The Booming Holy Empire of War
The Holy Empire of War, which served the War God under the Goddess Department, had once boasted seven hundred million believers. Now, with the influx of population, it had surpassed one and a half billion and was enjoying its golden age. In front of the Great Temple of War stood the Immortal Plaza, known as the "True Blessing of the War God." Every day, thousands of warriors and mages fought desperately there, staking their honor and the prestige of their factions. The massive spectator stands surrounding the Immortal Plaza were packed with tens of millions of citizens who roared and chanted the victors' names, giving thanks to the War God's blessing for allowing them to witness such blood-boiling struggles between superhumans.
Originally, the plaza had been under construction, scheduled to reopen three years after the War God's papal election. However, with the presence of a great Tenth-Circle magic that eliminated death and injury, mages and magic users from across the Middle World flocked to it in hopes of grasping even a fragment of that power. When they discovered that the magic circle engraved on the plaza constantly circulated pure mana and enhanced their own magical power, they pitched tents and settled in, forming a tent village in no time. With even the black mages, whose reputation had somewhat improved, joining in large numbers, the total exceeded tens of thousands.
Warriors, for whom the plaza offered both aura enhancement and the fastest path to growth through duels and life-or-death battles, also gathered. At first, they divided the area peacefully. But as the vast plaza filled to capacity and stray attacks during aura-filled duels injured people or destroyed carefully pitched tents, disputes erupted and battles broke out. "With no risk of casualties or injuries, tens of thousands of tents were instantly swept away before the rampaging superhumans, and from then on, they engaged in fierce back-and-forth combat."
Although they tried to fight outside the plaza, the Pope here was the Former Hero, now an Intermediate God of the Eighth Circle thanks to the Tenth-Circle magic armor, the "Armor of the War God." Moreover, over a thousand Seventh-Circle masters glared fiercely, eager to earn merit by maintaining order. In the end, everyone fought only within the Immortal Plaza to carve out their own territories. "The Holy Empire of War had begun doing business."
To artificially create Seventh-Circle master-level priests, large quantities of expensive holy relics were required. The money-hungry Vice-Pope imposed exorbitant fees on the superhumans for admission, lodging, and even consumables. Naturally, there were protests, but he dismissed them with a single line. "Don't want to pay? Then leave." Having regained his youth and recovered his fervent faith, supported by massive holy relic supplies, the Vice-Pope's boldness overwhelmed other superhumans within the War God's temple, leaving them no choice but to pay. Behind him stood the Eighth-Circle Pope, radiating divine power. Besides, the superhumans were all wealthy, so it wasn't a major issue.
The thriving Holy Empire of War had grown noisy after a long time. Nearly all the highest-ranking figures from the countless empires and kingdoms in the Middle World had gathered. Emperors and kings filled the massive round table in the audience chamber, protesting the High Elf Empire's atrocities to the War God's Pope and Vice-Pope. The popes and archbishops of the gods most worshipped by humans were also present, with thousands raising their voices.
"The High Elf Empire has had over ten thousand of its finest elf slaves stolen. Why are you ignoring this?"
"The High Elf Queens have been confirmed as Eighth-Circle Intermediate Gods. Naturally, the War God's Pope must intervene!"
"The Holy Empire of War must take the lead!"
To the War God's Pope and Vice-Pope, who knew the Dimensional Lord stood behind the High Elf Empire, these words were nothing but laughable nonsense. Instead, they saw it as an opportunity to profit. "What is this absurd spatial transfer fee? A thousand gold for superhumans, ten thousand for barons, with an additional ten thousand per higher title? Royalty must pay a hundred thousand, and emperors a million? Have you gone mad?"
"I paid ten million gold just to come here! And they took another ten million as a deposit, claiming it was round-trip fare!"
"Forget the money. Why is the War God's temple sending cardinals and high priests to the front lines? Thanks to you, our temples have no choice but to send high-ranking priests, leaving only apprentice priests behind!"
"No matter how much faith is found on the battlefield, isn't this too much?"
Despite fierce opposition to the recent reforms, the War God's Pope and Vice-Pope merely smiled and listened. The Vice-Pope calculated with satisfaction the amounts paid by those gathered and how many holy relics could be purchased, feeling utterly content. Though the Pope owed his position to the armor, he had become a true Eighth-Circle Intermediate God, making human fighting spirit and intimidation seem laughable. Even as the Former Hero, he had been the strongest among humans, so this was nothing to him.
"Becoming the pope of the most successful god, I receive respect wherever I go. Regaining my youth and restoring my former appearance, these are truly glorious days." Though he had possessed wealth in the past, the War God's Pope now held a position even emperors had to respect. Recently, a dark mage from the Middle World who had threatened to erase all divine nations had annihilated two Demon Kings and millions of dark mages, received the War God's divinity, and become one of the highest gods in the Divine Realm.
"Moreover, the Platinum Divine Dragon, our subordinate god, diligently patrols in her magnificent form, imprinting her presence. I have no reason to envy an emperor's power. The women approaching me now are incomparable to before." Faith was strong here in the Holy Empire of War, and since the new War God had decreed that the strongest would become Pope, all he needed to do was fight well and spread the faith. "Proselytizing is automatic if I simply display the light wings of an Intermediate God and perform a few miracles."
The Vice-Pope handled the rest, and as the Pope of the God of Light, he only needed to avoid committing crimes and show his handsome face to maintain "goodness." "I only need to worry about the election three years from now." Now an Intermediate God, the Former Hero's original power was rapidly growing. Of course, surpassing the Seventh-Circle limit was impossible for a human, but he was drawing ever closer. "Becoming an Intermediate God means I no longer need to worry about human limits, which cap at the Seventh Circle. To exceed that, I need the help of gods. I must either have been a demigod from the start or become a subordinate god."
