#149
Warrior Party (3)
Those observing the battle could immediately see the change in Heinrich.
It had to be that way.
The trajectory of the sword cutting through space, the heavy footsteps, and even the light breaths began to emit a suffocating sense of oppression.
“···The saint has climbed over the wall.”
“Huh! Sir Tuskin? When did you come···.”
“fizzle.”
And the Paladin, the symbol of the sect’s power, was also impressed by it.
The Silver Wing Knight Commander, Paladin Tuskin, who had quietly approached and observed the Saint’s duel upon hearing the news, was overcome with emotion as he looked at the arena.
Wasn’t it he who brought him here from the Temple of Thalia, seeing only his potential, when Heinrich was a Templar?
But how could he be indifferent when the Templar of that time not only became a Paladin in the shortest period of time and achieved great feats, but also drew the Holy Sword and became a saint and a warrior?
‘And that Yongin warrior who confronts the saint… is amazing. If I were to fight him with all my heart, it would be hard for me too.’
The Paladins of the Jushin Church were not simply knights who had reached the level of Master.
The realm of the unmanned is only the basics, but it is an honorable position that can only be reached by possessing at least the sacred power of a bishop and at least 5 blessings.
Of course, their fighting prowess could not be judged by normal standards, and especially in terms of defense, it was truly unparalleled.
‘Possessing physical abilities and wild instincts that surpass those of a monster, as well as a refined combat system for an unmanned person. As expected… to become a companion of the saint, you must be at that level.’
Tuskin nodded slowly in agreement, looking at Harley from outside the training grounds.
And at that moment, the giant axe with a crimson aura and the brightly shining holy sword clashed once again.
Kuuung—!
After a huge clash that struck the protective barrier, the two retreated as if they had made a promise.
“Hahaha! You are truly a warrior! I’ve never seen such a strong warrior before!”
Harley, who was a mess, burst into hearty laughter as she returned her mutated body to its original state.
His body was covered in blood from the aftermath of a fierce battle, but his body, which had recovered through “super regeneration,” was already free of any wounds.
Eww! Eww!
Instead, I used up so much energy that I felt a strong hunger.
He took out the dragon meat from the subspace magic tool tied to his waist and ate it in a hurry.
“Phew—.”
As he watched Harley slaughter a few pieces of meat on the spot, Heinrich let out a light sigh and straightened up his torn robe.
No matter how brave he was, he couldn’t avoid a fight against Harley.
However, thanks to the powerful blessing and divine power that protected the body, there are now no traces left other than the clothes.
Even then, all of these were scars from the early stages of the battle, before I had acquired the “Way of Martial Arts.”
‘I got too immersed in the moment.’
Still, it was a satisfactory result that even achieved unexpected results.
This incident stimulated Heinrich’s “bonelessness” and broadened his perspective on martial arts, which in turn led to the evolution of his skills.
It was an unexpected synergy that was created by mixing Harley’s usual battle style that prioritized reason with her instinct-based battle style.
Perhaps it was the enlightenment brought about by that unexpected collaboration that made his mind clearer and filled his heart with a pleasant sense of elation.
“Congratulations, Saint! I knew you were strong from the beginning, but even that was still in the growth stage. As expected, Saint is the hope of this continent!”
“That Yong-in warrior is also amazing. ···If he is at that level, I have no choice but to acknowledge him as a comrade of the saint.”
“Warrior, do you have any special muscle training methods of your own? Our Knights have their own special routines, so why don’t we have some time to chat?”
“That’s good! It’s good for everyone that the Saint’s companions are getting stronger. Even if we can’t be there in person, we can still help in this way!”
The muscle masses that had been watching came running towards them as they left the training ground and started chatting away.
Their common theme was training, with Heinrich having developed a bond while training together, and even with Harley who had proven her skills this time.
And as they spoke, another thought suddenly crossed Heinrich’s mind.
‘Comrades… This is a party to defeat the Demon King, the Immortal King…’
That was a sense of skepticism about what was going on.
