Chapter 141

Even eagles were once eggs that couldn’t move. The Three Divine Gods, who command the continent, weren’t great from the start either. Could humans pursue gods without ever facing a crisis? The Three Divine Gods were actually familiar with crises.

The recent peaceful times were just a somewhat unusual period in their lives. Once threats arose again, the goddesses reverted to their old ways of thinking.

In short, they decided to abandon their dignity. Survival is more important than dignity—a truth they had already learned through experience.

“*Sigh*.”

Sestine let out a sigh. The goddesses had already decided to set aside their pride. As a saint, she couldn’t afford to hold her head high.

“Your Majesty. This incident is entirely the fault of our Church Country. First and foremost, I offer my sincerest apologies for this matter.”

She eventually knelt before the Emperor, admitting fault and offering an apology.

The Emperor, shocked, almost stepped back unconsciously. Leyman and Geher’s eyes widened as if they were seeing something bizarre.

A priest doesn’t easily kneel before anyone other than their god. Even Archbishop Armata didn’t do this to him, so how could a saint do such a thing?

The Emperor’s sense of crisis surged, and he quickly racked his brain. To him, such an event couldn’t happen without ulterior motives.

What are they aiming for? What do they want?

It was obvious. That saint was putting on a show, making it seem like she had already won. Perhaps Holy Knights were densely gathered around, waiting for the moment he let his guard down.

No one admits defeat like this. This must be a scheme.

Prejudice is scarier than one thinks. Once the Emperor had this thought, every action of the two saints seemed suspicious.

A Death God? Don’t make me laugh. What kind of Death God appears at such a peculiar time, neither early nor late?

Even if one did appear, do the three saints, the hero, and the Holy Knights have nothing better to do than sit around? If all else fails, they could just call the Hero Party.

“You need the Empire’s help to deal with the Death God? Yurinel Larkponsia, the hero, already wields the Sacred Sword, and Lucia Western, one of the masters, is by her side. I’ve heard Parnell is a great mage too. They were organized by your Church Country, so shouldn’t they be used for times like this?”

“The hero…”

The saint couldn’t continue and barely managed to spit out the words. She had just heard about this from Goddess Hilrae and was so stunned she couldn’t even sigh.

If such a thing had happened, shouldn’t rescuing and healing the hero be the priority? And now, Saint Nemi has turned into a bird?

It was a message from the goddess. It couldn’t be wrong. But even she couldn’t believe it. So, the Emperor’s expression upon hearing this was utterly cold.

“Are you joking with me now?”

The Hero Party, defeated by Grimudo, was surrounded by Harmail and on the verge of capture? So, these people left the hero to die and came to attack the Imperial Palace?

Even if the Empire is declining, it’s still a 500-year-old Empire. Did they think it would collapse like a house of cards with a single push?

If they thought they could quickly deal with us and then go save the hero, the Church Country’s higher-ups must either be fools or have completely underestimated the Empire. Of course, neither was likely.

The most plausible scenario was that everything Sestine was saying was fabricated.

‘Perhaps they’ve even brought the hero to attack the Imperial Palace.’

The claim that the hero wasn’t here wasn’t believable at all. On the battlefield, trusting the enemy’s words is foolish. If you’re fooled, it’s your fault, not the deceiver’s.

It couldn’t be ruled out that Yurinel, Lucia, and Parnell were already on the Church Country’s side and here in the Imperial Palace. That was far more likely than anything about Harmail.

And what, Saint Nemi turned into a bird? That chirping bird?

Common sense dictates that if such a thing had happened, the Church Country would be in chaos, and they wouldn’t have the mental capacity to pull off something like this. To the Emperor, this was utter nonsense.

“I know Grimudo can use the Polymorph Curse. The Western Family fell to it before. But if Saint Nemi was affected, would the Church Country be this quiet? Do you think the Empire lacks the intelligence network to know about such a thing?”

He was now too dumbfounded to speak. Did they think he was so easily swayed by sweet talk?

The saint, frustrated, felt her breath stuck in her throat. Even if she told the truth, he wouldn’t believe it, but she couldn’t start lying now.

“…Your Majesty. Your Celestial Dawn Knight Order and our Holy Knight Order have annihilated each other. The Church Country currently has no forces available to deal with this reality.”

At that moment, Arseria stepped forward and spoke. The Emperor’s expression remained stern.

