Chapter 234: Great Invasion (3)
fAE4sLast year, Korin had given the following request to the Hassin race.x56jl
Nvf[Do a close investigation of the key personnel of the Old Faith, gather evidence about their relations to other factions, the dirty things they did behind the curtains, and kidnap as many agents as possible on a specific time and date, and get them to confess their actions.]KFl
lhddhpIt sounded like a tough mission but Rashid Ad Din Mustali and Sinnan Ib Salman Mustali were amazed by the list Korin provided.xq6r
nylnFOKAll the priests he provided on the list regularly carried out suspicious actions. After kidnapping some of them while disguising it as an accidental death, locking them up and torturing them, the Hassin race figured out their plans, as well as what their individual tasks had been.3ADqZ
tML“It’s weird we’re saying this ourselves as a race living off the darkness but…”W7l1v
22cm“They’re absolutely crazy.”1uTt
Sh1Z4Even Rashid, who detested the abductions, assassinations and tortures that their race did to survive, was baffled by the monstrous cruelty and madness of the Old Faith priests and gladly took up the torturing tools.qUKiM
yON60eHelp the god annihilate humans from this world – that was the truth of Advent of Paradise.TnF
9fzD7For the gifts of eternal life and authority promised to them in the new world, these people were willing to destroy the world they resided in.4vQ
Ny6YHowever, this wasn’t enough – they needed more concrete proof… such as an edict with a seal of the pope.Osk
BRpanThe Hassin race made good use of their disguise and infiltration techniques to obtain this evidence, but even they couldn’t break through the security to reach the pope’s room.ggjzH
YWjEiNAll the information was shared with King David, Duke Dunareff, Garrand the Sword Emperor – the so-called Korin Lork’s father-in-law candidates, and they held a meeting joined by the two princesses and other crucial members of the plan.pGgaF
atWFfpIt was Estelle who came up with a clear solution at the end of the long meeting.ZIOa864
JOaOt“Why don’t we just break them down first and think afterwards?”ud0l
d1SYrp6No-one bothered asking what they were going to do if they were wrong.xvWV1P
bZ2WB0It was an undeniable truth that the Old Faith was in collaboration for the ‘Advent of Paradise’, which meant they could crush them down first and then look for the evidence.8hoNEJ
W5kLuJThey could settle the army’s doubt and skepticism with the evidence gathered thus far prior to the attack, and use the final evidence they will find later on to completely crush the Old Faith.Kcc
ziG“What if… we can’t find the evidence?”45MKfdX
2AZDgHIn response to Rashid’s question, Estelle replied with a smile so contorted that one wouldn’t be able to think of her as a Saintess.VKqza
lbef9ns“We can simply kill all the higher-ups of Xeruem.”jHqjkq
K8pzArt“Sorry?”jk3wxbd
Pp0DVv“Kill all of them and there’ll be no-one to complain, right? What are they going to do? They’d already be in the afterlife.”SKxACF
ixslfjIt would be best if they could find the evidence, but even if they couldn’t, they could kill everyone that could potentially create a problem.vQp
BYqmIt was to be expected of the Saintess, who had done a similar thing already, and fully put the New Faith in her grasp after massacring the higher-ups.KARyk
eUXXNq“Not a bad plan.”YbzQMC
dq7HHer violent strategy was surprisingly met with a positive reception.rLhX5Tt
yiYVde“Since this has to do with the fate of the world itself… Let’s think about the rest later on.”zZc
e7z“If need be, we can create the evidence ourselves.”TIS9WA
Xnr“Power is the most important thing in the end. The powerless can’t complain.”lZCjO
fk5F7rTKorin Lork’s father-in-law candidates were all as violent as the Saintess. Turning his blank eyes to the ceiling, Rashid hoped for the best.p8p
jHhKlZ‘Korin-sunbae… Whoever you choose, I hope you can survive.’sMS3DP
vxRwnAs a result of that…9fys
d3O“Kyaaaak!”RcPVYht
E3jnoiN“Kuaaahk!”Ifm
S0C5“Defend! Stop them!”o1Rk1
i8imThe vanguard of the sacred expedition formed under the prophecy given by Saintess Estelle marched forward.2XDeAlj
aBSoRMTheir destination, however, was not the north. At the start, they were heading north but after leaving the vicinity of the capital, they suddenly changed directions and began charging westward.A42EoBK
FMNb“W, why…!”L7qEcmK
K33JDRPope Alexander of the Xeruem Order was appalled by Zeon’s expedition army.b9RUp1z
