Episode 149 Hero Party (3)
Those observing the battle could immediately tell that Heinrich had changed.
It couldn't be helped.
A suffocating pressure started to emanate from his every move, from the sword's trajectory that seemed to cut through space to his heavy steps and even his light breaths.
"…The Saint has surpassed a wall."
"Huh! Sir Tuskin? When did you…?"
"Shh."
And even Paladin Tuskin, the symbol of the Church's military power, was impressed.
Tuskin, the captain of the Silver Wing Holy Knight Order, who had quietly approached and was observing the spar after hearing about the Saint's training session, was lost in thought as he looked at the sparring arena.
He was the one who had brought Heinrich from the Talia Temple to this place, seeing his potential when he was still a holy warrior.
And now that holy warrior had become a holy knight in the shortest amount of time, made a great contribution, pulled out the holy sword, and even become a Saint and hero, how could he be indifferent?
'And that Dragonborn warrior facing the Saint… He's amazing. Even I would have a hard time if we fought seriously.'
A Paladin of the Main God Church wasn't just a knight who had reached the master level.
They had to be at least bishop-level in holy power and possess at least five blessings, in addition to their martial arts skills, to reach that honorable position.
Naturally, their combat power couldn't be judged by ordinary standards, and they were especially unparalleled in defense.
'He has physical abilities and primal instincts that surpass even monsters, and he even has a warrior's refined combat system. As expected… you need to be at that level to become the Saint's comrade.'
Tuskin slowly nodded, as if acknowledging him, as he watched Harley from outside the sparring arena.
And at that moment, the giant axe, blazing with dark red aura, clashed with the brightly shining holy sword once again.
Boom—!
The two of them stepped back as if they had made a promise, ending with a massive impact that shook the protective barrier.
"Hahaha! As expected of the Hero! I've never met a warrior this strong!"
Harley, whose appearance was a mess, laughed heartily as he returned his transformed body to its original state.
His body was covered in blood from the aftereffects of the fierce battle, but there wasn't a single wound left thanks to "Super Regeneration".
Munch, munch!
But he was overwhelmed by a fierce hunger because he had consumed too much energy.
He took out dragon meat from the subspace magic tool attached to his waist and devoured it.
"Whew—"
Heinrich sighed lightly and adjusted his robes, which were torn in several places, as he watched Harley devour several pieces of meat on the spot.
He was a hero, but he couldn't emerge unscathed after fighting Harley.
But thanks to his powerful blessings and holy power protecting his body, there weren't any noticeable marks except for his clothes.
And even those were mostly from the early and mid-stages of the battle, before he obtained "Path of Martial Arts".
'I got too immersed for a moment.'
But it was a satisfying result, as he had also gained an unexpected reward.
Heinrich's "Martial Bones" had been stimulated by this incident, and his perspective on martial arts had broadened, which led to the skill's evolution.
It was an unexpected synergy created by the clash between his usual rational fighting style and Harley's instinct-driven method.
His mind felt clear, and a pleasant sense of euphoria filled him, perhaps because of the enlightenment from that unexpected collaboration.
"Congratulations, Saint! I knew you were strong, but even that was just a stage of your growth. As expected, you are the hope of this continent!"
"That Dragonborn warrior is also amazing. …At that level, we have no choice but to acknowledge him as the Saint's comrade."
"Warrior, do you have your own special muscle training method? We have a special routine in our holy knight order, how about we have a time of exchange?"
"That's a good idea! It's good for everyone if the Saint's comrade becomes stronger. We can help in this way even if we can't directly participate!"
The muscleheads who had been observing the spar swarmed around them as they left the sparring arena and started chattering.
They were all friendly, not only to Heinrich, whom they had formed a bond with through training together, but also to Harley, who had proven his skills this time, and their common topic was training.
And a thought suddenly crossed Heinrich's mind at their words.
'Comrades… a party to defeat the Demon King, the Immortal King…'
It was a sense of dissonance about what was currently happening.
The current situation was much more urgent and tense than he had initially planned.
If he was really going to face the Demon King who wanted to destroy the world as a hero, that would be the right way to do it.
He would have acted more forcefully, negotiating with their respective countries and not being considerate of individual opinions like he was doing now.
'The intelligence agency is also subtly suggesting additional action, bringing various lists.'
But his goal from the beginning wasn't to defeat the Immortal King, but to build a heroic narrative.
And in such a 'classic story', the process of the protagonist overcoming all sorts of hardships and gathering comrades one by one was an important part of the development.
'Yes, like Harley's Great Adventure.'
Harley, who had lived a life of struggle and was experimented on by the evil dark mage Hans in Act 4, escaped.
He then met the merchant Hubert, the Elf Harris, and the Dwarf Howard, forming friendships.
And finally, in Act 7, he awakened his Dragonborn blood.
'And the finale of Act 7 is now. Becoming the hero's comrade.'
That was the direction he had originally envisioned for 'Home Theater'.
Various incidents had occurred one after another, leading to the current situation.
'It's too late to proceed with the story like that… Oath of Heaven's Defiance is causing too much trouble.'
Of course, it was only natural for the people of this world to want to prepare for war as quickly as possible, but even Hans had lost his pace and was rampaging because of the unexpected turn of events.
He couldn't maintain his original policy of minimizing casualties in this situation.
There were already quite a few who were suspicious, and the more the story progressed, the more the Immortal King's plausibility would collapse.
'When I first came up with the plan, I thought it would be enough to just take care of the bad guys… But the Immortal King's presence was too great.'