In fact, the current situation is unfolding much more urgently and without much leeway than initially planned.
If he really wanted to fight the Demon King who was trying to destroy the world as a warrior, then it was only right for him to do so.
Rather than responding with respect for individual opinions and an “if you don’t like it, don’t do it” attitude as they do now, they would have taken a more hardline stance, such as negotiating additionally with the country of origin.
‘Even now, the intelligence agency is bringing in several lists and secretly requesting additional responses.’
But wasn’t his goal from the beginning not to defeat the Immortal King, but to create a heroic epic?
And in such ‘classic stories’, the process in which the protagonist overcomes all kinds of adversity and gathers companions one by one is also an important part of the story.
‘Yeah, like Harley’s Big Adventure.’
Harley, who lives a life full of struggle, escapes from being experimented on by the evil warlock Hans in Act 4.
He later meets and develops friendships with the merchant Hubert, the elf Harris, and the dwarf Howard.
Finally, in Act 7, the blood of Yong-in awakens.
‘And the conclusion of the 7th act is right now. Becoming a comrade of the warrior.’
The direction in which the ‘home theater’ he had initially thought of was also that.
A number of incidents occurred one after another, eventually leading to the current situation.
‘It’s too late to proceed with the story now… The plan has been completely derailed by the fact that the Oath of Reverse has been causing a lot of big incidents.’
In fact, from the people’s point of view, it was natural to prepare for war as quickly as possible, but Hans also felt like he had lost his pace and was going wild as events unfolded differently than he had initially thought.
In the current situation, the existing policy of minimizing sacrifices could not be maintained.
There are probably quite a few people who are already suspicious, but as the story progresses, the plausibility of the Immortal King will inevitably collapse.
‘When I first came up with the plan, I thought I just had to take down some moderately bad guys… But when I actually tried it, the presence of the name Immortal King was just too big.’
Just doing something could lead to a disaster, so it was difficult to lead the situation the way I wanted.
In addition, the events of the Oath of Reverse Heaven overlapped, and at some point, war really came close.
‘If that happens, no matter what we do, ‘sacrifice of the cow for the greater good’ becomes inevitable. That’s the structure of war itself in the first place. This is not something I can do anything about.’
So is there really no way?
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Do I have no choice but to close my eyes and force others to make sacrifices for my own greed, or just be satisfied with this and fold?
‘That can’t be! Shouldn’t we just somehow avoid war?’
After all, the subject of the invasion was also oneself, so it was possible at any time if one put one’s mind to it, without the need for a complicated process such as an agreement or anything like that.
The only problem was how to do it naturally···.
When Heinrich frowned and became lost in thought, his mind was in turmoil.
“Saint? Is this a good time for you?”
An emergency meeting was called, attended by all the leaders of the Rosellia Temple, under the saint’s presidency.
***
A small conference room located in the innermost part of the Roselia Grand Shrine.
Although the space was not very large, the appearances of those gathered inside were all striking.
A saint and a saintess, two cardinals, an inquisitor, a paladin, and archbishops.
All the leaders of the Roselia Grand Shrine were gathered in one place to discuss future matters.
“Whew, this is a big deal. The work of uniting the continent’s power is still sluggish, but the Immortal King Hans is starting to show his true moves.”
“The northern forests, not far from the Duchy of Rohan…. I guess this is an attempt to mock us, right? To watch from close range as the Duchy that we ourselves destroyed completely falls into ruin….”
“Didn’t many people lose their lives in the Rohan incident? And those sacrifices will continue to increase in the future. Those countless deaths will become the power of the Immortal King.”
The agenda for the emergency meeting was about the aura of death that had been detected within the northern mountains not long ago.
Although the Immortal King’s concealment ability was said to be the greatest of all time, it was difficult to completely block the flow of such a large amount of energy.
Naturally, the movement was detected by those with the detection blessing, including the saint, and an investigation was immediately conducted, leading to an emergency meeting like this.
