#99
The Beginning of Change (3)
Heinrich St. Landgard.
Heinrich, who became the master of the Holy Sword and was appointed as a Paladin, was given the middle name of ‘Saint’.
It wasn’t just a title.
Because it was a name that only those who were directly chosen by the Lord, such as the saints and saintesses of the church, could have.
‘This is all thanks to the ‘Great Blessing: Knight of Light’ I received during the inauguration ceremony…’
Blessings came in many forms, from the ones he had – strength, jumping, and increasing – to ones he didn’t have.
Up until now, Heinrich had felt the Lord’s attention directly, so it didn’t really hit him, but it was like a reward for achieving certain conditions.
When you overcome your physical limitations through extreme training, you will receive the blessing of a ‘strong body’.
If you receive more than the limit of divine power through continuous training, you will receive the blessing of ‘increase’.
In addition, if one practices a technique using divine power or studies sacred law and surpasses a certain standard, it will return to the practitioner as a blessing.
‘I haven’t really felt it yet.’
But if you think about it, except for “Blessing: Leap”, the rest were all blessings that I received when I did my best in that situation.
The standards may have been a bit lenient, but it wasn’t something that was completely unheard of.
However, the ‘great blessing’ was different from the ‘blessings’ I had received until now.
‘A blessing that comes only through God’s choice.’
It was something that only happened once in a generation, even among the believers of numerous sects.
For example, among those who received great blessings in the present age, the only one still alive is Saint Riesta.
They say there was a time in the past when not a single person came out at all, so you can see how difficult it is to receive it.
‘Besides, being recognized by the Holy Sword does not necessarily mean you will receive great blessings.’
There are about ten owners of the Holy Sword that have been passed down to the present, but only two of them were saints.
From the very beginning, there was a warrior from a thousand years ago who stood up with the holy sword in his hand and defeated the Immortal King.
A warrior from the previous generation who became a saint after holding the holy sword like Heinrich.
That is, the warriors of the Holy Sword who defeated the Immortal King in the previous generation were also saints chosen by the Lord.
‘That must mean that the Lord is concerned about the Abyss. But, a saint? Something seems a bit off.’
It seemed like Joon-soo was trying to push her hard because he felt useful, but he couldn’t help but feel a little burdened.
That would be the case···.
“Oh! There you are, the saint!”
“Indeed, I thought you were extraordinary from the moment I first came to the Great Hall. But I never thought you would be chosen by the Lord so quickly.”
“It was definitely not the normal growth rate. I understand it now.”
This is because everyone who had been comfortable with him before began to treat him with awe.
Even the Paladins, Archbishops, and even Cardinals whom I had only met a few times.
‘Plus, the condition of the newly issued equipment is no joke.’
The pure white armor he was wearing, the ‘Guardian of Glory’, was a masterpiece among masterpieces, created with the utmost care by the best craftsmen of the past Jushin Sect.
It is common for rare metals such as mithril and orichalcum to be used.
Its inner surface was densely engraved with prayers, and it was surrounded by all sorts of high-level sacred laws and even a sacred barrier, making it a veritable ‘moving fortress’.
‘The price is just right.’
And it wasn’t the price of a small castle in the outskirts, but a strategic fortress where all sorts of magical treatments had been performed.
Because the price was so murderous, even the wealthy sects only made one, so even Paladins were using equipment of a lower level than this.
It was practically a sacred object.
‘So this is the final equipment. The best weapon, the Holy Sword, and the best defensive gear, the Guardian of Glory. I don’t even need to worry about getting the equipment anymore.’
Henry, who had become a saint, was now on his way back from an audience with the Pope, who was resting and recuperating, together with the saintess.
His gentle impression, his eyes shining with such sincerity that it’s hard to believe he’s sick, and his body filled with powerful divine power.
Hattian II, who had led the Catholic Church until then, appeared to be quite upright on the outside, but…
‘I said there wasn’t much time left. I think I only had about an hour a day to stay awake.’
Although he was still holding on with immense divine power, the candle of his life was on the verge of going out.
The saint must also be well aware of that fact.
But she didn’t show it and kept a bright face the whole time, introducing Henry to the Pope.
She chattered excitedly until he fell asleep again, but her expression turned gloomy only after she left the room completely, but she quickly fixed her expression and a soft smile appeared on her lips again.
Even though she was still young, she was a saint.
She knew very well that it was not good for her to show her negative emotions too much.
Besides, isn’t this the center of the world’s greatest religion?
For them, death was just another journey to God’s side, not an eternal separation.
While I was walking down the street, having a light conversation with the saint who seemed to have completely calmed down, she suddenly changed the subject as if something had occurred to her.
“Oh, now that Heinrich has become a saint, we can work together more seriously! Ah, I’m so happy to have a comrade to share the burden with!”
···I guess you’ve had a hard time lately.
Although it is said that really important or thorny issues are handled by the working-level staff under the leadership of the cardinal, it seems that she was secretly under considerable stress as she could be said to be in the highest position at a time when the Pope was unable to attend to his duties.
‘The Pope and the saint are in similar positions···.’
Although she may be seen as superior in symbolic terms, the position of one who has risen to the pinnacle of the clergy, the Pope, after countless testimonies over many years, is by no means an easy one.
It was natural that the young and inexperienced saint was only a symbol of the religious order, and the one who actually led them was the Pope.
‘The problem now is that the Pope’s seat is absent.’
Since the election of a new pope was only possible after the previous pope had passed away, those who remained had no choice but to work harder for the time being.
