Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the other side of the Polosi River, the troops of the Holy Light Empire were all equipped and ready. Each of them was at their best – mentally, physically, and psychologically. This was a crusade against heresy that they had looked forward to a long time ago.
Ever since the Holy Light Empire was founded, concern for their God had grown. As long as they had sincere faith in their hearts, anyone could feel that their bodies were filled with inexhaustible strength. They were full of vigor every day, and would not tire no matter how much they did.
Therefore, the Church of Light followed in the footsteps of the Holy Light Empire, quickly spreading all around and firmly grasping the entire Holy Light Empire.
“O’ Your Noble Holiness the Pope, we’ve just received news that the king of the Kingdom of Blackmoon, Bhutto XVII, has arrived at the front lines. He’s in the camp on the other side of the Polosi River.”
A red-robed Wizard bowed respectfully toward the middle-aged man sitting in the high seat, dressed in a flowing robe. This man gave off an intimate vibe, almost “fatherly” in feeling but at the same time, he possessed an unparalleled dignity.
He was the Pope of the Church of Light – the Emperor of the Holy Light Empire, Philandeny!
The present Philandeny had been crowned as the Pope of the Holy Light Empire long ago, combining the authority of the empire and the church as one. In the Holy Light Empire, he was equivalent to an incarnation of their God.
“Archbishop Nananni! Don’t worry. The heretics of the Kingdom of Blackmoon have only lost their way. With God guiding the way, we’ll bring them into His radiance and rinse their spirits. They can still become God’s most devout believers!”
This red-robed Wizard was an Archbishop of the Holy Light Empire, a member of the clergy. Nonetheless, he was also a chancellor of the empire. This time, he had followed the Pope to the front lines to bear witness to how even the biggest land of heretics would finally be blanketed in God’s glory.
“Your Holiness the Pope, five years ago, the supreme God of Light blessed us with a miracle, conveying His oracle through Your Holiness, and we started to make preparations. To date, besides the Kingdom of Blackmoon, all other lands have been conquered by us. Everyone is in God’s light now, except for the Kingdom of Blackmoon. They’re wicked heretics, consisting of Spell Casters with corrupted souls. God has commanded us to annihilate these Spell Casters. There’ll be no redemption for their souls. However, the strongest among them is comparable to an Archbishop. If we count those spell casters’ organizations, their powerful ones far outnumber ours…”
Archbishop Nananni spoke somewhat worriedly. Clashes between the Church of Light and Spell Casters were not infrequent. Naturally, he knew that the number of Great Wizards in the Spell Caster world was rather considerable.
Every single Great Wizard was equivalent to a red-robed Archbishop of a large district in the Church of Light. This Archbishop was responsible for the religious matters of a huge region. Even though the Church of Light’s influence had spread substantially, their land was merely divided into seven districts.
This meant that the current Holy Light Empire only had seven Archbishops. If their hidden forces were added like the mysterious Wizards in the Inquisition, the Holy Light Empire’s capabilities were even stronger but it was still slightly lacking in comparison to the Spell Caster world.
“That’s no matter. The Spell Casters are now in great disorder. They won’t possibly join forces. Moreover, even if they do, so what? Don’t forget, five years ago, the great God of Light sent his miracle, allowing us to select three individuals with the most devout faith in God. Now, those three Wizards, after going through the holy ceremony, were bestowed with supreme powers by the God of Light, becoming the legendary Divine Believers. I’ve already invited one Divine Believer to oversee things here. No matter how many Great Wizards there are in the Spell Caster world, it’s of no use. They must all be purified!”
Philandeny spoke calmly.
“Divine Believer?”
Archbishop Nananni’s heart trembled. There was a Divine Believer! According to some records of the Church of Light, once, a long time ago, the entire world was immersed in God’s glory. Everyone worshipped the noble God but later, heretical Spell Casters began to rise, gradually breaking away from His light.
At that time, within the Church, other than the supreme existence the Pope, there was the Inquisition, the Archbishops, and so on, who wielded authority. There was also another group who stayed above these matters, which was the Divine Believers!
If the Pope could replace God in managing countless believers, then the Divine Believers were those with the most devout faith in God. At the same time, they had gone through a ceremony and received God’s trust, and could even take on a part of God’s strength.
It was just that, in the past, the God of Light had not granted any miracles or oracles, and some believers even started to doubt God’s existence.
Therefore, in that period, the church was low-profile, serving only as a spiritual symbol, attached to the Kingdom of Light. However, decades ago, the Pope received an oracle and began to gain control over the Kingdom of Light once again. He succeeded in seizing the kingdom and founded the Holy Light Empire.
After establishing the Holy Light Empire, the God of Light fell into silence again, and took no action, until five years ago. He blessed them with a miracle and allowed the church to pick three believers with the greatest faith.
“So, the three believers with the most devout faith are Divine Believers. They’ve already succeeded in mastering the powers God had blessed them with?”
Philandeny nodded. “Within five years, they’ve essentially grown familiar and gained control over the powers God had given them. Even one Divine Believer is enough to sweep away all the heretics!”
Upon seeing the confident look on the Pope’s face, Archbishop Nananni felt more assured, saying softly, “Your Holiness the Pope, then should we start the war now, and destroy those heretical troops in one go?”
“Of course, the decisive battle has begun! God’s radiance will surely spill across every corner of the world.”
Philandeny stood up, his body exuding an incomparably divine force like he was a real god. His abstruse gaze was directed at the other bank of the Polosi River…
…
“Boom.”
