My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 99
#99
the beginning of change (3)
Heinrich St. Landgard.
Heinrich, who became the master of the Holy Sword and was ordained a paladin, was given the middle name 'Saint'..
It was not just a title.
Because it was a name that only those who were directly chosen by the main deity, such as saints and saints of the church, had..
‘This is all thanks to the “Great Blessing: Knight of Light” I received at the investiture ceremony.···.’
There were many types of blessings, starting from what he had, such as strength, leaps, and weight, to what he did not have..
Until now, Heinrich had felt the God's interest directly, so it didn't really hit him, but it was like a reward he could get if he achieved certain conditions..
If you overcome the limits of your body through extreme training, you will receive the blessing of a ‘strong body’..
If you accept more than the limit of divine power through constant search, you will receive the blessing of 'increase'..
In addition, if a certain standard is surpassed while practicing a technique using divine power or studying a sacred law, it becomes a blessing and returns to the practitioner..
‘I haven't really felt it yet.’
However, if you think about it, except for “Blessing: Leap,” all the rest were blessings obtained when you did your best in the situation..
The standards may have been a bit generous, but it was not an unprecedented situation..
However, the ‘Great Blessing’ was different from the ‘Blessings’ I had received so far..
‘Blessings that come only from God’s choice.’
Among the numerous believers of the main religious denomination, it was an event that occurred at least once in a generation..
As a clear example, among those who have received the Great Blessing in modern times, the only living person is Saint Riesta..
It is said that there was a time in the past when no one came forward at all, so I could see how difficult it was to receive it..
‘Additionally, being recognized by the Holy Sword does not necessarily mean you will receive a great blessing..’
There are about a dozen owners of the holy sword known to date, but only two of them were saints..
The warrior from a thousand years ago who rose up holding the holy sword and defeated the Immortal King as a saint from the beginning..
A former warrior who became a saint after holding the holy sword like Heinrich..
In other words, the warriors of the holy sword who defeated the Immortal King in the previous generation were also saints chosen by the main god..
‘That must mean that the Lord is concerned about matters related to the abyss. But, being a saint, something tickles me a bit..’
It seemed like Ju-Jin felt that he was useful and was trying to push him, but he couldn't help but feel a little burdened..
That's right too···.
“oh! There you are, a saint.!”
“Indeed, from the first time I came to the Great Hall, I thought it was something out of the ordinary. I never thought you would be chosen by the Lord so quickly..”
“Clearly, that growth rate was not normal. Now I understand.”
This is because everyone who was comfortable with him before began to treat him with awe..
Not only paladins and archbishops, but even cardinals whom I had only met a few times..
‘Moreover, the condition of the newly issued equipment is no joke..’
The pure white armor he is wearing, ‘Guardian of Glory’, was a luxury item among luxury items created with great care by the best craftsmen of the Main Church in the past..
The use of rare metals including mithril and orichalcon is basic..
The inner surface was densely carved with prayers, and it was literally a 'moving fortress' surrounded by all kinds of high-ranking holy laws and even a sacred barrier..
‘The price is just as good.’
It was not a small castle on the border, but a strategic fortress equipped with all kinds of magical treatments..
The price was so high that even the wealthy main church could only make one, and even paladins were using equipment of a lower level than this..
In fact, it was like a sacred object..
‘Ultimately, this is the final equipment. The best weapon, the Holy Sword, and the best armor, the Guard of Glory. There is no need to worry about fitting the equipment anymore..’
Henry, who had become a saint, was now on his way out after meeting the Pope, who was resting and recuperating, with the saint..
From his gentle appearance to his eyes that are so passionate that you can't believe he's bedridden, to the powerful divine power that fills his body..
Hatianus II, who has led the main religious order until now, seemed to have made enough corrections on the outside.···.
‘I said there wasn't much time left. Did she say that she can only be awake for about an hour a day?.’
Although he was still holding on thanks to his enormous divine power, the candle of his life was about to go out..
The saint must also know that fact well..
However, she did not show it and showed a cheerful appearance throughout, introducing Henry to the Pope..
She talked excitedly until he fell asleep again, but her expression became gloomy only after she completely left the residence, but she quickly changed her expression and put a soft smile on her face again..
Although she was still young, she was a saint..
She knew very well that it was not good for her to show too much of her negative emotions..
And isn’t this the world’s largest religious center??
For them, death was just another journey to the Lord, not an eternal farewell..
While walking down the street having a light conversation with the saintess, who seemed to have completely recovered her mind, she suddenly changed the subject as if something had occurred to her..
“Ah, now that I think about it, Heinrich has become a saint, so we can work on this together in more earnest! Ah, I'm so glad I have a comrade to share the burden with.!”
···I guess it's been a very difficult time..
It is said that truly important or troublesome issues are handled by working-level staff under the leadership of the cardinal, but now that the pope is unable to work, she is said to be the highest-ranking person, so she must have been under considerable stress implicitly..
‘The Pope and the Saint have similar positions.···.’
In a symbolic sense, she may be seen as superior, but the status of someone who rose to the top of the clergy, the Pope, after countless years of proof, was by no means easy..
It was only natural that the inexperienced young saint was only a symbol of the religious order, and the person who actually led them was the Pope..
‘The problem now is that the Pope is absent..’
As the election of a new pope was possible only after the previous pope left for the bosom of God, those who remained had no choice but to do their best..