mQMCDgNothing was working out for them. The Prophecy of Apocalypse they spread with great effort had gone to waste due to the Saintess adding a few lines.a9kx0Rf
c9KyBSo when the kingdom came together to create the laughable army called ‘Sacred Expedition’ and headed north, the Paradise supporters of the Old Faith were finally happy, thinking of this as a great opportunity.Ntyu
HBQVjnGWhen the army heads north, the city defense would be weakened, which they could take advantage of by creating rebellions to bring chaos to the kingdom.DnNrWhM
3pqiSBy creating chaos and cutting off the supplies, the army was bound to collapse regardless of their size.7ENUoEL
mziIt would then become tremendously easy for the esteemed Danann of Light to wipe them all out.YcF
t2bgTherefore, all they had to do was wait for the combined army of Zeon and the kingdom to leave the capital. Their plan was to revolt after waiting for the army to join the battle in the north.bBYiT
7ANCZrY‘W, why are those lunatics coming here!?’XEltL
ZmgZXxXeruem Order did not have the men to fight against the expedition, because they had already equally spread their men all across the kingdom to rebel at once.buaLROQ
jS9H2In the first place, although they were a powerful religion, there was still a limit to how much army they could mobilize. Unlike Estelle who scraped together the soldiers from the kingdom by using her prophecy and status as a princess as an excuse, they had far less men.y7WPJ3
xSE8“Kuaahk!”ig2wu
7wJXjqKwang!bVz4WbG
5R7lcThe gates cracked in pieces as holy knights flew off, drenched in blood. A red dye, more crimson than the red carpet of the audience chamber, scattered all across the room.b1BG
sq0mF“Ah~. Here you are~”23SHX
IGSmkThe Saintess, whose pink hair was now closer to red due to all the blood covering her body, dragged her mace and slowly walked inside. Pope Alexander pointed at her in fright.k3S
Cpu“W, what do you think you are doing!?”3YBi498
twolEOLDespite standing in front of the pope from a rivaled religion, Estelle nonchalantly replied.kt36
SfnD“It’s about time to combine the two religions.”zK0cFQ8
lMDv“S, such an atrocity! Do you think the believers will accept this?!”5he3ly
TljoU“Probably? They will believe what we tell them. Besides… I’m the Saintess so who else will they believe?”CgU2pR
s0Zbod2Her arrogance and insolence made the pope feel his blood boiling to his head. That was when men wearing turbans appeared next to the Saintess.VJ8
dweOOne of them was Rashid.vl8WmN
ZHw8fK0“S, sunbae-nim… Here.”ekaWf
3Yu5hAlbeit appalled at the sight of holy knights, whom he couldn’t defeat, being scattered on the floor soaked in blood, Rashid showed her the documents they gathered.ODOj8vI
FOb9yRx“Hmm~. We even have the evidence now.”q8U0vie
Ponpa“T, that’s!”7DHxzb
06OYKcQ“Maybe you forgot to be careful because of the battle. Let me tell you. Don’t put the very important things in the safe.”5fknua8
0f9WRThose were the documents Rashid and the Hassin race gathered by breaking through the pope’s safe in the heat of the battle between the Old and the New Faith.syu
mCnPDPXeruem’s plans to rebel all over the continent; their plans to bring chaos and destroy the crucial facilities… All of them had the seal of the pope.BynbE
ppUdn“I was going to dent your head in if there was no evidence but… Let’s quickly hold a religious trial and have you hung, okay? I’m a bit busy.”WNyOC
7ZVcMy3“Ahhk!”lVjPbj
nVYEEstelle grabbed the pope by the hair. The 70-year-old old man couldn’t fight against her monstrous power and was dragged away.iZj79
wOVe1The next day, the pope, 27 cardinals and dozens of bishops of the Xeruem Order were hanged at the plaza.7aeZT
N0C90 years had passed since the Witch Revolution.BkHo
sbadSFor the first time in 90 years ever since the Zeon Order left the Xeruem Order, the two big religions had finally come back to one.fjAIEEK
2fV7****fSEQ
NROVrSE“Everyone. Dodge!!”OUUu
IAMZ– Kwaang!MBX0Y
1JIrohSeveral rocks scraped above the walls.YUV
AGcWJOThe soldiers standing on the walls were crushed to death.rM53
mjI“Uhk…!”jKU2vta
301hGJosephine gritted her teeth looking at the rocks that she couldn’t block. After throwing gigantic rocks for the whole period of 3 days, the titans seemed to have changed their plans and were throwing rocks that were the size of their hands.iTrr
nPcKW4Although weaker than the enormous rocks, it became more difficult to block because of the sheer number of them.SHC4
UT65U“U, uaahh…”7Lz
