Chapter 126: Childhood Friend – The Two Cardinals
“Yes. I have come leading the knights sent by the Conrad royal family. Where is Cardinal Mihaer? I need to report to him.”
“This way. I’ll show you.”
Priest Ophelia exchanged a brief chat as she walked alongside Bishop Berg.
To Priest Ophelia, Bishop Berg was more than just a superior. When she was not yet a priest but an apprentice, Berg had been a teacher at the training institution.
At the time, Berg had an unusual and exceptional history of being a paladin before becoming a priest.
With his tall stature and rare silver hair, he stood out like “a crane among chickens (群鷄一鶴)”, and Ophelia admired him as an apprentice.
His clear and excellent lectures were impressive, as was his intense dedication to his research.
Indeed, before Ophelia became a priest, he had made a sensational debut by presenting the ‘Universal Priesthood Theory,’ which claimed that everyone could potentially become a priest. He became instantly recognized as a theological superstar, rivaling even the most esteemed theologian, Cardinal Mihaer.
However, the ‘Universal Priesthood Theory’ not only caused major controversy within the church but was also a radical theory that shook the social order.
After engaging in a heated debate with Cardinal Mihaer, Priest Berg published additional papers supporting the existing rank-based system, seemingly acknowledging his previous stance, and was appointed as a cardinal of the Conrad Kingdom, leaving the ecclesiastical order.
Ophelia clearly remembered the words Bishop Berg had left at the end of his last class.
“No one, regardless of rank, can be proud of their past because humans are bound to sin. But God does not distinguish humans based on whether they have sinned or not. I dare to speculate that perhaps God seeks to draw something out of us through those trials. So, I hope for meaningful trials and their overcoming for everyone. This concludes the class on ‘Responsibility of Creatures.’”
“I’m glad to see you looking well. However… it seems your journey was not an easy one. You’ve been through a lot.”
Ophelia, reminiscing about the past, mentioned Bishop Berg’s disheveled appearance.
It had been nearly twenty years since their last reunion, but his condition was too dire to bring up other topics.
The Bishop Berg she remembered had always been a neat teacher in pristine white priestly robes.
But now, it was not the case.
His clothes were covered in dust, indicating they hadn’t been changed recently, and his face and silver hair were so unkempt that they seemed to turn gray upon rubbing.
It made sense since Bishop Berg had rushed all the way from the Conrad Kingdom upon hearing the news of the apostle’s appearance without pause.
“With such a great disturbance, how can one complain of hardships? I do wish to wash up first, but I suppose it will have to wait a bit. The apostle of the evil god… hmm, seems to be arriving soon.”
Bishop Berg said as he glanced south. Ophelia also worriedly looked at the increasingly red mountain but felt reassured with Bishop Berg beside her.
Eventually, Bishop Berg and Priest Ophelia arrived at Cardinal Mihaer’s tent.
However, they could not enter the cardinal’s tent.
Despite being the highest-ranking person in the entire Crusader Church, Cardinal Mihaer insisted on using the smallest tent.
He always drank only plain water, never wore the purple shawl, and wore his shabby priestly robes in a frugal manner, setting an example for all clergy.
Still, given his position, a large table was set up in front of his tent, where a visitor was already present.
It was Prince Cleo de Frederick, whose reddish-brown hair fluttered in the wind.
Recognizing the purple shawl on Bishop Berg’s shoulders, he greeted him.
“Pleased to meet you. Are you not the Cardinal?”
Typically, royalty would not introduce themselves, but the prince did not mind and introduced himself first. Bishop Berg also praised the gracious royalty with elegant etiquettes and took his seat.
Once Ophelia had completed her tasks and left, Bishop Berg greeted Cardinal Mihaer, an opponent with whom he had previously engaged in passionate debates, making the initial exchange a bit awkward.
Bishop Berg got straight to the point.
“I have brought the 2nd and 3rd knight orders of the Conrad Kingdom, along with all the paladins of the Rutina Church. The numbers are two hundred knights and fifty paladins.”
