Chapter 700: Raise the sword

Staring at the wooden cup, its liquor slightly cloudy, with bits of residue floating near the bottom, whether coarse wheat dregs or dust she couldn’t even tell, the black-haired girl made no move to drink. She merely glanced at it and set it down. Beneath her dark robe, her pale face revealed a trace of disdain.

She could hardly believe anyone would compare this pitiful fare to the magnificent feast Veyrith had once prepared for the gathered gods. Even the finest elven wines she had tasted before made this stuff seem like the difference between paradise and filth.

Just as she had expected: cheap swill from some mortal tavern. No doubt only these ignorant frogs in a well, who had never experienced the wider world, could mistake such rubbish for a rare and exquisite delicacy.

Seated on a wooden bench, sensing the faint miasma of plague in the air, Brennild closed her eyes and continuously communicated with the land beneath her. A colorless, formless special existence flows along the earth’s veins; with her as its sole core, it gradually tainted the entire city.

Spreading plague as she listened to the low murmurs of the drinkers around her, the ancient deity’s brows knit slightly, sinking into thought.

Curing the plague she had unleashed with the authority she still possessed demanded two things: a purifier of extraordinary power and a spell with an exceptionally high level of casting efficiency.

If the spell’s efficiency, or more precisely, its rank, fell short of what was required, then even the Pope of Light, mighty as he was, would be powerless against this ancient plague magic, a force that existed on a level far beyond his own.

Looking across the common spellcraft humans currently use, Brennild did not believe any of it could counter her plague. To achieve a qualitative breakthrough, one had to employ origin spells, those that had already been sealed away by the gods.

Although Lyra Beckett had obtained half of the lofty divine spark that once belonged to Moserria, as a sword-bearer her strength had only barely reached what human classifications defined as an early tier Arcanist mage. She was nowhere near capable of breaking through the world will’s seal and freely chanting the gods’ magic at will.

Then there was only one answer: the one who had dealt with the plague seed she planted at the Valeria Empire’s border back then, and who had appeared here now to heal the dying infected, was not Lyra, it was the Valeria Empire’s Regent, the one who felt inexplicably familiar to her: Astrid Calliste.

How, exactly, had someone not particularly strong broken through the seal?

Even now, Brennild still didn’t understand how Astrid had managed to comprehend, and successfully chant, the divine tongue. It simply wasn’t something an existence of this era should be able to touch.

And why was her aura somewhat similar to His? Why was she so proficient when using the divine tongue, as if she had practiced it countless times before, without the slightest halting stiffness a late learner should have?

If... it was His blessing upon Astrid, granting her the ability to master the divine tongue...

Did that mean Father did not wish for Him to recreate that old age, when gods sat in the sky, steering everything by their will, governing all races of the world?

No. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

They were the exalted eldest children of the gods. By birth they could use and chant the most powerful origin spells in the world, bearing the great authority He bestowed, walking the world in His stead.

Nothing in this world compared to the gods’ connection with Him. They were the truly mighty, transcendent existences.

Forcing down the doubt in her heart, Brennild continued to guide the plague. A cloud of death descended upon this human city without sound, devouring its most fragile parts.

A butcher selling goods on the street suddenly felt his throat itch; he couldn’t help coughing a few times. A farmwoman hanging laundry outside felt a faint burning in her lungs, and her heartbeat began to quicken.

Similar situations erupted in many corners of the city. Once the initial infection is complete, these people will become the next source of contagion, spreading it onward to even more humans.

Sensing the hollowness creeping in from the spiritual plane, Brennild stopped guiding it and no longer used the plague.

The seeds had been planted. The rest required no effort from her, this was the convenience of the plague authority. Even though Brennild’s current strength was not even one percent of what it used to be, she could still, by creating initial outbreak points, reap as much death as possible as nourishment.

It was just that the nourishment these people’s deaths provided was somewhat meager. If large numbers of mages or knights with powerful spiritual force could die, like in last year’s great war, then before long her strength would rise another level.

Unfortunately, that silver-haired eldest princess had ruined her plans again. The subsequent purge had barely any casualties, either because the situation became overwhelmingly one-sided, or because it ended in negotiations.

