Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: I Am a God (2)
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The three core elements of a religion are typically considered its founder, its doctrine, and its organization. And for a cult, the three core elements are extortion, sexual exploitation, and the deification of its leader.
So, let's consider the Raelian Church. Does it possess the three elements of a religion? It does, albeit crudely. A figure of worship, a doctrine, and an organization.
I suspect the doctrine exists in a rough form because they claim to be a forgotten religion.
Moreover, their organization is likely expanding explosively right now. Or more accurately, people are being forcibly converted.
The people have no choice but to believe if they want to survive the monster wave.
They're quite cunning. It's obvious Ludwig Brandt must be the brains behind it. He was always good at scheming like that.
Now, let's consider the three elements of a cult. Those fit as well.
Of course, it's not extortion or sexual exploitation, but something far worse: using people as sacrifices for black magic and as test subjects. Why would they need money when the state itself is the cult?
The deification of the leader is a given. Worshipping a man who has lived his entire life as a human as a god is... well...
Besides, isn't it ridiculous? They start the monster wave and then they stop it.
What a grand, self-orchestrated fraud. And with the lives of the entire continent held hostage.
But that's the key. As long as the Empire presents itself as a religion, it must distance itself from things like black mages or experiments.
At least on the surface.
Even if they're doing insane things behind the scenes.
I plan to relentlessly target the Empire's weaknesses. Black mages, the antennas, the laboratories. The Demonic Realm, where all of it is located.
Because that is the foundation that sustains their religion. Whether or not they can openly use the Empire's name, despite all the interference and trickery, is crucial.
In that sense, while the Demonic Realm might not be their Achilles' heel, isn't it at least an arm?
“So, what's the plan? To be honest, it's hard to agree with the decision to wipe out the Demonic Realm in the current situation.”
“I think… we might be hearing from someone soon. From the Holy Kingdom.”
“From the Holy Kingdom?”
This broadcast spread across the entire continent. It's obvious the news reached the Holy Kingdom as well.
And knowing Pope Provino's personality, he's not one to sit still. He's probably trembling with the urge to half-kill that Emperor bastard by now.
“Lord of the Castle-!”
A knight came running from the inner castle, calling out Rzhev's name.
“What is it?”
“A message has arrived from the Holy Kingdom.”
At those words, I smirked. It would be no fun if they moved slowly after I gave them so much information.
“From the Holy Kingdom?!”
Krain Rzhev looked at me in astonishment. His expression screamed, 'How did you know?'
Heh. What's there to be so surprised about? I have my ways.
“They say they can send reinforcements. However, they require that you acknowledge their designation of the Empire as heretical.”
Just as I thought. This is exactly the move I expected. The demand is reasonable, too.
Judging by his reaction, Krain Rzhev didn't seem to know about the deep connection between the resistance and the Pope. He probably only knows about matters related to Prometheus—that is, me.
“A message will have been sent to the White Mercenary Corps as well.”
Provino knows exactly who to join hands with.
He knows exactly how to join hands and what to do. In that case, he couldn't possibly leave out the White Mercenary Corps.
The Holy Kingdom is geographically separate from the Empire and the main continent. It can only be reached by teleportation or ship.
In a situation like this, they need a base from which they can exert direct influence.
Especially one that can effectively pressure the Empire.
A place that stands against the Empire.
“We will go our own way. We will accept the Holy Kingdom's support as quickly as possible.”
His mind was made up. Although his domain was part of the Empire, he could no longer stand with it.
“Tell Rzhev to prepare for war. They'll probably be in a difficult position, caught between two fronts.”
They would be pressed by the monster wave from the front and the Imperial army from the rear, but Rzhev could not surrender.
From kidnapping and sacrifices to experiments and black magic.
His face showed a firm resolve, an inability to close his eyes and pretend he didn't know all these truths.
“Break through the wave and launch a counterattack, you say.”
“First, we need to deal with these things and then think. But it probably won't take long.”
Kratos, having filled his stomach, resumed his battle preparations. He had killed countless monsters, yet innumerable more continued to pound on the gates of Adma Castle.
“Hmm. I think it's about time we fell back to the inner castle.”
Cracks were forming all over the castle walls, and stone dust was falling, showing signs of collapse.
“The explosion certainly had a big impact.”
“You should start preparing.”
They had held out for a long time. Longer than I expected. Honestly, if it weren't for Kratos, they might have already fallen back to the defensive line at Rzhev.
Like the walls, the castle gate was also developing holes in several places.
“Prepare to pull back the defensive line! We're moving to the inner castle. Re-form the line!”
Yes, it was better to take position in the inner castle and rest until the outer castle fell. The soldiers were exhausted.
Besides, once the entrance is breached, the monsters will all swarm through that one opening.
It would be like a game, just smashing their skulls.
All the way back to Rzhev. It was a matter of steadily whittling down the monsters.
***
“The south has been completely breached. It's been decimated by monsters.”
“And Ashar?”
“The mercenaries have retreated to their main base, and the monsters have advanced inland.”
Listening to the reports flooding in from all directions, Ludwig Brandt smiled in satisfaction, waving his fingers in the air as if conducting an orchestra.
“Lagaris was breached long ago.”
But soon, the fingers waving in the air came to a halt.
“What about the Demonic Realm?”
The monster wave from the Demonic Realm was the most important one.
“Well, they're still... holding them off there, no, they *are* holding them off.”