“This is a more serious matter than ever before! This is on a whole other level!”
Saint Riesta stood up from her seat and raised her voice in a strong tone.
Her sensing ability was the best in the sect, so the others listened to her words with serious expressions.
“Not only the aura of the Immortal King Hans, but also the presence of tens of thousands of undead has been detected. All the power they have accumulated so far has been unleashed in one place. That means…!”
“···Declare war, Roger.”
“Huh— In this situation…. No, I should say because it’s this situation. And it’s in the direction of the Duchy of Rohan….”
‘Huh?’
The expressions on the religious leaders’ faces became grave.
It was only recently that we received word that the rescue operation for refugees was being hampered by the constant swarm of monsters.
A territory in chaos with its defenses completely collapsed and its lawless territory in ruins.
The people of the ruined country who gathered in the capital and took up hostage, and those who banded together to try to survive.
Even in such a situation, they were having a hard time trying to control the situation when, out of nowhere, the Immortal Army appeared at close range.
Of course, in this situation, proper defense was impossible.
“Even without that, the entire continent is suffering from the monsters’ activities, so it’s difficult to gather an army···.”
Cardinal Pion let out a soft sigh at the unfortunate situation.
For the sake of the greater good, it was necessary to boldly abandon the Duchy and establish a new defensive line along the Imperial border, but how could we ignore the more than a hundred thousand people who still remained in the Duchy’s territory?
“···The Immortal King will be watching and smiling at our choice.”
A situation where no matter which way you choose, it’s a bad move.
Everyone trembled at his wickedness.
‘It’s like this again? … No, I was short-sighted. It was only natural for it to turn out like this.’
Except one.
Heinrich, the saint of the Jushin Church, nodded with a serious expression and worked busily.
‘Ugh, how am I supposed to handle this…’
Looking at the current situation, it seems like my well-intentioned actions have only gotten in the way.
Just a moment ago I had vowed to try a different approach, and now a new problem arose.
“···What happened to the imperial forces?”
“The first batch of troops that had gathered at the northern border have just entered the Rohan Principality. As of now, three corps of 10,000 men have headed to the capital by different routes. Additional reinforcements are also continuing to arrive.”
“If the Empire finds out about this….”
“···They will immediately cancel all operations and withdraw the troops.”
Everyone’s mood became subdued.
Unless an empire capable of mobilizing a large army steps forward and leads the refugees, there would be no point in the sect enduring for a hundred days.
However, that does not mean that the information obtained by the Jushin Church could not be passed on to the Empire.
If the Immortal Army really started to advance south, it could greatly shake not only the Duchy of Rohan, but also the Empire.
‘No, the Empire isn’t stupid, so they’ll figure it out soon enough. Maybe they’re in a meeting like we are right now… Yes, I guess that’s the only way.’
With Hans settling in the north, the influx of monsters in that direction would decrease, but it would be meaningless if rescue operations did not continue.
Finally, Heinrich made up his mind, closed his eyes, and began to pray.
The enormous mental power concentrated in an instant heightened my faith, and accordingly, the spiritual veins connected to the main god expanded rapidly.
After using up a whopping 640,000 points of ‘mental power enhancement’ from the karma gained through completing various events and achievements, the effect was incomparable to before.
Then naturally···.
Woohoo—
Amplified divine power emanated from his body, and his aura, which was like a transparent flame, began to spread out with a thick glow.
“Huh!?”
“···Saint?”
The eyes of the executives were drawn to the sacred flames that filled the conference room in the blink of an eye.
The energy that seemed to take shape was so pure that it was wondrous, and so overwhelming that I found myself feeling awe.
The moment when everyone’s attention was focused.
Heinrich stood up from his seat with a reverent expression.
I pray in my heart that God will allow me to become a righteous swindler.
“Would you please listen to me for a moment? … The Lord has shown us the way.”
And the aura that shone brilliantly and enveloped his body was proof of his permission.
maybe.
