365th Chapter
“…”
Count Philip was absently stroking his dagger, reflecting on his own mistakes.
He looked back at how overly confident and optimistic he had been in the past.
Ray, who was born in Phillip’s County, was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime talent.
With Count Philip’s support, Ray nurtured and raised orphans, and among them, several exceptional talents emerged.
Even though things kept popping up one after another, Count Philip couldn’t bring himself to stop supporting them despite the strain.
However, there was a conflict between Ray and Count Philip over ‘Lea,’ which almost led to a split, but afterward, everything went smoothly.
Ray continued to build his reputation, and thanks to his help, Phillip’s County grew rapidly.
What seemed like double-edged swords ultimately turned out to be profitable.
Because of this continuous good fortune, Count Philip began to believe that it would last forever.
This repeated luck and success clouded Count Philip’s judgment.
He became increasingly optimistic and neglected his duties as a lord.
And now, this is the result. His optimism ultimately led to ruin.
For his own sake, for his daughter’s sake, and for Ray’s sake, he shouldn’t have acted this way.
“…”
Count Philip continued to stroke the dagger.
The sharp blade kept trying to cut into Count Philip’s skin.
At that moment, Mohamed reached out and grabbed the blade with his hand.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you took a bit of rest?”
Mohamed asked while pulling the dagger toward himself.
Count Philip handed over the dagger willingly but shook his head slightly.
It was time for an important meeting with key figures of the county. He couldn’t skip it just because he felt uneasy.
Count Philip stayed in his office a little longer before rising when the meeting was about to start.
Soon, the meeting began, and as expected, it was filled with negative reports.
There had been multiple riots within the county over the past two days.
Unsettling movements were also continuously detected.
What troubled Count Philip the most was the warning delivered by Ropheiren.
The current barrier surrounding Phillip’s County drew its power from the mana veins flowing through the Sigini Mountain Range, but the army besieging the county had noticed this and was planning to take action.
If the connection to the mana veins was severed due to external interference, maintaining the large-scale barrier for long would be difficult.
And once the barrier collapses, the army surrounding the county wouldn’t hesitate to attack.
“…”
The situation was tilting against them, and there was no hope in sight.
Even if they surrendered, the outcome would likely still be total annihilation.
Since Phillip’s County had already been designated as a group of traitors, it wouldn’t be surprising if the surrounding armies decided to burn the entire county to the ground.
Even if they managed to break through the encirclement and flee, there would be nowhere to escape to.
In the face of such a bleak reality, the atmosphere grew heavy.
However, amidst this oppressive mood, only Ropheiren remained optimistic.
“There’s no need to worry too much.”
Ropheiren didn’t trust the news that Ray was dead.
Perhaps he was just severely injured and recovering… that’s what she thought.
Moreover, Luna had taken control of the Imperial Capital.
If she could properly utilize the mana veins beneath the capital, she would wield transcendent power there.
Anyway… it must all be part of a plan, so Ropheiren believed that Ray and Luna would handle everything and resolve the situation.
Thus, Phillip’s County only needed to buy enough time until Ray and Luna resolved matters.
Only Ropheiren sincerely believed this.
As the meeting came to an end, Count Philip issued a few instructions to prolong their survival before concluding the session.
After the meeting ended, a sense of oppression overwhelmed him, and Count Philip sighed deeply as he stepped outside the building.
While Count Philip quietly strolled beside the garden, Clemens approached and spoke.
“My Lord, with Minher, we might be able to maintain concealment and escape with at least one person.”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll send you away before the barrier completely collapses.”
“…My Lord, what I wanted to say was…”
“If I leave, more people will suffer and die painfully.”
They would torture anyone to find out where Count Philip had fled.
Moreover, even if he escaped the immediate siege, Count Philip wouldn’t be able to evade capture for long.
The empire’s forces would undoubtedly hunt down and capture Count Philip at all costs.
And there was no faction on this continent that would welcome him positively.
“…”
Understanding Count Philip’s intentions, Clemens retreated with a bitter expression.
Count Philip moved alone, feeling the wind.
Before the end arrived, he wished to confirm Alesya’s safety at least once, but it seemed impossible.
Unable to hide his anxiety, Count Philip paced restlessly and glanced up at the sky.
The sunset was painting the sky pink, making it look beautiful at first glance.
It was just past noon.
…Just past noon.
*
The South resolved to reclaim the Imperial Capital.
The South also forcibly pulled in cooperation from external forces.
Those who resolved to reclaim the Imperial Capital did not underestimate Luna, who had occupied the capital.