“Oh! The Conrad Kingdom has made great efforts. The Belita and Astin Kingdoms are at war and could not send knights… Thank you for your hard work, Bishop Berg.”
After a brief moment of modesty at the prince’s acknowledgement, Bishop Berg and Cardinal Mihaer smiled delightedly.
“You’ve worked hard. This will be a great help. With two hundred and fifty people… it should be fine without setting up separate tents. We are in the middle of discussing how to position the knights against the apostle of the evil god.”
As the topic quickly moved on, Bishop Berg raised his hand.
“There are actually more individuals I need to report. Approximately six hundred more…”
“Did you bring the soldiers? Soldiers won’t be much help in subduing the apostles of the evil god. We need to bestow blessings on everyone, so honestly, it’s more of a loss than a gain. It would be best to send them back.”
Bishop Berg hesitated for a moment. He didn’t want to reveal it this way, but given the situation, he had no choice.
“They are not soldiers. All of them possess divine power.”
“Didn’t you just say six hundred? Ah, you must have gathered the priests from the Kingdom of Conrad.”
As he was processing the thought, Bishop Berg shattered his expectations.
“No. They are children I raised. They were not trained by the Central Church.”
“What, what do you mean?”
Cardinal Mihaer was so flabbergasted that he sighed, “Ha!” He always knew this man would cause trouble eventually. But six hundred? How reckless could one be?
Unable to lash out in front of the prince, he questioned quietly.
“You raised unauthorized priests. Doing such a thing without any notice, what do you take the church’s rituals for?”
Bishop Berg didn’t respond immediately. Nausea caught in his throat.
He had never liked Cardinal Mihaer’s sense of elitism. Mihaer deemed himself and the priests as chosen by God and discriminated against monks who weren’t chosen, a behavior Berg found intolerably annoying.
It was true that since ancient times, there had been a tradition of considering only priests who passed the church’s rites as God’s chosen ones. Thus, monks who failed the rites were assigned miscellaneous tasks, while priests took on significant duties such as conducting rituals or embarking on inspections in the name of pilgrimage.
Mentioning such discrimination so blatantly was a great insult. In the service of God, possessing divine power was a secondary matter; therefore, priests and monks respected each other as fellow clergy.
But Mihaer was different. He subtly belittled monks, and since he became a cardinal, the appointment of monks to manage village churches or to high clerical positions had significantly decreased.
Thus, Bishop Berg, who advocated the [Doctrine of Universal Priesthood], and Cardinal Mihaer clashed at every turn.
Moreover, Berg knew a lesser-known secret that most people were unaware of. It was a not-so-important secret known only to the high priests and cardinals: Cardinal Mihaer was of royal blood.
In fact, he was an heir to the throne. Cardinal Mihaer’s real name was ‘Kmean de Tartaglia’. To put it into perspective, he was the great-granduncle of the current king of Bellita Kingdom, ‘Karoman de Tartaglia’.
In his youth, Mihaer was not chosen as the successor. The throne was taken by his much younger brother, which deeply disappointed him, leading him to devote himself to the church. Changing his name to Mihaer, he erased his regret-filled past by becoming merely an apprentice of the Cross Church.
Given this background, the relief he received when, during the rite that separated priests and monks, he received God’s favor upon asking a question to the Holy One, was unimaginable for the layman.
However, Berg could not empathize with him at all. Perhaps due to a complex or just sheer disgust. Bishop Berg was an illegitimate child. Born neither as a noble nor a commoner, he was ostracized and expelled from his family.
“Now, even if they are unauthorized priests, wouldn’t they be of great help at this moment?”
At that moment, Prince Cleo de Frederick interjected, clapping his hands to break the tense atmosphere. He looked at both cardinals with a slight smile.
“There’s space beside our royal knight regiment’s camp. About eight hundred in total? That should leave plenty of room. If you’re short on military supplies like tents or canteens, we can support you. We brought ample supplies with us, including the squire knights.”
