Free Web NovelThe Holy Capital Cathedral,
Inside the heavily guarded Hall of Valor,
“H-How is this possible? How did Pix end up...”
A blond man clad in silver armor let out a disbelieving cry. The shock in his heart gradually twisted his handsome face into something almost comically distorted.
His pale blue eyes were fixed firmly upon the ten blue gemstones embedded into the handle of the goddess statue’s scepter.
These ten blue gemstones were not mere decorations, but specially crafted soul gems capable of reflecting the life status of the Braves themselves! The brighter the radiance of a gem, the more vigorous the corresponding Brave’s life force.
Conversely, when a gem’s glow dimmed, it meant the Brave had fallen into an extremely weakened state.
And...
When a gem shattered, it meant that the Brave’s life had reached its end.
At this moment,
Within the blond man’s field of vision, one of the blue gems had already cracked apart!
The shattered jewel declared the death of a Brave.
After a hundred years, a Brave had once again died an unnatural death?!
And the one who died this time...
Was none other than the Eighth Brave, Pix, someone extremely close to him.
Unable to contain himself, the blond man turned emotionally toward the old man in red robes nearby.
“Father! W-What is going on?! How did Pix die?! Could it have been those heretics from Wind Facing City?!”
“No.”
Archbishop Nick helplessly shook his head and cast a somewhat displeased glance at his second son.
“Felik, how many times have I told you? Inside the Church, address me as Archbishop.”
“Ah...”
Glancing awkwardly toward the two black-armored knights beside the goddess statue, the blond man named Felik gave a slight nod.
“My apologies, Fathe— no, Archbishop. Then... if it wasn’t the heretics, how could Pix have died in Wind Facing City? Who would dare attack one of our Asumos Church Braves? And actually manage to kill Pix...”
“Who told you Pix died in Wind Facing City?”
“Huh? Wasn’t he stationed there awaiting orders?”
Hearing that, displeasure surfaced across Nick’s aged face.
“Hmph. He was supposed to remain on standby in Wind Facing City. But your little friend got greedy for merit and recklessly entered the Great Winter Forest on his own, restarting the investigation mission that had originally been suspended. Then he somehow died in the outer regions of the forest! What a fucking idiot.”
Pix was a Brave personally nurtured by Nick, one of his greatest assets.
For Pix to die mysteriously in the Great Winter Forest was undoubtedly an enormous loss to him.
More importantly, the first Brave to die in battle in a hundred years...
Was actually one of his subordinates?!
That alone would become an enormous stain upon his future struggle for the position of Pope.
Damn it!
The more Nick thought about it, the angrier he became. frёewebηovel.cѳm
The Archbishop’s old face gradually twisted into something increasingly sinister, causing even Felik beside him to feel a trace of fear.
At the same time, however, the blond man was filled with confusion.
“The outer regions? But there usually aren’t many Abyss Demons there, right? And even if there are, they’re only fourth or fifth-tier. Pix was a seventh-tier Sword Saint! How could he possibly die in the outer forest? Isn’t there some mistake?”
“There’s no mistake. The battlefield has already been located. And based on the concentration of Shadow of Silence Power left at the scene, Pix encountered a Demon King-class monster.”
“Huh? What?! D-Demon King-class?! But monsters like that should only appear in the middle or deep regions of the Great Winter Forest! Why would one appear in the outer regions?!”
“Who knows?”
“B-But with Pix’s strength, even if he couldn’t defeat a Demon King-class creature, he still should’ve been able to escape! Their squad carried plenty of teleportation scrolls!”
However,
Upon hearing Felik’s words,
Nick let out a cold snort.
“You foolish boy. If a Sword Saint-level existence encounters a Demon King-class monster without outside support, most of the time they’ll only end up getting instantly killed. Escape? There’s no escaping. As for those teleportation scrolls, they’re meant for situations involving hordes of Abyss Demons. Against a Demon King-class enemy? There’s no time to activate them.”
“Huh?! Instantly killed?”
His father’s words caused a deeply incredulous expression to appear on Felik’s face.