From probing the outskirts of the imperial capital, to sending people to inspect the Monster Mountain Range, to healing those infected by plague who were on the brink of death, again and again she spoiled Brennild’s affairs. Now she had even chased her to the very soil of the Kingdom of Velys.

If she could, Brennild truly wanted to deal with this nuisance personally, someone who constantly opposed her and had already begun affecting the grand design of the gods’ revival.

But considering Lyra was almost always at Astrid’s side, never leaving her, and considering Astrid’s status as an imperial noble of high power with strong security around her, such assassination plans exist only on paper.

Not far away, two cups of coarse wheat ale disappeared from a table. The traveling merchant still seemed unsatisfied and called the owner over to refill two large mugs, continuing to drink and talk.

Listening to mortals discuss the kingdom’s situation, worrying about the looming war between the two nations, something they fear might be even more dangerous than winter blizzards, Brennild quickly regained her calm.

What was she anxious about? Astrid’s banner was the execution of war criminals. Those royals and nobles who actively pushed for war would never allow her to march unopposed; the two sides were bound to erupt into fierce bloodshed.

She only needed to wait quietly, and countless lives would perish because of it, becoming nourishment for her recovery.

Not to mention... during this period, Brennild had already collected a small portion of the zealots’ faith in Moserria from within the Church of Light...

Although it still wasn’t enough to revive Moserria as she herself had revived, it was at least enough to display a hint of the former Light God’s great works.

This time, whether Astrid or Lyra, both will die here, becoming sacrifices for the return of the old gods.

How much time passed, no one knew. The petite figure seated at the table vanished. A tavern attendant came over to clean up, only to find that the cup of liquor the guest had ordered was sitting on the tabletop untouched.

"Bought a drink and won’t even taste it, just sat here daydreaming?"

Shaking his head, the attendant, unaware of the truth, didn’t immediately take the cup, worried the guest might return. Just then, customers at another table also finished drinking and rose to leave.

As he rushed over to clear their table, he heard a few coughs from those departing guests.

The sound was light, but in a tavern with so few patrons, it stood out with striking clarity.

....................

After two speeches back to back, and after miracles that were truly displayed before the people, Lyra finally won the public recognition of Monica, the Saintess of Light, as well as Captain of Knights Kales.

From then on, the tense, swords-drawn atmosphere between both sides gradually dissolved. Under the friendly negotiations between Astrid and Kales, Coldwind City, where the Cathedral had once halted, began to open to the Church’s knightly order.

By establishing contact with family members in the city and some local clergy, they learned of the Valeria Empire expeditionary army’s kind treatment of the lower-class citizens of the Kingdom of Velys.

Coupled with the Saintess of Light encouraging Lyra’s identity, the vast majority of Knights had already accepted Lyra’s existence, believing this pink-haired girl to be a Holy Light Knight who carried out the Lord’s will and shouldered the fate of millions of lives.

The former Pope of Light had brought suffering to the entire nation, and when plague came he ignored the people’s livelihood, allowing corruption within the Church to fester. He had long since strayed from that radiant road.

It was time for them to change, cast aside extreme thinking, embrace the merciful and beautiful creed of salvation from the past, and practice virtue like true knights.

In the "Holy Radiant City," Lyra, stepping here for the first time as an allied force, inspected the weapons and armor of the Knights in sequence. Then she offered verbal encouragement, telling them to rest well over the next few days and prepare for the upcoming reorganization.

According to the agreement Astrid reached with Kales, this Church knightly order would form an offensive-defensive alliance with the Valeria Empire expeditionary army. The highest leader will be the one watched by the Lord, the one clad in holy light, Lyra.

However, since Lyra was not familiar with the knightly order’s internal arrangements and personnel, most of the time she served only as a nominal leader.

The detailed deployment of the army is still handled by Commander Kales, including command in the coming battles and coordination with the expeditionary army’s logistics units.

This battle-hardened knight captain took full charge, since they had decided to stand on the same front as the Valeria Empire, supplies from the direction of the royal capital would naturally be cut off by the Pope soon.

