If you were haggling with a store on the street and you said, "Give me this ring for a hundred gold coins." But if the seller clearly knew that this ring was worth at least a thousand gold coins, and he still said, "Sure, I'll give it to you, and I'll even give you a gift." How would you feel?
In a normal situation, you would either feel that there was something wrong with the ring itself, or that the seller had some ulterior motive, or that the seller was plotting something against you.
That was probably how I felt right now. Apart from that, I also felt like I had swung a heavy club but hit nothing but cotton. I had prepared so many tricks, so why did I give in so easily?
Berserk Dragon Warriors were the pinnacle of alchemy and draconic studies. They were artificially created Dragon Followers. Without Bardi's thousands of years of accumulation and extraordinary relationship with the dragons, it would have been impossible for Berserk Dragon Warriors to exist.
It was said that these Berserk Dragon Warriors were born with tremendous physical strength (18 + Strength). They could wear super heavy armor that no ordinary person would be able to wear. They were also equipped with giant dragon spears and axes that were more than three meters long. The moment they entered the battlefield, they would become unstoppable killing machines. The Dragon Bloodline's natural defensive scales and regenerative abilities gave these killing machines powerful endurance and recovery abilities on the battlefield. And if they were in danger, the Dragon Bloodline's desire for power would often give them limitless potential. Continuing to Dragon Transform would give them new power and even stronger basic stats.
Of course, forcefully adding Dragon Bloodlines also had some irresistible weaknesses. The "Berserk Dragon"'s "Berserk Dragon"'s "Berserk Dragon" served as a reminder to these valiant warriors that if they became obsessed with killing, they would forever lose the possibility of returning to their human forms and hearts. Dragon Berserk Warriors who returned from the cruelest of battlefields would either uncontrollably transform into monsters or become insane lunatics.
On the other hand, the Dragon Shield Defender was a completely different category. If the Dragon Warrior was the sharpest Flame Spear, then the Dragon Shield Defender was the strongest Ice Shield.
However, unlike the Berserk Dragon Warriors, who had abnormally obvious physical traits, these heavily armored and heavily shielded Berserk Dragon Warriors were all covered in armor. There wasn't much information on them, but as long as they appeared, they would usually achieve astonishing combat results. These Berserk Dragon Warriors were skilled in group battles. In fact, there were even small teams of three to five that successfully slaughtered giants.
Their shields were two meters tall, and as long as they were set up, they could form a magical defensive barrier. Just a small team would be able to provide a defense similar to that of a city wall, and they were known as "mobile city walls."
However, you would get what you paid for. It was said that the armor and enchanted shields were all top-level goods. Every warrior in the entire Bardi Empire would be fully equipped and trained, and they would be at the level of a top-level Silver-ranked warrior. There were only about twenty combat squads in the entire Bardi Empire that were capable of fighting eighty thousand people.
Does it look like a lot? But if one considered the fact that Bardi was a mega mega empire, these eighty thousand soldiers probably weren't even comparable to a domain lord's private army.
That was why even the Bardi Empire didn't dare to use such expensive warriors in ordinary battles. In fact, the Bardi Empire wouldn't even give such an important national treasure to any prince apart from the crown prince.
And now, as I flipped through the thick stack of training materials and alchemy recipes in my hands, I heard Harloys say, "They should be real, or they should be research results of the same level." I felt as if I was in a dream, and the tyrant who had just berated his ministers by shouting, "Give it to him! I said, give it to him!" was now sitting in front of a table, smiling at me.
"One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions."
All the unimportant people had been chased away. There were now only five people at the table, all of whom I was familiar with: myself, Glina, Orloss, and Halent, an old butler of the royal family.
I reflexively raised my guard as I looked at Orloss, who was smiling as if he were a profiteer who had just made a fortune. I didn't believe that a simple "gift from Aso" would be enough to make him lose his footing and obediently listen to my extortion.
"Never compromise with terrorists" was a common rule in any world. This wasn't because a mega empire didn't want to give up on a bargaining chip. It was because greed was boundless. Nobody knew whether or not the terrorists would increase the price, and whether or not they would be more enthusiastic about their next plan due to their temporary success. And if such a compromise was announced, it would be a direct blow to the country's reputation, as well as exposing the country's weaknesses and inadequacies.
