A few days after the arrival of the Original Army, the remaining three legion-level grand armies reached Riot Castle.
We welcomed the summoned Heroes with great ceremony.
Of course, even for Heroes, most of them looked utterly terrified, but just coming all the way here deserved applause.
That lack of spirit would surely be sharpened as they tumbled and rolled around Riot Castle.
Just in time, after surveying Baren with Divine Sight, I found that as soon as the Original Army arrived at Riot Castle, the missionary group’s influence began to reach even the northern territories of the castle.
“They, too, must believe in Hor and seek the light.”
I ordered the regular soldiers to guide the newly joined troops in proper evangelism.
The unseasoned soldiers had far too little time to adapt to the miasma.
The outbreak of the Third Generation Plague was right at our doorstep.
For now, it was urgent to compel them to believe in the deity.
Thus, the busy days continued.
To stand against the Third Generation Plague soon to be upon us, we had to prepare thoroughly.
I lifted my head and looked out over Riot Castle.
A region where the freshness of the World Tree and the sacredness of faith blended together in abundance.
“When the winter wind chills and the night grows dark and fearful!”
“He shall embrace us all!”
“I will move forward, and I will accomplish it!”
The men who had come here as the Original Army shouted at the top of their lungs.
Six thousand more in the later reinforcement contingent joined in.
When a force of ten thousand sang the hymn together, it seemed as if Riot Castle itself trembled.
Yet, it was still not enough.
“Sing louder, more grandly!”
“Open your eyes wide and shout, you brat!”
The regular soldiers, who boasted themselves as disciples of the tiger instructor Abalt, took charge of training the newcomers.
The relentless roars and cursing that echoed daily were so fierce that even the Elves who’d yielded their Garden started giving us wary looks.
Then, one day, it happened.
A System Window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
『All people of Baren Kingdom have come to know of the existence and doctrine of the Hor Church』
『All people of Baren Kingdom have begun to rely on the Hor Church』
「Birth of the First Holy State!」
『Amazing Achievement Accomplished – 1/2』
“At last…”
Even if only a half, the faith of Hor had taken root and flourished in the land of Baren.
The title of Holy State carried such meaning.
Nothing could be more pleasing to me.
“Status Window.”
[Hor] [Lower-Ranked Deity]
》 [Church Level – 2]
ㅁ Believers – 58,167 ㅁ Faith – 282,612,844.
ㅁ Divine Power – [Appoint Believer] [Receive Prayers] [Divine Sight] [Divine Revelation]
ㅁ Unlocked Titles –
[Lowest-Ranked Evangelist] 50/50, [Lowest-Ranked Paladin] 30/30, [Lowest-Ranked Priest] 20/20, [Lower-Ranked Evangelist] 5/5, [Lower-Ranked Paladin] 3/3, [Lower-Ranked Priest] 2/2
I quietly examined the Status Window before me.
‘So much has changed.’
The first thing to catch my eye was the faith, which had swelled like a snowball.
No matter that we had lost half our territory—a nation is still a nation.
Trantis Marquess had previously explained that Baren’s current population was around 900,000.
That meant, now that we had become a Holy State, all those people had become my followers or believers.
At this point, the daily increase in faith almost reached twenty million, and a tingling sensation surged through my entire body.
Of course, faith was not a power meant to be simply stored up.
Naturally, I hadn’t hesitated to use the faith until now.
The radiance that shimmered on the armor of the men singing with all their might was proof of that.
That light stemmed from Baren’s wishes.
How could I feel even a hint of regret in using it for Baren’s sake?
“Hm… Even so, morale is still lacking.”
The light emanating from the regular soldiers of Riot Castle didn’t seem to be enough.
The faces of the Original Army still weren’t bright.
It was even more so when I looked beyond the Garden, up at the sky growing ever darker each day.
Perhaps they feared the fierce battle that would soon be upon them.
It seemed that the ‘deity’ would have to step in directly to bolster morale.
***
Sig Batenberg had to swallow his shock countless times while staying at Riot Castle.
That was how much this place, Riot Castle, was a world completely detached from his common sense.
Where had the Elves, who’d yielded their Garden to humans, come from?
Why were the humans, acting as guardians of the Garden, behaving so strangely?
He did his best to appear calm before others, but even as time passed, there were things he simply could not understand.
Knights and Elves did not mingle.
At least in the Northern Continent, that was taken as common sense.
Elves still bore scars from the Grand War, and knights despised the miracles known as magic.
And yet, Riot Castle alone seemed like a different world.
But even more astonishing than that was something else entirely.
“The Hor Church……”
Sig looked around the castle.
The World Tree winding around the fortress and the sacred aura embracing its surroundings.
Right there, just beyond was the surging, horrific miasma—yet here, the air was filled with the freshness of spring.
And that wasn’t all.
The reinforcement troops, singing the hymn at the top of their lungs, all glowed with sacred radiance.