Therefore, they prepared their forces swiftly to recapture the capital as quickly as possible.
Despite rushing preparations, some inadequacies inevitably arose, but they proceeded anyway.
Due to the opportunity presenting itself, the Southern factions were caught in a kind of excitement.
If Luna abandoned the capital and attempted irregular destructive actions, it would undoubtedly cause significant harm.
On the brink of war, the Pope declared a holy crusade.
To brand those occupying the capital as heretics and strengthen the justification, a sacred crusade was proclaimed.
Because of the crusade declaration, simplified procedures and rituals had to be conducted.
One necessary procedure was for the representative leading the crusade to receive the blessing of the Sacred Maiden.
The representative for this crusade was Anthonyus.
As the owner of the Sacred Sword and a candidate for Paladin, he was qualified.
Cardinal Alexander was equally qualified but declined the role voluntarily.
A few days before the battle, Anthonyus underwent a ritual where he bathed in holy water before receiving the Sacred Maiden’s blessing.
During the ritual, Anthonyus recalled his battle with Ray.
At that time, Ray could have stolen the Sacred Sword and killed Anthonyus.
Instead, Ray returned the Sacred Sword to Anthonyus and spared his life, even controlling his strength.
Though the Sacred Sword wasn’t particularly beneficial to Ray,
if Ray had killed Anthonyus and retained the sword,
he could have weakened the South’s forces and caused greater chaos across the continent.
This might have delayed the South’s attempt to reclaim the capital or, in extreme cases, made the attempt entirely futile.
Thus, Ray’s decision to spare Anthonyus hastened the deaths of those he loved.
At least, that’s how it appeared so far.
Splash!
Having completed the simplified ritual, Anthonyus was guided toward where the Sacred Maiden resided.
While walking, Anthonyus reflected on his final conversation with Ray.
Truthfully, that final exchange was more like a one-sided information dump from Ray.
[This is ultimately a problem of mechanism. Or should we call it an issue of operational principles?]
Mechanism or operational principles…
Anthonyus didn’t immediately understand Ray’s words, so Ray explained further.
[It’s about the principle or characteristic of divine power.]
[You clerics receive El-Lam’s blessing, which mutates your internal energy into divine power. That’s why clerics like you are so tough and healthy.]
[With that divine power, you can heal the sick. One feature of divine power manifests in medical practices.]
[The more severe the patient’s injury or illness, the higher the absorption efficiency and capacity of divine power received from the cleric.]
[Clerics use this characteristic when diagnosing patients.]
Skilled clerics spread divine power evenly throughout a patient’s body, then identify areas where the divine power is absorbed rapidly to accurately diagnose the condition.
[Thanks to this, here they can diagnose diseases very precisely without cutting open the abdomen or using advanced equipment like MRIs. It was revolutionary when I first saw it.]
After briefly mentioning medical standards and other topics Anthonyus wouldn’t understand, Ray moved on to the main point.
[The relationship between El-Lam and ordinary clerics is different from the relationship between El-Lam and the Sacred Maiden.]
[Think about the role of the Sacred Maiden. The Sacred Maiden receives El-Lam’s power more directly than you clerics to purify the land.]
[More accurately, the Sacred Maiden acts as a conduit, transmitting El-Lam’s blessings to the earth.]
The root planted by El-Lam to bestow blessings upon the land—that’s what the Sacred Maiden represents.
[The relationship between El-Lam and the Sacred Maiden is more similar to the relationship between El-Lam and clerics than between clerics and patients.]
[You merely transform the power you naturally possess through El-Lam’s blessing, but the Sacred Maiden receives El-Lam’s blessings far more directly into her body.]
[Here, the principle of operation of divine power—El-Lam’s blessing—becomes problematic.]
[You know from treating patients that no matter how much divine power you transfer to a healthy person, the absorption efficiency remains low. Even forcing it results mostly in leakage.]
[Conversely, the more severe the patient’s injuries or illnesses, the higher the capacity and efficiency of divine power absorption.]
[…El-Lam can only transmit a limited amount of power through the Sacred Maiden, the conduit. More precisely, there’s a limit to how much power can be forced through the conduit.]
[But if the loss of power during transmission exceeds a certain threshold… the land will begin to be eroded by the Demonic Realm again.]
[So somehow, we need to minimize the loss during transmission. We need to increase the ‘efficiency.’ Increase the ‘efficiency’… we must. So, how do we improve efficiency?]
[Anthonyus…]
Handing the Sacred Sword to Anthonyus, Ray took a step back and asserted.
[The existence of the Sacred Maiden has always been a clear sacrifice from the beginning.]
Demon King (7)