To maintain combat effectiveness, they needed the expeditionary army to provide part of their logistics supplies for the time being.

Astrid didn’t mind supporting their logistics first. The expeditionary army now won the people through virtue and had barely managed to gain a foothold in Velys territory.

With a steady stream of materiel from the rear and commercial trade previously conducted with neighboring nobles, supplying these knights was more than enough.

It just might mean troubling a certain white-stockinged girl far away in the imperial capital to spend a bit more effort on transportation.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness Astrid. When the war ends, the Church’s knightly order will certainly repay what you’ve contributed today."

Hearing Kales’s words, Astrid curved her lips and exchanged a few polite formalities.

"No need to be so courteous. Our goals are the same for now, and our future demands are similar as well. You could say we’re fellow travelers on a long road."

"From here on, I’ll have to ask Captain Kales to actively reorganize members of the Church of Light, wake them from their errors, and lead them back to the Lord’s warm, luminous embrace."

According to intelligence from her informants, both the Pope and the king had entered full mobilization. Directly ahead of them, they had gathered large forces, trying to block the allied army’s advance.

And that wasn’t even the most crucial part. After Astrid’s persuasion efforts, the Church’s knightly order had completely turned to the Valeria Empire, or rather, to Lyra personally.

At this point, nobles about to lose their heads had no reason not to use their trump cards. In the coming battles, some Arcanist mages will inevitably intervene.

Fortunately, the allied forces weren’t lacking in top-tier strength. They had the military grand duke of the Valeria Empire, the famous Imperial Fortress, as well as powerful turncoats from the kingdom such as Monica and Kales. Even if a fight truly broke out, they wouldn’t necessarily be the weaker side.

It was true that the Kingdom of Velys once had many Arcanist mages. But now, one by one, Astrid had used words and to separate them apart.

They could not form an effective alliance. They were isolated, indifferent to one another, some even refused to obey orders and stood against the Church.

The king had neither the prestige to command the nobles, nor the ability to resolve contradictions and regroup. Defeat was only a matter of time.

Kales looked toward Astrid in the distance. After hesitating for a few seconds, he spoke.

"There’s something I hope Your Highness Astrid can agree to."

"Go on."

"If I’m not mistaken, the expeditionary army’s next step is to follow the eastern transport line, taking the high ground and pushing west all the way?"

As a former enemy, the Church knights who once blocked the expeditionary army, Kales had studied the imperial army’s march routes deeply. Although he hadn’t personally seen part of the purge list Astrid sent to the nobles, he more or less knew their next target.

Astrid nodded without denying it. "Correct."

West of Coldwind City and east of Sevilla City, the region belongs to a certain prince of Velys. He was also on the execution list Astrid had signed; of course, the purge list Astrid sent to the kingdom’s nobles was a reserved version; some potential targets weren’t included.

Naturally, that wasn’t because Astrid intended to let them go. It was because she planned to first take down the Velys royal family completely, send the old king to the gallows, install a new, controllable candidate, and then use power without blades, boiling frogs in warm water, to knock them down one by one, exploit them, or kill them.

If she sent a list packed to the brim with names, and the Velys nobles saw it, it would force those snakes and rats to huddle together, greatly undermining Astrid’s strategy of dividing them.

In military politics, playing too "clean" with one’s methods often leads to heavy losses.

"The Pope knows the Church’s knightly order has refused his command. He will surely gather nearby knights and set restrictions along the way, obstructing our advance," Kales said.

"I hope I can be the one to handle those knights, in a relatively gentle way, giving them, as much as possible, one chance to choose again."

Whether to follow the pope to the bitter end, or to try to think independently and understand right from wrong in this whole affair.

Astrid modified at Kales. After a moment, she spoke softly.

"If the enemy are Church Knights, I can guarantee you’ll have priority to engage."

"But on that condition, Commander Kales, you also promise me..."

"Facing these compatriots who merely took the wrong path, knights with somewhat stubborn temperaments, can you truly raise your sword without hesitation, and end their lives?"