Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 366: Please allow me to offer you my loyalty

As a Saintess once placed with high hopes by the Goddess Athena, Joan knew many secrets unknown to the world.

Among them was... the passing of the gods.

It was not some slumber at all. The first wisp of Holy Light born from heaven and earth had been truly swallowed up within that most immense Dark Tide.

Devoured and extinguished by the dark side of the world itself.

But these matters, she could not speak of them, could not tell anyone.

Because this world still needed hope, because only with hope in one's heart would light be born anew.

What was called the "recovery" of the gods was actually the "rebirth" of the gods, the birth of new gods!

Just like her, the Goddess Athena, swallowed by the world's dark side, also left behind a remnant soul.

This remnant soul was waiting... waiting for a successor to appear, to entrust everything to him, and then achieve complete liberation...

Joan had never imagined that one day she would witness the birth of a new god.Because the gestation of Holy Light required a vast amount of time.

What she had once needed to do was resist the erosion of the Dark Tide, not become its puppet.

Until, by coincidence, she met Lily, this talented girl... Her initial resonance with Holy Light saved Joan's soul, which was on the verge of dispersing, from the Dark Tide.

From then on, Joan's goal became to nurture this young woman, to help her grow into a qualified Paladin, to become the new Saintess!

To let her take Joan's place, preserving the hope of this world, passing on the lingering radiance of the gods, preventing this world from being completely devoured by the dark side, until a new god bearing "Holy Light" was born.

But now, everything seemed to have taken a different direction.

The new Holy Light had already appeared...

Or rather, the Holy Light still in gestation, under the will of the Goddess Athena, along with everything remaining of this former deity, had all been entrusted to the successor she had chosen.

Joan didn't know why the Goddess Athena would make such a choice... choosing to entrust everything to a human.

But she would never doubt the choice of a god. Moreover, the "new god" before her had indeed perfectly mastered the true Holy Light, commanding it.

Under the illumination of the true Holy Light, the Dark Tide before them dissipated at a visible speed, completely cleared away in an instant.

Lin Mo's feeling was not wrong. Compared to the Dark Tide within the Dragon King's Throne back then, this bit before them wasn't even a drop in the bucket...

The Holy Light within him was indeed powerful enough to make the vast majority of the Dark Tide crumble upon contact.

But the reasoning behind this, he hadn't fully grasped yet.

For example, what those three sentences that appeared before his eyes actually represented, Lin Mo still hadn't figured out.

Anyway, the Dark Tide had been cleaned up, the mission had long been completed. It was time to leave this place and continue onward to the lower floors.

However, when Lin Mo turned his head, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to that golden-armored knight.

His... her aura felt somewhat different from before...

It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the difference lay, but instinct told him this—the person standing before him now was not the same person who had been traveling and talking with him up until a moment ago.

The golden-armored knight was staring straight at him. Even through the heavy helmet, one could feel an incomparably fervent, incomparably excited gaze from within.

Lin Mo felt a chill sweep over his entire body, shivering all over.

This guy... hasn't given up yet?

He really couldn't take it anymore. He intended to make things clear, to tell him that he had no interest in that area, none at all!

However, just as he was about to speak, the golden-armored knight before him suddenly moved.

He... she raised a hand, clenched it into a fist and placed it over her chest, then knelt on one knee, performing a very standard knight's salute.

???

What did this mean now?

Had she sensed what he wanted to say and, to avoid being rejected, directly knelt down to beg?

You... really...

Lin Mo's mental storm raged for a full half minute, until the knight before him sorted out her complex emotions and slowly began to speak: "Under the Holy Light Goddess, the 7th Generation Saintess Joan, offers you her most profound respect."

"Huh?"

Hearing her words, Lin Mo's brain short-circuited for a moment.

Who?

Joan?!

The legendary Saintess Joan?

Lin Mo tilted his head slightly, looking at the golden-armored knight before him with a face full of confusion.

You say you're Joan? Do you think I believe that?

This was very much like the jokes on the internet from his past life's online games—"Actually, I am Qin Shi Huang."

Exactly the same in nature.

Joan remained bowed, maintaining that pious posture. Yet, even so, she seemed to have sensed something from the gaze directed at her. She reached up, supporting her helmet, and slowly removed it.

