#99
The Beginning of Change (3)
Heinrich Saint Landgard.
Having become the owner of the Holy Sword and being appointed as a Paladin, Heinrich acquired the middle name ‘Saint’.
It was not just a simple title.
Only those directly chosen by the Holy God, such as the saints and holy maidens of the Order, received such a name.
“This is all thanks to the ‘Great Blessing: Knight of Light’ I received during the appointment ceremony…”
The blessings included various kinds, starting from his strong body, leap, weight increase, and even things he didn’t possess.
Until now, Heinrich hadn’t felt the direct attention of the Holy God, but it was similar to some reward he would get upon fulfilling certain conditions.
When he surpassed his bodily limits through extreme training, he received the blessing of ‘Strong Body’.
If he embraced more Holy Power than his limits through continuous pondering, he was granted the blessing of ‘Weight Increase’.
Additionally, when he trained techniques using Holy Power or studied Holy Law and exceeded certain standards, those would return as blessings to the practitioner.
“I haven’t really felt much until now.”
But thinking about it, apart from “Blessing: Leap,” the rest were all blessings obtained when he did his best in those situations.
Although the standards might have been late, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
However, the ‘Great Blessing’ was different from the ‘Blessings’ he had received so far.
“Only the Holy God’s choice grants this blessing.”
It was something that occurred once in a generation among the countless apostates of the Holy Church Order.
As a prime example, among those alive today who received the Great Blessing, only Saint Liesta remained.
In the past, there were even eras when no one received it, showing how rigorous the requirements were.
“Besides, just being recognized by the Holy Sword doesn’t guarantee receiving the Great Blessing.”
There had been about ten known owners of the Holy Sword through history, but among them, only two were saints.
The first was the legendary hero who, from the very beginning, took up the Holy Sword and defeated the Undead King a thousand years ago.
The second was the previous hero who became a saint after wielding the Holy Sword, like Heinrich himself.
In other words, the heroes of the Holy Sword who defeated the Undead King in the previous generation were also saints chosen by the Holy God.
“This shows how much the Holy God is concerned about matters related to the Abyss. But being a saint, it feels a bit ticklish.”
It seemed like the Holy God wanted to push him forward since he felt his usefulness, but it was a bit overwhelming.
That was understandable…
“Oh! Is that the Saint?”
“Indeed, I thought they were unusual since the first time I visited the shrine. I didn’t expect they’d be chosen by the Holy God so soon.”
“Certainly, that growth rate isn’t normal. Only now does it make sense.”
People who had previously treated him with ease began to regard him with awe.
Even the Paladins, archbishops, and even cardinals whom he had met only a few times.
“Furthermore, the condition of the newly provided equipment is no joke.”
The pure white armor he wore, ‘Guardian of Glory,’ was a masterpiece crafted with utmost care by the finest artisans of the Holy Church Order.
It was made with rare metals, including mithril and orichalcum.
Inside, the prayers were densely engraved, surrounded by all kinds of high-level Holy Laws and even a Holy Barrier, making it a ‘moving fortress’.
“The price reflects that too.”
It wasn’t just any small cost; it was the price of a strategic fortress where various magical processes had been performed.
Because the cost was so exorbitant, even the wealthy Holy Church Order made only one, leading to Paladins using equipment of lower tiers.
It was practically a holy relic.
“In the end, this is the ultimate equipment. The best weapon, the Holy Sword, and the best armor, the Guardian of Glory. No more worries about matching equipment.”
Thus, Heinrich, now a saint, was on his way to meet the Pope, accompanied by the holy maiden, after having some rest.
With a soft demeanor and a glow in his eyes that seemed unbelievable for someone who had been bedridden, filled with immense Holy Power.
The Pope, Hatyanus II, who had led the Holy Church Order thus far, appeared healthy enough outwardly…
“He said his time remaining isn’t much. Just about an hour of wakefulness a day, wasn’t it?”
While he was still enduring with vast Holy Power, the candle of his life was flickering out.
The holy maiden was likely well aware of this fact.
But she didn’t show it, maintaining a bright appearance as she introduced Heinrich to the Pope.
While she chattered cheerfully until he fell back asleep, her expression darkened as she completely left the area, only to quickly adjust her face and plaster a soft smile back on.
Though still young, she was a holy maiden.
She knew very well that showing too much negative emotion wasn’t good for someone in her position.
Moreover, wasn’t this the center of the world’s largest religion?
For them, even death was just another journey toward the side of the Holy God, not an eternal farewell.
Having seemingly gathered her thoughts entirely, she turned the conversation with Heinrich lightheartedly.
“Oh, by the way! Now that you’ve become a saint, we can work more closely together on this side of things! I’m so glad to have a comrade to share the load!”
…It seemed that she had been under quite a bit of pressure.
While really important or troublesome matters were being handled by the practical staff under the leadership of the cardinals, with the Pope unable to perform duties now, she was implicitly in the highest position.
“Since the Pope and the holy maiden are in similar positions…”
In terms of symbolism, one might view her as holding a position of superiority, but the Pope, who reached the pinnacle of the clergy after decades of proving himself, held a status that wasn’t to be underestimated.
The inexperienced young holy maiden was merely a symbol of the Order; those who practically led were the Pope.