DiVNnde“Damn it! Don’t falter! We have to push down the demons climbing the wall!”ji7XJb
m5KSiwThe guards of the city were so frightened that they were about to run away. Even with the yells and roars of the higher-ups as well as Beyon, they showed no signs of recovering their spirit.LDS
FIgenHowever, the northerners were different.TzfngD2
5oXv“Push through! Odinson…! The skjaldmaer are with us!”ioDvZc
DdR“Everyone dies anyway! Die a valiant death!”jAHZ
N2paHoDie a valiant death in battle and the Valkyries will guide you to Valhalla.RFOEwpf
ix8sZfThat was a long faith of the northerners, and one of the reasons they did not fear for their lives in a war.p1qzkV8
93OAThe demi-gods were with them. The skjaldmaer that lived over a thousand years were with them, so what reason was there to fear?7v3Dg
qd13‘The moral is high but… those titans are a problem.’pyInhA
aZu6EAfter penetrating the ogre that breached the gates with his two spears, Korin thought while retrieving them.TLj0
f38LSGaThe gates of the great wall were originally planned to be against the barbarians. With medium-large monsters like trolls and ogres marching in enormous numbers, the gates couldn’t last for long.E25jYSG
F3HneSO‘It’s not too hard yet thanks to the knights and mages but…’R0Gp2
q34biAt this rate, there would be more and more casualties on their side.tzO85
TqIVQKorin headed to the troops that were hiding from the rocks behind the wall.vApxLU
NLr“Hua Ran. Alicia.”tOIwplG
8ijxKzThe two of them were drenched in blood. Soaked in the blood of the demons, the two girls didn’t even get the time to take a decent rest.cD8bEe
sy4iT“I know you’re working hard, but we got extra work. Get ready.”U3QBBqX
Cu6k1eE“…Un.”sLWK
1Ht“Okay.”Qy840
WjD03bDue to the heated battle, both the allies and the enemies were focused on the walls. Korin led the knights he pre-organized and walked under the guidance of Former Chief Guard Beyon.iihitNt
BXu“This way.”cPHz6n
C7wdYUHe guided them to a door located on the outskirts of the wall. Opening the door, he walked down until they arrived at a dark underground tunnel.IzfTX8p
zBN25T“It’s a tunnel that was made in case the barbarians attacked in large numbers. It hasn’t been used for the past century but…”fklk
i1HcHvThe tunnel was both wide and tall. Normally, even cavalry was supposed to be able to pass the tunnel, but that looked a little bit rough now due to the lack of maintenance.Z0pgb
zQE“But Sir Korin… Are you going yourself?”i8ibJ
mvbxHK“Even if I stay here, there’s nothing I can do apart from using my spear.”2mikHO
2bCKMages were a different story, but knights in defensive battles like these were nothing but slightly better elite units. The true value of knights was when they were against equally high-ranked enemies.3sM
fL6Dw6SAs such, Korin rallied a secret task force of knights. His goal was to leave the walls and wreak havoc in the enemy ranks.NCk
tfuxqCiIt was the typical way of using knights.boobF
n5RumgR“Hmm… A warrior voluntarily taking the lead. That’s a great character.”ij9H
Lyx“We like it.”cSE
AzZThe knights weren’t the only ones in the squad – the Valkyries who had joined along with the barbarians were also in the mix.lz2X6
SGVxY“Sir Korin. Sir Korin~”lXlA
5KWkFKThat was when a Valkyrie girl hopped her way across. The gray-haired shield maiden amicably held Korin’s hands.Dtq26
VFG6“…”vogCKwm
9rbmz“…”Wvl
hJs2Hua Ran and Alicia gave her a glance, but the shield maiden said with a bashful smile without even glancing their way.o4GDOv
lE9“What is it, Miss Mist?”4gyMWh
ebHQM“I wanted to know if I could get your permission for something.”7k5bvX
3sXN1“What is it?”FSQt
U2CQ“If you are about to die during a valiant battle… May I please cut your head off from behind?”dkOrw
fBs9V““……?!””7lgR
f6ptwZEveryone except for the Valkyries doubted their ears and looked at her in shock.Xsga
1fPahY“No you cannot.”0RqnO
WaX“Uhh… Why?”auNw
D4wmAOf course you can’t, you idiot… The knights swallowed their rebuttals but Korin wasn’t flustered. This wasn’t his first time after all.zMC6y6
4sH“I do understand your wish to collect souls when they’re as pure as possible, but I’m the type of person who struggles till the end, you see.”sK1D
uW41“…How unfortunate. I thought the hero who overcame Odin’s curse would be a remarkable commander of Einherjar.”Vbt20
RDUEMist sincerely looked like she was finding it to be a shame. Although everyone else seemed appalled by the idea, it was general knowledge for the Valkyries, that the best way to guide a great warrior to Valhalla was for the Valkyries to behead them right before death.l0o4fH