Just by doing something, it became a disaster-level event, making it difficult to steer the situation as he desired.
And with Oath of Heaven's Defiance's actions on top of that, a real war was approaching.
'If that happens, 'sacrificing the few for the many' will be inevitable, no matter what I do. That's the nature of war. It's not something I can control.'
Then was there really no other way?
Did he have to either close his eyes and force others to sacrifice themselves for his own greed or just be content with this much and give up?
'That can't be! I just have to avoid war!'
After all, he was the one who was the aggressor, so he could stop it whenever he wanted without going through any complicated processes.
The only problem was how to do it naturally…
As Heinrich was lost in thought, frowning,
"Saint? Are you free right now?"
An emergency meeting was called, with all the executives of the Roselia Cathedral gathered under the Saintess's leadership.
____________________
A small conference room located in the deepest part of the Roselia Cathedral.
The space wasn't that large, but the people gathered inside were all impressive figures.
The Saint, the Saintess, the two Cardinals, the Heresy Inquisitor General, the Paladins, the Archbishops…
Practically all the executives of the Roselia Cathedral were gathered in one place, discussing future plans.
"Sigh, this is a big problem. We're still struggling to unite the continent's forces, and Immortal King Hans has started to make his move."
"A northern forest not far from the Rohan Duchy… This must be a deliberate taunt, right? He's saying he'll watch the duchy he destroyed collapse from up close…"
"Many people died because of the Rohan incident. And the casualties will continue to increase. All those deaths will become the Immortal King's power."
The topic of the emergency meeting was the aura of death that had been detected in the Northern Mountains a while ago.
The Immortal King's concealment ability was the worst in history, but it was still difficult to completely block such a large energy fluctuation.
Naturally, it was detected by those with detection-type blessings, including the Saintess, and an investigation was immediately launched, leading to this emergency meeting.
"This is more serious than ever! It's on a different level from before!"
Saintess Liesta jumped up from her seat and spoke in a strong voice.
Her detection ability was the best in the Church, so the others listened to her words with serious expressions.
"It's not just Immortal King Hans's energy, but also the presence of tens of thousands of undead. He's brought out all the forces he's been gathering. In other words…!"
"…It's a declaration of war."
"Huh— In this situation…? No, because of this situation. And in the Rohan Duchy area…"
'Huh?'
The Church executives' expressions darkened.
They had just received a report that the rescue operation for the refugees was facing difficulties due to the monsters that were constantly swarming.
The defense line had completely collapsed, and the territory was in chaos.
The citizens of the fallen country, who had gathered in the capital for a siege, and those who were trying to survive by banding together…
And now, the immortal army had appeared nearby while they were struggling to handle the situation.
Naturally, they couldn't properly defend themselves in this state.
"And it's difficult to even gather troops because the entire continent is suffering from the monsters' rampage…"
Cardinal Pion sighed softly at the unfortunate situation.
For the greater good, they had to abandon the duchy and establish a new defense line at the Empire's border, but how could they ignore the hundreds of thousands of people still remaining in the duchy?
"…The Immortal King must be laughing, watching our choices."
They were in a situation where any choice they made would be a bad one.
Everyone was appalled by his wickedness.
'This is happening again? …No, I was shortsighted. This was bound to happen.'
Except for one person.
Heinrich, the Saint of the Main God Church, nodded with a serious expression, his mind racing.
'Ugh, how do I clean this up…'
Judging by the current situation, his actions, which were intended to be good, seemed to have only backfired.
He had just resolved to find another way, and now a new problem had been thrown at him.
"…What about the Empire's forces?"
"The first batch of troops, which finished gathering at the northern border, have just entered the Rohan Duchy. Currently, three legions of 10,000 troops each are heading towards the capital through different routes. Additional reinforcements are also continuously arriving."
"If the Empire finds out about this…"
"…They'll immediately cancel all operations and withdraw their troops."
The atmosphere sank.
If the Empire, which could mobilize a large-scale army, didn't step forward and lead the refugees, it would be meaningless for the Church to hold out.
But they couldn't just not inform the Empire of the information they had obtained.
If the immortal army really started to move south, not only the Rohan Duchy but also the Empire would be greatly shaken.
'No, the Empire isn't stupid, they'll figure it out soon. Maybe they're having a meeting like us right now. …Right, there's only one way.'
The influx of monsters from the north would decrease because Hans had settled there, but it would be meaningless if the rescue operation didn't continue.
Heinrich finally made up his mind, closed his eyes, and started to pray.
His faith was elevated in an instant as he concentrated his immense mental power, and the ley line connected to the Main God expanded rapidly.
The effect was incomparable to before, as he had even used 'Mental Strength Enhancement', which cost a whopping 640,000 Karma points, after obtaining various achievements and experiencing various incidents.
And naturally…
Wooong—
His holy power, amplified, erupted from his body, and his aura, which had been like a transparent flame, started to spread with a thick radiance.
"Huh?!"
"…Saint?"
The executives' gazes were drawn to the holy flames that filled the conference room in an instant.
The energy, flickering as if it had a physical form, was incredibly pure, and overwhelmingly powerful, to the point where they couldn't help but feel awe.
And as everyone's attention was focused on him,
Heinrich stood up with a devout expression.
Inwardly praying to the Main God to allow him to be a righteous con man.
"Could you please listen to me for a moment? …The Main God, has shown us the way."
And the aura, which was brilliantly shining and enveloping his body, was proof of his permission.
Probably.