Clearly, what his father was saying completely contradicted everything he had learned before, to the point that he could not help blurting out another shocked cry.
“No! Archbishop! Aren’t our Braves supposed to possess the power to challenge Demon King-class monsters beyond their level?! My instructors even said that three Braves working together could definitely kill a Demon King-class enemy! So how... how could they get instantly killed?!”
“You...”
Hearing his son’s words, Nick helplessly pressed a hand against his forehead.
At this moment, the Archbishop suddenly realized that there might have been serious deficiencies in his son’s education.
After silently sighing inwardly,
Nick gave a bitter smile.
“Felik, from now on, stop believing everything your teachers tell you. Much of what’s taught in the academies, reported by the media, and even spoken in our own sermons is simply propaganda meant to fool the believers. That includes the strength of the Braves. In reality, even the last eight Braves together would not be able to defeat any known Demon King-class Abyss Demon. Demon King-class creatures are genuine monsters.”
“What? T-That’s really true?”
For a moment, Felik felt as if his entire worldview had shattered.
“B-But if that’s the case, then why does the Church say otherwise? Why do the schools teach that?”
“Heh.”
Nick let out a disdainful snort.
“If we didn’t say that, how would we reassure the people? How would we gain more followers? How would we collect more taxes and offerings?! Use your pig brain and think for once!”
“Th-That...”
Faced with his father’s questioning, Felik was momentarily speechless.
After a brief silence, the blond man slowly spoke again.
“Then... if Demon King-class Abyss Demons have appeared in the eastern outer forest, wouldn’t the squads we sent there be in extreme danger? And the nearby defensive lines and cities could also come under attack, right?”
“Yes.”
Nick nodded slightly without denying it.
“Setting aside the Demon King-class Abyss Demon that killed Pix, another new Demon King-class entity has recently emerged in the eastern forest as well. In order to obtain sufficient flesh and souls, the Abyss Demons are highly likely to launch large-scale assaults on nearby defensive lines and cities. I’ve already ordered our squads to withdraw. As for the defensive lines and cities...”
At this point, Nick’s expression gradually turned sinister.
In Nick’s eyes,
The impending Abyss Demon invasion was not some kind of crisis.
For the Asumos Church, this was an enormous opportunity.
“The lives of those heretics and commoners are irrelevant. In fact, the more of them that die, the better. We can use their deaths to wage a propaganda war and severely damage the authority of the Snow Night Empire. That way, we can further expand our influence within the empire. However, if we want to obtain the faith of those barbaric northerners, we’ll still need to do a few more things.”
“Do what?”
“Heh, the same thing we did in the western nations before. We play the saviors. Once the Abyss Demons and the Snow Night Empire’s border armies have exhausted each other in battle, we descend like divine soldiers and save the people from suffering...”
“Ohhh! I get it now! Then the people will turn to our side! Uh... but this time we might encounter Demon King-class Abyss Demons, right? If we actually run into one...”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Nick smiled faintly before retrieving a prepared scroll and a token engraved with exquisite winged markings from his spatial ring.
He handed them over to Felik.
“Depart immediately. Inform the Snow Night Empire that we are willing to cooperate in resisting the Abyss Demons, and deliver this scroll personally written by me to their Emperor. Also, take this token to Golden City and find White Yama. Have her lead troops to reinforce Wind Facing City.”
“White Yama?!”
The moment he heard that name, the unease in Felik’s heart instantly vanished, replaced by an excited smile.
With that person helping them, the plan would surely proceed smoothly!
Once successful, his father’s faction would gain vastly greater influence within the Church!
And then...
Hehehe~
As visions of a glorious future filled his mind, a greedy grin slowly appeared on Felik’s face.
However,
The next moment, as though suddenly remembering something extremely important, Felik’s expression froze awkwardly in place. He looked somewhat embarrassed as he glanced toward his father, who wore a sinister grin.
“Um, Archbishop...”
“Hm? Is there something else?”
“We’ve spent all this time making arrangements, but... what if... the Abyss Demons don’t invade after all?” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Nick: “Uh...”