In addition, isn't the current Pope the adoptive father on the family register who adopted her despite his old age?.
The desire to somehow fill the void left by her father may also be one of the reasons why the saint devoted herself to her work by reducing her sleep..
“Now that I think about it, I have something to discuss. You heard about the Immortal King's movements this time.?”
After becoming a saint, work was handed over, and people were attached to him to deliver external news and assist with work..
And I was able to hear the latest news through them..
“It is said that they are showing full-fledged movement unlike anything before. They opened the abyss and summoned the undead to the continent, and this time it was an overt provocation.···.”
It was a story about the recent actions of the immortal king Hans..
In addition, the church's competent intelligence team analyzed in detail why he behaved like that and relayed it to Heinrich..
The situation of sending a signal to the undead to gather them and take care of them was captured..
‘Of course, I didn't think I could hide it forever, but.’
It was natural that everyone's attention was focused on the advertisement, as it was advertised to the extent that it could be seen not only in the Church and the Magic Tower, but also in many territories..
Other forces are probably having a hectic time right now, trying their best to obtain more detailed information..
It wasn't good news for Hans, though..
“I don't know what I'm thinking all of a sudden... Since the Immortal King has gone to such lengths to begin to gather his forces again, we cannot let that go so easily. This is your chance to deal with him before he gathers more of his troops.!”
The saint spoke passionately with her golden eyes shining with a motivated face..
That was something Hans had already fully expected..
Ultimately, replying to the signal sent by Hans carried the risk of being discovered by others who were determined to detect it..
‘Because of that, we are deliberately dividing the work by region... There are cases where the undead are subdued before you can unite and retrieve them..’
It was still happening in real time..
The locations where the undead appeared were so varied and numerous, that they did not only appear in deserted places..
If it is near a church's temple or magic tower, a city with strong people, or a territory with strong military power, the moment the location is discovered, it's over..
Unless there were executives in the immortal army, it was inevitable that they would be destroyed individually..
“ah! And a continental summit is scheduled to be held again soon. Since things have gotten this far, they can no longer sit idle, so they should try to come up with a proper plan this time.!”
The saint's eyes lit up and she made a firm decision..
Then he turned to Heinrich and added a word..
“Together!”
···I guess I've really been under a lot of pressure with work..
***
In fact, although the church had warned several times about the Immortal King, there were limits to the response of other countries on the Aeon Continent..
The situation is very different now from what happened before..
The fight against the immortal kings of the previous era was basically an all-out war in the form of a war..
Because the energy of the abyss in their hearts was so strong, it was largely due to the fact that the church was able to somehow determine their location..
Of course, past immortal kings reached the extreme level of black magic, so they were able to avoid the attention of the church for a while..
Even if you do whatever you can to distract their attention for a moment, there is a limit to that and your location will eventually be discovered..
Therefore, they had no choice but to raise a huge immortal army to protect themselves and fight an all-out war with the continent..
I did that.
This time, the resurrected Immortal King's actions were completely different..
He did everything he could to hide his location, and he was using his tricks behind the scenes to throw the continent into chaos..
Additionally, due to its unpredictable mobility, it was impossible to collect information and determine its whereabouts..
That was the reason why other powers could not make any special moves right away..
I don't even know where the enemy I'm supposed to be fighting is or what they're doing, so what can I do??
The only thing that could be done was to protect key figures and key points, while strengthening security and reorganizing the military in preparation for future troubles..
However, there is no immediate enemy in sight, and I hope that only uncertain preparations will continue for several months..
As the situation unfolded, hyenas began to show their heads one by one, trying to take advantage of the chaos rather than prepare for the future..
From the military's embezzlement of military supplies and corruption in military supply at the bottom, to the secret collusion of the political circles at the top..
Small discords from all walks of life gathered together and contributed to creating the current chaotic political situation..
It was only now that the problem had grown that I was in a hurry to take care of it again..
Even before the situation could be resolved, a bigger change was coming..
A group of people passing through a forest path infested with monsters.
As it was a dangerous area, the number of mercenaries surrounding them and guarding the surroundings was not easy..
At that time, a mercenary guarding the top spoke quietly to the man next to him..
“Hey Mike. Is it really okay? I heard there are undead roaming everywhere these days..”
“So what? But you can't take a break from work forever.?”
“That's it though···.”
“And unless you're extremely unlucky, you won't run into them. With this number, it might be worth a try..”
As merchants are well aware of the current situation, several merchants heading in the same direction have joined forces and hired a larger number of mercenaries than usual..
So they confidently traversed the dangerous forest path, and in the end did not encounter a single undead..
but···.
“Ugh! what are these guys!”
“be careful! Absolutely ordinary guys... haha!”
A swarm of monsters, and countless monsters, attacked the upper group..
“Crunch—!”
“Kieeeeek!”
There were various types of monsters that attacked, such as goblins, orcs, and gremlins, but they all had characteristics they all shared..
Eyes with a subtle red glow.
Saliva dripping from the corner of the mouth.
viciously bulging muscles.
The recklessness of rushing forward without heeding even if a limb is cut off.···.
Even if the throat is cut or the heart is pierced, the murderous intent to kill the opponent until the moment the breath stops completely..
“Why did people from different races join forces...!”
“These guys, there's no end···!”
They were trampling on humans mercilessly..
This also started happening all over the continent.—.
‘The effects of 'madness' were slowly but surely showing themselves..
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