Podric Kendal, the Beheading Priest of the Ellington Holy Alliance, was also a bishop-level inquisitor of the Sixth Diocese and one of the twenty-one auxiliary bishops listed in the secret roster of the Holy War Chamber. Famous for advocating an extremely hardline approach toward heretic forces, he intended to ignite a far greater flame of purification than Cain, emperor of the Felberg Empire, had planned.
In that sense, Podric believed launching large-scale searches and subjugation campaigns before the Holy War Chamber’s Round Table Conference convened and a holy war was declared would be inefficient. If searches and purges began to secure the capital Granada and targeted suspicious forces in adjacent areas, any who slipped through the encirclement would undoubtedly hide deeper in the shadows.
Thus, Podric argued that the search operation should commence only after the Ellington Holy Alliance declared a holy war and secured more personnel and resources.
Yet Cain—who held authority to mobilize the Felberg Empire’s military forces—had somewhat different thoughts.
“Inquisitor, I understand your plan. However, my position is that we cannot simply stand by when suspicious forces have been confirmed moving near the imperial capital and its surrounding areas.”
The Beheading Priest’s assertion presupposed the goal of “thoroughly eradicating and purifying all heretic forces.” That was why he believed no heretics should escape the encirclement during an unprepared search and subjugation.
From Cain’s perspective, however, the primary objective was immediately eliminating or driving out suspicious forces around Granada. It was not that escapees were acceptable, but even if some occurred, they were not Cain’s top priority.
A few fugitives would not disrupt Cain’s plan—borrowing the Ellington Holy Alliance’s sharpest blade, the inquisitor, to subjugate the Five Imperial Dukes faction. Thus, for Cain, a grand cleanup around the capital took precedence.
With Podric having examined the corpse of Hog Melros—who had met his end as a demon despite once being human—a full-scale investigation to track those behind it had already begun, separate from any holy war. Even if the Five Dukes and their factions tried to sever ties and flee, escaping the pursuit of this mad inquisitor was now nearly impossible.
“If we begin the search unprepared, even with an encirclement, some heretics will surely succeed in escaping. We must wait until reinforcements arrive from the holy land.”
Given the circumstances, Podric Kendal—true to his reputation as a mad dog obsessed with heresy hunts—repeatedly insisted on awaiting additional support from the Holy Alliance. But Cain responded without the slightest wavering.
“Priest of Ellington, your current attitude is far too arrogant and rude for one standing before the empire’s emperor. Though the Felberg Empire reported evidence of black magic to the Ellington Holy Alliance, you must clearly recognize that it is your side requesting cooperation.”
Cain had lured the Ellington Holy Alliance using black magic as bait to effectively subjugate the Five Dukes faction, but he could not bow to them.
Thanks to developer memories, Cain knew the mindset of the holy land’s clergy better than anyone. He judged that while borrowing their power, he must never relinquish initiative.
Even within the Sixth Diocese—whose primary duty was tracking and executing heretics—Podric Kendal was an inquisitor nearly beyond control. Handing him the lead would make subsequent developments uncontrollable.
“If the empire’s emperor thinks so, I shall respect it.”
Faced with Cain’s resolute stance, Podric could no longer stubbornly cling to his claims. Fanatical as he was about exterminating evil, he was still a high-ranking priest of Ellington. He knew pushing further would cross into undeniable interference in internal affairs, so he backed down obediently.
Moreover, setting aside that his opponent was an imperial emperor, Podric had viewed Cain favorably since witnessing him infuse mana into Onisia’s sacred mark and manifest divine power.
“Priest of Ellington. The Felberg Empire will cooperate as much as possible in searching for and executing heretic forces. But I hope you remember the word ‘moderation’.”
“I shall keep it in mind.”
Having concluded brief negotiations with Podric, Cain immediately executed his decision. He ordered the imperial army and Capital Guard Legions to detach portions of their forces and launch a large-scale search operation in the Granada area and adjacent regions.
Cain first had each legion commander detach highly mobile units—such as direct knight orders and cavalry—from their legions to patrol areas around the national roads connected to the capital.
“Bring back anything that could serve as intelligence.”
Under the command of Count Steiner Randerk—who had taken overall direction of this massive search per imperial decree—the imperial army and four Capital Guard Legions gathered various clues from scattered villages near the capital, wandering mercenaries, and merchants dealing primarily in information. They filtered these for credibility and forwarded the most reliable to Nightmare.