HJI0sEOEven in the last iteration, Korin had to struggle a little because of the several Valkyries that wanted his head. He really was the type of person who was loved by some of the most dangerous beings.x0PCH
bylCj6“W, we’re here.”e2p4o
hudNWhile pledging to himself that he wouldn’t fight too zealously in front of those shield maidens, Beyon opened the exit door.j6hV
6NdB9X2“Fuu…”aK1bJ
ZAdUejqThe group slowly returned aboveground and arrived at a small forest of leafless trees slightly distant from the great wall.sbnVb
3cdE“Be careful not to be noticed by the demons.”jZa
PF4Outside the forest, there were countless monsters leaving their dirty footsteps behind the white canvas of snow. If they were caught here, they would immediately be encircled and have to fight until death.WzAfW0
yi6jU4“Korin.”JphgSmq
qGgu9PQHua Ran said after clenching on Korin’s sleeves.g5J
4K0S“What’s wrong?”PTn
gkcA3L“I feel something dangerous.”WnrG
q7E5ub– AWOOOOOOOOOO—!!IWnVy
HVeBmQThat was when a sharp and chilly howl echoed across the battlefield.ymk
FFQ8KwThe knights and the Valkyries instinctively raised their weapons and readied themselves for battle.tXp
lnG“Wolves of Apocalypse…”cKtadS3
aaPXzThrud of Strength felt a drop of cold sweat traveling down her cheek. There was not a single Valkyrie present who didn’t know who was eaten by the mother of those wolves.kbgG
7TRAlthough that very wolf had its mouth ripped to pieces and was no longer alive, its divine offspring had been sleeping in the north for a very long time.8CXW
y5Vv“Calm down. We can’t even see it yet, so there’s nothing we can do.”6mNW
0ut6jKorin said so to calm the group down. The knights and the Valkyries, however, couldn’t fully follow his example. They were surprised by the fact that Korin could stay so calm, but that was because they didn’t know how this warrior had once stood against the strongest existences with nothing but one spear.CGAn
dCiW“But it is quite strange. What woke up those lazy wolves?”ZPL3snT
qciLo48They were spiritual beasts. Unlike the Frost Giant who truly survived, they were remnants of mythology.dET
KmtCnBeasts of Apocalypse.5jLJOZ
gUACzIVThe One who devours the Sun and the Moon, Skoll and Hati.b9J
LsQKnThe One who devours the oceans of the Earth, Midgardsormr.5yaik
mchyHHkThey weren’t demonic beasts with an actual body. If anything, they were similar to the demons of the Shadow World – they existed, but were like spirits without a true shape.TFadzBi
nR4hfSThat was why they sought for a ‘host’.GxeI
YS1xThe host of the Midgard Serpent, Miruam.W6qMLa
Bx9Mu7dThe hosts of Skoll and Hati, Ren and Ron.gRXZh
jDShFwRHowever, Valtazar failed to secure them in this iteration and therefore I thought it would be impossible for the Beasts of Apocalypse to show themselves in this world.dHvr6B
8dwyxyD‘And yet they’re here. Even the Frost Giant’s here. Why? How?’hlbCSj2
R8LmEiFThere were too many weird things happening in this iteration. The titans that weren’t supposed to revive were brought back to life, and things like this were happening despite being prevented beforehand.WHvqpT5
dojXayIt didn’t feel right to simply call this a butterfly effect of his actions.WskGW
Q2VQJeD“For now, let’s settle with just scouting the area. We have to first deal with Skoll, the counter to the Sun so…”fr0WBvR
MEbThat was when Korin’s instincts rang alarms in his mind. His sixth sense picked up danger coming his way through the wind.GNJv
Ei8iWhat he took out was the beast-hunting Red Spear.3CqBAR
W9Hhtn– Saaaaaaa!c8M
xNEqGIt was an ominous breeze, making the area feel like a haunted forest. Something was speeding through the forest, and the thin branches of the forest couldn’t stop them.VFrT
WjrIp“Korin…!”RpED
71WmcThere were only two that were able to react to that extraordinary speed – Korin and Hua Ran.PIXbxc
eUrRziPHua Ran turned around and saw two yellow embers flickering in the dark.ydN0U
JndevGQ– Kaaaahk!qoaAJzC
gIPCKung!SSih
vF1Something went by in a flash. It happened all too quickly, and the group needed roughly 2 seconds to process what was happening.m8hi
pBR“Hua Ran!”B71e6w
RqMdieIn just 2 seconds, there was something running off into the distance with the jiangshi sister in its mouth.fyy
qMd7kYuIt was the One who devours the Moon, Hati.XOJv1E
2ZuSkoll’s twin wolf.TKjgP
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