The Celestial Dawn Knight Order operates somewhat independently, even from the Emperor. It’s the legacy of a masterless swordsman. So, the Emperor himself didn’t fully know their strength.

However, Geher and Leyman had mentioned that Xerox, whom they occasionally encountered, was by no means beneath them. So, there was some reality to this.

Still, with the label of liars already attached, the Emperor was skeptical of this claim too.

“So, you’re saying you want the Empire to deploy forces to help the Church Country?”

The honorific “Her Holiness” had turned into “you.” He no longer wished to show them any respect.

The earnest pleas of the two saints now sounded like a ploy to send the Empire’s main forces to the southeast, leaving the Imperial Palace defenseless. Then, they could swoop in and take it over?

“Of course, that force would include Sir Leyman and Lord Geher here, wouldn’t it?”

Sestine nodded with a heavy expression. Naturally. Not just anyone is qualified to face a god.

In a situation like this, even masters would be divided. Only those like Leyman and Geher could be expected to stand against the Death God and fulfill their roles.

Of course, the goddesses hoped these two would stand before Modrig. The Emperor sneered. Now they wanted to take away the two people closest to him.

His voice grew sharp. It was rare for the Emperor to show such a side.

“Listening to you, it seems you think I’m the biggest fool in the world. You talk of grace and mercy with honeyed words! Get out. Leave now. The Imperial Palace no longer welcomes you.”

“You come to negotiate with me, yet all you say is to hand over our forces. You sided with the unfilial first, disrupted the Imperial Palace, and now you want to take my people too? Nonsense. If the majesty of the three goddesses hadn’t spread across the continent, I would have executed you on the spot.”

He’s not a wooden puppet. For the sake of the nation, the Empire, he endures, but he’s not someone who doesn’t know anger.

But even patience has its limits. When people open their mouths to spout nonsense, even the Emperor couldn’t endure any longer.

“However, Your Majesty…”

“Sir Leyman! Lord Geher!”

The Emperor shouted, and the two old men quickly drew their weapons. They might not be much help against saints, but the guards and knights had densely surrounded them.

Arseria’s eyes flashed, but she didn’t resort to force. The rift with the Empire was already too deep. If things escalated further, a larger-scale annihilation of the Holy Knights and the Celestial Dawn Knight Order could occur.

What would follow is the Death God taking over the leaderless continent. The true essence of the three goddesses lies in faith. Even if the Holy Knights die, the Sacred Sword breaks, and the saints fall, as long as people’s faith remains intact, the loss can eventually be recovered.

But Modrig destroys that very premise. He corrupts others’ believers, turning them into his own. The Death God won’t give the Three Divine Gods time to recover.

“I will bring you the head of the Third Prince. Will that suffice?”

Finally, Arseria sighed and proposed a condition. The Emperor didn’t even acknowledge it. He no longer hid his contempt.

“If the Church Country truly wishes to negotiate with me, if you have the heart to do so, first restore the Empire’s protective magic array. And restore communications. Everything else comes after. Shouldn’t you first fix what you’ve broken?”

“That’s…”

The saints exchanged awkward glances. What do they know about magic? They have no expertise, so they only know one thing.

This is, at least, not something they can do. They would need to consult the Magic Tower. Yanid might be able to restore it, but she’s probably dead.

“Your Majesty. That’s impossible for now. Instead, we can set up a divine power barrier in place of the magic array. Will that suffice?”

A divine power barrier to replace the protective magic array? How could anyone live in fear like that?

With no security left before the Temple’s forces, it’s a great proposal. Truly a great proposal. The Emperor truly had nothing more to say to them.

“How absurd.”

He sat on the throne and closed his eyes, signaling he had nothing more to say.

“I’ve never seen His Majesty this furious in my life.”

Geher clicked his tongue and pointed to the door for the two saints.

“It’s best to keep your mouths shut now. A few more words, and even with the goddesses’ blessings, you might not leave here alive.”

Leyman also advised. The two saints had no choice but to obediently leave.

As soon as they left, the large door slammed shut with a loud *thud*.

*Creak.*

As they stood there momentarily staring at the door in dismay, Geher quietly opened it, stuck a piece of paper on it, and closed it again.

– Saints Dismissed.

*Thud!*

The door closed again. The two saints could only stare at each other blankly…