The subordinate monitoring the northern region trailed off as he answered. He knew what kind of furious outburst this answer would provoke.
“Krain Rzhev...!”
Prometheus's loyal dog. The lord he trusted with the defense of the Demonic Realm. The Empire's greatest shield.
He didn't like him. Most of all, because his loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor was questionable.
After that bastard Prometheus died, he had naturally withdrawn from central politics and hadn't shown his face even once.
This Empire revolves around the Emperor. Not Prometheus. That is an immutable truth.
The one to whom loyalty must be sworn is His Majesty the Emperor. No, He who has now become a god.
That was why he had intended to wipe out Rzhev as an example. And yet, they were still holding out.
“How many monsters have been deployed so far?”
“About sixty percent.”
“And they're still holding out...”
The hand gripping the armrest of his chair tightened, and the armrest began to twist bizarrely.
He hadn't thrown in all the monsters from the Demonic Realm at once.
Slowly amplifying the chaos was more helpful in driving people to despair and generating negative emotions.
“Deploy all remaining resources. Gather everything you can find and kill every last one of those Rzhev bastards! Tear them to shreds and feed them to the monsters!”
He couldn't stand it. The continent was already in chaos from the monsters pouring in from all sides, and the plan was proceeding steadily, but that wasn't enough.
He had to trample the continent into a state of incomparable terror and chaos. Only then would the situation be perfect.
The Holy Kingdom, and all the other bastards, would bow at His feet.
He had been regulating the deployment of monsters for that very purpose, but if they couldn't get past Rzhev, it would all be for nothing.
“Defector!”
At Brandt's shout, someone approached and bowed his head. A man dressed entirely in black, with a mask over his mouth.
As he approached, Brandt's expression soured instinctively.
“You will personally lead the hunting dogs to the Demonic Realm. Guide the monster wave inland. Use any method. Whatever it takes!”
“Understood.”
They were the hunting dogs of the Central Intelligence Bureau, the Umber Team. Specifically, Umber Team 0, composed only of those who had chosen to live as the Empire's dogs.
They were less like agents and more like tools. Tools to be used and discarded at any time.
“Fail, and I'll throw all of you to the dogs. After all, replacements for you are a dime a dozen.”
Every time they went on a mission, their survival rate was less than thirty percent.
Considering that the survival rate for other Umber Teams was more than double that, this figure showed just how extreme the situations they were deployed to were.
“Get the hell out. I don't even want to be in the same room as you filth.”
Ludwig Brandt scowled and waved his hand dismissively, as if dealing with something foul-smelling.
***
While the battle against the monster wave was still raging, a large army appeared at the rear of Rzhev.
White armor and black priestly robes. And held high in the sky, the flag of the Holy Kingdom.
“It's the Holy Kingdom-!”
“Reinforcements have arrived! Prepare to open the gates!”
Hope and joy filled the faces of the exhausted soldiers.
With Adma already fallen and hordes of monsters now pounding on the gates of Rzhev, the Holy Kingdom's support was like rain in a drought.
And it wasn't just a few of them. There were hundreds, by rough estimate, of Inquisitors, Paladins, and Priests.
How could they not feel reassured?
As the Holy Kingdom's army charged toward the rear, where there were relatively fewer monsters, Kratos leaped down from the wall to join the fight.
It was a battle with monsters he had become all too familiar with. He sent their heads flying as if he were a machine.
As quickly and concisely as possible. That was the way to conserve stamina efficiently and kill even one more monster.
Indeed, real combat was the best way to improve one's skills in a short time. Not just Kratos, but Seamus, Reinhardt, and Niceta had all improved dramatically.
“Open the gates!”
The Holy Kingdom's army mechanically swept away the surrounding monsters and entered the castle. Only after mincing the ones that tried to rush through the open gates could they finally close them.
“Sir Gleb-!”
Kratos cried out in surprise upon seeing Gleb standing at the very front of the Holy Kingdom's group.
To think that Gleb, the Pope's closest aide who assisted him, would come here.
“His Holiness wished for me to come here personally.”
Hearing that Provino himself had ordered him to lead this large force, Kratos nodded in understanding.
“Let's talk about that later.”
At that response, Gleb smiled faintly and nodded.
“It seems we arrived just in time.”
The shouts of soldiers still filled the air atop the walls, and from outside, the sound of monsters pounding on the walls and gate was constant.
However, the expressions of those from the Holy Kingdom were remarkably serene. As if there were no problem at all.
It was a display of confidence that mere demonic energy could not harm them.
“Hoo. I wonder what's to become of this.”
Gleb sighed as he stood on the wall, looking out at the endless sea of monsters.
“There are far too many seeds of evil in this world.”
Gleb's expression was bitter.
“This continent was once full of tranquil grace. How did it come to this?”
“We have to pay them back. Isn't it enough to repay them tenfold?”
Unlike Gleb's somber expression, Kratos was jubilant. The arrival of the Holy Kingdom's priests had properly set the stage for a counterattack.
A stage to defeat these bastards and sweep through to the very heart of the Demonic Realm.
In other words, the opportunity to properly screw them over had arrived.
In any case, I'm enough to wipe out the monsters on my own. Of course, they'll take care of any that I happen to miss.
The priests' divine power was a buff for me and a debuff for the monsters.
And the Holy Kingdom's role here is...
Buff and debuff machines.
They were buff and debuff machines that would provide me with infinite power while I wiped out the monsters.