A head of beautiful golden hair cascaded down.

At this moment, Lin Mo, including the several young women behind him, all froze simultaneously.

A wo... woman?

All along the way, everyone had assumed this golden-armored knight was male. After all, his voice sounded completely like a man's voice, and a rather mature man at that, at least in his thirties or forties.

"I imagine you may have many doubts that need answering..."

Joan spoke again, her voice clear and pleasant.

"If you do not mind, please allow me, on behalf of my master, the Goddess Athena, to explain a thing or two."

"Please... go ahead?"

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment but still responded politely.

He felt something was off.

The golden-armored knight he had always thought was an uncle was actually a youthful, beautiful young woman?

He then recalled that subtle feeling from earlier, as if the person before him had completely changed, combined with the sacred and pious aura emanating from this blonde young woman.

Her slightly youthful face carried a hint of heroic spirit. Within the cuteness and nobility, there was a sharpness held in reserve.

Plus, that surge of "Holy Light Power" that had suddenly erupted from her just before he made his move, clearly much stronger than before.

Could it be... she really was Joan?

Lin Mo calmed down, quietly waiting for her explanation.

"This may be a somewhat long story..."

Joan's voice remained just as clear, yet it carried a trace of vicissitude: "Just like the stories sung by bards today, I was once just an ordinary farm girl..."

She recounted her life's path in detail, narrating meticulously.

From an ordinary rural girl, to being discovered for her talent by a church priest by chance, to entering the church and becoming a Sister...

Later on came that widely known epic.

Hearing the divine call, entering the temple, becoming the Saintess... then campaigning across the lands, saving people ravaged by that great Undead Cataclysm.

At the end of the story, the Saintess, to save a village, to save an ordinary girl just like her former self, was swallowed by the "Dark Tide" lurking within the Undead Cataclysm.

The story of Saintess Joan ended abruptly there.

What followed were secrets unknown to the world.

"I was trapped within the Dark Tide, countless delusions assaulting my mind, attempting to twist my heart... But my piety towards the gods was unshakable, my love for this world remained unextinguished! And then, very fortunately, I waited for a girl, a girl who also believed in the light, a girl of exceptional talent."

"She possessed extremely high talent and also gained the recognition of Holy Light. By entrusting the last remaining wisp of Holy Light to her, a remnant of my soul also came to reside within her mind."

Wow, the old grandpa in the ring... no, the beautiful girl?

Lin Mo's gaze instantly changed, sizing up the girl before him.

Noble birth, exalted status, and aided by a top-tier Powerful Expert from a thousand years ago possessing her? This was the textbook protagonist template!

But now didn't seem to be the time to dwell on that.

"So, since you are Joan, then why..."

Lin Mo looked down at her, honestly feeling a bit awkward.

A young woman with a heroic face and noble temperament kneeling before him made him somewhat uncomfortable.

At least in such a formal setting, he wasn't quite used to it yet.

"This is related to what I am about to say next..."

Joan shook her head and continued: "You should already know of the existence of the Dark Tide."

Lin Mo nodded.

"I once encountered the remnant soul of the Ice Dragon King, Oselas. He told me the source of the Dark Tide is the dark side of the world, born to end this world."

"So that's it... What that Ice Dragon King said is correct."

Joan nodded: "The world is divided into light and dark sides... Where light exists, darkness must inevitably exist as well. Light and dark coexist, only then can the world be born. If light represents hope and creation, then dark signifies destruction and ruin."

"The Dark Tide is born from the world's dark side, the embodiment of the will of the world's dark side! The balance between light and dark is not static. When light is strong, the world prospers, all things flourish. But at the same time, 'darkness' also continuously accumulates, continuously expands... until a certain moment, it grows powerful enough to overflow from the dark side, eroding the world... The Dark Tide is thus born."

"But the Dark Tide is not the most troublesome existence... What is truly powerful is the world's dark side itself."

Joan's tone suddenly grew heavy: "During the time I was swallowed by the Dark Tide, I briefly reached the world's dark side and felt its terror..."

"The world's dark side is like the world itself. Resisting the dark side is like resisting the entire world!"