The War God's rewards were generous. If he continued performing well, permission would surely come someday. If the Former Hero became a full Intermediate God, the most glorious days of his life would continue forever. "What I need now is money. No matter how much I have, it's never enough." That was why he had chosen this location for the meeting, to squeeze as much as possible from other nations. The Pope and Vice-Pope continued their amicable exchange of intentions.
"For the Pope to succeed, the Holy Empire must thrive first. You did an excellent job this time, Vice-Pope." "What humble words, Your Holiness. Thanks to you declaring that without gatherings there is no cooperation, we have exceeded our budget targets. I will generously increase your dignity maintenance allowance, so please continue to support us." "Ahem! Don't worry. I'll keep them here as long as possible, so focus on collecting the gold." "The High Elf Empire's movements are, as the Platinum Divine Dragon said, about securing believers. It is not an invasion, so in a month they will all return to the Great Forest. I have already finished speaking with the High Elf Queens. They explained well that we serve the same god."
"A month? Isn't that too short? I was planning to hold them here and collect until next year's budget." "How regrettable." "Indeed. But these people aren't in their right minds. The War God is also the god of elves. If He takes issue with them enslaving elves, what will they do? Are they all trying to die? They're pressuring me, the War God's Pope, to reduce His followers. They must be mad."
As the strongest in the Middle World and the War God's Pope, the Former Hero had no intention of intervening in this incident no matter how much other nations begged. "There are five Intermediate God High Elf Queens, and I'm alone. What do they expect me to do? They don't move alone and command thousands of Seventh-Circle master-level High Elf Little Queens and over ten million elite forces like their own limbs. How am I supposed to fight them?" No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like a demand for him to go die.
"We all know it's unreasonable. However, to suppress the complaints of high nobles who lost their precious High Elf slaves, they are protesting as a show. You only need to listen." "I had heard the High Elf Empire was strong, but not to this extent. Some nobles' elite troops who refused to return the High Elves were annihilated, yet the other side suffered almost no losses." "Because Granzoa's authority as the War God's subordinate god is healing and restoration, complete recovery is possible as long as one doesn't die. The Platinum Divine Dragon warned us never to touch the High Elf Empire. Granzoa is a powerful Main God even among the highest gods in the Divine Realm."
"Even under the Middle World's restrictions, she's that strong?" The Former Hero could feel the light divine power rising even now from the distant Great Forest. "She surpassed the Platinum Divine Dragon long ago and exceeded even my measurement ability as an Intermediate God." Granzoa's complete recovery to Main God-level divine power meant she could instantly deal with even Demon Kings, as the Former Hero who had fought them knew. "This is unwinnable."
No emperor wanted to seriously wage war against the High Elf Empire backed by such a powerful light god. "They only came to hold a countermeasures meeting because high nobles who lost their beloved High Elf slaves are making too much noise domestically. Of course, they also came in person hoping to recruit the superhumans gathered at the plaza to their factions."
Though they had been heavily overcharged, it was mere pocket change for empires. "In exchange for the overcharging, we already provided information about the High Elf Empire's situation and that they would withdraw in a month. Now, pretending to hold meetings for a month will resolve everything." The situation had already been settled behind the scenes. Thus, the imperial envoys protested outwardly but leisurely enjoyed the Holy Empire of War's specialties, while their subordinates busily recruited notable unaffiliated superhumans. For them, staging this protest, sending the footage home to appease complaints, and enjoying a rare vacation was an easy task.
"Ironically, sending princesses with succession rights as hostages brought stability to their regimes." It was as if the highest god had guaranteed the proof of royal authority rather than hostages, so ambitious grand nobles fell silent. After all, even if they rebelled and became king, they would have to return everything once the princess returned. "A throne successor backed by a powerful Main God is terrifying. The previously idle crown princes and princes are now desperately working to solidify their positions."
Heirs volunteered for tasks they weren't even asked to do, trying to secure the next emperor's seat. Even if they wanted to assassinate the threatening princess, they didn't know her location and couldn't touch a god's hostage, so they focused on building popularity and achievements, leaving their retainers with little to do. "All troublesome matters were resolved the moment an absolute being appeared and we stood on his side." "There's no need to worry about grand nobles threatening royal authority like before, and the heirs are handling things themselves." "If they disobey, we can simply say it's the War God's will, and they won't be able to move."
Thus, though the envoys' mouths protested, their eyes smiled. They couldn't wear the relaxed smiles of the War God's Pope and Vice-Pope, but it was close. "Stop smiling and come up with a plan to stop the High Elf Empire." "Understood. Let's eat and resume the meeting later. There's much to verify, so the schedule is in one week." "Very well. We also have much to prepare, so two weeks would be fine." "That's a good idea. Let's make it two weeks. The banquet is prepared in the dining hall."
Once they confirmed the recording of the meeting had ended, everyone switched to friendly faces and began building connections. After all, it was a formal meeting required for governance, and what mattered was increasing political allies. "This is precisely when the War God's Pope's Intermediate God aura and appearance exert the most influence and expand his power." The miracle of a god transforming the elderly Former Hero into a handsome youth was right before their eyes. As a result, the War God's influence was exploding across empires, and many nobles were converting. The Holy Empire of War, blessed by the Dimensional Lord, was undergoing explosive development.