I have failed my God."
Angmar wore a white robe, his entire head wrapped in the garment, leaving only an aged face visible.
He reached out an arm from beneath the loose white robe—strong and powerful, showing no signs of aging—and patted Tols's arm, saying:
"That is another matter. Now, tell me the specifics of the attack you encountered."
"Yes!"
..."That's how it was. I'm certain there was a problem with our own people; otherwise, I would never have been defeated so easily."
Tols spoke through gritted teeth, his gaze drifting toward Luca from time to time.
At this point, Luca couldn't sit still and said:
"High Priest Angmar, I was following orders today to capture those outsiders. Two of them used weapons exactly like what Tols just described, so it must have been those outsiders."
Tols sneered and, before Angmar could speak, directly retorted:
"Heh! It seems only Captain Luca saw them. I recall that Luca was the quickest to know about my replacement of the Guard."
"Tols," Luca snapped, no longer intending to endure it. "You petty man, your head is filled with nothing but thoughts of your own kin trying to harm you..."
"You..."
"Enough. Quiet." As soon as Angmar spoke, the two immediately fell silent, waiting for Angmar's judgment.
"Luca, report the losses caused by those attackers."
Hearing the command, Luca stood up straight and said loudly:
"Multiple areas of the Hall of Divine Revelation were damaged. Fortunately, the extent is not large; the Artisans can complete the repairs within a few days."
"All personnel in the Hall of Divine Revelation, except for the Guard Team, were injured and unable to move, but there were no fatalities."
As he spoke, Luca looked at Tols. In truth, only Tols was seriously injured. Most people had lost consciousness as soon as the attackers struck; they woke up with severe headaches but no physical wounds.
"Furthermore, the materials for the divine water were stolen. Half of the Blood-Sucking Vines were taken, and a barrel's worth of original divine water was removed."
Saying this, he lowered his head. This was the most serious incident since the Guard Team began protecting the Hall of Divine Revelation. Although it seemed the Guard Team could be cleared of blame this time, he still felt ashamed for failing to protect the hall.
"divine water..." Even Angmar himself didn't notice that he wore a bitter smile as he uttered those two words.
"I can immediately begin a search of Monsa to recover the divine water," Luca added.
Angmar chuckled upon hearing this and then said:
"There's no need..."
"No need?!"
"High Priest Angmar, why is that?" Tols asked, unable to believe Angmar's response to the situation.
Logically, divine water was the foundation of the Priests' status and the very meaning of their existence; it couldn't simply be left alone.
Yet High Priest Angmar had said such a thing, which naturally shocked the two of them.
Angmar said unhurriedly:
"It's just as well. I expect to announce this to all the Priests in a few days, so I'll let you know in advance."
"First of all, it's useless for those people to take the materials for making divine water. When the Temple was first established, some people tried to steal the divine water."
"But no matter how they tried, that original divine water was nothing but a handful of poison; drinking it would leave a person half-dead."
"The method for creating true divine water was held only by the High Priest himself. Later, of course, to lighten his burden, he intentionally shared the method with others."
"And he only told me and Rune, sharing half the method with each of us... So, you understand now."
The two were jolted by this sudden bad news and, feeling somewhat at a loss, said in unison:
"Then we, from now on..."
"That's right. It will be difficult for us to have divine water in the future. At the Ceremony in six days, we won't even be able to distribute a single portion of divine water."
"I have been trying to make divine water recently, but I haven't succeeded."
The two were rendered speechless by this bolt from the blue. After a long while, Luca finally spoke slowly:
"Then what will we do in the future?"
"Who knows? I'm not sure either."
Angmar continued:
"Don't mention this to anyone for now. Luca, you don't need to go out and catch those outsiders anymore; just stay here with a portion of the Guard..."
"I have other matters to attend to. I'm leaving now."
The two watched Angmar's departing back, unable to speak for a long time. They hadn't expected to hear such dire news.
For the Monsa people, divine water was the source of their power. Once the divine water could not be distributed on time, it would surely cause panic.
Tols understood this as well. He suddenly felt that his actions over the past few days were meaningless... Without the divine water, the very foundation of the Temple was gone.
Tols looked at Luca. He felt that there was no longer any need to argue with him... It was only after a long time that he spoke.
"Those outsiders are truly loathsome, actually attacking the Hall of Divine Revelation and stealing the materials for the divine water."
Luca was stunned, but he soon smiled:
"That's right. Those outsiders are truly evil for doing such a thing."
For Luca, hearing that Monsa might no longer be able to issue any divine water made him somewhat sad, wondering what the future would hold.
But being able to resolve his conflict with Tols could be seen as a form of solace, making him feel slightly better.
Just then, heavy footsteps sounded, and a guard scrambled into the room.
"Report! Someone is attacking the Hall of Divine Revelation outside."
Upon hearing this news, Luca and Tols exchanged looks of disbelief and then immediately hurried out
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898