"Once, the dark side's first invasion destroyed the Titan God Race, forcing the world to gestate Holy Light, creating the second generation of gods led by the Goddess Athena, who repelled the dark side. After that, the world once again welcomed new prosperity..."

"But prosperity also simultaneously nourishes the shadows."

Lin Mo picked up her train of thought: "So, now the Dark Tide has reappeared, and its frequency is getting higher and higher."

"Not just from now."

Joan shook her head: "A thousand years ago, there was already an outbreak."

Lin Mo instantly understood what she was referring to.

That great Undead Cataclysm!

The undead represent death, are the "living beings" of the dark side. The Undead Cataclysm is inextricably linked to the Dark Tide.

"That outbreak was suppressed by the Goddess Athena leading a host of gods. But Lady Athena was also severely weakened from it, her Holy Light Power heavily depleted. Not long after, she completely severed her connection with the mortal realm."

"People once thought the gods had merely fallen into slumber, but..."

Joan's voice began to tremble: "Within the world's dark side, I 'saw' her."

"Lady Athena nearly exhausted her Holy Light in that battle. And Holy Light was essentially herself... If Holy Light were depleted, her life would also come to an end. Like all dead beings, she would be devoured by the world's dark side."

"I saw her struggling within the dark side, preserving the last vestige of her existence, still watching over this world, waiting for the world to gestate new Holy Light..."

Lin Mo once again recalled those three sentences from back then.

"Holy Light is watching over you."

The so-called Holy Light turned out to be the Goddess of Holy Light—Athena.

And what followed immediately after was...

"Holy Light is protecting you."

Her last wisp of Holy Light had been poured into him.

But...

The final sentence still had no explanation.

"Holy Light will submit to you!"

If Athena could no longer hold on, or for some other reason chose to let him become the successor, then he should rightfully become the symbol and embodiment of Holy Light, just like the Goddess Athena herself.

But that was not the case.

He seemed... to have become the master of Holy Light.

Why was that?

Perhaps it was related to him not belonging to this world?

Lin Mo couldn't figure it out, and this question, even if he asked Joan, probably wouldn't get an answer.

But broadly speaking, he already understood the meaning Joan wanted to convey.

"So, you mean... I am the successor chosen by Athena?"

"Exactly so."

Joan straightened her back, piously lowering her head, gazing at the ground at his feet.

"So, you are the successor of the god, the future new god!"

This big?

This identity really left Lin Mo somewhat at a loss.

To be honest, he didn't have any grand ideals or goals. He just wanted to be a slacker... a slacker who feared no one, whom no one dared to provoke, living a good life with the girls he liked.

But now, out of nowhere, he had become the savior?

Damn!

Feels like Athena set him up!

You can't handle it anymore, resign, and dump the responsibility on me?

Lin Mo's feelings were complicated. For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was a good thing or not.

"So..."

The Joan before him spoke again, her voice having shed the earlier sorrow and desolation, becoming resolute.

"So, I ask you to lead us, to lead this world, to once again overcome the Dark Tide, to save the living beings of this continent!"

She finally raised her head, her eyes incredibly determined.

"And I ask you to permit me, a former Temple Knight... a devout follower of the Goddess Athena, to offer you my loyalty!"

There's such a thing?

Lin Mo met her gaze, looking into those blue eyes.

Hmm, saving the world, doesn't seem all bad either...

What was that saying? Since you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it.

The matter was already decided. Now, as the agent of Holy Light, he was undoubtedly already targeted by the "Dark Tide."

So, even if he wanted to refuse, he couldn't.

"Since you put it that way, alright then."

And so, he nodded and helped the young woman before him to her feet.

Joan, feeling his suddenly close presence, was momentarily dazed, somewhat disoriented.

So close...

She suddenly realized that, unlike when serving the Goddess Athena before, this new god before her had not yet formally ascended to godhood.

So, she was no longer limited to offering piety and reverence from afar. Instead, she had the fortune to truly witness him with her own eyes, to fight alongside him, to stand by his side in reality, devoting everything she had.

"By the way..."

Lin Mo suddenly remembered something: "When you say you want to offer loyalty, does that refer to yourself, or does it also include her?"