The entire ground seemed to quake. The sentinels in the Kingdom of Blackmoon’s army immediately noticed the abnormal activity among the Holy Light Empire’s troops on the other side of the river.
“Oh no, the Holy Light Empire’s attack has begun anew…”
Their voices rang through the army camp. The soldiers of the Kingdom of Blackmoon were solemn and ready as well. They did not panic, and under Marshal Cassely’s command, swiftly moved into formation.
“Your Majesty, the Holy Light Empire has started to attack. It seems like they’re aiming for a decisive battle!”
“Decisive battle?”
There was a sharp glint in the eighth prince’s eyes. Currently, both sides were on both banks of the River Polosi, having stationed their best troops. The outcome of this battle could indeed influence the overall situation. It was not an exaggeration to call it a decisive battle.
“Marshal Cassely, get ready. This is a battle our Kingdom of Blackmoon mustn’t lose. Just as you said, it’s a decisive battle!”
The eighth prince followed Marshal Cassely and exited his tent. He looked toward the battlefield ahead. As the river was frozen in thick ice, the soldiers of the Holy Light Empire were wearing special shoes, steadily making their attack toward the troops of the Kingdom of Blackmoon.
The first squadron was a fierce cavalry. These soldiers were wrapped in thick armor, and their bodies were also shrouded in a faint veil of light.
“Archers, shoot!”
The Kingdom of Blackmoon began their counterattack too. A rain of arrows descended, and a fierce wind appeared in the sky. With the force of the wind, these arrows became even faster.
“Bang bang bang.”
As the arrows rained upon the cavalry, they were blocked by the layer of light. This was a spell added to the cavalry by the Wizards of the Church of Light. From the start, the Wizards of the church had begun to battle fiercely with the Spell Casters of the Kingdom of Blackmoon.
“Ice Trap!”
At this furious cry, vicious Ice Elemental fluctuations quickly spread in all directions. The initially solid ice of the river rapidly erupted into large cracks and pits. Countless cavalrymen fell into this trap.
Faced with the spells cast by Spell Casters, these brave soldiers had no hope of victory.
“These Normies – what purpose can they serve in a war like this?”
The eighth prince watched wordlessly as soldiers fell one by one. In the clash of the spells from both sides, these soldiers were caught in the crossfire. They were unable to put up the slightest resistance.
“That’s right. If they were supported by spells, they might still be useful to deal with Spell Casters below the Fourth-level. In this battle, forget about Spell Casters below the Fourth-level. Spell Casters above the Seventh-level, even Great Wizards, are many in number. Normie soldiers are only sent to their deaths!”
Marshal Cassely felt rather helpless too. Although he had formidable commanding abilities, in a war like this, even the best commander would be powerless.
“Don’t throw away the lives of the kingdom’s brave soldiers anymore! The Wizards of the Church of Light have started to attack…”
The eighth prince was already able to see the other side of the river. Countless Wizards in white robes were glowing with pure, holy light. They were mobilizing their spells.
“Your Majesty, they’re only scouting. Each time the Holy Light Empire attacks…”
Before he could finish, the entire sky was lit up. The white glimmer that filled the sky illuminated the entire stretch above. Among the church’s Wizards on the other riverbank, some red-robed and black-robed Wizards suddenly appeared.
“Red-robed Archbishops, black-robed Inquisitors… They’re the Archbishops and Inquisitors, comparable to Great Wizards! Your Majesty, quick, send the elders from the group of elders. How can there be so many Archbishops and Inquisitors? The Holy Light Empire must’ve plotted for a long time to thoroughly annihilate us!”
Marshal Cassely’s face was incomparably white. He felt an unprecedented level of threat. The Archbishops and Inquisitors on the other side added up to thirteen in total. This was the same as thirteen Great Wizards.
A force like this was much stronger than the group of elders of the Blackmoon royal family. They would soon suffer a destructive blow.
“O’ noble God of Light, you’re born from the light, bringing light to us all, chasing away darkness, chasing away evil! Light Sword, carry out your judgment!”
The sky resounded with the chanting of the thirteen Archbishops and Inquisitors. Soon, a gleaming, white giant sword materialized in mid-air, hanging above the camp of the Kingdom of Blackmoon.
“Boom.”
The giant sword sliced down. No matter if they were Normies or Spell Casters, they felt suffocated as if the sword was about to painfully tear their bodies apart.
“Your Majesty!”
Marshal Cassely’s eyes were bloodshot as he yelled himself hoarse. Currently, he appeared incomparably anxious. Faced with a power like this, he was in total despair.
“The Church of Light can forget about setting foot in the free country of Spell Casters! Purple gold crown, go forth. Protect this land, protect liberty!”
At an unknown time, the eighth prince had taken off the purple-gold crown from his head. This crown was a symbol of the royalty, embodying the honor of the royal family.
Nevertheless, the members of the royal family also knew that this purple gold crown was one of their most valuable treasures. It contained defensive powers that could not be matched and had always guarded the royal family.
No one had ever been able to break this purple gold crown!
“Hum.”
The purple gold crown began to vibrate violently in the eighth prince’s hand. At the same time, a purple-gold light swiftly broadened overhead, covering the entire camp.
In the sky, within the dazzling purple gold ray, a gigantic apparition of the crown gradually took shape. Boldly, it confronted the Light Sword unleashed by thirteen existences on par with Great Wizards!
