Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: An Elaborate Deception
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Just before Priest Borenus succumbed to 'a certain threat' and persuaded the White Magic Tower to call for a resolution for the Second Crusade.
It was around the time the Goddess's will was decided by the Martyr's Duel, and the crusade of the Grand Anti-Demon Alliance was just about to return.
In the Labyrinth City, which Viscount Sachsen had officially dedicated to the church, a major disturbance broke out.
An artifact had gone berserk.
Unable to control the darkness dwelling within the Demon Lord's artifact, the one responsible for the rampage, 'Edward Dulles', charged straight for the cathedral.
He slaughtered the knights of the Templar Order guarding the place as if they were mere grunts.
After all, Edward was an S-rank adventurer, and his skills were now amplified by the rampage of a powerful artifact.
And while he massacred the priests of the Sistina Goddess faith and threw the entire city into a state of panic...
A riot broke out among the adventurers, seeking to reclaim the tithes and wealth the church had taken from them.
Law and order collapsed as looting and crime ravaged the city. However, the areas suffering the most damage were the main parishes controlled by the church.
It was around that time that the 'Black Prince', having turned his forces around after the Martyr's Duel, returned to the Labyrinth City.
***
In the distance, the sight of the burning city came into view.
Unlawful looting, carried out in tandem with Edward's rampage, taking advantage of the absence of the Grand Anti-Demon Alliance's core forces.
But that city was no longer 'Dale's city'. Viscount Sachsen had dedicated it to the Goddess at the church's demand. In other words, what was burning now was, unequivocally, 'the church's city'.
"The, the cathedral...!"
The cathedral, which was being expanded for the church's luxury, was on fire. Seeing this, Priest Borenus gasped in horror.
"Oh my."
Lady Scarlet, at the head of the troops with Dale, chuckled with amusement at the scene.
"As if the Goddess's nation burning to the ground wasn't enough, now her city is collapsing."
Her tone was openly mocking.
"I wonder why the Goddess maintains such harsh silence toward those who cry out and pray to her so fervently."
"..."
Priest Borenus was left speechless. Guy de Lusignan, the Master Templar of the Templar Order who should have been his sword, was dead, and even the wealth the church was supposed to acquire was being stolen by looters.
The worst imaginable situation was unfolding before him.
"It seems..."
Dale murmured coldly as he watched.
"In the end, it proves that the Goddess's command to turn the troops around was indeed correct."
Dale, who had claimed victory in the Martyr's Duel, asserted that his triumph was the Goddess's will.
"In contrast, the church refused to turn the troops around until the very end, and even broke the rules of the Martyr's Duel, refusing to yield."
"Ah, ah..."
"The church's self-righteousness, its desire to interpret the Goddess's will as it pleases, has finally brought about its just deserts. Don't you agree?"
Dale murmured coldly.
"As Duke Sachsen's representative, I offered this territory to you in the Goddess's name. However, I must seriously doubt whether you, the church, truly understand the 'Goddess's will'."
"How dare an apostate of Sachsen insult the church!"
"Are you still trying to protect that pathetic pride of yours, standing so tall and mighty?"
Dale retorted.
"Have you forgotten that before this was church territory, it was the land of the Sachsen Duchy! Surely you don't intend to just stand by and watch as the Duke's domain is violated!"
"I'm sick and tired of the church's nonsense, changing its stance as easily as flipping its hand whenever it's convenient."
Dale said.
"I will handle this situation myself. But before I do, you must promise me one thing."
"And what is that?"
"Return this Demon Lord's territory, which I offered you, back to me."
Dale answered.
"And that act must be carried out strictly in the name of 'the church and the Goddess'."
He clearly remembered their threat: if Dale did not offer them the land... they would regard the pioneering of the Demon Lord's territory not as a sacred work of the Goddess, but as a purely secular business venture for the profit of House Sachsen. Furthermore, they threatened to declare in the church's name that 'pioneering the Demon Lord's territory' was an act that accumulated sins of both spirit and flesh, and to order all pioneering monastic orders in the territory to withdraw.
"Have you already forgotten what will happen to this pioneering project if you dare to drive our church out?"
Priest Borenus, remembering this, shot back.
"I remember it well."
Dale replied coldly to the question.
"But the 'Master Templar' was defeated in the Martyr's Duel. Has it not been proven that my will is the Goddess's will?"
To ascertain the Goddess's will, two individuals with opposing claims fight a duel to the death. The belief is that the Goddess will favor the one with the 'righteous claim', and thus, the victor is the one who champions the 'Goddess's will'. This is the essence of a Martyr's Duel.
The loser, through their death, proves that their actions were not in accordance with the Goddess's will, punctuating this fact with their sacred martyrdom.
