Chapter 322: Paladin

A few days later, Archbishop Ashiburn summons Henwell again.

Knowing Henwell is about to head back, Ashiburn hands over all the official credentials for the Paladin title.

A Paladin is a special class of knight within the Holy Spirit Church.

It’s not some extraordinary path, but an official position.

Paladins hold considerable power, on par with bishops, and they can even investigate higher-ups like Cardinal Bishops.

Their main duty is internal oversight of the Church, dealing with traitors and enemies.

As the Church’s frontline fighters, every Paladin is fiercely loyal.

The selection and appointment process is incredibly strict and thorough.

First, only someone with at least a bishop’s rank can nominate a candidate.

Then, all thirty-nine bishops in the Western Federation’s Holy Spirit district review and verify the nomination.

If no objections arise, the nomination goes to five Cardinal Bishops for another round of scrutiny.

Finally, the archbishop, Judgment Bishop, and Knight Commander confer together.

Only if all agree does the appointment become official.

The Forgotten Continent district can waive some steps.

Plus, since Ashiburn personally nominates Henwell, the initial bishop review is skipped.

Still, the five Cardinal Bishops and the district’s three top leaders must approve.

Any objection from any party stalls the appointment.

Normally, someone like Henwell, who isn’t even formally part of the Church yet, would have zero chance at becoming a Paladin.

But Ashiburn puts in a hell of a lot of effort to make Henwell his double agent.

He makes significant concessions to secure a Paladin slot for him.

In fact, Ashiburn sacrifices plenty of benefits for Judgment Bishop and Knight Commander just to win their support.

Henwell manages to become a Paladin so quickly partly because he got a lucky break.

That’s thanks to the Holy Cross Star badge Bridge gave him.

Bridge isn’t a Glory Knight yet, but barring any setbacks, his promotion is a done deal.

He’s a core knight straight from Church headquarters.

His potential, talent, and connections easily outshine the big three leaders of the Forgotten Continent district.

When Bridge values someone, the others don’t dare give them too much trouble.

Not to mention, Henwell is also strongly recommended by Archbishop Atwood.

Unlike those struggling old-timers, Atwood is under a hundred years old and has already reached the Radiant Burst rank.

In the entire cultivation system, that kind of progress is outstanding.

The Abundant Continent has plenty of resources, but also many more people to share them with.

Since becoming a bishop, Atwood has always been a battle bishop, unlike Ashiburn, who’s stuck in the gospel bishop line.

Compared to Ashiburn, who climbed the ranks by stacking extraordinary resources, Atwood has been fighting on the front lines.

He’s dealt with all sorts of otherworldly monsters, heretical organizations, villains, and even skirmishes with hostile churches.

These are Atwood’s responsibilities, he’s a veteran who rose through real combat.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent to hunt down that thug Newwood.

Clearly, Atwood’s future looks much brighter than theirs.

In his lifetime, he might even reach Cardinal Archbishop, the Brilliant Star Arrow rank.

So Atwood’s endorsement carries serious weight.

Now that Ashiburn has already conceded some benefits, the others can’t oppose too strongly.

Going with the flow, Henwell’s Paladin appointment is approved.

Most church members just think Ashiburn wants to use Henwell to connect with Atwood.

They never suspect Ashiburn actually plans to use Henwell to strike against the Veil Organization.

Once Henwell becomes a Paladin, he needs a knight squad to operate with him.

Ashiburn assigns one Grand Knight, three Battle Knights, and fourteen knights from the Church.

Then, he gets Graham, the main man in Guardian City, to send over another Grand Knight, four Battle Knights, and more than twenty knights.

That’s two Grand Knights, seven Battle Knights, and forty knights, a total of forty-nine under Henwell’s command.

Add Henwell himself, and that’s exactly fifty knights, the standard size for a Paladin-led disciplinary squad.

Pulling together such an elite force isn’t easy, and it shows just how deep the Holy Spirit Church’s resources run.

This makes Henwell even more cautious. He knows he can’t afford to make enemies of the Church anytime soon.

But actually, Henwell’s got it wrong.

Even a squad this elite isn’t a walk in the park inside the Church.

Usually, Paladins hold the Grand Knight rank.

Their squads only have four Battle Knights as aides; the rest are regular knights.

Ashiburn really puts effort into assembling this sharp force.

After all, it’s meant to target the Veil Organization. Ashiburn’s counting on this to earn major credit, so he’s willing to invest big.

Of course, not all of these troops stick with Henwell in the eastern kingdoms.

On missions, only about thirty are active; the rest rotate back to the Western Federation for rest.

To the Western Federation pros, the eastern kingdoms are a backwater, especially when it comes to extraordinary cultivation.

Also, this team doesn’t fully obey Henwell’s orders.

The two Grand Knights are there to make sure Henwell’s commands make sense.

If they don’t, they can outright refuse his assignments.

Officially, these Grand Knights are his deputies, but they’re basically watching him too.

Still, Henwell is officially the leader of this elite squad.

The team is impressive, but Henwell isn’t after their fighting power.

He wants the name they carry, the Holy Spirit Church’s backing.

In fact, Henwell could probably form several squads like this himself!

But some things can’t be solved by brute force alone.

A good leader knows how to strike from a distance, weed out rivals, use others to do his dirty work, fly the flag for intimidation, bluff with borrowed power, and pull all kinds of shady moves.

This squad can’t set off with Henwell just yet.

They’ll head to Peace Haven later.

Ashiburn’s watching Henwell closely, seeing if he can really get a foothold with the Veil Organization.

That old fox only moves when he sees the rabbit, no premature strikes.