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chapter 145




“Ooh! Look. The Lord Priest has come out!”
A member of the revolutionary army discovered Belve and greeted him happily. He was the priest who acted as a proxy to God and shared Holy Water that could heal anything. He had saved hundreds, while his followers now numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Even the followers preparing to attack the capital of the Holy Kingdom, Fritarok, were about 50,000, and they had set a perimeter around the dozens-of-meter-thick outer wall that was boasted as impenetrable.
They weren’t regular soldiers, but an army made up of citizens within a matter of months. Also, the fact that a mere 50,000 was assaulting the capital was laughable, but Belve had faith in one thing: The Golden Cross Army was not in the capital. Instead, the army was currently scattered amongst various medium-sized nations. Also, strangely, there was only the minimum amount of soldiers left in the capital despite the rebellion and uprising. As such, this opportunity would not come twice.
‘This is a good opportunity to sweep them all up right now!’
“Followers, the time has come!” Belve raised his staff into the air and shouted. “The time for us to be acknowledged by God and to form a new faith of our own! An opportunity to create a country of our own, a religion of our own, and a set of rules and regulations of our own!”
“Oooh!”
The revolutionary army raised their weapons and cried out. There was no fear in their eyes. To them, they weren’t scared of dying. They had Holy Water that could heal any injury. They would fight to the brink of death, making the enemy terrified. They had fought like that until now, and they had won every battle without defeat. For they were drunk on victory, they had no reason to retreat.
‘Yes, we have the Holy Water! The soldiers with faith won’t retreat, and also for me…’
Belve brought down his staff. As Magic Power spread out and penetrated the ground, pale white bones and rotten hands popped out. Skeletons and zombies. He could summon hundreds of undead, while his minions, also necromancers, could summon thousands more. They could act as shields to reduce the number of casualties.
‘Even though this Spirit Magic consumes both Magic Power and vitality…’ Belve brought out Holy Water. ‘That amount of vitality can’t compare to this Holy Water.’
To think that the Holy Water could restore lost vitality, the opposite of Magic Power! Normally, Magic and Holy Water conflicted with one another, but if he used up the Magic Power and drank the Holy Water without using any more Magic Power, there would be no problem.
‘This is also a blessing of God!’
With God by his side, he would emerge victorious in this battle as well.
‘There’s also one more secret weapon.’
The followers hidden inside the Holy Kingdom’s capital. If they opened the outer gates, there was no reason for them to force the gates open themselves.
“Everyone, charge! Slaughter all the enemies and prove to our God how formidable we are!”
Belve swung his staff. Thousands of undead received their orders and stormed at the walls. They raised their swords, spears, and bows while stampeding ahead, billowing up clouds of dust.
“God is with us!”
“Let’s go!”
“Take the Pope’s head!”
The revolutionary army followed behind with siege weapons and ladders.
“T-they’re coming…!”
“T-those crazy…!”
“How many are there!?”
The soldiers of the Holy Kingdom screamed in terror.
“Block them no matter what it takes! We have to prevent them from entering the capital!”
“Archer platoon! Ready…!”
The archers of the Holy Kingdom nocked their arrows.
“Loose!”
Thousands of arrows were loosened at once and formed a parabola, aiming at the undead charging in a straight line. The undead hit by the countless arrows stumbled or collapsed. However, it only slightly slowed their movements. The flood continued rushing forth.
They limped on their broken legs or crawled toward the gate in whatever way they could. Their rotten eyes glowed red, pouring hostility and resentment at the archers on the castle walls as they glared at them. The sight was so terrifying that the archers of the Holy Kingdom lost their morale.
“F-fire the flaming arrows! I don’t know about the skeletons, but we can burn the zombies!”
They aimed their flaming arrows and let them loose. They even tried to launch the catapult installed on the outer wall. Thousands of undead were burned, broken, or destroyed, but their broken bodies gathered and reformed into whole figures.
“…Resurrection.”
“…Resurrection.”
“Gulp…! Resurrection.”
The black-robed Necromancers holding their staves collapsed once their Magic Power ran dry. The Spirit Magic had consumed their vitality to a threatening level, so they drank the Holy Water, recovering from the loss. Next, they began to restore their Magic Power to summon the undead again.
There was a reason that Spirit Magic was banned on the continent. With vitality as collateral, it was possible to summon the undead with meager amounts of Magic Power. A mere dozen necromancers could rapidly conjure hundreds of soldiers, and with hundreds of necromancers, an immortal army of thousands of undead would be ready to strike terror in the hearts of the enemies.