“The problem is that the Papal seat is currently vacant.”
Until the previous pope returned to the arms of the Holy God, a new pope couldn’t be elected, leaving everyone else with no choice but to work harder.
Moreover, the current pope had adopted her as his legal child, so filling the void left by her father was also part of the reason the holy maiden was pouring herself into work, even sacrificing sleep.
“By the way, I had something to discuss. You’ve heard about the Undead King’s movements, right?”
As he became a saint, the transfer of duties took place, and now he had aides to relay external news and assist him.
Through them, he had been able to receive recent information.
“He is showing a very different level of movement this time. He opened the Abyss and summoned the Undead to the continent, and now he is provoking us outright…”
This was regarding the recent activities of the Undead King Hans.
Moreover, the capable intelligence team of the Order analyzed why he was behaving this way in detail and conveyed it to Heinrich.
They had captured the situation of him sending signals to the Undead to gather them.
“Of course, I never thought we could hide it for long.”
Naturally, given that the Church, the Magic Tower, and even ordinary fiefs were fully aware of the commotion, it was inevitable that everyone’s attention would hone in on it.
By now, other factions would likely be scrambling for more precise info, spending their time in chaos.
That was, at least, not good news for Hans.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking, but… it seems we can’t just let him gather forces again like that. This is an opportunity to deal with him before he can boost his ranks!”
The holy maiden spoke passionately, her golden eyes sparkling with excitement.
That was something Hans had adequately anticipated.
In fact, responding to the signal sent by Hans meant that there was a risk of being caught by others vigilantly trying to detect it.
“That’s why I’m deliberately dividing into regions to conduct business… The Undead are being exterminated before they can regroup, after all.”
That was an ongoing situation.
The locations where the Undead appeared were varied and numerous, not confined to just barren places.
If they appeared near the Church’s shrine or the Magic Tower, in cities with strong fighters, or surrounding powerful military fiefs, once located, it would be over.
Unless there were high-level commanders among the undead, they were bound to fall victim one after another.
“Oh! And a continental summit is set to be held soon. Given the gravity of the situation, they won’t be able to sit idly by, so we must strive to devise a proper plan this time!”
The holy maiden fixed her determined gaze, ready to tackle it with resolve.
Then, she turned to Heinrich and added with a swift motion.
“Together!”
…It seemed the burden of her duties really weighed heavily on her.
*
Though the Order had warned the Undead King multiple times, the response of the other countries in the Ion Continent was limited.
The situation now was much different from previous occurrences.
Fights against prior Undead Kings had generally taken the form of all-out wars.
The strong aura of the Abyss they held made it relatively easy for the Church to track their locations.
Of course, past Undead Kings could manage to evade the Church’s notice temporarily due to their mastery of black magic.
Still, no matter what tricks they employed to temporarily divert attention, there were limits, and their locations would eventually be discovered.
Thus, they had no choice but to raise an overwhelming army of the undead to protect themselves while also choosing to engage in total war with the continent.
Yet, this time, the revived Undead King moved differently.
Somehow maintaining a thorough concealment of his location, he was stirring chaos on the continent from the shadows.
Moreover, due to his unpredictable mobility, even gathering information to locate him became impossible.
That was why other factions weren’t making any significant moves currently.
Without knowing where the enemy was or what actions they were taking, what could they possibly do?
They could only protect key figures and locations while tightening defenses to prepare for potential future crises.
But when months passed without sighting an enemy, that endless state of preparation led hyenas of all types to start poking their heads out to capitalize on the chaos.
From pilfering military supplies to colluding in secret within the political realm, little disharmonies occurring across various sectors contributed to the currently chaotic political landscape.
Only now, were they hurriedly trying to tidy up an already inflated situation.
However, before they could even settle matters, far greater changes were about to unfold.
A merchant caravan traversing a forest path infested with monsters.
Given the dangerous nature of the area, the number of mercenaries surrounding them was substantial.
At that moment, a mercenary guarding the side of the caravan quietly spoke to a man nearby.
“Hey, Mike. Is this really okay? They say there are undead wandering around lately.”
“What should we do? We can’t just keep taking breaks from work, right?”
“That may be true, but…”
“And unless you’re extraordinarily unlucky, we’d likely not run into them. With this many people, it might be manageable.”
The merchants, aware of the current situation, hired more mercenaries than usual by banding together with other caravans going in the same direction.
With this confidence, they crossed the perilous forest path, ultimately not encountering a single undead.
However…
“Ugh! What are these things?”
“Be careful! These aren’t ordinary ones… Cough!”
Monsters — an overwhelming horde of them descended upon the caravan.
“Grrk—!”
“Kyaaah!”
The types of monsters, including goblins, orcs, and gremlins, were varied, but they all shared one ominous characteristic.
Eyes glowing with a faint crimson light.
Drooling from their mouths.
Muscles grotesquely swollen.
Regardless of dismemberment, they charged in recklessly…
And even if their throats were slit or their hearts pierced, they displayed an unyielding urge to kill until the very moment their breaths ceased.
“Why are different races working together…urk!”
“These things, they seem endless…!”
They ruthlessly ravaged the humans.
This was a scene that began to unfold throughout the continent as well—.
The influence of “Madness” was slowly but surely revealing its true form.
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