In other words—at this point, with Dale's victory in the Martyr's Duel, it was not the church that acted as the agent of the Goddess's will.
"And yet, the church refused to yield, even breaking the sacred rules of the Martyr's Duel to interpret the 'Goddess's will' as they saw fit. It is truly an unspeakable blasphemy."
Dale said.
"In this situation, how persuasive do you think the church's claim that 'pioneering the Demon Lord's territory is evil and merely Sachsen's business' will be?"
"D-Don't tell me!"
Only then did Priest Borenus finally understand.
He understood why the 'Black Prince', known for his cunning and cruelty, had so readily handed over the Demon Lord's territory to them.
He had been aiming for this from the very beginning.
"You bastard, this was all your scheme...!"
Priest Borenus shouted. But it changed nothing. The church was already too deeply involved in the pioneering project to back out.
"As I said, I can resolve this situation. But only if I am the 'enforcer of duty' in this city."
"…!"
Priest Borenus bit his lip so hard it bled.
"In the name of the Goddess and the church, I swear."
He muttered lowly after clenching his teeth. Even if it was only a verbal promise, it was made where Lady Scarlet and the other leaders of the Grand Anti-Demon Alliance would clearly remember it.
"Our church promises to... in the name of the Goddess, enfeoff Viscount Sachsen with this northern Demon Lord's territory."
"I understand your intention well, Brother."
Hearing this, Dale smiled coldly. He then gave an order to one of his Winter Watchers who was reporting on the city's situation.
"The time has come. Mobilize the Court."
***
While the church's city burned and screams echoed, there were those who remained silent.
But when it was no longer the church's city, but the city of the 'Black Prince', Viscount Sachsen...
The Shadow Court finally broke its silence and began to move, according to the will of the Shadow Lord they served.
A wind blew, and men in black coats and plague doctor masks appeared.
They stood before the adventurers who were busy looting the burning church.
"Wh-what the hell are these guys?"
"Get lost!"
The adventurers threatened them with their swords, but the high-ranking assassins of the Shadow Court merely remained silent.
At the end of the silence, a blood-red aura flickered along the hidden weapons in their hands.
"Huh?"
In an instant, an adventurer's head was rolling on the ground. Blood spurted from the severed neck like a fountain.
The silent execution had begun.
***
The enforcement to quell the city's unrest began, and by the time Dale and his troops arrived in the city, silence had already fallen.
The high-ranking assassins of the Shadow Court moved in secret throughout the city like the wind. Thanks to their work, the unbridled colts were turned into lambs in a flash.
Furthermore, to minimize damage to the city before the riot even started, Dale had deliberately directed the adventurers' looting toward church facilities.
No, to be precise, it wasn't even a riot. It was merely an elaborate operation carried out by the Shadow Court's agents planted among the adventurers.
The residence of the Fifth Imperial Princess, Chiara, guarded by the Imperial Iron Cross Knights, was of course untouched, and other key facilities like the guild were also safe. Most of the facilities that appeared to be burning fiercely were exclusively church property. Realizing this, Borenus collapsed to his knees again.
He had been deceived again.
To think that even the adventurers' riot was an elaborate operation, manipulated and controlled by the 'Black Prince'.
Only then did he realize. When the troops had turned back, Dale's messenger had ridden ahead to the Labyrinth City.
Even the majority of the 'tithes' the church had legally extracted from the adventurers had been looted... but the destination of that loot was an obvious conclusion.
It would surely return to the hands of the 'Black Prince'.
He had used the church's hands to take the adventurers' wealth, only to put it back into his own pocket.
*'This... this cunning son of a devil...!'*
From start to finish, everything had played out in the palm of Dale's hand, and yet there was nothing he could do to change it.
***
The 'Black Prince' was crossing the city streets.
As if the recent chaos had been a lie, a deep silence enveloped the city.
Assassins in plague doctor masks, hidden throughout the city, paid their respects to their lord.
Finally, crossing the city, Dale arrived at what was once his 'lord's castle'.
It was no longer the church's cathedral; it was time to reclaim his castle.
He looked up.
In the great hall of Viscount Sachsen's castle, a man was rampaging wildly.
He was wielding the puppet's sword, an artifact he believed he had illegally obtained behind Dale's back... at least, that's what Edward Dulles had no doubt believed.
Edward had faithfully performed his role as a puppet. Furthermore, the wealth from the Demon Lord's territory that Edward and his faction of noble adventurers had acquired behind Dale's back had also returned to Dale's possession.
After all, when it came to finding hidden assets, there was no one more reliable than the church's tithe collectors.
Dale flicked his shadow cloak and looked up.
There was Edward, having lost his reason, dancing like a puppet in the grip of the sword's madness.
The hunt for the church was over. It was time to dispose of the dog.