And in the international world where the law of the jungle prevailed, exposing a country's weakness would attract greedy wolves. Next time, they wouldn't be ordinary terrorists.
Judging from how "I'll spread the word Resident Evil if you don't give me money," my actions this time could be categorized as such. In that case, Orloss's compromise was quite incomprehensible. It wasn't that he shouldn't have compromised, but at the very least, he wouldn't have so easily handed over such an important treasure that was obviously a scam.
If it were me, even if I would compromise in the end, I would have tried various methods to make the threat disappear. And even if I accepted Orloss's conditions, I would have made an additional request that forbade any additional conditions from being offered, in order to resolve everything once and for all.
"I know that you're confused, but I've actually always been grateful to you. I know that you've made many achievements in alchemy research, and that you have many Dragons as allies. Treat this information as a small gift from me. "
Orloss started off with such a sentence, but I already knew what he was going to say. After all, Evelyn had once mentioned to me that Orloss seemed to be very grateful to me for helping him escape from Aso's threat. However, what he said next was completely unexpected.
"What I'm grateful for isn't only about the undead. When I learned from Miss Evelyn that you lost your memories, I was quite astonished. Perhaps I should tell you about the seed I left behind back in the day. Amoye. "
The elderly butler was wearing formal attire, and his face was covered in wrinkles. He seemed quite old, but he reached out with his hand, and golden light gathered in his hand, transforming into a ball of Holy Light that illuminated the room.
"This … is impossible!"
Pure Holy Light wouldn't lie. This was indeed an outstanding Holy Knight. But what astonished me was that not only did Amoye not chant the name of Holy Light, he didn't even have the God of Holy Light's emblem on him. This was obviously against the God of Holy Light's teachings.
In the past, before I used Holy Light, I would always praise the Holy Light or pretend to move my lips. This was all so that I would appear no different from other Holy Knights. And in a way, Amoye's method of using Holy Light was quite similar to mine. He didn't chant the name of Holy Light.
"First generation pope, you guessed correctly. Our Southern Sect doesn't worship the God of Holy Light. We worship Holy Light itself. In the eyes of the Holy Church, we're heretics that should be eradicated the most. "
While I was astonished at the content of Amoye's words, I was even more astonished at the strange way he addressed me.
"Lady Evelyn also mentioned that you lost your memories of your time in Bardi. Perhaps as the sixth pope of the Southern Sect and your successor, I should mention your glorious achievements from back in the day …"
And so, as Amoye sighed, the dust-covered past was gradually revealed.
The Southern Sect's official name was the "Church of Pure Holy Light." In the eyes of the Holy Church's higher-ups, they were probably just a sect that had some differences in understanding of the Holy Church's teachings. However, only the core members of the Southern Sect would know that the differences in understanding weren't small. The Southern Sect didn't worship the God of Holy Light; they worshipped the purest form of Holy Light.
The Southern Sect originated from the Bardi capital. The founder of the Southern Sect was "Baron Blackhand" who went by the alias of Roland Blackhand. The Southern Sect's establishment was greatly supported by the Bardi royalty back in the day. Ever since the Southern Sect's founding, its founder had given it a unique mission: to spread the true teachings of Holy Light and replace the Holy Church that was becoming more and more corrupt by the day.
"Right now, the Southern Sect has more than two hundred thousand worshippers. They're scattered all over Bardi and the various countries. They travel through time in the name of the Holy Church, but what they spread is the purest teachings of Holy Light. Actually, apart from our understanding of Holy Light, there's no obvious difference between us and ordinary Holy Light priests. In fact, I'm even the former archbishop of the Bardi diocese of the Holy Church. That's precisely why the old pope didn't risk everything to start a Holy War. After all, in their eyes, evil must die, but heretics must die even more. "
Although it didn't seem like much of a difference whether one believed in Holy Light or the God of Holy Light, the practical implications were tremendous. If the God of Holy Light was recognized as an omnipotent God of Holy Light, then the Holy Church would naturally receive his recognition. But if the Holy Church only recognized the existence of Holy Light and believed that Holy Light was the source of all power, an existence that didn't have a personality, then the Holy Church would naturally lose all of its divine authority and become a group of thieves who deceived the world. In fact, it would even be possible to question the God of Holy Light's true existence as a God of Holy Light.