Nightmare would verify the information’s authenticity or acquire new details, then relay them to the imperial army and legions. Based on this, reconnaissance teams would deploy first to confirm suspicious areas; if extermination was deemed necessary, main forces would move.
This method was effective not only for eliminating black magician forces but also for suppressing bandit groups operating in deep mountains or forests—far from the central army’s or nobles’ private troops’ attention—amid the empire’s declining national strength.
“Since we’ve started a grand cleanup anyway, exterminate all the troublesome bandit hordes worsening the empire’s public order.”
At Cain’s stern imperial decree, the empire’s military forces mobilized in earnest. Over the roughly two weeks needed for Podric, in his capacity as auxiliary bishop, to request a Round Table Conference—the 3rd Capital Guard Legion, responsible for the south, eliminated around five hundred bandits in total, while the 4th Capital Guard Legion, defending the north, succeeded in killing or capturing nearly seven hundred. Of course, there were still no results regarding the black magician forces that Cain and Podric sought.
Yet the search operation did not halt. Though no black magic forces had been found, the complete sweep of small- and medium-sized bandit groups nearby caused imperial citizens’ voices praising Cain’s benevolent rule to soar daily.
“Thanks to His Majesty the Emperor raising troops to exterminate the bandits, merchant caravans seem to come and go more frequently.”
“Truly a beneficial development.”
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
Originally, the Felberg Empire had the central army patrol near state-maintained roads to prevent banditry as much as possible, but guarding every national road thoroughly was impossible. With long intervals between central army patrols, even travelers on main roads risked encountering bandits if unlucky.
The infrequent patrols stemmed from the Felberg Empire’s gradually crumbling national power in recent years. Lacking resources to maintain large forces continuously, frequent patrols—and large-scale bandit subjugations—were rare. Bandit incidents on roads gradually increased, reducing commerce and building discontent among citizens. Cain quickly grasped this and actively mobilized troops, restoring stability at remarkable speed.
Recently, Dukes Hans Deneb and Cossack Tiberius of the Five Imperial Dukes had conspired to disrupt some caravans heading to the Felberg Empire via the Southern Merchant Guild, inflicting painful price hikes and shortages of certain goods on the populace.
Amid such tightening pressure, the newly enthroned Cain swiftly eliminated surrounding bandits under the pretext of heretics. It was only natural for imperial citizens to praise the new emperor.
Some bandits recently active near the capital were even mercenaries acting on secret orders from Duke Cossack Tiberius. Low-quality even among mercenaries, they targeted caravans not affiliated with the Southern Merchant Guild heading to the capital for profit. These, too, were gradually eliminated in the legions’ massive subjugation.
“Let us press on toward the northern forest for another two hours.”
***
Viscount Loti Solard—commander of the 4th Capital Guard Legion’s direct knight order and a sword genius at the Grand Chevalier realm—encouraged his weary subordinates.
Behind him, as he rode at the vanguard, followed some fifty mounted knights. Interspersed among them were one mage from the magic tower—to track traces left by black magicians—and three paladins from the imperial church.
“According to the intelligence received, it is definitely this area.”
At his subordinate’s report after rechecking the map, Viscount Loti Solard nodded slightly and glanced skyward. Sunlight filtering through tall trees seemed to be fading gradually.
Not much time remains until nightfall.
Once deep darkness arrived, search efficiency would plummet.
Rest for about ten minutes, then one final sweep of the vicinity before returning to the patrol base.
But at that moment.
Unbeknownst to the thoughtful Viscount Loti Solard, figures were quietly aiming at him from over a hundred meters away.
A group equipped with armaments unfit for mere bandits. Armed with longbows and crossbows, wearing old but remarkably durable armor, they targeted Viscount Solard and his men with their bows and crossbows.
“Fire!”
The moment a man in a fully lowered visor helmet coldly spat the command and released his crossbow, the archers behind him loosed their strings in unison.
Dozens of arrows rained toward Solard and the knights. Fortunately, the accompanying mage succeeded in deploying defensive magic just in time.
“Magic!”
“There is a mage!”
“Everyone, stay calm—prepare for a second volley!”
The leader calming his men raised his left hand instead of reloading his crossbow. At that instant, a brown-haired man in black leather clothing and iron breastplate agilely slipped in directly behind them.