The Spring Festival has finally arrived, but unlike previous years, it doesn't bring excitement and joy to the residents of Pate City. Although the city is adorned with colorful flags and at important intersections priests are handing out candies, even the impoverished displaced people can get an extra meal at the temple today, there are hardly any smiling faces in the entire city.

Of course, the smiles on the faces of the Light God Priests never fade. Their kind, calming smiles are as unchanging as the Holy Emblems they wear, throughout the year. Only the more sensitive priests can sense the changes in the temple in recent years, a sense of suppression and control that always disturbs their peaceful dreams. But the lower-ranking members, their faith remains firm, diligently fulfilling their duties as Light Messengers.

Although they did their best, purchasing a lot of supplies from the south, especially various festival items, to try to make this year's Spring Festival not look so shabby, almost no one paid them any mind. Most of the nobles are preoccupied with hoarding grain and training their guards. As for the annual festival, they say, "When the temple and the Paladins can free me from the threat of the Snake-men, then I will naturally leave the castle to attend that spring banquet!"

The Light Temple is well aware of this situation. But they can't just not hold the festival, right? So, for the sake of the knights' morale at the front, the Spring Festival will still be lively. Especially this time, to make up for the lack of participation from the nobles, the temple specially arranged for some hero knights from the front to return to Pate City to be awarded during the festival.

Thus, Kuboert also had the opportunity to visit Pate City again. He didn't really want to return since the Five Realms Fortress needed him more. Priests capable of performing Healing Divine Skills were becoming increasingly scarce, and the Paladins nearly had to rely on their own strength to recover from wounds. Besides Kuboert and two or three "Gold Emblem" knights, bandages and clean beds were the only means of healing.

The Light Temple originally intended for Wislin to go to Pate City to attend the Spring Festival ceremony and to commend his heroic deeds by awarding him the "Light Guardian" medal, the highest honor awarded to a Paladin. Kuboert persuaded Wislin, urging him to stay firm on the walls of the Five Realms Fortress. Fortunately, Wislin himself wasn't very interested in participating in such events. This knight lord was racking his brains, worrying about the fortress's supplies.

Just half a month ago, Lynch's Flying Fortress once again stopped beside the Five Realms Fortress, allowing Wislin to breathe a sigh of relief. Although Lynch did not enter the castle, which slightly disappointed him, the addition of Deluo and his contingent of militia significantly boosted the strength of the Five Realms Fortress. The powerful healing abilities of the little angel Soka saved many severely injured lives, boosting the entire fortress's morale. Most importantly, under the power of the high tower's Elemental Power, the first batch of crops was on the verge of harvest.

It was precisely because the tense situation at the Five Realms Fortress had eased considerably that Kuboert decided to make a trip to Pate City. After all, he is still a priest of the Light God and cannot have relations with the temple's upper echelons become too strained; on the other hand, he was hoping to see if he could apply for a certain amount of horses and grain.

However, after being informed that "the archbishop is very busy and cannot receive visitors," Kuboert could not meet the temple's highest authority before the Spring Festival. Alone in the temple's resting room, he passed the time by reading the oldest version of Pate's Teachings borrowed from the library.

Doing so relieved those soldiers responsible for "guarding and protecting" him from running around restlessly, like shadows following this bishop.

Outside, the sound of horns echoed, awakening the city simultaneously with the rising sun. The long sound lingered on the mist-covered streets, causing the thin stray dogs to bark twice in response. Most residents, upon hearing this sound, merely turned over in their beds, pulling their covers tighter. Their food quality had already become inferior to the past, relying on other methods to maintain sufficient warmth.

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