Besides, isn’t the current Pope, despite his old age, the one who adopted her and is her legal adoptive father?
Another reason why the saintess sacrifices even her sleep to work hard is her desire to somehow fill her father’s empty spot.
“Now that I think about it, I have something to discuss with you. Have you heard about the Immortal King’s movements this time?”
As he became a saint, a handover of duties took place, and people were assigned to him to relay external news and assist him in his work.
And I was able to hear the latest news through them.
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“They say that they’re making full-scale moves that are completely different from before. They opened the abyss and summoned the undead to the continent, and now they’re even openly provoking us···.”
It was a story about the recent activities of the Immortal King Hans.
In addition, the capable religious order’s information team analyzed in detail why he was acting that way and relayed it to Heinrich.
The situation has been captured where a signal is being sent to the undead to gather them and collect them.
‘Of course, I didn’t think I could hide it forever.’
Since the advertisements were so prominent that they could be seen not only in the church and the pagoda, but also in any territory, it was only natural that everyone’s attention was focused on them.
Perhaps by now, other forces are also busy trying to find out more detailed information, having a very busy time.
It wasn’t good news for Hans, though.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking all of a sudden… But the Immortal King went to such lengths to start gathering his troops again, so we can’t just leave him alone. This is our chance to deal with him before he gathers more troops!”
The saint spoke passionately, her golden eyes sparkling and her face filled with enthusiasm.
It was something that Hans had already fully expected.
After all, responding to the signal Hans sent carried the risk of being detected by others who were determined to detect it.
‘That’s why we’re deliberately dividing the area and doing our work… But there are cases where the undead are defeated before we can unite and collect them.’
That was happening in real time right now.
The locations where the undead appeared were so varied and numerous that they didn’t just appear in uninhabited places.
If it’s near a temple or magic tower of a religious order, a city with strong people, or a territory with a strong military force, the moment your location is discovered, it’s over.
Unless there were officers of the Immortal Army, it was inevitable that they would be defeated individually.
“Ah! And there will be another continental summit soon. Now that things have come to this point, they can’t just sit back and do nothing, so we really need to work on coming up with a proper plan this time!”
The saintess’s eyes sparkled and she made up her mind with firm determination.
Then, turning to Heinrich, she added:
“Let’s do this together!”
···I guess I really had a lot of work-related burden on me.
***
In fact, although the religious order had warned about the Immortal King several times, there were limits to the response that the other countries of the Aeon Continent could show.
Because things are very different now than they were before.
The fight against the previous Immortal Kings was basically an all-out war in the form of a war.
The abyssal energy that the heart possessed was so strong that it played a major role in somehow being able to figure out their position in the religious order.
Of course, since the Immortal Kings of all time had reached the pinnacle of black magic, they were able to avoid the attention of the sect for a while.
No matter how hard you try to distract them for a moment, there is a limit to how much you can do, and eventually their location will be discovered.
Because of this, they had no choice but to raise a huge army of immortals to protect themselves, while also choosing to wage an all-out war against the continent.
That’s what it was.
This time, the resurrected Immortal King’s actions were completely different.
He was hiding his location thoroughly, doing his scheming in the dark, and throwing the continent into chaos.
Moreover, because of its unpredictable mobility, it was impossible to gather information and determine its whereabouts.
That was why other forces could not make any special moves right away.
What can you do when you don’t even know where the enemy you’re fighting is or what he’s doing?
All they could do was protect the elements and strategic points, strengthen their borders in preparation for future troubles, and reorganize their forces.
But there is no immediate sign of an enemy, and only a hopeless standoff continues for several months.
As the situation became like this, hyenas began to show their heads one by one, trying to take advantage of the confusion rather than prepare for the future.
From embezzlement of military supplies and corruption in military supplies at the bottom, to secret collusion in the political world at the top.
Small discords that arose in all walks of life have come together to create the current chaotic political situation.
Now that things have gotten worse, they’re trying to quickly sort things out again.
Before the situation could be resolved, a bigger change was coming.
A group of merchants passing through a forest path infested with monsters.
As it was a dangerous area, the number of mercenaries surrounding them and guarding the area was not small.
At that moment, one of the mercenaries guarding the top spoke quietly to the man next to him.
“Hey, Mike. Are you sure you’re okay? I heard there are undead roaming around everywhere these days.”
“Then what? I can’t take a break from work forever, right?”
“That’s true, but···.”
“And unless you’re extremely unlucky, you probably won’t run into them. With these numbers, it might be worth a shot.”
As the merchants were well aware of the current situation, several merchants heading in the same direction joined forces to hire more mercenaries than usual.
So they confidently crossed the dangerous forest path, without encountering a single undead.
but···.
“Ugh! What are these guys!”
“Watch out! There are absolutely no ordinary guys… Keuk!”
A horde of monsters, and countless monsters at that, swarmed the upper group.
“Cruk—!”
“Keeeeeek!”
The types of monsters that attacked were varied, including goblins, orcs, and gremlins, but they all had one thing in common.
Eyes with a soft red glow.
Drool dripping from the corner of the mouth.
Muscles that are bulging out of shape like a monster.
The recklessness of rushing in without caring even if one’s limbs are cut off…
The murderous intent to kill the opponent until the moment the breath completely stops, even if the throat is cut or the heart is pierced.
“Why did people of different races join forces… Ugh!”
“These guys, there’s no end to it…!”
They were mercilessly trampling on humans.
This was also something that had begun to happen all over the continent—.
The effects of ‘madness’ were slowly but surely revealing themselves.