The soldiers of the Royal Army and the allied knights shone even brighter.
They all called the light they wore “the Blessing of Hor.”
Hor.
It was the name Sig had heard so much since coming to this castle that his ears were nearly calloused.
“What on earth happened here while I was away… Would I have known if I’d come just a little earlier?”
As he was lost in thought, it happened.
Paaat—!
An auspicious light burst forth from the sky.
It was a radiance brighter than ever, piercing the darkness that had always threatened this side.
“Ah, ah!”
“Ho-ru!”
The regulars acting as instructors craned their necks back and cheered.
Some joined hands in prayer.
The knights, busy with their duties, all reacted the same.
“Hey, what the hell is that…!”
The reinforcement soldiers, unable to grasp the situation, just gaped wide-eyed.
They stared blankly at the sky, bodies trembling.
The light driving away the darkness was both ecstatic and auspicious, but also overwhelming.
For the rookies, already on edge before their first battle, it was awe-inspiring to the point of being excessive.
“It’s a miracle of Lord Hor! All of you, look carefully at that light!”
The soldier shouting praises at the top of his lungs—what was his name again? Hans, maybe.
Sig took in his words as he gazed at the light filling the sky.
It was the same aura that had once wrapped around Richard’s entire body.
To be honest, Sig, too, felt a bit overwhelmed.
Such an immense light was a blessing to those who believed, but for those who did not, it was an unprecedented force.
Something squirmed inside Sig.
“…So that’s the guy who seduced my little brother, huh? Why doesn’t he show his face? I’d like to have a match, just once.”
That glint in his eye was clearly competitiveness.
And also, a sense of longing.
If such a deity existed, if the being that poured out this light was truly a god—
Then surely, it would know the whereabouts of the brother he’d been searching for.
Saaa—
The light drifting over the Riot Castle skies now began to gently fall like snowflakes.
A moment ago, it had been overwhelmingly oppressive; now, it felt endlessly benevolent.
The bodies of the reinforcement soldiers, stiff with tension, began to relax.
Even their once-chaotic minds seemed to settle, their eyes growing deeper.
In contrast, Sig pressed his lips together.
At first, he thought he only needed to respect his brothers’ choices.
But these days, he kept feeling an attachment.
Heinrich.
The brother who vanished without a trace.
Even Richard, called a Saint by all, claimed he didn’t know where he’d gone.
But perhaps that splendid, self-proclaimed god would be different.
“…The family head will hate this.”
Sig frowned, lost in thought.
***
After I poured out faith in abundance, the faces of the reinforcement soldiers looked a bit brighter.
They seemed to realize that the object of their hymns was not some empty, meaningless being.
A few more battles, and they’d become fervent believers.
Just like everyone else before them.
“Sigh! Still no Cupid for me today, huh.”
I was thinking about the days ahead when Huger began to grumble gloomily.
That guy’s endless talk of Cupid—he never gets tired of it.
“Why haven’t you left yet, anyway?”
I shot him a look.
The fellow who had been singing endlessly about wanting to go to Titan was now just dawdling around.
“Tch! After thinking it over, I want to try fighting the Third Generation Plague, too! Let me take part in just one more battle—consider it a favor.”
A simple enough reason.
Honestly, I started to worry if he’d be any use once he got to Titan.
Maybe I’d have to monitor him closely through Divine Sight.
I gave Huger, noisy as ever, a sideways glance and climbed up onto the ramparts.
The open space below the wall was peaceful.
But past a certain boundary, there was nothing but blackened, dead land.
Where the Plague had passed.
And where it would soon pass again.
“Chuu!”
I lifted my gaze from the ground and looked into the far distance.
Even just watching, the miasma’s foul aura was swirling near the Garden’s barrier.
It was only yesterday that I’d cleansed the area with faith.
No matter how much I erased it, there seemed to be no end.
I stood on the ramparts for a long, long time.
“Richard.”
Sig called out to me.
Moritz, who usually followed him everywhere, was nowhere to be seen.
But Sig’s face was unusually serious.
“What’s wrong?”
“…How did you come to believe in a god?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that? If you’re interested in the Hor Church, you’re more than welcome.”
Did he suspect something? Or was it just hope on my part?
Maybe I’d been too obvious about showing my true feelings.
Sig, who always chuckled, opened his mouth.
“No, forget it. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“What’s with you? Don’t leave me hanging.”
If that was all, why bring it up at all?
As I was giving Sig a sidelong glance, his face looked somewhat bitter.
But I didn’t press the matter.
I had a feeling I knew what was on his mind.
“…Soon they’ll launch their attack.”
I purposely changed the subject and turned my head.
“Hey, little brother. If you get scared in battle, hide behind your big brother. Our other brother, Moritz, isn’t much help, is he?”
He, too, tried to put on a joking tone.
Honestly, he was a difficult brother to figure out, in many ways.
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