This was the foundational reason why heretics were far more dangerous than evil. This was also why Roland's exhibition in the Northlands had caused countless Holy Light job class members to waver in their beliefs.
To the Holy Church, this was an even scarier threat than the Holy War itself. That was why after the Cardinal Cardinals held an emergency conference, the entire Bardi Empire was viewed as a heretic country. Since there was such a major difference in the Holy Church's teachings, starting a Holy War was the only option.
Without a doubt, the Bardi Empire, which had already been declared a heretic by the Holy Church, was the origin of the heretical Bardi Empire. Not only that, the Bardi Empire was their natural ally. After the Bardi Empire completely broke off with the Holy Church, and a large number of Holy Light job class members were exiled from Bardi, the Holy Light job class members who "stayed behind for personal reasons" already established a new Southern Church. The pure teachings of Holy Light were now openly spreading. The seeds that Roland had sown back then were already beginning to sprout.
Even though I no longer had any memories of the past, just thinking about it made me feel like this was exactly what Roland had done back then.
Back then, Roland was someone who had been betrayed by the Holy Light. He was someone who had been filled with hatred for the Holy Light. He was an evil who had been stripped of all his honor. Yet, he still retained his Holy Knight powers. Just this alone was enough to shake the Holy Church's authority.
It would be incredibly difficult to destroy a Holy Church by forcefully suppressing it from the outside. However, internal disagreements and heresy would be the most fatal. And so, Roland had sown a seed in Bardi. Although he didn't know if it would sprout, he wouldn't lose anything by doing it.
"Your prophecies have all been verified. As the major events recorded in the Holy Bible's Revelation were verified one after another, our faith became even more devout, and the doubters returned to being devout. When evil prevailed over justice, we went into hiding as you requested. Fortunately, just as you said in your prophecy, the misfortune in your prophecy can be avoided through our own hard work. At the very least, we've managed to avoid the countless Undead Portals opening up in the Bardi Empire. "
Since I wanted to spread my teachings, how could I possibly miss out on the most useful "prophet" status? I would be able to casually write a series of prophecies, and the Holy Church that treated prophecies as Holy Scriptures would naturally gain the Holy Church's trust and gradually become stronger. This was also within Roland's expectations. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to pretend to be a god and make prophecies.
Actually, the current Roland was still doing the same thing. He was sowing seeds everywhere. Even he didn't know if they would sprout or not.
But now, what he was facing was no longer an immature seed. Instead, he was facing a towering tree that had already experienced two hundred years of wind and rain and was gradually maturing.
When the undead rampaged through the Bardi Empire, the Southern Sect became Orloss's trump card and most trustworthy target. The Holy Knight and Holy Light priests were the final vanguard against the undead. This was also the reason why Orloss was thanking me.
At this moment, Glina and Halent were looking at me as if I were a monster. After all, several hundred years of planning and 100% accurate prophecies were far beyond their comprehension. These examples would be treated as myths and epics if they were told in legends, but the actual person involved was right in front of them.
"We believe that our prophet will be able to defeat the evil lurking in the shadows. Actually, Her Majesty Empress Halent didn't mention the most important title — the founder of the Southern Sect, our most devout prophet and guide. What you did in the Northlands two days ago made our faith even more devout. We've also begun to openly spread our faith in the Bardi Empire. Perhaps this is the reason why those false God churches that steal the authority of the Holy Light are so angry. "
Alright then, Pope Roland's eyes were filled with devoutness. He believed that this was a part of fate. He believed that the prophecy's final judgment would eventually arrive, and that as long as he worked hard, he would be able to reverse all misfortune. However, I was certain that this wasn't the same for Orloss.
From the standpoint that a good sword only needed one master, just my relationship with the Southern Sect made my existence seem like an eyesore. Perhaps Orloss's current gift was indeed an apology. If I couldn't pass this "test," perhaps today would be the day of my death.
And at this moment, Orloss, as the master, smiled.
"Alright, let's not talk about such trivial matters for now. In order to show our sincerity in forming an alliance, let's reintroduce ourselves. This is Archduke Halent … actually, he should be called Halent Milan. He's my nephew, as well as the only legitimate successor to the throne of the Bardi Empire. He's the future Bardi Emperor. "
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