“…Thank you. We lack many things due to our hasty arrival. Would it be possible for you to introduce us to the quartermaster?”
“Of course. I will instruct them to provide generous support. Should we be stingy with supplies when facing the great task of subduing the apostles of the evil god?”
The prince winked and subtly gestured at Cardinal Mihaer with one hand, while pressing his fingertips on the table with the other, asking for understanding since he had unintentionally taken the lead.
Although a prince subordinated to the Cross Church standing in the cardinal’s way should exhibit such actions, Cleo de Frederick’s behavior was notably affected.
He wasn’t afraid of Cardinal Mihaer at all. Instead, he observed keenly the not-so-good relationship between the two cardinals.
Cardinal Mihaer folded his arms, standing back while cooling his temper as he observed the conversation between Prince Cleo and Bishop Berg.
‘Yes, dealing with the apostles of the evil god takes precedence for now. But six hundred? Can such randomly given divine power really be of help? Tch. Even so, it’s better than nothing.’
His first thought was to solve the immediate problem. Dethroning Bishop Berg would come later. Just like dealing with that prince who was rallying the nobles of other kingdoms…
“Isn’t it necessary to revise the organization of the knights? Even if things don’t add up right away, I think it would be more effective to mix knights and crusaders little by little rather than separating them.”
“It would be better to bless them in advance rather than right before the battle. That way, it will…”
“Then what about the junior knights…”
Even as they each harbored different thoughts, the three of them discussed throughout the night in front of Cardinal Mihaer’s small tent how to subjugate the apostle of the evil god. A few days later, the subjugation force faced the apostle of the evil god.
Riding a jet-black steed, the apostle approached while staining the mountains and the vast plains red. Contrary to expectations, it was not Marquis Gaiden, but a young man with a blank expression.
So young that it was hard to believe he just came of age…
– Neigh.
Banté snorted long and hard.
The eyes of the black horse that scraped the ground as if wanting to trample on humans were gone.
In their place were only hollow, white pupils densely veined like a mesh, a sight nobody who previously remembered its cunning but naive eyes could recognize.
Lev looked down arrogantly at the army in front of him. Although it was a powerful force composed of as many as five thousand knights, junior knights, priests, and crusaders, he did not even snort.
“Let’s go.”
Banté obeyed his master’s command.
With lightning speed, they began their charge, and the knights and crusaders of the subjugation force mounted their horses and formed assault formations.
At that moment, a group positioned far at the rear of the subjugation force started singing in chorus.
“Here are the sons and daughters of the Holy God!”
Dressed in plain clothes rather than priestly robes, they were the youths raised in Bishop Berg’s ‘Grania Orphanage.’
There was a mix of young men not quite thirty down to small boys and girls, and their nightingale-like voices reverently echoed across the vast plains.
They had not learned divine spells.
Although divine spells were undoubtedly an efficient means of utilizing the power of the Holy God, they required learning very difficult ancient grammatical structures. Consequently, Berg had no choice but to teach a rather primitive method of imbuing their voices with divine power.
“Grant us trials and tribulations.”
Lev felt extremely unpleasant. Not only did the divine power contained in the melody penetrate his brain unfiltered, but it also reminded him of Lena leaving in a carriage.
Thinking of Lena made his head strangely dizzy.
Why am I like this? ─ besides this question, he was inexplicably tormented by unbearable guilt, just like when he had killed his father.
“So that we can endure and become your pride,”
Finally, Lev drew his sword, yelling “Shut up!” and spurred Banté harshly to silence those loud brats.
“We shall prove our lives.”
The crusaders and knights also divided into three columns and charged on horseback.
More than a thousand horsemen galloped, shaking the ground, and the junior knights also rushed forward, shouting battle cries.
Behind them, over fifteen hundred priests were generously bestowing blessings.
“Therefore, O God! Watch over us. Witness your sons and daughters fight!”
Thus, the absurd engagement of one against five thousand began.
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