“Everyone, spend your vitality without discretion! All of your energy shall be restored by the blessing of God…!”
Belve shouted excitedly. The necromancers gathered here, including him, numbered about a hundred, and all of them had kept themselves hidden. There was only one reason that they had gathered here and followed Belve: The Devil of Lania. They were the ‘true’ priests that worshipped the one who had summoned thousands, if not tens of thousands, of the undead by fusing Magic and Holy Power.
They continued to consume their vitality until they vomited blood and drank the Holy Water again. Seeing the reviving undead, the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom took a step back.
“S-shit…! We can’t win!”
“Don’t run! There’s only execution left for those who dare to flee! Defend the gate with your lives!”
The commander shouted as he swung his sword, but seeing the unrelenting undead, he shut his mouth. They had neared the gate all of a sudden.
“Bring out the ladders for the undead!”
The revolutionary army raised their shields and swarmed in. The arrows pierced their shields and struck their arms.
“Uwaaack!”
“H-heal it! Holy Water!”
“The blessing of God…!”
The wounded soldiers pulled out the arrows with trembling hands. Blood poured out like a fountain, but they poured Holy Water on it. An instant later, the fractured bones and torn muscles twitched as they repaired themselves. Just like that, their wounds were healed without even a scar.
The revolutionary army glared at the defending soldiers with madness in their eyes.
“You fucking bastards! You dare puncture my hand? I’ll kill you! I’ll show you what happens when you touch a believer blessed by God-!”
The revolutionary soldier climbed the ladder, without any consideration for his own life, and died with a stone to the head.
“Don’t get excited! Let the undead go first!”
“Even God does not wish for us to die! Attack while hiding behind the undead!”
As soon as the ladders were deployed, the undead began to make their way up the walls.
“T-they’re coming!”
“Pour the oil! Light them on fire!”
“Throw the stones!”
“Spears! The spears…!”
“Shit, what are the Holy Knights doing!?”
“They all went to the chapel.”
“What…? Did they actually run? Are they telling us to defend the frontline by ourselves!?”
The soldiers’ morale immediately took a dive. The undead continued to revive even if their attacks had destroyed them, while the revolutionary soldiers also healed their wounds instantly. Meanwhile, all the priests and Holy Knights had supposedly gathered at the chapel rather than defending the city’s walls. It couldn’t be helped that the remaining soldiers lost their morale.
“…Fine. It can’t be helped. Use the slaves as shields. We’re going to fight like them.”
The Holy Kingdom’s soldiers took a step back, forcing the citizens of the capital to stand before them.
“W-wait..! What is this!?”
“First, a forced draft…and now we’re supposed to be meat shields!?”
“This isn’t right! I’m a merchant! I even gave you money! You’re going to be like this even after accepting my bribes!?”
The citizens complained, but all they received in response was sharp spearheads. The soldiers just watched them with twisted smiles.
“Shut up. You’re all slaves now. As meat shields, block them!”
“W-what are you…!?”
At this moment, the undead had gotten up the wall. Seeing them, the citizens paled.
“Hurry and block them!”
The soldiers of the Holy Empire stabbed at the backs of the citizens. They screamed while recoiling in pain. The action resulted in them standing in front of the undead.
“Break through the gate!”
“Push the ram!”
The revolutionary soldiers surrounded the battering ram with shields and brought it over. Its wheels rolled, and its hammer began to batter the gate. Screams and yells rang out from the wall and the gate. In a matter of moments, storm clouds filled the sky, and it began to rain. Corpses of the undead and citizens littered the walls, painting a hellish landscape.
“P-please stop… I-I want to live…”
Blood gushed out from the citizens’ palms as a result of swinging their weapons excessively. Despite that, the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom did not release them.
“If you want to live, fight. Fight for your life!”
The soldiers had been fighting for hours, and fatigue was washing over them.
“D-defend…the gates!”
The revolutionary army, who was trying to break through the gate, also watched with weary eyes.
“It…isn’t breaking?”
“Just what is it made of…!?”
The revolutionary soldiers gazed at the massive steel gates with disgust. Since it hadn’t been broken through even after several hours, Belve’s desperation grew.
‘…This is a problem. If I make a mistake, Master will know what I did.’
He was doing something that wasn’t ordered. Fear clouded his mind as he began to think about the consequences. Could he be captured and brought back to the underground prison…?
‘No! I’ll end it before then!’
Belve gritted his teeth through the desperation.